Enjoy!
She put one of the flowers over the gash in my stomach.
The contact was the first to cause me pain. Not very much.
Then, as she placed more flowers onto my injury, I began to feel a burning.
I fought back the urge to yell, not wanting her to make a crack about how pathetic I'd sound.
"What did you just put on me?" I growled.
The brat looked at me.
"The maids called it 'Fire Flower'." She said. "Stupid women, I know. These flowers look nothing like fire."
I let out a grunt. "Maybe there's another reason!" I growled, sarcastically.
She finished covering my wound in the flowers, and sat back while I tried not to writhe in pain.
These flowers felt exactly like fire. The burn was almost unbearable.
If I didn't get my mind on something else, I was going to lose it, and possibly destroy some things in the process.
"Ne," The brat said.
I looked at her.
She had a slight accusative look on her face.
Not a subject I'd touch if I wasn't desperate, I guess...
"I've asked everyone about their pasts," She said. "And none of you have returned the gesture. Do you want to know about my past or not?"
Oh. Great. She wants to argue.
I scoffed. "What's to know?" I asked. "Yer a war lord's daughter. You were spoiled all yer life, and yer selfish attitude hasn't changed much since I kidnapped ya. All the surprises ya might've had for me have come out."
She glowered at me, as though there was something I was missing.
"I'm right, though." I said. "High titles are pretty easy to read."
The brat lowered her head.
"Never mind." She said, simply.
Without another word, she got up, and started gathering sticks.
"What? Yer just walking away?" I asked. "Yer not gonna force it on me?"
The brat didn't look at me, as she continued to pick up sticks.
"You don't care... You just want to argue with me..." She said.
"Me? Yer the one who brought up a subject for argument!" I said.
She looked at me with a 'look who's talking' sort of expression.
Right... I was the only one getting defensive here...
I raised my head slightly. "That's yer fault." I said. "I'm used to arguing with ya when ya start a conversation! Ya always start something!"
She jerked her attention away, but, she didn't continue picking up sticks.
"I hate you..." The brat said. "You teach me all this about 'real life'... and you still won't trust me when I finally begin to believe you... I could be home right now, living my easy life... I came back because something wouldn't let me leave you to die... I get the feeling that I was a fool to obey it."
She picked up another stick, and held it up in front of her, as though inspecting it for certain qualities.
I couldn't find it in me to speak. I'd taught her all this? She considers me to be the reason she's... not as selfish. She came back because she thought I was dying?
I watched her as she continued picking up sticks.
No one ever considered me to be a teacher of any sort. Not even the members of the Shichinintai.
The brat built up a pile of sticks, and began working to light it.
As I thought about what little time we'd actually spent together, I realized that she'd taught me things, too.
I'd never been half as patient with any other woman, as I'd been with her. And you never would've been able to convince me that a princess could fight without any proper training until I saw her fight for the first time.
I watched her as she collected some wild vegetables, and water to start cooking.
She was perfectly careful, this time. No cuts, as usual, and no burns. Actually... this time... she bore some form of grace, while she cooked those vegetables.
She would not look at me if she could help it. She kept her back to me except for when she handed me a bowl of the vegetables.
Not a sound. Not much activity.
She kept us there all day, making sure she got all the chores done before I could ask about them.
I'd never seen her this vigilant. Maybe I had taught her something.
I was bothered by her silence, though. I couldn't tell if she was planning something against me.
I needed to hear her speak, but... I wasn't sure how to make her talk without starting an argument.
As the sun began to set, the brat began checking under the flowers, which no longer burned me, and frowning at the injury beneath them.
She looked a bit anxious. Like I wasn't healing as fast as she expected me to.
She kept checking on into the night, not even getting settled in somewhere to doze off while she waited.
The brat was ready to stay up all night, from the looks of things.
While I was unsure about her intentions, I was a bit too tired from fighting, and then sitting in the heat of the sun all day. I let myself doze off, for a bit.
I woke up the next morning to feel a slight pressure on my left shoulder.
I looked over, and my whole body froze.
There was no need for this reaction. I probably would've just shaken her off, and yelled at her.
But... I couldn't move.
The brat's head rested lightly against my shoulder while she sat there, sleeping.
Her eyes were closed lazily. A small sparkle in her lashes caught my attention. Had she cried herself to sleep?
Bellow her eyes, I noticed her lips. They had a light peach color to them, and were set just so that she looked like she was waiting on a kiss.
This brat... actually looked... cute, where she sat.
If I didn't have any sense whatsoever, I might've found her... tempting.
Still, I couldn't pull away, as I felt myself leaning closer. My eyes zeroed in on her lips. I couldn't stop myself... until I heard a slight moan.
I froze as she stirred against my shoulder.
She leaned forward, away from me, and rubbed her eyes.
The first thing she looked at was my flower-coated injury.
The brat quickly reached over, and lifted a flower.
A small smile touched her face as she saw that the wound was gone.
"Youkata." She breathed.
I settled back down against the tree, and closed my eyes before she found out I was awake.
What had just happened to me there? Why was it such a temptation to...?
And why her? This scrawny little brat hardly had the sex-appeal to meet my standards!
... Still... I don't think I'll forget that, any time soon... I've never wanted to kiss anyone so badly as when I saw her that morning... and I probably would never want it that badly again...
Ne - Hey (call for attention).
Youkata - Thank goodness.
Yay! Loved it! So glad I fit in some extra romance! Okay, now you know how I feel, tell me how y'all feel! Please, review!