Author's Note: Not much to say for this chapter! All my chapters are short for a reason. I like to keep y'all guessing! Please read and review! I seem to be better with first person than third… Thank you to all who review!

…And He Fell From the Apple Tree

I dragged the cart throughout the whole village. My work would not be done until the last-but-one jug had been delivered. Even worse the sun decided to come out and made the summer heat an unbearable burden on my exposed skin. Still not as bad as listening to senile old fools argue over which one would slap me first for delivering too early or too late by minuscule amounts.

It was beyond ridiculous…

I stopped on the dirt path to rest, and sighed, knowing I still had more than half to deliver and even more chiding to endure. I found a huge apple tree to sit under to hide from the summer heat. Hungry bugs joined me under the tree for a midday snack. To distract myself, I began singing a saibara song, the one mother had sung to me every night since I was an infant. I never discovered the title, nor nearly enough the lyrics, to do anything but hum to it.

Caught up in the song, I took my so no koto from the cart and started playing. I was sent into euphoria—elated by the rhythm my koto created in affects to the song. Though it should be expected, my steady hand made it sound so appealing.

A well timed breeze came in as the last note faded. I inhaled the scent of the wind; enjoying it very much. It was like sweet peas and violets…but tasted like mint—maybe pine or something candied. Regardless, it was very tasty. I took a few moments to close my eyes and tried to envision the origin of the scent—closer than I thought.

Something fell out of the tree above me and landed on top of me. The apple blossoms had landed softer than the person.

"Are you alright?" I asked softly, pain clouded my thoughts as I realized the person had broken two of my ribs on impact.

The person—a boy, was unconscious, which explained why didn't respond. The boy had a big gash in his forehead, staining his bleach white hair. Blood spilled from his mouth, staining everywhere around his lips. His clothes were in good order though, better than new, but the body under and around had been bruised. Avoidance of garments wouldn't be hard to achieve given what he was wearing—a black mainland vestment with gold linings—nothing over or under to protect his arms or chest. Malachite, velvet gathered pants and copper mainland boots were the only thing to protect the bottom half. He was beautiful even in the worst conditions, and he needed my attention. And I had him all to myself.

I gently pulled him off me. "Last but one…" I commented, "I can forgo my share," Carefully, I washed his wounds and gently bandaged them with the sleeves of my yutaka. Sure the bruises weren't deep, but infection was probable even still.

With the blood and gore gone he began to look more and more bewitching. More and more like someone deific, certainly not human in anyway… I gasped as I realized what he was. "Yōkai!" My hand froze as I placed a damp cloth on his forehead. I had never seen any demons up close, but I had been told they were all boorish or dishonorable. The one in front of me had looked like neither assumption.

He had wonderfully pale skin. I pushed back his hair to see a crescent moon as well as slice-like bands on his cheeks. Still he was halcyon and pristine compared to my miscreant being. I touched his cheeks and blushed. He was warm—recovering quicker than I had imagined. I was glad. Slowly and audaciously I had inched towards his face, hoping his beauty was real, that it was tangible. I wrinkled my nose when he exhaled and relaxed it when I realized his breath was the mint taste from the wind, I could smell no blood at all.

I inched even closer until our noses touched and my lips were just a hair's breadth away. I held my breath and blushed redder, the heat radiating off of me. He is real…a beautiful yōkai… My thoughts scattered, I had never been so captivated by anyone in this particular way—male or female. It was wrong to adulate him, he was—still of course a yōkai and I…- it wasn't the way things were to be. He was for one—probably not interested; two—unconscious and three—and most importantly—we shared the same gender.

I strayed close, our lips touching, but not kissing. Closing my eyes I imagined what it would be like to kiss him, and if he would kiss back. Moving my head back a little when I knew he wouldn't kiss back. Slowly I pulled his hair back again, the wind making it return to his face anyway. I tried to slow my breathing to match his, failing terribly, my heart was racing to keep up with my thoughts.

"Boo…"

A/N: Chapter over! I will be slow in putting up the next one because research papers have just begun!

Glossary

So no Koto—a thirteen stringed koto, for more information look it up on Google.

Koto—a stringed instrument brought from the 'mainland' to Japan, there are different strings for each different koto, most similar to the violin but it is played sitting down.

Yōkai—are classes of demons in Japanese folklore ranging from evil to just mischievous.