Kazune was walking back from his look out for bandits when he stumbled across a fairly large stick. He bent down and picked it up. Looking at it closely, he deemed it a good walking stick. Kazune decided to bring it with him for the rest of his trip.

"I wonder if that girl has found enough wood for the night?" Kazune thought. "I wouldn't put it past her to have no clue how much wood is needed, that is how indoor girls are raised." Kazune, as much as he criticized Karin, held the fact that she had impressed him as a girl. There were many things that she had done that made him feel both allured and belittled at the same time. He liked proving his manliness, but at the same time, when he was with her, he felt more like a boy.

Anger welling up in him again, he stormed up the hill and to the rocks where their camp was set up. When her reached the top of the hill, he let the stick trail down behind him. Looking at their camp, Karin had put leaves and pieces of wood over the entrance to the rock alcove.

"Damn it..." Kazune muttered. "She spent all her time making the place pretty rather than gathering fire wood!"

Nearly livid, he climbed down the hill to their shelter. Throwing back the leave curtain, he entered the shelter with fiery rage. Inside, Karin was nowhere to be found. Mildly confused, Kazune turned and walked around the rocks.

There was a gentle sigh and large pine green eyes looking up at him. Stunned, Kazune could only blush. There was steam rising from a hole in the ground. Karin's golden thread hair was dancing around on the water's surface, delicately drooping beneath the water. Her arms rested on the edge of the pool. With flushed pink lips and those ever-green, damp eyes, she made a slight motion at Kazune's arrival.

"I was angry at you, you know." she said with a pout. "But I guess that you played at my emotions a bit as well."

Kazune stood unable to move. He glanced over Karin's head for a moment and saw a large pile of fire wood. She'd done her job at least.

"Aw, won't you look my way?" Karin crooned. Lifting herself out of the water a bit. "Join me." she said demandingly.

"What!?" Kazune panicked. "You finish your bath, I'll go later!"

"But you can't go later, I'm what keeps the hole in the ground open. You must bathe now, or stink tomorrow." She teased.

Not sure of if Karin was playing tricks on him or not, Kazune moved closer. With a skeptical look on his face, he looked down at her in the spring.

"How are you keeping the hole open?" He questioned.

"It's one of my talents, don't question and just take a bath."

Before Kazune could refuse, the hole widened and he fell into the water with his clothes still on. This was one of the most uncomfortable feelings Kazune had ever felt. Hot water seeping through his clothes made him feel sticky and weighted. Glaring at Karin, he attempted to remove himself from the pit. The ground kept giving way where ever he placed his hands. Karin was keeping him here no matter what.

"What do you want from me? Surely I don't smell that badly."

"I just want to make sure you are healthy." Karin said with a smile. She moved closer, causing her breasts to momentarily bob up in the water. Kazune blushed and looked away.

"What's the matter, you've seen all of me before already. You even carried me to shelter."

"That was different! I wasn't worried about you being awake, you were like a doll."

"Whatever." Karin reached forward and pulled at Kazune's collar. "That was embarrassing for me so it is your turn. Be thankful that you won't be the only one naked." Karin scowled.

Kazune looked at her in disbelief. All this because he had seen her naked before?

"If I undress and take a bath, will you let me get out and go to sleep?" Kazune asked exasperated.

"Yes." Karin answered simply.

Sucking in his discomfort, Kazune removed his necklaces, followed by his tunic and white shirt. He was a man of science and magic, nude bodies were nothing he really cared about before. But something about him being naked with them seemed weird to him, almost forbidden. Kazune next removed his boots and pants. He glanced at Karin, reluctant to remove his under-shorts. She looked down at him with at look that said, "well?". He then removed the last of his clothes and sat up fully in the water. He kept his eyes shut and looking down to avoid Karin's eyes. When he finally opened them he saw her blushing a bit. Following her eyes he found she was looking at his torso and at his shoulders. Kazune might not be an interest of girls in his village, but that didn't mean he left his personal fitness out. Karin blushed at his defined chest and arms. Her eyes began to trail to his stomach that hinted at the beginning of abs and further down till his figure was blurred out by the water.

"Quit staring at me like I am some kind of animal!" he snapped at her.

Karin promptly looked into Kazune's eyes.

"You ARE some type of animal" she said.

"Don't play that stupid game with me... so, am I healthy enough for you? Have you had your revenge for my seeing you naked?"

"I haven't even begun to test if you are healthy yet." Karin said with drooping eyes. She moved closer than Kazune wanted. Pressing against the wall of the tub, Kazune attempted to get away from her. Karin moved closer and closer her legs got between his. She reached her arms around his neck as roots grew into the water, restraining his feet and arms.

"Wh-What are you doing?" Kazune asked. "You shouldn't get this close... and you certainly shouldn't tie me to the wall!"

"You made me angry earlier" Karin whispered into his ear. "But you were very assertive. In my country, that is a good way to judge a Mate."

Whipping his head to the side to look at Karin, Kazune's mind started running at full speed.

"If you can best me in a fight, you'd make a good husband for me... or at least provide good genes. Marriage is irrelevant."

"Y-You hate me... what are you doing?"

"You wouldn't want me too?" Karin asked with confused eyes.

"No! Not till I fell in love with you at least! And right now that is not happening!"

"But I intrigue you, do I not?" Karin asked with a little smile.

Yes, Karin did interest Kazune, but he was not in love with her. At this moment, he was pretty terrified of her. Is this how she'd act whenever he won an argument? To want to have sex with someone that just bested you in a fight and whom you didn't even love was so alien to his upbringing.

"You should let me go." Kazune said "I am not worth it or you."

"Oh?" Karin said sweetly. "It doesn't have to be tonight, but you'll eventually have urges you can't control. A man and woman traveling together, lots of opportunities will come up."

The hot water was getting to Kazune. He was beginning to get dizzy and his body temperature was rising. She was making the water hotter.

As much as he tried to ignore her words, said in her chiming voice, it made them hard to block out. his head begun to spin and she pressed her chest against his, nearly sitting in his lap. The curve of her back in the water looked very inviting to him. At that moment he longed to reach up and place his hand in the arch to feel it's full curvature but his arms were still restrained. The torture on his mind while her breasts rubbed his skin and her sweet scent filled his nose made him slip further into delirium. Kazune was not immune to the effects Karin was causing him. He was a guy after all. Even he liked the images that played out in his head as he was stuck in the dream-like state. The last thing he remembered fully was Karin's hand reaching down between their legs and grabbing him.

Gasping in shock, Kazune hears Karin talking in what seems like a far away voice. "At least let me test how healthy you are..." was all he heard before she began moving around his erect member . Everything went silent to him as his fevered head filled with a never before felt pleasure. Pressure built up and built up while Karin pumped harder and faster. She pulled at his balls sending him over the edge. He came, quite heavily, into her hand. Convulsions sent him into bliss and eventually sleep. Karin looked at her hand.

"Well, he's quite healthy, isn't he."