Trust
Thin, blue smoke was curling up through the falling autumn leaves, spiralling and twisting in the crisp breeze. The sun had sunk below the horizon some minutes before, leaving the sky behind it a rapidly darkening lavender. Baiken took a long draw from her pipe, ignoring the way the damp, chill air managed to seep in through her layers of clothing. As the stars began to dimly flicker to life in the fading dusk, she found herself wishing, a bit sorely, that she had some warm sake. Nights like this just begged for warm sake.
Footsteps. The rounin paused, pipe held loosely between her teeth. Somebody was coming towards her, footfalls soft but purposeful, almost rythmic. She knew that walk. Difficult not to, with all the years he had been following her around, acting like some idiot knight in shining armor. A smile twitched onto her lips, imperceptible to any who didn't know her incredibly well. And she only let one person close enough to know such things.
A sake bottle was set down beside her, gently. Two cups. Of course. He wouldn't want to miss out on watching the leaves. Beautiful scenery, fading sunlight... it was all poetic in a way that she couldn't quite comprehend, but he could. Baiken usually just sat back and enjoyed nature's beauty for what it was; Anji tended to wax poetic about all of it.
He could be such a damn woman.
"Thanks," she said gruffly, glancing out of the corner of her eye at him as he eased down to sit beside her. Anji's usual, slightly goofy smile answered her.
"I know how you like warm sake on a cold night." He poured out two cups, holding one out to her. Count on Anji to know exactly how to position himself so that she wouldn't have to reach her only arm around at an odd angle. It was a little disconcerting, how much Anji could be counted on for. The fan-user's smile grew a little more gentle as he clinked his cup against hers. "Kanpai."
The warm sake went down smooth, warming her to the tips of her fingers and toes. Baiken relaxed, her smile twitching wider. Only Anji could make her feel so peaceful. They fell into a comfortable silence, drinking the sake as they watched the leaves flutter down. After some time of sitting side-by-side, Anji wrapped an arm around her, gently pulling her over and hugging her close. She allowed this. After a moment's pause, she let her head fall over to rest on his shoulder, a little surprised how comfortable it all was.
Just this once, she could let him have his way.
Author's Notes: So I thought I'd tackle the 50 fic challenge, with Anji, Baiken, and Chipp (and any combination therein) as my character focus. I love the way they play off of each other, so they should be a lot of fun to write~
Besides, I play Baiken at Gouon Hashi RPG on Inksome and could use the extra chance to write her. (By the way, any roleplayers out there reading this, check it out! We need some Guilty Gear people! -PLUG PLUG: .com/communities/gouon_hashi -)