Too Ashamed to Face Him

Before meeting the Moon God, the Night God had never experienced the slightest emotional fluctuation. His world held neither joy nor sorrow, only boundless darkness and eternal silence.

He did not even know what "emotion" was.

But after meeting Moon, everything changed.

Whenever he saw those smiling eyes, something warm would well up in the Night God's chest, nearly overflowing.

Only later did he learn that this emotion was called joy.

When he saw a certain person, his heart would brighten of its own accord, as though a ray of light had finally entered a dark room.

And a few days ago, he had learned another new emotion.

Jealousy.

He was jealous of Shadow, jealous of his own shadow.

Jealous that Shadow could openly snuggle up to Moon, roll over and show his belly, nuzzle his palm, and purr...

Receiving Moon's caresses and affection.

Shadow did so easily all the things he had hidden in his heart, not knowing how to express.

And so, over the past few days.

The Night God had secretly observed Shadow's every move.

How he walked, how he tilted his head, how he rubbed against Moon when he reached out a hand.

Then today.

He had grabbed Shadow and shut him inside a cabinet in the deepest part of the side hall.

And so, today, the Night God had taken Shadow's form and come before Moon.

Shadow: A scumbag who tossed you aside after using you.

When he first appeared, the Night God had actually been nervous. His heart was beating absurdly fast, and he didn't even know where to put his paws.

But he had secretly glanced up to observe him.

His dearest friend looked perfectly at ease, his eyes curved in a smile, no different from usual.

He probably... didn't notice, right?

So the moment Moon held out both hands.

He had hesitated no longer, racing over and plunging headfirst into those warm palms. In any case, he wasn't the Night God now, just a little black cat.

Acting spoiled, being cute, showing my belly—that's all fine, right?

So he had copied Shadow, lying down and exposing his belly.

But this was, after all, the Night God's first time being a cat.

Some of his reactions were far too stiff.

For example, when his ears were touched, he would tense up before relaxing. When he rolled over, he would forget to tuck in his tail. And then there was...

Now that he had been found out, how was he supposed to get out of this?

How much of his image... did he still have left in his dearest friend's eyes?

Turning into a cat, showing his belly, purring, meowing as he was rubbed...

Those scenes replayed frame by frame in the Night God's mind, each one enough to make him want to disappear on the spot from shame.

At that moment, the Night God felt he wasn't even as good as Shadow. At least Shadow did those things openly and without shame.

But he had done them on the sly, thinking his act was flawless.

The Night God was screaming inside.

But he was not someone who would run away.

He never ran away.

After sitting alone in that darkness for so many years, the only thing he had learned was to face things.

A dark halo rose around him, and the black cat's body stretched out inch by inch.

At last, he returned to his original form.

The Night God kept his head lowered.

His hood covered his head, its wide brim casting a deep shadow that hid his brows and eyes, leaving only half of his taut jawline visible.

The earlobes outside the hood had turned a burning crimson.

What happened? Nothing happened.

The Night God wanted to say that.

But the truth was right there before them: the little black cat who had just been showing his belly and yowling was him.

There was no use saying anything now.

He was too ashamed to face his dearest friend.

The Night God kept his head down, both hands gripping the brim of his hood. He didn't dare look up, didn't dare see the expression on Moon's face, didn't dare find out whether there was disappointment in those eyes.

Would Moon think I was deceiving him?

Would he think I wasn't open and honest enough?

Would he... never see me again?

Would he hate me?

Just thinking of that possibility made the Night God's heart throb with pain. That pain was harder to bear than sitting alone in the darkness for tens of thousands of years.

"Moon. I didn't mean to deceive you. You can do whatever you want, as long as you're not angry with me."

[Aaaaah—Host! Hurry up and bully him! Bully him!]