11

Kai finally reached the dorm and Matt was hiding as a rabbit in one of Kai’s pockets. Ringo’s side of the room was a mess, but Kai knew how to sort through it.

Matt was impressed. “You know him so well, it’s like you’re his wife.”

“I suppose I can be glad that I am not just a girlfriend” Kai closed Ringo’s backpack, now overstuffed with his personal belongings. “Oh! That’s right, I forgot something.”

Kai opened his nightstand drawer, which was full of Erotic Evening Coupons from the North Forest Brothel. Matt stared in amazement and hopped out of Kai’s pocket. 

“Are those real?!” Matt held one up to the light to check for their watermark. “These are worth a fortune! And they were just in your nightstand?”

Kai finished counting. All 500, still there, now safely stored in Kai’s pockets. He explained to Matt how he happened to amass such a collection.

“You can have a lot of fun with those when you stop being a knight..”

“No, I’m not.” Kai hefted Ringo’s backpack onto himself, ready to walk back to the castle. Matt followed behind as a rabbit, before jumping on the top of the backpack.

“You know, I can still transform and make the walk easier.” It was the third time Matt offered. And a shorter walk would mean less talking— it would be harder for a running horse to talk.

In the walk to the dorm, Kai had managed to avoid sharing any personal information while Matt opened up about how and why he learned shapeshifting, as well as the different nuances of the art form. It was interesting enough, but Kai felt worn out from so much conversation.

Kai tried to weigh the benefits in his mind. He wouldn’t know what to do with the unexpected free time, but talking with Matt for another hour might be just as uncomfortable.

“If you get me there faster, will I owe you anything?”

“Nope.”

“Do you promise that you will not use this as leverage against me in the future?”

“Yes.”

“Alright.”

Matt jumped from the backpack and shapeshifted into a horse. “Or, would you prefer a dragon?”

“Horses are less of a target.”

“Or is it that a horse is more your type~” Matt nuzzled his horse-face into Kai’s neck and torso.
“Please, save your affection for when you are a human.”

“So, that’s how you want my affection?”

“That is not what I said…” Kai climbed onto Matt’s back, and Matt began to gallop.

The trip back was much smoother. Before they got too close to the castle gates, Matt shapeshifted back into a rabbit, and the two made their way to Ushida’s room. When they entered, Ringo and Ushida were sitting side-by-side, fully clothed. They said their usual greetings, Ringo was happy that Kai came back early (“Well, I’m not,” Kai replied). Ushida asked how the trip went.

Matt only told the truth. “Oh, he was riding me so hard! I didn’t think he’d be so quick to go bareback, but he had no hesitation! Soooo much hair pulling!”

Kai was getting used to Matt’s teasing. He simply nodded along.

“So anyway, Ushida” (Matt was now finished in his latest attempt to embarrass Kai) “Did you and Ringo, y’know, get to know each other while you were alone?”

“I’ll answer that,” Ringo stepped in. “I acted in accordance with the code of the bodyguard. I was a perfectly proper extension of Princess Ushida, so I only did what she could do to herself.”
Matt interrupted. “You grabbed her boob, didn’t you?”
“And a little more. But it’s all sanctioned as an extension of the princess.”
“Nice.”

Ringo and Matt went back and forth, describing the exquisite feeling of Ushida’s breasts. Kai had an idea of where the conversation was going, and he had no interest in hearing it. He distracted himself by finding a broom, and made an effort to sweep the tiled section of Ushida’s room. It was low-Impact busywork.

“You know, she wanted to go all the way,” said Ringo.

“Yes, I did.”

“She did. She confirms it.” Ringo nodded, and Ushida returned the gesture. “But I said I couldn’t, since that’d be in violation of the knighthood’s code of chastity.”

Kai stopped sweeping. “Did you really?” He never thought that Ringo would pass up such an opportunity. “Ringo, I am really happy to hear that. You made the right choice.”

Ringo took a moment, feeling a bit proud from Kai’s praise. Ushida smiled at them both.

But Ringo couldn’t let the conversation linger on these imposed vows of chastity for too long. “Besides, no offense Ushida, but a man of my caliber could score a hotter girl than you. I can’t waste my first time on some easy lay.”

Kai stepped in. “Ringo, you shouldn’t say that about Ushida.”

Ushida replied for Ringo. “Kai, but it is true. I am really easy.”

Kai blushed. “Well, he should not be comparing your appearance to other women. That is rude.”
“So, does that mean-” Ushida paused, trying to articulate, “-does that mean you think I’m attractive?”

“I am saying it is rude to compare appearances.”

Matt intervened. “So you’re saying Ushida’s not attractive?”

“I’m not!”

Ringo cut in. “Awful, Kai, you would just tell a girl she’s ugly like that.”

Kai clarified. “I am not saying that!”

“I’m so hurt. My own bodyguard thinks I’m ugly. The body he is sworn to protect!”

“When did I say that!”

“At this rate, even an uggo like Ushida isn’t gonna give you a chance,” Ringo was ready to escalate things.

Ushida, now fully playing along, added to Ringo’s commentary. “To think, I was going to dump my fiance so I could marry my bodyguard… we’ll have to call that off now. It’s not too late to get our deposit back on the wedding cake.”

“Kai still has me, Matt the Half-Dragon. I can forgive him, and the two of us can build a future together, riding me across the land.”

“I guess that’s how it has to be,” sighed Ushida, feigning exasperation. “I hope Matt and Kai have a prosperous life together.”

“I don’t know if they’ll invite you to the wedding,” Ringo slid in. “I heard dragons don’t let ugly people in. Which is perfect for Kai, since he doesn’t want to associate with ugly people.”

“If only I wasn’t so ugly… Of course, I’d feel better if I had a knight to tell me I’m beautiful.”
Matt nodded. “That’s right. It means a lot when a Knight says a woman is beautiful, since even a compliment to the opposite sex could technically break their vows of chastity.”

“Ushida…” Ringo placed his hands on her shoulders. “No man should let a woman feel like this. Even the ugly ones.” He stared endearingly into the princess’ eyes. “Ushida, you’re beautiful on the inside.”
“Oh, Ringo~!” Ushida went in for a hug.
“And on the outside, you’re about a five on a good day.”
Matt slapped Ringo upside the head. “Dial it back, asshole. She’s not a five.”
“Alright, alright.” Ringo rolled his eyes. “If we’re being serious, she’s an absolute 10. She’s why I joined the knighthood to begin with. Only the hottest girl could make me want to sign up for something that makes you wake up before noon. And I feel pretty lucky that I get to be so close to her.”

“Ringo, that’s… surprisingly sweet? But don’t talk about me like I’m not in the room.”

“Well, if I’m saying it to Matt, and not you, I’m not complimenting you, right?”

“You knights must have thought of every loophole to your chastity vows…” Matt was impressed. “How about you, Kai, what loopholes do you-”

The group realized Kai was gone.

“Oh, that’s right.” Ringo checked Kai’s schedule. “It’s the end of his scheduled shift, so he’s doing his afternoon workouts. He must’ve slipped out while we were arguing.”

“I think I can find him.” Ushida had a feeling that Kai was at the on-site workout room for the staff. She went alone, since Ringo wanted to stay behind, to tell Matt more about how close he got with Ushida.

The princess skipped, swinging her arms, happy that she’d be able to surprise Kai. And as expected, there he was, in the staff’s workout room, cleaning one of the weights.

“There you are~” Ushida bounced up to give Kai a tap on the shoulder.

Kai dropped his cleaning supplies immediately and stood at attention. “Princess Ushida, I’m here to serve you. Please, tell me what you need.”

“I just wanted to say hi.”
“Noted. Although it’s past my shift, my purpose is to serve you. Please, let me know what I can do.”
“I… really just wanted to say hi.” She felt a bit awkward. “I mean, it’s the end of your shift, but you’ve been away all day… So I wanted to see how you’re doing, without those other two.”

“I’m quite alright, thank you very much for asking, Princess.”

There was a pause.

“Well, what did you and Matt talk about today?”
“He told me about shapeshifting.” Kai’s eyes darted back to the weight he was cleaning, but he blinked, and kept his attention focused on Ushida.

Ushida, however, noticed this. “Hey, if you’re busy, don’t let me interrupt.”

“I’m not busy. My purpose is to serve you.”

Ushida wasn’t convinced. “Kai, did you want to keep working out?”

“I am an extension of the Crown. I want to do whatever it is that will benefit you, Princess.”

“Okay, pretend I’m not here, would you want to keep working out?”

“…Yes, unless there is another way I might serve you.”

Ushida thanked Kai for his time, and politely left the space.

When she re-entered her bedroom, she was thrilled to share. “I asked if he wanted to keep working out, and instead of completely sidestepping the question, he said ‘yes’. I think he’s opening up!” Matt and Ringo agreed.

“It took months for him to get that comfortable with me,” said Ringo. “He really does like you.”
“Well, it took some time for me to pry it out of him,” clarified Ushida. “But he did, eventually, say what he wanted.”

Matt had a different angle. “We joked about it, but maybe there really is a chance that he’ll marry you someday.”

“If he can just say how he’s feeling, I’ll feel accomplished enough.”