Nami and Lee are staring at Nintai. She's still clutching Kasumimaru's arm in her sleep.

"Kinda funny," Lee says through clenched teeth, trying to hold back the laughter.

"Yeah, maybe so," say Nami as she does the same.

They're both thinking the same thing.

"She's so much more honest in her sleep," they speak in unison, biting their lips to hold back their fits from the hilarity of it all.

Together, they walk away from her toward the group of ninjas gathered around three separate campfires. Immediately, in hopes of distracting themselves from their private joke, they get to work helping with changing bandages. It's morning and Nintai hasn't woken up quite yet. The blue necklace that had been bugging Nami to be put around the ninja leader's neck glows softly as it lays on the man's chest.

Nami just couldn't bring herself to put it around the guy's neck last night; a guy wearing a girly thing like a pendant just didn't seem right. When she made this comment audible, the pendant itself immediately tried to rant about how a guy could make an ornately decorated pendant like himself seem manly. Unfortunately for him, though, he simply couldn't go much farther than denying the statement and the explanation as to why was never revealed.

As a compromise, Lee suggested that the pendant just be laid on his chest, which the tactician within the stone agreed would work. So the former babysitter had placed het pendant on Kasumimaru's chest and left it there the entire night.

All of this had ensued after Lee decided to run Nami and the rest of the ninja through a crash course of how a teenager fell in love and made a relationship work. Everyone had turned bright red by the middle of the explanation and Nami had slapped her hand over Lee's mouth to stop her. The promise she'd made to keep Lee quiet had been to go with a proposed compromise and place the pendant on the chest instead of slipping it onto the neck.

"Y'know, Nami. After a good night's sleep, you seem a lot more open to her pursuing this," Lee comments.

Nami smiles weakly. "I know I'm not gonna be able to stop her. And who knows? Maybe her falling for him could be a good thing. And maybe she won't absolutely have to stay in one place. Who knows?"

The explanation seemed, to Lee, more for Nami's benefit and convincing than for anyone else's. But Lee didn't bring it up and left the girl to her self-convincing mumblings.


The two girls are overlooking a lower area from the top of a slope. At the bottom is an open space with a single large cherry blossom tree in the middle. Its roots can be seen beneath a collection of standing water or pond; which one neither girl seems to be able to tell. Surrounding the tree, floating on the water, are lily pads and lotus flower buds, all larger than normal and just big enough to hold one person per pad.

On a pad closer to the tree than the others sits a single man in meditation position. His silver hair is long enough to match a girl's and tied at the end. Dressed in all black, Nintai recognizes him easily, turning red as the memory of the hot springs pops into her head. I'd remember that figure and build anywhere by now. Truly, as the memory seemed to pop into her head whenever it wanted over the last two days.

Hantai stares at Nintai's face for a few seconds, then giggles at the sight of her reddened face. Nintai glares at her, annoyed at the laughter coming from a girl who simply couldn't understand the reasoning behind the blush.

"That's so funny! I didn't think you went for guys so much older than you!"

"His hair is naturally that color, despite his young age! So be quiet!"

Hantai, still giggling, grabs ahold of Nintai's hand and grips it tightly. "Let's say high!"

Knowing what she's trying to do, Nintai attempts to resist, but with more knowledge about how the place they're in works, Hantai overpowers her easily. Together, although the blushing girl isn't exactly doing so with pleasure, the two go down the slope and up to the water's edge. Kasumimaru still hasn't noticed them and continues doing his meditation. Hantai pushes Nintai forward, making her jump to the first lily pad in front of her.

"I'm gonna wait here," she cheers happily.

"Of course you will," Nintai mutters.

Seeing no way out of it, she starts jumping from one lily pad to the next, keeping her eyes on Kasumimaru's back as she moves. Only three jumps away and he still hasn't noticed her approaching. Nintai, however, notices the size of the lily pad growing larger. Another, smaller lily pad is pushed away by the ripples of the water. Balancing herself on her own lily pad, Nintai stares at Kasumimaru, seeing that he didn't notice his change.

With disbelief in her eyes, she looks back at the shore to see that Hantai has moved to the top of the slope and is waving goodbye. The girl in the red kimono turns around and runs off into the cherry trees without another gesture.

"Hey! Get back here!" Her angry shout rebounds around the area.

"You?"

Freezing in place, Nintai listens carefully. Water rippling is all she hears. Turning back, she watches as Kasumimaru gets up from his place and stares at her in amazement. This is so awkward. What am I supposed to do? With hesitation in her body language and a blush on her cheeks, it's easy to tell the girl standing on the lily pad, only one jump away from Kasumimaru, is lost.


Sayori sees the large spear falling, about to hit Jin as he stands to protect an unconscious Muneshige. The downed samurai had told her and Jin to run past the large man about to kill the two bodyguards, but they refused to leave him behind, and now all three were about to pay the price. With a single prayer and closed eyes, Sayori misses the next move.

A bloodcurdling roar of agony reverberates around the highway, the watching civilians taking several steps back as they cover their ears. Hearing this sound, Sayori assumes her two protectors have been killed and she was next.

But a distant yelling assured her otherwise.

"Hatsuhime! Princess!"

Opening her eyes, Sayori sees an old man in the distance rushing to her along with a number of men and woman dressed in everything from soldier's armor to servant's clothes. To her ears, right now, their cries of relief and joy are the most relaxing thing in the world. With them approaching, she finally dares to focus on Jin and Muneshige.

The red head stands proudly, a huge smile beaming at her. Muneshige lays, unconscious, next to the other man's feet. To her, the sight of them safe and sound is enough to keep her happy for the rest of her life. Another feeling inside makes her feelings towards the two confusing.

But with the old man passing Jin and embracing Sayori, the girl simply can't care right now; she just wants to pass out and sleep for a long time. And she does as the sight of a beautiful sunset fills her eyes. The only things that registers in her exhausted mind is the feeling of weightlessness and safety and the smell of sweat and blood.

The next thing she sees is a ceiling and sunlight filtering through a window shade. The sun has started rising.

"Oh yeah."

Sayori sits up in the futon. Just a little ways away are the doors with two shadows being projected onto them by a couple of candles. These shadows disappear soon as the candles casting the light are blown out.

"So, I was just reliving it, then?"

Saying it to herself helps Sayori confirm it. She'd merely dreamed the events of the evening before back up, forcing herself to relive and remember the feelings.

"What were those feelings, anyways?"


Nintai stands on her lily pad wishing she could just turn around and start hopping her happy way back to the dirt and grass. But Hantai is no doubt waiting for that to happen and is hiding somewhere among the cherry blossoms to catch her. So she just stands there, her wish in heart, and stares at the green plant on which she quietly waits.

Kasumimaru's amazement had surprised her for a moment, but his silence hadn't. The two simply can't talk to each other. The only times they'd even come into contact had been in battles. Either that, or one had been unconscious while the other looked after them. No matter what Nintai thinks of, she can't seem to open her mouth, much less say anything.

The ripples in the water from movement catch her eyes. She looks up for a second, seeing Kasumimaru sitting down again, facing the tree. A tree. Looking up even further, she stares at the tree that grows from the waters. Its blossoms are a light purple, much like Nintai's hair, and the petals are falling slowly just like the trees that surround the lowered portion of space.

She turns her attention to the large lotus buds floating in the water. Each one is a light purple, varying from near white to a soft lavender. Each one reminds Nintai of her hair color. Don't tell me. She looks back up to the tree. Patience?

The tree bark seems to brighten, as if the living thing itself was experiencing happiness. A soft smile spreads across Nintai's face. Her ears catch the sound of a sharp intake of breath. Looking to Kasumimaru, she sees no change in his position. His muscles, however, seem much tighter than they were when he'd been meditating. Hmmm…

"If you'd like…" she starts, watching him with glee as he jumps at the sound of her voice. "If you'd like, you can go ahead and do whatever it was you were doing a little bit ago."

Looking over his shoulder at her, Nintai remarks that his mask is on here, whereas she could swear that she'd removed it in reality. Dreams are definitely funny; who on earth dreams themselves up wearing a mask. He turns back to the tree and takes a deep breath, releasing it slowly.

Trying to think of something she can do, Nintai looks around for inspiration. Without a better idea, she jumps to the enlarged lily pad, making it rock and him jump. He's not actually meditating, is he? His reaction reminded her of her father's whenever he visits. The man jumps just as easily as her father when her dad is faced with an angry daughter.

Holding back a giggle, which seems rather girly to her, she sits down on his left, her legs folded underneath and her feet bearing the majority of her weight. This can't be more awkward. Well aware of herself and him, Nintai sits quietly, her eyes on the roots of the tree beneath the water's surface.

"Tell me something."

Nintai jumps, remarking to herself at the same time how easily people can be surprised when overly aware. She turns her attention to the man sitting next to her. He's still staring at the tree straight ahead.

"How did you manage it?"

"Huh?" Manage what?

"To beat me that first time. To surprise me the second. How did you manage to beat me and my men then, but fail to defend yourself when we cornered you?"

Nintai stares at his profile for a few seconds, then bites her lip. Noticing this, Kasumimaru turns his full attention to her, not understanding her reaction. The girl sitting next to him is trying to keep herself from laughing, although, in her defense, that was one question she honestly never saw coming.

Before she can get complete control over herself, the girl is laughing hysterically, falling onto her side and hold her stomach as a cramp forms. Even so, she continues to laugh for several minutes, making the man she'd been sitting next to turn slightly red. The sight of that reaction drives her laughter further.

"What!?"

Clamping her hands over her mouth, Nintai tries the best she can to stop the giggles from escaping. She has to admit, the question is a good one, but an answer is pretty obvious if he'd simply thought about it.

"I failed to protect myself, heh heh, because I just didn't want to fight back..."

The look on his face at her words brings a new wave of giggles and Nintai quickly bites her lip and covers her mouth. To her, that look on a guy who has been trying to kill her is hilarious. I never thought I'd see a guy like him seem so confused… or cute!

And it's true, the look of confusion and thinking on his face makes Nintai completely adore him. Although she intends to keep the 'cute' comment to herself. I should draw him as a chibi. He'd be so adorable! And every girl at school will want a one! …That could make me a lot of cash. Her simple thought makes the laughter all the harder to contain. Forcing the last of the chuckles and giggles away for later, the girl gets back into her sitting position.

"So, why would you care?"

"It's been bothering me, that's all."

Nintai rolls her eyes. "Wow, that answer's not obvious at all."

A sharp glare from him does nothing to her nerves. In this place, she has the upper hand; Hantai could just float over and save her from anything this guy tries. Shrugging at the look he gives her, she sees the sparks and spirit in his eyes cool off. He turns his attention away from her and back to the tree.

"Would you like to know her name?"

His eyes narrow at her words. "I already know your name."

Nintai bites her lip to stop another chuckle. "Not me… the tree."

Kasumimaru looks at her blankly, then nods. It's so cute, I just can't NOT laugh! How could she possibly keep a straight face when he acts like that?

"It's patience."

As they look at the tree, Nintai feels a vague sense of misery. Not her own, of course. She's figured out her problems and is solving them. The misery she feels is coming from somewhere else, and it doesn't take her much more than a few seconds to find the source.

"Is something wrong?" A simple question, but from her, it's like a blessing to his ears.

"That easy to tell?"

A soft smile spreads across her lips. "Naturally. I've been digging into people's problems since I was little; I can tell when someone's trying to hide something and when it's important. Your issue is bad enough that trying to hide it only made it all the more obvious."

Kasumimaru gives her an assessing look. After a moment, he dives into a random issue that Nintai can tell he just came up with to avoid his actual problem. Something about how his men aren't doing their best or have been failing an awful lot.

"So, then, maybe you're the issue."

He flinches, most likely expecting something kind and encouraging.

"Think about it a bit more. You're the one not letting them in on the secrets of their progress. You're the one hiding it. If you're so upset about it, then just talk about it. Now, why don't you try not lying to me?"

Sighing to himself, he shakes his head. "Why on earth would I talk to some random person about my issues? I can handle them myself."

Smiling, Nintai comes up with several reasons why he should take advantage of her offer. One, talking can help. Two, because you know no one else will ever ask. Three, because I- No! Stop it! Finally, she gets up from her spot and turns around.

"If you were hoping for some form of encouragement for a non-existent problem, I'm sorry. But even with that small bit of encouragement, your real problem wouldn't have been fixed, would it?"

She takes one last look at him before starting back across the lily pads to the other side. Well, at least I talked to him… sort of. Landing on the grass, she sneaks a peek over her shoulder as she pretends to readjust her clothes. The sight of him sitting there staring off hurts her deeply. Alright, already! I'm well aware of how I feel! But I won't be here much longer so get over it!

With her feet moving once more, Nintai starts up the slope with a hole in her chest and a wish that she'd never gone across the waters to talk to him. Behind her, the tree patience loses a little brightness.


Opening her eyes, Nintai sees his shoulder. Immediately, she backs off, letting go of his arm. I guess I'm more honest in my sleep. The slight pink tinge in her cheeks fades as she forces her heart beat to slow down. She notices that the blue pendant she'd left on the ground before falling asleep is now resting on his chest.

"Good morning, ko."

"Stupid tactician," she mutters.

"Oh, how you wound me."

"Whatever. You're the reason the space with Hantai became a chat room, aren't you?"

The blue glow of the pendant is still there, but the tactician inside remains quiet. Glaring at the stone for a few seconds, she picks it up of Kasumimaru's chest and slips the string of the necklace over her head. Checking to see that the man's bandages are still good, Nintai gets up to her feet and moves to her friends.

Lee and Nami are sitting at a fire, eating a morning stew. A third bowl is still steaming and waiting for Nintai as she sits down with them.

"We need to get going soon."

The other two look up at her, surprised. They'd been here a few days, sure, but leaving now meant leaving the ninja behind by themselves. Although, them staying behind no longer held any moral merit; their bandages and antiseptic are out, not to mention that the girls themselves could use a little time away from all the boyness around them.

So, although they feel a little iffy about it, Lee and Nami nod agreement.

"But what about ninja boy back there?"

"I thought you were being quiet," Nintai says nonchalantly as the glowing pendant softly mutters to himself.

"Well, the stupid tactician is right, Nintai," Lee points out.

"Hey! Not you, too!"

Thinking about it for a second, Nintai looks over her shoulder. "As much as it pains me to not make sure he wakes up, I don't think we can spare any more time here. Sayori's waiting for me, along with the idiot bodyguards that are supposed to be with her."

As she says this, Nintai hears the shouts of a few ninja who'd gone hunting. As they sprint into the clearing, the girls see why. Behind them are another group of ninja, no injuries whatsoever, but obviously from the battle a few days ago. All of them turn their eyes to the girls, who continue to sit there and eat.

Lee and Nami finish their as the hunters who'd gone out rush up to them. "We're so sorry. We should have made sure you three were okay with this," the closest streams in one breath.

"Stop." Nintai's voice reaches well past the moving ninja as they stop before the gathered girls. "You don't need to apologize about it. They're your friends and your comrades, so of course they can be here. We're the outsiders, not them."

Lee and Nami look at each and nod.

"She's right," Lee starts. "We're the ones overstaying here."

"Absolutely. You're friends have every right to be here," joins Nami. "After all, they're the ones who know you all best."

The ninja who'd been with them for the past few days realize immediately what the girls are doing. Most accept it easily, a few not as much, but all of them are well aware of the decision the girls have and are ready to respect it.

Getting up from their seats, the girls grab their bags from nearby and move through the camp, checking all the wounded one more time as they say their goodbyes. The vast majority are smiling at them, wishing them luck; the minority are smiling as well, but theirs are sad ones, wishing the girls didn't have to leave. A few days with them and those around them had realized how pure-hearted and well managed the girls are.

Some of the men who talk to Nintai ask if she honestly intends to leave their leader the way he is. "There's nothing more I can do for him. Besides, he won't talk to me, even if he does wake up. I believe he's one of those people who refuses to 'burden' others with his problems or issues."