Their work was going much faster now that Kazune was able to help. He had put the sewing set on autopilot with his magic as it made their curtains and bedding. Kazune had taken over the furniture making as well while Karin took a break hanging up the metal hooks he'd bought. There was a low rumbling noise coming from the path and when Kazune looked up to see what it was he saw a cart with piles of stuff. Karin had come out of the house to see who was here as well.
"Are you Kazune Kujyou and Karin Hanazono?" He man asked as he got off the cart.
"Yes..." Kazune replied warily.
"I was told to bring these supplies to you by governor Michiru and get your property set up on the mail route." The man handed Kazune a letter.
When he opened it, Michiru had congratulated them on finding land. He also had attached a list of the items he had sent. There were pillows, pots and pans, wood, down feathers, staple foods, more tools, pails, a stove and a large spool of wire.
"Wow, Michiru was generous." Kazune marveled as he handed Karin the letter. He went over to the man who drove the cart and signed the papers to be added to the route and accept the items.
The man began to unload everything.
"Kazune, with all of this we will be done with everything we need right now. The rest of the house can get finished later." She said with excitement. Karin began to bounce around. "I've never had my own house! I am so glad I get one now!" She ran to the cart and started picking up the things.
"I'll bring these feathers over to the sewing stuff so they can stuff our blankets and mattress. Can you take the cook wear inside and hang them up on the hooks in the kitchen?"
"Sure, but you can slow down a little, it's not like this stuff is going anywhere." Kazune sounded a little exhausted by her high energy. Karin was already on the other side of the property talking to the sewing set.
Kazune did as he was asked and he found places to put the things that would go in the cave he'd found in a temporary hiding place. Kazune knew that he would have to go into town later today to set up a date with the upholsterer and pick up the sapphire ring. He didn't want anyone to have to wait for him. Before that, Kazune would need to eat something. He dug into the staple foods and decided that rice mixed with the eggs they'd found sounded good. He lit a fire and started to boil the rice. Karin came back over.
"You are making food? Can I eat with you, I am famished."
"Of course you can, I'm making enough for two." Kazune said. His voice came out a little more curt than he'd intended and he wasn't sure why. Maybe it was because he'd thought that much was obvious.
Karin looked at him with a bit of a concerned expression but ignored the tone. She sat across from him and watched Kazune's face. It was starting to look a little more stressed.
"So, Kazune, what do you have planned for the rest of the day?" she asked being careful not to set him off in some way.
"Well, after this I need to go to town and make an appointment and pick up some things. I might also consider getting so chickens because forest eggs are great but a little weird for me." Kazune said as he turned over the speckled egg in his fingers.
"Oh! If you're going to town, I'll come along!" Karin sounded excited again but it quickly fell when Kazune looked at her with a brief panicked look.
"You can't!" He exclaimed a little too quickly.
Karin's face soured. "Why not?! You've been there twice this week and I've been stuck here doing nothing but work. I want to go and have fun there too!" She was much angrier than Kazune had noticed.
"You just can't. I promise this weekend we can go together and have a fun day but today you cannot come along." Kazune tried to think of a good reason as to why he didn't want her there but he could not come up with a good enough lie.
Karin's face heated up and she began to tremble. Kazune could tell he was going to get chewed out any moment.
"You are being so mean to me!" She cried. "Ever since we've come here it has been all about how tired YOU are and how much YOU have to get done! You never ask me about how my day here went and you fall asleep without spending any time with me other than just working all day. You haven't even..."She stopped and a hot tear streamed silently down her cheek.
"You haven't even kissed me since you went to town last week." Her voice got quiet and her eyes got covered by her hair.
Kazune sat there in silence, leaning backwards away from her as if to give her more breathing room. He'd been a little stressed out about getting the house finished by the end of the week and he had neglected her. Still, he couldn't let her come along.
Kazune stood and put out the flame. The rice was done. He spooned some into a cup and broke the egg into it, swirling it around with a twig till the rice was all light yellow. He shoved it into Karin's hands. She stood there looking at him with disbelief.
"You're mad. I get it. You should have told me earlier instead of letting it boil over like this." Kazune glared at her. "Even if you are furious and I know how you feel, I cannot let you come along with me today. Forgive me."
More tears slid down Karin's face as she looked down at the food. Kazune leaned down to try to kiss her head but she moved away from him, out of reach. Karin had never done something like this before.
"We're going to fall apart soon." She said so quietly and with such a shaky breath that Kazune could hardly understand her.
Kazune's heart panged but he turned around and grabbed his bag, starting down the trail without eating.
He could hear Karin's quiet sobs.
~.^.^.~
Time seemed to move very slowly today. Kazune arrived at the town by late afternoon. He would have just enough time to grab the ring and make the appointment before he had to head back again. To be honest, he wondered if he should even go back tonight with Karin as upset at him as she was. Kazune shook the thought away. That was exactly why he had to go back tonight no matter what. He had to make sure she knew that he still love her with all of his being even if it would be hard and they fought. He found the jewelry store and went inside. This time there was a different woman at the counter. He gave her the confirmation and she went in the back to get the ring. As she went Kazune leaned all his weight on the display case and buried his face in his arms.
"Hard day?" The woman asked when she returned.
"Yeah... thank you." Kazune took the box and opened it to check the stone, size and style. Everything was correct and undamaged.
He left the store and walked to the upholsterer. There he scheduled for someone to come in two days. Kazune would have gotten his first pay from Michiru by then and could afford the upholstery.
Kazune was not ready to go home. He felt gross. He was covered in wood shavings and had not bathed in three days. He decided he'd use one of the public baths to clean up before going home. There was a good one that Michiru had recommended at some point during his visit while they were in the palace. Kazune went to the town square and paid the entrance to the bath. There the hot water felt wonderful as he slid into the spring. All his muscles relaxed and he let out a sigh of content. He lathered his hair with soap and scrubbed the dirt off his body. There was enough that the suds became a dusty brown color before rinsing off to a pure white. He felt so much better. The crisp, clean towels were also great. They dried him off quickly while allowing him to scratch his back with it. Kazune wandered into the changing room and saw that there were more people there. He was glad he was leaving. As he walked to his clothing basket, the men in the room seemed to stare at him. It made Kazune feel weird but then he remembered that he had very gnarly looking scars on his torso. Not only were they a little shocking to see but they were large too. He quickly redressed and left. The others in the changing room averted their eyes as he walked past.
Kazune started down the road to the gates around sunset. It would be dark by the time he got home. The walk seemed to take a very long time and Kazune tripped over some stones in the path due to lack of light. When he got to the more rural part of the town, he used his fire to light the way. It made a huge difference in his ability to see. He could see Saul's house now and his heart skipped and fell all at the same time. He'd be home soon and see Karin. Kazune's chest tightened up. He had never grown so nervous about seeing her before. Though he tried his best to calm down, once outside the gates he began to sweat. The path was lit and the house was glowing. The inside looked warm and he could see Karin through one of the windows. She at least looked like she'd calmed down a bit. Kazune swallowed hard. He knew she was angrier with him than she'd ever been but there was nothing he could do about it. He stood there for a while letting his heart pound before screaming her name.
"KARIN!" she jumped and whipped her head to look outside.
"Come outside and talk to me!" Kazune forced out. He couldn't breathe.
"Why should I?" She called back.
Was she really going to do this?
"Because I need to apologize for being the worst!" Karin stood and opened the front door. She just stood in the doorway though with her arms crossed and her foot tapping. Karin wore a scowl.
"I'm waiting." She said with expectancy.
"You have to come over here." Kazune trembled in the place he stood.
To his luck, Karin did. She walked over to him slowly until they were only arm's length apart.
Kazune let out a huge sigh of relief. She wasn't so mad that she'd ignore him.
"Karin, I am very ashamed of how I've acted this week. I shouldn't have forgotten that you might have been feeling lonely."
Karin still looked at him with angry eyes.
"Now that the house is done, I'll do what I promised you before."
Karin's arms lowered but she still looked like she wanted to be mad.
"You'll carry me into the house? Like you promised?" She questioned.
That wasn't what Kazune was thinking but sure, why not.
"Yes, I'll do that. I'll pay you more attention from here on out too." He started fingering his pockets.
"You promise?" Karin asked with a sad face.
"Yes, but Karin..." Kazune's eyes went watery and his face grew hot. He looked like he was about to suffocate if he didn't speak. Karin stepped forward wondering if there was something wrong with him. She reached up to touch his forehead but he grabbed her wrist and pulled it down to his cheek. They were so close now, not even a hand width of distance was there. Kazune stared down into the worried green eyes he loved so much. They'd cast a very strong charm over him from the moment he'd seen their brilliance.
"Karin, I know I've been awful for most of this trip. Everything we've been through has just caught up with me and I want nothing more than to rest for a while."
"It was pretty tiring, wasn't it?" Karin laughed lightly.
"You accept my sadistic nature, don't you?" Kazune fumbled his words a bit.
"I like that part of you because I can argue with you." Karin smiled at him again. It made him feel at ease.
"You know I see you as an equal even though I am like that, right?"
Karin was confused by these questions. "Yes I do, or rather; I am beginning to understand that."
Kazune's heart pounded. "If that is the case, then tonight, we can no longer be lovers."
Karin looked at him with no change in expression. She just looked like she was registering his words.
Kazune let go of her wrist and it fell to Karin's side. He began to glow that firefly light he'd showed her before. Kazune lightly entwined his fingers in hers, kissing her lightly on the lips. Karin looked like she was going to be upset. He brought her hand into her view and she saw the blue twinkle that now rested on her finger. In the faint fire light, her eyes darted up to Kazune's only to me met by an intensely loving gaze.
"I can't be your lover anymore; I have to become your eternally beloved husband after all." Kazune ran his fingers over the ring on Karin's finger and hugging her waist with the other arm. Karin stood in shock. Kazune kissed her again as if persuading her to speak. He licked at her bottom lip, asking for her to open up to him. When she did, he slowly explored her mouth. Karin's hands traveled up and lightly pushed his face back, just a little. Her face was red and her eyes were watery. She covered her mouth with her finger tips to hide her quivery gasp for air. "Y-you mean it?" Tears streamed down her face again.
"I want you forever." Kazune said in a purr.
Karin started to laugh and cry all at the same time. She was so strangely beautiful.
"Okay." She managed to get out.
Kazune scooped her up into a princess hold. Karin had not expected it and latched onto his neck for stability.
"You wanted this." he chuckled.
He walked them over the threshold into the house and with it, sealed their promises.