He smiled and held her a bit more gently. "What would we do?" He didn't know what he'd do. He wanted to follow her, but Jethro had told him about how they'd chase her and how the treaty would be nulled. He didn't want such misery to come from loving her. He smoothed her hair down and looked at the ceiling. He wanted to tell her that he'd follow her to the ends of the earth, but all he could think about was his men's new lives, their wives and children, and all of the work that was going into making their own land. He couldn't hurt them after they'd put their lives on the line for him and their cause.

"I do not know..." She frowned for a moment, watching his facial expressions. He seemed lost, as if caught between two decisions. It made her feel sad to see him as such. She did not mean to upset him. He seemed so distraught, and she knew it was her fault. She thought for a moment, and then looked at him. "Forgive me..." She said, bowing her head. She felt distant from him for a moment, and it almost seemed to hurt her. She was so close to him in person, but yet she was for away in thought.

She looked back up at him, and leaned up, gently kissing under his chin, she turned away quickly, blushed deeply. What have I done?! Am I mad?! She thought to herself. How would he react?

Again his face flushed, but he just smiled and held her closer. He leaned in close to her ear and whispered, "you should do that again." He chuckled and played with a strand of her hair, losing his train of thought just as it got most complicated. He hoped that they could at least visit each other and spend lots of nights like this, but he couldn't hurt his men and keep her to himself. His thoughts returned quickly and he wondered what was going to happen to the two of them, and what she really wanted him to say. He wondered what kind of man that made him, to love a woman and not take her. His thoughts kept racing but he tried to hide them, not sure what to think any longer. He was scared for them but didn't want to give her up. It was all very confusing for a man who hadn't even loved for such a long time..

She blushed softly, holding onto him. His clothing was still wet, and it felt very cold. How he was not shivering was beyond her. Then again, she was never very fond of the cold. She pulled the blanket tighter around the both of them, hoping to keep him warm. At the very least they were sitting down by the fire, and she was warm, so perhaps she could keep him warm. She knew of another way to keep him warm, but the thought made her blush so intensely that she pushed the thought from her mind.

"If you want another one, you'll need to come and get it..." She smiled playfully, looking up at him. Her heart began to race once again, her breathing quickened slightly with anticipation.

Kaido's smile grew and he slowly leaned over and kissed her on the lips. In truth he was very cold but had a high tolerance for it since he'd grown up the life of a peasant. Her warmth made it hard to think of anything else and again his thoughts left his mind, but this time they did not return. He held her tighter and looked into her face as he broke the kiss. The sensation felt new to him and he felt giddy with it. He leaned his forehead against hers and swallowed nervously. "How was that?"

Kiako blushed deeply, smiling softly and looking into his eyes. "You know, that is the second time in my life I have ever been kissed, right?" It was true. She had never once been with another man. This whole experience was knew to her, and she was enjoying every moment of it. She tilted her head up and gently kissed him again, gripping onto the blanket. She smiled, pulling back away. Everything about him was so sweet, and she wanted to prolong the feeling.

He lightly ran a finger over her cheek and tilted his head to the side. Her words reminded him that he wasn't so innocent and he didn't know what he could give her. He rubbed her arms and took a deep breath, knowing that he had to tell her everything now. He loved her too much to keep important secrets from her. "I was married once. I had a boy, Yoru, who was 3 years old. We didn't live.. uh.. lavishly, but we had a good life.." He looked sadened and wondered if she'd turn him away after finding this out. He hadn't thought of that and he suddenly grew worried, but he knew that he couldn't stop there. "I.. I made a mistake. Because of that mistake.. my house was purposly set on fire when I was out, and they both died." He swallowed and bowed his head, waiting for her reaction.

She looked at him, her expression changing, but it was not to anger. She was sad. "I... am sorry for your loss. Forgive me, I do not know what to say..." She did not break her gaze on him. She was more studying him. She could see his pain through his face, and it was more seeing him in such a state then the news itself that hurt her. "Do you know who did it? And if you do, know that as Ruler I can and will have this person judged. I will do all in power to make it such..."

He was about to tell her but he quickly closed his mouth and looked away. He remembered the noble by face and shook his head. "I do not know the name, but you wouldn't be able to do anything anyways.. just, trust me on this ok?" He took a deep breath and layed his head on her shoulder. He hugged her tighter and was glad that she didn't want to leave him. "it's been too long now anyways. that happened 3 years ago." He gently tugged on a strand of her hair and kissed it.

She held onto him, trying to comfort him. "I trust you... But --" She stopped herself. She figured for his sake, it would be better not to push. She had never had any real family attachment, so she could not relate. When her Father died, she felt nothing. She barely remembered her Mother and she had never liked her Sister. He younger Brother was the only person she actually considered family, but he had left long ago to work as a priest. She hadn't seen him in years. At least he managed to escape this hell... she thought to herself.

She lightly combed her fingers through Kaido's hair. She laced his fingers through the strained, gently massaging his back of his head. One of her hands ran down his neck, trailing her nails lightly across the base of his neck. She smiled softly.

He shivered, the feeling sent chills down his spine. He snuggled his head up against her neck and took another deep breath to steady himself. He smiled a little bit and continued to run his finger up and down her arm. "Sorry to surprise you with that." He turned his head up and kissed her forehead. "I was worried that you wouldn't like me after finding that out."

She smiled, laughing softly. "Would not like you? Well, I am happy that you told me, though I do not like you anyways. I love you Kaido." She rested her hands down on his shoulders and used one hand to lift his head from her shoulder so her was facing her. She looked into his eyes. Hers were soft and calm, and filled with a deep longing. She leaned in and gently kissed him. She hoped that he would except her.

Hearing it from Jethro and hearing it from her were two completly different things. It was if he'd been punched in the stomach and all of his breath left him, he struggled to breath and managed a single breath before kissing her. He'd never felt as weak as he did then and even his deceased wife had never made him feel so despret. She'd been kind and loving, a very docile Japanese woman in every sense of the word, but Kiako was so much more than that. She was a mystery, a series of surprises that never ended and so agonizingly beautiful that it sent him spiraling down till he felt like he'd crawl on his knees for her. He hoped that his men would never have to see him like this because they'd all lose hope in their supposedly strong leader when they saw how this woman had captured him with so little effort.

Kiako rested her head back down against his chest. She yawned softly, feeling comfortable enough to allow her guard down and to relax. She knew that Jethro was close at hand, watching over her door to make sure that she won't not be disturbed this night, and for that she was grateful. She watched the fire, taking one of his hands and lacing her fingers through his. His hands were much larger then hers, and much more course.

She wondered what life was like for him before the threat of war. What had life been like for him back in the day when he had a family. The thought of him with someone else had made her upset for a moment, but she let her jealousy pass. It was pointless. He seemed to upset, and now she was being childish. She relaxed once again, closing her eyes, listening to his heart beat.

He smiled and let his other hand gently run through her long hair. He remembered how they'd met on the battlefield and how she'd fought so gracefully. She truly was quite an adversary in every possible way. He chuckled and realized that she was a perfect match for his personality. He could sometimes be too straightforward or too headstrong, but she could counter his words with little effort if she so chose. He knew he was lost when he realized that no matter what he said, she'd be in charge. He'd heard talk from his men about how his newly wed soldiers were like puppys with their women and he hadn't understood it. Now he did, and instead of finding it scarey or offensive he found it amusing. He wondered what exactly she had in mind for them, and what she wanted from him. He stopped running his fingers through her hair and left his hand lightly tangled in it, liking the feel of it for some odd reason.

She snapped her eyes open, but they did not open all the way. Within the time of just sitting there and listening to all the soft sound he made, she had begun to drift into a light sleep. Sleep... she thought. She got up at once, smiled as she looked to him, then went over to her closet, pulling out fresh clothing similar to that that she had given him the first night that they had met.

She thought back to that night. The cut that he had dealt to her arm had left a scar and had left the area slightly sore, but she did not mind it. He had proved to her that for once someone was willing to stand up against her.

She went back over to him, kneeling down beside him. "Here, considering your clothing is still very wet. These are warm at least."

He blushed again and nodded his head. He slowly stood and took the clothes from her, then went to a corner of the room and turned his back to her. He was too emberassed to say anything and he didn't want to sound like a wuss by saying something like, 'Don't look'. He didn't mind, really, but it was still pretty nerve wracking. He undressed slowly and laid the clothes neatly on a nearby chair, then redressed. He didn't know if she'd watched or not, but didn't ask. Instead he turned back around once he was dressed and smiled a bit. "They're very comfortable. Thank you, I feel warmer already."

She stood up, shaking her head, almost giggling. "You tied it wrong..." She went over to him, blushing softly as she carefully untied the belt. She smoothed out the shirt carefully, recrossing it. She reached around him, gently pulling the belt back around him and tying it. She smiled softly, looking up at him. "I am glad that they fit you alright..." She looked up at him, then looked down, moving back over to the fire. As she moved away from him, she took his hand, bringing him with her. She did not sit down this time, but instead stood by the fire looking up at him. "What shall we do now..."

He looked at her and froze. He didn't know if she was suggesting something or if he was just a pervert. He swallowed and had to look away, feeling as if he'd make a bad move if he kept looking at her. Instead he closed his eyes and said, "Whatever you want, princess." He said, trying to use the title as a cute nickname or something. It came out sounding somewhat strained but he didn't take his hand back.

"Princess eh?" She laughed softly, taking a hold of both of his hands, facing him. She then walked over to her bed and sat down on the edge, looking up at him. She gave him a look of simple innocence, her eyes filled with a serene glow of bliss. She pulled lightly on his hand, bringing him down to sit beside her. She moved in slowly and rested against him. "Are you uncomfortable here with me Kaido?"

"N-not at all... Just, kinda nervous, I'll admit.." He swallowed and hesitantly put his arm around her. He was a pretty well behaved Japanese man and wasn't used to these sorts of situations. He hadn't even been this forward with his wife, and they'd been more like friends than anything else. There had been love, yes, but not this sort. He laced his fingers with hers and looked down at her.
(man, being japanese back then must have been killer. I'm actually not this... what, innocent? lol)

(Haha me neither! XD)
She smiled softly, looking up at him. She carefully leaned up and gently kissed him. Unconsciously, she squeezed his hand. Her free hand had leaning up and gripped onto his shirt. When she pulled away from the kiss, her breath had quickened. She looked up at him, her eyes longing for more. She bite her lip lightly, blushing. "Forgive me for that... I know it is improper... however..."

He knew that if she said anything more he wouldn't be able to stop himself. She ran him ragged and made him crazy for everything that she could give him. He just didn't want to make the wrong assumption and emberass them both. He looked into her eyes and brought his free hand up to cup her cheek. He shook his head and smiled a little bit, "Say whatever you want to say. There is nothing impropper right now." He swallowed, knowing that he had sounded pretty cheesy. He just hoped that she'd like him being cheesy, since he couldn't take it back now.
(lolz)

She laughed softly. "You are sweet, you know that, right?" She smiled softly. "And, its not saying something improper, its doing something improper." She blushed softly, looking at him. She leaned up once more and kissed him, this time pulling him closer to her. She let go of his hand, her other hand gripping onto his arm.

His hand shook as he brought it up to her elbow, cupping it in his palm. He was swimming through thoughts that he couldn't make out and in his mind was the dull 'thump thump' of his heartbeat. He could hear nothing else, and he didn't pull away. If anything he pulled her closer till their chests touched and he shivered, unable to believe that he was this close to her. Nevermind she'd been in his lap, this was entirely different than that. This was all-consuming and threatened to drive him literally insane. He broke the kiss, slightly out of breath and said, "You need to clarify.. there are many improper things, and I..." He swallowed, realizing what he was saying. He wanted to say, 'I don't want to push you', but knew that that sounded like he expected something. He had to close his mouth, but then he was just breathing heavily through his nose. He wanted her to do whatever she wanted. He'd follow her lead, but he was still worried about taking it too far. He used to be married, after all, and probably knew a lot more than she did. At least, that's what he figured..