Haruhi woke up with a tingling sensation on her back. A very agreeable one... She hummed with content, closing her agap mouth and let Souji's fingers carress her naked skin. The room was warm and she supposed Souji probably got up in the night to put more wood in the hibachi. She didn't even notice. Her reflexes as a warrior were weak today... or maybe Souji had been particularly stealth... or maybe she drank a bit too much yesterday.
« You're finished drooling on that poor pillow ? »
She furrowed her brows and opened her eyes, detaching her head from the comfort of the pillow. Yep. It was wet. She really slept like a log... How embarrassing. She hummed again, still half asleep, and Souji chuckled, using his fingers to get her crazy hair out of her face.
« You look terrible. » he commented « are you waking up or what ? »
« Yeah... » she yawned.
Where... ? Ah yes. The house. Her house. Their house. Souji and her were married now. She smiled at the sight of her husband's face and sparkling eyes. He looked fresh, as if he wasn't drunk the day before, as if he didn't make love to her most of the night... How she wished she could have that kind of resilience.
Souji leaned over and kissed her lips tenderly. They tasted sweet. It was nice. His mouth journeyed on her face, on her shoulder blades, the curve of her back, her flancks, her ass... He bit her there and that woke her up completely.
« Aoutch ! »
« Sorry... » he whispered, kissing her where it was aching « It just looked delicious. »
« Don't bite me so early in the morning... » she complained angrily.
« Why ? » he asked, still kissing her ass and rasping his teeth on it without biting.
« Because it hurts. » she pouted.
« No biting in the morning. » he nodded with a smirk « noted. »
As he resumed kissing, his fingers carressed her ass teasingly too. It really was agreeable and she resumed humming with a smile.
« I'm gonna go there one day... » he whispered playfully, his finger drawing between her cheeks.
« No ! » she said firmly, flushed « no way ! That is completely out of the question ! »
« Oh ? » he asked with a predatory smile, his fingers still drawing absently « that vehement refusal makes me wanna do it even more... »
« Souji, I said no. » she furrowed her brows, trying to turn over but his strong hands were keeping her in place and with her aching body from their wedding night, she didn't have the force.
« Yeah, I heard. » he said nochalantly before his smile grew wider « maybe I could go there with my tongue first... What do you think ? »
« No ! » she flushed even more « don't do that ! »
« You're not fun. » he pouted « maybe you'll like it. »
« No » she stated « it's painful. »
« How can you be so sure ? Someone already went ? » he asked, still pouting.
« Just leave me alone. » she replied angrily, hiding her face in the pillow.
Souji stayed calm for a minute, still kissing her and he eventually opened his mouth again.
« I have trouble imagining Hajime would let anyone do this to his daughter and fail to protect her. » he stated.
« I killed the man responsible for that. » she said.
« Yeah, I also have trouble imagining you'd let someone do this without putting up a fight. » he stated.
« I couldn't fight. » she muttered « not then. »
« So you killed him later ? » he asked.
« Can you stop asking questions ?! » she hissed.
« There would be less questions if you were answering them. » he stated.
« I killed him later. » she answered grudgingly « Otousan let me go and take revenge. »
« So he knew. » said Souji « and he didn't do anything. »
« He knew to an extent. » she muttered « but I wasn't his daughter at that time and it was legal. »
Souji paused his kisses and his carresses, letting the information sink in himself. He crawled back near her and he took her in his arms, eyes wides.
« You weren't a kamuro. » he whispered « Oiran start working at thirteen or fourteen when they are women. You were a toy for pedophiles. »
Haruhi nodded, flustered, and waited for Souji's next sentence but nothing came. He said long ago that he had an idea about what happened to her but he probably imagined a single rape or something like that, not years of countless men knocking at her door to use her child body to satisfy selfish desires.
« I disgust you... » she sighed.
« No. » he pulled her closer « The men who did this to you disgust me. And now I feel guilty... because I am amongst them. »
« Why would you be amongst them ? » she frowned. Could Souji have been a client of these kind of whorehouses ? He never tried to touch her as a child.
« Because when I first touched you, I didn't love you. » he sighed « I was intrigued by you and just desired your flesh. I knew you loved me and that you wouldn't deny me. I only realized how much I loved you when you left me. Before, I wasn't better than these men. »
« It's completely different, Souji. » she frowned « first, I'm an adult and second, you never hurt me and you were ready to stop if I wanted you to. These men never did. »
Souji didn't answer and kissed her forehead. Haruhi could see that he was still pouting though and that annoyed her, thinking that maybe he was lying and it really was bothering him to have married a low ranked prostitute instead of a respectable samurai daughter.
« What ? » she asked after a while, a bit harsher that she wanted to.
« Do you resent me ? » he asked to her surprise « for everything ? »
« What do you mean, Souji ? » she asked.
« For taking advantage of you everytime I could get the chance... » he explained « and for making all these lovebites on you. Can't even love you without hurting you. »
« I don't mind the hickeys. » she chuckled « I like your rough ways. They make me feel wanted. »
« You are wanted. » he stated, kissing her « I love you more than anything. Believe me when I say that I will never do anything off-limits to you without you consenting first. »
« I know. » she smiled « I love you, Souji. »
He kissed her again, deeper, as if he wanted to seal his words with it and show her how much she meant to him. His hands traveled on her skin again and one of them cupped her ass, pulling her closer.
« Now I just need to make you agree for me to go there... » he commented with a smirk.
« Not gonna happen. » she stated, blushing again.
« You're not fun... yet. » he winked.
He held her for some time and then stood up and disappeared in the other bedroom. He came back with a fabric and dressed himself with a skyblue striped kimono, very thick.
« Get up. » he ordered « we have a lot to do today. We need to go to Shirakawa to register our wedding and buy some furnitures for here, maybe why not a present to spoil my lovely wife... and we need to get breakfast. »
« Do you want me to make tea ? » asked Haruhi, looking at the kitchen ustensils.
« No need. » he grinned « we are gonna take one at Hajime's inn. I suggest you wear a scarf. »
« O... Okay. » she nodded.
« All your things are in the other room. First thing we need to buy : storage stuff. »
She went to the other bedroom and found her kimonos and wakizashi, the teapot and cups... everything. She dressed herself with a kimono fit for a daily use, an indigo one without pattern that she was wearing with a pink obi. She put her hair in a bun and pinned her mother's fox head hairpin in it. When she was ready, she joined her husband.
« Scarf. » he repeated, crossing his arms « especially if you're keeping your hair up that way. »
« Ah ! Yes ! » she said, running back in to find a scarf to wear. There was no mirror in there yet but if Souji was so insistent, it could only mean that her lovebites were impressive. Again, she joined Souji and he arranged the scarf on her neck so that it was better covered.
« You don't take it off. » he ordered with a smile « I don't want any problems with Hajime-kun. »
« Okay. » she nodded.
They walked quietly to the inn which was already buzzing, everyone reunited for breakfast.
« Ara ! » said Souji « is there some for us or has Shin eaten it all yet ? »
« There is some, Souji » chuckled Tama « we weren't expecting you but I'm gonna prepare you both a tray. »
« Thanks Tama-chan » he smiled.
Haruhi thanked her too and sat at the table with Shin, Heisuke and Kurozawa-sensei. The Shiranui family was at another table and she saluted them too. Her father wasn't there, neither Chizuru and Shiranui Kyô.
« Where's Otousan ? » she asked.
« Talking with Shiranui. » said Heisuke « I think it's about the baby. »
Oh yeah. They wanted to convince him to send it to Kazama-himesama if they didn't want to keep it. Haruhi hoped her father and Chizuru wouldn't agree and she was ready to take care of her sibling herself if she had to. Kaoru, Chizuru's brother, had been sent as hostage in the Nagumo clan and that didn't really end well for him. She wasn't wishing that to the child.
« Hey Souji ! » yelled Shinpachi « I'm disappointed, we didn't hear a thing ! »
« You do realize my house is on the other side of the village ? » chuckled Souji « don't worry, job's been done. »
Haruhi didn't say anything and thanked Tama for the tray she brought. She was famished and so seemed to be Souji. She ate all her bowl of rice and her soup and gave her natto to Souji. She always hated it even if her father told her it could keep her healthy. When she was sipping her tea, Chizuru came in with Kaede in her arms, asking for a cup too. She sat next to them and sighed.
« Are you okay, Chizuru-neechan ? » asked Haruhi with concern.
« Yeah. » she smiled genuinely « I just feel a little tired. »
« Did Kyô ask you to send the baby to Kazama-himesama ? »
Chizuru froze and furrowed her brows, visibly not happy to hear about this.
« How do you know ? » she asked harshly.
« He spoke to me about it yesterday... » she answered, flustered « sorry, I didn't know it was a secret... »
« You'd better not bring the subject up with your father. » she warned « He's already ready to go in the west sword in hand to bring to the Kazama clan the same fate as the Yukimura one. »
« Hey, Chizuru-chan » said Souji with a smile « if you don't want it, can we take the baby ? »
« Why does everyone want my baby ?! » she yelled, her eyes golden « It is my baby ! »
« Kaasan ? » asked Kaede « Angry ? »
« It's fine, Kae-chan... » she sighed, stroking the kid's hair « I'm not angry... »
« Sorry, Chizuru-chan. » said Souji, concerned « I thought you wouldn't care. »
« Can we just stop speaking about my baby ? » she asked.
« Yeah, sure... » muttered Haruhi, changing the subject « We're gonna go register our wedding today. »
« Good. » she nodded absently.
« Do you need anything from town ? »
« Nothing comes to mind... » she replied, still stroking Kaede's hair.
« Okay. »
« Everyone's so moody... even my little wife... » complained Souji « am I the only happy man here ? »
Haruhi felt a hand on her neck, pulling slightly the scarf down. She raised her gaze, flustered and surprised, and it met two blue orbs as dark as an abyss. Hajime let go of her scarf without a word, grabbed a bokken and headed out.
« Okay » laughed Shinpachi « I believe you, Souji ! Job's been done ! »
« Shouldn't you go and see him, Chizuru-chan ? » asked Souji, frowning.
« Leave him be. » she stated with a faint smile « this isn't easy for him. It's a little too much. He needs air. »
« We're married. » he smiled softly, apologetic.
« You'll see when you have a daughter. » she chuckled.
« Imagine she marries someone like Shin ! » laughed Heisuke.
« Thanks gods I have a son ! » chuckled the big man « I couldn't ever bear to have a daughter. »
« There's one at your doorstep. » added Heisuke.
« It's not mine ! » repeated Shin again.
« I wouldn't mind having a daughter. » chuckled Souji « any man who would try to get near her would die, that's all. »
« Says the man fucking his best friend's daughter. » muttered Shinpachi.
« Shinpachi ! » scolded Haruhi with furrowed brows.
« Please don't use this word in front of Hajime. » warned Chizuru.
« I don't fuck her » shrugged Souji « I assiduously please my lovely wife. »
« Souji ! » scolded Haruhi again « come on, if you're finished, we should go. You said yourself we had a lot to do. »
« Yes, my little wife » he smiled, standing « I'm ready. We can go. »
« Can I come with you ? » asked Tama shyly « I wanna go to the fabric store... »
« Sure. » smiled Souji « you're always welcome to join us. »
« Thank you, Souji. »
« Can I come too ? » asked Ayame.
« No, Aya-chan. » said his mother « you have chores and work here. »
« But Tama is going and Haru-neesan is going ! » he pouted « I wanna go, please Okaasan... »
« No, Ayame. » she said firmly « you stay here and you stop being a baby. I have enough of Kaede, thank you. »
« Okay... » pouted the boy.
« Go get your father. » she ordered.
« Can I play warrior with him and my shinai ? »
« If he wants to. And put a scarf on. »
« I'll go get my sword ! »
The boy ran upstairs and came back in seconds with his bamboo sword and a thick scarf around his neck as instructed. He stormed outside to play with his father and Souji, Haruhi and Tama followed.
« Hey, Hajime-kun ! » called Souji, his hands around his mouth « you need anything from town ? »
Hajime took a moment to answer, blocking with ease every attack of his son on his limbs. The boy had no technique yet and was just hitting what he could with a lot of bad movements. He was too young to go to the dojo and Hajime didn't want to train him himself. He prefered Ayame to have a different teacher and learn like a right-handed.
« Clove oil and rice paper. » he answered.
« I have a lot at home. » replied Souji with a smile « you can take it if you like and need to oil your blade. »
Hajime nodded, deflecting another blow from the child and he disarmed him before he got closer. He looked up at Souji and his icy blue eyes were threatening like cold steel when he spoke with his deep toneless voice.
« Don't bruise my daughter, Souji. » he ordered.
« Yare yare » he shrugged, lifting his palms with a smile « What if she asks for it ? Maybe I'm the victim here. »
« You're no victim ! » protested Haruhi with a frown « but I'm fine, Otousan... » she continued, avoiding his inquisitive gaze « It doesn't hurt. »
« Plus, you gave her to me, remember ? » added Souji snidely « She's mine now. »
« Don't bruise her. » he repeated at Souji « if you hurt her or make her cry, I'll be coming for you. »
« Noted. » said Souji, his grin growing wider « You'd better practice assiduously then. »
« I will. » confirmed Hajime, not blinking.
« Good. » chuckled his best friend « I look forward to your attempt then. Now if you'll excuse us, my wife and I need to register our wedding. See ya. »
Souji went away, flanked by Tama and Haruhi. The latter couldn't resist to turn back her head a few times to look at her father who wouldn't budge, arms crossed and gaze fixed on them while his son was pulling on his kimono, asking him to play warrior again.