The Devil's Workshop
MysticShadowWanderer
*****
Chapter Eighteen: Surrender
Kaoru was tired, so very tired. For days and days they'd been walking, pausing only while the sun was high, never seeming to get anywhere, though Battousai seemed to very well know where he was going. She no longer noticed the road under her feet, the cold wind that blew against her, when it rained, when it snowed, if the sun was shining, if the moon was bright, nothing but the man in front of her. She glanced at his familiar, comforting way of walking, then looked once more at her hands.
'I killed him. With my own hands I killed him,' she thought again, the idea slowly sinking in. At first she had been horrified, but the feeling was slowly wearing off, fading to gentle regret that was, with the passing of time, beginning to wash away as well.
Battousai noticed this, not only her changes in attitude, but the way she kept looking at her hands. He cringed as he realized it was something he did often as well. She felt so much more guilt in it than he did, though. When she gazed at her slender fingers, he could read repentance and pain in her eyes. Yet when he did the very same, he felt nothing but intrigue and disbelief, still after so many years it was a mystery to him how he managed to slaughter so many, and escape with his life time after time. It was painful to him to know the Kaoru regretted her actions, but he could see that fading away, not as quickly as he would like, but still leaving her.
"It was necessary," he said once again, not turning to look at her as they walked. "You only did what you had to, love."
"I know," her voice was subdued. "But I still wish it could have been avoided."
Suddenly Battousai stopped and faced her; Kaoru looked at him curiously. He drew a hand over her shoulder lightly, fingers trailing over her arm. What was he up to? She wondered.
"I don't," he said in a rushed whisper. "I love the way you kill."
Kaoru's eyes filled with tears, half of her heart protesting the way he spoke, and the other half being completely taken over by his low, dark voice and sensuous undertones. He never gave those tears a chance to fall, quickly sweeping her into his embrace and covering her face with slow, warm, wet kisses.
"Battou... sai..." she moaned before he forcefully captured her mouth with his.
Regret and any emotion but passion and need were swiftly pushed away as he pulled her tighter against himself and she snaked her arms around his neck. In the back of her mind, she realized that they were standing in the middle of a road, but his attentions made her willingly disregard that fact. Battousai crushed her closer to him, almost impossibly close, to feel every one of her soft curves against the hard planes of his body. He knew she wanted him every bit as much as he burned for her touch, but he was well aware of where they were. He pulled away just slightly, enough to rest his forehead against hers, rubbing her nose with his affectionately to calm his breathing. He closed his eyes for a minute, drawing a quiet sigh from Kaoru when he hid his molten gold orbs behind his lids. She loved looking into those eyes.
"Not here, love," he whispered hoarsely. "Not like this."
Kaoru nodded her understanding, it was too dangerous here in the open. If anyone saw them... she shuddered to think of the possibilities, and at the feel of his hands running up and down her spine. She tried to form words, but they were coming out very unclearly.
"Battousai," she managed. "I need you. Now. Battousai." Her eyes pleaded with him; he groaned, how could he possibly say no? Why would he want to?
With an odd, strangled sound, he grabbed her by the wrist and practically dragged her into the forest. Kaoru whimpered slightly at the pain that shot up her arm and his strong grip, but ignored it and allowed herself to be pulled along until he stopped. Battousai spun her around quickly, and shoved her bag to the ground, pushing her against a tree roughly. She moaned as he pressed his body into hers, it hurt, but she no longer cared. Battousai held her face in his hands, his body as close to hers as was possible, their lips just barely brushing with every breath. Kaoru felt herself melting under those amber pools of fire, but a quick, light slap across the cheek brought her back into focus. Battousai grinned at her.
"Just how much do you need me?" he questioned in a thick voice. "Tell me."
"I... I..." Kaoru stammered and stalled, not knowing how to put her feelings into words. "Oh gods Battousai," she finally said, her head falling out of his hands to rest on his shoulder. She turned her head and began to nip at his neck, gently at first and then with increasing severity. "Please, I need you."
"What would you have me do to you?"
"A-anything..."
Battousai smirked, this was what he wanted to hear. "Whatever I want?"
"Yes," she pleaded. "Please Battousai."
His response was to raise her head and grind his lips against hers hungrily, his tongue demanding entrance to her mouth. It was becoming progressively more difficult for Kaoru's knees to hold the weight of her body, and she let herself sink into Battousai's hold. She was his, completely, but he'd known that already. He growled quietly, he wanted her, all of her, and all at once. Oxygen was nearly forgotten as he pushed his body against hers, feeling the heat of her body fueling the fire in his actions. It was challenging for him to control himself when she was like this, so ready and willing for anything he might do, but so far he was keeping a tentative grip on his command of his body.
In spite of the still chilly bite of the air, clothing was tugged at, ripped. Battousai drew away to suck in gasping breaths and take his teeth to the fragile skin of her neck. Kaoru was trembling in his arms as he dragged his tongue along the red marks he'd left, she clutched desperately as his gi as he pulled her kimono down to hang loosely at her bent elbows. He tore the bindings from her breasts quickly and then suddenly had her face down on the ground.
Kaoru shivered at first from the cold feel of the ground beneath her, but was soon moaning as Battousai straddled her waist and bent to run his tongue down her spine, occasionally pausing to kiss and bite at her skin. She gasped as he laid his full weight on her body, threading the fingers of his left hand between hers and sweeping her hair off her neck with the right. Her eyes closed involuntarily as he sucked fiercely at the back of her neck, biting hard enough that it would bleed. Kaoru whimpered at the pain and the sensation of his tongue soothing the wound. Battousai smirked once more as he reached for her hair ribbon and removed it swiftly, holding it between his teeth as he deftly flipped Kaoru to her back.
Blue eyes, slightly glazed from pain and pleasure, stared up at him as he laid over her, supporting his weight on his elbows. Slowly, deliberately, Battousai covered her eyes with the ribbon and tied it in a secure knot behind her head. Her lips turned down in a pout, and he was quickly tugging at her bottom lip with his teeth, unable to resist. After tracing her lips with his tongue, he paused.
"Come, love, struggle all you want," he breathed the words into her mouth as he yanked the tie from his own hair and brought her wrists up over her head to tie them there, keeping a firm hold on them with one hand.
Kaoru arched upward to press her body against his, moaning in frustration because the contact was not skin to skin, as he still wore all of his clothing. She attempted to get her hands loose, but Battousai gripped him more tightly, giving her a grin which she couldn't see. He lifted his shoulder and set the collar of his gi against her lips.
"Use your teeth, beautiful."
Fighting to get the gi off his shoulder, Kaoru pulled at it with desperation, only to have it slide down just a bit. She nearly growled; she just couldn't do it, it was impossible.
"Please Battousai," she mewled. "Please don't do this to me."
He responded simply by running his free hand down the middle of her body, pausing to trace the underside of one breast before skimming fleetingly over her womanhood. He ignored her hips lifting insistently and moved his hand to stroke her cheek almost reverently.
"You're so beautiful." His voice rushed out as if he could barely contain it. "You have no idea what you do to me."
Kaoru couldn't think of words to respond, so she lifted her leg and hooked it over Battousai's waist, demandingly pulling him down to her. He groaned as she forced his still hakama-clad hips to grind against her now clothesless ones; she couldn't remember when he'd stripped her completely of her kimono. She dropped her leg to press it against his thighs, rubbing them urgently with her foot.
"Patience, love," he growled. "I'm not through with you yet."
Battousai felt the shiver that passed through her body, and grinned against the skin of her neck, where his lips were currently assaulting. Kaoru curved up into his body again, she could feel his length through his hakama, with her sight stolen all her other senses were heightened. Every breath, every swirl of his tongue, every slight movement sent jolts of almost painfully pleasant electricity through her. She pleaded with Battousai, her voice a mere shadow of the strength it usually held, made breathy from his actions.
Denying her what she wanted, Battousai reached for his wakizashi, which lay just within his grasp. He unsheathed it and set it against the flesh of Kaoru's thigh. All her movements and struggling ceased as she felt the bite of steel against her skin. She murmured in both pain and pleasure as he drew it from her hip to just about her knee, she could feel the blood dripping from the wound; it was much deeper this time. Sliding down her body, Battousai stopped to rest his head on her stomach, letting her wrists go, which instantly flew to the back of his head, clutching at his hair. He could feel the muscles in her stomach fluttering beneath his scarred cheek as he ran his fingers over the cut he'd just made in her leg, delighting in the way the blood poured over his hand. He trailed his slender fingers through the blood, tracing patterns over her leg with it.
"Beautiful," he groaned as he closed his eyes and brought his hand to his mouth to lick his fingers clean of her blood. "You're so perfect. Gods." He pressed his face harder into her stomach, his tongue flickering out to tease at her skin, slipping erotically into her navel.
Kaoru moaned quietly, her entire body quivering. She fought the binding at her wrists, bringing it to her mouth and tugging at the knot. Battousai noted this and let her have her way, deciding instead to leisurely run his tongue over the wound he'd inflicted on her. She tasted so good, her blood infinitely sweeter than any he'd previously tasted.
With self-satisfaction, Kaoru yanked the tie from her wrists and ripped Battousai's makeshift blindfold from her eyes. Raising herself just slightly up onto her elbows, she looked down at him. His gaze was hot, penetrating as he lifted his head, her own blood dripping from his lips. Reaching for his gi, which hung half on and half off, she pulled him up to her, pressing his head to her breast. He complied willingly, stroking her with his tongue, sliding it torturously slowly along her heated skin. Quickly removing his gi, she ran her hands down his back, raking at him with her nails. His breath hissed between his teeth as he made his way back down her body, pausing to stare up at her as he blew softly at the sensitive skin at the juncture of her thighs.
"Gods, Battousai," Kaoru moaned. "D-don't..."
She never got a chance to finish as his lips closed around the bundle of nerves there. Kaoru gasped as he sucked at her mercilessly. Battousai could feel her coming close to her climax, but didn't let her reach it. He pulled away and settled himself back on her to bite and lick at her lips. She wailed in wanton need, but he ignored her wordless pleas. When he sucked her tongue into his mouth, she decided she'd had enough.
Reaching down swiftly, she pressed her hand against his length, rubbing desperately. Battousai groaned and shifted into her hand. With her other hand she groped at the tie of his hakama, needing to feel his skin against her hand, against all of her. With a hand that was only slightly steadier than Kaoru's, he helped her pull at the knot, both of them together working it free.
Battousai growled, the sound resounding in his chest, as she stroked his arousal pleadingly, her grip almost painfully firm. In every shudder, every touch, every moan, every gasp, he could sense her desire, the same desire that was driving him mad. In an almost frantic state, he lifted her into his arms, his hakama falling forgotten at his feet. Urging her to wrap her legs around him, he slammed her back into the tree he'd had her against earlier. With all the force he could muster, he pounded into her, pausing for a moment to grind his hips and sink in as far as he possibly could. He stopped and dropped his head against her shoulder, feeling her trembling in his arms. He lipped at her neck gently, savoring the feeling of her tight wetness around his shaft.
"So right," he whispered. "You feel so good to me."
Kaoru's legs fastened around him tighter, silently appealing to him. He knew what they both wanted. Scraping his teeth up her neck and over her cheek to tangle his tongue with hers, he began to thrust inside her as hard as he could. It wouldn't take long this time, he could tell, they were both wound so high. Kaoru could feel her climax rising, and with it, her voice, which was threatening to explode in a scream. She bit her lip hard, but Battousai brought his mouth back to hers and pulled her lip between his own teeth, holding it much more gently than she had been.
"Don't..." he managed to say between thrusts. "I want... to hear you... come for me..."
His words were enough to send her already quivering body over the edge, and she let her voice fly at his bidding as her inner muscles clenched around his shaft. He groaned at the sensation, thrust once more, and let go, his warmth spreading inside Kaoru. Resting his forehead against her sweat-slicked shoulder, he growled out her name as she moaned, softly now.
After a few moments, Battousai lowered Kaoru to the ground, where she promptly sank to her knees. He couldn't help but smirk as he grabbed her kimono and handed it to her. She wrapped it around herself somewhat like a blanket as he quickly put his own clothing back on and then searched through her things to find her a gi and hakama of her own. She smiled gently and closed her eyes as he began dressing her. It was amazing to her that he could be so fierce and yet so tender.
"Well," Battousai said nonchalantly as he spread out their blankets and started to build a fire. "It seems we're not going any farther today."
Slipping an arm around Kaoru's waist, he led her to the blankets, where she simply laid and watched as he began to prepare them dinner, his blood-red hair still loose and making a striking contrast against the faded black of his gi. She closed her eyes after a minute and laid with her arms under her head. Battousai smiled in her direction, she looked so at peace. When her eyes opened under his gaze, they shared a meaningful look. No words were needed; they both knew they loved each other, as unlikely as it had seemed in the beginning of things.
*****
MysticShadowWanderer
*****
Chapter Eighteen: Surrender
Kaoru was tired, so very tired. For days and days they'd been walking, pausing only while the sun was high, never seeming to get anywhere, though Battousai seemed to very well know where he was going. She no longer noticed the road under her feet, the cold wind that blew against her, when it rained, when it snowed, if the sun was shining, if the moon was bright, nothing but the man in front of her. She glanced at his familiar, comforting way of walking, then looked once more at her hands.
'I killed him. With my own hands I killed him,' she thought again, the idea slowly sinking in. At first she had been horrified, but the feeling was slowly wearing off, fading to gentle regret that was, with the passing of time, beginning to wash away as well.
Battousai noticed this, not only her changes in attitude, but the way she kept looking at her hands. He cringed as he realized it was something he did often as well. She felt so much more guilt in it than he did, though. When she gazed at her slender fingers, he could read repentance and pain in her eyes. Yet when he did the very same, he felt nothing but intrigue and disbelief, still after so many years it was a mystery to him how he managed to slaughter so many, and escape with his life time after time. It was painful to him to know the Kaoru regretted her actions, but he could see that fading away, not as quickly as he would like, but still leaving her.
"It was necessary," he said once again, not turning to look at her as they walked. "You only did what you had to, love."
"I know," her voice was subdued. "But I still wish it could have been avoided."
Suddenly Battousai stopped and faced her; Kaoru looked at him curiously. He drew a hand over her shoulder lightly, fingers trailing over her arm. What was he up to? She wondered.
"I don't," he said in a rushed whisper. "I love the way you kill."
Kaoru's eyes filled with tears, half of her heart protesting the way he spoke, and the other half being completely taken over by his low, dark voice and sensuous undertones. He never gave those tears a chance to fall, quickly sweeping her into his embrace and covering her face with slow, warm, wet kisses.
"Battou... sai..." she moaned before he forcefully captured her mouth with his.
Regret and any emotion but passion and need were swiftly pushed away as he pulled her tighter against himself and she snaked her arms around his neck. In the back of her mind, she realized that they were standing in the middle of a road, but his attentions made her willingly disregard that fact. Battousai crushed her closer to him, almost impossibly close, to feel every one of her soft curves against the hard planes of his body. He knew she wanted him every bit as much as he burned for her touch, but he was well aware of where they were. He pulled away just slightly, enough to rest his forehead against hers, rubbing her nose with his affectionately to calm his breathing. He closed his eyes for a minute, drawing a quiet sigh from Kaoru when he hid his molten gold orbs behind his lids. She loved looking into those eyes.
"Not here, love," he whispered hoarsely. "Not like this."
Kaoru nodded her understanding, it was too dangerous here in the open. If anyone saw them... she shuddered to think of the possibilities, and at the feel of his hands running up and down her spine. She tried to form words, but they were coming out very unclearly.
"Battousai," she managed. "I need you. Now. Battousai." Her eyes pleaded with him; he groaned, how could he possibly say no? Why would he want to?
With an odd, strangled sound, he grabbed her by the wrist and practically dragged her into the forest. Kaoru whimpered slightly at the pain that shot up her arm and his strong grip, but ignored it and allowed herself to be pulled along until he stopped. Battousai spun her around quickly, and shoved her bag to the ground, pushing her against a tree roughly. She moaned as he pressed his body into hers, it hurt, but she no longer cared. Battousai held her face in his hands, his body as close to hers as was possible, their lips just barely brushing with every breath. Kaoru felt herself melting under those amber pools of fire, but a quick, light slap across the cheek brought her back into focus. Battousai grinned at her.
"Just how much do you need me?" he questioned in a thick voice. "Tell me."
"I... I..." Kaoru stammered and stalled, not knowing how to put her feelings into words. "Oh gods Battousai," she finally said, her head falling out of his hands to rest on his shoulder. She turned her head and began to nip at his neck, gently at first and then with increasing severity. "Please, I need you."
"What would you have me do to you?"
"A-anything..."
Battousai smirked, this was what he wanted to hear. "Whatever I want?"
"Yes," she pleaded. "Please Battousai."
His response was to raise her head and grind his lips against hers hungrily, his tongue demanding entrance to her mouth. It was becoming progressively more difficult for Kaoru's knees to hold the weight of her body, and she let herself sink into Battousai's hold. She was his, completely, but he'd known that already. He growled quietly, he wanted her, all of her, and all at once. Oxygen was nearly forgotten as he pushed his body against hers, feeling the heat of her body fueling the fire in his actions. It was challenging for him to control himself when she was like this, so ready and willing for anything he might do, but so far he was keeping a tentative grip on his command of his body.
In spite of the still chilly bite of the air, clothing was tugged at, ripped. Battousai drew away to suck in gasping breaths and take his teeth to the fragile skin of her neck. Kaoru was trembling in his arms as he dragged his tongue along the red marks he'd left, she clutched desperately as his gi as he pulled her kimono down to hang loosely at her bent elbows. He tore the bindings from her breasts quickly and then suddenly had her face down on the ground.
Kaoru shivered at first from the cold feel of the ground beneath her, but was soon moaning as Battousai straddled her waist and bent to run his tongue down her spine, occasionally pausing to kiss and bite at her skin. She gasped as he laid his full weight on her body, threading the fingers of his left hand between hers and sweeping her hair off her neck with the right. Her eyes closed involuntarily as he sucked fiercely at the back of her neck, biting hard enough that it would bleed. Kaoru whimpered at the pain and the sensation of his tongue soothing the wound. Battousai smirked once more as he reached for her hair ribbon and removed it swiftly, holding it between his teeth as he deftly flipped Kaoru to her back.
Blue eyes, slightly glazed from pain and pleasure, stared up at him as he laid over her, supporting his weight on his elbows. Slowly, deliberately, Battousai covered her eyes with the ribbon and tied it in a secure knot behind her head. Her lips turned down in a pout, and he was quickly tugging at her bottom lip with his teeth, unable to resist. After tracing her lips with his tongue, he paused.
"Come, love, struggle all you want," he breathed the words into her mouth as he yanked the tie from his own hair and brought her wrists up over her head to tie them there, keeping a firm hold on them with one hand.
Kaoru arched upward to press her body against his, moaning in frustration because the contact was not skin to skin, as he still wore all of his clothing. She attempted to get her hands loose, but Battousai gripped him more tightly, giving her a grin which she couldn't see. He lifted his shoulder and set the collar of his gi against her lips.
"Use your teeth, beautiful."
Fighting to get the gi off his shoulder, Kaoru pulled at it with desperation, only to have it slide down just a bit. She nearly growled; she just couldn't do it, it was impossible.
"Please Battousai," she mewled. "Please don't do this to me."
He responded simply by running his free hand down the middle of her body, pausing to trace the underside of one breast before skimming fleetingly over her womanhood. He ignored her hips lifting insistently and moved his hand to stroke her cheek almost reverently.
"You're so beautiful." His voice rushed out as if he could barely contain it. "You have no idea what you do to me."
Kaoru couldn't think of words to respond, so she lifted her leg and hooked it over Battousai's waist, demandingly pulling him down to her. He groaned as she forced his still hakama-clad hips to grind against her now clothesless ones; she couldn't remember when he'd stripped her completely of her kimono. She dropped her leg to press it against his thighs, rubbing them urgently with her foot.
"Patience, love," he growled. "I'm not through with you yet."
Battousai felt the shiver that passed through her body, and grinned against the skin of her neck, where his lips were currently assaulting. Kaoru curved up into his body again, she could feel his length through his hakama, with her sight stolen all her other senses were heightened. Every breath, every swirl of his tongue, every slight movement sent jolts of almost painfully pleasant electricity through her. She pleaded with Battousai, her voice a mere shadow of the strength it usually held, made breathy from his actions.
Denying her what she wanted, Battousai reached for his wakizashi, which lay just within his grasp. He unsheathed it and set it against the flesh of Kaoru's thigh. All her movements and struggling ceased as she felt the bite of steel against her skin. She murmured in both pain and pleasure as he drew it from her hip to just about her knee, she could feel the blood dripping from the wound; it was much deeper this time. Sliding down her body, Battousai stopped to rest his head on her stomach, letting her wrists go, which instantly flew to the back of his head, clutching at his hair. He could feel the muscles in her stomach fluttering beneath his scarred cheek as he ran his fingers over the cut he'd just made in her leg, delighting in the way the blood poured over his hand. He trailed his slender fingers through the blood, tracing patterns over her leg with it.
"Beautiful," he groaned as he closed his eyes and brought his hand to his mouth to lick his fingers clean of her blood. "You're so perfect. Gods." He pressed his face harder into her stomach, his tongue flickering out to tease at her skin, slipping erotically into her navel.
Kaoru moaned quietly, her entire body quivering. She fought the binding at her wrists, bringing it to her mouth and tugging at the knot. Battousai noted this and let her have her way, deciding instead to leisurely run his tongue over the wound he'd inflicted on her. She tasted so good, her blood infinitely sweeter than any he'd previously tasted.
With self-satisfaction, Kaoru yanked the tie from her wrists and ripped Battousai's makeshift blindfold from her eyes. Raising herself just slightly up onto her elbows, she looked down at him. His gaze was hot, penetrating as he lifted his head, her own blood dripping from his lips. Reaching for his gi, which hung half on and half off, she pulled him up to her, pressing his head to her breast. He complied willingly, stroking her with his tongue, sliding it torturously slowly along her heated skin. Quickly removing his gi, she ran her hands down his back, raking at him with her nails. His breath hissed between his teeth as he made his way back down her body, pausing to stare up at her as he blew softly at the sensitive skin at the juncture of her thighs.
"Gods, Battousai," Kaoru moaned. "D-don't..."
She never got a chance to finish as his lips closed around the bundle of nerves there. Kaoru gasped as he sucked at her mercilessly. Battousai could feel her coming close to her climax, but didn't let her reach it. He pulled away and settled himself back on her to bite and lick at her lips. She wailed in wanton need, but he ignored her wordless pleas. When he sucked her tongue into his mouth, she decided she'd had enough.
Reaching down swiftly, she pressed her hand against his length, rubbing desperately. Battousai groaned and shifted into her hand. With her other hand she groped at the tie of his hakama, needing to feel his skin against her hand, against all of her. With a hand that was only slightly steadier than Kaoru's, he helped her pull at the knot, both of them together working it free.
Battousai growled, the sound resounding in his chest, as she stroked his arousal pleadingly, her grip almost painfully firm. In every shudder, every touch, every moan, every gasp, he could sense her desire, the same desire that was driving him mad. In an almost frantic state, he lifted her into his arms, his hakama falling forgotten at his feet. Urging her to wrap her legs around him, he slammed her back into the tree he'd had her against earlier. With all the force he could muster, he pounded into her, pausing for a moment to grind his hips and sink in as far as he possibly could. He stopped and dropped his head against her shoulder, feeling her trembling in his arms. He lipped at her neck gently, savoring the feeling of her tight wetness around his shaft.
"So right," he whispered. "You feel so good to me."
Kaoru's legs fastened around him tighter, silently appealing to him. He knew what they both wanted. Scraping his teeth up her neck and over her cheek to tangle his tongue with hers, he began to thrust inside her as hard as he could. It wouldn't take long this time, he could tell, they were both wound so high. Kaoru could feel her climax rising, and with it, her voice, which was threatening to explode in a scream. She bit her lip hard, but Battousai brought his mouth back to hers and pulled her lip between his own teeth, holding it much more gently than she had been.
"Don't..." he managed to say between thrusts. "I want... to hear you... come for me..."
His words were enough to send her already quivering body over the edge, and she let her voice fly at his bidding as her inner muscles clenched around his shaft. He groaned at the sensation, thrust once more, and let go, his warmth spreading inside Kaoru. Resting his forehead against her sweat-slicked shoulder, he growled out her name as she moaned, softly now.
After a few moments, Battousai lowered Kaoru to the ground, where she promptly sank to her knees. He couldn't help but smirk as he grabbed her kimono and handed it to her. She wrapped it around herself somewhat like a blanket as he quickly put his own clothing back on and then searched through her things to find her a gi and hakama of her own. She smiled gently and closed her eyes as he began dressing her. It was amazing to her that he could be so fierce and yet so tender.
"Well," Battousai said nonchalantly as he spread out their blankets and started to build a fire. "It seems we're not going any farther today."
Slipping an arm around Kaoru's waist, he led her to the blankets, where she simply laid and watched as he began to prepare them dinner, his blood-red hair still loose and making a striking contrast against the faded black of his gi. She closed her eyes after a minute and laid with her arms under her head. Battousai smiled in her direction, she looked so at peace. When her eyes opened under his gaze, they shared a meaningful look. No words were needed; they both knew they loved each other, as unlikely as it had seemed in the beginning of things.
*****