Barricade
The second time he saw her, she was picking flowers in the valley, using her skirt as a sling as she filled it with blossoms.
"What are you doing this far from the village?" he asked, and she jumped at his call. She turned and he saw the bruise on her cheek, and his eyebrows came together. "What happened to you?"
"Nothing," she said, turning back to the flowers, "This is the only place these grow."
He walked over to her quickly, leaning in to see her face, and she tried to turn away. "It's not right for someone to hit you. Who did it?"
"You have bruises too," she pointed out, finally meeting his eyes, "Guilty did that, didn't he?" she asked, indicating to his poorly bandaged arm.
"That's different," he protested, "I'm training. You're just a girl."
She bit her lip, and after a moment dropped the hem of her skirt, the flowers falling onto the grass in a waterfall of petals. "Your dressing will come of, let me see." He flushed a bit and held out his arm. She reached out, gently undoing the clumsy knot before slipping the wrapping off. She tied it again quickly, the bandage tight and neat. "There."
"Thanks," he said awkwardly, and she knelt down, collecting the flowers again. He dropped down beside her, resting his hands on his knees and simply watching her. "What's your name?"
"Esmeralda," she smiled a bit, sitting as well. She began to knot the flowers into a chain, and he noticed her nails were torn and crusted with blood. He frowned, and took the flowers from her.
"Let me," he instructed firmly, fumbling to weave the stems, "I'm Ikki."
"That's a nice name," she complimented, and he smiled a bit. "You should make sure they're not too tight, or the chain will break," she told him gently, and he nodded.
"Here," he said, placing a halo of blossoms onto her hair, "You're pretty." The words came out sounding strange, and he couldn't help the blush.
She blinked, then laughed, leaning over to lightly peck his cheek. "Thank you."