ANSWERS TO REVIEWS:

PrincessSohma: hehe Thank you so much for always reviewing, it really makes my day ^.^ I loved writing the parts with them, spying on Aoi and Odanna, I will include them more often in one shots now.

FairyGirl34: Sure thing. (And thank you for the sweet compliment! I hope you'll enjoy this chapter too!) :)

Prompt: Odanna and Chibi spend some quality time together while Aoi is away, set what could have happened before Aoi saw Odanna tickling Chibi in Episode 19.

Rated: K

A Strange Friendship

Odanna pulled the smelly cart along the dirt path towards the small wooden house, feeling relieved to see the sun slowly setting, it's heat finally stopped beating upon his back and head, despite the straw hat he was wearing.

He supposed becoming a fish peddler wasn't all that bad, especially for Aoi's sake. The day-to-day hardships were insignificant in comparison to the feeling of fullfilment and the sense of home he experienced whenever Aoi was near him. Byakuya had everything handled at Tenjin'ya, that was one worry off his back. However, there was still a thorn in his side, how Orio-ya treated Aoi. The minute he had seen her swollen ankle, the pain she had to endure against her will, it had taken a lot of self-control to not either storm the inn himself or just take her home with him.

Putting the cart to a stop and carrying the fresh supplies of fish and other ingredients for Aoi inside, he stopped at the doorway, seeing nobody, "Hm...she must still be busy,"

Trying to bury down the twinge of disappointment and loneliness at Aoi's absence, Odanna continued walking forward until a small, high-pitched voice called out from somewhere under him, "Please don't step on me master!"

Odanna froze, carefully pulling his foot away and looking over the wooden box he was carrying down to the floorboards.

Chibi was curled into a ball, slowly unravelling when he sensed Odanna's eyes on him, "Chibi? What are you doing here? I thought you were with Aoi," setting the box to its intended place at the back, Odanna sat down on a higher step and picked the turtle ayakashi into his cupped hands.

Chibi yawned, obviously having been woken up from a nap, "Well..." he scratched his head bashfully, "Aoi-shan said I shouldn't come because of the big scary dog!"

A small, amused smirk curled the Master's lips, "Ah...Ranmaru...yes he is quite a handful," he chuckled, looking down at the lonely ayakashi, "Say, why don't we have ourselves a grand time while waiting for Aoi to come back?" he grinned.

Chibi stared at the Hachiyo for a moment, as if contemplating if he was serious, before throwing his small hands up in the air and cheering, "Yay! A day with the master! Oh, oh, can we eat some cucumbers?!"

Odanna laughed at Chibi's excited expression, patting him on the head softly, "I don't see why not, I even brought a few with me," as Chibi jumped off his hand and Odanna moved to inspect one of the vegetable boxes, both had a feeling their unusual time together wouldn't be boring.

Several long minutes later...

Chibi was munching on a diamond-shaped cucumber slice, a full plate of oddly shaped cucumber slices next to him, along with another smaller plate of various miniature vegetables for him to eat easily. Odanna himself ate grilled vegetables on a stick, smiling softly down at the adorable turtle ayakashi, "Chibi,"

That caught his attention, "Hm?" Small black eyes blinked up at him.

Odanna smiled, "You always wait for Aoi in her room after working in Moonflower, right?" Chibi hummed in agreement, slowly chewing the vegetable in his mouth while listening to the Master, "And, Aoi also confides in you whenever she has any problems, correct?" another nod.

Odanna grinned in glee, "...Does Aoi ever talk about me?"

Chibi blinked, swallowing down the food in his mouth, "Hmm...she does!" Odanna's eyes sparkled, "...sometimes," the light in them dimmed slightly and Chibi giggled, "But she only says good things about you Master, I promise!"

Odanna chewed on his own vegetables, looking thoughtful, "Really? Like what Chibi?" he stared down at the small ayakashi curiously.

Eyeing his now empty plates, Chibi spotted Odanna's still full vegetable plate on his lap, so he briskly wobbled over towards the ogre and climbed up on his legs, nestling against the place where his legs met in a criss-crossed position. From his new vantage point, Chibi easily bent forward and comfortably took a small piece of tomato from the pile before answering, "Hmmm...let's see," he swallowed his food, "Aoi-shan says how you have too much free time on your hands, oh and she also says your 'husband duties' are weird,"

Odanna frowned, resting his chin on his hand, "...Ah..." ...were they that bad? Hidekoto assured him they worked on his own wife...then again not every person is like the other...perhaps he should change his strategy, "Hm, I see...so it annoys Aoi that I try out those husband duties?"

Chibi nodded shyly, Odanna rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "Has she ever told you what I do right?"

There had to be something, right?

Chibi scratched his head, wracking his brain for anything, "Aoi-shan likes it when you buy food at the market for her and she was really happy when you wrote on that messenger thing to each-other!" heat immediately filled the ogre's cheeks and he almost forgot to swallow the food in his mouth.

"...Really? She was?" There was a feeling in his chest, like it was about to burst. He always silently wondered if that had been a good idea, for him it had been the best one yet since it made his lonely days and nights out of Tenjin'ya far more bearable. He had entertained the thought she could feel the same about their nightly messages but hadn't ever really believed it to be true until now.

Chibi watched the grin on the master's face curiously, "Master?"

The Hachiyo focused back on the turtle ayakashi, "What is it Chibi?"

Chibi adjusted his place on Odanna's crossed legs and the ogre removed his plate so that he had more room to move in, "Do you really like Aoi-shan?"

His gaze softened and he felt that characteristic, warm sensation spread in his torso again, "Yes Chibi, I do,"

The turtle ayakashi contemplated this for a minute, pacing back and forth over the expanse of the master's legs until he stopped at his bent knee and firmly pointed a finger at him, "If you hurt Aoi-shan I'll never forgive you and...I'll eat away all of your cucumbers and vegetables!" despite his adorable appearance, Odanna took the words seriously and lightly bowed his head, smiling at him at eye-level.

"I'll do everything in my power to make sure that nothing happens to Aoi, not by anyone or especially by my own hand," he stared at his claw thoughtfully, "If she chooses to accept me of course,"

Chibi stared at the ayakashi intently, studying the truly conflicted and slightly pained expression on his face.

Making his decision, Chibi jumped onto Odanna's outstretched hand and balanced himself by holding onto his thumb, smiling up at the startled ogre, "Master, I thought you said we will have a good time until Aoi-shan comes back!"

Odanna smiled and gently poked Chibi's cheek, "You're right, I did," he grinned happily, "I always wondered, how ticklish turtle ayakashi really were?"

Chibi was out of his hand in a second and already rolling along the floor, away from the still seated master inkeeper, "You'll never catch me master!"

Odanna laughed, getting to his feet and rolling up his sleeves, "Oh we will see about that," with a grin, he went after the rolling ball of cuteness.

It was already night when Aoi came back and Odanna and Chibi had been absorbed in one of their games.

Aoi's brow shot to her hairline, her expression a perfect mask of confusion, " ...What are you doing?"

Odanna looked up from his tickle war with Chibi, which looked more like he was single handedly assaulting the poor ayakashi with a merciless tickle with his fingers on his tummy, "It tickles! It tickles!"

Odanna stopped his assault and looked up at Aoi from his perch on the floor, "Oh, you're back," at her troubled look, he grew concerned.

"You look like you took on another burden on yourself," Odanna straightened his position, helping the poor still-chuckling ayakashi onto his feet.

Aoi's gaze was sad, "How can you tell so easily?"

The ogre smiled and gestured for her to sit, scratching Chibi's head lightly.

Chibi munched on his cucumber, watching them from the corner of his eye, "Aoi-shan looks troubled...but Odanna-sama is looking after her! Aoi-shan I want to help too! I want to be a useful follower!"

Thanks for reading! :3