She laid on her sleeping bag as she gazed at the stars that night. The twinkling lights taunting her with their possibilities.
"The stars are lovely."
Golden eyes flicked to hers and raised a brow.
"Indeed?"
"Yes. Where I'm from... you can't see them as clearly as you can here."
He snapped to attention at that. He had assumed the miko resided in Edo. To hear that she did not...
"And where is it that you come from, miko?"
Her smile held a tinge of sadness that mimicked that of her scent. It's sickly sweet scent offending his senses.
She turned her head towards him and pinned him to the spot with her eyes and a soft smile on her face.
"A story for another time."
He huffed. Slightly annoyed she denied him. "Then perhaps you will tell me why you search the stars."
She turned back.
"I told you already, 'salvation.'"
"I fail to see why a holy being such as yourself would need such a thing."
"It is because I am holy being that it is exactly the thing I need."
He swallowed a growl. Infuriating woman.