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Senri’s tiger form disintegrated, leaving him in his human form on the ground. The Legacy he had battled with fled, and in the distance, Mayoru jumped down from the rooftop of one of the buildings and pursued it. Senri didn’t pay attention to that. His only focus was Kosei, who was out cold with his head in Senri’s lap.
“Kosei! Wake up!” Senri called out, shaking his shoulder, while still cradling his head gently. He gritted his teeth, and felt tears prickling at his eyes. “Damn it…” He didn’t want to cry here, but Kosei was…
A pair of feet stepped into his peripheral vision, and when he looked up, Mayoru was standing in front of him. His irritation at the cat-like Echo was momentarily forgotten in his desperation to help Kosei. “Mayoru! Help us! Kosei’s gonna die!”
“Relax, he’s fine. He probably just passed out from the shock,” Mayoru said. “More importantly, you should thank me for catching the Legacy that you let escape.”
“That is not the most important thing right now!” Senri yelled back.
“You’re such a pain,” Mayoru sighed. “Come on, let’s go. I can look him over when we get back if you’re still worried.”
Senri slid his arms under Kosei’s limp form and pushed himself to his feet, lifting Kosei up as he followed Mayoru. Kosei seemed lighter than Senri expected, despite being taller. Maybe his perception was affected by how vulnerable Kosei seemed in that moment. He knew that Kosei didn’t like it when people pitied him, but he couldn’t help but find him adorable, just a little bit.
The warmth of Kosei’s body brought an answering warmth to Senri’s cheeks. This kind of contact between them didn’t used to be limited to such dire circumstances. It was a bittersweet reminder of how distant they had become recently.
“Hey, wait a minute. Are you gonna make me carry him the whole way back?” Senri said.
“You didn’t expect me to do it, did you?” Mayoru said, turning around with a shrug and a smirk.
Not that Senri would have let anyone else touch Kosei in his vulnerable state, much less this untrustworthy cat. If Mayoru had seen Senri transform into his Echo form, he didn’t say anything about it. Based on Mayoru’s all-knowing aura, Senri suspected that Mayoru already knew that about him since before they met, but he wasn’t going to let his secret slip to find out.
His real concern was whether Kosei had seen his other form, which he most definitely had not. He was already unconscious the moment Senri found him. Making sure that Kosei never found out that he wasn’t human was his number one priority. That was the key to protecting their ordinary life together, to protecting Kosei.
“He is precious to you, isn’t he?” Mayoru said.
A shiver went down Senri’s spine at those words. Nothing good could come of someone like Mayoru knowing about his personal relationships and feelings. He would only use them for his own ends, to manipulate and exploit them both. But he didn’t seem like he would hurt Kosei; he needed him for his mission. They were working towards the same goal, weren’t they? Maybe he would have to trust Mayoru on a work basis. Besides, there wasn’t any point in trying to deny what was obviously true.
“Yeah,” Senri responded. “Yeah, he is.” He looked down at Kosei’s face. His breathing had evened out, which set off a flutter of relief in Senri’s chest, and his expression looked trusting and peaceful. Kosei was the most precious thing he had ever held in his hands. He would do anything to make sure that he didn’t slip through his fingers.