That next morning was one of the hardest mornings to wake up from. Kazune's head felt heavy and his legs felt weak. Even with the lingering feeling of forced bliss, he felt more or less like crap. There were red marks on his wrists and ankles; he was crudely redressed too. THAT, glancing over to the woman stoking the fire, had only redressed him in his undershorts and tunic. She could have at least put the white shirt on first, now he'll just have to take it off again to get dressed properly. Forcing himself to sit up, he was greeted with a cup of hot tea. Karin looked at him a little guiltily but still seemed pleased with herself.

"I'm sorry if I freaked you out yesterday..." she mumbled pushing the tea closer to Kazune.

Looking at her regretful face, Kazune's pride got the better of him. He took the tea and drank it staring at Karin with stern blue eyes.

"Are you angry at me still?" she asked.

Without a word, Kazune stood up trying his hardest to seem like an intimidating man. He looked down at her and coldly pushed her head down so she faced the ground. There was resistance, but less than he expected.

"I won't say I didn't reach ecstasy, but until I give you permission, you are to never do something so lewd again, do you understand?" He tousled her hair and let go of her head. She looked up with a reddened face that deepened as she watched Kazune remove his tunic as boldly and gracefully as he could.

"Surly this is why she put the tunic on first", he thought. "She wanted an excuse to look more... well then, I'll give her just that, but with a twist." Now that Kazune had cut her down to bellow his level, letting her see him like this seemed more like tormenting, rather than agreeing to her request. He was shamefully proud of his actions causing her reactions. She was looking at him and getting fidgety. It served her right. Forcing herself upon him is something he'd never allow to happen again. She was woman which meant that he dominates her.

Once he was fully dressed he came over to the fire and sat down very close to Karin. She was near agony with him so close. Kazune ignored her discomfort and continued to sit so close that he could smell her light rose scent. Their silence was broken by the very distant sound of hoof beats. Kazune's little game quickly ended when the cloud of dust could be seen just over the horizon.

"Shit!" Kazune exclaimed with growing alarm. He wanted to get out as soon as he could but with that girl here, he couldn't use his powers to quickly round up his stuff. Karin seemed to have noticed the growing danger as well because she looked like she was trying to think of something fast. The silhouettes of the horsemen could be seen now and they carried the flags that pertained to Kazune's home town. If nothing happened soon, he'd get taken back to the war.

"You're going to do exactly what I say!" he said as he grabbed Karin's tiny arm. She looked at him with wide eyes and nodded with a bewildered look on her face.

"Make a hole here and then cover it with us inside." Karin was about to protest but Kazune gripped her arm tight enough to hurt. Quickly the hole formed and closed. The two of them were out of sight but Kazune wasn't thinking about just staying here. The air was thin and dusty underground.

"If I tell you a secret, you have to keep it." he warned Karin. "Do you promise that?"

Karin tried to look at him, but it was too dark.

"Alright, I guess... but make it quick, I don't need you sucking up all the air."

Perturbed by her curtness, Kazune tried to swallow his annoyance.

" The reason the army wants me is because I am a magical being. I'm not just a human that can be easily thrown into war. They want me because I have powers to kill the entire enemy side, be it that I am given a few years to do so. I do not want to fight however, because the people of that country have never treated me with any more respect than an animal."

"Well, thank you for that information, but what does that have to do with getting out of here?"

"I am going to use my powers and I wanted to know that you'd keep it a secret that I could do these things. If you get me into a situation where I have no choice but to use them and we are in danger, that could alert people of my presence and I'd be turned in for bounty."

There was no answer from Karin.

"HEY! Were you listening?"

Kazune was quiet and heard light breathing. It sounded raspy and labored. Alarmed, Kazune started to use is magic to create Oxygen and fire. The fire lit up the hole they were in and he saw Karin wide eyed and coughing. She looked like she'd been pale and was just coming back from suffocation.

"What happened?!" Kazune asked kneeling down with her. He had been able to breathe so the oxygen in the hole hadn't run out.

"I have a secret too." she mumbled. "I need light to live because I am not just a snow woman. I'm sure you noticed... I can control the earth too.

Kazune listened to her with intent, but he had already figured that part out.

"My mother is a snow woman, but my father is a wood sprite. Because I have both powers, I am useful. My family wanted me for the war, but I refused. Actually, I was a bit of a controversy because my people wanted me to become queen rather than fight. I am not royalty, but the royal family had just been assassinated. Anyway, I should let you know that being in the dark makes me lose functionality of my organs."

Kazune sat there for a moment. Karin had more to her than he'd thought. His specialty was fire conjuring and anything that would help fire grow. Between the two of them, they controlled the four elements. He had fire and air, she had earth and ice/water. What a formidable partner to have.

The hoof beats above got louder, they were almost on top of their camp. Karin and Kazune grew even more silent. swords and merciless laughter tore up their camp above, everything being slashed, cut to pieces and being destroyed. Karin had covered her mouth and had tears welling up in her eyes. For a moment, he was aware of just how scared they both were. At that moment, he wanted to hug her, stroke her hair and make her feel better, but his hands were busy keeping the fire and oxygen alive. He was annoyingly compassionate sometimes.

The hoof beats died away and the atmosphere relaxed a bit. Kazune looked over at the girl sitting before him. She was a girl here. Scared and broken down, so did not look like the woman she had been before. In a soft voice, Kazune asked her if she could start tunneling east. They'd travel underground till they reached the end of the dessert plain. Karin looked at him with her big eyes again and nodded her usual agreement. That action was enough to melt Kazune's heart every time. It was cute and innocent. She was obeying him and he loved that. Karin was about to start the tunnel to the East Country, but was once again interrupted. Now pushed against the wall of the hole, Kazune had grabbed her lips with his. His body pressed into her to keep her from moving away. What had come over him? She had been just too cute there. He could not touch her with his hands and that drove him mad. He had wanted a hug, but took a more important treasure. Her mouth was hot. her eyes had closed and she was slipping into submission. He began to grow more fevered. He shifted to hold her up with his leg between her knees while her started to kiss her more. The slip of their tongues dancing and the increasing pressure on her body dared to make sounds escape her lungs. He was good.

Kazune caught himself before he ordered her to open the top of the hole so he could touch her more. He pulled away and looked at her face. It was distorted with a need. She could hardly stand. Her kimono had slipped open at bit, making her look even more irresistible. His senses were coming back now though.

"What are you waiting for?' he said with a glimmer in his eye and a teasing smile.

"Dig."