Shio

They weren't that far away from his place. To his surprise, she wrapped her arms around his neck and held on. He figured she did it to take some of her weight off of his arms. There was really no need for her to do such a gesture because she really wasn't that heavy. However, he didn't tell her to let go. He was glad that she remained silent as he walked because he really would have smacked her just to shut her up. He had got that fed up.

He was also relieved that she turned her head away when she did. He kept getting an absurd urge to kiss her and he knew that would have been a HUGE mistake.

As they approached his place, he could feel her body start to tremble.

"It's okay. That is my place. You should know by now that I'm not going to hurt you." He said in a gentle voice.

"It's not that…I'm fr-freezing." Her teeth started to chatter.

He grinned and held her a little tighter to his body.

His place was small but warm and comfortable. There was a small fire burning in the corner. He placed Kiriko on his futon then he put her things down next to her. Kiriko looked around. There wasn't much in the apartment. Along the wall, she saw the same two jugs that were in the cave. He went into what appeared to be a small closet. When he came back, he was carrying a large blanket.

"Here," he handed it to her, "You better get out of those wet things before you catch cold. Then I'll take-"

"OH-NO I'm not about to give you another show, Tom."

He gave her a puzzled look; "why in the world do you insist on calling me Tom?"

She shrugged, "Because you're a peeping Tom, Tom." Kiriko said matter-a-factly.

He chuckled, "Well…even though that's a cute nickname and all… I would rather you call me Shio."

Kiriko blushed slightly, now feeling a bit childish for calling him such a silly name. "Okay...Shio."

Shio grinned and knelt down in front of her, "Well?"

Kiriko backed away from him with a confused look on her face, "Well, what?"

"Well are you going to tell me your name of should I just keep calling you brat?"

"Oh!" She sighed with relief then let out a nervous laugh. "I'm sorry. My name is Kiriko."

"Good. Kiriko is very pretty name….but your still a brat." Shio teased.

"HEY-"

"I'll go get us something to eat. That way you can change and I won't be here. When I come back I'll take a look at that ankle." He left the room before she could start yelling at him.

When Shio came back, Kiriko wasn't sitting on the futon where he left her. She had moved closer to the fire. She must not have felt his presence in the room because she continued to stare at the dancing flames. Her hair was down and pulled to the side over her shoulder. She was trying to dry it. Shio stood in the doorway and watched her for a moment. The blanket she was wrapped in dropped down a few inches revealing more of her creamy slim back. Shio was starting to get flash backs of the night he saw her in the pond. Finally he tore his eyes away and cleared his throat.

Startled, Kiriko gasped and pulled the blanket up around her neck then turned to face him.

"The place I went to wasn't open but I have some leftovers. Do you want that?" Shio walked over to his small kitchen and pulled out a pot.

"Yes, sure that would be fine." Anything would be fine right about now…I'm starving, Kiriko thought. She pulled the blanket tighter around her. I wonder how long he was standing in that doorway; she glared at his back while he prepared the food.

Feeling her gaze, Shio spoke to her without turning around. "Is there a problem?"

"Huh? Um…no. Why do you ask?" Kiriko turned her head back towards the fire.

He turned to face her, "Because you were just staring at me. Do you need something?"

"No."

"Here." He handed her a bowl. "Eat up."

Kiriko gobbled down the food. Shio watched her eat.

He grinned, "When was the last time you ate something?"

Kiriko nearly choked, I must look like an animal eating the food this way. Her face became bright red.

"Oh…I…um…" She started to fidget. Why am I so nervous around him?…I never act this way, Kiriko straightened up. "None of your business." Was all she could think of to say.

Shio just rolled his eyes then took the empty bowl from her and placed it in the kitchen. Kiriko watched him out the corner of her eye. Shio went into the closet then came back with a rag, some bandages, and a bottle of what appeared to be medicine. He sat directly in front of her.

"Okay let me see your ankle."

Kiriko backed away from him, "No. You're not a doctor."

"No I'm not but my grandmother was a nurse. So I know a little something about medicine. Now let me see your ankle before it gets worse." Shio reached for her leg but pulled away again.

"NO! It hurts."

She was getting on his last nerve; "Well it would stop hurting if you just let me-"

"NO! I want a real doctor to look at my ankle!"

Shio tried to touch her leg again; "If you just let me-"

Kiriko crawled away from him and grabbed Laplatina.

"I might be crippled but I can still kick your butt."

Shio burst out laughing, "Do you even know how to use that thing?"

Kiriko pulled the sheath off revealing the hidden sword. Shio stopped laughing immediately when he saw her weapon.

"Yes, I do. Would you like to be its first victim?" She hoped he would take her bluff.

He stood up and walked over to her. Kiriko kept the blade pointed at his neck. Shio knelt down in front of her with a small grin on his face.

"Kiriko…you've trusted me enough to come to my place, eat my food and sit in my house. I would think you should know by now that I'm not going to hurt you…" He gently pushed the blade away from his face and looked her straight in eyes. "…So trust me now." He reached for her leg but didn't touch her, "I promise this won't hurt but if it does, I give you permission to kill me." He smiled a little.

She slowly put the sword down and forced her gaze away from his hypnotic eyes. Shio's smile widened and he got to work.

Shio was very gentle with her ankle. He placed her foot in his lap then he slid the blanket up to her knee. Kiriko blushed but didn't pull her leg away. Shio used the warm damp rag to wipe away the remaining blood.

As he worked, Kiriko took a better look at him. The last time she saw him she thought he was sort of cute, however, if she had seen what she saw now, she might have been a little nicer to him. His bangs still covered most of his face but with the light from the fire she could see a lot more. His wavy long hair was pulled up in a high ponytail. Since it was still damp, Kiriko could clearly make out the shade of midnight blue that danced through his onyx hair. His incredibly smooth skin was tanned, giving him a slightly yellow-goldish complexion. His thick ebony eyebrows were sleek and perfectly arched. He had full lips that seemed almost too feminine to be on such a strong masculine face. And every time he smiled with his porcelain teeth, she had to fight the urge to blush but she was soon realizing that if he kept smiling at her that way it would be a futile battle. Her eyes slide down to his open gi. From what she could see, his chest and stomach were chiselled perfectly for his lean body. She thought that the heavens must have taken extra time on him to get it just right. All together, Shio was absolutely……. exquisite.

"Okay…" Shio pulled the blanket back down over her leg, "… I'm done."

Kiriko snapped out of her trance. "Oh! Um….thank you."

"Now see that didn't hurt a bit and you were acting all bratty for nothing." He smirked at her.

"Okay…let's cut this brat mess out RIGHT now." She folded her arms over her chest.

"Well I'll stop calling you a brat when you stop acting like one."

She grabbed her sword again; "You better watch your mouth. You're still in slicing distance."

Shio gave her an indifferent look then gathered his things and went to put them back the closet. "You have a really nice sword there, Kiriko….but I really doubt you know how to use it and it probably couldn't even cut paper."

"Huh?" She put the sword down, How does he know?

"You forgot that I touched the blade... From the looks of it, your sword should have given me a pretty nasty cut." Shio called out from the closet.

"Well just because it doesn't have any sharp edges doesn't mean Laplatina can't inflect pain." Kiriko said angrily. Shio walked back into the room with only his hakama on and a towel in his hand. Kiriko blushed madly and pulled the blanket tighter around her. He sat next to her.

"Laplatina? Who the hell is that?" He asked.

Kiriko sheathed her sword. "Laplatina…my sword."

Shio snickered, "That's a stupid name for a sword…"

Kiriko glared at him. He ignored her and continued, "…however, I have never seen another like it……Do you really know how to use a sword? I mean…you are a female and a small one at that."

"Do you ever manage to keep your feet out of your mouth?" She spat angrily.

He grinned, "Hhmm…I knew I had a flaw. I guess that's it…but you still haven't answered my question."

Her glare softened and she stared into his eyes confidently. "Like I said before...Yes, I do."

Shio's eyes narrowed but a small smile still lingered on his lips; "Maybe I'll have the honor of duelling with you one day."

A small smile tugged the corners of Kiriko's mouth, "Maybe." She pulled her eyes away from his and stared into the fire.

Shio proceeded to dry his hair, "So…Tell me why that big idiot was calling you his wife?"

Kiriko frowned and looked at her lap; "On my way here I had the unfortunate pleasure of meeting him and his crazy grandmother…I was practically forced to have breakfast with them and he just made me his girlfriend…I got away but I didn't think he'd come after me."

Shio stopped drying his hair to look at her; "So I guess he took a quick liking to you, huh?"

"Yes, I guess you could say that."

"Hm…" He went back to dry his hair. "I can see why." He mumbled.

Kiriko looked at him and smiled.

He stopped drying his hair and looked at her. "Did I say that out loud?"

Kiriko blushed, "Yes, you did."

"Um…well it's been a long night. Why don't you take my futon and I'll sleep over by the fire."

"You don't have to give up you sleeping spot for me. I can sleep by the- HEY!" He picked her up and placed her in his futon.

"Can you stop being a brat for once and just say 'Thank you Shio'" He teased in a girlie voice.

Kiriko smiled but didn't protest anymore. She laid down, looked up at him and said, "Thank you………Shio" The way she said it made his heart skip a beat.

"Um….y-your welcome."

Within a few seconds, Kiriko eyelids slowly closed and she was fast asleep.

Earlier while he was fixing her ankle, he help but to notice how soft her skin was. Her skin felt almost like rose pedals. He had also stolen a quick glance at her face. The first time he saw her at the tavern; he thought she was pretty but nothing special. However as he sat by the fire to watch her sleep, he could see every feature on her flawless skin. He noticed that her skin wasn't as pale as a normal Japanese girl her age, it was a light peachy colour that made her lips and eyes stand out. If she got rid of that little spoiled brat attitude, she actually be quite gorgeous, he thought with a grin when he saw her smile and her cheeks turned rosy. She was dreaming but for a moment he thought she actually heard his thoughts.

Then he blinked his eyes hard and thought Whoa what am I doing?...I can't get involved with a girl right now. Not when I'm so close to finding the last bit of information I need….but….He stared at her for a couple of seconds then snapped out of his trance. UGH! He slapped his face. Go to sleep Shio and stop looking at her. He flopped down and turned his back to her then closed his eyes but it didn't take long for him to roll over and stare at her some more. It was no use. He stayed up most of the night gazing at Kiriko.