"You have been extremely quiet after dinner," Algren said to Miryu as she walked back to the American's quarters with him. "Was it because of what Gant made you say?" There was genuine concern in his eyes when he said those words, which confused her. What was she to him, why did he have to keep making her life so much more difficult? He had taken her hand during dinner, and it made her feel unlike anything she had felt before. It was so… unnatural to her, to feel such tenderness from someone who barely knew her over the last few weeks. Yet, it was as if she had known him all along… She felt like not answering his question, like just casting him into a deep hole and burying him alive so that she would not have to see his strange, but mystifying eyes. "Miryu, is there anything wrong?"

She took a deep breath, and shook her head. "Captain, there is nothing to worry about," she replied, forcing a smile, hoping that he would buy her feeble attempt in trying to hide her troubles from him. Letting her own sapphire eyes fall upon the ground as they continued walking, she decided not to think about him anymore. But how was it possible when he was just right next to her, when she could feel his Ki, so strong and stable, when she knew that he wanted to reach out to her? "Please, it does not do you well to dwell on my troubles… I am but your bodyguard…" She would have continued further had he not stopped in his tracks and put a silencing finger to her lips.

Deep down, Algren tried his best to control himself, to not kiss her until she released any single self-berating thought in her mind. Why did she think of herself so lowly? Was she not a descendant of samurai, of birth so high that she could well be nobility? "I worry for you, Miryu, because I think that you are more than just my bodyguard," he said, his voice more than just intoxicating to her ears. Looking into her eyes as he gently tilted her head, forcing her to look into his as well; he found something profound within those deep blue orbs. He knew now that it was not due to her telling of her origins, but because of something else. Now, all he had to do was to find what it was.

She did not give him a chance to continue. She could not bring herself to do that. She did not want to know what he would say next, nor did she want that to concern her. They had come to his quarters, and hers was just opposite. In that hallway, she cleared her throat, and said to him, "Captain, I am a ward of the Emperor, and your assigned bodyguard… There can be nothing between us other than that." Her voice to him was cold, and to her, it was a relief that she could still muster the courage to say such words. She was afraid, afraid that her captivation of the American would turn into something more. Was she always like this? What did she have against him?

"But why?" he asked of her, accidentally blurting out the words that he had not meant to utter. For a second there, he thought that she could have killed him… She did not do anything. She just looked at him, and he could see that her gaze was embittered, broken and filled with confusion. "I can help you, Miryu…"

"You will only make matters worse, Captain," she replied coldly, looking away from him. "Do not misunderstand me, Captain, but we are kept in close proximity only because of our duties, and nothing else can deny that…" She hesitated. She knew not what more to say, what more words to add in order to keep him away. And it was this hesitation that gave Algren a little sliver of hope. So, before he could say anything, she gave him a customary bow, and fled into her room. Her sapphire eyes were the last things that Algren saw, and somehow, he knew that he was lucky that it was not her katana.

Graham, always being the person who would be at wrong situations and wrong times (for the people he eavesdropped upon, of course) heard and saw everything. He was about to visit Miryu with a pot of excellent tea when he saw it, and decided that the woman would need to be alone. Instead, he went to see Gant, who would most certainly know a thing or two about Algren.

"The Cap'n?" Zebulon Gant asked Graham when the Englishman asked him about any female encounters that Algren had. "Hmm… Women come to him in droves and droves, but he just ain't interested… Some even thought that he rooted for the wrong side, if you caught me drift…"

Ah, Graham thought to himself, they thought that Nathan Algren was a homosexual. "Has any woman come even close to him?"

"Uh… not that I remember of…" Gant replied, which made Graham heave a sigh of relief. "Wait, what are ya implying? Are ya… interested?"

It was then when the always prim and proper English gentleman lost his composure and spat out the whiskey in his mouth. "Heavens, no, you daft fool!" he exclaimed. "It is about Miryu! Algren has a deep interest Miryu and it seems that Miryu feels the same way!"

Gant's expression changed in less than milliseconds. "Well, the Cap'n is very interested in the lassie, murderous woman she is," he recalled. "Caught him many times watching her when she wasn't looking..."

"Do you think that Captain Algren has ever acted like that?"

"Not ever. He's like a little teenager who found a beautiful girl, thinking about her all the time," Gant replied. "But take my word for it, the lassie is one live fire, and the Cap'n would have a hard, hard time trying to catch her attention."

Nodding, Graham decided to let the matter rest. As much as he had viewed Miryu as a great friend of his, and to some extent, a niece that just had to be doted by a bachelor uncle, he wanted her to be happy, and if Algren wanted to make a move on her, he had better made sure that Algren did just that. He did not know how long would the American soldier would take to court the affections of the free-spirited Japanese warrior, but he knew that it would be a lovely tale to tell in the future, indeed.