My hand quitted my blade with relief when i saw our mysterious guest step out of the shadows.
« Yamazaki. » i saluted the ninja.
« Saito. I just killed a spy who was coming our way. Was him one of your men ? » he asked.
« Probably. But I was the one tailed. You did me a favor. » i answered calmly.
« Good. » he nodded. « Yukimura, I'm glad to see you well. I will give you two a bit a privacy and look for more intruders. When you are ready, i'll take you back to the headquarters. » he bowed to us. « Saito, i am getting back to the men i killed. I'll leave a kunai in his throat to innocent you. »
I thanked the ninja and he disappeared in the shadows. I reported my attention on Chizuru who was blushing with confusion. How i missed her flustered red face...
« Why... are you two speaking so casually ? Aren't you supposed to be enemies ? »
I didn't answer. I was duty bound not to tell her anything but i knew she was smart enough to figure out the truth by herself. I took her in my arms again, closing the gap between us and putting my head back in her hair. I needed that contact so much. Five months... That's the time we had been apart already if i was making abstraction of the single night, two months ago, when i came to help her with the fever for a few minutes.
« Saito... » she said, nesting her head back into my neck as well.
« Shhh... Don't speak. » i whispered, close to her ear.
Don't speak yet. Let me have a moment...
My breath in her ear made her shiver in an adorable way and i had no doubt anymore that she was still loving me with all her heart, even after my betrayal. My hand came combing her hair, softly, as if i could just break her, as if she could shatter under my touch if I applied too much pressure. My finger entangled strands of her hair and pulled gently her head backwards. She quitted my neck and lift her face up, allowing me to come deposit a tender kiss on her lips. I thought that after all this time, i would have act with more force, need and desperation but no. My mouth worked slowly against hers, hesitant, soft and mellow, as if it was our first. In a way, it was the first. I parted from her lips, slowly, savoring the taste of her. My hand was still combing in her hair and the other came snaking in her back to bring her even closer.
« Chizuru... About the baby... » i started.
« Shhhh... Don't speak. » she cut me, returning my words with a smile.
And just like i did with her, she entangled strands of my hair with her fingers to detach me of her and kissed me. It wasn't the same kiss though. Hers was bolder, full of passion. It was the kind of kiss who was shouting her previous words « i missed you so much » in all the bones of my body. I could feel the words cursing through my veins and i grew bolder too with each time that I could her them echo in me, letting my tongue wander on her lips and in her mouth to meet hers. I bit on her lower lip and she gasped in return, using her hand in my hair to pull me harder against her face. I followed and soon enough, she was pined against a wall, moaning with delight as my mouth was now kissing and biting her earlobe and trailing down her neck before getting back to her mouth to kiss her one last time.
I parted with regret but i wasn't the kind of man to take her in the street, without respect, like she was some kind of prostitute. How much i desired to was irrelevant. I noticed a lovebite, red and purple, forming on her skin and i cursed myself for this lack of restraint. Chizuru really had an effect on me that was putting my self-control to the test every damn time.
« You should hide your neck. » i told her, embarrassed.
« Hum... Don't worry about it... » she blushed.
« If anyone in the compound sees it, you'll be in trouble. » i told her, leaving no room for protestations « you should... »
I stopped my sentence halfway through, witnessing the lovebite getting smaller on her skin until it completely disappeared, leaving her skin immaculate. My jaw dropped without me noticing but Chizuru did and she turned her head, embarrassed.
« Yeah.. I figured we'd have to talk about that, one day... » she muttered.
« Chizuru... You heal... » i whispered.
« Yeah... It's a long story... But that's why Amagiri captured me... Do you remember Sen ? The girl in the street ? »
I nodded. That day, Chizuru put herself in danger to protect that girl. How could I forget ?
« She heard that i came back from Osaka and went to the headquarters. She wanted me to follow her to her village and explained everything. She's a demon, just like Kazama, Amagiri and Shiranui. And just like me... »
« A demon ? » i frowned.
I believed in demons of course. Oni, fox, tengu... Not that i was particularly superstitious but gods, spirits and demons are just as part of Japan as men. But Chizuru, a demon ? She was too pure to be one.
« Yeah... That's why my wounds heal quickly... » she continued embarrassed.
I stared at her for a while, letting these new informations seek in. So... Chizuru was some kind of... monster ?
« You find it disgusting... » she said, eyes on the ground.
« No. » i answered, my mind already made up on the subject « It doesn't change who you are. »
I fell in love with her, her personality, her strength... Not with her lineage. Even if she was a monster, she wasn't evil or corrupted. I didn't care if she wasn't human.
« Your healing is a blessing. » i continued, lifting her chin up to detach her gaze from the ground.
« Thank you... » she said in a shy voice « So... Now you know... No more secrets between us. »
I nodded, happy that she trusted me enough to tell me the truth and regretting that i couldn't return the favor. One thing was still bugging me, though.
« What business do the other demons have with you ? » i asked.
She blushed instantly, avoiding my eyes and her face become redder and redder when she finally spoke.
« I'm special... I'm a pure blood demon... Kazama is one too and... He wants to marry me and make me bear his children. »
I chuckled nervously. Pure blood ? What does he think you are ? Some kind of broodmare ?
« Well, good luck with that. » I said with a smirk « Because no one is taking you away from me. »
She smiled and i kissed her briefly, sealing my words.
« I love you. » i told her « and I'll marry you. I promise. »
« I know you will. » she answered, kissing me « I don't know a more honorable man. »
An honorable man who dishonored you and left you while you were bearing his child...
« Kazama... Does he know you're spoiled already ? » i asked with a frown.
« I think if he knew, he'd kill you. » she answered and fear passed in her eyes. Kazama really made a strong impression on her.
« Well good luck with that too. » i replied « I don't have any pure breed demon in my hunting collection yet. »
She chuckled again and my heart smiled. She was always laughing to my humor, as bad as it could be. I wanted to keep her in my arms forever... But we were interrupted by Yamazaki.
« I'm sorry but this is taking a bit too long and Yukimura should come back before they send a research team. » he said.
We both nodded, knowing that this moment couldn't last forever anyway. We both had obligations and a duty to fulfill.
« Alright. Chizuru. We still have a lot to discuss but with your approval, it will wait until our next encounter. » i turned to the ninja « Yamazaki. Ito sent me to get intels. What can I bring back to him ? »
Chizuru widden her eyes in surprise again hearing me asking for classified informations on Ito's behalf and she was even more shocked when the ninja answered me casually.
« Hum... You can tell him that we've got a dozen more men. Kobayashi Tetsuya, your second, he got a promotion and is leading the third division. And since you're spying on the Mimawarigumi, we discovered that they intent to murder Sakamoto Ryouma. » he told me.
That was enough for me. They weren't big news but they will satisfy Ito for a time even if it wasn't linked to the Ochimizu. Chizuru's eyes were going from him to me and to him again.
« I see. » i thanked the ninja « Yamazaki, can i ask a personal request ? »
He got closer and i formulated my demand so low that only him could hear. It's not that i wasn't trusting Chizuru but i didn't wanted to bother her with informations that weren't necessary for the moment.
« Alright, Saito. » he said with a small smile « I'll see what i can do. » he turned to Chizuru « Let's go back, Yukimura. »
She obeyed, docile, and i looked at them going back to Furudo village, to their headquarters. I was already missing her.