After about five months of this story being on hiatus, I have finally got off my lazy butt and put effort into this story. Partly because I created a shrine to these two. .

shadowedsky . com / weathering

Take out the spaces, and you'll get the shrine.

Anyways, on to the story..

Chapter Two

As he entered the village, Genrou craned his neck, wondering if he would see her again. Nothing would please him more, although he refused to admit it. All of a sudden, his nose sniffed on his own. Was it her? Without thinking, he started running, following the scent. If it was her, he had to know, had to see her again. After all the time he had spent thinking about her, if it wasn't her, he wasn't sure what he was going to do.

Some of the villagers laughed as he ran past them. They knew the young man well and several of the older boys gave out catcalls. However, Genrou ignored all of them and continued running ahead. Ahead of him he caught sight of a group of girls and slowed to a walk. Nonchalantly, he searched the crowd for her, and at the borders of the group, he finally spotted her.

The girl with the wildflower scent and beautiful face. Her soft lips and the way her eyes seemed to look into one's soul. Even though she was in a group, she seemed to stand out, separate from the others. Maybe it was her outfit, a foreign kind he hadn't seen before with two strips of white cloth trailing down her shoulders, but he doubted it. There was something different about her, and Genrou felt his heart leap at just seeing her. Somehow, he couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to kiss her, to hold her body in his arms and feel her warmth.

Genrou dove into the bushes and ducked behind a tree and began formulating a plan. How was he going to talk to her alone? He knew how long girls could talk; he really didn't want to have to wait that long. Kouji wasn't going to rest at the rock forever; sooner or later he was going to head the rest of the way to town. He wanted to have his meeting with her before. Finally, he decided to give them a few more minutes before he interrupted their talk.

"So what do you think of Genrou?"

Genrou heard his name spoken and froze. Did they know he was here and were asking this just to bug him? No.. that was impossible. No one had seen him hide. Hopefully.

He found himself curious and crept closer, hiding in the bushes that he had previously shot through. Praying desperately, he hoped that the girls couldn't hear his heart, which was thundering inside his body.

"Genrou? Oh, he's such a sweetie, even if he always acts so tough. It's always makes me laugh." The speaker giggled. "But it's just so appealing. I've always wanted someone to protect me, and he seems exactly the type."

"Genrou looks just like such a prince though, don't you girls all agree?" another girl put in. "I love his red hair; it's just like fire. And his eyes? Like liquid flame.." She put a hand to her chest and sighed.

His eyes, huh? He hadn't thought they were enough to make any girl sigh like that. They were just ordinary eyes. Nothing extraordinary. The bandit rolled the said eyes. Was this really what girls talked about? Good prospects for marriages? Now if they were men, they would be talking about much more interesting things, such as the surrounding regions, new training methods, etc. Time to execute the plan, he thought slowly. Taking a deep breath, he felt his sign flash crimson, flaring up on his right arm as he prepared himself. Here goes nothing…

Genrou leapt out of the bushes and dashed into the circle of girls, seizing the wildflower girl around her waist. His hands felt the smooth silk of her belt, and a slight smile spread over his face. She felt so warm in his hands. Then, using his superspeed, he rushed the two of them back into his hiding spot.

One of the girls in the circle raised her head. "Did you feel that gust of wind?"

"No, you must have just imagined it, " another girl replied. Other than the one girl who had felt the wind from Genrou's speed, the others were too busy talking to notice the flower girl's disappearance.

"What do you want?" she demanded.

Genrou put a finger to his lips. "Shhh….."

The girl's eyes darted around nervously and he sensed she was about to scream. Quickly he leaned over and kissed her.

Aaaahhh.. she was exactly as he had imagined and even better. He felt her struggle and the scream start to rise to her lips, but then she gave in to the kiss. Genrou was a bit surprised as he would have reacted differently if a stranger had done something similar to him, but perhaps she recognized him from the other day. Or maybe, he hoped, she's in love with me.

"Kaen? Kaen! Where are you?"

Genrou pulled away from her. "Kaen? A pretty name for a beautiful girl."

Her eyes flashed. "Get away from me before I scream. I don't need compliments from the likes of you."

"I hate women anyways," Genrou muttered. He wasn't sure why he was even doing this, especially if he felt about girls that way. "You're all a bunch of demanding sirens," he continued, half to himself, half to Kaen.

Something passed over Kaen's face, but just as quickly, her scowl rose to cover it up. "First you kidnap me and kiss me, and now you insult me?"

"So I'm not very good with girls," Genrou said sarcastically. "Forgive me, all right?" He felt her study him and instinctively tensed. "What do you want?"

She started to laugh, covering her mouth with a hand. "You amuse me somehow. What's your name?"

He glowered at her angrily. "Kou Shun'u." For now, he wouldn't tell her his nickname. He wanted to see what she would think of him without any influence from what she'd heard from friends. "Live in the mountains," he added. "And you? Yer name?"

She cocked her head and smiled. "You already know my name, Shun'u." Kaen gestured toward the village. "I'm visiting relatives in the village. I'll be returning to Kutou in a few weeks."

"Kutou? Yer from Kutou?" Genrou asked. Well, that explained her outfit. He didn't know too much about the country, but he hadn't been hearing the best things about it. The country seemed to like to call war on its neighbors.

"Yes," she said softly.

The two looked at each, mixed feelings passing between the two. Genrou looked away first, averting his eyes to look at a tiny flower on the ground. Time seemed to stand still. Its white petals were so delicate and could be crushed so easily. Genrou bent down and picked it.

"My friend's probably in town now," he finally said as he twirled the flower by its stem. "I'll see ya later."

Kaen nodded. "I hope so, Shun'u."

Genrou started to leave, but turned around. "A flower for the wildflower girl," he said gruffly, handing the flower to her. Not wanting to see her reaction, he whirled around and sped off.

And so their adventures begin.. Let me know what you think! Like I promised, this chapter is longer. Characters might be a bit ooc, but I'm working on it.. XD