Ambivalence

Author's Note: Hi everyone. I'm Chocolate-Obsessed and I'm new to the community. This is my first fanfic so please be gentle!

Disclaimer: I do not own Blade of the Immortal.

Chapter ONE: Embarrassment

The autumn leaves fell quietly, deep in the forest. If one were to walk past, they could hear a soft ping, ping, but that deep in, no one walked by. The only things heard were that of metal on metal.

The sounds stopped, just for a second, as Rin and Manji had paused. They looked at each other, still in the heat of the spar, wondering who was going to make the next move. Of course, Rin did, but it looked rather clumsy, running towards Manji with her sword held high. He waited for her to get close, then stepped out of the way. She had predicted this move, and stopped prematurely, before she had followed through with her supposed "attack". This caught Manji a little off guard, and while he was trying to get back in the game, Rin swung her sword horizontally to try and slice Manji in half. They were playing this one for real, with real swords, real danger. Manji had decided Rin was getting good enough to try for real, and he was right. He dodged the swing, but lost his footing as he tripped on a root, and grabbed a hold of the closest thing to him, namely, Rin's arm.

But the game wasn't over, and this had happened to Rin enough times to know that she shouldn't let down her guard. She fell near Manji's side, and quickly got on top of him, pulling a dagger out of an unseen sheath. For the fraction of a second that the dagger was held high, Manji could see that he wasn't going to get out of this one, and braced himself for the attack. It came fast, in total, five stabs, all centered around his heart. He was a little shocked that Rin had actually stabbed him. All he was prepared for was her getting really close to stabbing, say, his neck and exclaiming that she had won. The shock took its toll, as she stabbed him repeatedly, but after the fifth time, he got his hand free from underneath her leg and grabbed her hand, stopping her from committing further damage. She wasn't done though, as she took her other hand and made a fist. She punched him only one time, before he held her other hand, looking at her with a look of utter confusion.

Rin just stared at him, the emotion in her eyes changing from anger to remorse. Her face started to contort into one of utmost sadness, and Manji started to ease his grip on her wrists. When she felt the pressure being released, she fell on him, pinning him to the ground, but she was not fighting, she was crying.

"I'm... so... sorry," she said, gasping for air in between words. "I... don't... know... what came over me..."

She continued this for a short time, made all the shorter by the realization that crept over Manji's face.

"Hey, Rin," he said quietly, almost inaudibly. She didn't hear, or if she did, she didn't respond. He took her by the shoulders and pushed her up. The sight he saw was pitiful, Rin's face was completely red from all the crying, tears staining her cheeks.

"Hey, you know what?" he continued.

She shook her head to signify "no."

"You beat me. Fair and square. And with real weapons."

She blinked her eyes a couple of times, and looked at him with sheer amazement. Then she did something Manji was not expecting. She smiled, a huge smile, grabbed his head, and hugged it so hard, he felt like it was going to explode under the pressure. When she finally let it go he gulped in a huge amount of air, right before she did something else unexpected. She kissed him. He had just enough time to close his mouth, but the shock of it almost made him open it again. He thought better of it.

The kiss didn't last very long, Rin's eyes shot open, and her back stiffened so she was sitting up again. She noticed the unusual position she was in, still straddling him, and took a sharp intake of breath. She immediately got off of him, a small flush going to her cheeks. She stood there staring at him, and him, still laying down, at her. Her eyes widened as large as saucers, obviously still processing what happened. Then she ran into the shack they were staying in, slamming the door behind her.

Manji continued to lay on the ground for some while, figuring out what to do. He laughed to himself, shook his head, and got up to make dinner.

"C'mon, Rin, you have to eat something," Manji said through the closed door. "You haven't eaten since breakfast."

"I'm not hungry," she said, muffled by the wall in between them.

"Of course you are," he pushed.

"No, I am not."

Okay, he wasn't going to win this one.

"Fine, you don't have to eat," he sighed, "but could you at least let me in so I can get some sleep?"

"Hmm nnn" was all he heard.

"Come on," he said exasperated, lightly punching the door. He didn't want to break it down, because it was starting to get cold at night, and the door offered protection against the wind.

He got no answer.

"I have to sleep," he said. "Do you really want me to sleep out in the cold, just 'cause you're embarrassed?"

He got no answer.

"Rinnnnnnnnnn..." Okay, now he was starting to sound like her, whining and begging. He heard a little movement, but then nothing happened, so he persisted.

"Please let me in," he begged. It was getting late, and he was cold, very cold. All he could think about was the nice soft futon. He was also a little sore from being stabbed so many times.

"What do I have to say for you to let me in?" he asked.

"Nothing."

Well, at least she was talking again.

"Fine... nothing."

"THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT!"

"Okay, okay. Just please, let me in. I wont say anything! I wont even look at you. Okay?"

He heard more movement, hoping that she was going to let him in, then it stopped, again with no results.

He was about to open his mouth, when the door slid open, just a little. It was enough, he moved toward it, but then stopped to the sound of erratic movement inside. He opened the door when it stopped and saw that Rin was in her own futon, the covers obviously quickly thrown on top of her.

He fell into his bed, and the second his head hit the pillow, he was out.

Author's Note: I hope it was good! Please Read and Review. Thank you!