Disclaimer: I have never been seduced in a hot spring. Dammit. (Gotta remember to put that on my to-do list.) Hey honey! XD
Chapter 14: Hot Spring Part II
The final bucket was filled in preparation for Himura's bath, and Kaoru reentered the house cautiously with it clutched in both hands. Pale skin rippled with the transition from icy wind to warm humidity, and she shivered once as she was enveloped in the warmth from the fire. Luckily the fireplace was meant to warm both rooms, or they would have had to bathe in the cold.
Her steps slowed as she noticed that his figure was already seated on the wooden stool in the middle of the room, and she stopped fully to stare as he lifted a bucket to rinse off the suds on his shoulders and arms. Kaoru was fairly certain that she had not been gone long enough for him to have already begun bathing. Distractedly her eyes followed the rinse water as it slid over his back, and she frowned slightly when the same line of white that she had seen before caught her eye.
It was a scar, and it was long and pale with the shadowing of a deep wound. Somewhere in her suddenly dazed mind she wondered how anyone had gotten close enough to give it to him. Quickly her eyes averted to another scar and she found that there were dozens of them that lined his back like a game board and swam over his skin in sharp patterns of pain and history. Just like the one that was dug deeply into his cheek. It was a blow to suddenly realize how mortal her demon was. If one could bleed, one could die. After everything that he had done for her, Kaoru knew that she did not want him to die.
Her heart was a sudden mass of sympathy, and Kaoru took those last few steps to sit down the bucket in her hands. He said nothing in acknowledgement as he waited for her to turn and leave, but when her fingers brushed the planes of his back his muscles tensed. It was a curious reaction for a being that had no problems touching her.
"I… will wash your back now… if you like." Kaoru's soft voice barely disturbed the bathhouse, but her words rang clear in the moist air.
Red hair twitched slightly in a hint that he might have looked at her, but instead his hand offered the washcloth and he said nothing. The rough material was gathered into her hand, and she immediately started running the cloth in vague patterns over his skin. The atmosphere between them had shifted once more. Between the incident earlier and the time it had taken for her to bathe, her demon had withdrawn into an inner shell that did not include her. What, she wondered, had triggered such a change?
Even more remarkable was the fact that he had stilled his actions in favor of releasing her. It had been weeks since her extraction from the village with no hint of her payment. Why had he not taken even something as small as her body? She had gained weight back as well. It was more muscle than fat, she admitted, from walking so long and far. Though she was still a far cry from a decent meal for a demon, she was more trouble to keep around than get rid of. So why, again, did he not satisfy his desire and hunger and be rid of her? What did he serve to gain from keeping her around?
Companionship? Azure eyes softened as she rubbed the cloth over his shoulders, and Kaoru followed a particularly angry looking scar. He's lonely, just as I suspected our first day together. He has never hinted at anything since that day, and there have been no actions that openly suggest that he has felt sorrow at being alone. But maybe the simple fact that he has relaxed around me is all the clue I need to prove my theory. He is enjoying the company of another in a way that has never been allowed him before. And maybe the reason why he has kept himself from touching me is because he does not wish to ruin that weak bond we have created.
The cloth lower ran lower, her touch gentle but firm, but the thoughts running through her mind distracted her attention. Unconscious of her actions, her fingers directed the cloth in circular patterns against the softer skin below his ribs and she jumped when he flinched. After a few rapid blinks her brain came to a screeching halt, and she darted her eyes quickly to his face in search of a reason for his reaction and if she should be apologizing for her own. Strangely his head was ducked away to hid his features behind his hair, and his muscles were even more tense than before. Kaoru's brow furrowed, and she hesitantly repeated the action.
This time his recoil upset the stool he sat on and nearly upended him onto the stone floor. Kaoru slapped a hand over her mouth and bit her tongue in an attempt to hold in her snort of laughter. He's ticklish! The notion nearly made her giddy as she could have never imagined her demon being subject to something so innocent, and she instantly moved to coax the response a third time. The washcloth was dropped altogether and Kaoru darted both hands forward to double her attack and ghost the tips of her fingers against his sides. She was given the change to enjoy his twitching for all of two seconds, though, before her head jerked instinctively when both of his elbows shot back. Two calloused hands latched around her forearms, and then his elbows lowered just as quickly as he stood to pull her tightly into his spine.
With her chin smashed sideways against the top of his shoulder and her arms forcibly wrapped around his torso, Kaoru was distantly able to see how ironic their position was. Just like an imitation of his own favored stance, she was pressed intimately into areas of his body she wasn't even sure she recognized. With the vague image came another question in the series she was developing in regards to his personality. How in the world did he find such an arrangement arousing? With every one of his hard muscles tensed next to her skin it was like she was hugging a tree. Of course, there's no way my body feels like this. I didn't even know you could have muscles there! Kaoru's cheeks burned, and she shifted uncomfortably.
"Have you finished playing, little bird?" His rough voice bit out the remark, but even though there was anger in the cords she recognized his usually teasing words. Sapphire eyes widened as she stared over his shoulder, and Kaoru gaped in sudden realization. He was embarrassed. Suddenly she was straining to see his features through the threads of his bangs, and Kaoru did not realize that her grip had tightened and her weight had shifted forward onto the tips of her toes until he tilted his head to lift an eyebrow. "Do you wish to wrestle now instead?"
A blush burned her cheeks and Kaoru lowered herself to try to pull away, but his hands were still clutching her firmly. "Wrestling in only towels might not be a good idea, little bird." Amusement had returned to his voice with the change in subject, and Himura grasped one of her hands in his to bring it to his face. "I can't promise I wouldn't get carried away." His sharp teeth nipped at a finger, and he smiled when she tugged against him half-heartedly. "Not when those eyes of yours are sure to be lit with determination."
"Right…" She jerked on her hand a little more insistently as she ground her teeth. "…and my towel possibly coming off wouldn't have a thing to do with it."
"Of course not." He released her nonchalantly, and then the demon took a step away to retrieve the overturned stool. "I will be fine bathing myself, little bluebird. You should really go jump in the hot spring before you freeze."
Kaoru did not need to be told twice.
Once in the water, however, she wasn't sure if she was going to be able to talk herself back out. It was heavenly to feel the muscles in her legs and back finally relax, and the heat was more than comfortable with the chill of winter in the air. As she kicked her legs underneath the water she giggled and lazily swam from one side to the other. It surprised her how large the spring was, and after darting a glance at the door to make sure there was no other presence outside, Kaoru dunked herself fully under the surface and made a beeline for the bottom. She was not disappointed with how deep it truly was.
Kaoru jetted through the water like a fish released back into the wild, and laughed giddily as she resurfaced for air. She hadn't realized how much she had missed the ocean, but getting the chance to swim so freely was reminding her of one of the few things she loved. Playfully she splashed around, and her mind was innocently amused with the sparkling droplets as they flew before her eyes. A moment later she ducked her head in embarrassment when she noticed her companion was standing along the rim.
"Easily amused, little bird?"
His continued teasing was making her grumpy, and Kaoru crossed her arms under the water and turned away; mostly because she did not want him to strip down in front of her. "I just like little things, ok?"
"Little things?" Softly the water swayed as his body entered the pool, and Kaoru sighed in relief when he moved to the other side.
Her shoulders shrugged in answer to his question, and Kaoru flicked her fingers across the water to watch the sprinkles cause tiny ripples along the surface. "Just… small things that make me happy. Like the smell of rain, or the taste of sugar." That list from that day so long ago when her mind had been made up to offer her life ran through her thoughts, and Kaoru looked out over the snow crusted hill. "The way snow seems so pure when it's falling from the heavens." Her body ducked further under the water until only her chin was above the steamy liquid, and Kaoru looked finally at Himura. "Isn't there anything like that you enjoy?"
Golden eyes were more prominent with his wet hair pulled up on top of his head, and the texture appeared thicker and darker after being washed, too. Those irises stared into her and unsettled her nerves so that they twitched anxiously. "I… suppose so."
"Well?" Kaoru leaned back into the bank and smiled, and her blue eyes were bright in anticipation of his response. "Like what?"
Himura looked away with a growl. "That is none of your business."
A giggle escaped her and Kaoru waved a hand in the air. "I promise I won't tell a soul. Not that anyone would believe the great demon, Himura Battousai, had ever enjoyed something as fragile as a cherry blossom."
His growling increased but he still refused to answer, and Kaoru floated slowly to a rock that stood between them. With her arms folded on top of it she rested her chin on their crossed form. "My mother used to tell me that enjoying the simplest pleasures was the best way to be happy. Pinning all of your hopes on large goals and pleasures only leads to disappointment and bitterness."
"Do you miss your mother?"
It was an odd question, but only, she realized, because it was coming from him. Quickly her eyes lowered from his suddenly intense stare, and Kaoru drew abstract designs on the rocks slimy exterior. "Of course I do."
"Did she die in that village of yours?" The words were spoken indifferently, but they still made her look up with a frown.
"I… guess you could say that."
"By those men?"
Both of her fists clenched and her teeth ground together even as the steam surrounding her seemed to suddenly obscure her vision. "By my uncle."
Something dark entered the eyes of her companion, and mirrored the anger in hers. "And your father allowed this?"
"How could you say such a thing!?" Her hand slammed down flat against the rock, but she did not flinch at the pain or the loud slap that echoed in her ears. "My father would have killed that man for looking twice at my mother! Father wasn't even there when they chased my mother out into the streets and into the woods where they raped her and left her to die! If he had been he would have never let it happen! He would have fought them all, and did when he came back!"
"And yet, where is he now?"
Kaoru trembled as tears that threatened her terse expression, and she dropped back behind the rock to hug herself under the water. "There was no way he could have won against them all. They killed him too."
"And left you alone with the same man that took his wife. What a pitiful excuse for a father."
"Don't you ever speak of my father like that." Kaoru seethed and bit the inside of her cheek to stall her anger. "Not when you yourself spoke of the very same actions our first day together."
Silence pressed down on them, and it was uncomfortable and long as the sky darkened overhead. The pale skin on her body was turning red and beginning to prune under the water. Kaoru knew that she would soon need to get out, but pride forced her to stay. If she moved she was wrong. It was a strange connection, but she wanted to know, to prove that what her father had done was not unreasonable. That any person in love with another would have been just as angry and irrational. She herself had never felt resentment towards him for leaving her in that forsaken place. Why should another see it in such a light?
The sudden presence of her companion next to her nearly stole the breath from her lungs, and his amber irises were like a beacon of light in the coming gloom. She backed away quickly, but found herself trapped against the rock when his hands captured hers and pinned them on either side of her head. Sapphire eyes widened and she was unable to hide her fright at his proximity. She felt so vulnerable and forcibly exposed, and she strained the muscles in her neck when he leaned into her.
"You are right, little bird. I had forgotten my own conviction." His amber gaze was serious and absent of any trace of lust or suggestiveness as he continued their conversation quietly. "I would have killed them for taking something of mine."
Kaoru liked her lips and swallowed. "She didn't belong to him, Himura-san. He loved her."
Himura frowned as if he was unable to comprehend her words, and his head leaned back. "There is… a difference in this ownership?"
"Of course." An automatic smiled twitched her lips in response to his ignorance, and as always she was willing to rectify it. Kaoru tilted her head to the side. "Possessions can be replaced, ne? But if you truly love someone, you care more for them than you do yourself. And they can never be replaced. My father loved my mother so much, and when she was taken away nothing else mattered to him." The smile on her face fell, and she lowered her eyes to the bare collarbones of her captor. "I was too young to do anything to help, but I have always felt the same. I loved them both, and I have done everything in my power to avenge their deaths."
"And so you gave yourself to me when that revenge was finally within your power to take." Red eyebrows creased, and she blushed at being caught.
"I'm sorry if you feel used, Himura-san. But I have promised to repay you."
She swallowed hard over the lump in her throat before she twisted one of her hands free of his. Gently she took hold of his fingers and hesitantly led his hand to her face. To honor her father and mother, and the lives of the women and children he had rescued from those evil men, she would play her part and sacrifice her body in payment of her selfishness. As her only experience had consisted of the male taking what he wanted, however, and not in giving she was unsure what she needed to do, but she bit her lip and guided his fingers lower to her neck. He seemed to be fascinated with her neck. Maybe he would give her some clue from there.
Almost unconsciously his fingers encircled the slender length as his thumb stroked her soft skin, and within the water's warm embrace Kaoru felt herself shiver. It was a strange sensation, and one that was completely outside the bounds of her knowledge. Instinctively she clenched her eyes shut to dissect it, and focused as she was on the need to repeat her own reaction and discover what it was that had created it, she gasped in surprise when his hand jerked away.
"I will decide when I collect your payment, and it will not be tonight! I am not in the mood!" Something petulant weaved through his voice, and Kaoru stared after his retreating figure as he made his way to the edge of the pool to climb out. Quickly her eyes averted as his back rose from out of the water, and she took a deep breath to steady herself.
That wasn't supposed to have happened. Limply she dropped her head backwards onto the rock and laughed in quiet anxiety. He wasn't supposed to deny her either. Should she feel offended? She had never offered herself to a man before, and having him deny her so thoroughly pricked slightly at her pride. On the other hand, she had more than just his refusal to think about.
Never had such a pleasant sensation spiked through her body before, especially because of the touch of a man. Of course, he wasn't truly a man to begin with, but she did not feel there should have been a difference. He was still a male that only wanted her body for his own pleasures, and his touch should have never aroused such a response. Not from her.
Kaoru was not naïve enough to think that all men were as rough and ruthless as those that had lived in the village. She was not ignorant of the activities of couples and knew that in true relationships, such as the one her parents had shared, they enjoyed each other's touch. Only a selfish man took what he wanted without thought or care of the woman's wants and needs.
Still, as a woman that had experienced first-hand the brutality of being raped, more than once, she believed that she would never be in such a situation. Being claimed by the demon had solidified this notion and without another thought the contemplation had closed. It was not something that mattered to her and it was certainly never something she would be subjected to. So why now was she finding herself responding to the touch of that same demon with something akin to expectation? With a shake of her head she turned toward the bank to get out as well.
It seemed to be even colder when she finally pulled herself from the water and followed in the footsteps of her companion to the door of the small house. Their clothes had been moved to the second room, no doubt by Himura, and with nothing else to wear but the damp towel she was in, Kaoru strode hesitantly through the next door. It was very warm, though she could tell that the fire had almost died out as they had lounged in the spring. A few new logs were already stacked on top of the red embers, and their cloven chunks were popping in preparation of burning into full flames. Himura himself was wrapped in a yukata she hadn't known he owned.
Her own yukata was dug free of the pack, and she slipped the robe over her shoulders, turned her back to the demon, and dropped her towel before quickly knotting it closed. She was uncharacteristically nervous, and she picked up the towel and moved closer to the fire to avoid his figure. Most of the moisture was rubbed from her hair first, and then she threw the towel up next to their clothes and set to work with her comb.
The thick locks were considerably more manageable after being washed, and Kaoru happily forgot her confusion as she slid her hair around her fingers. It felt nice to be clean and fresh, even nicer to be warm and comfortable, and the spicy scent in the air drugged her mind almost completely into complacency.
Lazily she glanced up and frowned when she caught sight of the tight knot of hair still bundled at the top of Himura's head. Without thinking her actions through, Kaoru crawled her way across to him, and wondered at the way he warily stared in response. When she was next to him she reached up a hand to tug on the tie that held those crimson strands captive. "You shouldn't do that to your hair, Himura-san, you'll ruin it." Kaoru pouted as they finally released into large kinks around his face, and she shoved on his shoulder angrily. "You should have taken that thing out as soon as you were out of the water. Your hair could mold, you know." When she was finally able to get in behind him Kaoru lifted her comb and pulled it through the locks of fire.
Later she would think about how strange it was when he said nothing in return. No scathing reply or witty remark disturbed the atmosphere, and they sat in silence as he allowed her to straighten out the mess and afterwards play with the silky mane.
"Your hair's so pretty, Himura-san." She was starting to feel sleepy, and she yawned and then giggled. "I'm sorry, I know you don't like that word. Hmm." Pensively she attempted to think of an alternative that would still describe her awe, and Kaoru held her tongue between her teeth as she tried to find something as equally beautiful. "Like… like a tiger's coat. Attractive to look upon… but dangerous if you get too close." Her own depiction caused her to giggle as she ran her fingers beneath his hair, and when she brought the comb sweeping upwards along his scalp she also brushed the back of his neck. The twitch he gave this time did not startle her quite as much, and she let the alizarin strands slide from her grip slowly.
"I never would have thought you were ticklish, Himura-san."
"I am not ticklish."
"Then why do you jump so?" To demonstrate again Kaoru ran her fingers along the side of his ribs and she was satisfied when he jerked away. There was anger in the movement, though.
"I have simply never had another touch me there." A low growl vibrated the still air as he scooted away, and he planted the katana in his grip over one shoulder as he leaned into the wall. With a sigh Kaoru stood to lay out her bedding, because she knew there would be no more room for conversation tonight. Once she was snuggled under the covers, she turned her back to the other side of the room and faced the wall.
"You did not want me to touch you, little bird."
"N-nani?" The abrupt topic made her anxious all over again, and Kaoru stuttered as she tried to pretend not to understand.
"You should know that it does not matter to me. I do not believe in human sentiments. You belong to me and I will touch you when I want." His voice was determined to convince, but Kaoru wasn't sure why he needed to explain it to her. She knew what he was and that he did not play by human rules. "I only stopped because I did not want to touch you. It was not because of any concern for you."
A shaky breath pulled into her lungs, and Kaoru nodded her head in understanding. "I know, Himura-san. I am sorry I was presumptuous." Though I'm not so sure I truly wanted you to stop.