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RYUHO had returned to the North Star Sanctuary. He was curled up in his Flame Tiger bed with the covers draped over him. Naturally, he’d returned to his feline form. He hadn’t eaten dinner, breakfast, or any snacks in between.
The day after Ryuho’s absconding, Angelina brought a worried Shua to her room. As Ryuho’s older sister, who also attended the Advancing Wisdom Academy, Shua had heard about the sparring match with Yuen.
“What’s wrong, Ryuho?” Shua sat down on the corner of his bed.
As Ryuho sobbed beneath the blanket, Angelina sat next to Shua and patted him from atop the fabric.
“I’m not going to the academy anymore…” Ryuho mumbled.
“I see,” Shua replied. “And why’s that?”
“I’m no good at studying, and school is boring. I don’t wanna go there anymore.”
“But didn’t you say that everything outside of studying was interesting? And everyone says that playing with you is fun. There are even children who want you to teach them martial arts. There’s no need to push yourself too hard when it comes to studying.”
“Yeah, but I lost to Yuen just yesterday!” Ryuho shouted while still sobbing beneath the blanket. He slapped his tail against the bed to express his deep frustration. “I might’ve been able to beat him with just a little more effort!”
“Everyone loses sometimes,” Shua replied with an exasperated sigh. “That’s part of life, isn’t it?”
Ryuho leapt out of bed. “Yeah, maybe you’re right! I wouldn’t care about losing if I could fight my hardest! But yesterday was different! I lost ’cause I thought my tail might pop out! I could’ve kept fighting if I hadn’t thought about it!”
At this, his ears pinned back, and he bore his fangs. Likewise, his back arched, and his orange fur bristled.
“Why do I have to keep it a secret that I’m a Flame Tiger?!” he continued shouting. “Both forms are part of who I am! I can never go all out ’cause I’m worried about people seeing my tail! It’s boring! It’s painful! Why am I the only one who has to hide himself?! Not even Hisame is hiding his horn! I want to show off my ears and tail!” Here, Ryuho’s shouting turned back into sobbing. “I’ve had enough of this! I hate lying! I don’t want to go to the academy if I can’t tell the truth!”
When Shua saw her little brother crying his eyes out in his feline form, she embraced him tightly. “But Ryuho, it’s a secret that children born to the Nanranese royal family can transform into Flame Tigers.”
“Why? Does it have to be a secret?”
“Well…” Shua trailed off.
The Nanranese royal family having Flame Tiger blood was a famous legend. Currently, however, Ryuho was the only member of royalty who could maintain a feline form. Some of their family would turn into a Flame Tiger during the unstable early childhood period, but that was always temporary. Normally, everyone lived the majority of their lives as humans.
Furthermore, there were instances when witnesses screamed in fright when they saw someone transform into a Flame Tiger. As such, the royal family had begun keeping the ability a secret. While it wasn’t a definitive rule, it was a way for the royal family to protect themselves—a means of surviving in a harsh world.
Certainly, legends of the royal family possessing holy beast blood had helped deify them. Yet, at the same time, some people disparaged them as inhuman. Some people even regarded them as frightening or strange.
“…Well, it doesn’t need to be a secret, but you might get hurt,” Shua answered evasively.
“Why would I get hurt?” Ryuho asked.
He was proud of being a Flame Tiger, after all. He expected everyone to praise his feline form.
Shua didn’t want Ryuho to experience others avoiding or fearing him for being inhuman. Most people who saw a tiger transform into a person—or the other way around—would react with frightened alarm. Shua had experienced that herself. After seeing someone’s face stiffen with fright, she’d been deeply hurt. No one should see this form, she’d concluded. I don’t even want to be seen like this.
Now, she didn’t want her innocent little brother to suffer the same experience.
“Some people might be scared when they see you as a tiger,” Shua explained.
Sniffing, Ryuho cocked his head and let out a silent whine. “They’ll be scared of me?” he asked.
Angelina cocked her head as well. “I’m not so sure about that,” she mumbled. “I mean, everyone in the Canopy gets along with Ryuho in his feline form, right?”
“That’s true,” Shua replied. “But when they find out the tiger and human Ryuho are the same person, they’ll be surprised, won’t they?”
“I was surprised at first, too,” Angelina said. “But that was just because I didn’t know any better, not because I was scared. I was frightened of Andan people, too, but once I got to know Hisame, my fear went away. After all, I learned that we could understand each other even if we looked different. People are probably afraid just because they don’t understand the situation, don’tcha think? Once everyone learns that Ryuho is still himself, everything’ll probably work out fine, y’know?”
Shua gasped softly. “People are afraid because they don’t understand…?”
Angelina nodded. “Yep, yep!”
“I think you might be onto something there. Still, I have other worries. What if Ryuho’s words are interpreted as the oracles of a holy beast?”
Even in Nanran, no Flame Tiger had ever spoken to humans while assuming their feline form, as Ryuho could. The words of a holy beast carried far more weight than the words of a human. Shua didn’t think Ryuho could adopt appropriate speech and conduct for that responsibility. His mental state was still too young to act like a proper holy beast.
“I don’t think you need to worry about that,” Angelina said with a laugh. “Ryuho’s just Ryuho! If you only knew a Flame Tiger as a holy beast, hearing one speak might sound like a god talking to you. But since everyone at the academy knows Ryuho, they’ll be able to tell that he’s just their same old classmate!”
Angelina mussed the fur around Ryuho’s throat. Immediately, he stopped sniffling and purred in delight.
“You think so?” Shua asked while stroking her brother’s cheek. “If you’re right, I’ll be very happy.”
Ryuho responded by digging his forehead into her palm.
“I’ll explain the situation to everyone!” Angelina cried. “And I’ll wear tiger ears so that we match when we go to school!”
Ryuho’s eyes lit up at that suggestion.
Shua nodded. If Princess Angelina is by his side, I doubt Ryuho will get hurt too badly, she thought. And even if he does get hurt, he’ll be able to overcome it.
“Ryuho,” Shua said. “I won’t get on your case for showing off your ears and tail, but you still need to go to school as a human, okay? You won’t be able to study with tiger paws.”
Ryuho’s tail stood straight up. “No problem, Sis!”
“Isn’t this great, Ryuho?” Angelina asked.
“It sure is!” After rubbing his cheek against Angelina’s, Ryuho pressed his nose to hers in a bunny kiss. “Love you, Lina!”
Angelina responded by nuzzling her nose against Ryuho’s. “Love you, too!”
This sight warmed Shua’s heart.
“See?” Ryuho asked, puffing out his chest and smirking. “I’m not weak enough that you have to worry about me, Sis. I’m not that pathetic!”
“Don’t get cheeky with me,” Shua replied, rubbing her brother’s forehead. “Weren’t you just crying your eyes out?”
She flicked him between the eyes.
“Ouch!” Ryuho exclaimed, simultaneously laughing and pressing down on his forehead.