Sakuno entered the bath room of Muramasa's castle and was surprised by it. It was such a big place, with a wide bath filled with warm water coming from three different waterfalls. She arrived there after taking a swim on the tank with sea water and then, Ren gave her permission to use the room after she ate.

The mermaid took her clothes off and sat on a shallow part of the bath, her legs and hips inside the water. There were some soap near and she felt a little painful when finally able to clean her wound properly.

She rubbed the soap on her entire body, enjoying the clean sensation after so long. Ryoma would always help her bath after she returned from the sea. Her husband washed her hair and sponged her body gently and then, he would dry her and brush her long hair.

Sakuno remembered his smile and her heart hurt. She picked up a small bucket and filled it with warm water before pouring it over herself. She sat down on few steps deeper and leaned on the edge of the bathtub, taking a deep, tired breath. Her baby kicked again and Sakuno smiled, caressing her belly.

"I hope your father is well. I wanted to see him so much."

The door opened and closed and Sakuno turned around. Ren was there, using just a small towel around his hips. He was a little surprised to see her there.

"Oh, you are still in here." He smiled and entered the bathtub, sitting on the other side. His purple hair was tight on a bun. His body was lean, with well defined muscles. His chest and shoulders were wide and strong.

"What do you want?" Sakuno put her arms in front of her chest, looking at him with a displeased expression.

"Calm down." He closed his eyes. "I just want to relax."

"You still didn't tell me how Ryoma is."

"He is fine. Kaori is probably pampering him right now."

"Why do you hate him so much?"

"I do not hate him." He opened his eyes and looked at her. "I hate what he represents."

"What do you mean?"

"I killed my mother." Ren looked at the ceiling. "Everything was fine when Kaori was born. My mother was able to hold her child, kiss her and all that sentimental stuff. And then, I was born and she bled out." He put an arm in front of his face and smiled. "I spent my entire life hearing people say how special my mother was and that what happened to her was a tragedy. I was the tragedy. So, my father could never care about me me the way he care about Kaori. Even though she was not able to be the heir of Muramasa, she was always his perfect little girl. I was the child who took away the woman he loved."

Sakuno noticed the aura of anger surrounding him when he continued to talk.

"Do you know how your husband was born? My father fucked a whore on the docks. Then, he brought that bastard home, without any respect towards my mother's memory. He looked at him like he was never able to look at me."

Even if Sakuno didn't comprehend all the words Ren used, she was able to understand Ryoma was not the result of love and marriage.

"Tell me something." Ren came close, looking at the bump on her belly. "Your child, is it going to be a mermaid like you or a human?"

"I don't know. It doesn't matter."

"It should matter. Don't you think it will be difficult for such a child to fit in? What kind of life he or she will have? Is she going to be able to make friends with humans, to live among humans?"

"Shut up. It doesn't concern you."

He smiled, getting even closer.

"It is a waste for you to be married to him." His finger's touched Sakuno's back bone slowly. "I could do a lot of good things to you, to make you forget about Ryoma completely."

The mermaid turned around and grabbed him by his neck, feeling extremely disgusted by his touch.

"You asked my strength and I am going to lend it to you." Her fingers were deeper inside his skin, making him desperate for air. "But Ryoma is my husband and I love him. He is the only one for me and I am his completely."

She released Ren and the Muramasa's lord coughed trying to recover the air on his lungs.

He watched when the mermaid left the bath, the red hair glued to her naked frame. She looked at him with the corner of the scarlet eyes and one of her fangs was showing.

"If you ever touch me again, I am going to rip your arms apart."

#####################

"Ryoma?" Kaori entered his room on Lady Mariko's home. She looked at the untouched dinner on the table. Her brother was sitting on the outside porch, looking at the sky. He wondered if Sakuno was seeing the same stars as him. His sister sat by his side, worried.

"Ryoma, you need to eat. You need to regain your strength."

"I need to see Sakuno. I need to know if she and our child are well." He looked at her seriously. "How could you leave her there with him?"

"What did you want me to do? To let you die? What good would that bring, to you and Sakuno-san? Ren is keeping his word, he needs her and he will not harm her."

"Do you really believe him?! After everything he had done!"

"I made a promise to Sakuno-san, that I would keep you safe! Do you really think I am happy with all this? It is like an absolute nightmare!"

"What are we going to do, Kaori?" he asked, sadly. "Is there anything we can do?"

"I will hold a secret meeting with some people from Muramasa tomorrow night. I will tell them what is going on and I am sure they will support us. For the meanwhile, I need you to eat and rest properly." She touched his face and showed him a small smile, looking deep inside the golden eyes. "You need to go back on your feet so you can hold Sakuno-san when she returns home."

"How's Shuichirou-san's wound? Is he feeling better?"

"His fever started to subside." She kissed her brother's forehead before standing up. "It is late. Please, try to eat and sleep. I will see you in the morning."

"Good night."

############

"How is he?" Shuichirou asked when Kaori entered their chambers. He was sitting on the bed. There were bandages all over his torso.

"He is worried. But, I think I manage to make him calm down a little and finally eat something."

"That is good."

"It is time for me to change your dressings." She said, gently.

Shuichirou turned around to his wife and her hands softly removed the bandages. There were deep cuts all over his back. Ren had lashed him to punish his sister. Since he received no medical care, the cuts were still swollen and tender. His wife picked up some medicine and started to clean them, making him clench his theeth to endure the pain.

"I am sorry."

"That is okay." He said, closing his eyes. He remembered how much Kaori had screamed and begged while Ren continued to hurt him until he was satisfied. Oishi tried to deal with that pain for the sake of his wife. He got a high fever due to his wounds and he would definitely die if they didn't leave the castle. "Kaori?"

"Yes?" her voice was almost a whisper.

"Are you crying?" he smiled, not looking at her.

"You were hurt because of me." Her words trembled and he turned around, looking at her. His hand touched her face and caressed her wet cheeks.

"It was not your fault, Kaori. Do not feel guilty."

"But!"

"If I was not there he would do it with you." The green eyes were serious. "I rather bleed than let him hurt you."

"Shuichirou…"

"Thank you for taking care of me." He held her hand and kissed it, gently. "I will be fine soon. I am sorry I cannot accompany you tomorrow on your meeting."

"You should stay here and rest." She touched his forehead with hers. "You are still a little feverish."

"Okay." Oishi waited until his wife finished to apply the medication on the cuts and bandaged them again. He laid on his chest, by her side, looking at her.

"Shuichirou?"

"Yes?" he smiled.

"When everything is well again, let's have a child." The pink eyes were so gentle.

"Really?"

"Yes. Our first one." She came closer and kissed his mouth slowly. "I will give you all the children you want."

"Oh." He turned around to his side, being carefully with his wounds and pulled her even closer from her clothes. "Are you trying to seduce me with such words, Kaori?"

"Of…course not!" she blushed entirely and he found it adorable. He loved to tease her. "Your wounds, we cann…"

He made her stop talking with a deep, serious kiss.

"I love you." She said, quietly, caressing his face. "I love you so much, Shuichirou."

His heart was tight. It was the first time she said those words to him. He was completely sure of her feelings since they first started to date. Even if his wife was not a person of words, but acts, it was always nice to hear such things, especially after everything they went through. He kissed her forehead and closed his eyes, enjoying the sweet smell of her skin.

"I love you too."