^o^ Oh-ho-ho-ho-ho!!!! So you like the fluff, eh? Good to here. It's good for the soul… at least that's the justification I use when writing it. Anyway, here's a little… something. It takes place the morning after as "Bandage." It's funny… no, not the story, my thoughts… When I wrote these I automatically fell into this sort of ironic humor, and when you really look at it… all of the fluffy moments in BOTI are, well, humorous. Yeah, sure, sure, there are some "serious" fluffs, but the majority are funny. So… yeah, just an observation.
Oh yeah, I realized earlier that I didn't put the "disclaimer" for the first fic… ahem… well I don't own BOTI now and I didn't then, so there. And really, how necessary is this statement? Cause… if I did own them… it wouldn't really be fan fiction, now would it? And, frankly, I don't have much interest in hauling around grumpy, foul-mouthed samurai all the time.
Now, enjoy your cheese.
Waking Up
On most days, waking up was a pleasant experience for Rin. Her mind would drift languidly into consciousness, letting her relish in the few minutes where her body was still relaxed enough from sleep to make the thin futon feel like four or five stacked on top of each other. She would stretch, feeling the delicious tingle as her muscles remembered what it was like to move. And finally, when she could no longer ignore the light filtering through her eyelids, she would roll to her feet and begin a new day.
Today was not one of those days.
"Mmph," she stifled a groan of discomfort. She hurt. It felt like every muscle in her body was cramped, that even the slightest movement would result in agony until she could work out the kinks. Luckily, she couldn't move.
Her eyes snapped open with the realization. She couldn't move. Something had her pinned to the wall, trapping her. Panic flooded her so quickly that she had to immediately close her eyes again against a wave of dizziness. Then, after a stern mental slap, her memory tactfully decided to replay the events of the previous evening.
"Manji, get off," she muttered, more than a little annoyed by the false alarm. It wasn't his fault that she'd panicked, but she couldn't help shoving a little of the blame on him. After all, he was the one still lying on her.
For the second time in the three minutes she'd been awake, Rin panicked. Why was Manji still here? Why wasn't she tucked safely in her futon and blanket with many blissful feet lying between them? Not that she didn't enjoy the feel of his body in her arms…
Another mental slap was applied and Rin gave him a hard poke in the chest. He grunted but didn't stir, his breathing still deep and even in sleep. Rin carefully schooled her thoughts to a safer medium, like resuming her roll as nurse. She examined the calloused fingers still interlaced with her own, pleased when she saw that they had healed properly. Then she reasoned that it would probably be wise to remove her hand now that it wasn't needed. The slight blush that warmed her face was ignored.
After a few more clinical pokes and prods, she nodded her head in satisfaction. The blood worms had done their jobs beautifully. Now she just had to wait until the immortal lug woke up so she could work on relieving her own abused muscles.
"Manji, wake up," she tapped at his chest again impatiently. Part of her was enjoying the pleasant feeling of being embraced by a trusted friend. She smiled at the thought. Manji was certainly trusted, and certainly a friend, and certainly… The other part of her then forcibly pointed out that unless she got up soon her bladder would give out.
"Manji," she tried again, patting the side of his face that wasn't pressed into her neck, "come on, I know you can't still be asleep," she admonished. A slight snore was the only response.
Rin huffed in irritation. She'd been nice so far, keeping her voice pitched low and hands gentle, but her patience was wearing thin. In a second she was going to start shouting and hitting, considerate awakenings be damned.
He got those wounds because of me, the thought popped into her head unbidden. Rin bit her lower lip, feeling guilty. Despite her uncomfortable position, Manji had earned his rest. It wasn't fair for her to yell at him for recovering from a battle. After all, it was just as much her fault as his that she was in this situation. She shouldn't have fallen asleep before he was healed in the first place.
"Fine," she gave up quietly, "I guess I can wait a little bit longer." Her hand strayed from where it still hovered by his cheek to his head, stroking the spiky hair affectionately.
"What are you doing?" Manji's voice was loud and abrupt in the still morning of the little cabin. Rin stiffened in surprise and pulled her hand away. Her brain failed her for a minute, cheerfully distracted by the battle Shock and Embarrassment were having. Ironically, the defending issue was identical for both contenders. She'd been caught being intimate with him.
Her mouth opened and closed silently before she finally managed to blurt out the only non-self-compromising statement hovering in her mind.
"You know, you really need a bath," she rubbed the oil between her fingers with a slight grimace.
Silence once again filled the cabin for a few tense minutes.
"Shiiiiiiiit," Manji groaned in disgust, stiffly pushing himself to his feet. Rin remained motionless, regarding his back with wide, apprehensive eyes. How would her bodyguard, a term she couldn't seriously associate with him anymore, react to this?
"I save her ass and this is the thanks I get," the immortal muttered to himself and began rolling his shoulders loose.
A sigh that spoke of the normalcy of the moment escaped Rin's lips. He hadn't noticed. Or maybe he'd just ignored it. Either way, nothing had changed. Her mouth quirked in a smile as relief washed through her. At the same time, though, she couldn't help but wonder how long she'd continue to feel it. Their relationship was a cozy, platonic blanket that she'd huddled in gratefully for a while. She was changing, though, outgrowing that blanket. Everyday another part of her became cold and wanting. It wouldn't be long before the desire to be warm again would drive her to shove the blanket into a certain man's scarred face, demanding a new one.
Leave it alone, she told herself sternly. It was too early in the morning to be worrying about things like that. Right now she needed to worry about the sore muscles in her back and neck. Of course, an image immediately popped up in her mind.
Perhaps she could ask for a massage.
Perhaps he would agree to oblige her.
Perhaps she should shut her very teenage-girl brain off right there.
A steadying breath was taken. When she felt in control of herself again, Rin braced her hand against the wall behind her and stood. She yelped in surprise when she only made it halfway up before slumping back to the floor. Manji turned to find her clutching at her legs, gritting her teeth in pain.
"What's wrong?" he asked, voice showing interest if not concern. Rin didn't mind. She hadn't expected any in the first place.
"My legs," she rubbed first at the right and then the left gingerly, "they're asleep."
"Mmm," her bodyguard gave her a neutral look before bending and hauling her to her feet. Rin's breath hissed through her teeth as her legs suddenly caught fire, pins pricking the entire lower half of her body. Manji shrugged an arm around her waist and walked to the door.
"Come on, Rin, walk it off," he advised cheerfully, practically dragging her as she stumbled along, legs less than responsive. She flung her arms around his waist to keep from falling.
"This isn't helping," she protested, the momentary pain making her brain gloss over the eventual recovery she knew would come.
"You're so weak," he remarked. Her months of practice in reading his voice allowed her to pick up the amusement in his tone. She punched a half hearted fist into his gut in protest. There was nothing funny about her being handicapped.
Manji grunted at the weak strike and chuckled, pausing to lower her onto the edge of the porch before turning back to the door.
"What are you doing?" Rin asked, twisting around to look back at him. He appeared a second later, the little bucket with their bathing supplies swinging from one hand. He waved it in her face a little as he passed.
"Making sure you can't gripe anymore," he explained, a wicked grin flashing on his face as he looked at her, "Want to come make sure I do a good job?"
Rin felt her face flush as she scowled at him, scathing protests sputtering on her lips as he continued down to the river, roaring with laughter. After a few more minutes of seething she belatedly realized that her previous problem still hadn't been solved. With one last curse she left the porch, tottering on still tender legs into the trees.
A little introspection on Rin's feelings, yes? I don't know about you, but I get that restless, "are you blind to what's happening here?" vibe from her in regards to their relationship, especially after the riceball incident in the beginning of volume 8. As for this story… well, it might have more chapters. I dunno. Depends on if I get inspired. I could easily do the cliché peek-in-bath scene that invariably happens in most romantic comedies (not that I consider BOTI to be this… but my one-shots certainly are), but I'm feeling especially dignified today. Wait a minute… I'm writing cheesy fluff… Ah, please forgive me, fair readers. I have committed a grievous error of judgment. Delusions of grandeur are never pretty, ne? Hehe, later!