Chapter Three
They attracted quite a lot of attention when they walked into the town. Karin was still slung over his shoulder, yelling abuse and obscenities. Suigetsu was ignoring her for the most part, occasionally jostling her when he adjusted his hold, which resulted in a few moments of silence when she lost her breath.
He walked, casually, into the reception of the hot spring, sauntered up to the desk and calmly asked for a room with a double bed.
Karin shrieked when she heard his request and, in retaliation, Suigetsu dropped her on the floor.
The old man behind the desk eyed them both curiously.
"Young man, I believe that was rather rough. Perhaps a little kindness would improve her mood?"
Suigetsu looked down at Karin, who was trying to crawl away without him noticing. He swung his sword around and pinned her pants to the floor.
"By all means, grandfather," He replied snarkily, turning back to the man, "Show her kindness. I'm sure you'll have more luck than I am."
"What exactly is going on here?" A new voice asked.
Karin looked up from the floor to find herself in front of a middle aged woman. She had a solemn face, with her hair pulled back into a topknot and was wearing traditional garb in red and blue. Karin shrank backwards, until she was leaning up against Suigetsu's legs, tugging ineffectually at her pants leg, which was still pinned to the floor.
"What's it to you?" Suigetsu asked roughly. Karin gaped at his rudeness. The woman clearly held some authority around this town.
"Everything that happens in this town is my business. Now explain your actions."
"Everything in this town? What about in the surrounding forest?"
The woman's eyes narrowed, "What are you talking about?"
"Suigetsu, shut up." Karin hissed, elbowing him in the leg. He kicked her back.
"My companion and I were attacked by bandits, just outside of your town." He replied, folding his arms. "Don't worry too much, though. We took care of them for you."
The townspeople, who had gathered into the lobby, began muttering to each other at his announcement. The woman stared down at him, her eyes flicking toward Karin questioningly.
"Your 'companion' looks worse for the wear. She doesn't seem to want your company."
"Of course she looks like shit." Suigetsu laughed harshly. He grinned down at her when she gasped and elbowed his leg again. "What do you expect? She was set upon by a group of thugs." The mirth left his face and he continued in all seriousness. "She's exhausted and in shock. Why do you think we came here?"
The old man at the desk held a quiet conversation behind them. Then two women came out and approached Karin.
"I'm terribly sorry. I didn't realize." The man said, as Karin flinched away from the women's touch. Suigetsu was ready to snarl at them when the man continued. "The room is on the house. Please, allow my daughters to help you there."
Karin looked around in confusion, until Suigetsu squeezed her shoulder. She turned back to face him and he nodded at her. Then he pulled his sword out of the floor and the two women ushered her away.
"These bandits? Was their leader a big man, carrying a knife with an ivory handle?" The woman asked.
Suigetsu grinned, his fang making an appearance which caused a few muffled gasps. "That knife, look like this?" he asked, pulling the knife out of Karin's pack and holding it up.
The woman looked it over before holding her hand out for it. Suigetsu flipped it onto her upturned palm.
"Yes, this is it." She said, almost wearily. She handed it back. "My apologies for your experience. We've had no luck ridding the area of them."
"You'll have some luck if you go looking around the pool near that waterfall." He replied, pointing in the direction they'd come from.
The woman inclined her head and left. Suigetsu surveyed the room, with most of the villagers meeting his gaze with admiration.
Haha, worked like a charm. Suigetsu smirked, before turning back to the old man and asking for directions to their room.
When he arrived, Karin was waiting for him. As soon as he opened the door, she launched herself at him, beating him about the head while screaming curses down on him. But in her weakened state, he easily held her off.
He dragged her over to the bed and released his grip, letting her fall backwards as she lost her balance.
"Karin, really, enough is enough." He said, his tiredness catching up to him.
She stared up at him, "I'm not sleeping with you."
Suigetsu rolled his eyes, grabbed a towel and headed for the bathroom.
"I'm not!" She called as he left the room. He made no reply and she huffed and looked around the room. Then she crawled over to the bed. The women had helped her bathe, tutting over her scars. They'd even bandaged up her injuries. She'd never experienced that sort of kindness before.
So, she was clean, warm, and not hurting. Exhaustion was creeping up on her. She curled up in the blankets on one side of the bed and relaxed.
Her eyes had just drooped shut when Suigetsu finished his shower. She sat up; wide awake as he came back into the room, now dressed in a similar robe to hers. He stared down at her and that odd look, the one she couldn't define, appeared in his eyes again.
"What?"
She pulled back as he approached the bed, never looking away from her. She dropped her eyes, unable to meet his gaze.
"Karin, go to sleep."
He lay down on the bed, pulling the covers up over him; his back to her as he made himself comfortable.
"You can't sleep here!" She whispered, poking him in the shoulder.
"Not with you bothering me, I can't." He muttered, "Just sleep, Karin. We're both tired and we need to rest."
"Fine, but you can't touch me." She huffed, rolling over to face away from him.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever."
Suigetsu woke up to the sound of someone whimpering. He tried to roll over but found the movement blocked by Karin's body. She'd huddled up against him, with her face pressed between his shoulder blades.
"Karin?" He murmured.
She gasped as the vibrations of his speech reached her through his chest. However, she wasn't awake and she just burrowed further into his back. He flinched when another whimper broke free.
"Karin." He said it louder. If she didn't wake this time, he wasn't sure what to do.
"No. I won't." She murmured, "I don't want to."
"You don't have to." He said softly.
There was a pause, and then Karin asked in a small voice, "I don't?"
"Karin, wake up."
He sighed with relief when she pulled away from his back. He rolled onto his back, turning his head to face her. He was surprised to see tears.
"Suigetsu?"
She jerked backwards when he lifted a hand to her face. Another look crossed his face before he sighed and turned away from her again.
"Go back to sleep, Karin."
She remained still, right on the edge of the bed. He could feel her nervous stiffness, yet he knew she'd only pull away again if he tried to help. They lay still, uncomfortable in both the silence and the knowledge that the other was not sleeping.
Finally, he couldn't take it anymore.
"Karin, you don't have to tell me what happened." He stated quietly, still not facing her, "I just… I'm… I'm here to help."
She bit her lip to stop a whimper from escaping, and he turned his head toward her. She had one hand covering her mouth and he watched as a tear ran down her face onto the pillow. With a frustrated growl, he reached out and grabbed her, bringing her into his chest, within the circle of his embrace. He tightened his hold when he felt more tears through his clothes.
"Hey, stop that. You're wasting water."
She let out a muffled laugh and wiped her eyes, pulling back a little. "Jerk."
"Quit your bitching and go to sleep."
When Karin woke the next morning, Suigetsu wasn't in the room.
She sat up and looked around the room, taking note of all the furniture, the doorways; surveying for weapons and escape routes. She was surprised to see her pack on the floor by the wall.
She was unsurprised to see it open. Not that she'd been carrying anything personal in it. An escaping prisoner had to travel light.
She crawled over to her bag and looked through its contents. The bandages were still there but the food was gone. As was the remains of her clothes.
And her weapons.
She took a deep breath, closing her eyes as she willed herself not to panic. Or become disappointed.
Spreading her senses out, she tried to find Suigetsu in the crowds around the resort. She gasped to realize he was quite close. Her eyes flew open and she darted back to the bed, rearranging herself to the position she'd woken up in.
She heard the door slide open and forced her breathing to become deep and natural.
"Quit faking, Karin. I brought breakfast."
Karin sat up, throwing the covers off rapidly as she turned to regard him.
"Why are you doing this? What's really going on?"
Suigetsu looked at her blankly for a moment, before turning to the small table and setting the food down. After arranging their breakfast, he approached the bed.
"Can you walk?" He asked, trying to keep his face expressionless.
"Of course I can fucking walk!" Karin huffed, swinging her legs down, away from him, and standing up.
She was surprised at how quickly he caught her.
"What happened?" She asked in confusion, holding her head as he lowered her to the bed again.
"You stood up too fast. Take it slowly. I'll help."
"I don't need your help." She spat, slapping his hand away. He drew back from her, and another look crossed his face that she was unfamiliar with. He folded his arms and watched her, waiting for her to stand up. She tried again, managing to make it upright with minimal swaying, and crossed the room, cautiously, to the table. Once there, she gratefully sank onto a cushion.
It wasn't until she was seated that she noticed just how closely Suigetsu had followed her. He sat down around one corner of the table and began serving up the food.
At first, she was reluctant to take the food he offered, but her hunger quickly overcame her hesitancy. She had almost finished her meal when he spoke.
"We'll be staying here tonight. They're worried about your health."
She stopped and stared at him, letting her food drop back onto the plate.
"And some of the women have clothes for you. To replace the ones you lost."
Still she said nothing.
"The old man suggested you use one of the springs; it's supposed to have healing qualities."
Her cheeks took on a rosy hue and he looked away from her.
"They organized a private bath, but you have to have your new clothes fitted first."
Her eyes narrowed slightly but before she could yell about "having" to do anything, he cut her off.
"Those are the ladies' orders." He smirked, both hands raised defensively.
Karin swore quietly and he continued to smirk at her.
"Another order was that I make sure you arrive unharmed, so I'll be escorting you." His smirk turned into a grin, his fang making another appearance, as he cut off her spluttering, "My presence is non-negotiable."
She folded her arms and fumed silently, imagining many ways of torturing him in the future.
They sat in silence for a long while, his grin fading away to be replaced by yet another look she didn't recognize and her anger dissipating to lethargy and apathy. She dearly wished to return to the bed for more sleep; traveling by herself had worn her reserves down more than she would admit. She wasn't sure what he wanted.
She was seconds away from giving in and ignoring his plans in favour of more sleep when he stood up and offered her his hand.
"Come on. We can't keep them waiting all day."
"Why not?" Karin grumbled, using the table to help herself up and ignoring his hand.
Suigetsu didn't answer verbally. Instead he took her by the elbow, steering her out of the room and down the hall. Of course, she didn't go quietly.
"Unhand me this instant!" She shrieked.
He ignored her.
"Let me go, freak!" She hissed.
He ignored her.
"Suigetsu!" She whined.
He grit his teeth and ignored her.