Hey all, I apologize for squeezing this in right at the end of the month. I'll do better for the April update. It does go back to the original POV at the Multi-Horizontal break. I was trying something a bit different. I thought it was a good idea at first, but I have regrets now and I didn't have enough to time to rewrite it.

Hope you all have a wonderful day and as always:

Stay Caffinated~~

Bankotsu isn't a man who stresses about being punctual. With never having a real destination in mind, he simply travels in whatever direction he feels like going. The most he's ever kept to a deadline would be if he were hired to cut of some small militia group or be at the forefront of some ridiculous skirmish between Lords and of course he would reach those destinations with ample time due to the excitement of bloodshed.

However, one would not believe these statements if one were to gaze upon the young mercenary leader today who is nothing but a ball of tense muscles, impatient sighs, and quick hard heavy steps.

For today marks the fourth day that Bankotsu is late, and honestly, he did not care for this new and uncomfortable feeling; this 'being late'. It pulled him into a vicious cycle of rushing to get to the end of his travels, which would tire himself out more than normal forcing him to rest and in turn causing him to be even later then what he had been at the start. All while overanalyzing how he became late to begin.

Overanalyzing would then lead to another new emotion for him- regretting taking those actions.

That fact alone sent the poor mercenary's head reeling. Did he actually regret killing those bandits?

His face scrunches in mild disgust at the very idea.

No, that was fun no matter how late it made him. What he regrets is the time it took for him to kill them.

But who rushes when killing? That just causes sloppy work and takes the joy out of seeing the victims beg for mercy, and this particular mission- although he would never admit it out loud to a certain someone- was well worth not getting paid for.

The bandit leader- to their surprise- was actually a very powerful and charismatic half demon which explained how and why the group was as strong and as organized as they were. The leader did go into his reasonings for collecting his assortment of human and half demon followers and why he was attacking the surrounding lands, but Bankotsu stopped caring after about two minutes and stopped listening no sooner after that.

That was the worst kind of fighter in Bankotsu's mind. Someone who is powerful but loves to talk. It just makes him think they aren't as powerful as they claim to be.

If they were, they'd just fight not bore their opponents to death with their life story.

Bankotsu lets out another annoyed huff. Like fuck, he knew lonely whores who talked less than that guy.

"He's thinking about his precious little woman. That's why he hasn't answered you, Renkotsu."

Jakotsu's light tease pulls Bankotsu from his thoughts and he lets out a snort, "shut up."

Jakotsu appears next to him and lightly nudges his side, "You're not worried about her, are you?" He gives Bankotsu a teasing grin, "I already told you the woman is like a fucking roach. You could pierce her chest with fifty arrows, and she'll still walk it off fueled by pure spite. She's fine."

Despite himself, Bankotsu lets out a hard laugh, "For your information I wasn't even thinking about her."

"Uh-huh."

Bankotsu cuts his eyes towards his friend who still had a teasing knowing grin on his face.

"Then what were you thinking about?"

Bankotsu rolls his eyes and adjusts banryu more comfortably on his shoulder, "I was trying to figure out why certain fighters felt to the need to talk about their life stories versus just fighting. Had that idiot not rambled on the way he did, we'd back by now."

"And why are you in such a rush to return to that village?"

Bankotsu ignores Jakotsu's widening grin and teasing tone by directing his attention towards Renkotsu, "Were you trying to ask me something earlier?"

Renkotsu nods stepping closer, "I was asking about the payment for this particular job. You never told us the final amount we would receive."

"Because we aren't getting a payment for it." Bankotsu's face remains neutral as he watches Renkotsu struggle to keep his anger in check. Renkotsu lets out a small, forced laugh.

"What do you-"

"I made an agreement with the Lord, if he releases my archer upon our return, we'll take care of his bandit problem. Equal exchange."

Again, Bankotsu could see the annoyance flicker over Renkotsu's face as he tries to work out his thoughts in a way that remained respectful.

"We had so much information that we could have bargained a higher price for, and yet you settled on the mere freedom of a woman. I may be out of line for speaking this big Brother, but that woman is making you weak."

"You think so?" Bankotsu feigns curiosity as if the idea never struck him before.

"I do. I feel you allow her to continuously put us at risk. She does not follow orders and challenges your authority whenever she can. She does not view herself as a part of us and because of that she cannot be fully trusted. I feel it best if she is removed-"

"Has she ever given you a reason not to trust her?"

"What?"

Bankotsu tilts his head slightly to the side, "Has she," he begins slowly as if speaking to an idiot, "done anything to give you a reason not to trust her? Has she betrayed you in any way? Stabbed you in the back? Left you for dead in a burning brothel?" Bankotsu knew his last statement was a bit underhanded, but he couldn't deny the offense he felt at Renkotsu's implication that a mere woman would weaken him.

Renkotsu's face twitches slightly as he struggles to come up with a proper response.

"She is a bit out there; I'll give you that." Bankotsu shifts his weight to his other leg, a small smile tugging at his lips, "but if you notice, she doesn't and hasn't done anything unforgivable. If she were a danger to us, she would have led those guards to us before we even came to the village. She would have convinced the Lord to have us arrested and beheaded on the spot, but she didn't."

"With respect Big Brother, her inaction does not prove her loyalty. She has threatened multiple times of killing you and-"

"Do you view me as so weak, Renkotsu, that I'd fall to the hands of some foolish woman?"

Renkotsu's eyes widen slightly, "O-of course not, Big Brother. I am merely concerned with the level of disrespect-"

"So has your respect for me lessened because of her actions?"

Bankotsu watches with slight amusement as Renkotsu's jaw tightens; a sign that that big brain of his was working in overtime to climb himself out of the deepening grave he was making.

"If you'd like," Bankotsu lifts his Banryuu off his shoulder, "I'd be more than happy to demonstrate just how strong I am to you. You know, to put at ease any doubts you may have." To emphasize his statement, Bankotsu swings his companion with ease and flourish, and Renkotsu's face pales slightly.

"N-no, of course not, Big Brother. I did not mean to offend-"

"No offense taken." Bankotsu says with another casual smile, "You had a valid concern and presented to me. I respect that. I just want to make sure I've put those concerns to rest."

Renkotsu nods.

"As far as Yaruki goes…" Bankotsu settles his Banryu back on his shoulders, "a wild horse isn't broken overnight."

Renkotsu's face scrunches in confusion, "I'm sorry?"

Bankotsu looks at him as if he were stupid before thinking up a different analogy, "Have you ever tried to train a stray dog?"

Renkotsu blinks, "N-no."

"Well, it's not something that happens overnight. Their actions at first are very fierce, very aggressive and so from someone looking on the two it seems like the dog is just disrespectful."

"Ok?"

"Well, think of Yaruki like a stray dog that I'm training. She snaps and barks and it all looks aggressive and disrespectful, but she still stays by my side. Even when she ran off, she didn't go far and stayed put like a good girl until I got there." Bankotsu watches Renkotsu's face noting that the man still wasn't fully grasping what he was saying. Bankotsu sighs, "In other words, Renkotsu, let me handle my bitch the way I want and more importantly, do not let what you see her doing cloud your judgement when it comes to me."

"O-of course, Big Brother."

"But I will give you this. I should have considered the rest of you before taking on a job for free, so as an apology, you all can kill the Lord and take whatever you want. Hell, clear out the villagers too if you want."

Jakotsu perks up immediately, "Seriously?!"

Catching his excitement Bankotsu laughs, "Sure. Go crazy." He looks back at Renkotsu, "That sounds good to you?"

"Yes. Thank you, Big Brother."

Jakotsu begins to laugh harder as the group proceeds, "Yaruki is gonna be so pissed!"

Bankotsu shrugs, "Serves her right for running off without asking."

With newfound vigor, the group manages to make it back to the village by sunset. When the entrance finally comes into view, Bankotsu signals to the others and the men disperse leaving him to approach the entrance solo with the bandit leader's head attached to the hilt of his sword.

"THEY AREN'T DEAD! And if you all are too chicken shit to go out there and take care of those bandits yourselves then at least get the fuck out my way so I can."

Bankotsu slows as he gets closer to the gate taking in the sight before him with a soft chuckle. Yaruki stands toe to toe with the guard craning her neck in sheer defiance at him. The guard sneers as he crosses his arms over his chest.

"Yaruki, stop and listen to me. This is for the better. If they were alive, they'd be back by now."

Bankotsu eyes shift to the man who spoke as he grabs hold of her arm trying get her to back down. She tries to snatch it free while refusing to break her glaring match with guard, but his hold on her is firm. Bankotsu's grip on his hilt tightens as he watches the man begin to pull her back with more force than he cared for towards his woman.

"Ha, all that talk and your little group was just as weak as we all figured."

Yaruki's eye twitches and with her free hand she strikes him soundly across the face with an open palm, "Go Fuck yourself, you piece of shit!"

"Why you little bitch!" The guard backhands her across the cheek and the man instantly wraps his arms around Yaruki's waist pulling her away from the guard as she begins to swing her knife wildly at him.

"Hey! Stop it!"

"Let me go! This fucker wants an early grave, I'll give his ass one!"

The guard cracks his knuckles as he dodges each of her swings, "You should take that crazy bitch of yours, Shinjou, and show her a good time. Looks like she needs it."

Bankotsu lets out a low sigh as he steps a bit closer still going unnoticed by the group. He removes the bag with the leader's head and sets it down on the ground before effortlessly throwing his Banryu at the guard who struck Yaruki.

The blade slices through the guard from the side with ease, and the remaining guard screams as he stumbles backwards. Bankotsu then picks up the bag with the leader's head and swings it around a bit to gather some momentum before throwing it with more force than necessary at the other guard.

The bag connects seamlessly against the guard's head knocking him out cold.

The man goes into a panic struggling to pull Yaruki away from the deceased guard, but she doesn't budge. Her eyes locked on the halberd in front of her for some time before she slowly turns her head in the direction from where it came.

He smirks taking in the stunned perfect features of his woman. He watches as realization spreads across her face and a slow exhale of relief passes her lips, "Did ya miss me?"

Her jaw tightens as she closes her eyes. Slowly, her hands lift and settle themselves on her hips.

Bankotsu feels his smirk widen as he watches the relief be burned away by her anger, "Four days. IT TOOK YOU FOUR. FUCKING. DAYS. TO FINISH A GODDAMN JOB AS EASY AS THAT!?"

Bankotsu chuckles wanting to stoke the flames just a bit more, "Huh? Oh! No, it took like…half a day to finish it. I just got distracted and sort of forgot you were back here."

She blinks slightly taken aback by his words, "…what?!"

He struggles to keep a straight face so his lie would be more believable, "Yeah, we made it like a whole village over before Jakotsu mentioned you again. HAHA, sorry, but we're here now so…yeah. No harm, no foul."

Bankotsu watches in excitement as her face goes from stunned disbelief to full on rage. Her body and hair swelling as she takes in the deepest breath her lungs could hold, "YOU. NO. GOOD. COCK SUCKING PIECE OF SHIT MOTHERFUCKER!"

That's it. He thinks gently as he watches her gear up to charge him, Come to me like the good fucking girl you are.

Bankotsu keeps his smirk on his face while discreetly bracing himself. She is going to lounge at him, try to take a swing at him, but he would catch her fist. He would pull her close to him scooping her him in his arms, and from there. Hell, who knows. He may collect his payment right here right now.

The sheer thought of her under him. Breathless, flustered, and moaning would have been enough to make him come undone right then and there had it not been for his self-control and resolve to make that moment drag out for as long as he possibly could. He would have her begging, panting, whimpering for him, but he would make her wait. As punishment and for training.

She would learn that she belonged to him. Every part of her. That she could do nothing without his approval, and that the freedoms given to her could be easily taken away.

She finally lounges forwards, her eyes locked on him with cold determination, knife in hand. He opens his arms wide, mockingly. Daring her to get close enough to stab him.

But just as quickly as she leaps forwards, her body is suddenly snatched back and in its place is the man. His eyes hardened into a vicious glare as he unsheathes his sword. Bankotsu feels his smirk twist into a snarl unsure of who this scarred ugly motherfucker thinks he is.

Bankotsu's knuckles crack as his fingers curve into fists. His mind finally remembering that he in fact had seen this scarred bastard before.

Not because of the distinct disfiguration of his face, but because of the same fucking audacity this asshole has to not only draw a sword on him, but to interfere with him and his woman.

Bankotsu's arms drop as he keeps his eyes locked on the scarred man's face. After a moment of silence, he lets out a soft chuckle, "You really love putting your hands on things that done belong to you, huh?"

"Excuse you?"

"You keep putting your hands on my woman."

The man snorts, "Your woman? You can't claim someone you stole and are holding captive as your woman?"

"Stole?" Bankotsu looks past the man to Yaruki giving her a genuinely confused look, "I stole you?"

"Of course you did, you bastard!"

"Shinjou!"

Bankotsu eyes cut back to the growing annoyance, "Last I checked, I offered her a choice and she choose to come with me. I would hardly consider that as me stealing her."

"It isn't much of a decision with death as the only other option."

"Mmmm, actually I'd have to disagree." Bankotsu makes it a point to crack his knuckles, "For instance, either you move away from my woman on your own, or I'll break you in fucking half with my bare hands."

The man named Shinjou snarls, "I should have ran my blade through you when I had the chance."

"Big talk from someone who sounds like he forever needs a drink of water."

Shinjou grips the hilt of his sword, "I'll fucking kill you."

"Come and try." Bankotsu smirks rasping his voice in mimicry.

"Shinjou stop it!" Yaruki grabs hold of his shirt trying to pull him back. This act causes Bankotsu to clench his jaw. He didn't care for her putting her hands on other men, nor was he fond of her saying anyone else's name but his own.

Shinjou snatches himself free and charges at Bankotsu blade at the ready.

"SHINJOU!"

The ground shakes with a sudden explosion from within the village and Shinjou stumbles stopping short to turn towards the village behind him which is now engulfed in flames. Bankotsu takes the opportunity to leap forwards yanking Shinjou's sword from his hands and connecting a jaw shattering punch sending the idiot flying.

"You're in the middle of a battle, fool. You should pay more attention to your opponent." Bankotsu examines the sword for a moment before tossing it to the side and walking towards the downed man.

"NO!" Yaruki throws her weight in to his side catching him off guard and causing him to stumble slightly. He freezes as she presses the tip of her blade to his throat, her violet eyes glaring up at him.

"If you take one more goddamn step towards him, I'll fucking do it."

Bankotsu chuckles before quickly disarming her by bending her wrist back with on hand and grasping her throat with the other. She struggles to get out his grasp and he pulls her closer to him.

"Again," he whispers, "you think too much. If you were going to do it, you would have already." She digs her nails into his hands trying to pry him off her.

Although his grip on her throat was firm, it isn't tight enough to cut off her air. He presses his forehead to her while his hand slides up from her throat to her cheek. He takes a moment to drink in the mixture of confusion and annoyance in her violet eyes, "Stay put." He commands firmly, "If you interfere again, you'll regret it. Understand?"

Her eyes narrow but before she could respond, they flicker quickly off to his side and a split second's worth of fear fill them before she directs her gaze back to him.

He lets out an annoyed sigh before releasing her wrist to grab hold of Shinjou's before the blade in his hand could bury itself into Bankotsu's hip. He twists Shinjou's wrist into an unnatural position cause a blood curdling scream to escape his lips before Bankotsu connects another powerful punch across his face.

Bankotsu watches as Shinjou writhes in pain struggling to move away from him while also trying to get back on his feet. A twisted grin begins to form over Bankotsu lips as he slowly follows the man.

"Hey now? Where are you going? I'm over here." Bankotsu chuckles as he steps on Shinjou's ankle applying his full weight on it, "I thought you were going to kill me?"

He grabs hold of Shinjou's throat snatching him up so that he could look him in the eye. Shinjou's grits his teeth and tries to swing but Bankotsu catches the punch. Bankotsu's grip on his throat tightens before yanking Shinjou's arm forwards with enough force that he feels it pop out of place.

His dark and twisted smile grows wider as Shinjou does his best to scream in pain.

"You-" Something strikes Bankotsu on his temple with enough force to knock him off balance. He releases Shinjou so that he could catch himself before falling completely to the ground.

A string of swears flood from his mouth as he looks up in the direction of where the item came from only to be met with another striking him dead center in the forehead.

"FUCK!" He stumbles back again as he feels blood trailing down the bridge of his nose. He growls pressing a few fingers to his head to see blood on the tips. His eyes flick over to the ground next to him.

"A ROCK!?"

He looks up only to barely manage a dodge as Yaruki's blade swings mere inches away from his face.

They dance around on another as she continues to try to land a hit on him, but he remains a few inches out of her reach.

He watches her determined strikes with a mixture of awe and annoyance baffled by the massive balls this woman possesses.

"Did you really just throw two fucking rocks at me!?"

Her violet eyes had gone pitch black as she continues to swing her blade. He grabs hold of her wrist and connects a solid punch to her abdomen.

A small amount of vomit leaves her mouth as she's sent flying landing hard on her shoulder and rolling to a stop.

Her breathing is haggard as her diaphragm struggles to recover from the blow. Bankotsu sighs cracking his knuckles as he approaches her.

"Goddamn, you just love making things harder on yourself, huh?" He grabs hold of her face intentionally slamming the back of her head on to the ground before lifting her up. "That makes you a masochist; you know that right?"

He could feel her labored breathing against his palm, but she makes no other attempt to move or free herself. He pulls her closer to him, "Lucky for you, the sadist in me is happy to provide you with as much pain as you- GAHHHHHHHH!"

She pushes the blade deeper into outer side of his upper thigh, even having the audacity to do a slight twist. He snarls as he slams her head against the ground a couple of times until she lets go of the hilt.

Using his free hand, Bankotsu yanks the blade out of him before driving it in to the same location on her. His palm muffles her screams as he lets out a low satisfied hum.

"Now, what have we learned?"

"F-f-f-fuck you!"

"I'm trying to let you, but you keep fucking up the mood."

He pulls the blade out causing another scream to escape her, and then rises yanking her up by the head and spinning her around to face Shinjou.

His hand moves her face to her throat tightening it with enough force to not completely cut her airway but still enough to make her struggle for air. His other hand grabs hold of her arm and yanks it back behind her sending a great amount of pain through to her shoulder.

"Now, since you're so anxious to kill someone, I'll let you have the choice. Either you kill your little friend there, or I will."

He leans in close to her ear, "And I will make you watch every slow and painful moment of it, but don't worry; no matter what you choose, I'll make sure that afterwards, I'll give you as much attention as your little masochist heart can handle and then some."

He yanks up on her arm sending another wave of pain through her to emphasize his point, "So what's it going to be, hm? Me or you?"

Yaruki's POV

HE FUCKING STABBED US!

THAT SON OF A BITCH ACTUALLY STABBED US!

I close my eyes struggling to think through the voice's enraged screams and the continuous hard thumping of blood in my ears. I couldn't let her keep this up. I needed to think clearly. I needed to get Shinjou away from him.

"Make your choice, Yaruki, before I make it for you."

My eyes fall to Shinjou laying on his back, his broken wrist resting on his stomach while his other arm lay next to him appearing not to be broken but causing him the most pain.

"I-"

Bankotsu suddenly jerks the both of us to the side just as an arrow whizzes by my head. He releases me and makes a dash for Banryuu as a small group of soldiers headed by the Samurai charge us.

I take in the village behind them engulfed in flames as screams could still be heard from those who were close to death.

I warned the Lord, but he didn't listen. Had he just let me go, this wouldn't-"

"Yaruki, focus!" Bankotsu jumps in front of me cutting down a charging solider before tossing a bow in my direction. "Get to work!"

He leaps forwards cutting down a few more of the soldiers with ease.

I manage to pick up a few arrows from around me taking down some solider myself, all while inching closer and closer to Shinjou. I had to move quickly.

I take out another soldier coming in close too Bankotsu before he locks blade with the Samurai. Using this moment of distraction, I turn towards Shinjou.

"Come on. Can you get up?! We need to move, now!"

Having a closer look at him, I can see the source of great pain in his arm is coming from his shoulder. I do my best to hoist him up, and I can feel him struggle to help me.

Carefully, we make a quick exit towards the forest moving as fast as I could with his weight.

He stumbles forwards causing the both of us to fall and he lets out a sharp cry of pain. I see him grind his teeth straining to stand, but it is pointless so long as his arm is moving around.

The ground rumbles beneath us as I take his good arm and sling it around my neck, "I know it hurts, but we must keep moving. Just hang on, ok."

My knees buckle slightly as he places more of his weight on me without realizing it, but we manage to get back to a standing position.

I fight through my own throbbing pain in my leg as we continue our slow pace away from the screams and smoke.

I keep my eyes ahead while my mind works through what to do next. There is no way we can make it to another village without even knowing where we are going to begin with. Not to mention, how fast Bankotsu will be able to catch us once he's finished.

"I…I thought….thought you said you….you could…..h-handle him…"

"Really!?" I hiss through gritted teeth, "You really want to do this now? Because I'll fucking drop you. Don't think I won't."

He lets out a weak chuckle.

"Since your well enough to be a smart ass, where do we go from here?"

His breathing is a bit labored as he looks around struggling to get his mind to work through his pain. After a moment he nods, "Keep going. I have a friend…a half day or so's journey-"

"Half a day! We need to get somewhere faster than that!"

"Un…unless…unless you can fly…"

"Alright, Mr. Smart ass, I get it. Does this friend of yours know we're coming?"

He nods weakly, "We were going…going to stay with him…he should…should be waiting for us…"

We travel in silence for a while. My eyes glancing every now and then to Shinjous's pale sweating face. His shoulder-which should have had a more curved shape- had taken a more square or boxy appearance with the area beginning to swell.

"I…I've…I've been gathering….gather up courage…."

"For what?"

"M-my…m-my arm…I…I need you to fix it."

"What?"

He begins to drop down to the ground and I struggle to catch him but he makes a grunting noise as if to stop me.

"Get me on my back."

I nod not sure what exactly he was planning but help him to his back.

He sighs taking a minute to breath before nodding. "Listen to me closely because I don't think I can repeat it while you're doing it. Give me a few minutes to rest…then sit me up and take my arm…bend it like I'm going to scratch the back of my neck…then…push it towards my opposite shoulder…"

I nod giving him some time to rest and relax for a moment before beginning. I kept my movements slow, pausing whenever a grunt or a cry would escape him.

Eventually though, I feel his shoulder give popping back into his place. I make a crude makeshift sling out of his top and although it wasn't the prettiest set up, it got the job done for now.

Once settled, we begin our journey again. His breathing evening out more now that the pain had subsided a bit.

"You're really a mercenary, huh?"

I glance over to him, but he keeps his eyes forwards, struggling to keep most of his weight off me.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

He shakes his head, "The way you went after him. For a moment…I really thought…you could kill him."

I glare at the path ahead of me clenching my jaw as tight as I could, "I hesitated." I admit softly, "I kept fucking hesitating with every damn swing. It was like…I would go and stike and right before I knew my knife would hit him, I'd move it. But next time I won't. I'll fully commit. I'll-"

"I don't want you fighting anymore."

I manage to catch us before completely falling taken aback by his sudden command, "What?!"

"I don't want you fighting. The person I saw back there…that wasn't you. You're not some blood thirsty animal. Plus, I'm here now-"

"Yes, you're here with all your broken wrist and fucked up arm glory."

"Yaruki."

"Oh how fortunate I am to have someone to act as fodder while I run for safety because who am I? Some lonely weak woman who doesn't know her ass from her tits."

"Really?"

"OH! But Shin you're right! I've seen the light. Let's get married. Let's have millions upon millions of babies. And when we're old and decrepit, we'll make a vow that as soon as one of us dies the other with rip open our stomachs to follow suit so that we will be together for all eternity!"

I look over to him satisfied with my performance only to see a very unamused look on his pale face.

"Are you finished?"

"Aww, what's wrong? The big strong man doesn't like my sarcasm?"

"Do you give him as much hell as you give me?"

"TCH! This isn't even a fraction of the kind of hell I give Bankotsu. Be thankful."

"All I'm saying is-"

"You're not my husband." I say flatly looking back to the path a head of us. From the corner of my eye, I see his jaw clench, but I continue to push that blade in deeper.

"You have no say in what I choose to do with my life. We are not married, nor will we ever be married. Hell, I don't want to marry anyone. My only goal is to see that man buried deep in the ground and be the one to put him there."

"Then why go through the trouble of saving me?"

It takes everything within me not to drop him, "Because I'm not a monster. I may travel with them, but I'm not like them. And just because I don't want you to die doesn't mean I love you."

I give a moment to let my words sink in hoping they sounded as cruel out loud as they did in my head.

"You don't have to love me right now." He begins slowly, "Love is not something that happens immediately no matter what books tell you. All I'm asking is for you to give me a chance. To not turn your back completely to the idea that one day you could very well love me as much as I love you."

"Pfft, you don't even know me."

"You're right. I don't know you fully, but I know that you are a good person. I know you care about others, and you do what you can do to help. That's what I love about you. That's why I want to know you more. Why I want to marry you."

My stomach twists at his declaration and a pang of guilt fills my chest, but I choose not to respond. To leave the conversation at that.

There was no point in arguing with him right now. No point in telling him that marrying someone based off what they think they know about a person is a recipe for disaster.

Not to mention the fact that although I try to do what's right, there is a part of me…deep down…that feels as though something has gone terribly wrong. As if no matter how often I try to do good, the end result will always end up in death.

I shake my head slightly forcing my mind to stay on the task at hand.

It wouldn't take long for Bankotsu and the others to catch up assuming they move as soon as they're done.

The sheer thought of Bankotsu appearing from nowhere to finish what he started with both of us fueled my determination even when it grew too dark to really see the path.

Shinjou tries to convince me to stop; to rest; but I wouldn't hear it. The sooner he was somewhere safe, the better.

By sunrise the next day, I spotted a little cabin with a few children playing in the yard.

A little girl spotted us before the others and ran in. Moments later a tall man steps out and rushes over to us once able to get a better look at the newcomers.

The last bit of my will power finally dissipates at the sight of safety, and I collapse bringing Shinjou down with me.

I struggle to fight off the exhaustion while feeling hands gently examine parts of my body that they could reach. A series of low mutters exchange between the two friends followed by Shinjou weak and embarrassed laugh.

But just as my mind begins to fade to black, I catch a name.

Suikotsu.

I have to remember to thank him, when I wake.

I am a harder critic on myself so I'm not too fond of this chapter and if I didn't just commit it would be past my month dead line. Again, I apologized because I wanted this one out sooner. I hope you all are well and happy and if no one's told you this yet today, I am proud of all that you are and are becoming XD.