[ml1201]

When Akira's smile disappears, she smiles nervously at him, she figures its because he didn't expect her to use fire ninjutsu to light the wood. But she figures it is what it is and watches Akira as he cooks the food. The smell is so good her stomach growls very loudly, Yusa covering her belly in embarrassment from the sounds its making. When its finished, she happily takes her share and seats herself near Akira.

"Sorry for startling you with the fire, maybe I should just stick to using flint. Not many people in our clan is able to use fire ninjutsus after all. So people usually run for cover when someone tries."

[CycloneKira]

Akira gives her a reassuring smile. "You don't have to apologize," he says. "I wasn't startled, just mildly surprised. And if we resort to using flint, we won't get our meals cooked half as fast. And I don't think your stomach will agree with that." His smile is now a teasing one.

"I actually tried using other styles before," he reminisces. "But they didn't work out for me. So I only use minor techniques in anything other than fire, and only when it's necessary." He looks at Yusa. "You're pretty good at it, I must say."

[ml1201]

Blushing she tries to hide it with eating her food, her silly stomach acting like that. At hearing he's tried others as well she stops and listens.

"Well, that's usually because its ingrained into one's training to get them ready for a particular style of ninjutsu. Most of what I've learned has been through observing and remembering what my enemies during my missions have done. There's been a few times some rookies thought they could take me on until they saw me using the same jutsu as them. That's also one of the reasons why there's rumors of me being a demon among the clans..." She plays with her food a bit, not really in the mood to eat anymore.

[CycloneKira]

Akira looks at her for a moment, and then puts his arm around her. "Listen to me, Yusa," he says, in his gentlest voice. "You are no demon, all right? What other people call you, what your reputation has been, what you've done in the past, it all doesn't matter." He points to her heart.

"The only things that matter right now are who you are now, and what you feel in there." He pauses and takes her hand in his. "What do you feel in your heart, Yusa?"

[ml1201]

Yusa is a bit surprised when Akira wraps an arm around, more so because she didn't expect him to do that. She thinks for a moment to herself how to best describe how she feels to him.

"A little lost, a little hurt, but mostly at ease knowing I'm free to be who I want to be. And I'm also very thankful to you for helping me out as much as you did, I want to find my own place in this world. I'm glad you're letting me travel with you otherwise I'd be really lonely." Leaning into his shoulder she enjoys the warmth his hug gives; it had been so long since someone has hugged her like this. Being in his arms are so comforting that she actually begins nodding off, having to force herself to keep her eyes open.

[CycloneKira]

Akira listens to Yusa as she tells him about how she feels and how she'd be lonely if it weren't for him. It's a two way street, though, isn't it? After all, if not for her, he would be lonely too. He just gets comfortable in that position, even absentmindedly stroking her hair once before realizing what's going on. Even after his drinking mishap yesterday, he still.... He realized that he needs to put some space between himself and Yusa. But then he doesn't want to ruin Yusa's mood; she looks so relaxed.

"You look tired," he says, slowly releasing her. "Do you want to sleep for a while? I could set up a bed if you do." He could keep watch while she slept.

[ml1201]

"Yeah, sorry. I guess its partly all that built up stress up until now. But this is very comfortable, can we just sit like this a bit longer? You're nice and warm..." Snuggling against him she smiles up at him, then turns her gaze to the stars, watching them for a while in silence.

"You know, my dad used to always tell me that my mother was watching over us from the stars, and that she'd be proud how hard I've been working during my training. That was a long time ago though, he had seemed to become more and more distant from me the older I got. I overheard before some of the villagers saying how much I looked like my mother. I think that to some point my father might have been using me to replace my mother and that's way he trained me so hard..."

[CycloneKira]

Akira laughs for a bit and then hugs her back, and this time, he has no qualms in doing so. She doesn't seem to mind, after all. He listens to her talk about her mother and thinks of his own parents, the biological ones, wondering whether they are alive or dead, and whether they are looking down at him from the stars.

Then he hears her say that she resembles her mother, and looks at her for a moment, before returning his gaze to the sky. "Your mother must have been a very beautiful woman," he says, smiling.

[ml1201]

Having never been called beautiful before Yusa doesn't know how to reply, only being able to blush in response. She sits there for a while before she gets up the courage to say something.

"Akira, has there been someone you've really liked before? Someone who's company you really enjoyed and wanted to be with them all the time? My sisters where like that with their husbands before they got married, and I was wondering if you've ever experienced that."

[CycloneKira]

Akira freezes at her question, and then chuckles a little to coves it up. "Well, I really enjoy your company, and I'd like to be with you all the time. But if you're asking whether I've been in love, then no, I haven't felt that way before," he says, smiling, almost saying, I have never been in love before meeting you.

He looks away for a bit, before turning back to her. "Why? Have you felt that way before?" he asks, on a whim. He doesn't know why he asks, maybe he's just curious? He doesn't know.

[ml1201]

"Hm...I'm not sure to be honest, I vaguely remember the feeling of being with my mother. I remember feeling intense love, comforting hugs and a love for the world around her. I remember how her hair smelled and that it felt like silk, but my memories of her are mostly the scenery she wanted to show me and for me to cherish. Being near you makes me feel calm and not under any kind of pressure like the clan put on me. But I'm still mixed up about things and don't know what it feels like to be in love, so I don't even know if I can feel love. Maybe I'm thinking too much about all of this..." Her gaze returns to the fire, her eyes drifting shut, feeling accepted and cared for in Akira's arms.

[CycloneKira]

Akira holds her for a while, neither of them talking. Then he looks at her face and realizes that she has fallen asleep. He chuckles and looks at her face, appreciating how gentle it looks when she's asleep. Those villagers who call her the 'Demon' ought to see her now. They'd drop the name immediately.

He sighs as he lets her head rest against his shoulder. "You're thinking too much, and I'm trying not to think at all," he whispers to nothing in particular. "I think I'm in love with you, Yusa. What do I do?" It's a question that he has never had to ask anyone, even himself. But this is alien territory for him; he doesn't know the first thing about love.

[ml1201]

Yusa awakens early in the morning, just as the sun's rays begin to spread across the horizon. Sitting up she stretches, then stands. Quickly she packs up her sleeping gear, then begins her routine stretches and exercises. She might not be taking missions on for the guild anymore, but that doesn't mean she should let herself fall out of practice either. Finishing as the sun is halfway above the horizon, so looks around for where Akira is, not having bothered to look for him earlier.

[CycloneKira]

Akira walks back to the camp, his sword dangling from his belt. Practise always helped him clear his head. Last night, after holding Yusa for a while, he carefully stood up, set up the sleeping bags and set her on one of them so she could relax properly.

The night was a sleepless one for him. So he ended up waking early and going to practise. As he arrives, he sees that Yusa is already awake and just finishing up with her practise. He watches for a bit, before walking up. "Good morning," he greets her.

[ml1201]

"Oh! Good morning Akira!" Yusa greets him with a warm smile, obviously rested after everything that's happened and feeling better about herself. "So, who's going to catch breakfast today? Do you want to take turns catching food each day? Or would you like to try smoking some of the food to keep longer so we have to do less cooking?" She clears out the burnt out branches that won't work for kindling anymore, making certain there's no cinders remaining that could cause a fire.

[CycloneKira]

Akira smiles at her questions. "Yes, and yes," he says and chuckles. "I could go and get something for breakfast today, and I'll make sure to get some extra so we don't have to keep catching them again and again. Smoking them will make them last for, what, three days at least?"

"But before that," he gives her a smile. "How about a round of sparring? After all, we're supposed to keep up with our training, and now that we're traveling together, we could do that part together too."