Karin and Kazune stood at the doorway to the palace with their arms full of bags. They looked into the foyer at their friends. Suzune was tearing up, trying to hold back his sniffles while Michiru had his arm around Yuuki's shoulders, waving at them with a large grin. Yuuki looked shy and a little sad but did his best to show happiness for his friends' progress in life. The maids and butlers of the house were there as well out of formality.

"Make sure you come to my coronation!" Michiru yelled at them from across the room with bright eyes. Kazune could have sworn he was almost laughing.

"We wouldn't miss it for the world." Kazune replied. He felt a fuzzy warmth bubbling forward from deep within him. His excitement was growing as well as the happiness of knowing he had friends in this place.

Suzune ran up to them and buried his face into Karin's skirt.

"D-don't forget to visit me too!" He sobbed while Karin tried her best to juggle the bags to comfort him. He looked up and over to Kazune.

"I promise that when I am older, I'll come visit you guys too! And then I'll be your apprentice!"

"Suzune... I'm not looking to teach and besides... you need magic powers to even learn." Kazune chuckled.

"Oh, Kazune, don't crush his dreams like that!" Karin scolded.

"It is the truth. I don't want to disappoint him later."

"It's okay, Miss Karin. Mister will teach me someday."

Suzune stepped back and brought his hands close together. He closed his eyes as he mouthed a few silent words. A light pink light began to form in his fingers. The light drifted up like backwards falling snow and filled the air. The particles were soft and warm as they touched the skin. When Kazune soaked up the light he began to glow a light yellow. His pupils dilated and felt amazing tenderness for Karin. When he looked over at her, she was the same. Her eyes looked even larger and her face looked soft and pleasant. Suzune pulled his hands apart and looked at Kazune square in the eye.

"I was interested in you, Mister because I want a teacher. I have emotion magic." Suzune glowed with hope.

Kazune was surprised at this little boy. Emotion magic was rare since it was an intangible phenomenon.

"We'll see when you're ten, I'll think about it." He ruffled the boy's hair and turned to look at Michiru and Yuuki.

Much to his surprise, but at the same time not really, he saw Michiru trying to give Yuuki's cheek a kiss while Yuuki weakly resisted looking embarrassed. The light seemed to have affected them too.

"Michiru, we have to get going now if we are going to miss the mid-afternoon rush."

"Have good travels! I'll visit when your house is built and broken into." Michiru waved at them again. Yuuki waved as well.

Karin and Kazune turned to face the town and started walking down the hill to the main road. It would be a day or two till they actually got out of the kingdom and into the forest. Until then they were stuck carrying their armloads of stuff. They still did not have much but, Karin had her new dresses, Kazune had been given Jin's magic books and a few new outfits as well. They were also carrying nonperishable foods, water, sleeping mats and money that Michiru had given to them. Kazune had tried to say that it was too much money but Michiru told him in secret that he wanted to pay him back for buying Karin the dress. He had thought it was a very kind thing to do and he had seen Karin secretly trying it on again, enjoying how it looked on her in the mirror in her room. Kazune thought that was cute.

"We're back on a journey again, huh?" Karin laughed as they stepped out onto the road. "It seems that that is all I ever do since I've met you."

"I hope that this is the last time we have to do this for a while." Kazune replied. "I am ready to sit and drink tea in my own space again."

"I am excited to see how you act in your own home. You've been so jostled around that you are a different person now." Karin looked over at Kazune who was regretting bringing so many books.

"Kazune... When we build the house, which room do you want to be the biggest?"

"The living room I guess. Our room will be pretty big though. I want to be able to fit a desk, sofa and bed in there."

"Why do you need all of those? You'll have a study and I don't think you'll be expecting guests in that room."

"You don't know?"

Karin was getting frustrated at Kazune and his roundabout way of speaking.

"No, please explain it to me!" She said with a huff.

"More surfaces make for more fun." Kazune said as a smirk curled at the corners of his lips.

Karin went quiet but she shuffled ahead of him. She seemed angry.

"Karin, wait!" Kazune called out as he tried to speed up. The books he was carrying weighed him down too much though. Karin had left him in the dust

"What did I say?" Kazune seethed. "She still acts so petty, stupid woman."

Kazune felt a way he had not in a long time. Suddenly he felt like he had regressed. He had not thought of Karin as a "Stupid woman" in a while now. Certainly she was not and she had proven it time and time again. He found himself being disgusted with his own thoughts. Kazune pulled on the bag holding the books higher onto his shoulder.

"I cannot, I will not think of her that way from now on." Kazune declared to himself with a growl of determination. He willed his legs forward and slowly closed the gap between him and Karin. He could not see her anymore but as he got over the ridge of the hill, he saw her at the bottom, sitting on a fountain, kicking her legs. Awkwardly walking down the hill, Kazune got to the fountain wall a little bit out of breath. His time spent with the cane really got him out of shape.

"You finally caught up." She said with a snooty tone.

"Karin." Kazune said in a firm voice before dropping all his bags onto the ground.

"If we are to live together, I think we should stop with the snarky attitudes."

Karin sat there looking stunned. He made her feel a little insulted.

"I do not want to go back to how we were while we were still courting each other... if you could call it that. I don't want to maliciously call you a stupid woman any more. In return I would like you to voice when something bothers you rather than giving me the silent treatment." His eyes were steely and bore deep into Karin's soul.

"I like our arguments though." She said with defiance.

"I'm not talking about arguments!" Kazune said too loudly as the towns' people began to stare. "I don't want us to get in a cycle where we are spiteful. If I am going to love you and live with you I need to think of you as an equal. You doing things like what you just did make me mad and I slip back into old habits!" Kazune was huffing and flailing his arms, moving closer to Karin to lean over her for dramatic effect.

Karin silently put her hand on his torso and pushed him away as she stood. She looked up at him with fierce eyes.

"Maybe you need to get better at controlling your emotions. Why do I have to change?"

"Because we both have to give." Kazune reached out and lightly ran his fingers under Karin's chin as Michiru had done to him. His eyes softened as did his tensed up body. He could feel her trying to keep her chin on his hand as he pulled it away, like cats do. Karin went from a feisty thing to a tame one almost instantly.

"I want that too but, I cannot stop feeling upset at some of the things you told me about the future of our relationship. You know how scared I am of losing you... I chased you down in that snowy woods when I hardly even knew you..." Karin's eyes began to squint like she was holding back tears that threatened to fall. "I told you everything about me; my dreams, wishes, weaknesses, feelings, and what I hear in the end is that you do not want to stay my lover forever?"

"Yes, that is true. But please think about it more. I promise I am thinking of you, not just myself."

"If not my lover what do you want us to be?" Her voice rose a bit. "Friends with benifits? That will not go over well for you!"

"No! Nothing like that..." Kazune became agitated by her accusations. "Can we please wait and talk about this when we get to where we want to live? There are too many people here."

"Until I know what you're thinking, I will not promise you anything. You want me to tell the truth but you are being just as bad." Karin grabbed the bag with Kazune's books in it and swung it over her shoulders.

"Fine, fine, whatever you say, Miss Hanazono. Give me those back." Kazune gathered up his things again to try to chase after her again.

"No!" Karin scampered off into the crowd again.

"Damn it." Kazune thought as he tried his best to move quickly. Without the books, it was easier but even still, he was not good with crowds. He knew Karin knew what Inn they would be staying in tonight so he didn't worry too much about catching up to her. Kazune had the money so she couldn't get a room without him there.

He plundered through the town all afternoon, taking his time and looking at the shops in this part of town. There were some very nice flower shops, jewelry, clothing, restaurants... it was a ritzy part of town. He wondered if he could even afford anything with the money he had with him. Michiru had given him $300 for travel plus another $100 for half the cost of Karin's dress. Kazune also still had about $150 of his own money. The Inns and food would take up $100 of that if they watched what they spent. He decided he would save it for as long as he could, unsure about if they would run into any unforeseen costs while building their house. If he still had it once the house was built, he could splurge.

The sky was turning a hazy purple and orange color as the street lamps were lit. The crowd dispersed into their own homes. Kazune saw the Inn they would be staying in that night and found Karin waiting inside the lobby for him. She looked very tired and semi glad to see him.

Before paying her attention, Kazune walked up to the front desk and got them a room. He then went to collect Karin off the lobby sofa. As they walked to their room, they were quiet. Karin turned the key in their door and the entrance opened up to show them a small room with one large bed that had a small end table on each side, a bathroom and closet. Kazune closed the door softly behind them and began shedding off all his luggage. Karin had flopped onto the bed without removing her shoes.

"Please, Karin, at least get ready for bed before you sleep."

"Take my shoes off for me" She whined.

"I'm tired too, you know."

"Please, Kazune." She begged.

He sighed and walked over, bending down to her feet. He undid the laces and pulled on her shoe till it came off. It was a little more difficult than he'd expected. As he stood Karin was looking at him. Kazune removed his own shoes. It felt good to be able to spread out his toes again. He then felt a pawing at his back and turned to face Karin again. This time she was sitting near the edge of the bed with her legs turned out to the sides. She looked even more cat like this way.

"What do you want this time?" Kazune asked in a tired voice.

Karin pushed herself up so she was on her knees and she wrapped her arms around his neck before arching her back and pushing her butt out a little.

"Undress me." She pleaded.

Kazune was taken by surprise. He never thought she'd ask that, not while she was on rocky water with him at least.

"You can do that yourself." He said trying to sound less interested.

Karin took her arms away and reached for his hands. She pulled them up and placed them under and around her breasts, squeezing his fingers so they squished in.

"I want you to do it... I want your affection." She kissed him. "You've been so cold to me but the sun is gone. Now, it is time for my beloved to come out and warm me again."

Her hands had let go of his and were traveling down to the edge of his tunic, pushing under the fabric of the tunic and his shirt letting her cool fingers roam over his scarred body.

Kazune had subconsciously left his hands on her and hardly noticed that they were snaking around to her back, undoing buttons. Karin's fingers dipped and climbed over his muscles, running her hands into the waistband of his pants. Kazune let out a heavy breath when she kissed his chest through his clothing. Her dress was falling off her shoulders now and Kazune was trying to regain his rational thought. All he could do was bow his head and let Karin peel his tunic and long sleeve shirt off over his head. When he was free he latched onto her shoulder, kissing gingerly and climbing over her as she lied backwards onto the mattress. Her body was exposed now, the dress around her waist. Kazune pulled at her hips, telling her to lift them so he could slide the dress off completely. She responded with a hip roll into his pelvis, rubbing her sex against his clothed arousal. Kazune let out a low moan at that action. Her dress fell to the floor with a crumpling sound. Karin was laid out, fully bare for the first time since he'd found her in the snow. No restraints, no remnants of clothing, no water to hide her delicious form; she was completely exposed. Kazune reached his hands to his crotch and undid his belt, followed by the tugging of his pants.

Why was he doing this? Karin was just upset at him, why does she want him to take her again tonight if she thinks she'll lose him someday?

He couldn't move his hands fast enough. When he was finally free from his clothing, Kazune turned his attention to Karin again. She was flushed but seemed to be having a hard time keeping her eyes open. Still, she tried. Karin's hand reached up and grabbed his length, pulling to make him moan again into her ear.

Kazune was taken into oblivion by the sensation of her hand moving over his burning, throbbing manhood with her icy hands. He nearly collapsed on top of her but managed to move to the side. Karin's hand movements started to become irregular. Kazune opened his eyes to see that she was falling asleep. Every few seconds she would wake up for a moment and remember what she was doing before falling asleep again and her hand movements stopping. She eventually just stopped and her breathing became slow. Her hand was still lightly wrapped around him.

Coming out of the high he'd felt when she was playing with him, Kazune thought it was incredibly cute that she was so tired she couldn't even stay awake long enough to finish giving him a hand job. She just fell asleep without a care in the world. Kazune was so close to his climax though, he had no choice. Moving slowly, he pulled away from her and rolled onto his back. He took himself into his hand and began to pump his manhood quickly. The promise of euphoria was close as he arched his back, pressing up into his palm, imagining Karin doing this for him. Kazune came hard as he was dirtied by his own cum. His chest and abdomen was sticky with his seed. He stood up and walked to the bathroom, wiping himself off with one of the towels. He then returned to the bed, pulling the covers up and over both of them before nestling against Karin's body. Her warmth was comforting as his eyes grew desperate for sleep. Kazune slipped into slumber as fast as Karin had.