Song inspiration for this one-shot is "Closing In" by Imogne Heap. I liked the song so much I listened to it on repeat the entire time I wrote this. Which was over the course of about... a week.
First lemon I'm submitting here... speaking of lemon...
Warning: the following story contains a lemon. Though it's not as graphic as some of the ones I've read on here... *shudders at the memories*
Second try writing one. Might have to go edit the first on I wrote, just because I'm a perfectionist like that.
Characters are Kasuga and Kojyuro; set pre-Kenshin, so I'm assuming Kasuga still works for Kai. Anyway... I tried.
Closing in
'I wonder what he's doing here, of all places, just lying there,' the kunoichi in the trees stared down at the man in front of her. He was lying against a large tree trunk, his breathing heavier then normal. She tilted her head, not caring that her long blonde strands of hair hung down. He was asleep, so she felt it wasn't important for her to try and stay hidden.
'I wonder if he's all right. His looks like he's been in a battle… hm…' her young mind got the better of her. She jumped down from the safety of her perch to observe the man more closely. Just to satisfy her curiosity.
His dark brown hair was originally swept away from his face – she could tell from the way it was now unkempt, falling against his forehead. His eyes were closed tightly as if he were in pain, his brows furrowed back. The kunoichi's motherly instincts kicked in. She carefully brushed his hair away from his forehead, pressing the back of her hand to his forehead. His skin was warm.
'He must have a fever!' she rested herself on her knees, moving the collar of his brown coat to the side. Aside from the jacket being a deep ice blue on the inside, there looked to be nothing wrong on the right side of his neck and face; she wiped away some sweat that had broken out over his forehead. Slowly she turned his head to the other side and suppressed her gasp.
It wasn't the scar on his left cheek that startled her; it was the puncture wound near his chin that caught her eye. A few thin lines of blood trickled out of the wound, which was purple and blue around the edges. She leaned in closer to have a better look when the man shifted.
She withdrew, her heart hammering in her chest. She peeked around the tree she had fled behind to look at him and saw that his eyes were cracked open a bit.
'He must be poisoned. He's got to be poisoned. I can make an antidote but I doubt he – h-hey! Where is he going!' she stared at him in worry as he rose shakily to his feet and started walking off. She waited two minutes before following after him, scampering swiftly up a tree.
'Obviously he is a samurai. I have to be very careful,' she furrowed her brows, grabbing her long strands of hair in one hand while she pulled her headband off with the other. She gathered the long strands together behind her head, twisting them up and together to form a bun, which she then tied in place with her headband. She flicked her bangs into a more suitable position, and then continued in her pursuit of the injured samurai.
'Taking care of him shouldn't be a problem. I just have to make an antidote, give it to him and leave,' she spotted a herb that she would need for the antidote and after seeking her target out with her eyes, she decided that he was far enough ahead for her to grab the plant without him noticing.
Quickly she descended from the tree she was in to the ground. She reached down the stalk of the plant, holding tightly onto the plant near the roots and yanking as hard as she could, fully uprooting it from the ground. Her eyes returned to her quarry – he hadn't noticed her yet.
'I'm surprised he hasn't noticed me yet. Or maybe he has and he's just not bothering to pay any attention,' she furrowed her brows, clenching her fist around the plant, 'maybe he's on the move because I'm following him.'
She sprang into the nearest tree, stuffing the plant into a pouch on her hip. As she followed him through the woods she came across the other herbs she would need to make the antidote. She collected them swiftly and stealthily, careful not to be noticed by the samurai twenty feet ahead.
He suddenly came to a stop next to a tree, pressing his hand against the trunk and gasping in air. She refrained from approaching him – despite her wish to – and thought she heard him gag a few times before he continued on his way. She narrowed her eyes.
'I should knock him out or something… he needs to stop moving! The poison is just going to move more quickly through his blood,' she was about to rush him when an abandoned house came into view. The man stumbled, collapsing to one knee. To keep herself from going to him, the kunoichi dropped out of the tree she was in, careful to stay behind him and out of his view.
'If he goes into that abandoned machiya, that will work to my advantage. I can make the antidote out here and administer it to him while he's asleep,' as she thought this she watched him proceed towards the building. The O-do was broken, the wooden panels of it popping out like the wood had expanded. He struggled briefly with the kugurido before it squeaked open. In he went, not bothering to pull the door shut.
'Good, he still doesn't know I'm here…' she felt around in her hip-pouch, mentally ticking off the herbs, 'I should move away a bit since I have to make a fire. I don't want to alert him but…' her eyes drifted to the door again, 'I should check on him quickly.'
She moved towards the broken O-do, peering in through the cracks between the expanded wood panels. She could make out his large shadow in the back of the room.
'Right, he probably won't be moving any time soon. I should move before he guesses that I'm here,' she ducked and sprinted to the left. When she was about fifty feet away from the machiya she stopped and laid out her herbs.
"I need some small twigs… maybe a few leaves… I need water too…" she scampered around, finding two rocks to grind the herbs with and a good amount of dry twigs. She cleared a small area of dead leaves until she found soil, then she positioned her twigs on the bare ground.
"Flint, flint, where's my flint? Ah! Found it," she got her fire started and as it burned she ground up the herbs.
"I'll use some of my water. It won't take me too long to get back to Kai from here. I'm done my mission early so," she poured her ground herbs carefully into the flash she carried with her, "I have time to take care of the samurai."
She attached her flash to a stick – she'd used it on many occasions to boil water –and held it over her fire. While boiling the water and the herbs she rummaged around in one of her other hip-pouches for a vial she could pour some of the liquid into. Once she found it she unstopped it and set it to the side.
It took thirty minutes for the water to boil. After the allotted five-minute time she was trained to give the herbs to disperse their medicinal attributes into the water she pulled her flash towards herself.
"I hate how hot this thing gets," she muttered to herself as she poured some of the liquid into the vial. It was a lovely green color, the color it was supposed to be. She filled the vial almost to the top before she put the small stopper back in.
"This is a good amount for now. I'll wait for this to cool then…" she looked up at the darkening sky, "then I'll go take care of the wayward samurai."
Her bangs flopped down into her eyes. She pouted before remembering that her headband was holding her long strands in a bun above her head. She tugged it out, flinching at the slight pain – her hairs had gotten very tangled when she'd hurriedly tied the strands back. Once she settled her hair properly with her headband in place, she tapped the vial gingerly with her fingers.
"Feels cool enough. Right! I'll head back over to the machiya. Hopefully he won't be going anywhere any time soon," she laughed to herself as the easily scaled a tree, "who am I kidding? He's poisoned! And he looks smart enough not to move around too much while poisoned."
As she sprinted through the trees, she thought about how she would give it to him. If she had a kimono with her she could have pretended to be a civilian – but her blonde hair would prove a problem. Civilians didn't wear their hair the way she did. If he was asleep she could wake him and convince him to drink the antidote while he was groggy.
She leapt around to the front of the house, furrowing her brows when she saw that the kugurido had been closed.
'He could of course, choose to be difficult and stubborn. I'll see if I can get in through the back,' she decided, leaping from tree to tree around the building. Once she reached the back, she searched for an entrance she could fit through. She found a medium hole that looked like it could fit a large dog.
She crawled through it as quietly as she could. Poisoned samurai or not, she knew better then to assume the slightest sound wouldn't awaken him.
Now that she was inside the abandoned machiya she had to be sure not to step on any twigs or loose wood.
'Perhaps I should just crawl,' she thought, 'that way my hands will feel anything that I should move first.'
She didn't like how long it took her to get to the main room where the samurai was, nor did she like how close she ended up being to him when she reached the area. A quick glance at him told her that he knew someone was following him: his katanas were very close to his left hand. He had draped his jacket over his shoulders and was resting against the wall.
The dark in the room didn't grant her the ability to see his face but she knew his eyes were closed. She hopped away from him.
'Got no choice, I better add some sleeping powder to this,' she quickly unstopped the vial and sprinkled some of the white powder into the liquid. She replaced the cap and gave the vial a few shakes to mix the powder in.
'That should be good…' she looked up from the vial and saw bright green eyes staring at her from where the samurai was.
'… well damn. He's definitely well-trained…' she bit her lip and stood, 'no point in me pretending like I'm not here; he already knows.'
"I'm not here to hurt you, samurai," she said. She watched as his bright eyes narrowed and she heard the sound of him grabbing the hilt of his katana.
"Like hell I'll believe that," he rasped. She bit her lip – the poison was affecting him badly already.
"You'll have to believe it whether you like it or not. I know you're poisoned. I've already made an antidote," she spoke calmly, though she was afraid that he wouldn't believe anything she said.
"I know better then to trust you, kunoichi. You were following me earlier, weren't you?"
"You may know better then to trust me but you have no reason not to trust me. I made an antidote and, as a shinobi, I would have killed you immediately instead of following you," she tilted her head to the side, taking a small step towards him, "my name is Kasuga."
Kasuga knew about the honor that bound a samurai – the honor that bound any warrior – that when the enemy gave their name, they should give theirs as well. She could tell from the way he narrowed his eyes that he was honor bound.
"Kojyuro," he muttered. Kasuga let herself smirk a little.
'He'll only give me his first name. I see,' she made her way towards him but halted when he moved into a crouched position. She clenched her teeth.
'So, Kojyuro-sama is choosing to be difficult. Too bad for him that I'm stubborn; I'm giving this antidote to him whether he likes it or not,' she walked around to stand in front of him. His eyes followed her movements.
"It would be in your best interest to have the antidote, Kojyuro-sama. I've already seen your wound. The poison will have spread even more throughout your system because you moved."
"I have high immunity to poison. I'll be fine without that antidote," he informed her, his fist tightening over the hilt of his katana. Kasuga bravely took several steps closer to him. She gave him an authoritative look; she refused to give him a choice in the matter.
"Even if you have high immunity, Kojyuro-sama, that won't stop the poison from affecting you. Though that should be obvious enough," she jumped back when he threw a dagger at her. The weapon spun to the front of the room behind Kasuga. From the way he breathed in and out Kasuga knew she had offended him.
She subtly pulled a smoke bomb out of the pouch on the back of her hip. Kojyuro was already on his feet, his coat falling off his shoulders. It crumpled into a heap on the floor.
'Even though he's poisoned I doubt he's lost much of his strength. And he looks very strong. I have to disrupt his vision,' she jerked her arm out from behind her back and whipped the small ball into the floor a few inches from his feet. He moved back a step and cursed when white smoke filled the room. Kasuga knew she was taking a few unnecessary risks but she had no choice – she had to know how well he could move, hear and see in order to get close enough to force him to drink the antidote.
She was to his right in the billowing smoke; she clicked her tongue, testing his hearing.
"Don't mock me, kunoichi!" he snarled. Kasuga gasped when his hand shot out of the smoke, aimed right for her face.
'His hearing is obviously unaffected. Damn it!' she ducked out of the way, grabbing his wrist tightly in her hand. She jerked him forward, noting with some relief that he was off balance. She quickly felt along his arm until she found his shoulder. The smoke was already beginning to clear and Kasuga quickly thrust her palm into his chin, knocking his head back.
Kojyuro staggered but remained on his feet. Kasuga lowered her shoulder as he regained his balance. He was not pleased; Kasuga could tell that much from his expression. She released his wrist and threw herself into his chest, throwing him completely off balance and onto the floor.
She straddled his chest as soon as he was on the ground, her hand once again grasping his wrist tightly. She slipped a finger into the hooped end of the first kunai her right hand came in contact with and held it at his throat. When he recovered from the pain of being slammed into the hard wood floor his eyes widened upon seeing her on top of him.
"In case it wasn't clear earlier, Kojyuro-sama, I'm not giving you a choice," she told him slowly, making sure he understood her completely. He was taking her antidote and she wasn't going to have it any other way. It wasn't like her to just leave someone injured when she had it in her power to help them.
"I don't need it," he hissed, grabbing her wrist in his large hand. Even in the dark light she could see the beads of sweat that had broken out over his forehead. His grip wasn't as strong as it could be. She narrowed her eyes at him.
"Don't lie to yourself. You're already sweating, your grip on my wrist is weak – it's obvious to me that you should have been able to over-power me already! Do I have to point out everything that's being affected by the poison to you in order to get you to drink this?" she demanded. He cringed, his grip on her wrist lessening.
Kasuga swiftly raised a foot and held his right hand down with it so she could get the vial out of her pouch. She was thankful that it hadn't broken yet. When Kojyuro saw the vial the grip on her wrist increased almost ten-fold. She flinched, but refused to show she was in pain. He had a very strong grip when he wanted to have one.
'Don't be difficult,' she wanted to tell him, 'just drink this and then I'll leave.'
Kojyuro didn't wish to co-operate with her, probably because he wasn't telepathic and couldn't read her mind. His eyes were fixated on the vial in her hand.
'There's no way he'll just drink this. But he has to drink it! I won't leave until it's down his throat and in his system…' she allowed herself a small smile; it caught his attention. The grip on her wrist lessened again.
Kasuga brought the vial up to her mouth, pulling the stopper out with her teeth. She let the stopper fall silently to the floor. She tilted her head back a bit, but not too far. She wanted to keep her eyes on him as she emptied the contents of her vial into her mouth. Kojyuro's eyes slowly widened – he knew exactly what she planned to do now.
'If you're going to be difficult, then I'll just have to kiss you,' she glared at him as she tossed the vial to the side, 'I'd like to see you try and stop me, Kojyuro-sama.'
She jerked her right hand out of his grip, throwing his hand to the side. Her other hand grabbed his jaw, preventing him from moving his head. She tried to hold his other hand down without releasing her kunai, but he moved his hand away from her and thrust his palm at her chest.
He knew that if he hit her chest, she would be forced to spit out her antidote. She cringed but didn't hesitate – her kunai stopped his hand and held it down after she slammed it with all her might into the floor. He made a strained sound of pain.
Kasuga took no chances; the hand under her foot was crushing her instep with a vice grip. She smashed her lips to his, giving him a hard look with her amber eyes. He glared back, his lips tight under hers.
'Don't be difficult Kojyuro-sama,' she rubbed her lips against his, pulling down on his jaw with her hand. His grip on her foot released and his mouth dropped open. She opened her mouth as well, letting her antidote pour into his mouth. He'd closed his eyes, completely resigned to the fact that she wasn't letting him have it his way.
Kasuga angled her mouth against his, her tongue slipping into his mouth. She couldn't help having a little taste of him. She pulled back with a small purse of her lips.
He sputtered, gasping in air. He blinked his eyes rapidly, giving her a half-hearted glare.
"You… put something… in that… damn it…"
"Just some sleeping powder, Kojyuro-sama," she leaned down closer to him, "clearly you don't trust me so I had to put you to sleep. I'll… take this out when you're –"
"Just pull it out, kunoichi. It's not… like I can't… handle the pain…" his eyes were drooping now – Kasuga feared she may have put in a little too much of the sleeping powder.
'Can't worry about that now,' she grasped the hilt of the kunai. She thought about informing him that she was going to pull the weapon out but thought against that, instead giving him an apologetic look. Kojyuro was already nodding off.
Kasuga pressed both of her feet against Kojyuro's forearm, grabbing the kunai in both hands. She yanked and it came out of the floor and his hand easily. He made no sound though his face contorted with pain. Kasuga quickly bandaged his hand.
'Should I stay?' she wondered as she laid his arm by his side. He was a handsome man, especially when he wasn't glaring at her. When his face was relaxed he looked so kind. She debated with herself inwardly. Part of her wanted to stay with Kojyuro and find out more about him while the other part of her, bound by duty, wished to return to Kai and take a much needed break in the closest onsen.
'I should check that wound on his neck quickly,' she pulled herself out of her thoughts and carefully pushed his head to the right so she could look at the left side of his face. She hissed in sympathy at the look of the wound. It looked worse then it had earlier. She wrapped his neck in bandages as best she could, then returned to brooding.
She soon found herself falling asleep in a different room of the machiya, after she had struggled to move Kojyuro closer to the wall and draped his coat over him like a blanket.
'Ah well… guess I'll stay here for another day at least… I'm so tired anyway…' she closed her eyes, shifting uncomfortably on the floor. Her sleep was dreamless, and she was awoken hours later by the chirping of the birds outside.
She crept out of the room, peering into the main room. Kojyuro was still asleep against the wall, sunlight spilling over his form. He looked very approachable in that light.
Kasuga found herself smiling as she changed the bandages on his hand. She regretted having to pin him down like that, but it had to be done.
'If only I had a needle and some thread with me… well, I guess I could use my technique…' she looked closely at his face, making sure he was asleep before she used the technique. Unlike most other shinobi her element was light, and there were certain things she discovered she could do with the element of light that couldn't be done with the element of dark.
She molded a small orb into her hand and worked quickly, afraid that if she didn't the light from her orb would wake him up. She didn't want anyone to know that she could use such a technique – not even Sasuke knew.
When she was finished with the wound it was mostly closed, though he'd get a scar from it for sure. She was about to pour some of her water over his hand to clean off the dry blood, but remembered that it was all antidote-mixture inside.
"Damn it," she muttered under her breath. She glared at Kojyuro's sleeping form.
"You stay right here and don't go anywhere at all; I'll be right back," she informed him before she left through the kugurido. She rushed around the woods, looking for a river, which she eventually found in a clearing sixty meters from the machiya. She emptied her flask on the plants nearby and refilled it with the cool running water from the river, after rinsing it once.
On her way back to the machiya, Kasuga spotted several fat birds resting on a large tree branch. She quirked an eyebrow at them.
'I'm not hungry but I'm sure Kojyuro-sama will be hungry when he wakes up… I'll snag one of these birds,' she picked out the one in the middle, silently getting within range. She tensed when the birds did and after a few seconds of waiting she threw a kunai directly at the one in the middle. The sharp weapon speared the bird through, and the others fled from the branches.
She caught the bird as it fell out of the tree. While she made her way back to the machiya she plucked the feathers off the bird, leaving them behind on the ground. She stopped outside the machiya to gut the bird, wrinkling her nose as she did so.
It took her another half an hour to get the bird prepared on a stick and cooking over a fire. She watched it out of boredom, poking it absentmindedly with a stick.
'I should have washed his wounds first then cooked the bird… stupid me,' she pouted the entire time the bird cooked. Once it was done she set it to the side on a large leaf.
She walked into the machiya, looking around for Kojyuro. He was sitting up in the same place she had left him, fingering the bandages around his neck.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Are the bandages too tight?" Kasuga asked, quickly going to his side. He blinked at her in surprise.
"They are a little tight, yes," he answered her question, watching her closely as she removed the bandages around his neck. His eyes widened briefly when she unstopped her flask and poured water over his hand.
"Er…" Kasuga looked around for something to wipe the water away with. She heard him release a soft laugh, a light blush rising to her cheeks at the sound.
'What a pleasant sound…' she thought she looked back at him to find that he was wiping his hand off with his coat, a gentle smile on his lips.
"I thought you were going to leave, kunoichi," he said, his eyes boring into hers once again. She looked away, eyebrow twitching in irritation at him calling her 'kunoichi'.
"Well, I was going to but…" Kasuga chewed on her lip. She couldn't tell him that she just didn't have it in her to leave him here all alone. He was busily observing his hand, flexing it. No doubt he was wondering how the hole had closed so quickly.
"I was going to but since I'd finished my mission early I supposed I would stay a day longer. Why are you out here by yourself?" she asked quickly to prevent him from probing her about her mission. He quirked his eyebrow at her, his smile fading. Kasuga swallowed lightly.
"You don't have to tell me I was just wondering how you could have gotten poisoned –"
"My lord is young and stupid. He's run off somewhere and so I'm left looking for him," he interrupted, dabbing at his neck with his coat. He watched her like a hawk.
It was uncomfortable under his intense gaze, so Kasuga excused herself and went to get the bird. She was glad to see that no other animal had sniffed it out and taken it. She brushed the leaf over it and carried it back into the room. He quirked his eyebrow at her again when she approached him with the bird, settling on her knees next to him.
"Are you hungry?" she asked nervously, smiling at him as he stared at her with an unreadable expression.
"Quite," he replied after a moment, eyes still locked on hers. She swallowed, offering him the small bird.
"It hasn't really got any seasoning on it but I hope you like it regardless," she informed him, laughing softly, closing her eyes.
'He's probably going to think it's absolutely horrible. My cooking skills have never ever been any good what so ever,' she thought, waiting for him to take the small bird. Instead of feeling him take the cooked bird from her hands she felt his hand on her cheek. Her eyes snapped open and she was caught in his mesmerizing green gaze.
"I'm hungry, but not for that, Kasuga," he told her softly. Her lips quivered. She tried to ignore the fact that he had suddenly started calling her by her name.
"But –" he pressed his lips to hers before she could begin her sentence. She dropped the bird on the floor as his tongue easily slid past her lips. Her eyes widened. He pulled back, a string of saliva between their mouths.
Kasuga's cheeks felt very warm; her mouth remained partially open. His hand moved to the back of her head, pulling her towards him, his tongue probing into her mouth again. Her eyes slid shut, her greasy fingers pressing to his cheeks. He leaned over her, forcing her to straighten out her legs and lie on the wood floor.
She protested against being forced to lie against the hard floor; it was uncomfortable. His hand moved from behind her head to the middle of her back, giving her some comfort. His lips were rough against hers, the force with which he kissed her bruising. She pressed her hands against his shoulders, forcing him to separate from her.
"Hn, K-Kojyuro-sama," she gasped through breaths. He wasn't paying much attention to her, with his face buried in her neck. She saw the grease on his cheek and couldn't resist licking it off. She could feel his mouth on her neck, searching for a way to pull the leather around her neck away from her skin. He found the zipper, she guessed, and closed his lips around it, pulling it down.
He lipped her neck, leaving feather-light kisses down the column of her throat. She tipped her head back, breathing heavily; her body had never felt so hot before. His heated breaths were only making the warmth worse as he breathed against her neck.
"Kojyuro-sama the floor is – quite uncomfortable," she told him in a strained voice. The wood in the floor was digging into her exposed back. His tongue licked up her neck before he raised his head.
"Uncomfortable?" for a man of his size he was fast. Kasuga found herself propped against the wall, Kojyuro in front of her. He had one hand cupped under her thigh, his eyes holding her gaze. She draped her arms over his shoulders, glad that he let her.
"Is this more comfortable for you, Kasuga?" he asked in a husky voice. She nodded her head, giving him a smile as she wrapped her legs around his hips.
"You may want to be careful of my kunai, Kojyuro—" his lips cut her off before she could finish with the honorific.
He kissed her until her lungs burned and her head felt light. She tugged roughly on his hair in an attempt to get him to back off, but he merely growled at her, a primal sound in the back of his throat. The growl made Kasuga shudder.
'But… I can't… breathe…' she bit down on his tongue, making him growl again. His hips ground against hers, almost painfully so and she couldn't help releasing a cry of pain into his mouth. It was then that he finally separated from her, leaving her to gulp in much needed oxygen.
Kasuga rested her head against the wall as she gasped in air. Kojyuro was like a dragon: powerful, dominating and aggressive.
Her eyes fluttered open, so she could look at him out of the corner of her eyes. She caught a brief glimpse of his expression before his nose began skimming her neck. She cautiously touched her fingertips to his head. He made no reaction, so she stroked him.
He tried to get closer to her, which made her smile; he was already close, too close almost, holding her securely to the wall with his body alone. She liked how gentle he was being now.
'I guess he's aware that… maybe he was being too rough…' she could feel his warm fingers prodding at her stomach and she giggled. He raised his head to look at her.
Embarrassed, Kasuga ducked her head, trying to hide her blush, "I – I'm a little ticklish, Kojyuro."
He didn't respond to her; instead, he smiled, his fingers brushing over her stomach again. His hands then proceeded further along her ribs and under her leather suit. Kasuga shook in anticipation, her body expectant. Waiting.
She tightened her thighs around his hips while he slid his hands slowly up her waist and over her breasts, eventually pushing her leather suit down her arms. She pulled her arms out of the sleeves, not wanting to have the suit create a tight bond around her. She removed her gloves herself, dropping them on the floor.
Kojyuro hesitated, his eyes focused on her neck, his hands flexing on her shoulders. Kasuga tilted her head at him in confusion.
He jerked away from the wall, prompting Kasuga to wrap her arms tightly around his neck. His strong arms coiled around her back and he carried her away from the wall. At first she thought he was going to set her on the floor but he only crouched down to retrieve his jacket before he started moving again, away from the main room.
While he moved Kasuga worked at pulling away his shirt. Once she'd tugged the top open, she pushed the sleeves onto his biceps, but he refused to remove his arms from around her.
Her amber eyes looked over his now exposed chest. He was a well-built man, broad and sturdy. She pressed her fingers into his shoulders, feeling how tense his muscles were. He stopped walking and rolled his head; Kasuga heard his neck crack.
She massaged his shoulders, pleased when his head dropped against her chest. He released his jacket onto the floor and lowered her down onto something soft. She sighed contently, relaxing against the downy blankets, guiding his shirt down his arms until it came off. As she tossed the shirt to the side she lifted her head to kiss his neck. He nuzzled her temple, one of his hands slipping her headband off her forehead.
Sunlight poured in through the cracks in the walls and ceiling. One beam reflected on his eyes beautifully, making his eyes glow like emeralds. She traced her fingers over his cheekbones, making his eyes flutter. He was slowly moving his right hand down her thigh, bringing her leather suit down.
She reached for his pants, first untying the cloth belt around his waist. Once that was off she proceeded to remove his pants. She was glad that he had removed his shoes and shin guards yesterday, along with his wrist guards. He shifted towards her, making it easier for her to slide the fabric down his legs.
His hand clenched on her shin, prompting her to raise her leg so he could pull the suit off completely. Kasuga's heart pounded in her chest and she couldn't resist pulling his head down for a kiss. When they broke for air their clothes had been fully removed.
Kojyuro slipped a hand around her lower back, his fingers pressing into the dip of her spine. She shuddered, wrapping her legs around his waist, her hands burying themselves in his hair. He lipped her cheek, silently asking her if this is what she wanted. She nipped the tip of his ear in reply, bucking her hips against his.
His grip on her back tightened as he slid half way into her. She breathed deeply, purring into his ear. His lips grazed her neck before he filled her completely. She swallowed, glad that he was letting her adjust to his size.
He moved slowly, pulling out half way before pushing back in. Kasuga fit almost perfectly against him. The slow pace allowed her to enjoy a few kisses between breaths. She tightened her legs around his hips, moaning softly. He was holding back – she knew from the way he grit his teeth.
The slow pace got to her, finally, and she moved her lips to his ear.
"I'm not made of glass, Kojyuro. I'm not going to break," she whispered in his ear, nipping the tip again. He breathed soundly against her neck.
"If that's what you want, Kasuga, I will gladly comply," he whispered back to her. With a barely audible grunt he pulled fully out of her before thrusting back in. She gasped at the sensation, her arms tightening around his shoulders. Now that he had started with the faster pace he wasn't going to stop.
Kasuga fought to keep her cries in check. Kojyuro had set her on the blankets so he could move more fluidly against her. Soon her hips were rocking in rhythm with his, her moans becoming more audible.
The sunlight warmed Kasuga's cheeks more then she liked and she scraped her blunt nails over Kojyuro's back - she found that he was covered in a thin layer of sweat. Her stomach began to tingle, a sensation she had never felt before. She started panting, a pleasurable moan seeping past her lips.
"Ah!" she gasped. He had hit a certain spot, the perfect spot. He thrust into her again, hitting the same spot.
"Ah, Kojyuro…" she mewled, tipping her head back against the blankets. She thought she heard him gasp softly and so she opened her eyes to look at his face. His pace slowed considerably, but he continued to hit that spot deep inside her, making her gasp and flush.
His eyes were half-closed and locked onto hers. She licked her lips, unable to hold back her cries.
"Ahh, ah, K-Kojyuro, ah…" she whimpered, tangling her fingers in his hair and crushing her lips briefly to his. She could only kiss him so many times between panted breaths. His name passed by her lips several times.
Her abdomen tightened, making her drag her nails down Kojyuro's arm. Her head tipped back, her legs cinching more around him. She fisted her hand in his hair, her other hand still biting into his arm.
"Kasuga…" his voice was soft in her ear. She couldn't respond to him, the only sounds coming out of her mouth being muffled cries. A spasm shook her body and her voice cracked as she released a drawn out cry. She dug her fingernails harder into his skin, her breaths turning to gasps.
He pressed his head into the nook between her neck and shoulder. He was breathing as quickly as she was. Her orgasm came to an end, leaving her sensitive. He wasn't far behind, pushing his face harder against her neck, a soft groan escaping past his lips.
His body collapsed against hers. The sunlight pouring through the walls and ceiling's many cracks did nothing to help cool her hot body – his heavy breaths against her neck were making the heat worse but Kasuga found that she didn't mind the warmth.
He pulled out of her, making her body tremble. Her legs loosened from their hold around his hips, dropping to the blankets. He easily pulled out of her arms, pushing away from her and into an upright position.
'He's not going to leave, is he?' a strange fear gripped at her chest. She quickly sat up, thrusting one hand into the hair at the back of his head, holding him still. She caught his gaze, his green eyes bright with longing. His eyes spoke loudly to her; he didn't want to leave.
"Don't leave," she whispered, brushing her lips over his. He opened his mouth to say something, but no words were formed. He closed his mouth, ducking his head.
Kasuga lifted her other hand to his face, raising his chin. Her lips touched his softly.
"Don't leave," she repeated, leaning back. She felt a tug on her left strand of hair, and noticed too late that he had coiled the long hair around his fist. He jerked her forward, catching her lips in his. She smoothed her hands over his collarbone, sliding her hands around his neck.
He moved her onto his lap, keeping one hand coiled around her hair while the other was wrapped around her waist. She pressed her hands into his neck, gently massaging his tense muscles. He sighed against her lips.
They separated moments later, breathing deeply.
"I really should go find my lord," Kojyuro whispered, resting his forehead against hers.
"And I really should return to mine," she whispered back. They stared at each other for several heartbeats, motes of dust shimmering around them. Kojyuro rested his hands on Kasuga's waist, lifting her off his lap.
'Does he still intend to leave?' she bit her lower lip as he set her down on the blankets. He twisted his body around, his gaze settling on the doorway. Kasuga leaned forward reaching for his hand. She latched onto his forefinger, tugging lightly. He turned back to face her, a startled look on his face. Kasuga ducked her head, gnawing on her lip now.
"… stay with me. Stay with me until it's late," she lifted her head and watched him blink.
'I – I should convince him more,' her lips quivered as she spoke, "if you stay later then… then it will be easier for us to go our separate ways."
He smiled kindly at her, laughing softly.
"Lie down, Kasuga. I'll stay until evening," he agreed, pulling his finger out of her grasp.
Kasuga lay down uncertainly, wondering if he really was going to say.
'He's a samurai, so he should be a man of his word – oh,' her thought was cut short when he settled next to her on the blankets, draping his jacket over her. She looked over her shoulder at him.
"What about you?"
"I won't need it until evening," he kissed the skin behind her ear, "just relax."
"Hai…" she nestled against his chest, smiling when he draped his arm over her waist, "I'll… see you tonight, Kojyuro."
Kasuga's sleep was filled with dreams of him. She felt like she had only been asleep for a moment when she was awoken by the sounds of metal. She pushed up on her side, staring up at Kojyuro as he pulled on his shirt. He already had his guards on, and his pants.
She waited until he had finished tying the cloth belt around his waist before getting up in a flurry, draping his jacket over his shoulders. Her arms coiled around his torso, her face pressing into his back.
'He has such a nice smell,' she thought, breathing in deeply. She felt him wrap one hand around her wrists, giving her wrists a squeeze.
"You best get dressed, Kasuga."
"Already done," she commented, whisking past him while thrusting her arms into the sleeves of her leather suit. She glanced slyly over her shoulder at him, smirking when she saw his surprised expression.
"Don't forget that I'm a shinobi, Kojyuro," she reminded him, "now if you'll excuse me, I have to retrieve my gloves and neck guard."
He smiled, pulling on his coat, "very well."
Kasuga was already in the main room, stooping down to scoop up her gloves and neck guard. She slipped on her gloves and situated her neck guard on her neck, zipping it up. She could hear Kojyuro's footsteps as he made his way down the hall from the room they had been in to the main room. She scampered out the kugurido and into the cool night air. Her eyes lifted to the sky and she stared.
The sky was very clear, stars shining brightly in the inky expanse. It took her a moment to feel the chill of the night. She shuddered, brushing her bangs back.
'Ugh. It's cold and my hair's in my face…' a hand appeared over her shoulder, her headband dangling off the fingers.
"Forget something in your rush?" Kojyuro asked, a smirk on his voice. Kasuga snatched the headband before he could draw his hand back, pursing her lips at him as she situated the headband on her head. Once that was in place, she tilted her head at him. The wind picked up, making her shiver. Kojyuro made no move to warm her; he simply stood in front of her, looking off to the side at the fireflies dancing in the trees.
'Seems like I'm getting attached to him. We really should separate before I do.'
She walked towards him until she stood flush against him, gazing seductively into his eyes, "I will be tempted to follow you, samurai."
He returned her gaze, a smirk on his lips, "then I will be tempted to capture you, kunoichi," he stroked her face, "and keep you."
"All to yourself?" she wondered aloud, pushing up onto the balls of her feet.
"Of course," he murmured, slipping his hand under her chin. He kissed her chastely, brushing his thumb over her lips when he pulled away. He took a step back.
"I'll be going then, kunoichi," he said quietly, turning around.
"Until next we meet, samurai," she called to him, flipping back into the trees. He stopped walking and looked over his shoulder, his eyes slowly scanning up to find her in the trees. She blew him a kiss before disappearing into the trees.
'Thank Kami I didn't get attached but if it would be,' she touched her fingers to her lips, blushing, 'Kojyuro… I…'
She shook her head, turning her thoughts instead to a relaxing bath at the onsen when she reached Kai.
I just realized that Kasuga repeats her thought of Kojyuro being difficult... I care not. Hope you liked it~ I know this is a deliciously rare pairing. I love it a little... too much, he he~