Two Beasts Compete for Affection

After helping Raikou clean the snow from his fur, Dongshu suddenly remembered something.

Suicune seemed to have come by earlier too, but then he seemed to have left again.

Dongshu looked out of the Cave, and sure enough, Suicune was nowhere to be seen outside.

Come to think of it, ever since meeting Suicune last time, he had barely seen him again.

Fire Emperor had said that Suicune would remain on Heavenly Green Mountain until Lord Ho-Oh returned.

But it was already winter. Snow had begun to fall from the sky, yet there was still no sign of Lord Ho-Oh.

"What's wrong, Little One?" Fire Emperor stepped forward and asked.

"Suicune seemed to come by earlier too," Dongshu said.

Fire Emperor raised his head and looked in a certain direction. He could indeed sense the aura Suicune had left behind.

Dongshu gazed at the heavy snow outside.

At this time of year, snow was falling everywhere. They were hiding in this warm, comfortable Secret Base while Suicune froze outside alone... That did not seem very nice.

"How about we call Suicune over to spend the winter with us?" Dongshu looked up at Fire Emperor.

"Don't worry. Suicune isn't an idiot. In weather like this, he'll find somewhere to shelter from the snow himself," Raikou said as he came forward from behind.

Fire Emperor shot him a glare, his voice imposing. "Little One is worried about Suicune."

"I don't care." Raikou lay sprawled across the Carpet Dongshu had bought, narrowing his tiger eyes at the snow outside.

"Fine. You stay here and look after Little One. I'll go call Suicune over."

After giving that instruction, Fire Emperor left Dongshu in Raikou's care and ran into the swirling snow. His figure was quickly swallowed by the wind and snow.

Raikou snorted through his nostrils. Once Fire Emperor left, the Secret Base immediately lost its source of heat. Cold winds carrying snowflakes occasionally blew into the Cave as well, and the temperature around them rapidly dropped.

"So cold!" Dongshu could not help but shiver.

"Come here." Though Raikou's tone sounded somewhat cold, his actions were the complete opposite.

Dongshu immediately ran into Raikou's embrace and nestled beneath the fur on his belly as he browsed the System Store.

In weather this cold, he had to buy a door to block the Cave entrance and keep the cold wind from blowing in.

As he looked, Dongshu asked, "Did Raikou encounter anything fun during this trip?"

"No." Raikou shook his head. Most of his time was usually spent in the wild, helping Pokémon that needed help.

Those experiences... could not really be called interesting.

"Then did you get hurt?" Dongshu asked again.

Raikou suddenly remembered the first time he had met Dongshu, when this little fellow had discovered his injury and taken the initiative to treat him.

...At that moment, Raikou suddenly understood. He finally knew why Dongshu had asked Fire Emperor to bring Suicune over.

It was because their Little One had been born with a kind heart.

Raikou looked at the adorable child beneath him. In an instant, the instincts unique to feline Pokémon surged forth, making him unable to resist pulling Dongshu into his arms with a paw and beginning another round of Big Cat Lick.

Dongshu: "?"

Amid the wind and snow, Suicune, who was searching for a Cave to shelter from the snow, suddenly sensed Fire Emperor's aura rapidly approaching.

He stopped and looked back.

"Come on, Suicune. Come to our place. Little One hopes you can be with us too," Fire Emperor said.

Suicune froze slightly, looking at Fire Emperor through the curtain of snow.

"Why?" Suicune asked.

"Because Little One is worried that you have nowhere to go and might fall ill from this snowstorm," Fire Emperor replied in a deep voice.

Suicune: "..."

As Legendary Pokémon, their constitutions had long since undergone transformation. Or rather, from the moment Lord Ho-Oh had revived them, they had ceased to be ordinary Pokémon.

Their very existence had reached an entirely new level.

Getting sick was practically impossible for them.

But what surprised Suicune was that the human child, whom he had only met once, would actually worry about him...

Fire Emperor turned around. "I don't want Little One to be disappointed. Come with us, Suicune."

Suicune fell silent for a moment, then said gently, "I understand."

The two Pokémon passed through the blizzard one after the other and returned to Dongshu's Secret Base.

When Fire Emperor arrived, he saw Raikou overstepping his bounds and licking Little One's cheeks.

Fire Emperor immediately frowned.

He promptly stepped forward, picked up the slightly chilled Little One from Raikou's arms, and carried him aside to warm him with his own body heat.

Seeing this, Raikou's voice boomed like thunder, tinged with anger. "Fire Emperor, what are you doing?! I haven't finished grooming him yet!"

"Little One is my child. I am the only father in his heart!" Fire Emperor felt somewhat disdainful toward Raikou. It then began licking Little One all over again, using this method to lick away Raikou's lingering scent.

"He's my child too!" Raikou refused to back down.

"I was the one who brought Little One back!" Fire Emperor frowned.

"You said it yourself back then—Little One isn't only your child. He's also Raikou's child!" Raikou's tone carried barely concealed anger.

In response, Fire Emperor merely stared at him with a dignified expression.

"You also said it yourself back then: humans are all deceitful and untrustworthy. You even said that even if I brought Little One back, you wouldn't take care of him!"

Raikou immediately grew angry out of embarrassment. "That was all in the past!"

Dongshu: "..."

Suicune: "..."

These two big cats seemed to be fighting over custody of him? Dongshu was completely dumbfounded.

Even Suicune's calm, waterlike face revealed an utterly shocked expression upon seeing this scene.

Were these two really the Fire Emperor and Raikou it knew...?

In a daze, its gaze met that of the human child at the center of the storm.

"Don't fight!"

At Dongshu's shout, the two big cats beside him immediately turned their eyes toward him.

Fire Emperor did not want to put Little One in a difficult position. It stopped arguing with Raikou and instead released waves of heat. Before long, the cave had become warm.

Raikou merely snorted coldly, then lay down on the Carpet.

Suicune watched this unfold, unsure of what to do for a moment. Advancing was not an option, nor was retreating.

Suddenly, a thunderous boom sounded from behind it.

Suicune whipped around and saw that a large door had appeared at the cave entrance at some unknown time, blocking out the swirling snow beyond.

[Suicune was utterly shocked by the door that had appeared out of thin air. Shock Points from Suicune +50!]

Raikou and Fire Emperor, however, were already used to this sight. The instant that door appeared, they knew Little One had used his power again.

Seeing Raikou and Fire Emperor act as though this were perfectly normal, Suicune could not help but freeze.

"What is this?" it tried to ask.

"I made it!" Dongshu grinned.

"There is no need to be surprised. You will get used to it in time," Fire Emperor said slowly.