Stubbornness he had expected, even a complete disregard for self-preservation, but after two days of Kaoru coming and going, declining every sumptuous meal he laid out, pointedly leaving his rooms to wander whenever he made to lay out his futon, Battousai was beginning to wonder if she had a death wish. Not that he had suggested as much to her; she hadn't said a word to him since their confrontation. He was interested to see how much longer she could keep up that icy silence since Aoshi had privately reported that her blistering diatribes were growing more scathing by the hour.

Aoshi gave no sign of annoyance, but Battousai could feel it in the room with them almost like another person. "She hasn't found her way outside yet, but it is only a matter of time." He finished, gaze flicking out to the hall.

Battousai's eyes followed his, but lost in his thoughts it took him a moment to reply: "How long can they go without sleep?"

Aoshi's silence was answer enough; neither of them knew enough about Humans to guess, but Kaoru seemed ragged around the edges. It couldn't be much longer.

"She's coming." Battousai straightened eagerly as Aoshi vanished from sight. Some latent instinct warned him Kaoru was making straight for him this time.

She rounded the corner from the hall, shoulders back and fists swinging at her sides. Her eyes narrowed when she saw the fusuma gaped open, honing in on his form immediately. If pressed Battousai would admit that he had taken to making himself scarce whenever he knew she was looking for him, trying in vain to coax her into calling for him again. Unfortunately she had taken his last lesson to heart and was far more careful with the names she spoke now.

"Battousai." Temper. She gritted his title out like the foulest curse yet he was glad she had spoken it again at last. She threw herself down in front of him, graceless, unconcerned that her limbs sprawled everywhere, not noticing that she sat much nearer to him than she had dared before.

"Yes, Kaoru?" He hadn't tired of saying her name either though it still vexed her to hear it. He lifted the stone pot that was just out of arm's reach, pouring scalding tea into an earthenware cup. He didn't miss the way she swallowed longingly. She wouldn't touch it though, even when he set it so near he was sure she could feel the heat radiating from it.

The unexpected gesture had caught her off guard; Kaoru fumbled to hold onto her thoughts, too tired, too hungry to concentrate. "Are you trying to kill me or would it be a happy accident?"

Not quite as cutting as she had meant it to be, but it was hard to be demanding when she could smell the divine floral scent of whatever tea he had poured into the cup. Her stomach rumbled accusingly and Kaoru fidgeted to cover the sound. It seemed like every time she spoke to Battousai he always had food or drink to hand: grilled fish whose scent crept into every corner of the room, green apples that crunched temptingly with every bite, savory broths that he sipped languidly to enjoy the taste. Even the smell of tea was giving her a vicious headache, throat tightening with need.

Kaoru shoved the cup back at him, not caring that it sloshed over the sides to burn her hand. She brushed it off on her clothes hurriedly, so frustrated she half-regretted not hurling it into the face of her tormentor. That, like everything else she had tried over the past couple days, would have proved both useless and self-destructive.

"No." His stunning nonchalance in the face of the accusation was the final straw.

The last of Kaoru's self control buckled and she grabbed the cup near her, turning to hurl it across the room before pinning him with her accusatory gaze once more. He didn't react beyond an arched brow, as if to say "Is that all?"

Damn him. What the hell had she thought there was to gain by screaming at him anyway? If anything, she had given him exactly what he wanted by breaking her silence long enough to call his name, even in fury. Every trap he set for her, she fell into. Every maze he built she ran like a prize beetle. Now somehow she had fallen into a snare of her own making, and she blamed that on him too.

"Kaoru."

Her head shot up, bloodshot eyes meeting his fearlessly. She was worrying her lip, he noticed, wetness gathering in her eyes that she would never allow to turn to tears. Kaoru was tearing herself apart, but she would never believe him if he told her he hated to see it. Worse yet, she might use it against him; he was beginning to think raw spite had kept her on her feet since she had first woken in his realm.

"You need rest and food."

"How dare you." Kaoru snapped. Then, because it had felt good to finally say the words she had been thinking since the moment he first laid hands on her, she soldiered on, warming to her theme. "I have had it with running your mazes and dodging your traps-"

"None of which were meant for you." For the first time since she had woken in this strange lair his eyes were narrowed squarely on her. No more pretense of being distracted, too engrossed in his papers to notice when she entered the room. Too busy with his eerie chants and scrawled symbols to see her creeping in. All of his attention focused on her.

"You are so smug! So sure you have me cornered, but I am not a fool and whether you mean to kill me or not, that is precisely what you are going to do if you don't let me go!"

She wanted to shake him until his teeth rattled, wipe the calm ever-assessing look from his face. At first Kaoru had worried about angering him, but she would have taken pure fury over his indifference after days of slinking around his damned realm like a frightened kitten.

"If you will not eat, I will feed you, and if you will not sleep you can be made to." She heard the softest growl beneath the words, a genuine threat, and finally saw a flicker of something warm in his gaze. Not a kind or gentle warmth, but definitely something alive. A feeling she could relate to at last.

"I will choke. I will sleep and never wake." The how was unimportant; Kaoru was so carried away with her righteous temper she forgot a crucial detail. Only to have it thrown in her face with a few cruel words.

"And leave your family behind?" Voice deceptively soft, Battousai whispered a word and the discarded cup flew to his hand. He set it before her again, pouring another steaming cup. Another soft word as he brushed his hand across the tatami and water stains were dry. "Do not make idle threats."

Her words. Kaoru swallowed. Swallowed again because she was so thirsty and watching him bring his own cup to his lips and swallow was the surest form of torture he could have devised whether he knew it or not.

"You said you were going to escape." He continued once he had finished, and there was enough of a bite in his tone that Kaoru knew he was not indifferent no matter what he pretended. "You promised you would not stop until you had found a way to leave. Have you lost your resolve?"

"No." Kaoru refused to wilt under his stare, forcing herself to sit up and meet him glare for glare. "No." She repeated, just because she liked the sound of it.

He softened almost imperceptibly, "Then you must eat, drink-" He reached out to pointedly push the cup a little closer, "And sleep."

Kaoru was silent a few seconds longer, locking eyes with him as though she could bend him to her will through sheer stubbornness. He was grateful for the frigid silence and stony stare. If she had asked him sweetly for the moon he would have found a way to get it for her. If she had spoken his name in tones other than fury he would have woven the stars into her hair. For the first time he was glad that she had done neither of these things. Concerned as he was for her, Battousai had no way of knowing what he would have done if she had asked to go home.

He had the feeling it might have broken him. Idly he played with the thread about his finger, tight and reassuring. The thread bound them and he had her name, after all. It wasn't his nature though- she didn't belong in her world. She belonged here, with him, in the place he could never afford to leave for long.

Her face crumpled and he thought she would cry, but the next moment her lips curled once more with contempt. "Shall I damn myself to an eternity here in exchange for-" She sneered at the cup despite the way her throat clenched, "A cup of tea?"

Battousai blinked slow and cat-like while he pondered her words and what they revealed. The distrust between them was deeper even than he had expected. "I have no need to resort to cheap trickery. You are already here, and have yet to find your escape."

Kaoru considered his words before finally reaching out and downing the cup in a swift gulp, impulsive as ever. He admired her courage, though he didn't think she would care to hear it.

She braced herself like she was waiting for a blow, shoulders set and hands clenched on the cup. She had to have burnt her tongue, but that was the least of her fears. Finally she relaxed when he didn't jump up to crow his victory or admit that he had caught her in another trap.

"I'll eat." Kaoru conceded graciously. Battousai took a quick sip of his tea to hide the smile at her conciliatory tone, like it was she doing him a favor rather than her own hunger forcing her hand. "But I'm not sleeping in your room. Or your woman's."

"She's not my woman." Battousai corrected again with just a hint of asperity. "Megumi is many things, but not my lady, woman, wife or lover."

Kaoru shrugged eloquently, "It's not my concern."

"It is." Yet another misunderstanding to widen the gulf between them, another factor in the distance that made the thread clinch painfully tight. This was an argument they could not finish today. What he could tend to, he must. "You may sleep in this room, I will take another." He tried not to dwell on the satisfaction it gave him to know she would be resting in his chambers, protected by his enchantments among his most precious belongings.

"I don't want your room." She folded her arms, haughty and unbending; the effect was ruined when her stomach growled loud enough to startle her into a blush. "But," she continued smoothly, "We can tend to that once we've eaten."

"Of course." He lost the battle and the smile that spread across his lips was wide enough that he felt his muscles struggle to accommodate the unaccustomed expression. Fortunately, eyes focused doggedly on the teapot as she poured herself another cup, Kaoru didn't notice.

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Kaoru's obvious reluctance melted away when he finally set the food before her: unagi don and steaming heaps of rice she was reaching for before it even left his hand, every kind of sweet she had ever glanced enviously at while he ate, and enough of the hot tea to sate even her thirst. She pounced, reservations abandoned, as soon as he stepped away. The silence was filled with the sound of Kaoru's pleased murmurs, the clack of chopsticks against a recently emptied bowl while she chased the last few grains of rice and hums of contentment at each new dish her grasping hands found.

Battousai didn't join her until he was certain she had eaten her fill, eating sparingly where Kaoru had devoured everything in sight. She caught sight of him and deliberately slowed her pace, meeting his eyes across the small table between them.

"Where will I sleep?"

She pretended to be only casually interested, but now that she was pleasantly full Battousai could see the sleep pulling at her eyes. He hadn't realized how much her weariness had begun to wear on him until he felt the flood of relief at the thought of her finally relaxing enough to sleep.

"Yes." He finished off the last of his rice, letting the thought dangle there like a thread before a cat.

Kaoru did not disappoint: "So where will I sleep?" She said peevishly, another scowl gathering on her face.

"Next to me."

She growled at him and Battousai thrilled to the sound, if only because they were speaking, because he was finally starting to see some of the fire her eyes had been promising for days.

"The hell I will! Meg-"

He cut her off with a low hiss before she could finish the name, "Yes. In a room I will prepare."

Kaoru quirked a brow, fuming but silent. It amazed him that she hadn't slipped into a doze where she sat, but willfulness and pride were qualities she possessed in almost inhuman measure.

"Prepare it now or I will just have to take Megumi's room. And send her to yours." A smirk, small but knowing.

"Oh? I thought you would not sleep in my woman's room."

"I thought she wasn't your woman." Kaoru countered.

If he pressed, he thought he could keep her in his rooms. She had won something of a victory today now that she no longer feared eating the food in his realm and he could see the renewed confidence in the way she held herself. Freedom felt like it was within her reach, and if he was clever then he could convince her to cede a battle to win the war. He wanted her to stay near; perhaps if she did he too could sleep easy for the first time in years. But she wanted a room of her own, and everything in him urged him to give her what she wanted so long as he could keep her…

There was a way for both of them to have their victory.

"Come." He stood quickly, and with an annoyed huff Kaoru followed. They left his room, but not far- across the hall where the walls were adorned with no more than a few hanging scrolls. He couldn't resist showing off a little, rolling up his voluminous sleeves, pressing his palm to the wall and willing it to obey him as every thing here must.

Kaoru gasped behind him, a sound that was lost amongst shifting, creaking wood. Before him stood a simple door… and beyond it a small room, not so sumptuous that Kaoru would be tempted to stay there indefinitely, but comfortable enough that the time she spent there before rejoining him wouldn't be a trial.

"You may stay here as long as you like." He stepped away, "Though you're always welcome in my rooms."

It was a mark of how tired she was that Kaoru didn't even protest as she pushed past him and into the room. She threw herself down on the futon, asleep almost before she hit the fabric.

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Kaoru roused slowly, limbs still almost too heavy to move and head swimming with the effort of sitting up. She didn't feel sick any more though, and the warmth around her was a welcome cocoon from the chill of the room. Battousai's room had been warmer, but it hadn't been the temperature that made her want to leave rather the company she'd had to share it with.

She was begrudgingly grateful for the meal, but it would have taken a regiment of torturers to make her admit it. He could have worn her down farther, could have kept her starving and weak. She wondered what game he was playing since he had chosen not to. It was a struggle, but she forced herself to get up. Between the food and the sleep her strength was returning and with it her determination to get out. Having seen how Battousai had shaped this room with no more than a thought and a minute she had some insight into how the place had been confounding her at every corner.

How knowing would benefit her she hadn't worked out yet, but it was another piece of the puzzle solved. She stepped out with purpose only to leap back in as the hall floor squeaked under her feet. Wary, she stepped out lightly, and the floor still screeched at the contact. A nightingale floor where once it had been solid and silent. Kaoru glared at the room across the hall, willing the occupant within to step out and explain himself.

If she wanted to speak to him, she had but to call his name. Kaoru refused.

She struck out across the hall, gritting her teeth against the noise. If Battousai wanted to know her comings and goings he was welcome; she had never been anything less than honest in her intentions.

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A.N. Next chap: Kaoru goes home.

This is a shorter chapter because I have no clue how long the next will end up being and it's been long enough since I updated ^.^;

That said, whatever length it is Kaoru is going home so we can get this show on the road!

Also, nightingale floors are about the coolest thing I have ever seen architecture-wise. The sound can vary from floor to floor, but my personal favorite is the one that pops up the first result on YT if you type in "Nightingale floor sound"