Samurai Champloo Fan Fiction ❯ Sweet Nothings ❯ When Fools Love ( Chapter 8 )

[A/N]

 

It's been a while, hasn't it? Ahhh…sorry for the late update. It's College application season, and there's much crap to be done. I'm surprised I didn't die of stress yet, let alone find enough time to write. Anyway! Thanks so much for all of the reviews! I'm glad that everything turned out to be just right.

 

I also had a lot of suggestions for ending quotes from songs for the last chapter, which really surprised me in the fact that a lot of them did match the mood of Chapter 7 quite well.

 

It seems that everyone has resigned to a sad ending. Do I really make it seem so bleak and hopeless that there are no chances for happiness? Honestly…

 

[Warnings]: Sexual implications, andLIME (not too graphic to be called a lemon, but for those of

you who are skittish… *note the now higher rating).

 

[Disclaimer]: Samurai Champloo doesn't belong to me. I use it for my own sick pleasure, thank you.

 

 

+++

 

 

Sweet Nothings

By Youkai Yume

 

Chapter 8: When Fools Love

 

 

Jin had a knack for remembering the little details. His sensei had told him that once while they were in the midst of a shogi game. It had also served him well when assessing his enemies in battle. So of course, he easily remembered the way her dark hair would fall over her shoulder whenever he pressed his lips against the nape of her neck, or the way she was slightly ticklish if he kissed her stomach. He memorized every curve and plane of her body, every moan that ever fell from her lips, and recalled every instant that she gazed back at him through half-lidded hazel eyes and smiled.

 

He also discovered that Fuu liked to play with his hair, especially when it's slightly damp after their lovemaking. She tended to get hungry after their intense sessions so she keeps a stash of fruits in her room and he quite liked hand-feeding them to her, and vice versa…it ignited other…hungers. She also had a little birthmark on her lower back shaped like a butterfly. She said it looked more like a deformed clover…he said that perhaps it did, if he squinted hard enough.

 

The samurai also found out many things about himself that he hadn't known before when he was with Fuu. For example, he found out that he had a spot right behind his ear that rendered him completely helpless if she kissed it the right way; or that for a man usually so silent, he was ironically quite vocal in bed. Fuu told him she didn't mind though; she loved the sound of his voice.

 

But as many times as he learned new things about his lover, Jin knew that there was a part of her that still believed it all to be a dream. He could see it in the way she touched him sometimes, as if afraid that he might disappear at her fingertips like a reflection on water.

 

“Do you love me?” She had asked him one day; the sunlight playing over their bodies—sweat-slick skin that had become exposed from the fall of their kimonos. Jin sat propped against the wall of the main room; his breathing heavy and his dark eyes never leaving her as she rested against his bare chest, listening to his heart beat. His hand instinctively went up to stroke her locks, traveling lazily down her neck and back sensually.

 

“That's a silly question, Fuu,” He reprimanded her, kissing her forehead tenderly and playing with the fabric of her kimono that hung loosely off her shoulder. She became silent, tracing patterns on his skin and tickling his flesh as her eyelashes fluttered against his chest.

 

“You can't be in love with me,” Fuu finally said, her voice empty. Jin stopped his gentle touches and drew back to look at her incredulously.

 

“How can you say that?”

 

“No one falls in love with me. There's no point to it.”

“Are you saying that I'm a liar?” Jin asked, dark eyes narrowing.

 

“I never said that.”

 

“I don't lie.”

 

“I know.”

 

“But you still don't believe me.”

 

“…”

 

Jin's lips thinned, and he tried to suppress the twisting feeling that spread throughout his entire body at her silence, which seemed to be deafening at the moment. His strong arms wrapped around her frame, which now shivered slightly from the autumn wind that blew in from the porch. Kisses rained down upon her face and neck, down to the curve of her breast in heated fervor.

 

Her mouth fell open in a silent moan; hazel eyes glittering with unshed tears.

 

“I don't know what to do,” Jin whispered desperately against her skin. “What will it take to prove to you that I love you?” Their lips met hungrily, passionately. “Fuu, tell me… I'll do anything. Anything.” And as he began to move beneath her, within her, she'd let her tears fall and his name escape her breathlessly.

 

“Jin…Please…”

 

“Fuu,” He groaned loudly, intoxicated with her scent and moans that grew steadily louder. Jin was sure that had they any neighbors, they would have gotten quite a few complaints by now. “I love you. I love you,” the samurai confessed, over and over again.

 

And she may not believe him today either, but that was okay. Jin was a very patient man. He'd try again tomorrow, or the day after; weeks and months, even years from now. He'd try to prove his love for her for as long as it took for her to believe him. Afterwards, he would hold her close, kiss away her tears and whisper…always would he whisper those sweet nothings in her ear, against her neck, into her hair. Words that allowed her to dream and live and love.

 

Though it may never be enough for him, for her, for either of them…they were content with what little they had. She may never tell him that she loves him, but he already knows that she does. And he may never tell her that he prays to the stars every night to keep her for just one more day, but he suspects that she already knows that he does.

 

“I still think it looks more like a butterfly.”

 

“And I think you need real glasses.”

 

 

+++

 

 

“This blows, why can't I have a real sword like yours?”

 

“Because it's too heavy, and you're not ready for one.”

 

Colored leaves fluttered all around them and Jin swatted one away from his face in annoyance. He could be doing better things with his break than trying to teach one very stubborn eleven-year-old boy how to hold a wooden sword correctly. Jin wasn't sure when Sotaru had decided that he wanted to be a samurai but it did surprise him when the boy came up to him one day and demanded him to teach.

 

“If you're as great as Fuu makes you out to be in her crazy stories, then you'll do it!” He had declared.

 

Needless to say, Jin was very tempted to just flat out say no and walk away, but Sotaru was a very persistent (and insulting boy). Besides, he had a reputation to uphold, and much to his own annoyance, the little brat had quite grown on him. He was far from being a proper teacher though, so far only been able to give him snippets of lessons when he went on his breaks, or sometimes after work—which he didn't like to do much, because it meant time away from Fuu.

 

To say that Sotaru was an incompetent student was a lie. On the contrary, the boy learned very quickly, which pleased Jin. But he was also very stubborn and lacked discipline—which less than pleased Jin. He could only be thankful that as much as his personality resembled a Mugen, his fighting style didn't fall anywhere near the strange monkey-like moves that the pirate fashioned.

 

“I'm ready for a real blade already! All this basic stuff is boring!” Satoru complained.

 

Jin resisted the urge to sigh long and hard. “So far, the only thing we've really done is practice stance, swings, and basic moves, which you're still a bit sloppy on.”

 

“Hey!”

 

“You'll need to master your wooden sword before we move on. You'll find that wielding a Katana is not the same as wielding a bamboo sword.”

 

A groan followed.

 

“You're getting better though,” Jin admitted. This seemed to please the boy, for he flustered a bit at the compliment before turning away with a scowl and scoffed, arms crossed firmly over his chest.

 

“Whatever.”

 

A comfortable silence fell between them. Jin checked the sun, gauging the time he had left before he had to return to the restaurant. Fuu probably ate lunch without him. Perhaps she saved him some of her soba noodles…then again, maybe not.

 

“I heard,” Sotaru's voice interrupted his thoughts and he turned to look at the young boy. “That someone who teaches the martial arts…or sword techniques is called `Shishou',” he said.

 

“That is true,” Jin mused.

 

“Does that make you one then?”

 

The samurai scoffed. “Hardly,” he pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose. He remembered his own master. Now he was a Shishou. He had such great respect for the man, even after his betrayal, Jin still revered him and his teachings. And with that in mind, Jin knew he was far from the title. “I don't think I'd make a very good Shishou if I were,” he admitted.

 

Sotaru seemed to ponder a bit, his eyebrows knitted together in thought and his tongue clicked. “Well, you wouldn't be the greatest,” he said haughtily, and Jin felt a bit offended at the way he said it—even though he himself had admitted to the same thing earlier. “But I reckon I wouldn't have minded calling you Shishou.”

 

A cocky grin made its way upon the boy's lips and the samurai could only stare back with a sense of disbelief. Sotaru wasn't the sort of person to say such things, being the proud and arrogant child that he was. But he could see it those young eyes that spoke of maturity far beyond his eleven years and recognized it—perhaps not immediately, but it was there. He respected Jin.

 

“She's a lot happier now,” Sotaru commented offhandedly. “About time…brainless girl,” he muttered, chuckling.

 

“Hm,” Jin lowered his eyes, knowing just exactly who `she' was. A long pause followed…

 

“And so are you.”

 

Silent understanding and respect passed between boy and man. Jin smiled, no matter how small it was he did. His dark eyes met Sotaru's for a brief moment, and there was nothing more to be said. In the distance, he could hear Fuu's voice, calling him back. Apparently he had stayed out longer than he intended. He turned back to Sotaru, ruffling his hair a bit, much to the boy's displeasure, before heading back. “Perhaps,” Jin said softly.

 

 

+++

 

 

For as long as he had been alive, Jin had never once seriously considered becoming domesticated. He had always lived his life drifting from place to place, with no real purpose or goal to live by. No one to serve or protect, and no desire to be more than he was. And for a while, he had been just fine with that simplistic way of life.

 

He had always lived and fought for himself…He searched his entire life for someone worthy enough for his blade, and somewhere along the way realized that that person may not exist. It was the only life he had ever known—the life of a ronin.

 

Perhaps once or twice Jin had thought of giving up such a lifestyle. Settle down, hang up his sword, have a wife and maybe children. They never lasted long though, and he knew that deep down, he wasn't meant for such a life anyway.

 

And yet, it had been so terribly easy to fall into this line of thinking when he was with her. He craved it, in fact. He craved for it every time he held Fuu's small body against his and she kissed him with such tenderness that he swore it was too sweet to be substantial. He craved it even if there could be no possibility for the both of them. The last few weeks of happiness that he had with Fuu didn't change the fact that it could be snatched away at any moment. In fact, it only served to remind him each day of how futile their love seemed to be.

 

Yet he couldn't let go.

 

He watched the girl that sat across the table from him, who seemed to be in deep thought. Her eyes caught with his and for a moment she gave him a small smile…warm and tender. He could see himself reflected within her hazel eyes, and wondered if she could see herself in his.

 

For as long as had been alive, she was the only one he had served with his blade, his entire soul as a samurai. It was funny, Jin thought to himself, that his sword had known that he loved her before his heart did.

 

Jin had been contemplating a lot about what Sotaru had told him the other day. He was thinking about opening up a dojo and pass on his Sensei's teachings. He'd take in anyone who aspired to become a great swordsman and teach them to fight with a purpose. He'd teach them, and they'd call him Shishou, like Sotaru said.

 

He could provide and give Fuu a comfortable life—she'd never have to work as a waitress again and he'd buy her all the mochi she can eat. She'd like that.

 

Perhaps it was only a passing fantasy, but the thought made Jin mentally smile.

 

Fuu however, didn't seem to be sharing similarly happy thoughts for the future like Jin, for he blinked once and realized that she had a troubling frown on her lips. Concern crossed his features at this.

 

“Fuu?”

 

She looked up at the sound of his voice, nibbling at the tip of her chopsticks.

 

“Is something wrong?”

 

“Nothing's wrong,” Fuu shook her head, smiling weakly. Jin's brow creased.

 

“Fuu,” he said a bit more sternly. She sighed slightly before putting now empty bowl and chopsticks down.

 

“I can't hide anything from you, can I?” Fuu stood up and walked slowly over to his side, taking his larger hands in her small ones and kissed the knuckles. Then she reached up to press her lips against his; she tasted of rice and tea. Jin closed his eyes and responded gently, softly, running questing tongue over parted lips.

 

“I don't remember what it's like to be without you,” Fuu confessed, her breath caressing his face.

 

“Don't…” he whispered back, callused hands brushing away the strands of her brown hair from her eyes. “You don't ever have to again,” Jin moved to deepen their kiss, but much to his dismay, the girl drew back. Confused and a bit hurt, the samurai placed a hooked finger under her chin and forced her gaze back on him. “Fuu?”

 

“Do you remember…what it's like?” She asked him, the question simple yet he knew she had been thinking about it a long time. The samurai became uncomfortable with the nature of her question, not sure what she was implying and where it might lead.

 

“I don't want to,” He replied simply—and it was the truth. She faltered, a sad and bitter smile played across her lips.

 

“But you still do,” her voice was melancholy sweet. “You can't have possibly forgotten.”

 

“I don't…” Jin's voice seemed to trail off and his dark eyes widened, a feeling of dread beginning to wash over his being. Fuu gazed back at him with serene, yet sad eyes, knowing, yet questioning. And he knew that he was foolish to think that she would forget about it, and pretend that everything between them was all that mattered.

 

“Do you still think about her?” She finally asked. And she didn't have to clarify whom it was that she was talking about. He understood, and he sincerely wished that there was nothing about her to talk about.

 

“I haven't…in such a long time now,” Jin responded honestly.

 

“Mm, but you still remember her.”

 

“…Yes.”

 

Fuu leaned against his chest, tracing the diamond pattern of the Takeda clan that decorated his haori, and thought. “I wonder sometimes,” she began, closing her eyes and sighed. “If things would be different if I wasn't like this…”

 

“Fuu…”

“I wonder if you'd still be here,” she let out a weak laugh. “I wonder if you would have stayed.”

 

Jin stayed silent; words unable to form as his eyes set focused on an interesting spot across the room. The samurai could say that of course he would have stayed…but the truth of the matter was, he wasn't sure himself. Would he have stayed for Fuu had he not found out that she was dying…or if she wasn't dying at all?

 

He frowned in thought and guilt, because he knew that he most likely wouldn't have if things were different. He would have just bid Fuu goodbye and be with Shino, living a life that he could no longer imagine living anymore. He wondered that after, when he had settled down and had a family with the woman, if he would ever think back to the girl that he might have never fallen in love with and regretted. He wondered if he'd still fall in love with Fuu anyway, despite the fact that he'd be apart from her, and there was no means for him to do such a thing. He was pretty sure that he would.

 

She seemed to know what he was thinking and smiled sadly, her eyes distant and empty. “I understand,” Fuu said in a small voice and stood up. Jin's eyes followed her with a sort of worried panic. Was she angry with him?

 

When she walked away, his hand shot out to grasp her wrist. She stared down at him in surprise, and he himself was shocked to see that his hand—the only real sane part of his body act of its' own accord. Still, he did nothing to remove it.

 

“Fuu, I—“

 

“Jin,” She interrupted. “There's something that's been bothering me for a really long time now. Maybe it's nothing. Maybe I'm just thinking way too much. But hey, I'm only human, right?”

 

“Fuu, you're not making any sense.”

 

“Sorry,” the girl apologized absently; sadly, “I think…I've realized something,” she said slowly.

 

Her wrist slipped a bit from his grasp, just enough so that now her fingers twined with his in a familiar manner and she waited for him to get to his feet. He realized that she wanted to show what that `something' was. She gave him a reassuring squeeze, and he sighed in relief, his eyes closed. She wasn't mad.

 

Jin opened his eyes again and they were both standing in front of the familiar shoji door. The same one that seemed to always decide their fate. Even for someone so usually calm, he could feel the anxiety rising. Fuu's hand tightened around his and she drew a deep breath. She was anxious too.

 

It slid open; the room was dark and she lighted a candle. The paper cranes cast eerie shadows across the walls, the floors, and the screen. If it were a dream the cranes would by dancing right now, he was sure. Jin felt her slide her hand from his and he turned to look at her. Fuu was kneeling now; she took a piece of colored paper into her hands and paused for a bit.

 

Her fingers were trembling…

 

Then she began to fold.

 

Jin's eyes widened in alarm and almost immediately, he was by her side, strong hand gripping her wrist. The scene was played itself almost like the last time they were there, only their roles were reversed.

 

“What are you doing?” He asked, eyes narrowing. She only gazed back at him calmly, her nimble fingers still working on the piece of paper with accuracy and precision.

 

“I'm setting you free.”

 

“…What?”

 

“I said…I'm setting you free,” and now she held the completed paper crane in front of her…the one thousandth crane, something that at first had been an aspired goal was now something that they both never wanted to see complete. Jin's mouth was partly open in shock. Had she really said…?

 

“I don't understand.”

 

Fuu smiled bitterly, cradling the crane in her palm. “It would have been so easy…to just ask you to stay with me forever so that you'd never be lonely. It would have been so easy to just ask you to love me, because I know that you wouldn't have hesitated to say yes.” Even though her voice was calm and serene, her words were laced with such sorrow he could taste it in the air. She touched his hand that still held onto her wrist softly. “But I'd be a fool to offer, and you'd be a fool to accept.”

 

“A fool?” Jin's grip tightened painfully—so much so that Fuu couldn't help but wince slightly. But Jin didn't care. For the first time since he had known Fuu, he was angry. “Is that what my love is to you? Foolish?” She did not meet his gaze, and he wouldn't believe it. There was no way that what everything between them, within them, binding them, meant nothing. Because surely, surely if it meant everything to him, it must mean something to her.

 

Did she still not believe that he loved her?

 

“I didn't say that it was. But I didn't say that it wasn't,” Fuu continued, still in her damnable calm voice…as if she had known all along that this would come. “We live stuck somewhere in between life and death. A place that I remember hearing foreigners talking about once…I believe it was called purgatory.” She turned to him, hazel eyes pleading with him to understand. “Gomen,” she whispered suddenly. “I'm so sorry…”

 

The samurai pressed two fingers to her lips, running his thumb over her soft skin. “What are you apologizing for?”

 

“For being such a selfish, spoiled brat,” Fuu let out a sort of patronizing laugh. She moved away from his touch and shook her head. “No, let me finish. You had a life…and plans before you met up with me. I'm not completely oblivious, Jin. I know what you think about when you think I'm asleep. You want to get married and have kids…you want things that…”

 

“Fuu…”

 

“That I can't give you.” She turned away, as if ashamed. “I know this, and yet…yet I fooled myself into believing that I could still keep you. That you'd be okay with it all and that we could just keep going on pretending.”

 

Jin's hand went out to touch her, she turned to him; her gaze still lowered. “It's true,” the samurai admitted. “I do want all of those things. But I'm not oblivious either, Fuu. I know that none of it can be. But I don't care.” He wanted to make her see, make her understand. “I don't care if we keep pretending, I don't care if you think it's a dream.” His hand found hers and he brought it up so that his lips caressed her fingers, “As long as I can be with you.”

 

Words…words and whispers against skin. She wouldn't succumb to him so easily this time though. Fuu pulled her hand back; she was determined to set him free…set him free before the guilt ate her up inside, made her so sick of herself that she couldn't bear to look at her own reflection in the mirror. “No,” she said. “No, don't you see? I don't have a choice. I don't get to have a life.

 

“But you do. You can have a full and happy life. You were about to…” She smiled bitterly, her eyes soft. “You were about to have it all if you just went to Shino.”

 

And it was finally out in the open…the plain and obvious truth that had been mocking them, rapping against their shoji screen door since the moment he had stepped foot into her home. Now it was Jin's turn to look away. He knew there was no real reason for him to feel so ashamed; his relationship with Shino had begun far long before he had realized what he had with Fuu. Even so, he didn't dare let his dark eyes meet with Fuu's hazel ones.

 

“But I didn't,” he finally said, his voice a bit lower than he had intended. “I didn't go to her…and I don't regret it.”

 

A soft laugh emanated from the girl, and this time, it was she that reached out to touch him. Jin closed his eyes the moment her gentle fingers caressed the side of his face, her skin warm to the touch. “Maybe you don't,” Fuu smiled sadly. “Maybe not now. But…maybe you will. Oh Jin, please understand. There's no future with me. But with Shino…With Shino you can still have all of those things. You can be happy. I wouldn't blame you if you went to her now. She's probably still waiting.”

 

The samurai's eyes snapped back to rest on her serenely sad face, refusing to believe she was suggesting what he thought she was suggesting. His own hand went up to grasp hers, the one that still stroked his cheek absently with her thumb. “Fuu,” his voice was stern and serious. “I don't need any of that. I don't want that kind of future if it isn't with you! You're the one who doesn't understand,” he was losing his patience, his words becoming desperate.

 

He'd rather be in a tragic love story than a dreamland fairy tale as long as he was with Fuu.

 

As he became lost within her deep irises of swirling hazel and gold, he realized that as calm as she was on the outside, she was scared and lost and terribly confused. And Jin felt something dark and vile rise within himself, something clutch at his chest like it was going to rip out his heart and leave it bleeding on the floor… It was something that he needed to know, but feared the answer.

 

“I love you,” Jin whispered, his fingers twining with hers, clutching like a frightened child in the dark. “It's real. Why won't you believe me?” He asked, gazing intently at her, as if demanding an answer.

 

A sad smile graced her lips, tears shining within her eyes but she wouldn't let them fall. “You idiot,” She chuckled, leaning her forehead against his. Fuu's eyes fluttered close, and for a moment all Jin could do was watch them…waiting for them to open. “Don't you see? I do believe you.”

 

His breath hitched. She believed him. She had always believed him.

 

“I do,” Fuu continued. “And it's because I do that I've decided to let you go.”

 

He blinked, confused—which made Fuu giggle slightly at his endearing behavior. “I'm a lucky girl,” she stated plainly, her smile not leaving her saddened face. “Despite all the crap I've been through, I really am. I've probably lived a fuller life than a lot of people ever will. A lot of people never find what they're looking for in their lifetime. I'm just extremely lucky that I did.”

 

“Fuu, please,” Jin begged, not sure what exactly it was he was begging for.

 

“You need to go to Shino.” It wasn't a request. “You need to go to her and tell her how you feel.”

 

“How I feel?!” Jin was losing his patience now. “Fuu, I don't feel anything for her anymore. I love YOU.” He thought she understood. Was the girl playing mind games with him? Was he supposed to read between the lines something that didn't exist?

 

“I know,” She replied, her voice still calm and her hand went up to rub up and down his shoulder as if to calm him. “That's why…you should tell her. You owe that much to her at least.”

 

The samurai opened his mouth to say something, only to realize that he hadn't quite processed what it was that she was saying. `Does this mean…'

 

“I'm just saying that it's kind of rude to promise someone you'd come for them and then not keep it,” Fuu continued. If I were Shino, I'd be pissed. The least you can do is meet up with her and sort things out.”

 

“Then you weren't telling me to leave you for Shino?” Jin asked, his arms encircling Fuu's small frame.

 

To this, she gave no immediate answer. Her eyes became downcast and she began to chew on her bottom lip. “I was serious about what I said earlier. Shino can give you everything that I can't. If you happen to…change your mind and decide to stay with Shino instead of returning, I wouldn't hold it against you,” Fuu said slowly, trying to her hardest not to give away any indication that she would feel otherwise.

 

Jin grasped her shoulders so suddenly then that Fuu let out a short gasp. Their eyes met and Fuu almost became breathless when she saw a smoldering fire flaring within his dark irises. “I would ALWAYS return to you!” Jin declared fiercely.

 

Fuu tilted her head upwards, catching his lips in a gentle, lingering kiss. The whole time, the samurai could only stare back; dark eyes fluttered open and close, watching her.

 

“It's ironic. I never wished for such an impossible miracle, but it happened anyway. And I just want to say…more than anything…Thank you, Jin,” she kissed him again, a little bit more tenderly and this time. “Thank you for staying,” her voice became hushed, almost a whisper, “Thank you for sticking your nose into my business. Thank you. Thank you for loving me.”

 

Jin's large, callused hands came up to cup either side of Fuu's face as he drew her closer, close enough so that he could feel the flutter of her eyelashes. “D-Don't…” He began, his voice coming out a bit more strained than he intended. “Don't make this seem as if it's a goodbye.” Jin glared pointedly at her, his expression stern. She laughed at his seriousness.

 

“Sorry,” she apologized, kissing his nose affectionately. “I'm just telling you what I feel, I can't help it. I love you so much.”

 

Fuu giggled and leaned in to capture his lips once more but the samurai caught her by the shoulders and held her firmly a hair's breath away from him, his dark eyes wide.

 

“What did you just say?”

 

“Um…Thank you?”

 

“No,” Jin growled, a little bit frustrated at her naivete. “After that.”

 

“…What, I'm sorry?”

 

“After…” he whispered huskily, nuzzling into the crook of her neck. Jin could see her blush when she realized what exactly it was that he wanted to hear.

 

“I love you,” she told him softly, smiling. The next thing that escaped from her delicate lips was a surprised gasp, for her lover began assaulting her neck with such fervent kisses that she would have fallen back if he hadn't been crushing her body to his own so closely. In an instant, his lips were on her own, devouring and passionate to the point of blurred madness.

 

“Oh…” Jin couldn't stop showering her face with kisses, couldn't stop touching her. “Fuu…Say it again…” he pleaded.

 

“I love you,” she breathed, her hands burying themselves into his black mane that had somehow become undone. He had told her these three words many times, but somehow they sounded more beautiful when Fuu spoke them.

 

“Again…”

 

“I love you.”

 

He kissed her deeply, eagerly, tongue and lips coaxing for a deeper taste of his lover. His head began to grow heady—almost dizzy. And oh…how could she ever believe that she was such an impossible girl to fall in love with? Especially when it had been so easy for him to do so, without even trying…without even knowing.

 

And she had always been so careful to never tell him of her love, even though he knew it was there. He had waited so long to hear it…so long. And now that he had, he was irrevocably addicted to hearing the words.

 

“Mmm, again,” the samurai moaned against her lips, their bodies steadily reclining onto the floor littered with colored scraps and origami.

 

“Jin, I love you,” she said, breathless her eyes reflecting a sort strange happiness, as if she was liberated and free after finally confessing to her devotion. “I love you,” Fuu repeated again, this time without Jin's request. “I love you. I love you.” It was getting easier and easier to say it.

 

Jin knew that he would never tire of hearing it. And now that she had told him such a thing, there was no possible way that he could leave her—even for a second, let alone weeks, possibly months to meet with Shino. His nimble fingers worked to untie Fuu's obi and divest her of her kimono at an almost frenzied pace. He was rather surprised and rather disappointed when she stopped him, only to have the feeling disappear when she pushed him so that he was now lying on the floor, with her straddling his hips.

 

“Fuu…” His voice came out in a shuddering breath; her hands crept their way into his haori and touched the heated skin there, sliding the fabric off of his shoulders and kissing his chest. Jin's hands immediately went up to do the same for her kimono, but again she stopped him and placed them instead on her hips.

 

“Fuu,” Jin groaned once more. “…I want to touch you…”

 

She smiled once more, this time, rather coyly and gave him a lingering kiss that wasn't nearly enough to sate his growing desire. “Later,” she said, reaching behind to let down her hair. “But now, I want to show you just how much I love you.”

 

Jin let out a strangled moan when she suckled a sensitive spot on his neck and ground her hips deliciously against him.

 

“I'm going to give you reasons to come back to me.” He knew that her words meant to come out seductively, but more than anything, they sounded shy but at the same time sincere and loving. This was the first time in which Fuu had shown even a sliver of aggression or desire to be in control, and that in itself made Jin terribly aroused.

 

Swallowing in apprehension, the samurai nodded at the girl and allowed himself the torturous pleasure of watching her.

 

Fabric and kimono slid lower and lower, revealing his lover to him in the pale moonlight. Shadows from the paper cranes played across her skin. Jin bit his lower lip…no matter how many times he had seen her this way he was always rendered speechless at how beautiful she was.

 

Fuu blushed under his gaze before moving to lie on top of him, until every inch of their naked flesh was pressed against each other. Her lips slid against his cheek, down to his neck and then to his chest. Her touches were so gentle and light—almost like a warm breeze on a summer day as she trailed delicate fingers down heated skin. It took all of Jin's willpower to force his hands to refrain from ravishing her.

 

She kissed his nipples, his stomach, his navel…lower and lower still…until his head was thrown back, hips arching inches off of the floor, and fingers—forgetting all commands and rational thought, dug into her silky brown locks desperately.

 

Her name, or something that sounded like it, escaped from his lips in short breaths and moans; his mind grew delirious with desire. When she moved up to kiss him and his body found hers, all form of thought escaped the samurai and he could do nothing but grasp at the paper that lay around and beneath their writhing bodies, crumpling them beyond recognizable shape.

 

Somewhere in his fevered state of mind, he could hear her voice, calling out for him in the dark of night.

 

Jin.

 

Jin.

 

Jin.

 

Until he could no longer stand it and held the girl tightly to his sweat-slick body, moving so that he once more hovered above her.

 

He hoped that she would forgive him for taking the dominant position once more, but something in the way she wrapped her arms around his neck told him that she didn't care.

 

Jin kissed her deeply, tenderly, as if to memorize every trace of her mouth, as his hands did the same to her curves. He could feel her nails raking down his back and shivered with delight. In the moonlight, their silhouette of tangled limbs and glistening bodies moved in a languid and torturously slow dance of lovemaking.

 

Their eyes watched each other the entire time, bearing every ounce of love that seeped from their passion. It was so intense that it nearly brought Jin, a man who had forgotten how to cry tears to his eyes. Neither of them knew when their pace turned frenzy and their gasps and moans seemingly became one voice.

It was all Jin could do to grope for Fuu's hand, twining their fingers together in a tight grip as they drowned in their ecstasy and the world fell away. He felt as if it weren't for his own skin containing him, he would heave been scattered everywhere and nowhere at once. It wasn't until Fuu gave him a lingering kiss did he realize that he was in the only place that mattered: Within Fuu.

 

He leaned down so that his forehead rested against hers; their breaths mingled together, creating ghostly mists in the air. The room had become quite cold, the scent of their joining pungent in the air: it reeked of their passion.

 

“You're trembling,” Fuu said softly, running questing fingers through sweat-drenched locks.

 

Jin didn't realize that he was and let out a shuddering sigh as she cradled his head against her bosom, silently offering him warmth.

 

And in the bliss of their afterglow, he suddenly became aware of a fear that crept upon him and spread throughout his being. He tried to banish the thoughts away and focus solely on the girl beneath him, but she must have noticed, for she brought a hand up to touch his face, hazel eyes showing concern.

 

“What is it?” She moaned softly, basking in their pleasure yet trying to focus on Jin's shift in moods. His arms wound around her form and held her tighter.

 

“Fuu, I can't do it. I won't leave you,” He said firmly, his voice resolved. She ceased her gentle caresses and could only stare back, confused.

 

“What are you saying? You have to settle things with Shino. Otherwise, it sort of feels like I'm the other woman or something,” she told him gently.

 

“You are not the other woman. You're the only woman.”

 

“I know, but still…you have to go. It won't be for long.”

 

Jin sighed and kissed her forehead, trying to grasp the words he needed to say. “Fuu…I'm afraid,” he confessed quietly. It was the first time he had admitted being afraid of anything in his entire life, and it shocked Fuu.

 

“Afraid?”

 

“Hai. I don't know how long I'll be apart from you. I won't know if you'll be safe or not.” Dark eyes met with deep hazel, his expression serious and lined with worry. “What if something happens to you? I'll never know, and I can't be here to do anything about it.” Jin moved to kiss her, hard and desperate. When he reluctantly broke away from her, he saw that she was gazing at him with half-lidded eyes. “What if…” he couldn't even bring himself to utter the possibility. “What if—“

 

“Jin,” she whispered, realizing what was haunting him so.

 

“I can't bear the possibility of returning home only to find that you aren't here anymore…”

 

For surely, if she had died in his absence, he would follow her too. She sighed, wrapping her arms and legs around his body to pull him closer, causing an involuntary moan to escape from his lips, for he was still buried deep within his beloved. “You worry about me so much, it's a sickness in itself,” she joked weakly. “I'll be fine.”

 

“You don't know that,” Jin countered, wishing she didn't take the issue of her own mortality so lightly. “No. No, I won't go.”

 

“I'm not going to die, trust me.”

He refrained from scoffing at her statement, but she could see his indignation and forced his eyes to focus on her. “I'm serious,” she said. “Besides, how do I know if you're coming back to me at all?”

 

“I told you, I would ALWAYS return to you,” Jin growled possessively. “That you can trust.”

 

“Then I'll make you a deal then,” she smiled, leaning up to kiss the corner of his lips affectionately. “If you promise to come back, I promise that I will still be here waiting for you when you return.”

 

Jin's mouth fell open slightly; alarmed that she would suggest such an incredulous pact. “How can we possibly keep such a promise?”

 

“You won't come back then?” Fuu asked, amused.

 

“No! That's not it. I mean, how can I be sure that you'll be all right? How?”

 

Fuu merely smiled and pulled him down for another kiss…and another. “It's simple, silly,” she explained against his skin, her voice giving the impression of the obvious answer in front of them. “You're going to return to me one hundred percent for sure, right?”

 

“Yes,” he answered without hesitation.

 

“Then I don't see the problem. I trust you to keep your promise, so you should trust me to keep mine.”

 

Jin stayed silent for a long while, debating the issue over in his head. He wanted to point out all of flaws in her logic, but something stopped him. Perhaps it was the way her hazel eyes shone with such obvious trust and determination, or the way she whispered soothing words into his neck. His Fuu would never lie to him…that much he knew.

 

He sighed in defeat and relented to her touches. He believed her…he trusted her. And as their bodies began to slowly move once in their dance of seduction, Jin silently marveled at the girl that had somehow become both his savior and his downfall. She would be the death of him…

 

And god, he loved her.

 

“I'll keep mine if you keep yours.”

 

“Cross my heart and hope to die,” she said sweetly.

 

“That's not a comforting thing to say…”

 

“Sorry.”

 

Against his will, he let out a weak laugh himself and she giggled in return, their heated movements causing light sounds of shifting and rippling paper beneath them that would probably be ruined once they were through—which wouldn't be until long after dawn and even then Jin was unsure.

 

“I love you.”

 

“Mmm, again.”

 

“I love you.”

 

And he'd never tire of hearing it.

 

 

+++

 

 

Even if I'd lose tomorrow,

And even if I'd lose you, too,

I want to shine with my best smile

 

I call out to you now with my tears

I don't even need promises

Since it's the precious strength that you've given me

 

 

+++

 

 

+End Chapter+

 

 

 

+++

[A/N]:

 

(sigh) I know I know… two months and this is the crap I give you (bows down apologetically). It might just seem like mindless fluff, but I thought this was a really hard chapter to write, and I was stuck on it for the longest time. How do you capture conflict and sadness in a bottle? (sighs again)

 

Anyway, thanks once more for everyone who have reviewed and even a bigger thanks to those who are still with me reading this story. There's still more to come!

 

Ending Quote: “Yakusoku w Iranai (No Promises Necessari)” by Maaya Sakamoto.

 

In the next chapter, Jin struggles with his absence from Fuu, his conflict with Shino, and his race against time to make sure Fuu keeps her promise.

 

Please READ AND REVIEW! It reminds me that my writing has purpose. (smiles) I LOVE the new features added onto this site recently. (We can respond to reviews!!!) So cool.

 

I'll try to get Chapter 9 up a lot faster.

 

Thanks and Ja Ne!