Chapter Eight: Lessons in Seduction

Notes for a future life: if the audience is screaming 'don't go into the basement, don't go into the basement,' then don't go into the basement.' Or in this case, don't go skinny dipping in an unsecured location.

As I continued to curse my luck, Shingen looked at the ground, leaned over, and casually picked up my "towel." (No, bath towels haven't made their way over from Persia yet, but for simplicity's sake, I'm mentally using the word towel, because it's faster than using the phrase 'large piece of fabric that I intended to use as person-drying-device'… and yes, my brain did short circuit into ramble mode because for the first time since we'd met, Shingen directed the full wattage of his charisma at me, and… it's a lot. It was surprising that the water closest to him hadn't started steaming. Yet.)

He examined the towel. "Not a mermaid then. A Moon Goddess, bathing in the light of her celestial sister." Ok, there was a quarter moon out, I'll allow him that one. Thankfully, it was no brighter than that, or I'd be worried he'd connect this me with Katsu.

Now leave me alone sir, before I freeze. It felt a lot colder once I was no longer splashing around.

He opened the towel and shook it. "Do you want this back, Angel? I imagine you do – I can tell you're very cold in there."

Yes, of course I want the - then my brain kick started with embarrassment. How exactly could he tell that I was cold? I sunk lower until the water covered my chin.

"Your teeth are chattering."

Oh. So they were. Ok. At least he didn't see-

"And," he directed his gaze to the water line. "Other reasons."

I closed my eyes for a moment, thinking, "I'll kill you. I'll kill you dead." When I opened my eyes, he was still there.

Could the developers please hurry up with the 'kill you with my mind' patch?

Keeping one arm over my "other reasons" I edged closer to reach for the towel, but he was holding it just out of range.

"I'm proposing a trade, Angel. You want this," he shook the towel again. "And I would like one kiss from those very blue lips." He looked at me, then the same slow smile that he had loosed upon the women at the teahouse last week spread across his features.

Why hadn't I kept my eyes closed? His smile is lethal.

If I answered him, would he recognize my voice? Thanks to Aki's training, I was used to pitching my voice as 'Katsuhira' lower than my normal tones. I should be safe, but I also had thought my bath would be uninterrupted and Mai had thought the water would be warm enough, so the women of Kasugayama were 0-2 in judgment today.

My poor judgment further manifested when I began shivering.

Shingen stepped closer to the lake. "Get out of there before you freeze to death. I'm catching a cold from looking at you." There was an edge to his voice that suggested he'd come in after me if I didn't hurry. Of course, if he really wanted me to get out of the water, he should leave me alone, but that didn't seem to be on his agenda.

I raised my hand, and circled my finger, hoping he'd get a clue and turn around. He folded his arms and leaned back against a tree, clearly prepared to wait me out.

Right. Didn't think that would work.

Ok. What were my options?

Plan A. I could swim to a further part of the shore and book it out of here. I was certain of my ability to outrun him, but I wasn't keen on the idea of streaking barefoot through the forest. If Sasuke was leaking ground spikes again, I'd be risking foot injury – which would be difficult to explain tomorrow.

Plan B. Stay here and freeze. No, let's avoid any solutions that would involve cryogenics.

Plan C. Game this thing out. After considering that idea, I realized he had left me a loophole.

I held up my index finger, signaling "one."

"Right. One kiss in exchange for this nice, dry, warm, blanket." He held open the towel.

Alright. I guess we're doing this.

I took a deep breath for courage and bolted out of the water, zipping squarely into the towel he held open like a target. "There you go," he murmured as he wrapped me up. His body radiated a potent heat compared to the lake water, making me aware just how close I had come to courting hypothermia. He briskly rubbed my back and shoulders, then grabbed a corner of the towel and scrubbed it over my hair a few times. Maybe he had truly been concerned that I would freeze.

Then he leaned closer, his voice scorching my ear. "Kiss me, Angel." He brought that beautiful face closer to mine.

I rose up on my tiptoes and at the last moment, changed the angle to briefly kiss his cheek. (Loophole!). I almost laughed at his chagrined expression.

Then I pulled back and tugged at the towel. He did not let go. Again, I tried to pull away. "That didn't count," he said.

Risking a verbal response, I said, "You didn't specify where you wanted to be kissed."

"She speaks!" He ran his thumb across my lips, his touch doing much to counteract the cold of the lake. With a smile, he continued. "You are correct, Angel, I did not specify."

I gripped the towel to my body and again tried to leave, but his arms were firmly wrapped around me. Though I wasn't frightened, I was annoyed enough to give him my best glare.

He tapped my nose with his finger. "Our agreement was for one kiss in exchange for the blanket. You are holding the blanket, are you not?"

I was, but…

"If you wanted to leave with the blanket, you ought to have specified." Then he winked (!) at me.

One, all.

Forgot I was dealing with a strategist. Let's try this again. I drew myself up to my full height and spoke with as much dignity it was possible to muster when wearing only a towel and a warlord. "I would like to leave right now with the … er, blanket, alone, and be assured that you won't follow me." That, hopefully, would cover all contingencies from sneaky warlords.

"An Angel who negotiates. I'm intrigued." He pulled me closer, resting his chin on the top of my head. I made a half-hearted attempt to scoot away, but he massaged more warmth into my shoulders. "You're still shivering. I'm only trying to warm you up."

Yeah. No one with half a brain would believe that one. Even the chorus of crickets in the background was going, 'nope, nope, nope.' "And next, you're going to try and sell me a castle that you don't own?"

I could sense him smiling into my hair. "You opened the negotiation with three requests. One proper kiss of a suitable duration, per request – for a total of three kisses."

"I can count," I muttered. If I had to kiss him, then at least then I would know what it was like to kiss him, and I could stop wondering. I'd have to stop at one kiss though – one kiss, then this 'Angel' was going fly away forever. I felt a slight pang of disappointment about that, but staying with him too long only increased the chance that he'd find out that 'Angel' was also 'Katsu.' So. That was that. I counter-offered with, "One for the lot."

"Two. Two proper kisses of a suitable duration." He lifted a clump of wet hair out of my eyes, flicking it behind my ear.

That … was vague. Too vague. I leaned back and looked at him. "What do you mean by a proper kiss of-"

I got almost through that question and that Star Wars Fish Alien whose name I can't remember broke through my obviously hypothermic brain (I normally would not have made such a stupid miscalculation), yelling 'it's a trap!' then Shingen said, "Like this" and closed the gap between our mouths.

Oh.

Oh!

He really is good at this.

His lips glided over mine, gently at first, merely brushing past before pausing, hovering, almost touching, but not. Maybe I should have moved, but instead, I held my breath, until he pressed his mouth to mine again. He held me firmly against his body, but didn't try to overpower me, and as I relaxed into his kiss, he brought one hand up to cup my cheek.

His hair tickled the back of my hand - only then did I realize I had put my arms around his neck to bring him closer. He took his time, acting like he wanted to savor me, like I was one of those pastries he loved so much. And with that image, came the taste of sugar – I don't know if he actually tasted like sugar, or if it was because I associated him with pastries – but I had not expected such sweetness in his kiss.

Then he flicked his tongue across my lower lip and nipped at it. Surprised, I gasped, and he slipped his tongue inside my mouth. He placed his hand on the back of my head to draw me closer still. His kiss was warming all over, defrosting my lake frozen-body, and I wanted to get closer to that warmth, let it burn through me even, and that was my last coherent thought for a while and I went with it.

Yes. Him. Now.

Then bargains and agreements went out the window, as he slid his mouth down to the base of my throat and pressed a kiss to it that had me catching my breath in a moan and I grabbed his shoulders to keep from sliding to the ground in a boneless heap.

"I knew you'd like that, Angel," he murmured. There was both laughter and triumph in his voice, and finally my brain woke up and broke free of that seductive hold.

Angel. Goddess. He wasn't kissing me. He didn't know me. I could have been any woman. The realization, as cold as the lake, help me retake control of my senses.

No, I would take my chances with the ground spikes.

Flipping the towel up and over his head, temporarily blinding him and tangling him up in fabric; I used that element of surprise to make a run for it.

I dashed through the underbrush, then swung up into the tree I had secreted my clothing in earlier. In a flash (literally), I was sitting on a thick branch, clutching the bundle of 'Katsuhira's' clothes like a security blanket. I pressed my hand to my mouth to silence my rapid breathing – my lips were still tingling from his kiss.

Somewhere below me, Shingen was crashing through the trees, calling for "Angel".

The calls stopped suddenly with a muttered oath.

Watch out for ground spikes.

Luckily, the night guards didn't examine me too closely when I returned to the castle, my damp hair tucked into my clothes and creating a giant wet spot on my back. They were used to Shingen's staff coming and going at all hours. Once inside, though, I had the sense that someone was watching me as I hurried through the corridor to my room. I paused, looked around, and noticed that a doorway that had been closed when I passed it a moment ago was now cracked open.

After a brief mental debate – I was wet and armed with only a dagger – I crept back, and peered through the tiny sliver of open space. It appeared to be a storage room, I couldn't see anyone in it, though they could be lurking behind the door. I listened for movement, breathing… anything, but the only noise I heard was coming from the corridor behind me – two vassals were heading my way, engaged in some nonsense argument over the best brand of sake in the area. Not wanting to be caught lurking, I gave up on the idea of investigating further, and returned to my room. I'd return to this one tomorrow and give it a thorough examination.

To my surprise, I managed to fall asleep without much difficulty, especially considering the effect my night swim and the aftermath had on my imagination. My brain basically just shut down in self-defense. I woke up once a bit later when my brain produced the name of the Star Wars Fish Alien (Admiral Ackbar), fell asleep again, only to be jarred awake again by the sound of my door sliding open.

I reached for the dagger I kept next to the futon.

"Don't be alarmed, it's just me," Shingen stood in the doorway, a lantern in one hand, and a packet of letters in the other.

Actually, I found that pretty alarming. Had he figured it out already? Had 'Angel,' like Cinderella, left something behind?

He gestured to the messages. "Can you deliver these first thing?"

Oh. Ok. He hadn't figured it out. "First thing as in right now?"

Please say no and go away.

"No, I'm simply dropping them off. It can wait until sunrise."

Good. Now, go away.

My mind control was working about as well as it had earlier this evening – which is to say not at all. Perhaps I should have added the phrase these are not the droids you're looking for to it?

He moved from the doorway and came into the room, and I was suddenly conscious that I wasn't wearing the binder over my breasts, and that my hair, though pulled back, was still wet. I pulled the blanket over my head and rolled into a ball and did my best impression of a lazy teenager. "Will do." I mumbled, trying to give every indication that I was nearly asleep again.

"You're not terribly alert for someone who's already legendary for getting up and around early in the morning," as he placed the letters on my writing desk, then sat down behind it.

I risked Kilroying my eyes and nose over the edge of the blanket. "Being a morning person usually requires being asleep at this particular time of the night."

He laughed. "Don't mind me, I just realized I need to write another." He grabbed some paper and the brush off the desk and I was suddenly glad that I was the organized type of person who did not leave incriminating things lying about. (Actually, that is exactly why I am organized).

As I once again retreated under the blanket, I wondered if maybe he had figured out my disguise and was torturing me for the fun of it, but the rhythmic and determined scritch of the brush across the page convinced me he truly was writing an urgent message. Finally, my curiosity won out, and I asked, "What's going on?"

He bent over the desk, the light of the lantern turning his hair from auburn to burnished red. "I'm looking for a woman."

"Aren't you always?" I muttered, as I mentally swore at myself for asking. That catch-all nickname "Angel" still stung my ego, even as I rationally knew it shouldn't. I hadn't told him "Angel's" name, and for all he knew, we had just "met."

"A specific woman," he clarified, the brush still scribbling furiously on the paper. "Part Mermaid, part Moon Goddess." He mumbled something else under his breath that may have been 'imp.' Or limp? Well, he had stepped on a ground spike.

"What makes that one special?" Ego damage repair sequence initiating.

He rolled the handle of the brush over and over his fingers like a magician manipulating a playing card. "We were playing a game of sorts, and the next move is to be mine. But I need to locate her first."

I needed to shut this thing down. Though it might be a good idea to learn what he had in store for Angel, so that I had a next move of my own. Or, better yet, avoid getting into a situation where a move needed to be made. "A game? Like shogi?"

"Somewhat, although I've never found that particular game all that exciting. But it does involve thinking several moves in advance." He smiled, and I got very very worried. "Of course, if we play this game correctly, we will both win."

I might be in trouble. I inched further under my blanket.

"What have the messages to do with it?" Did he write Angel a note and address it to the North Pole? Or the Moon, probably, because of that goddess thing.

"I've asked my mitsumono to search for her, as the lady is probably a spy."

I am definitely in trouble.

He tapped the pile of letters. "Sorry to have disturbed you, Katsu." And then he was gone.