Ryoma was a man known for his poker face. His true intentions were always masked behind that trademark smile of his. However, even he couldn't hide his shock at the sight of a fully naked woman standing before him.

He had been woken up due to a loud scratching at the door of a small shed he had rented for cheap. It was grimy and not amazingly comfortable to sleep in, but he was grateful to have somewhere to lay low with the Shinsengumi hunting him down constantly. Moreover, it was hidden in the back behind the owner's house, so it begs the question how this woman even found him here.

The woman's hair was long and matted, and he wasn't able to make out her face due to the long strands covering it. Branches and leaves were tangled within her locks. Her feet were dirty but as far as he could tell, there were no injuries on her.

He opened his mouth to speak, but he was quickly cut off by the woman's low voice.

"Human." She shifted her face upwards and through her jet-black locks, he was able to make out reptilian red eyes. "I've decided to eat you."

"Eh?" Ryoma's shock slowly morphed into confusion. "Wha—"

But before Ryoma could finish his question, the woman was on top of him, pinning him down with surprising strength. Ryoma couldn't even so much as budge underneath her. His wrists started to ache in her tight grasp. Saliva dripped onto his face as the woman stared down hungrily at him. He felt another liquid drip on his kimono. He glanced down and a soft gasp escaped his lips.

With the woman's long hair freely out of the way of her body, he was able to see the gaping wound in her chest. Blood from the wound began to soak his kimono as she pressed into him, her mouth wide open to take a chunk of flesh out of his neck.

"W-wait!"

The woman stopped. She did not move to sit up and so they remained in that position; her body pressing into his, her fangs hovering inches away from his neck, and the blood from her wound now seeping through his kimono.

"You're hurt."

"Hm." Ryoma could feel the woman's chest vibrate as she growled.

"It's going to get infected if you leave it untreated. I can help."

The woman pulled herself up to stare down at him. Her face was blank; Ryoma couldn't tell what she was thinking.

"If you let me up, I can help clean it."

The woman continued to stare down at him. After a moment of consideration, she released his wrists from her grip and stood up off of him. Ryoma picked himself up as she knelt in front of him. He snatched an outer layer of a kimono and carefully folded it up into a long rectangle.

"Press it into the wound and hold it firmly. It'll help stop the bleeding." He demonstrated the action himself before holding it out to her. The woman took it from his hands and mimicked his action. Ryoma beamed.

"That's good. Now, keep doing that," he stated. "I'll be back shortly."

The woman watched him go. Every ounce of her body screamed for her to chase him down, but she remain seated in the small shed. Despite only meeting him once, she knew this man would not lie to her. She wasn't sure how much time had passed, but Ryoma returned carrying a bucket full of water in one hand and a small straw basket in the other.

"Sorry for taking so long," he puffed as he knelt in front of her. He pulled a small ribbon from the basket. "I need to pull your hair away to see your wound properly. Is that okay?"

The woman nodded. Ryoma carefully brushed her long locks out of her face and began gathering up her hair to tie back into a ponytail. His fingers brushed the back of her neck as he worked, causing the woman to stiffen and grab his wrists with the same force she had done before.

"Do not touch there," she hissed.

"Sorry, sorry." Ryoma spoke casually, but the woman could hear the sincerity in his voice. "Are you hurt there too?"

"Do not touch there," the woman repeated.

"Understood." Ryoma finished off tying her ponytail and knelt back down in front of her. His hands hovered before hers that pressed the cloth into the wound. "May I?"

The woman nodded and he gently eased her hands away, the cloth peeling off her wound. With the woman's hair out of the way, he could clearly see the jagged, gaping hole that cut between her two breasts. He pulled out a small rag and soaked it in the water he brought with him.

He began dabbing at the edges, brushing away dirt and grime that had gathered up. "Let me know if there is anywhere else I shouldn't touch," Ryoma said as he worked.

The woman nodded in response.

"What is your name?"

The woman blinked. "Name?"

"Yes, what would you like me to call you?"

The woman paused, much to Ryoma's surprise. Did she have no memories? After a moment, she spoke. "Oryo."

"Oryo?" Ryoma chuckled. "That sounds a lot like mine."

"Hm?"

"Ryoma. But Sakamoto is what you can call me."

Oryo raised one eyebrow. "You have two of them."

"Two of what?"

"Names."

Ryoma laughed. "I'd say that's fairly common. You have a surname as well, I'm sure."

"No, I just have one." Oryo stated.

Ryoma blinked. "Ah, I see. You aren't from around here then." Well, he had already known that. It's not everyday a naked woman appears before him and threatens to eat him.

"Then I suppose I'll call you Oryo-san, then. And you can call me Ryoma-san, since it's only fair."

"Ryoma."

Ryoma felt his cheeks suddenly grow hot at the sound of her speaking his name so casually. "Ah, Ryoma-san," he quickly corrected.

"Your name is Ryoma. Not Ryoma-san. So Ryoma."

The woman's logic wasn't making any sense to him, but he felt it best to leave it be. He pulled back from the wound and examined it. "I think I got most of the dirt out. Continue putting pressure on it. I'll have you visit a doctor to sew it—"

"No need."

Ryoma blinked. "What do you mean 'no need?'"

Oryo didn't answer, as she was already pooling her saliva into her cupped hands. She smeared it over her wound and almost instantly the wound began sealing itself, leaving a small remnant of a scar behind.

Ryoma stared, completely slack jawed. "You could do that the entire time?"

Oryo squinted at him. "Of course. Oryo-san is amazing."

"So why did you—"

"Oryo-san was curious. Wanted to see what you would do again."

"Again? Have we met before—"

Oryo continued, ignoring his question. "Now that Oryo-san is done being entertained, it's time to pick up where we left off." Her muscles tensed, like a snake ready to strike at an unsuspecting mouse.

"W-wait!" Ryoma held his hands out in front of him. Oryo-san relaxed a little, as if he piqued her curiosity once again. "You can't eat me yet."

Oryo-san frowned. "And why is that?"

"I have things I need to do. Important things. If you eat me, I won't be able to help the people that need it."

"Help?"

Ryoma nodded. "I haven't done what I need to do yet."

Oryo mulled over his statement. "Perhaps you will be more entertaining still. But if you bore Oryo-san, Oryo-san will eat you."

Ryoma let out a breathy chuckle. "Then I'll be sure to do my best not to."

It had been months since their initial meeting. Ryoma wrote home have his sister send him his favorite kimono to gift to Oryo, considering she had no clothes to call her own. Oryo was gradually growing accustomed to living among humans.

Ryoma eventually discovered that she was the large serpent he had freed on his trek up the mountain.

"Why did Ryoma do it?" Oryou had asked him one night. She was sprawled out in his lap, looking up at him with large eyes as Ryoma untangled her long hair with a comb.

"Do what, dearest?"

"Free a monster?"

"You aren't a monster, Oryo-san."

"Even the annoying man doesn't seem to trust Oryo-san."

"You mean the bodyguard? I'm sure he trusts you."

Oryo frowned, thinking about the annoying samurai that was tagging along with them. He wouldn't leave her alone with Ryoma. The pair were only together now after Ryoma requested to be with her without the third-party present. But even then, he was outside the door, probably listening in Oryo suspected.

"Why did Ryoma do it?" Oryo circled back to her original question.

Ryoma sighed, leaning back. "You were hurt, and I could help. That's all there was to it."

"Hm." Oyro wasn't convinced. Ryoma chuckled.

"Why didn't you eat me?" he shot back, his tone almost teasing.

"Oryo still plans to eat you," Oryo huffed, rolling over to bury her face in his thigh.

"But why did you hesitate back then? You had me right where you wanted."

"Oryo-san was bored and Ryoma were entertaining. That's all there is to it," Oryou stated, a slight smirk creeping onto her lips. "Consider yourself lucky, Ryoma. Oryo-san will continue to watch you struggle until Oryo-san can gobble you up. Not all dragons are so generous."

"Then I am happy to have met one that is so kind." Ryoma smiled down at her as he continued to comb through her hair in gentle, even strokes.

Oryo-san purred as she seemed to melt back into him again. She was lucky as well to have met a human so kind as him.

"This is good-bye, Oryou-san."

Oryo stared at up Ryoma, the wounds of his assassination still fresh on him. For herself, her clothes and hair was heavy from salt water. She didn't remember how she ended up in this expansive void to be in the lap of her husband once more. All she remembered was the water filling her lungs until she faded into nothingness.

"I'm sorry that you couldn't eat me," Ryoma chuckled. "I'm afraid there's things I still need to do."

Oryo pressed her hand into the wound on his head. "Ryoma needs to keep pressure on it. That's what Ryoma said before. The blood…" she trailed off, her eyes growing heavy.

Ryoma gripped her hand, helping her apply pressure to his wound. "Yes, yes. Pressure on the wound."

He pulled Oryo up to cradle her closer. His voice seemed strained as he spoke to her. "Oryo-san, this is where we depart. You should go to the heavens like you planned. Without me."

Oryo let out a breathy chuckle. "Silly Ryoma. You can't get out of our deal that easily. Oryo-san promised to watch you struggle and eat you when you are done, and that is what Oryo-san will do."

Ryoma's breath hitched in his throat and he pulled Oryo closer, pressing his forehead against hers. "Yes of course, our deal. Oryou, I'm going somewhere that we can't come back from. If you don't want to—"

Oryo shushed him, murmuring in a low voice, "If Oryou wanted to go to the heavens she would have gone. But Oryo is with you here now. Just like Oryo planned. And wherever Ryoma goes, Oryo goes as well. Our promise."

In truth, Oryo didn't plan to reunite with him after her death. She didn't even know it would be possible. Yes, she was incredibly lucky. No matter what happens, she'll always be led back to him and he to her. That was the promise they eventually made to one another, that began from a deal made on a whim.