Sukina was dancing in a small wood, her body lost to unheard music. As she danced, a short man watched. He was not so much watching her as he was watching over her. He was always on the lookout for danger to her. Her instincts told her that he could, and should be trusted, no matter what others said. He was a short man with white bangs and a truly fearsome look on his face.
She did not hear the rustlings of the bushes, but he did. Suddenly, a huge creature jumped out, and was in the clearing. The man withdrew a katana from his back, and strode to fight the creature. Sukina had her own occupation though. Thousands of flies appeared from nowhere, and she tried to beat them away, but failed. The babbling of the stream nearby reminded her that insects never liked being immersed in water.
The man shouted at her as she ran towards the stream, but she paid him no heed. The stream was deeper than it looked. She launched herself from the very edge of the stream into it. Her dive was clean and smooth, the water deep enough for her to dive without injuring herself.
The insects stopped following her, and fell away from her in the water. She looked around her now. The water was far deeper than she had suspected, so deep that she might have been in an ocean or a lake rather than a stream. Someone swam up to her. She touched Sukina on the shoulder from the back. Sukina turned so quickly to her, that her blond hair obscured her face. It was no matter. She was short of breath, and needed to return to the surface quickly.
The woman kissed her, giving her air. At the moment Sukina brushed her hair across her face, she opened her eyes to see who was her mysterious benefactor.
She saw the sun shining in her eyes instead.
Raising an arm to shield her sight, she sighed. She had been so close to discovering who the woman was. This was the closest she had been. Her dreams of the past fortnight had the same theme, just different settings. Always, always, it had been a man watching over her, the same man. He and the mysterious woman knew each other. Only once had she seen them both together in front of her eyes, and he had given the woman a grudging salute. She had sensed that he was not a man who respected others easily.
The woman on the other hand, reminded her of her mother, yet there was an air about her that was not her mother at the same time. She would protect Sukina, but, Sukina mused, who would protect the woman?
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"Ah-choo!" Karen sneezed as she left the library for a drink. It was far too cold to be in there.
Outside, students were milling around, most having finished their semester today. The last paper was over and they were on their way home. Some, like her, had other preoccupations. Karen walked down the stairs, looking for a café to buy a drink. She found Minami in there, nursing a large mug of hot coffee. He motioned her to come over and sit down with him. She did.
"I thought you were on holiday now," he said. She grinned.
"It just began today. How come you're still here? I thought your business with Corporate Services would have ended by now," she said.
"They ordered some new computers from us. I've a responsibility to see them arrive here in one piece," Kurama answered.
"You don't, not unless you don't trust your agent here that much," she grinned.
"How would you know whether the company has an agent or anything?" he smiled back, enjoying the banter.
They talked like that for a little while more, until her phone rang. Kurama noted that like most girls, her voice changed immediately when talking to a lover. She gave him her location, and then sat back, continuing their banter.
"What were the specs for the computers?" she asked him. He told her. She let out a low whistle.
"Wait. Are they for us or for the office?" she asked him as a thought occurred to her. He shrugged, but he doubted very much they were for the office. The amount they ordered would fit a college requirement more than a corporate office.
"Hey baby," a boy, taller than Karen but shorter than Kurama, came over and kissed Karen on the cheek. His eyes had a territorial look.
"Hie! Shall we go?" she looked up at him. It was plain that Karen adored him, and he her. "See you later, Minami-san," she said.
Kurama said goodbye to her, looking at their retreating backs and the easy way they held each other with an unfathomable look.