Eyes Of Broken Lilies

" Your heart is pounding loudly---

is it..singing for me~ kyoren~Sama?~ "

--- kirihito (🥀🔥🖤 )

-----------------------------------------------------------

A black-gold lan room lingered in dim light, heavy with the scent of aged liquor. An old man sat rigidly at the table, sipping slowly, his commanding gaze fixed on the young lan before him. The younger lan's long dark gray hair spilled over his shoulders, matching the cold gray of his eyes, his expression unreadable.

"Whatever got free again... yet different. Find it," the elder said sharply. "We can't fail this time. It's challenging — even more so than before. But we can do it. Do you understand, Xio Zhan?"

Xio Zhan nodded silently, rising smoothly. He bowed deeply. "As you wish, Uncle Kage-ou."

His long hair swept forward, soft as silk, his sleeves rushing lightly with the movement. He reached for his sword, grasping the hilt firmly before turning to leave. Pausing briefly at the door, he glanced back thoughtfully, then stepped into the shadowed corridor beyond.

The scene shifted to a quiet chamber suffused with silver-blue light , the yingqing ..Two lans sat opposite each other .. one with gentle, long brown hair and light blue eyes, fingers carefully caressing the strings of a guqin, attempting to mimic a haunting melody. Across, a dark blue-haired lan played a flute, his light gray eyes intent on the notes.

An older lan, Master Suiren, observed them closely. His face was serious, eyes narrowed as he tried to catch every subtle detail.

"That's... huntingly strange," Master Suiren finally murmured.

Both young lans stopped playing, glancing at him in concern.

"What's wrong, Master Suiren?" the brown-haired one asked softly.

"Is everything alright?" the dark blue-haired lan added.

Master Suiren's gaze shifted to the dark blue-haired one. "Did you notice something strange in the music, Kairo?"

The two youths exchanged a glance. The brown-haired one spoke first.

"I think I did, Master ."

"You're learning well, even as a third-grade lan, Utsushi. Keep going." Master Suiren nodded approvingly. "This music ... what we and any lans, even normal people, hear as a simple tune ... it is actually a code. Soul Gardens use it to communicate, to hunt, to send signals like: 'I'm coming for you.'"

Utsushi and Kairo blinked in surprise.

Kairo's eyes sharpened with determination. "So some garden has truly awakened? But which one? Ranked second again? That doesn't match the last notes it played years ago."

"That means it's more dangerous, critical... and twisted. Something we don't understand yet," Utsushi added, his fingers still moving lightly on the guqin strings.

"Seems like it," Master Suiren said gravely. "We must prepare for whatever lies ahead. Understood?"

Both youths nodded firmly.

Master Suiren added, "Go and keep training, keep learning. We can't let peace die. That which is awakening is totally new, like it doesn't know itself. We'll fix everything before it's too late ...without harming humans, yokais, or nature."

"Yes, Master . We will take care," both said in unison, Kairo's voice a little stronger.

They bowed respectfully, then departed.

Master Suiren's eyes drifted toward the window, where a white snake coiled on the windowsill, gazing at the moonlit sky. Its red eyes and white scales glowed faintly in the moonlight. The wind was calm, yet the air felt heavy, taut with tension.

Scene shifts back to kyoren .

Kyoren lay peacefully in his bed, though a faint tension lingered in his neck. A soft white fabric pressed lightly against the wound, stained faintly red from his blood. His breath came steady and even, silver hair spread softly over the pillow, swallowed gently by the night.

His Adam's apple bobbed gently with his breathing. His naturally red eyelids flickered beneath closed eyes, lips parted as his dreams unfolded, recalling the sudden storm at his ceremony.

The past came rushing in.

"Don't touch me there! I hate it! It feels weird!" Kirihito shouted at Kyoren, stepping away sharply, hissing softly. His cheeks were flushed with anger and embarrassment.

"Like I want to hold you like some precious thing," Kyoren shot back with a mocking tone, "I don't like touching chest creatures who shamelessly show off their bodies. Is covering yourself that hard? Like cutting your wrist with a blade?"

Kirihito's expression darkened instantly, the insult hitting deep in his pride and heart. He swallowed hard, hissing dangerously. His eyes narrowed, cold and covetous, chilling enough to make the hairs on the back of one's neck stand on end. He circled Kyoren slowly, tilting his head.

Yurei, watching tensely, swallowed hard... feeling the rising danger.

Kirihito's voice dropped low. "And what do you have, except that golden ribbon you wear? How dare you call me cheap?"

His voice hardened with venom. "And yes... it's harder than cutting wrists... because my wounds heal in seconds. But the heat burning my skin, the fun I feel killing those insects after seeing their desperation... that's what fuels me to kill with more hate."

Kyoren's own ego and heart felt wounded deeply by those words. Kirihito grinned dangerously, cruel and fierce.

Kyoren gasped softly, eyes wide. Kirihito was no longer playing ... this was deadly serious. Yurei tensed, ready to leap if needed.

Suddenly Kirihito spun, slamming into Kyoren's knees from the side. Kyoren lost control, gasping sharply in pain. He tried to strike back, but before his golden fox fire could reach Kirihito, the younger lan attacked again.

Kyoren's eyes widened in shock and pain ... his feet weren't cut, but the bones felt shifted, displaced.

"Kyoren-sama!" Yurei screamed, breaking his silence, stepping forward and releasing gray fox fire toward Kirihito.

Kirihito dodged effortlessly and retaliated, aiming a kick at Kyoren, who could not move fast enough due to injury. Kirihito's bare foot struck Kyoren's neck. Sharp nails cut the skin, causing blood to spill. Kyoren collapsed, barely conscious.

"Stop, you devil! You're going to die by my hand, surely! I said stop!" Yurei yelled, throwing another burst of fox fire.

It missed Kirihito but cut a thin lock of his huntingly black hair threaded with glittering silver strands. The hair fell like silk threads to the floor .. but immediately, the hair grew back, filling the space flawlessly. Yurei gets surprised by the fast recovery, koten also noticed a bit as the lock of hair fell beside him a bit far .

Kirihito pinned Kyoren to the ground, legs spread wide to either side of Kyoren's hips. His own breathing was heavy, heart pounding fast enough for Kyoren to hear clearly.

Kyoren struggled for breath, exhausted from the attack, panic and awkwardness washing over him.

He could see Kirihito's half-exposed chest beneath his white yukata as the lan lowered his body closer. The scent was overwhelming ....soft but wild, like wet earth after rain.

His mind raced with conflicted emotions.

" No, no, no... don't come closer! Don't sit on me like that! I'm going to faint if you do.. His eyes, nose, every sense burned with embarrassment.

But how can the scent of such a violent creature be so soft? N..no no ! Why am I analyzing him ? Shut up kyoren shut your mind up ! "

He tried to quell the flood of thoughts.

Kirihito's sharp nails hovered near Kyoren's pounding pulse point. His face was inches from Kyoren's, tilted with a dangerous grin.

Without looking at Yurei, Kirihito threatened softly, "Stop right there... if you don't want to see your old fluffy king die by my nails... they're sharp enough.... cold as blades, and warm as his blood later."

Yurei froze in place, jaw tight. He watched Kyoren's distress and thought anxiously, Yurei's mind races " What is Kirihito planning? It's too risky... if he hurts Kyoren with his poisonous nails, Kyoren-sama will suffer. He can't heal like other royal or high-ranked yokais "

"You're heart is pounding loudly... is it singing for me, hm? Kyoren~sama~" Kirihito's voice was a teasing purr, intimate and hunting.

Kyoren's heart skipped a beat at the tone and words, wide-eyed and fearful, though he tried not to show it.

Kirihito smiled cruelly, enjoying the effect.

Kyoren tilted his head slightly, wincing at the pain.

Yurei watched with wide eyes, burning with a complex mixture of anger and something harder to name.

"You shouldn't have called me cheap," Kirihito whispered, "I sang for you earlier... you could at least praise me... but you called me—"

His nails pressed a little harder against the pulse point.

Kyoren clenched his eyes tightly.

"Cheap... I wouldn't have pinned you like this if you were gentle like before..." Kirihito murmured, sliding his hand lower toward Kyoren's chest.

"No, no, no! Don't come closer!" Kyoren suddenly jolted awake, breathing hard, flushed red with embarrassment and anger. His eyes were wide, sweat beading at his temples as he gripped the blanket tightly , swallowed hard , he looks around. It's already morning . The lock of hand still tangled around his fingers....

[ end of Chapter 06 ]