53 Tomorrow Wasn't Promised

[TAMIKO]

"You're leaving soon, aren't you?"

"We can talk about that tomorrow—"

"Where are you going? How long will you be? Will I ever see you again?... Do you not like me anymore? Is it because of me? Did… Did you get tired of me?"

"Where did you get all these ideas from? You have really been thinking huh?"

"—I am not strong enough to defend myself… But don't worry, I can train. I can learn to be strong, Kosta. I can fight… I will be better, I promise. Please, don't leave?"

"I'm so sorry, baby. I wish I could stay. But I have to leave at dawn."

The silence that followed Igor's words was one that the barbarian hadn't anticipated. It was deafening on all fronts, and for a moment, he thought that Tamiko had instantly fallen asleep.

He could hear the young Lycan's slowed breathing, and Igor knew that he was thinking again.

Then again, why wouldn't he, when the man had come and showed up in his life, given him courage, showed everyone that finally Tamiko had a place he belonged to and was suddenly leaving?

It was almost like a cursed cycle, and Tamiko wondered what was so wrong with him that he wasn't even able to keep a boyfriend for fucks sake.

He didn't know what life was with other people, and he was certain that he wasn't going to be living right if he ever lost Galya and Danny.

But here in this bed, as Tamiko tried to imagine what could have been so bad that Igor had to leave by dawn, he couldn't help but hate himself.

He was a lycan and was supposed to be strong and yet he had proven to be a weakling. He was without a doubt useless to the warriors and even if he went back home, Tamiko was sure that he would just be a stable boy in Kawai.

While that didn't bother him as much, the fact that Igor was leaving was eating him up. He couldn't think of what he had done that could have warranted whatever Igor was planning on doing.

It was a sad reality, one that he didn't like but also one that he had no choice but to accept.

Tamiko felt his heart break and he hated the feeling. It was like he couldn't breathe and his body was constricting. He couldn't do anything and sleep was also a subject of another time.

It all just didn't make any sense to him, but then the man beside him was a barbarian.

It wasn't like he was supposed to be the angel in disguise, no?

But why did he show up to Tamiko then? Why did he try to claim the young lycan in front of everyone and more than anything, why make Tamiko so comfortable with his presence, only for him to leave?

"Okay. Just let me know when you are leaving. Goodnight," Tamio replied after a long silence.

He knew that there wasn't much he could do if Igor had made up his mind; the only thing he could do at the moment was hope to the goddess that things would be alright. But would it ever be really?

"My soul—" Igor began, but Tamiko stopped him.

"Tomorrow is a long day. Let's sleep alright. I need to help Galya with some things at the soiree and I need to get some rest. You should rest up too," Tamiko said as she turned to face the other side of the wall.

Their bed was at the center of the room so it wasn't hard for him to turn.

Tamiko knew that this wasn't going to be okay, he knew that his life would be a circus tomorrow, especially since he had fought and even somehow managed to stab the reigning alpha of Grealor.

Now that Igor was leaving, Tamiko needed to prepare psychologically for the consequences of what he had done that day.

Sure, he had defended himself but even he couldn't explain how the hell a sword that had been aimed at him, had managed to stab the alpha who had been wielding it.

Oh, but tomorrow was going to be a terrible day for him.

Igor let out a low sigh as he listened to his erasthai. He knew it was going to be hard to convince Tamiko that Igor wasn't out to harm him, but even that wasn't a certainty at this point.

They had been living lives just because they could, and there was more to it than what they had at the moment.

At least Igor knew that much.

****

Tamiko was the first to wake up in the house the next morning. He had woken up earlier than dawn and had gone for a run. He was no longer scared that he would be an easy target for the greater wolves.

His boyfriend was leaving anyway, so he didn't have anything to look forward to. The young lycan ran through the woods, and towards the border between the freelands and Kawai.

He was aware that what he was doing was risky, but he heard that maybe, just maybe, he would feel safer in this direction. One thing he was already sure of was that his life in hell, was about to resume.

"Hinata?" a familiar voice interrupted Tamiko's thoughts as the young lycan sat at the Grealor border with the freelands. Today he wasn't in the mood to get in trouble, so he did even cross to the free lands.

'Just an illusion, Tamiko. Pay no attention to it,' Tamiko said to himself as he heard Lord Sadako's voice.

He had woken up earlier so he wouldn't run into people, and there was just no way that the first person that he ran into or even that ran onto him was the lycan Lord when the dark king was alive and back.

It was just impossible, especially given that Tamiko was still in the Graleor pack.

"I'm not an illusion, Hinata. I might be tempted to think that you are ignoring me. I thought we were past the introductions," Lord Sadako said with a low laugh and this time, Tamiko turned so fast to look at the man he had felt so safe with.

It was difficult for him to explain how he felt when he was around Lord Sadako, especially since the young lycan himself never knew that the lycan Lord would be so kind.

The books talked about a totally different side of Lord Sadako, but Tamiko didn't care right now.

"You… You're real?" the young lycan whispered defeatedly as he looked at the lycan Lord.

"Of course, I am. I had a feeling that you would be coming from Grealor. Why are you out here?" Sadako asked as he walked closer to Tamiko, who still wasn't sure if this was a figment of his brain or not.

"If you're real,... do you mind giving me a hug? It's just that I… I'm sorry if it's too much for me to ask—" Tamiko rambled on and before he could continue, the lycan Lord rushed to the kid and gave him a hug.

"Always, little one. If you need a friend, you can always come to me, young Hinata, any time of the day, I will always be available for you, always," Lord Sadako said as he held the kid in his arms so tightly like a son he had missed for so many years.