A Welcome Back Kiss
Neya was sewing together pieces of fabric in silence in her room as she wondered where her white haired lover was. It had been several months since his last visit to the village and she was starting to worry that something actually happened to him. Especially since he would normally send her letters telling her that he'd be coming later if something abruptly slowed down his travels back home. But knowing Utsuho, he could take care of himself despite his reputation for coming face to face with do-or-die situations. He was an Itsuwaribito. It was in his profession to be in these types of situations.
"As long as he doesn't show up covered in scratch marks and torn clothes like he did last time he came back home then I think it'd be a miracle." Neya stated as she finished up her latest piece of clothing for one of the orphans who just came to her village. "I already have a huge pile of clothes I'm working on, I don't need Utsuho's clothes doubling my work."
Overall things were running smoothly in her village. Everyone from the island, after they served their sentences, came back over to the mainland where they were greeted and led to their new home. The men handled most of the mining and farming while the women helped teach and raise the orphans. Things were peaceful and many children who were without families started coming to her village looking for refuge and a fresh beginning with a new family of brothers and sisters.
"If I remember correctly, Iwashi's village is currently going through a trade boom and she's offered to send over some new fabric for clothes. I should write her back as soon as I'm done with this last batch of clothes since I'm almost out of fabric." Neya sighed as she finally folded up the second to last piece of clothing onto her large stack beside her.
That's when she heard a chuckle from behind her windowpane. Her eyes widened at the familiar sound and her cheeks began to flush with a rosy pink. She quickly turned her head around and saw none other than her clever white haired Itsuwaribito grinning at her.
"You talkin to yourself this late at night?" He asked simply as he hopped down from the window and into the room, taking a long look at all the stacks of papers and clothes piling up around her desk. "How do you even move in here?"
She got up from her seat and walked forward to embrace him in a hug when he stopped her right before she could wrap her arms around him. "Before you give me a hug, I wanna show you this." He stated as if she never moved. He opened his hand for her to find a small necklace.
The necklace was quite beautiful and she didn't dare wonder how he came in possession of it. The pendant was in the shape of a cherry blossom and the color was a baby pink that popped in Utsuho's pale hand. He smiled at her awed expression and made a motion for her to turn around so he could put it on her.
"Before you even ask, I was given this as a thank you for helping someone. It wasn't stolen or anything like that." He said as he gently brought the necklace around her neck and snapped it together so it dangled gently on her neckline.
She could feel the warmth of his fingers caressing the back of her neck and it made a shiver rush through her body. She looked down at the pendant and smiled at the small cherry blossom as she wondered if it reminded him of her.
"I wasn't going to ask you how you got it. I've learned not to question your motives while you're traveling with Pochi on your journey. By the way, where is Pochi?" She asked as she looked around for her small friend.
He gave his normal smile and shrugged his shoulders. "He was tired so he decided to crash for the night after our long trip here. It isn't easy traveling in the dead of night but thankfully I know these mountain passes like the back of my hand."
Her entire room was lit with candles as a means to help her with her work while everyone else around them in the surrounding buildings were fast asleep in their beds. It was just the two of them together in the room.
"I was beginning to worry that I'd have to send Uzume or Yakuma to go and save you from whatever danger you got yourself into." She admitted as she chuckled softly and gazed into his eyes after she had turned around.
He looked at her in mock offense. "Do you really have such little faith in my abilities after all we've been through?"
She stuck out her tongue at him and they both started to laugh. It had been ages since they were able to talk like this together and Neya wanted this moment to last forever. But after they had stopped laughing, Utsuho looked at her in a completely different manner than she had seen just a few moments ago. He was looking at her with a new emotion: desire.
"Utsuho?"
"I missed you Neya."
His sudden statement threw Neya off guard as her face began to heat up with a deep blush. "I-I missed you too."
He walked up to her so they were barely inches apart as she realized how tall he had grown since the last time she saw him. His shoulders were broad and wide like a full grown man and his eyes were as alluring as ever. Tempting her to bridge the gap between their lips.
Leaning his forehead against hers, Utsuho gazed into her eyes and smiled at her. "You look like you stayed out in the sun too long with that bright red face of yours."
"W-well that's because-" But Neya never got to finish her sentence as her lips were gently covered by his own as he enchanted her with a tender kiss. Her mind went blank as all her thoughts flew out of her mind and all she could focus on was the heat of his lips and how he had her completely under his control. His kisses had that kind of effect on her. But soon she responded and kissed him back so they were in a loving embrace in the middle of the candlelit room.
When he parted his lips away from hers, Utsuho smiled his fox like grin as he said "Because what?"
She couldn't respond right away because she was still trying to catch her breath from their intense reunion kiss but she didn't know how to continue what she was trying to saying anyway. So she did what she thought would get her point across as she let her actions speak louder than her words.
"Neya?-" He asked before it was his turn to be surprised as Neya cupped his cheeks and brought him back into their kiss. His grin on his face slightly grew before he responded to her advance in kind by returning her affection. It was a reunion kiss and a welcome home greeting that neither of them would forget.
