Don't Step on the Demon King's Tail

Hey, everyone! Here’s a new story coming soon: The School Bully Keeps Sneaking Sniffs of My Pheromones. If you’re interested, check it out on my profile. Here’s the blurb for this story: [Beautiful, haughty demon king gong who bristles when his tail is stepped on and loves glittering jewels x gentle, scheming archangel shou, passionate in bed and sweet outside it, who loves stroking the demon king’s tail] This takes place in a fictional world, everyone! In his tenth year undercover in the human world, the demon king Ares had not only failed to destroy the world, he had also managed to build himself a happy family. He had a handsome, gentle, kind, and passionate human partner, a cat who was a little elusive but still adorable and clingy, a respectable job by human standards, and friendly, harmonious neighbors. Everything was simple and wonderful. That is, until Ares lost the stealth potion sent from the demon realm and his magic went haywire. For a demon king, magical instability was a minor problem. All he had to do was find time to return to the demon realm and breathe some fresh air. He’d be back to normal, bright-eyed and full of energy, in no time. But for “ordinary human Ares,” magical instability meant the sky was falling. Until a new batch of stealth potions could be made and delivered, he could no longer easily hide his tail, horns, demonic markings, or pointed ears. His partner might faint at the sudden sight of his little wings. The cat might chase his uncontrollably swishing tail around and smash the vases. His neighbors might scream and throw the muffins and cakes they’d baked at him. He wouldn’t even be able to do his job, because he couldn’t control his magic. Every day, he’d either be beating up his boss or on his way to do so. That meant no paycheck. He could no longer order glittering, beautiful gemstones from the kind owner of the jewelry shop next door, or bring a bouquet of flowers home to his partner after a long day. Even thinking about it was utterly dreadful! So Ares made up his mind: until the new potions arrived, he absolutely could not let anyone discover who he was. He had to keep everything hidden, whether his horns, his tail, or the bat wings on his back that kept fluttering, eager to bask in the moonlight. Even if someone accidentally stepped on his tail, he’d have to grit his teeth and bear it. As the archangel about to retire from the celestial realm, Adesimo had one last mission: track down the terrifying demon king who, upon taking office, had secretly infiltrated the human world with evil intentions and a plot to destroy it. But he hadn’t expected the human world to be so full of temptation, or for a beautiful, haughty, hopelessly awkward human boy to prove so irresistible to the archangel. Ten years passed with no progress on the mission. The angels were in a panic every day, and the human world remained in constant danger. But so what? At least Adesimo had won over his beautiful boy, Ares, and secured the place of his one and only partner. Everything should have continued in peaceful bliss, if only he could hide the angel feathers of his colleagues, who had disguised themselves as neighbors and kept showing up to bother him. Lately, though, Adesimo had started to feel that something was off about his boy. Ares often stood in front of the mirror talking to himself, getting so flustered and angry. And he seemed reluctant to sleep with him. Whenever Adesimo asked, he’d stammer that he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to hold back. In truth, Adesimo hoped he wouldn’t hold back. An angel could endure far more than a human boy could imagine. What’s more, Ares often got up in the middle of the night and sneaked out in his pajamas to the balcony, leaving the window open. He’d be gone for half an hour every time. Strange markings would sometimes appear on his body, like some tacky tattoos. Adesimo had no idea who’d led him astray. Oh, and there was a strange, long, thin, remarkably flexible object. It would occasionally turn up on the bed. Maybe it was some kind of fun little toy. The archangel was more than happy to indulge his young partner’s interests. Sometimes he even pressed and patted it through the blankets on purpose, hinting to Ares that he liked it very much. But Ares had never used the toy on him. He’d even sneak out of bed to cry in the bathroom. Something was wrong. Very wrong. It had all the signs of the dreaded seven-year itch. Adesimo made up his mind: he had to find out what was troubling his partner and save their marriage! [Blurb for the upcoming story] [Calm, slow-witted, sarcastic special beta gong who attracts alphas x volatile, lovestruck chuunibyou alpha shou who thinks the gong is an omega] Top student x school bully When Zhuang Qiu received the hospital’s test results, he also happened to find a note in his book: an “invitation” from a certain school bully. The results were complicated, but the school bully’s invitation was simple and clear. Scrawled across it in bold, arrogant handwriting was one line: “Three p.m. Training grounds. You dare show up?” Zhuang Qiu thought about it for a few seconds, then grabbed a sticky note and wrote back: “Busy.” Then he headed to the hospital without a shred of guilt. Qi Xingzhu, the school bully, sent him a challenge every three days, but specialist appointments at the testing center weren’t available whenever you wanted. Zhuang Qiu was polite when he finally got to see the specialist, even when the doctor opened by denying his secondary gender. “Young man, you’re actually not an alpha.” “That’s right. You’re a special kind of beta, between the three genders. You seem ordinary, but your pheromones can make even the most stubborn alpha swoon and go weak in the knees, and you’re completely unaffected by rut or heat!” The specialist was thrilled. “I’m going to name this new category!” Zhuang Qiu: “…Oh.” One trip to the hospital, and he came away with a new gender. Even Zhuang Qiu found this rare turn of events a little troubling. With the test results in one hand and a stack of pheromone-blocking patches the specialist had shoved on him in the other, he stood around bewildered in the hospital lobby, then accidentally wandered into the omega-only department. After getting lost for ages and finally finding his way out, he turned around and, as if things weren’t bad enough already, ran straight into Qi Xingzhu, who had no obvious reason to be at the hospital either. The usually arrogant school bully looked strange and stiff. Zhuang Qiu raised a hand to greet him, but Qi Xingzhu seemed to come to some sudden realization, turned, and ran. Arms and legs moving in sync, he fled in a panic. Zhuang Qiu: “?” Strange things began happening that day. For some reason, the school bully he’d been at odds with for ages started showing up around him more and more often. During theory exams, he’d awkwardly ask to borrow a pen. At training and competitions, he’d put on an act of casually bringing him water. For practical group work, he’d show up with his usual swagger. If Zhuang Qiu lost a piece of clothing, Qi Xingzhu would confidently offer to help. He even came eagerly running over when the year organized an aptitude-matching assessment. When Zhuang Qiu gave him a perfectly serious “No, we’re both alphas,” Qi Xingzhu would grit his teeth, his face red, and refuse to leave. Much later, just as Zhuang Qiu had started to seriously suspect Qi Xingzhu was trying to get close to him so he could poison him, he stumbled upon an alpha in heat, burning with fever, in a dark corner. The alpha was curled up against the wall, clutching one of Zhuang Qiu’s white shirts and burying his whole face in it, eyes shut as he inhaled the lingering scent. He cursed furiously, tears streaming down his face. “Damn it, the textbook never said omega pheromones smelled this good!” the young alpha said, his voice trembling, excitement mixed with tears. “Damn you, Zhuang Qiu, my legs are going weak…” Zhuang Qiu, who had only been passing by: “…” Well, this alpha cuddling his clothes, rubbing against them and sniffing them like a puppy did look kind of familiar. Theme: Be kind and brave, and keep looking on the bright side