Chapter 13: First Truths

"…and so these bandits have been terrorising the nearby villages, and giving us Mt. Reikaku bandits a bad name," Kouji explained.

"Tasuki scared them away," Miaka piped up helpfully while at the same time keeping an eye on the blonde man leaning against a tree at the far side of the clearing, seemingly indifferent to everyone else. It had taken several seconds for Kouji and his men to recognise Nakago, but when they had…they'd almost attacked him. Luckily, she had managed to stop them before anyone got hurt. The bandits were still edgy about the presence of the former Seiryuu seishi and most of them were casting nervous, hate-filled glances in his direction from time to time.

Kouji sighed, looking at his friend reproachfully, "I wish you hadn't done that, Genrou…we spent weeks trying to track them down!"

Tasuki, otherwise known as Genrou, slapped his fellow bandit on the back, "Don't worry, I'm sure they'll turn up again somewhere! I'll make sure I get all of them next time, ne?" He laughed as Kouji rolled his eyes good-naturedly at Miaka, making her smile.

The dark-haired bandit turned to Miaka and bowed slightly, "We of the Mt. Reikaku bandits will escort you to the next town, Suzaku no Miko…" He smiled lopsidedly, making his face look boyishly handsome despite the long scar running down his left cheek. "…If for no reason other then to keep you safe from Genrou's clutches!"

The men burst out laughing, some even going so far as to whistle lasciviously while Tasuki turned the same colour as his hair.

"BAKA! I DON'T EVEN LIKE WOMEN!"

The group moved on towards the border Konan shared with Kutou at a slow, steady pace. Miaka had insisted on walking herself and refused to be carried by anyone, and they stopped every so often to allow her to rest. They were still about a day away from the nearest town when Tasuki declared that they make camp in preparation for the coming nightfall.

In truth, seeing Miaka limping was as painful for him to watch as it had to be for her. Tasuki could see how thankful she seemed to be that they were finally stopping. Unknown to him, a fond smile tugged at his lips as he observed how the other bandits were doing everything they could to make her comfortable; bringing fresh water from a nearby river for her to drink and offering tips on how to rub her ankle to relieve the pain.

Standing apart from everyone else, Nicholas ignored the suspicious stares he received as he inspected the sword he had acquired earlier. Drawing it out of its sheath, he familiarised himself with the feel of the weapon; testing it for weight and balance in his hands. He checked the blade, running his thumb lightly along the sharp edge, watching stoically as a fine line of blood welled up from the skin.

"Are you sure you remember how to hold that?" a voice sneered derisively from a few metres to his left.

His grip on the hilt of the sword tightened reflexively. He did not have to look to know who had spoken. The Suzaku seishi seemed to enjoy going out of his way to annoy him. He knew that the other man was looking for an excuse to start a fight. With this knowledge in mind, Nicholas was all the more determined not to allow himself to be pushed into such a situation. He would make sure that any fighting with the bandit took place on his own terms, not Tasuki's.

"Livin' in Miaka's world an' all…ya must really be out of practice," the flame-haired seishi continued blithely, making the statement sound like an insult. Tasuki leaned back casually against a tree, chewing on a blade of grass, wanting to see how far he could push Nakago now that Miaka was safely out of harm's way and no longer acting as mediator.

Kutou's former shogun slowly turned to face him, and Tasuki found himself pinned with a cold, hard stare which was utterly devoid of emotion. There was no anger, no hate, just…nothing. He forced himself not to squirm under Nakago's flat blue gaze, resisting the urge to look away or even blink. There was something very eerie in the way his arch enemy was standing perfectly motionless, almost as though time had slowed, and he was waiting for something to happen.

The next thing he knew, the sword was headed straight towards him. Nakago had moved so quickly and unexpectedly that Tasuki had not even seen him bringing the weapon up and throwing it.

The was nothing he could do; no time to dodge, not even with his seishi abilities. He stood frozen as his life literally flashed before his eyes. Scenes of his time with the Mt. Reikaku bandits; being with the other Suzaku star warriors; Nuriko, Tamahome, Chichiri…Miaka…Shit, I'm really going to die this ti—

The tip of the sword embedded itself with a solid 'thunk' in the tree trunk beside his head, less than two inches from his ear. Slowly, almost mechanically, as if any sudden movement would cause his head to explode, he turned to stare at the still-quivering length of steel…

Pinned to the wood by the blade was the biggest black widow spider he had ever seen; its distinctive black-and-red markings clearly visible. Its many legs were still twitching, as though trying to prove a point. What the point was, Tasuki couldn't be sure, because his mind had stopped functioning altogether. The only thing he was completely aware of, the only thing he could hear, was the pounding of his own heart.

After what seemed to Tasuki like an eternity, the silence was broken by the sound of Kouji's voice close by. He had not noticed his friend's presence. When had he arrived? Had Kouji been standing there all this while?

"You have excellent aim," Kouji's quiet statement was addressed to Nakago. It was obvious that the dark-haired bandit had seen everything which had transpired. Tasuki numbly wondered how Kouji could be so composed after witnessing what the erstwhile Seiryuu seishi had done.

The corners of the blonde man's mouth lifted in a thin, frosty smile. His voice calm and as smooth as glass when he replied to the bandit's comment; the even tone carrying just the faintest hint of malicious amusement.

"Not really," Nicholas walked past them, not bothering to give the badly shaken Suzaku seishi a second glance, "I was aiming for his head."

Tasuki was still frozen in the same position he had been in; pale as a sheet and shaken to the core, he did not even protest when Kouji waved a hand in his face and peered closely at him.

"I'd say he remembers perfectly," Kouji said dryly, eyeing the dead spider still pinned to the tree with passing interest. He looked thoughtful, as if an idea had suddenly occurred to him, and rubbed the scar on his cheek. It was something he did out of habit.

Tasuki blinked, like he was waking from a trance; his mind reminding him that he had to breathe, finally registering that someone was talking to him. "Huh?" His voice sounded weak, brittle…even to his own ears.

"How to hold a sword. That's what you asked him, right? He did answer your question, you know… Only not in so many words."

The other bandit sounded almost cheerful. If he didn't know any better, he'd swear that Kouji was trying his best not to laugh. Tasuki wanted to slug him in the jaw for appearing so unconcerned and for trying to be a smart-ass. In his opinion, his friend was taking the entire matter of Nakago coming within an inch (okay, actually two inches) of killing him far too lightly. Now, if only he could work up the strength clench his fist and stop his hands from trembling long enough to hit Kouji…

"Have you ever experienced a perfect moment in time? When time seemed to stop, and you could almost live in that moment…an entire universe, in one single moment."

—Star Trek: Insurrection

She found him by the river, stripped to the waist and kneeling at the water's edge. The late afternoon sun filtered through the branches overhead, bathing the scene in liquid gold light. She watched silently as he sluiced his face and upper body with water, her eyes unconsciously roaming over his broad shoulders and sculpted chest, following the trail of glistening water droplets as they trickled down over his—

She noticed how his black jeans hugged his slim hips perfectly, leaving nothing to the imagination… and how the top button was undone. Miaka felt her face heating up with acute embarrassment. Apparently unaware of her presence, he turned, presenting his back to her. She saw the faint ripple of lean muscle under smooth skin as he moved. It was then, that she caught sight of something she had never expected.

She wondered if she was imagining things. She blinked, squinting into the sunlight.

There was no mistake. It was still there.

On his back, just behind his right shoulder blade, was something which looked like a small tattoo.

After she had heard what he had done to Tasuki, she had only intended to seek him out so that she could yell at him. But now, seeing him like this…she wasn't so sure she wanted to approach him. Suddenly, she felt afraid, unsure of herself…and of the strange feelings swamping her.

In all the time she had spent with him, he had never affected her this much…at least not in the way he was affecting her now. True, he was extremely handsome; she had been aware of that since the very first time she'd met him in Kutou, however, she had always felt that there was a certain hard, unfeeling edge to his looks which left her cold. But of late, she had begun noticing certain… aspects about him. Little things, like the way his eyes changed colours with his emotions, drifting between steely silver-grey and clear sapphire blue; how unlike most people, he wore his watch on the inside of his wrist…and how, despite being right-handed, he folded his arms left-over-right when he crossed them.

She thought of the time he had carried her at the risk of reopening his own injury and how he had helped Houki and the advisors at the palace without being asked…

How he had been protecting her all this while…

Oh no…

Her heart sank as an awful realisation gripped her, even as hysteria slowly mounted. Surely this wasn't happening. It could not! She could not be—…She was not beginning to fall in love with him…was she? He was Nakago for heaven's sake!

IIE! Don't be stupid, Miaka! He is just a friend, nothing more! He's evil and twisted…and mean! she told herself firmly, And you're already in love with Tamahome! It was probably just a passing phase she was going through, brought on by a combination of stress, lack of sleep and her anxiety over Tamahome and Keisuke. Soon, it would be over and she would look back and laugh at how foolish she was being now.

She very nearly had herself convinced, even managing to relax slightly. So there is absolutely NO WAY that I could be—

"Enjoying the view?"

She jumped violently at the sudden intrusion of his voice, her face flushing guiltily in response to his question. She looked up at him, having to crane her neck back to meet his mildly amused gaze; realising for the first time, just how close he was. She had not noticed his quiet approach while she had been wrestling with her own emotions.

"I…" she desperately searched her mind for something to say, "I…I wanted to…talk to you about what you did to Tasuki! It won't hurt you to be a little nicer to him, you know!" She spoke quickly, trying not to look at his bare chest which, coincidentally, happened to be exactly at eye-level.

He lifted a perfect blonde eyebrow at her words as a sardonic smirk played over his lips, either completely oblivious to her discomfort, or else enjoying the fact that he was making it worse…knowing Nakago, chances were that it was the latter.

There were a few remaining water droplets clinging to his skin, and she suddenly had the most compelling urge to brush them off. She needed to do something fast, before she made a complete fool of herself in front of him. Abruptly, she walked around him, trying her best to look nonchalant.

"I didn't know you had a tattoo," she said, changing the subject, proud that her voice sounded almost normal. Keeping herself calm was much easier when she did not have to meet his eyes.

She could see it clearly now, a small, intricate Celtic cross, skilfully etched into the smooth, unblemished skin.

It was beautiful…

Before she could stop herself, she had reached out to touch the tattoo. His muscles tensed for a brief instant at the sudden contact before relaxing again under her fingers. The skin on his back was as smooth as it looked, but never had she expected it to feel so soft…or be so wonderfully warm.

"One wild night in university," he quipped absently, sounding almost wistful, as though he was reliving a fond memory. "I don't remember much from that particular night."

It was the sound of his voice which shattered the trance she had been pulled into, and she quickly backed away from him in horror, ignoring the painful protest from her sore ankle, only now just realising what she had been doing. Oh my god…WHAT THE HELL WAS I THINKING? Miaka stared at her hand in disbelief, almost as if she could not recognise it as her own.

Suddenly, he turned around to face her, swiftly closing the distance between them in one graceful movement. Before she even had a chance to react, Nakago had lifted a hand to cup her chin, gently tilting her face upwards. The smirk had returned, but there was the oddest expression in his eyes, and she found herself mesmerised by them, beginning to drown in their fathomless blue depths…

Very slowly, he lowered his own face towards hers, until their lips were almost touching. No… Please don't… her mind whispered in a weak protest. The water had turned his hair into the dark gold of rich honey; a few of the wet strands falling forward over his eyes to brush against her cheek. She wanted to wrench herself away from him and run for the hills as fast as she could…but found herself frozen where she stood, her legs refusing to obey any of her commands.

"There are some nosy people hiding behind those bushes. Let's give them something to talk about, shall we?" he murmured as his thumb stroked soothingly along her jaw and over the delicate skin of her throat. Nicholas could sense how tense she was; could feel the rapid flutter of her pulse under his fingertips. "Just play along…Miaka," he said softly, using her name in an attempt to calm her. Unfortunately, it had quite a different effect.

The feel of him whispering her name against her mouth…the individual syllables brushing against sensitive flesh was unbelievably sensual. Without her being even aware of it, her lips parted.

When he finally drew her fully into a soul-binding kiss, she could not have refused him…even if she had wanted to.

"Have you ever experienced a perfect moment in time? When time seemed to stop…"

Notes:

1) Alrighty! This is the chapter that a lot of people have been waiting for...LOTS of Nakago/Miaka interaction. Hehhehheh. This is the third time he's kissing her: Once in the anime series, once in "This Time Around" and now this...what's going to happen afterwards...?

2) Yep, dear Nicholas has a tattoo. I just thought it would be a nice touch. As he says, "I don't remember much from that particular night," meaning that he was probably drunk(!) with his university mates when he got it. Nicholas seems to be this very rational person who seems to always be in control, and I wanted to put across the point that even Mr. Perfect makes mistakes once in a while (and believe me, people do very strange things when they're drunk)...but that's a different story! Anyway, the tattoo is of a celtic cross, because I thought that Nakago/Nicholas having one of a dragon would be too corny for words.