Shen sat silently at the large, knee high dining table in a criss cross position. He laid his hands among his knees, staring intently at his untouched food. Everyone else had eaten already; he was to wait for Yasuo. He pondered at the thought of going back to his room to check up on him, but he was too scared of his body taking control of him once more. So he remained there, his eyes moving back and forth between him and Yasuo's dishes. He propped his arm up against his knee and leaned his face into his hand, sighing as he did so. At this rate the food is going to go cold…

The ninja sat there, voiceless as he thought about the events that occurred prior. How the simple human touch could calm someone down so fast… He wondered what he was dreaming about that made him so afraid, so sad… He wanted to ask but he knew he couldn't.

And most of all, he wanted to know who Yone was.

He wasn't sure why it irked him so much. Maybe it was because Yone could be the one that has caused him this much pain? But then again, why would be be shouting apologies? He was stumped, he has not a clue as to who it could be. He let out a sigh of defeat, his eyes dimming at the same time. Just as he was about to continue his thoughts, he heard footsteps approaching. He shook his head vigorously to rid himself of his daydream, and returned to his original position.

"Shen…"

Shen looked up in response to his name, and at that moment he was so glad he had a mask on because his mouth slowly started to drop. There stood Yasuo, wearing the yukata he left for him. He knew that the yukata was of the finest quality, and that it was beautiful as it is, but when Yasuo wore it he was at a loss of words. The dark blue complimented his light, golden skin, and the way his dark chocolate locks were tied up tightly, only to lead past the hair tie and flow freely down his back. It was as if it was made just for him.

Yasuo was a bit taken aback from the lack of response, and smirked a little bit. Despite the mask covering his face, he could tell that he was being somewhat admired. He smiled, his face lightening up. "Shen, I'm so sorry I came so late… I had a bit of a rough night. Please forgive me" he said with a bow.

"It's completely fine" Shen responded with his usual monotone. "Come eat, you're probably starving." He then patted the small cushion beside him, motioning for Yasuo to sit down. He happily obliged, making his way to the small seat with swift steps. He fixated himself into the same criss cross position Shen was in.

"Wow… This looks really good!" Yasuo mused, eyeing the items on the plate. The food looked luxurious; there was some sort of fish he'd never seen before, paired with white asparagus and various other vegetables slathered in some sort of sauce. Of course, there was plain white rice and a small pot of tea readily available. But then he noticed something: There were two plates.

"Wait, Shen…" he said, looking at him wide eyed. "Did you not eat? Were you waiting for me?" he said, saddened.

Shen looked back at him, surprised he was so worried about such a petty thing. "I did" he replied, patting his shoulder briefly."It's fine, don't worry about it" he said, trying to sound as comforting as possible. To his relief, it seemed to work, as Yasuo smiled at the words. He wanted to comfort him more: he liked the way he smiled.

"Thanks… For waiting for me, I appreciate it" he said, grinning. Yasuo gently placed a finger against the fish, testing to see if it was cold. To his dismay, it was. He frowned, feeling bad for making Shen wait so long. He stood up, grabbing his and Shen's plate. Shen looked at him questioningly, and he responded. "It'd kinda cold… Let me go heat this up, it's the least I could do"

Yasuo lit up at the sight of Shen smiling slightly under his mask. He shook his head lightly. "Very well then. Thanks, Yasuo."

"Of course!"

Shen watched him walk away, disappearing into the kitchen. As he waited, he returned to his prior thoughts. Should he ask him about Yone? He was concerned after all. However, that would definitely give away the fact that he was in his room… He sighed. He really wanted to know who he was. Before he could continue thinking, Yasuo returned to the room, steaming and fragrant food in hand. The samurai sat down, placing the dishes in their respective places.

"Shall we?" Yasuo questioned.

"Yes we shall."

The two began eating their meals. Yasuo took the first bite, the morsel sliding down his throat smoothly. He tried his best to keep his composure, but the meal was so incredibly delicious that he just couldn't help himself. After he swallowed, he tilted his head back and closed his eyes, letting out a long mmm. He looked at Shen, who was a little confused.

"Shen, this is amazing! I don't think I've ever had such amazing food in my entire life!" he beamed, stuffing more food into his mouth. Shen chuckled at this. He didn't mind the behavior; he understood that Yasuo must've been starving. "I'm glad you're enjoying it."

"No, really Shen, do you eat this kind of food every day? You're so lucky" he said in between bites. "I've been living off scraps for… Gosh I don't even know how long!" he continued eating, clearly grateful for having such an amazing meal. Shen's eyes saddened a bit. Yasuo looked over, noticing the slight change in attitude. He stopped eating for a moment to speak. "Shen, is there something wrong?

"Not really" he replied. "It's just that, I'm a bit disappointed I wasn't able to find you sooner. Your life must've been really hard before this."

"Ahh, It's no big deal, really. I'm just glad that I'm here now… I feel really safe and taken care of already. Don't feel bad at all, if anything I should for burdening you" he murmured.

Shen chuckled slightly.

"It seems we're both a little too apologetic"

"Guess so" Yasuo replied with his own chuckle. They then began eating in silence once more. Yasuo devoured his meal in a few minutes, as Shen was taking his time consuming his. Yasuo leaned an elbow against the table, watching Shen eat. He knew that Shen was a very powerful person indeed; the Eye of Twilight was such a noble title. He couldn't believe he was in the presence of him, just being near him brought him some sort of calmness. The samurai wondered if that was normal; or maybe it was just something that came with being the Eye of Twilight. He wanted to know more about him, how he was able to make him feel so safe…

And how he healed him that one day.

He knew that the Eye of Twilight was a protector, but not a healer. Although he wasn't one hundred percent sure as he'd only heard rumors of him, but never seen him in action. All this thinking made him particularly curious, so he decided on asking him. He scooted a little closer to Shen, which made him turn around.

"Say Shen… Where did you learn to heal? I know a little about your abilities… Well, at least I've heard rumors about them, but I never knew you were able to heal!"

Shen's eyes widened a little bit, a bit surprised at how observant Yasuo was. But then they shrunk into a bit of a sadness. He looked down, scratching the back of his neck a little.

"Well, I wasn't always able to heal" he replied, a tinge of sorrow lacing his voice.

Yasuo quickly regretted asking this, as it was clearly visible he struck a chord in Shen. "I mean, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to-"

"No no, it's fine" Shen interrupted. Yasuo sighed, and silenced himself as he allowed Shen to continue.

"I don't know how observant you've been, but if you haven't already been able to tell this temple is relatively new and in a very, very secluded area. Years ago, the original temple of the Kinkou Order had been destroyed." He frowned, looking down in sadness.

"Many people don't know the story, although there are rumors floating around about what happened. I'd like to tell you what really happened, Yasuo."

"The man whom I thought was my brother, Zed, and I grew up under the same master, my Father. As we grew, we appeared to be equally matched skill wise. Zed yearned to gain the attention and favor of my father, but he never could. All of our matched ended in a draw, and naturally since I am his son I always was in favor. This frustrated Zed, so he ventured off into the sealed area of the temple. In that area was a box that had held the ancient, forbidden shadows hostage for two hundred years. Although Zed knew he shouldn't open it, he did…"

Shen sighed in dismay, memories beginning to flood his head. He placed his hands on either side of his face, and focused on the floor in front of him. Yasuo's heart was saddened by the sight before him; seeing Shen sad was something new, and something he didn't want to see again. The samurai hesitantly placed an arm on Shen's shoulder, like he used to with Yone. It was welcomed, and Shen decided to continue.

"As he opened the box, the shadows instantly overtook his mind, revealing ancient techniques that have been hidden before. Now that he had these techniques on his side, challenged me to a match soon after. He defeated me with ease."

"Although Zed was expecting praise and recognition from my father, he was instantly able to tell that Zed had used forbidden techniques, and out of disappointment and anger he banished him from the temple. This was a terrifying mistake my father made…"

Yasuo's arm was now around Shen, gently rubbing his shoulder back and forth. Shen subconsciously leaned back into the touch, comforted by it. He continued.

"After many years, Zed returned to the temple. My father somehow knew that Zed would be coming back, and he anticipated his return. What he didn't know was that throughout all those years Zed's bitterness had turned into hatred, seeking revenge. Not only revenge, but to take the box and reap its powers completely. Upon his arrival, my father welcomed him, asking for his forgiveness for failing him as a master and dooming him to the shadows. He asked for Zed to enter the temple and destroy the box... "

"But upon return, he held my father's decapitated head before me, and threw it at my feet…"

Shen shut his eyes, hurt and sadness flooding over him.

"He then ordered his army to slaughter all of my father's students, and seize the box. It was a bloodbath; we were outnumbered, and they were evidently stronger than us. I tried my best to save as many people as I could… but I couldn't save them all Yasuo..." he was now whispering, ashamed of the words he was allowing out of his mouth. Yasuo wasn't sure what came over him, but he pulled the somber ninja toward him into an embrace. Shen didn't move at first; he was a little surprised at the action. However, after a few seconds he eased into it. The two just stayed there like that for a few minutes, Shen enjoying the foreign warmth flooding through him. He hadn't been embraced like this since he was maybe a child, and he wasn't complaining. He instantly felt better, the memories from before vanishing. He closed his eyes, listening to the steady breathing of the samurai. He wanted to stay like this forever.

After a few more minutes of silence, Yasuo finally spoke up. "I'm… I'm really sorry I asked about this Shen…" he whispered gently. "But… You amaze me. You overcame everything and rebuilt the entire Kinkou Order…"

Shen sighed gently. "Yeah… I did" he murmured. "And if I was able to do so… I think you can too, Yasuo."

Shen watched as Yasuo softly shut his eyes, smiling against Shen's shoulder.

"Yeah… Because of you."