Cutie & the Beast - Part 6
"Satoshi…"
The King called Ohno softly as he entered the throne room. Ohno kept his head down. He didn't want to see the look of triumph on his father's face after winning the deal they made a few days ago.
"Leave me alone with my son," The king ordered. The guards and the advisor quickly left, leaving Ohno alone with his father.
Or, so he thought.
"So, am I going to marry this handsome fellow?" A female voice said.
Feeling surprised, Ohno quickly lifted his face. There, at the door of the throne room, stood a beautiful woman. She eyed Ohno curiously, making Ohno feel uncomfortable. An old man standing beside her.
Ohno recognized them as a pair of father and daughter who had helped their kingdom to stop depending on the human children’s scream to generate energy. As to where they were from, Ohno didn't know. In fact, Ohno didn't even know their names. Ever since the King had stopped him from seeing Little Kazunari, he stopped caring about the kingdom.
But, he knew what she meant. A few days ago, Ohno had made a deal with his father. As he lost the deal, he had to marry the woman. It was a token of appreciation for what the woman and her father did to his kingdom.
“Prince Satoshi,” The old man said, bowing politely at Ohno. Then, he raised his head. His eyes met Ohno’s. And for a second, Ohno felt nauseated. “It’s an honour to finally meet you,”
Ohno bowed at the old man and the woman, wanting to look away from the old man. The nauseated feeling left almost immediately once they broke the eye contact.
“Let’s go, Yuri,” The old man said. “Let the King talk with his son,”
The woman nodded her head and then followed the old man. Ohno stared at their retreating figures. He wondered if the old man was indeed responsible for the nauseated feeling he had earlier. And, he started to wonder who the man was.
"Do you trust them, Papa?" Satoshi asked.
The King looked at him with a sad smile. Then, he said something that only served to confuse Ohno.
"It doesn't matter if I trust them, Satoshi. It's too late,"
"Ohno-kun," Ohno was surprised when Jun suddenly sat next to him in the garden. Ever since Jun and Aiba returned to Kaibutsu Land, he hadn’t talked to them yet. The two of them reminded him so much of Little Kazunari and that’s why he wasn’t ready to see them yet.
“Matsujun,” He responded. “What brings you here?”
“I just want to see you,” Answered Jun. “Are you okay, Ohno-kun?”
Ohno nodded his head even though it wasn’t true. He wasn’t okay at all.
The two of them stay silent. It was an awkward situation for Ohno. He could feel Jun wanted to tell him something, judging from how restless Jun seemed to be. And, he wanted to avoid that because he knew what Jun wanted to tell him. No doubt, it must be about Little Kazunari.
“I…”
“I have to tell you something,” Jun said, cutting off Ohno. “It’s about Ni…”
“If it’s about Little Kazunari…” Ohno shrugged him off. “It’s okay. I don’t want to know about him. He forgets me. So, I will also do…”
“But…”
“Stop it, Matsujun!” Ohno snapped. Jun flinched because of his outburst. Ohno always stayed calm in every situation but now… he couldn’t do so. Whenever he looked at Jun or Aiba, his mind would automatically think about Little Kazunari. He would never forget how Little Kazunari tore his portrait as if it was something worthless. “Please understand. I don’t want to know anything,”
Ohno stood up and then left Jun in the garden alone, completely oblivious that someone was watching them.
Nino stared at the person in front of him in disbelief. He rubbed his eyes a few times to make sure it was really Ohno, his Kaibutsu Kun. And, it was still Ohno who was standing before him, looking utterly disappointed. But, how? How did the person that he kissed changed from Jun to Ohno? Did they switch their bodies? That would explain why Jun was acting weirdly just now. But, why did he switch back to Ohno?
“I’m sorry, Li… Nino… I shouldn’t kiss you… but…” Ohno said. Nino ignored him as he reached forward and touched every inch of Ohno’s face, trying to make sure it wasn’t a trick.
“Kaibutsu Kun?” He asked for confirmation.
“Huh?” His Kaibutsu Kun frowned before his eyes grew wide, giving his attention to something behind Nino. So, Nino turned around only to be surprised to see Sho who was watching them intently.
“How long have you been there?” Nino asked, remembering that he heard someone gasp when he kissed Ohno earlier. It must be Sho.
But, Sho didn’t answer him. Instead, he dashed forward and hugged Ohno. The beast didn’t hug him back at first. He looked at Nino confusedly, eyes pleading for an answer. However, when Sho started sobbing, something that Nino didn’t expect he would do, Ohno awkwardly returned the hug and patted Sho’s shoulder.
“Sho chan, are you okay?” Ohno asked with concern. “Why are you crying?”
“Because you’re an idiot!” Sho answered. He pushed Ohno away and then smacked his head. “Why didn’t you tell me about it?”
“About what?” Ohno asked back.
“About the switch!” Sho answered.
Ohno still looked at him with confusion. Seemed like he didn’t realize that both Nino and Sho had known he wasn’t actually Jun. Without thinking, Nino pulled out his phone and opened his camera app.
“Here!” He handed the phone to Ohno. “Look at it yourself!”
Ohno took the phone, frowning. At first, he looked at the phone weirdly before he brought it closer. Then, he started to touch his face in the same way Nino touched him earlier.
“I’m back?” Ohno asked no one in particular. "But… how?"
Of course, none of them had the answer.
“Let’s go back to Aiba chan and Jun,” Sho suggested. “I think Jun has the answer but…”
Sho trailed off but Nino knew what it meant. While pretending to be Ohno, Jun was under the influence of Yuri. There’s no guarantee he’s back to his old self now even though he got his old body back.
"It's okay. I could try to do something about it," Ohno assured them. "It's my fault he is like this. That's why I couldn't escape the prison with you, Sho chan. I need to save him first,"
Sho nodded his head understandingly. As the three of them were about to go up, they were surprised to hear a ringing bell. Nino glanced at the clock. It was late. Who would come to visit him at this time?
"Go up first," Nino ordered the two of them before he dashed to the door. He looked through the peephole first as a precaution. And what he saw made him worried. Yuri, who was in her human form, was standing in front of his house. Mao was with her and she seemed terrified.
Worrying about Mao's safety, he quickly opened the door. Nino didn’t want this stupid monster to hurt his friend.
“What are…” Nino couldn’t finish what he was going to say as Yuri smirked and with a snap of her finger, Mao disappeared.
“What did you do to her?” Nino asked. Oh my, it’s his fault. He shouldn’t get involved with these creatures from another world. If anything happened to Mao…
“Don’t worry, Little Kazunari,” Yuri said, looking bored. “She is safe. But, for how long… hmm… It will depend on you,”
“If you do…”
“There’s no need to threaten me, Little Kazunari,”
“Stop calling me that,”
“Why?” Yuri sneered at him. “Only my betrothed can call you like that? Sometimes, I wonder why a cutie like you fall in love with a beast like my betrothed...”
“Why are you here, Yuri?” Nino cut her off. Should he call the others and let them deal with her? “What do you want? Please let Mao-chan go! She has nothing to do with this,”
Yuri only smirked at him. By having Mao with her in a location unknown to Nino, she indeed had an upper hand in this situation. And her reason to be here was clear. Exchanging Mao-chan and Kaibutsu Kun… that must be what she wanted, right?
“Have you ever wondered how I can control my betrothed?” Yuri suddenly asked. “If you want, I could do the same to you…hmmm… but… I decided to make you choose,”
“I’m not going to give Kaibutsu Kun to you,” Nino said firmly.
This time, she laughed. And it was annoying to hear her laugh.
“Little Kazunari, you don’t understand anything, right?” Yuri taunted. “Having my betrothed with me is indeed beneficial because he is powerful but…”
She paused for a dramatic effect. And Nino gave her a look full of questions. If she’s not here for Kaibutsu Kun, then who was she after?
She came closer to Nino and then leaned closer to whisper in his ear. “Come with me, Little Kazunari. And I will let Mao-chan go. The same goes for your Kaibutsu Kun and friends. I won’t go after them anymore. If you want them to be safe, come with me, Little Kazunari,”
Then, Yuri kissed his cheeks. And Nino’s mind went blank. His thoughts were clouded with the desire to please Yuri. He had to do whatever Yuri wanted him to do.
And, so, when Yuri reached for his hands, Nino didn't hesitate to take hers.
A/N: I really hope this was okay. Still no explanation about the switch between Ohno and Jun, ne? But, it was hinted somewhere in this part actually.
Next update will most likely be Cupid. But, as I have started writing something that I haven't updated for a while, maybe I would finish that one first. Anyone wants to guess what it is?
Let me know what u think of this, please. It would be very much appreciated :)