I forgot to post this chapter! Whoopsies! And I'm not dead… I'm just lazy, methinks… -sheepish grin-
Well, anyways, here's the chapter! (Finally!) Hope you enjoy!
The first thing he noticed was something tickling his chest and face. Felt like hair.
He slowly opened his eyes, ignoring the pain that stabbed through his head and the dull ache which spread through his hips down, trying to focus on what was tickling him.
It was hair. Not his hair. Amber hair.
No, that isn't my hair…
He rubbed his eyes, trying to get a grip on his surroundings. It was then he realised what, or who the hair belonged to. Kasumi was fast asleep, curled up beside him.
She must have been cold or something last night. What happened? I don't remember a thing… wait, those assassins… oh.
"Kasumi," he shook her gently. "Kasumi, wake up."
The kunoichi stirred and murmured something in her sleep. It sounded distantly like 'Not yet, Hayabusa,' but ended up all blurred together and not really resembling anything any normal individual could understand.
"You have to wake up, Kasumi."
"No'et, 'Busa," Kasumi mumbled into his chest.
Well, slightly more understandable then the last, I suppose…
He shook her, not so gently this time."Come on, Kasumi. Do you want me to go down and get you some pond water? That might wake you up."
"Wha…" Amber eyes opened, staring blearily at him. "Oh… I must have fallen asleep… good morning, Ryu."
"Good morning," he responded automatically, but bemusedly.
Suddenly, her eyes became a lot more alert. "You're better!" she exclaimed, sitting up and clutching the blanket to her chest. "That's wonderful!"
He winced at her voice stabbing through his head. "Not quite."
"Oh, I'm sorry…" the smile immediately faded. "I didn't know, I-"
"No, it's alright," he assured the anxious kunoichi. "Most of the poison seems to have worn off, from what I've noticed, anyway…"
He stood up with more difficulty then he had anticipated, walked stiffly outside and was greeted by an interesting sight. At least for that hour of the morning.
"Been having fun out here?" he questioned, gesturing at the corpses strewn across the ground. He recognised the headpiece of those of the Mugen-Tenshin clan. It seemed that Ayane was not the only person going after Kasumi's blood.
Kasumi's expression immediately sobered. "There was no other way to do it."
"You did a good job," he remarked offhandedly, staring at the bodies. "Efficiently done, I see."
Means there's less chance of left-over evidence being found, I suppose… and she's so efficient she wouldn't get hurt. That is a good thing.
"Hayabusa, how can you say something like that?"
He turned with some surprise to face Kasumi, whose expression was hurt and tone indignant.
"These are people too! My own brethren! How can you speak so dismissively of them?"
He sighed. It seems that, regardless of how much they desire to shed her blood, she is still repulsed by shedding theirs. Perhaps that isn't such a bad thing, all in all. But generosity and guilt will get her killed. "I'll go and get something for breakfast."
She nodded wordlessly, turning to stare at the corpses. He left her there. No doubt she wanted some time alone.
The poison's effects hadn't completely disappeared. He was still feeling light-headed, rather shaky and not really at all like himself. Not to mention the aggravating limp that assailed him due to the hip-wound. Ironically enough, about the same place he had got Kasumi.
I made the choice. I could have reacted faster. I could have moved out of the way. But I didn't. And I still don't know why.
That said, he could still catch some fish.
A few minutes later, he brought the bucket back, complete with three large fish, not knowing how much Kasumi intended to eat. As soon as he returned, he noted that the corpses had gone and a fire was burning out the front of the cave.
Kasumi smiled as he went over to her, but it was a sad smile, a shadow of her former happiness and childlike innocence. "Fish again, huh?"
"What else do you expect me to get?"
She flinched as though she had been slapped. He hadn't realized that his words came out quite as cuttingly as that.
"I suppose so," she said shakily before he could apologise. "Do you want me to cook them?"
"No, it's alright. I will do it."
He knelt down, skewering the fish and letting them cook over the fire.
Silence fell between them. He was perfectly content, but out of the corner of his eye he could see Kasumi shifting uneasily, as though the silence was making her uncomfortable. Her hands were clamped tightly together, gripping each other in a death-hold, as amber eyes danced around the surroundings.
Ryu, perhaps you're being too harsh to her. She did help you, after all.
But then again, if it wasn't for her, then you wouldn't have been injured in the first place.
No, you chose to react slowly and stay in the way of the incoming arrow. That was your choice and had nothing to do with Kasumi.
Perhaps, now… you're even with her. You owe her no favours, nor does she.
"Excuse me… Hayabusa-san?"
"What?"
Her hands were turning white with the pressure she was exerting on them, her eyes settling on anything but his own.
"How did you know that there were assassins last night?"
Truth be told, he didn't know for sure. Those footsteps, and those voices. Certainly not either of theirs, and the only thing it could have been were assassins, albeit careless ones. And another voice… that sounded like… him…
He decided to leave that out of the explanation.
"Luck and instinct," he settled with stating, turning the fish over.
"How did you hear it?" she persisted, staring at the fish's skin browning and crisping. "I know that I… I didn't…"
"You're careless."
The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them.
She stared at him for a moment, before looking away abruptly.
"Hayabusa, you're so… so… cold."
It was his turn to stare at her. "What do you mean by that?"
The first spark of anger he had ever seen from her was becoming visible as she gazed into his eyes solidly. "I mean, that you think you're so much better then everybody else. Maybe you are, but it certainly isn't becoming to flaunt it."
A faint flush graced the kunoichi's cheeks. She looked away again, ducking her face, but he still noticed it.
"Maybe if you were more cautious and less careless, you wouldn't be in the situation you are currently in. If you were less careless, you would still be with your brother now, leading the Mugen-Tenshin clan, instead of being a lowly runaway," he stated simply, putting the now-cooked fish onto two plates.
"Yes, maybe I would be."
He glanced up at that, looking at Kasumi. She was staring at something beyond, hands still clenched tightly together.
"Maybe I would be with Hayate at home. Maybe I would have my family. Maybe I am just careless, but that's just me. There's nothing I can do to change who I am. And there's certainly nothing you can do to change me, either, because I won't let you! Maybe you're just jealous. Maybe you're just jealous of me. For the life I got to lead before I became a runaway. Because I still have a family that loves me and cares for me, even if they have to hunt me down. Because I still have a family at all!"
"I do not know what you are trying to insinuate, but if you are trying to insult me it isn't working," he told her coolly.
"And you know why that is? It's because you don't feel."
She threw down her utensils, and stormed off in the direction of the lake.