TBCTW Chapter 1

Chapter 1 – Prelude

Prelude, Part 1

Novel Title: 獣はかくしてまぐわう (The Beasts Copulate This Way)

Author：風結子 沙野 (Fuyuko Sano)

Illustrator：小山田 あみ (Oyamada Ami)

Translator: K (@kin0monogatari)

Protagonists: 鹿倉 陣也 (Kagura Jinya -MC) & ゼロ (Zero -ML)

*Please read at freenovels.net, the original site of translation. TQ*

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⚠️Translator’s WARNING: Please DO NOT read this if you can’t handle non-consensual sexual acts, child abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, drugs abuse, human trafficking, suicide, and teenagers sexual exploitation. If you’re not up for it, leave now so that I won’t receive people judging and commenting on things I don’t wanna hear when I’ve clearly warned you guys to stay away. With that said, if you’re ready, jump into the novel and thanks for reading in advance. -K

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By late October, the mornings turn chilly.

Kagura Jinya opened his eyes, lying on his back with only a single blanket covering his bare body. His skin felt cool, yet heat simmered just beneath it, with a lingering sweet ache deep within.

He still wasn’t accustomed to waking up in a bed that wasn’t in his own apartment.

The first time he spent the night here with that man was at the end of August. Now, two months had barely passed—Kagura mentally counted on his fingers. This was already his fifth night here.

Including the nights he hadn’t stayed, they’d met here in this rendezvous apartment in Nakameguro about ten times.

“…Clingy, aren’t we?” 

Murmuring bitterly, Kagura tried to get up, but failed. He clicked his tongue in annoyance. Just as he twisted his hips and struggled to lift his upper body with his arms, the man walked into the bedroom.

“What’s this? Can’t stand up?”

Zero, fresh from the shower with wet black hair and a bare upper body, was met with Kagura’s sharp glare.

“Whose fault do you think that is?”

“Yeah, that’s my fault.”

Zero grinned and took a swig from a bottle of sports drink. The motion of his throat and chest moving with each gulp reminded Kagura of the man’s body last night—hovering over him, doing as he pleased, breathless with exertion. Suddenly, the raw memory of Zero’s intense movements surged back to Kagura, and he frowned deeply.

Last night, when Kagura had arrived after midnight, as instructed, there had been a whole cake sitting on the living room’s low table.

Decorated with whipped cream and strawberries evenly spaced around the edges, it was the kind of classic cake you’d see in a picture.

In the middle of the cake, ‘Happy Birthday’ was written in chocolate.

It was only upon seeing it that Kagura realised he’d just turned thirty-one. He also remembered that last year, and the year before, his birthday had passed without him even noticing, as he’d been too busy with work.

‘Did you call me here just to make me eat this?’

Zero had pulled him down onto the sofa and poured them each a glass of sparkling wine.

‘This is just the appetiser—the main course is something else.’

‘So, there’s something big planned?’

‘Yep, a massive one.’

Kagura’s long, narrow eyes sparkled at that answer.

‘What kind of surprise?’

Instead of answering, Zero handed him a fork.

‘Eat first.’

Apparently, there’d be no skipping the appetiser. Reluctantly, Kagura faced the whole cake. A familiar heavy pain weighed down on his chest.

Every year, his cousin Haruka, who’d grown up next door to him almost like a sister, would make him a homemade birthday cake. She hadn’t been the best cook; the sponge often didn’t rise well, and the decorations were clumsy. Still, he’d secretly looked forward to it every year.

When he realised he’d never get to eat one of her cakes again, the pain was unbearable.

Suppressing that pain, Kagura stabbed his fork directly into the cake and stuffed a large piece into his mouth. As he ate silently, Zero did the same, poking his fork into the cake and taking a bite. He made a face as if he’d eaten something bitter.

Zero probably just didn’t like sweet things, but it felt as if they were both swallowing down their own shared burdens.

In truth, that’s what had brought them together.

To crush the same enemy, Kagura kept Zero, and Zero kept Kagura.

Though Kagura had resolved to fight his battles alone and become a police officer, he now had a companion with the same resolve running alongside him.

The sweetness of the cake seeped into his mind.

And thus, the two of them had finished their heartburn-inducing appetiser, but the main course was a far more literal main event in the bedroom.

Now, as a result, here he was unable to stand up.

Taking the sports drink Zero offered, Kagura gulped it down. Last night’s cake had been converted into energy and completely exhausted, with the refreshing drink soaking into his depleted cells.

As he handed the now-lighter bottle back, lightly tapping it against Zero’s toned midsection, Kagura asked:

“Hey, where’s that massive surprise you mentioned?”

Zero drained the rest of the bottle and tossed the empty bottle onto the wooden floor.

Then, with a defiant look in his eyes, he knelt on the bed, leaning over Kagura. Determined not to lose, Kagura braced himself against the bed, pushing back as their faces got closer. Zero tilted his head, and their lips met.

“…!”

Kagura turned his head aside, glaring sideways at Zero.

“Are you trying to avoid the question?”

Zero leaned in and whispered into his ear.

“I heard Toono’s planning a brief return to Japan.”

The low, suppressed tone of his voice, combined with the content, sent a powerful shock through Kagura’s mind.

Kagura took a closer look at Zero’s intense gaze. His pitch-black eyes, like primordial darkness, contained a concentrated, fierce energy. It was the man’s very soul.

“…So it’s real intel.”

An intense emotion surged in Kagura’s chest.

Toono Ryouji. Thirty-six years old.

The leader of the Eastern Alliance, a semi-criminal gang centred in the Kanto region.

Fourteen years ago, Toono had approached and abducted Kagura’s cousin, Oishi Haruka, who had been a nursing student. He’d forced her into a life of drugs and eventually sold her off. Two years later, she’d been murdered by one of her clients. The man had then committed suicide, and the case had been closed without prosecution.

Since that moment, Toono Ryouji had become Kagura’s sworn target, someone he needed to take down, no matter what.

Zero’s dark eyes bore into him.

“We’re heading in the same direction.”

For this man, who commands a group called ‘Enwu’ tied directly to Japan’s underworld, Toono and the Eastern Alliance are also targets for destruction.

That’s why they joined forces.

A year ago today, Kagura hadn’t even known Zero existed, yet now they were running toward the same goal.

It was strange—yet incredibly reassuring.

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*Translator’s Note: The next chapter will be published after the last chapter of Volume 1 is released. Illustration 2 is NSFW. You can visit my blog to view it. -K

Next update: 2025.10.10

You may support the author by purchasing the book: https://a.co/d/cCV5gel [Amazon link]

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