My Only One

Chapter 11

By: Light of the Firefly

OOOOO

Were these men bandits? They were certainly armed for the part. All of them wore various mismatching armor. The kind you saw on people who picked armor from their fallen enemies. It was chipped and worn, the rest of their attire smudged with stains.

Captain's stance had drifted slightly to put me behind him. I tried to stand by his side to confront these guys, but he nudged me back every time I tried to move. I bit my tongue to keep from chewing him out over it. It was hard to remind myself that I was just a woman right now, possessing no defense against such things.

The other men sniggered, eyeing us up and down.

"Oi, comrades!" Captain hollered good naturally. Even waving in what easily passed as excitement to see these men.

My adrenaline started kicking in; I was determining our chances of running. But really, where would we go? We were in the country side of the Rukongai after all. These guys could have horses that would catch up to us easily.

Squaring my shoulders, I put my best glare on my face.

"She looks like a cat with its tail all fluffed!" One of the men laughed, noticing my face. I noticed his grin had several teeth missing.

"Ah, she bites too." Captain grinned back, glancing at me over his shoulder. His eyes pointedly flickered to the village ahead. He was telling me to run when the opportunity presented itself. I shook my head fractionally, and his dark eyes hardened in frustration at me, no doubt. He turns back to the men.

They hadn't advanced, but with four of them and two of us they hardly needed to show themselves as more of a threat.

"Where were you heading?" One in the middle asked, his barbaric looking sword resting against his shoulder casually. Several knives tucked into sheaths at his belt as well.

"We are making our way to the inner districts." Captain said warmly.

"That's a long walk." The shortest of the four said thoughtfully. He was the only one of them who didn't have a weapon drawn, although several sat at his waist as well. His clothes were just as worn and unclean as the rest, but he had the air of their leader. He seems younger than the others as well, although ages were hard to judge by looks.

"You're telling me." Captain replied, looking every bit the part of an exhausted traveler.

"Why are you walking that far?" The short fellow asked, he didn't seem to be hostile at all. But with the other big goons around he really could afford to not be I'm sure.

"We have been misplaced a bit. My wife and I are trying to get back home." Captain said, gesturing to me. I flinched at how easily the words rolled off his tongue. He was better at bluffing than anyone I knew.

"Pretty little lass you got there, too." One of the bigger men said cheekily. There was no aggression coming off these guys at all. It was strange.

"Don't I know it." He grinned at me again, winking over his shoulder. I could see that he had relaxed slightly, having not detected anything he felt was threatening from these guys.

"Well," The short guy said with a shrug. "we have a camp set up about an hour's walk from here. Your welcome to join us for a rest, there is plenty of room."

"Thank you for the offer," Captain said, truly meaning it. "but we have a long way to go and need to get back in a decent amount of time."

"I insist." The short guy said, the tones of his voice hardening slightly and the other men around him stood straighter at the change. Ready to force us, if I had to guess. The ranks of Soul Society are very similar, subordinates knowing the distinct changes in their officer's cadence.

"Well, if you insist." Captain said easily, having tensed back up himself. "Let's go meet the family, Nanao-chan!"

"I'd love to." I grumbled, too low for them to hear.

The men gestured for us to follow, and so we did.

We shared a look of unease with one another briefly, before trekking off with them. Two came to walk on either side of us, as we all picked our way through the heavy forest.

Captain Kyouraku reached back and took my hand as we followed them back into the woods, giving it a gentle squeeze of reassurance.

OOOOO

Several hours, and several bottles of sake, later we were sitting around a large campfire. Sitting in a large circle made up of logs and rocks as chairs, men and women drank from the bottles, laughter was heard constantly.

Our company was in fact, very friendly. They were a small group of mostly men, but there were several women about as well. They all shared the look of people who travel primarily, having no steady settlement. Their clothes were all well worn, hair unkempt. Some spoke as if they had very little or no education.

They had a camp set up, a handful of tents strewn about in the small clearing. Horses were tied to a large branch to one side. A few mangy looking dogs wondered about.

We learned that the short man in charge, Senko, was in fact a low rank noble. He is the youngest son of his house, and apparently prefers life in the open. He told us he rarely travels back to his home lands.

But regardless, conversation flowed easily. And so did the drinks.

Captain Kyouraku was the life of the party, as usual. His story telling and general love of social get-togethers shining bright. There was quite a large group of people gathered where he sat, laughing loudly with him. He had several drinks with the men, but was far from drunk, though he acted it perfectly. There wasn't enough sake in this whole camp to get him truly drunk, though he certainly put away enough. I'm sure our company had no doubts to his sate of inhiberation.

I caught Senko watching us closely. He would laugh along with the Captain, joining in on several conversations. But every so often a strange look would pass over his features. He wasn't worried that we were a threat, I was sure. It wasn't that kind of look, plus we had been checked over for weapons before entering the camp. It was more like a torn look, confused or guilty. Maybe both.

I sat close to Captain Kyouraku, but was kept in conversation with a few of the women. One young girl in particular took to following me everywhere, chatting away constantly. She was the youngest here as far as I could tell, but seemed very happy and carefree. Her black hair cut chin length, dark eyes shining with curiosity at me. Her name was Hinarina.

Everyone was very open, chatting easily, eager for new company I think. They bought our story just fine, believing us to be a married couple and not asking too many more questions on the matter.

"Would you like to get cleaned up a bit?" One of the women asked me, smiling a crooked smile and standing up. She brushed her hands off on her dirty kimono. Her hair was streaked with grey, and her skin slightly showing the wrinkles of age on her sun hardened skin. "I know I need to."

"I would appreciate that." I agreed quickly.

"There is a group of hot springs not too far from here." Hinarina said, gesturing to the woods. "Me and a few other women were going to head up there. You can join us; it's a long walk and getting dark."

I tried to hide my excitement at the prospect of a hot bath, but I'm sure I gave it away. The older woman nodded at my expression.

"That's why I've been so happy with this location! Hot water!" She grinned, "I'll go get some soap and the other girls." The two of them hurried off.

I stood and walked over to where the Captain was sitting. I waited patiently until he got to the punch line of the dirty joke he was telling, and the small crowd roared with laughter. I could feel my eyebrow twitch. That one was rather crude.

"Ah, my Nanao-chan!" He yelled cheerfully over the chatter of the group around him. He patted the log next to him. "Come sit! Have a drink!"

I made my way over, surprised that all the drunks politely moved for me to get through. Once at his side I sank down next to him and leaned up to tell him I where I was going.

"I gotta be honest, I like this bunch!" He said quietly, before I could get a word out.

"That's because they share your love of sake, and I'm just over here to tell you that I'm going with the women to bathe."

"Well, anyone willing to share sake is a friend!" He agreed, nodding. "Where will you be?"

"I'm not sure, I'm following them." I pointed to the small group of women gathering over by one of the tents. Hinarina waved when she caught my eye and I couldn't help but smile at the young girl.

He glanced at me with an uneasy expression. "I don't really want you out of my sight."

"Do you think they're trying to separate us on purpose?" I asked, rolling my eyes. "I think if they were going to hurt us they would have already. We are terribly outnumbered."

"Still, I think you should wait for me." He said, glancing around the rowdy group. "What if something happened?"

"It'll be fine." I said, standing. "Your being paranoid."

I turned to walk off, but a large warm hand on mine halted me. I looked over my shoulder and met his dark eyes.

"Nanao-chan-" He started, in his firm Captain voice.

"Ah, there you are. I haven't seen much of you tonight!" Came the cheerful voice of Senko, who was walking up to us with a bottle in hand. He looked at both of our faces before raising his eyebrows. "Lover's quarrel?"

"My lovely wife is embarrassed that I'm drunk my friend!" Captain Kyouraku said, tugging me back to his side with a grin. He thinks he has won this one. "I'm afraid it's a well worn argument."

"Yes, well, most women want their men to be able to be in working order at the end of the night." Senko agreed, grinning at me and I blushed at his words. "How are you getting along, anyhow?"

"Just fine, everyone has been very nice, sir." I said respectfully, bowing slightly to acknowledge his stature.

"So polite." He waved dismissively. "Haven't you noticed yet how impolite this bunch is?"

"They have been fine, really." I assured him, smiling despite not wanting to enjoy this company. I'd much rather be on the road home, but it seems we are stuck here for the night. And they really are a friendly bunch. "I was just telling him, I'm heading to the hot springs with the other women. Keep an eye on my husband, would you? He does enjoy his sake more than most."

I ignored the firm squeeze on my hand, Captain obviously not happy with how I've just trapped him into letting me go. He couldn't outright refuse in front of the other man without a ligitement reason.

"So I've noticed." Senko laughed, taking a swig of his own bottle. I pulled my hand free, having to tug harder than usual to get him to release me. I avoided his eyes as I made my way back through the crowd. I could feel his dark mood aimed at me like a pressure on my body.

After a moment I heard the short man call, "Watch out for them women, by the way! I believe the bathes are their excuse for a gossip party! And they're all ornery!"

I waved a thanks over my shoulder and made my way to the small group waiting on me.

OOOOO

The bathes were actually relaxing. If soaking in near painfully hot water wasn't enough, the constant giggling chatter around me had been.

Gossip party was the perfect term. I unintentionally learned everything about every man back at the camp. It reminded me of my days in the academy being surrounded by women who shared so much in life.

I forgot momentarily our worries, getting lost in the strange familiar scene of it all.

When I came back, refreshed and lighthearted, I met Captain Kyouraku's dark gaze over the slowly dwindling crowd around the fire. He seemed relieved to see me back, his shoulders dropping marginally. He turned back to the conversation at hand a moment later, never missing a beat.

I followed Hinarina to a small tent in the clearing. The other women breaking up and moving to their own tents, as well.

"I was asked to arrange for sleeping quarters for you both." She said, waving a hand at the tent. "There are blankets inside. If you need anything at all just ask."

"Thank you, you have all been very kind." I said, truly meaning it. Even though we were subtly forced into this arrangement, I feel much better about it now that I've been here. There were safety in numbers, not to mention hot baths, blankets, and good company.

"Sleep well." The young girl smiled, skipping off to another tent.

I was just lifting the flap to the opening when I heard familiar footfalls coming up.

"My Nanao-chan is a better manipulator than I give her credit for." I heard the Captain mutter, stopping behind me. I turned and smirked at him.

"I learned from the best." He only quirked an eyebrow in response. "We have a warm place to sleep tonight."

"So I've been told." He smiled slightly, looking pleased too. "I'll go wash up too; since you came back in one piece I can assume it's safe."

"You'll be thankful you did. Those springs are pure bliss." I agreed, turning to go into the tent.

"I'll be back shortly." He said, turning to the woods. "Warm the blankets up for me!"

I rolled my eyes at his retreating form.

I settled down into the thick blankets, pulling them up to my chin happily. It felt good to finally stretch out and be comfortable falling asleep.

I laid in cozy content, waiting for him to return. Random thoughts ran through my head, but the one that kept returning was the way Senko watched us.

Not hostile, just unnerving.

OOOOO

I could hear the laughter dying down outside, as people made their ways back to their beds for the night.

The slow silence gave way to crickets chirping happily, an owl hooted mournfully in the distance. My eyes were getting harder and harder to keep open.

It wasn't long before my eyelids drifted closed, having lost the battle.

Somewhere between awake and dreams, I heard the light rustle of movement.

A heavy warmth wrapped around me gently, and I groggily leaned into it.

A hand brushed through my loose hair, and a feather light kiss on my brow.

"Sleep well, my lovely Nanao-chan."

Warm and safe now, I was asleep instantly.

OOOOO

Boring chapter, but more action to come in the next one.