Chapter 21

Sai awoke that morning to the sun shining brightly in her eyes. She was in a bed wrapped in bandages.

"How'd I get here?" Sai thought to herself. She looked around the room that she was in. It was small and much of it had been stained with blood. Her blood by the smell of it. "Dammit. I can't remember anything." She thought, "The last thing I remember was that battle." Sai sat up slowly. It was extremely painful and she let out a little whimper. She heard movement in the other room. The door opened and Kaze walked through.

"Sai..." He said breathlessly. Before Sai knew it, Kaze was across the room and hugging her tightly, "Sai I'm so sorry. It's my fault that this happened. I didn't protect you and you got hurt. I'm so sorry."

"Kaze..." Sai began. She didn't know what to say. Kaze was there for her. She started crying into Kaze's shoulder, "Don't apologize to me Kaze. You're here and that's all that matters." Kaze was speechless. He didn't know what to do.

"Sai please don't cry, please-" Kaze said before Sai interrupted him.

"Stop." Then she kissed him. Kaze was confused. He didn't know how Sai could feel anything towards him anymore. Then she broke away and started speaking again, "Kaze, I love you and nothing is going to change that. Ever. I got hurt because of my own stupidity. I knew that I shouldn't have kept fighting, but I did anyway. Nothing you could ever do could stop me from being stubborn." Sai smiled through her tears at this. Kaze smiled back. "Now let me go." She continued jokingly, "Your hug hurts." Kaze broke off immediately.

"I'm so sorry!" He said to Sai, "I didn't mean to hurt you, I was just so happy to see you. I-I..." Sai started laughing.

"Gotcha." Sai said, winking.

"Sai..." Kaze sighed, "I was really worried that I was hurting you."

"Don't worry about me Kaze. Please, I'll be fine." Sai assured him, wiping her eyes.

"How could I not worry about my woman?" Kaze said seriously, "Well I guess I should let you get some rest." He turned to leave.

"Hey!" Sai yelled at him, "Don't leave. Stay here. Stay with me." Kaze smiled and then walked over and sat beside her.

"So I'm your woman huh?" Sai asked jokingly.

"Well... Um..." Kaze stammered, blushing heavily. This made Sai laugh again.

"I guess it's true." Sai admitted, "As long as you're my man." Kaze smiled.

"Definitely." He said. They kissed again. It was a kiss full of love and passion. Sai knew that she wanted to spend her life with this man and now she knew that he wanted the same thing.

The two spent the rest of the day together. Sai outright refused to see anyone else. The only other person besides Kaze that saw her that day was the doctor who came in to check on her wounds, which were healing quickly. Sai spent the entire day drifting in and out of sleep. She was exhausted, but every time she woke up, Kaze was there with her. He never left her side. When Sai wasn't sleeping she was talking with Kaze. They talked about anything and everything. The two had grown up together, but they were doing everything they could to learn more about each other. As the sun began to set, they started talking about their future. Sai was snuggled up next to Kaze who had his arm around her.

"Kaze." Sai began, "What do you think is going to happen next?"

"I have no idea Sai." Kaze admitted, "This demon is strong and he's the emperor. He's going to be tough to beat, but we'll do it, together."

"How?" Sai asked, "How can we beat someone with this much power?"

"I don't know. Honestly, I don't, but we'll do it." Kaze said confidently, "We'll find whatever we need to find, do whatever we need to do, to rid the world of that thing. If we stay together, nothing can stop us." Sai's only response was to snuggle up closer to Kaze. He laid his head on top of hers.

"Sai?" Kaze asked.

"Yeah?" Sai said.

"When this is over," he began, "will you stay with me?" The question didn't hang in the air for long.

"Of course I will Kaze." Sai responded, as though the answer was obvious, "What kind of question is that?"

"Well, I was just wondering if... If..." Kaze stopped. He didn't know how to proceed with his question.

"If what Kaze?" Sai asked, perplexed.

"I was wondering if you would marry me, Sai." Kaze said. He didn't know how, but the words just came out, almost of their own accord, "If you would bear my children." Sai's breath caught in her throat. She hadn't expected this. The question hung in the air a little longer than the first, but she knew her answer. Sai lifter her head off of Kaze's chest and looked him straight in his eyes. She smiled softly.

"Yes." She said simply.

"You will?" Kaze asked incredulously. He couldn't believe that she'd said yes.

"Of course I will Kaze." Sai told him, "I love you and I want to be with you." Sai started giggling, "It may be a little early to start talking about children, but one day, I'll do that too. We'll have a family together."

"You're the best girl in the world Sai." Kaze said to her. Then he kissed her. It was their first kiss as an engaged couple and it was wonderful, by far the most intimate moment they'd ever had.

The sun had set and it was nighttime, but Sai and Kaze were still awake. They were sitting on the bed, snuggled against each other. Neither was really talking. Both of them just wanted to be with each other. Suddenly a thought hit Sai and she started to giggle.

"What?" Kaze asked, "What's so funny?"

"We're going to have to tell your sisters." Sai said.

"Oh no, you're right." Kaze said jokingly. He was laughing too now. "That could be interesting."

"Oh yeah." Sai agreed, "We won't be able to get a word in."

"Do we have to tell them?" Kaze complained jokingly.

"Yes Kaze." Sai said rolling her eyes, "They're going to be my maids of honor, so they need to know. Plus they're my best friends."

"I know, I know. I was just joking." Kaze told her. "Well if we're going to have to deal with that tomorrow, then we should get some sleep." Kaze started to get up to leave.

"Kaze?" Sai said.

"Yes Sai?" Kaze asked, stopping.

"Stay with me tonight." She said, tightening her grip on him a little, "Please just stay with me. I don't want anything else, but for you to just be with me." Kaze smiled.

"I would do anything for you Sai." He told her, truthfully. Sai smiled and laid her head against his chest.

"Thank you." Sai said. She fell asleep quickly after that. Kaze looked at her sleeping form. His last thought before following her into sleep was that he held the most precious thing in the world to him there in his arms.

Sai awoke the next morning next to Kaze. She yawned loudly.

"Oh you're awake, eh?" Kaze said.

"Yeah." Sai said simply.

"Good. I didn't want to wake you by getting up, so I've just kinda been laying here." Kaze said, laughing lightly.

"You didn't have to do that." Sai told him, "I'm a pretty heavy sleeper."

"Yeah, I know, but I enjoyed watching you sleep." Kaze admitted. Then he smiled, "Plus I didn't want to have to explain to my sisters why we spent the night together..." Sai blushed.

"Yeah that might be a difficult one... Especially since we're engaged now." She said.

"Well, whenever you're ready, I guess we should go out and face them." Kaze sighed.

"Can we at least have breakfast first?" Sai whined. Kaze smiled at her.

"Sure. I'll make it." Kaze offered, "I don't want you causing yourself anymore pain."

"Thanks babe." Sai said smiling at him. She winked and let him get out of bed.

"Pet names already huh?" Kaze asked jokingly.

"Of course, hon. That's what married couples do." Sai told him, giggling. Kaze sighed.

"Alright sweetie..." He said, laughing to himself as he left to prepare breakfast. The two ate together once he had finished. Once breakfast was done, Kaze cleaned up and the two prepared to leave. Kaze put his arm around Sai and then they headed out into the village. They were met by the curious faces of Nami and Umi. Akage was in the background with a face that said "I'm sorry guys, but I couldn't stop them."

"Soooo..." Nami began, "how was your night?"

"Oh you know, pretty uneventful." Sai said nonchalantly, "Nothing really happened."

"Yeah." Kaze agreed, "Not much really of note."

"Really?" Umi said, doubtfully, "You two spent the entire night together, in a house with one bed, and didn't do anything worth talking about."

"Nope." Sai said simply.

"Nothing at all." Kaze continued.

"Are you sure?" Nami asked, disappointed.

"Well..." Sai said, "Maybe one thing... But it's not really important."

"TELL US!" The twins yelled in unison.

"I don't know Kaze. Should we tell them?" Sai asked.

"No, I don't think it's worth their time. It's not really all that important." Kaze answered.

"Please tell us! Please, please, please!" Umi begged.

"Well I guess we have to tell them huh Sai?" Kaze said.

"Yeah I guess so." Sai said thoughtfully, "Which one of us should tell them, though?"

"I think you should do it Sai." Kaze told her.

"Okay I will." Sai said, smiling up at him. She turned her face towards her friends. They were staring at her expectantly. Sai smiled at them, "We're getting married!" Sai said happily.

"WHAT?!" The two screamed in unison. They rushed in and hugged Sai and Kaze tightly.

"Sai that's amazing!" Nami said once they'd broken away.

"You two are so perfect together!" Umi followed.

"Thanks guys." Sai said blushing.

"I can't say that I was expecting that to be your news." Nami said, laughing.

"Yeah seriously." Umi agreed, "But I also can't say that I'm surprised that you two are marrying."

"Yeah, I did kinda expect you two to marry young." Nami admitted, "You guys are going to be so happy together!"

"So did you do anything... Else to express your love?" Umi asked, curiously.

"No Umi..." Kaze sighed, "Save that for when you're actually married."

"Fine. Have it your way." Umi said, laughing. Akage walked up to the group.

"Hey guys, I'm really happy for you." He said to them, "You two really are perfect for each other."

"Thanks Akage." Kaze said, "You're the best." Akage smiled.

"Hey we should get going." Sai pointed out.

"Sai are you sure you're ready?" Nami asked, "I know you heal fast, but those wounds were really bad."

"I'll be fine." Sai assured her, "I'll be back at full capacity after today and I want to keep moving."

"Okay, if you're positive." Nami said, still a little bit concerned. They group parted as each one set off to prepare their things. It wasn't long before they finished and met back up in the village. They said their goodbyes to the villagers one last time and headed out on their way.

The group walked for hours. Yet, the entire time, all anyone seemed to want to talk about was Sai and Kaze's engagement. They wanted to know how Kaze had asked, what their plans were, when the wedding would be, when, in truth, the two of them had no idea what was going to happen next. They just knew that they were going to get married. The new couple tried to change the topic more than a few times, but it never worked for long. As the sun began to set, Akage suggested that they stop. They all agreed and found a nice place to camp. After everything had been prepared and the group had eaten, Kaze went to bed immediately. He said that he had been tired out by everyone's unending questions. Umi and Akage soon followed. After they fell asleep, it was just Sai and Nami sitting to together by the fire.

"Hey Sai?" Nami said.

"Yeah?" Sai responded.

"I wanted to ask you something." Nami told her, checking to make sure everyone was asleep.

"Sure what is it?" Sai asked.

"How do you and Kaze do it?" Nami asked, bluntly.

"What do you mean?" Sai said, confused.

"Your relationship is so perfect and... I want that." Nami admitted, "It's a new feeling to me, but I want to have a lasting relationship with someone."

"You mean Akage?" Sai questioned. Nami blushed lightly.

"Yeah." Nami said, "So, how do you do it?"

"Well, we're both pretty forward with each other." Sai began, "It didn't really take long for Kaze to tell me that he loved me and after that we just kinda moved forward accordingly, if not a little fast."

"Hmm..." Was Nami's only response.

"I mean, Akage came to me right before we went to slay that demon asking how he could get you to notice him." Sai continued, "I'm pretty sure that he stayed back to fight those demons in the cave for you. He is willing to risk his life for you and if you don't remember, he's already told you that he loves you and you've said the same thing about him." Nami's eyes opened wide. In all of the chaos, she'd forgotten about that moment. She felt terrible now.

"Oh no!" Nami said, burying her face in her hands, "I completely forgot about that! I haven't done anything to follow that up! He probably thinks that I was just being emotional and didn't really mean it! I'm such an idiot!"

"No I don't think that's it." Came Sai's reply. Nami looked at her, confused, "I just think that he has no idea what to do next." Sai continued, "He thinks that it's his responsibility to make the first move and that you're just waiting for him. My guess is that he wants to do something about his feelings really badly, but just has no idea what to do."

"You really think so?" Nami asked hopefully.

"I'm positive." Sai assured her.

"Well, what should I do?" Nami asked.

"Make it easier for him." Sai told her, "Drop hints, be romantic, do something to give him a pretty obvious opening."

"I think I can do that." Nami said thoughtfully. Sai rolled her eyes.

"No Nami. You can't seduce him." Sai told her, "Damn girl, can't you keep it together at least some of the time." The two girls laughed at this.

"So how should I do it then?" Nami asked.

"Well..." Sai began, "Spend time with him, talk to him, be close to him all the time, lay your head on his shoulder, be alone with him, something like that."

"You think that will work?" Nami questioned.

"Hey that's what I did and I'm getting married." Sai told he jokingly. Nami laughed.

"Fine. Fine. I'll try it." Nami said, "Now we should get some sleep too, you know." Sai agreed and the two headed off to bed, Sai beside Kaze and, tonight, Nami near Akage.