I was right about Shichiroji answering my questions. He actually told me the whole story of the battle against the Nobuseri and the late emperor, Ukyo, in Kanna Village. However, after the story was over, Kyuzo left the table unexpectedly after I forged some generic story of how the married couple we were pretending to be had met. I apologized for his rudeness to our hosts and excused myself from the table as well. I found him sitting on the floor in the room we were supposed to be sharing for the evening.

"Kyuzo-san are you not feeling well?"

"I am fine," he replied. I nodded in understanding.

"You are truly an admiral man," I began. "The stories about what happened in Kanna have spread rapidly throughout the land. It is quite impressive."

I sat beside him on the floor and leaned my head against the wall sighing a little.

"And you were shot…How did you ever even survive that?" I pondered. We both heard the approaching footsteps from outside our room and he leaned over and laid his head in my lap. I felt my body go stiff and I was unsure of what to do. Then I relaxed remembering we were supposed to be acting as husband and wife and ran my fingers through his soft, blonde hair. He closed his eyes, appearing to enjoy this.

A knock sounded outside our door.

"Come in," I said sweetly and Yukino peeked inside.

"Is there anything I can get for you?" she whispered noticing Kyuzo resting on my lap.

"I think we're fine for the evening, thank you, Yukino-san."

"Mind if I step in for a moment? Shichiroji asked me to do something."

"Sure," I said using my free hand to motion her forward. I looked from Yukino down to Kyuzo and smiled. When I looked back up at her she was holding out a small bag that seemed full.

"Roji asked me to refund your money. Says it not right for us to make Kyuzo-san and his wife pay after everything Kyuzo-san has been through. Please feel free to stay as long as you want."

I thanked her and took the bag of money. She excused herself and slid the door shut on her way out.

"Kyuzo-san, she's gone."

He didn't move. I continued to stroke his hair. I couldn't help notice how natural it was to have him there. Before I could properly think I leaned over, keeping my face merely above his, my hair enveloping us like a curtain. I couldn't pull myself away, but I couldn't push myself any closer to his still form. I wondered if he sensed me there staring at him like a creep. Being this close to him reminded me of the brief kiss we had shared the night before and my heart skipped a few beats. This man had both piqued my interest and gained my respect in less than five days.

Suddenly a thought came to my mind and I sat up straight again, stifling a giggle. Kyuzo opened his eyes then, and looked at me confused.

"I'm sorry, if I woke you. I just thought of something kind of funny," I apologized.

He sat up and moved to sit so he was facing me.

"What?"

"It's nothing…It's just that when you kissed me last night, I was just thinking of how your form was sloppy," I giggled as I teased him. He smirked and leaned in to kiss me again. My childish giggling abruptly stopped and I closed my eyes as he pressed his lips to mine. Instinct took over and I kissed him back this time, placing a gentle hand on his cheek. He relaxed into my hand and placed his own hand around the back of my neck making the kiss deeper.

It was that moment that I knew if I didn't watch myself, that I could very easily fall for him. I wasn't sure how long we kissed, but I knew that my heart was still racing when we pulled away from one another.

"Have I…improved?" he asked and my face flushed even deeper than it had during the kiss.

"Um…yes."

"We begin training tomorrow," he said returning to his normal self and walking over to the futon before beginning to undress.

I looked away quickly and wondered if I should fetch another futon from Yukino. I peeked at him out of the corner of my eye and saw he had taken off his coat and his shirt. I turned back to face him and noticed numerous scars covering his chest and arms. I felt sadness for him, but at the same time I knew it was all just part of his lifestyle. He appeared to have lived this way for years, due to the amount of wounds on his body. The rest of the inn had settled in for the evening and there wasn't much noise throughout the building.

Kyuzo looked at me and I approached him. All my thoughts of reasoning dissipated before I even reached where he was standing. I hesitated before shakily raising my hands to his arms, my fingers running along each scar I saw. My touch moved to his chest and as I caressed the scars there I felt his heartbeat accelerate beneath my fingertips. I didn't care about what tomorrow would bring, I didn't care about the short time I had known him, none of that mattered to me as he placed his hands on my waist.

I stood on tiptoe and kissed him. My arms found my way around his neck and I pulled away and looked in his eyes. They didn't appear as they usually did, instead they had softened. Despite that fact he let his guard down I still couldn't tell what he was thinking about.

"What are you thinking?" I asked.

He opened his mouth to speak, but shut it quickly.

"What is it?" As I asked this, I noticed his eyes returned to the way they were before.

"We should rest." And with that said he let go of me and laid down on the futon. I stood there for a moment still confused by what had happened, before laying down on the other side of the futon. I laid with my back to him, quiet tears falling down my cheeks. What was I thinking? I couldn't help but feel stupid. As if Kyuzo would actually fall in love with me the way I had just done with him.

I sniffled slightly as I lie there on the mattress. Suddenly I felt Kyuzo's arm fall over me and pull me close to him. And with that unexpected, comforting gesture, I smiled a little and fell into the most peaceful sleep I'd had in a long time.