A/n My husband was tested for the Virus. It's day 5 of Quarantine. And though I have had all this free time, since I can't be at work, I fund myself unable to focus on any writing. I'm giving myself grace. This is a hard and worrying time for everyone. And it's normal to be preoccupied and unable to focus. Husband is doing well, despite his being in the vulnerable group due to his lifelong asthma. He just had a cough that has now turned into difficulty breathing, but it's not bad enough to go to the hospital. I hope to get an answer to his test soon. I've had a cough and low fever for a week before this. And if he has it, I'm sure I did too. And I have coworkers and friends that I need to warn.
Though it was hard at first, getting back into the swing of this story was a nice distraction once I got sucked back into it. I'm playing the long game with this story. Some may not like the things that are going on now but understand that this story is not even halfway through yet and it's going to go places you are going to both love and hate. (just like real life . )
Anyways, I won't talk about it anymore, and I'll just let all of us distract ourselves with storytelling ^.^
Kaoru thought she could handle it. But when she woke in their dark tent and Kaoru turned to find Kenshin pressed up beside her…she broke. She sat bolt upright, her hands going to her face as tears exploded from her eyes. What had she done? How could she?
She was certain she was silent but at once Kenshin was there, pulling himself up to sit beside her. He wrapped an arm around her back and tugged on her hands with the other, pulling them from her tear-soaked face.
"I'm sorry." She whimpered painfully between gasps. "I betrayed you."
"No." Kenshin said firmly. "I ordered Sano do this for you. Understand. I ordered it."
"But..." Kaoru turned her face to him, not caring that she must look a sight. "How can you not feel even a little bit upset?" All her childhood she had been raised to believe that this was the utmost disrespect for a Fire.
Kenshin's eyes narrowed slightly, they glowed nearly orange in the darkness. It frightened and fascinated her at the same time.
"I'm upset that another man touched what was mine, that I am. However, I do not in any way blame you for it. You were dying Kaoru, slowly, painfully. I'd let you lay with a hundred men before I let you die. It is not your fault you have to be dragged through this damn place. If anything I blame my Uncle." He swallowed and looked away before turning back to her and giving her a tight squeeze. "Besides, Sano is our friend. I knew he would treat you well."
Oh, he did that all right. Kaoru could still feel the dull ache inside of her. Her muscles contracted so hard just from a simple touch inside of her. He hardly even touched the sensitive bud that normally made her find completion. Kaoru rubbed her face. "I don't know what he did." She whispered. "He's touch...it was..."
She didn't have to look to see Kenshin's smirk. "Earth people are gifted. Not just the men. The whole lot of them seem to know just how to touch, and what to say to make a person come. Sano especially is a shameless flirt and seducer."
Kaoru huffed as she rubbed away the last of the tears. "How dare you attach him to me. I don't know if I'm going to be able to look at him the same." She stated with a rueful smile. "It felt so very awkward."
Kenshin shrugged. "How do your people in the Keep get along with those they had relations with?"
He had a point. The couplings were mutual. You didn't have to love one another, simple friendship was all that was needed. No one was jealous when others had bedmates. Not much anyways. And if they did, chances where their friendship had bloomed into love at some point. "I understand, I guess." She said softly, turning to look at him.
"Besides," Kenshin said, reaching out to touch her hair and then trail his fingertips down her face. "It's worth all the jealousy in the world to see you nearly glowing."
Kaoru smiled and looked down at her lap. Was she glowing with energy, or glowing with motherhood? "I admit it could be worth it. I haven't felt this good since I was in the ocean. What we did….I"
"You don't have to tell me anything, that you don't."
Kaoru stole a glance at her husband from the side of her eyes. "You don't want me to say, or you don't want to know?"
This time Kenshin looked uncomfortable. He pulled away slightly. "Should I ask the healer for a drink to prevent pregnancy?"
Kaoru's mouth dropped open. "No! No, we didn't do any of that." Her voice fell into a whisper and she shrugged her shoulders. "We just touched. Not for very long even." Felt like only moments for Kaoru, but when they left the alcove it was obvious time had passed.
Kenshin nodded. Looking somewhat relieved. "As I said, Earth people are gifted. And forgive me, but with our position, it would be disaster if you had Sano's baby. The heir must be mine."
"I know, Sanosuke told me as much….Kenshin? Would your people really get rid of you...if….things went wrong?"
His eyes narrowed again. "Sano's been talking...hasn't he?"
Kaoru tried to play it off. "I hear things."
"In the past it was far more important. Things are a bit more relaxed now, but not always in some places. People from there still follow the old ways. Rape and overthrowing the weak to replace with the more powerful. Personally I think things will be fine. Except the heir. My people will not tolerate an heir that is not their Lords'...and even less if it's not even a fire."
Kaoru blinked. "What if we have a child and it's a Water?"
"Then they will have to live with it," Kenshin growled. He had never thought about the possibility that any children with Kaoru had an equal chance of being a Water fae as it did being of Fire. He didn't care who it was, anyone spoke out against his child would end up with a slit throat.
"Kenshin," Kaoru said softly, her gaze lowering to her lap once again. "I'm afraid."
"Of what, Kaoru?" He wanted her to tell him, tell him everything so he could fix it.
"Of….of everything that could go wrong." Kaoru had left much unsaid. She was afraid of losing her baby and not being able to become pregnant again. Of being found out. Of Kenshin being angry with her for keeping the secret. She was afraid her child would be a Water fae and not be accepted by his people. What if the child was a Fire but was a girl? Would they allow female heirs? Or was it sons only as Kenshin had said. Of them being upset that she and Sano had been together. She wished she had someone to talk to about all of this right now. Misao or Megumi or even Sano, but most of all Kenshin. She wanted to talk to him about all of it, but she didn't dare. Not until it would be impossible for him to turn them around. Once the Kingdom was in sight, would she feel safe enough to tell him.
Kaoru looked at her husband, taking comfort in his eyes that glowed in the darkness. "I'm sorry, that was a pretty vague thing to be afraid of."
"I'm afraid of everything that can go wrong as well, that I am." He took her in his arms once again and held her tightly. "For now we can only worry about what we can control. No point in stressing over things out of our control."
Kaoru nodded silently and Kaoru tipped her head and gave the red-head a chaste kiss before snuggling back down on the cot. He followed after her, keeping his arms wrapped around her.
"Now that's better." Kenshin murmured in her ear.
Yes, it was much better. Her heart didn't hurt as much as it had. She knew she would never be completely free of guilt from the things she and Sano did. But it was well worth it. Carefully, she let her hand settle on her belly. It was worth all the guilt in the world to give Kenshin this gift.
… . . …
Yahiko sat with he head bent over his work. Between his teeth sat his abused tongue as he worked the needle and thread through the soft pelt. After a few stitches he pulled it tight and sat up. "Look, Papa, like this?"
His father was a massive man, like most of their kind. Tall, with limbs like trees. His father was a hunter, and was the best there ever was. Yahiko was sure of it. He had the biggest shoulders of all the archers. He would be an archer too someday. They sat at the table while they worked, their pile of pelts in front of them.
Golden brown eyes turned to look at his work as a white flash of a smile crossed the man's face. "Lookin' good, Yahiko." He gave the boy a slap on the back. "Just how I taught ya. Now make sure ya make those stitches even and small. Don't want no roughness on baby's soft skin."
"Right Papa." Yahiko beamed at the praise and looked down at the work they had completed so far. It was the job of the men to make the cradled blanket for every new baby. His father, grandfather, uncle, and himself were all stitching together their part. And then they would put all the pieces together just before the baby would be born. The boy looked around him at his family all gathered around the pile of furs. They were all big, strong men. Even his grandfather, who was still young by Earth standards. Only the wrinkles around his eyes gave away that he was older than his father.
Yahiko couldn't wait to sit gathered with these men when he became a man himself. He would help hunt rabbits for new siblings, or cousin or a niece and nephew or for his own children. And they would talk and laugh and share wise old stories that he would better understand. His mother didn't want him to grow up but Yahiko couldn't wait!
… . . …
Blood. It was everywhere. Sprayed across one wall and the whole floor was a puddle of it. Aoshi dropped the fresh bucket of water as he stepped inside the cell. Nori was still locked up, his feet in the bucket of water. They had been slowly ebbing the life from him. He had been about to crack. He had been begging for days that he would talk, anything to get out of the water.
Someone had slit his throat, From the look of it, nearly cutting his head off in the process. Aoshi crouched and touched the blood on the cell floor. It was not yet congealed and was still slightly warm. This had just happened.
Aoshi turned to the astonished faces of the guards, They were new guards, having just arrived to change out with the ones that were here before. Did they slip in the few minutes that the room was left alone? That could be the only explanation unless it was one of the guards themselves. "Secure the area, but raise no alarm." He said. "I don't want whoever did this to know we know."
Quickly, he left the guards behind and rushed from the dungeon. He hadn't seen anyone on his way in. Not a guard, not even a maid or a worker to change out the torches. He took the stairs two at a time as he hurried out from under the press of rock to the ground level of the Keep. He nearly ran down the hallways and burst through the iron and wood door. He turned down another hallway and found himself standing in the main walkway in front of the great hall. Here there were people. Dinner was over hours ago, but a few men sat drinking, playing card games with servants and just having a friendly talk. No one seemed alarmed and as Aoshi slowly scanned each person in the large room, no one seemed suspicious.
Killing someone in such a way would be messy, they would be sprayed with blood. He glanced downward at the small amount of blood he had tracked in, even though he tried to keep from stepping in it. If they had been quick, they could have left before the pool of blood grew, but still, they would have been sprayed with at least some blood.
Aoshi grabbed more guards and alerted them to the situation. He sent four of them to search the Healing side of the Keep with strict orders to keep calm and not alert anyone. He then sent the rest to comb the rest of the Keep. He and four other guards went to the bathhouses.
Searching them proved difficult. They were busy this time of night, other guards and servants were taking the break in activity to clean up. Any one of them could be the killer. Aoshi was already forming reasons in his mind why someone would kill Nori. The most obvious being to silence him from saying anything. The second was to simply create confusion.
Aoshi paused.
Confusion for what reason?
He glanced around the pools and the rows of private bathhouses. The guards and soldiers were weaving in and out of them, interrupting bathing time and entering the rooms. The voices were growing in volume as everyone realized there was a killer among them. He turned around and saw guards moving into the church in the distance. Was Misao in there right now?
He was moving before he realized it. His long legs ate up the distance. He shouldn't run, that would cause too much attention or panic and that was the last thing he wanted. But he couldn't stop himself. He hurried into the church, finding it nearly empty with only a few moon worshipers. They were calm and looked up in surprise as he stumbled inside. His eyes went for the private alcove and the lack of a guard at the door. He skirted the outside of the rows, avoiding the stone benches but just as he reached the private area a guard emerged, spotted him and shook his head. No one was inside.
Aoshi breathed a sigh of relief and cursed in the same breath.
He turned and hurried out of the church. He glanced up at the Keep. He noted the window to the study was dark. She wasn't in there, so perhaps in her room?
It felt like it took forever for him to reach the private hallways, but he had been running flat out the entire way. He took the stairs and bolted down the hall. It was silent as he turned the corner and nearly froze at the sight of Misao's door wide open. Bright light poured into the hallways from her room and Aoshi surged forward.
If anything happened to Misao. He had already failed her once. How could he live with himself if it happened again?
A shadow appeared in the doorway it was far too large to be Misao's. Aoshi's heart nearly flew from his chest and he lunged for it with a roar.
Misao gave a shout of surprise as her guard whirled around and planted himself in front of her with his sword already drawn and lifted.
"Aoshi!" Misao shrieked.
"Sir Shinomori?" The guard lowered his sword point to the ground.
The girl popped from around the guard. "Aoshi what the hell are you doing running into my room screaming when I hear that someone has killed Nori and is around somewhere? You scared ten years off my life. Shit!"
Seeing that all was well and that the open door and shadow was only her guard filling her in, Aoshi nearly sagged in the doorway. But he held himself up. His chest heaved from the effort to run the entire way. He was not a damn sprinter.
"Thank you for keeping watch of Miss Misao," Aoshi said once he caught his breath. "There will be a meeting in half an hour with the head of the guard shifts. Please attend it. I'll be here with Misao."
The guard sheathed his sword as Aoshi was talking and bowed. "Yes, sir." He turned and bowed to Misao before backing up out of the room and rushing off. Aoshi kicked the door shut, locked it and leaned against it. Taking his first real breath since he found the dead prisoner, Aoshi staggered across the room and dragged Misao against him. He didn't say anything, he wasn't even certain he could say anything. He was just glad that Misao was safe and unharmed.
"Tell me what's going on." Misao demanded, her voice muffled from being pressed into his coat.
"I will, but first." He lifted Misao until her face was in line with his and he kissed her, hard. He kissed her until she fell limp in his arms until she was gasping for air until he was sure she was real and alive and she knew just how much she meant to him. When he finally set her back down, she was on trembling legs.
"Aoshi….what's the matter. You're actin' weird."
The metal-man nodded. "I suppose I am. I'm sorry. I made myself panic." he glanced over at the girl as she clutched the aqua and sea green fabric of her nightdress. She twisted the hem of the garment in her hands. The straps hardly covered her shoulders and the hem reached only to her knees. The satin clung to her curves, which, despite her lithe body, she had just enough for his tastes. He could taste the strawberry sweets she had squirreled away from dinner on his lips.
He told her all that he knew, which wasn't much. He admitted to her he felt no guilt or pain over the death of the man, no pleasure in it either. Only anger that he didn't get the information he wanted and fear that the killer was loose somewhere in the Keep. All the while Misao had dragged him to sit on her bed and her fingers combed through his hair as he talked, effectively calming him down as though she had Earth magic.
"What's the plan now? Do we announce what we're looking for or stay silent?" She asked once he was done.
"Everyone will know by morning if they don't already know now. The guards invaded all the baths looking to see if the killer was washing away his evidence." Aoshi muttered, leaning into her touch.
Misao could only nod.
"I don't really want to use you as bait."
Misao blinked, grabbed Aoshi by the hair and pulled his head back so she could look down at him. "What was that?"
Aoshi watched as her eyes flashed. "Bait. I don't want to lure out the killer by giving him the chance to kill you."
Misao frowned and let her grip on his hair loosen enough for him to straighten up. "Do you think the person will actually go after me?"
Aoshi shrugged his massive shoulders. "Why wouldn't he? Nori's plan failed. He would finish the job."
"What if it was someone's idea of justice?"
Aoshi paused. What if the killer was simply someone who was trying to protect Misao by getting rid of her attacker? They didn't announce that they were trying to get information out of Nori. An overly loyal servant could have done the job. An easier case would be one of the guards themselves. One of them could have taken it in their own hands to see Misao's attacker dead. As much as he wanted to believe that was the answer, he wasn't fool enough to disregard his original feeling. Someone wanted to silence the man.
"That's is a possibility, but it would be stupid to let our guard down. For now, we'll act as though there is an enemy among us."
Misao nodded. "I understand."
So flexible, Aoshi thought. Like all Water's they were adaptable and bendable. That made them strong, it also made them weak. Aoshi surged up off Misao's bed. "Do you have ink and paper in here?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah, over here." Misao led him to a writing desk tucked away on the other side of her wardrobe. "I don't like going into any of Kaoru's rooms or her father-….Kenshin's study to write. It's their private places." She said softly as Aoshi maneuvered his large frame behind the petite desk. She opened a drawer and pulled out an ink well and quill. Aoshi took a sheet of paper from the center shelf where they sat.
"What are you writing?" She asked as she perched upon the seating space by a large window.
Aoshi studied the window for a moment. They were covered with heavy drapes no one from outside would be able to see her silhouette. She didn't have a balcony and they were near halfway up the Keep and her widow was on a sheer face. It would take a very skilled climber to scale it. He decided she was safe there for the time.
"I'm writing Lord Kenshin to tell him what has happened. It's important that he knows."
Misao winced. "Man." She sighed. "I feel like I let Kaoru down."
Aoshi narrowed his eyes and he paused in his writing. "It's not your fault."
"I know," Misao's voice trailed away. "But still."
Aoshi sighed, the girl would blame anything that went out of her control on herself. "You should write to Kaoru as well. I'm sure when Kenshin tells her, she will panic. Reassure her that you are safe." he offered gently.
Misao nodded. "Yes, yes that's a good idea.
… . . …
Megumi sat in her dorm room. And looked around at its empty walls. All her things, her clothes, her personal books, her records and the many pots of herbs. All her things had been packed away on a wagon ready for the trip to Aiga Keep. She rubbed at her eyes. She had already said goodbye to her students, her friends, teachers. She sobbed into her mother's arms. She didn't want to leave the woman alone. Her mother clicked at her and reminded her that she had a man friend now to keep her company and she insisted that Megumi go to her homelands and get one of her own.
"Be who you are, your true nature. This place...you've adapted, but it's not where you belong." Her mother said, rubbing away the tears from her daughter's face. "From what you told me about that Healing Keep...it sounds just like the place where you need to be." It still took an hour of insisting before Megumi made peace with leaving her mother. She was right. She would never drag her mother with her and away from the sun, her mother didn't want her to stay in the heat and dry. So they had an understanding, they left, happy for the other, but feeling the pain on their being so far away.
So now Megumi sat looking at the small dorm room that had been her second home for almost ten years. She couldn't believe she was going to be leaving it. She had always thought, in her deepest fears, that she would be here for the rest of her life.
She came from the Water Kingdom, she had at least one Water parent. What had happen to her family? She tried not to let it, but it haunted her that she couldn't remember what had happened as a child. She had come to accept that if she hadn't a shred of memory by now, then it was forever gone. Locked away in her mind due to physical or emotional trauma.
She looked out at her window. The sun was long down and twilight was turning to full night. In the morning, she would climb up in the wagon with her things and the Water soldiers would take her to her new home. She had spent some time with them. Looked them over to keep them healthy and sat with then during meals. They helped her pack everything away. She was amazed at how different they acted, talked, how they treated her. They even felt different. So helpful and always with a nice thing to say, they were firm, but not vicious, kind but not soft. She felt no threat from them whatsoever. For the first time in years, she didn't have to put up a front of being strong. They were not looking for a crack in her armor for a way to exploit her.
It reminded her of the only Fire who ever made her feel that way.
Sparc. He was the only one she had yet to say goodbye to. He knew once the graduation ceremony was over, she would be leaving. But he hadn't been anything other than supportive about it. After the ceremony, he hugged her tightly, told her how proud he was of her and how glad she was finally going home; to a real home where she could be free to be herself and heal people to her heart's content.
Megumi needed to say goodbye. But his was the one that hurt the most. He had supported her all this time. He never judged her. Tried his best to understand her. She could feel her eyes welling up just thinking about it. Megumi sniffed and stood up. She needed to get it over with. She straightened her spine, blinked away her tears and forced a pleasant smile. She left her room and navigated the halls. She went to a different wing. Here the rooms were larger. They were for teachers and the other staff. They were larger and nicer and Megumi had expected to move into them after graduation but that wasn't meant to be.
She found his room and steeled herself before she saw his face. She knocked. After a moment, she heard him moving around inside and then the door popped open. He was still in his scholar robes, his sandy hair was a mess and his spectacles sat low on his nose. Megumi smiled, she knew that look. He'd been reading.
"Megumi." Sparc stepped back, letting her inside. He shut the door and tried his best not to actually look at her. "So….you're going then?"
His soft question tore at Megumi. She nodded, then realized he wasn't looking at her. "Yes." She answered.
The Fire man nodded silently. The silence stretched on for a long, uncomfortable moment. Megumi watched his bowed head and slumped shoulders and took pity on him.
"I'll be leaving in the morning." Megumi broke the silence. "I'll miss you."
The man risked a glance over at her and the two of them locked eyes. "I'll…miss you too Megumi. You were a good friend."
"I'm still your friend. I'll be writing to you often."
Sparc breathed a laugh. "I'll look forward to your letters." He raised his head fully, his eyes never leaving her's now that he had them. "You have to tell me all about the Keep and that healing water. I'll be writing a book about it. I'll need your help."
Megumi's red lips broke into a true smile. "Of that, you can be certain. Sparc you were my first true friend."
"Oh, stop." He was flushing and the room suddenly got warmer.
"No really." Megumi laughed. "My first real friend." She took a breath. "I'm going to miss you more than anyone else."
The smile left his face and a pained look replaced it. "You were not only my first and best friend." He started, stepping closer to her. "But you're my only friend. Losing you." He set a hand on his chest. "Hurts."
Megumi felt an ache in her chest as well. His confession brought fresh tears to her eyes and she cursed her lack of emotional control.
The two of them looked at each other for a long, silent moment. Then, slowly Sparc reached out and touched her cheek. The contact made Megumi's heart race and break at the same time. He brushed away a tear that escaped her eyes. He set his forehead down against her's. Megumi was tall for a woman and Sparc was only slightly taller. Yet it felt as though he loomed over her with his sudden close contact. She could feel the heat rolling off his skin. She looked upward, seeing that his eyes were screwed shut and his lips were pulled back to expose clenched teeth. He was fighting his emotions.
Megumi felt moved. Her leaving really did hurt him. He was never one to hide his emotions as many Fire's did, but he was trying for her sake. His sandy hair, smelling of books, ink and spice caressed her face. It tickled and comforted her at the same time. The ache in her chest grew. How could she leave him behind? But like her mother, she would never ask him to follow her to a land that was hostile to him. He was different than most Fire's, perhaps he would tolerate it better. But she wouldn't risk it. She had to be content in knowing he was here, doing what he loved most, even if he would be a bit lonely.
Megumi reached out and found his arm at his side and followed it down until she found his hand and she took it and held tightly. The contact caused him to sigh a long, shuddering sigh that she suspected hide the fact he wanted to sob instead. Her throat closed up at the thought. She didn't want him to be sad, but instead happy, hopeful. But she didn't know what to say to help him.
He was trembling, his head moving until not only their foreheads touched, but their cheeks as well. Their noses bumped and hesitantly, fearfully, he moved his lips across the soft skin of her cheek until they fluttered over her own lips.
The lady doctor didn't know how much she wanted his kiss until his unsure lips touched hers. Her heart broke and soared at the same time. She knew she had said she would only be with him if she was in dire need. Megumi felt torn, she was fine and yet she wasn't. She didn't need him and yet felt she would die if she let the moment pass. She returned the kiss, mirroring his hesitant shyness. It was almost painful to feel the way he trembled against her. Was he fighting himself and losing? Was he holding back so much emotion that he physically couldn't? Was he suppressing his Fire side to be slow and tender with her? Megumi didn't know or care. In fact, she wanted to see him break. She wanted him, she realized. All of him.
She was terrified. After the attack on her body and soul, she didn't know if she could be face to face with such an act again. But even as she thought it, she berated herself for thinking it. Sparc was not that strange man on the beach. Never, never in a hundred thousand years would her friend ever be like that man. And most telling of all, she wanted him. Even though it would only break their hearts when they parted. Megumi turned and slowly, so slowly, and pressed her body into his taller, leaner form.
His trembling grew until he was nearly shivering from it. His body burned hot through their clothes and heated her skin. His hand at her cheek moved to cup the back of her head, then trailed his fingers through the black curtain that was her hair. She felt him sigh. As if it was something he had wanted to do for a lifetime.
He broke the kiss but kept his lips touching her lips. "Tell me no, Megumi." He rasped.
Megumi reached up and took his spectacles off his face. The cool glass was fogged from the heat and moisture of their bodies. She glanced away only long enough to identify a small side table against the wall and set them there.
"I don't want to tell you no," Megumi replied.
"But I won't stop if you don't tell me no." He sounded almost panicked. He opened his eyes and they were small glowing suns again. Dancing and hot, his eyes glowed yellow, nearly white. Heat started to pour off his body, but she relished the feel of it. "I don't want to hurt you." He gasped as Megumi pulled the school robes off him. He was lean and trim. His tunic was small and tight around his thin frame and she quickly undid the clasps and pulled it off of him. He didn't have defined muscles, but instead was toned and tight and the only softness about him was his touch and voice.
"I don't want you to stop." She said firmly, looking up into his eyes as she reached up and slowly pulled her own robes off her shoulders. "Do you want me to stop you?"She asked.
"No. Never." Sparc rushed her, wrapping his long arms around her and crushing her to him. He quickly stripped the layers of clothing off of her. He muttered fearsomely when he came across clasps that he suddenly forgot how to operate. It broke the tense atmosphere and Megumi laughed. She helped him before he ripped the clothes from her body. Her long, delicate healing fingers trailed along his skin. He was helpless under her touch, she realized. But he didn't let her take the power.
Megumi found herself being pressed into his small bed. Stacks of books and papers tumbled as the bed jolted. But they went unnoticed as Sparc covered her body with his. He knew the human body inside and out almost better than she did, yet he seemed awed at every inch of her body. He watched as her nipples grew hard under his touch, how her eyes dilated into large dark pools. And when his unsure, clumsy fingers, rested between her legs and gently, almost fearfully discovered that small button he had heard would drive a woman insane with lust, he nearly felt guilty when it turned out to be true.
Sparc had never been with a woman, Megumi realized. Just perfect for her. It was hard to be afraid when everything the man did was new and amazing to him. She felt his excitement jump when he felt her wet folds for the first time. When he stroked her sensitive nub and she keened in pleasure she watched his face transform from wonder, into something darker, needier as his touch firmed his eyes were still glowing but their colors were swirling now, like lava. Megumi felt lost in their churning colors.
Megumi felt her climax coming. She felt her skin flush, her thighs clamped shut but Sparc continued the motions.
He lifted himself off her body as she twisted, hands gripping the bedsheets. He watched as her body trembled violently, as her face twisted into something that was a mix of pain and pleasure. It frightened him and excited him at the same time. Her keening rose but she swallowed most of it back as to not alert the neighbors. He couldn't help himself as he slipped two fingers into that elusive, strange place that was her core. She was so slick and wet that he felt no resistance as the warm flesh gripped him. His thumb kept flicking over that button.
His invasion toppled her control and she came. Her core clamped down on his fingers and he watched in amazement as strange blue light, dancing just out of his line of vision came rushing in to sink into her skin. His name was a moan deep in her throat as she came down from her flight of pleasure. Sparc ached to bury himself inside of her as she lay there, wantonly waiting for him, but he could seem to look away at how the Water energy slowly flickered away, settling deep inside of her. She glowed, pale and yet flushed. The most lovely he had ever remember her being. Her dark eyes were pools of heat, her lips, redder and slightly swollen from his kisses. She was watching him, waiting, wanting.
He shifted and settled himself carefully within her. Her legs wrapped around his thin frame, pressing him hard against her and the feel of her core, so hot that even he felt like he was burning. Her brows knit together, and he knew she was feeling the pain of his evasion. He kissed her, wishing he could take all the pain away.
Megumi marveled at how such a slight man could still be so strong. He held her hands down to the bed, back arched as his hips rocked against hers. She was surprised to find that his entering her hurt. Even though her maidenhead was violently torn weeks ago, she was not stretched and even though there was pain, she was glad it was from Sparc. He whispered feverishly against her lips when he saw the pain on her face. Begging forgiveness, worshiping her.
Sparc may not have been the first man, but he was who Megumi gave her virginity to.
It was his first time, and Megumi forgave the near frantic movements. She too was unpracticed and she only just found a rhythm that matched his when he came suddenly, gasping in shock, biting back the urge to roar victoriously. His head thrown back, his hair fell away from his face.
He didn't pull away, never stopped petting and worshiping her, raining kisses upon her and he marveled at how her touch made his skin feel alive. Almost at once he was hard again and this time, he slowed his movements, He listened to her body language. He was amazed at what she was telling him without uttering a single word. His thrusts were too hard, or not hard enough, he leaned to the right slightly and caught how just the shift in body weight made her face morph into that pleasure-pain. The blue light started to grow again. Her long nails dug into his buttocks urging him for more. Harder, shorter thrusts. The room was silent except for the desperate sound of their bodies coming together and then suddenly Megumi cried out. A cry from deep in her soul as she clung to him. Sparc rode the wave of her pleasure, happy in that her convulsing womanhood had not forced him over his own peak.
All they had was this one night. And he wanted to love her until the morning.
… . . …
The inn was small, and nothing overly special. That was just fine for Kaoru. The town was large, perhaps to the point of being called a city. She had no idea what the name of the place was. Apparently it wasn't important enough for Kenshin or Sano to tell her. Besides, they were only there for the night. They had many inns to pick from. But Kenshin had sent their scout to look for an inn large enough for their party but not large enough for much more. He was quite pleased when they were taken to an empty inn that would house all of them and agreed to take in no more when they learned of Kenshin's royal blood.
Kaoru watched as Kenshin awarded the scout a whole silver coin for his trouble. The boy's eyes grew nearly as large as the coin itself and bowed many times in thanks. She watched as her Lord Husband nearly swaggered over to sit beside her at the one long meal table. He was changing. She had to admit it. His teeth were sharp, she could no longer chalk it up to her imagination, when he spoke fangs flashed and his eyes glowed yellow. It gave him a demonic look that she and her fellow Waters found disconcerting. The other fire guards were growing darker as they sunned themselves in the sunlight, they spoke harsher, louder and argued more among themselves. Kenshin too was becoming rough, but he held his men in line with a firm hand.
"See anything of interest out there?" Kenshin asked as he reached for a glass of wine that was poured. Around them, workers and cooks set the table with food and drink.
Kaoru gave him a hesitant smile "We normally skirt around towns and if we come in, it's late at night. This is the first time I've had a chance to get a good look at Fire civilization. I find I can not help myself."
Kenshin drained half his glass and leaned his head against his hand as he regarded her. "And what do you think so far, Lady wife?"
"The clothes here are strange indeed," Kaoru admitted as she looked down at her own brown and yellow dress. At each stop, her Fire wardrobe grew. She was unused to the corset and it was slightly uncomfortable having the whalebone ribs so tight along her torso. They insisted at lacing it so tight she feared her growing child would be shoved up into her lungs. It did wonders for her figure, she had to admit. It effectively erased any evidence of her growing womb.
The sleeves were short, ending far above her elbow. Kaoru was used to the long flowing sleeves of her kimono or gi. Her arms felt naked and bare. The skirt was yards of fabric, fluffed out thanks to a stiff petticoat. She felt like she looked like a bell. A thin stick on top, and an ample round bottom. Her eldest handmaiden, a middle-aged woman named Odeta, worked curls into her hair before pinning it up and letting the curls brush her shoulders. The neckline was simple and square, allowing her corset to shove her bosom upward, exposing the slight curve of her cleavage for wandering eyes.
"For a place that shuns lusting for what belongs to others, I feel very much on show."
She caught Sano smirking but didn't look away from Kenshin as he took a bite from his plate. He pondered his answer carefully as he chewed. "Men here like to show off their trophies, both from the field and their bed, that they do."
Kaoru blinked. "I beg your pardon?"
"They like to show off what's their's, Missy." Sano interpreted. "They want men to want what they can't have and then beat them for staring too long," he added.
Kaoru couldn't help but glance down the table to the men chatting loudly as they ate, laughing and talking.
"No one here's gonna look at you, Missy," Sano said as he leaned forward in his chair to rest his elbows on the table. "Not with your Lord Husband being Kenshin Himura. The most feared assassin and Manslayer."
Kenshin gave Sano a deadpan look before return to his meal.
"M-manslayer?" Kaoru's eyes flickered between Sano and Kenshin and back again. The meal in front of her was going untouched. Kaoru was unsure she could fit a mouthful in her compressed stomach.
"My old titles," Kenshin muttered, draining his glass. Kaoru reached for the dark glass bottle to refill it. "Hunted down my targets and killed them quickly and efficiently."
"Even he lost track of the body count," Sano added.
Kaoru turned to her husband. She tried to picture him a hard, and cruel man, cutting down his foes. It wasn't difficult. She still recalled their ambush of the small Drow camp. Sitting there, at the head of the table, his hair loose about his face and shoulders like a lion's mane. He wore a dark maroon poet shirt, over that was a black doublet with braided gold pipping around the edges and shiny gold buttons. A wine-colored cape was fastened around his shoulders with a gold chain. He looked every inch a Warlord.
He watched her look him over with his swirling yellow eyes. "Are you afraid of your husband now?"
"No." Kaoru shook her head. "And yes, you seem so different, I've never seen you look this way. I know it's because you've returned to your homeland and this is simply how you are in your own nature, My Lord." She bowed her head toward him.
This seem to please him, his fiery eyes dancing. "I'm sure you will be in awe of me as I was in awe of you at the sea, my Lady Wife."
Their public flirting seemed stilted. They had to act differently in these lands. Kaoru found it challenging she had to admit. She decided to change the subject. "Will we be meeting your father?"
"Quite certain we well." Kenshin confirmed. "He hasn't been to the castle in a very long time. But I wrote to him of our visit, I'm certain he'll want to met you, that I am."
Kaoru shifted in her chair. "Oh, I hope so. I would so much like to met him." She leaned forward. "What's he like?"
Kenshin pushed his plate away, finished with his meal of meat and vegetables. "Stubborn, more so than myself. Strong loyalty. He's the eldest."
Kaoru sat up straight. "The eldest? Why then is he not King?"
Sano immediately coughed loudly and she glanced over at the Earth man, startled. She shot a look down the table to find everyone still loud and having a good time.
She lowered her voice. "Should I not have asked that?"
Kenshin was draining his cup again. And Kaoru poured him yet another. "It's not a secret, but having an outsider talk about it might touch a sore spot."
Kaoru nodded, understanding.
Kenshin leaned toward his wife. "My father is illegitimate. A bastard of my Grandfather, the late King."
Kaoru's strange and heavy metal fork slipped from her fingers to clatter loudly on her plate. "What?" She nearly hissed. She was married to the son of the King's bastard brother. "We don't care about such trivial things in the Water kingdom but I understood that having a child out of wedlock was one of the utmost sins of your people. More so for the royal family."
Kenshin agreed. "It's true. My grandfather brought my father home as an infant. The family would have cast him away, given to some hard-working peasants. But my Grandfather claimed he was his child out of rape, and therefore, a blessing."
Kaoru winced.
"Personally, I do not believe this." Kenshin added quickly in a low tone. "However, I never knew the man so I can not say for sure. Even so, the King and Queen at the time still did not want such a taint on their family name. How would it look to the others? So, to prove it, on my father's fifth nameday, my grandfather threw him into the volcano. My father took his true form as a dragon and flew down the mountain and around the castle. This proved his royal blood. His parents could not deny him his blessing from the Gods.
"My Grandfather married and when my father was ten, had a brother. Huojin. As a child of rape, my father was the favorite to be placed on the throne, but it wasn't something he wanted for his life. He gladly gave that to the true born son. My uncle. Even though they had a large gap in their age, they grew up to be as close as real brothers and when my grandfather passed and Huojin became King, he legitimatized my father as his true brother."
Kaoru's head swirled with this new information. She looked at Kenshin closely. He seemed at ease with the information. But the tick by his eye gave away some secret emotion Was he angry? Annoyed?
Carefully, with a low voice she asked. "Do you know who your grandmother was?"
Kenshin shook his head. "My father asked about his mother a few times. My grandfather told him very little. Only that she died to bring him into the world. He is unsure if he is, in fact, a child of rape, or if that was only said to better the chances of being kept. We don't even know if she was a Fire, or anyone else."
Kaoru was thinking that very thing, but she didn't dare mutter it out loud. Was Kenshin part of another elemental? At the moment he seemed all pure fire and flames. But his speed and slight build was like that of an Air. His short stature was more like the Water-type. And he had said that both he and his father never found pleasure or thrill in the idea of rape. That could also be residue from Water or Earth.
Her words were the barest of whispers. "Your lineage has never been questioned?"
Kenshin stiffened and jerked his head to look sharply at her.
"Hey man," Sano warned in a smooth voice as he sipped his ale. "She's only curious."
Kaoru swallowed, blinking furiously and her back went straight. "Forgive me, my Lord, if that was inappropriate of me to ask. I only wondered because it seems that your people will be critical of our future heir."
Kenshin let out his breath in one long, slow stream, like steam from a kettle. His muscles relaxed and his hands rested flat on the chair arms. "They did, years ago, when I was younger." He said slowly. Then, in a stronger voice. "But that was then and now where we are all kin. So it matters not, that it doesn't. If it did, that uncle of mine wouldn't have married me off to you."
His words brought both great joy and great pain to Kaoru. She looked down at her plate. The food was mostly uneaten, just pushed around. "Forgive me, My Lord. I understand. If you will excuse me. I'm going to get out of this corset, and rest."
Kenshin drained his cup yet again and then inclined his head. "Rest well."
Kaoru turned in her chair and leaned toward Sano. The fae quickly leaned forward, bowing his head to hear her. "Please find someone who would make better use of my meal. I'm sure there are hungry ones even here."
Sano dipped his head even lower. "As you wish, My Lady."
A/n Wow! This chapter grew a bit more than I thought. Well, I always liked nice long chapters, hehe Megumi seems on the mend. And Kenshin is reverting further and further into his real self. Which is interesting and honestly really fun to write!
Please stay safe and healthy everyone! Your reviews are loved!
P.S. Wash yo hands!