Linked up and Confessions
(Maki)
Maki was in the chamber Hanayo's servants had set up for her, she was doing her best to not worry about a certain Ninja. She was lying on her futon looking up at the ceiling 'I wonder why she doesn't want to be open with this, it's just like when I was with her, am I just embarrassing to be around?'
Just then she heard hurried footsteps "Lady Nishikino come quickly." One of her troops shouted through the door.
Maki jumped to her feet and opened the door "What is it?" Maki asked concerned.
"Ladies Kousaka and Hoshizora have arrived with their troops." The soldier panted.
"What, they're meant to be here tomorrow, where are they?" Maki asked.
"The courtyard My Lady."
Maki thanked the soldier and ran as fast as she could to the courtyard, once she reached it she saw her troops helping dismount battered and wounded horsemen, the cavalrymen's armour was broken and torn, most didn't have a helmet and nearly all of them looked like they could barely move from exhaustion.
Maki scanned the courtyard looking for Nico and found her with Alisa supporting Yukiho to the ground and laying her on the ground.
"Nico." Maki said as she ran over. As Alisa checked the bandages on Yukiho wounded leg.
"Maki..." Yukiho groaned as she tried to sit up.
"Yukiho, don't." Alisa said forcing the redhead girls back into a laying position, Maki saw Yukiho let out a frustrated breath but she didn't resist the blonde's actions.
"Yukiho, what happened?" Maki asked as she kneeled next to the redhead.
"Brought you…what's left…of the army." Yukiho sighed out.
"But there's barely a couple hundred here."
"One hundred and fifty…roughly…all from both mine and Rin's lands…they were the only one who stayed."
"Where's the rest, Lady Minami said you had two thousand."
"Ran…when she went off…to get you…the troops took it as a sign we lost…they thought she was abandoning them to die…this was all I was able to keep together and get here…through a small force that we had to surprise on the way here." Yukiho struggled to get out from the pain of her wounds.
"Maki!" Alisa shouted "Yukiho needs rest and medical attention."
"Of course." Maki nodded standing up "You three!" Maki shouted to a few of her soldiers "Help Lady Alisa move Lady Yukiho to a more comfortable place, take care of her Alisa."
"Where's Rin?" Maki asked Nico.
"With Hanayo, she saw she had a wound to her arm and immediately dragged her off to treat it."
"How bad?"
"Not bad, more a scratch than anything else."
"Well that's one plus." Maki sighed as she walked back into the castle with Nico following her.
"So what do we now?" Nico asked
"Wait, Nozomi and the others should be here soon." Maki sighed "And when they do, I'll have a few words to say to Lady Minami."
(Nozomi and Eli)
"I hope Alisa is ok." Eli sighed as she looked over the planning map in her shared tent with Nozomi.
"I'm sure she's fine." Nozomi said calmly as she watched the blonde stress over the map 'Such a worrier.'
"How was Lady Minami?"
"Worried, she's not heard back from anyone in her land." Nozomi sighed as she walked behind her lover "What are you looking at?"
"A map of her land." Eli sighed "She has five castles on this side of the river, three castles to the north, Hanayo's, Honoka's and Rin's and two to the south the Todo's and the Sakurauchi's, with Maki leading a force of two thousand five hundred..."
"And Yukiho's two thousand and Hanayo's garrison of five hundred, that makes total force of five thousand, I'm pretty sure under two capable commanders of Yukiho and Maki they can survive without us for a few days, stop worrying." Nozomi said hugging Eli tighter and resting her nose behind Eli's ear.
"I can't stop, my baby sister's out there, how can I not worry, besides, we don't know what's happened on the other side of the river, plus we'd need to take the effective island that Umi and her sister's castles sit on."
"Maki and Yukiho won't let anything happen to her."
"Unless she's distracted by Nico."
"Elichi, relax, she might be your baby sister but she's a big girl she can handle herself." Nozomi said kissing the blonde's ear "Besides, isn't their someone else who you should be focusing on?" Nozomi asked whispering in the blonde's ear before placing a gentle kiss on the girl's cheek.
"Nozomi!" Eli blushed as the twin tailed girl's actions "Now isn't the time."
"I disagree." Nozomi whispered, giving Eli's ear a light blow "Your stressing yourself and that won't do."
"But…" Eli said but was stopped again as purple haired girl kissed her neck.
"I can't have my ever-loveable Elichi all stressed now, come on let's relieve that tension." Nozomi said kissing the blonde's ear.
"Horosho, you just want to replace it for another type."
"I don't hear you saying no."
Eli span around in Nozomi's arms and kissed her, Nozomi reciprocated instantly and the pair melted into the kiss Eli more than Nozomi.
"Are you sure you're not a real Kitsune?"
"Ooh, are you saying you're under my spell?" Nozomi teased with a smile.
"Underhanded."
"Still not saying no."
"I hate how I can't say no to you."
"Let's not focus on that, we both want to focus on something else."
"Horosho." Eli said kissing Nozomi again while falling onto the futon behind the pair.
(Rin and Hanayo)
Hanayo was sat with Rin in her chamber and was busy cleaning the cut on the gingers arm "Ah."
"Sorry." Hanayo said as she wrung the now crimson cloth "I need to clean the wound before I can bandage it."
"It's ok." Rin sighed.
Hanayo was a bit concerned, after she had brought Rin to her chamber and had set about cleaning the wound Rin hadn't spoken much, she'd let out the occasional hiss and gasp but the normally talkative and hyper girl was mute and restrained. Hanayo was concerned as to why her friend was being so quiet.
"Rin are you ok?" Hanayo asked putting the cloth in the basin and set about bandaging the wound.
"Yep." Rin said trying to smile but Hanayo noticed the slight fall in the smile.
"Are you sure you've been really quiet; you would tell me if something's wrong?"
"Of course."
"So what's wrong?"
Rin opened her mouth to deny it but she shut it and looked down for a second, for a moment Hanayo just kept bandaging and was about to ask again when Rin spoke "Are you mad at me?" Rin asked in a small, defeated voice.
"Why would you think that?" Hanayo asked surprised that Rin of all people would think she was mad with someone.
"Because when you saw me in the courtyard you ran up to me and then shouted at me to follow you, you never shouted at me before." Rin asked looking away. Hanayo noticed that a tear fell from Rin's cheek.
"Rin…" Hanayo said thinking on her first seeing Rin in the courtyard, the minute she was told Rin had arrived she's run to the courtyard to see her, the minute she got there all she saw was exhausted and wounded troops, she had then seen Rin and Nico try and help Yukiho off her horse. She'd run to greet her friend but as she ran up, she saw the cut on the girls' arm, she'd then immediately shouted that Rin needed to follow her at once.
"Rin, I'm so sorry, I was scared."
"Scared, why Nya?" Rin asked still not looking at Hanayo.
"When I was traveling, I was praying and hoping you'd be ok, but constantly fearing you wouldn't, then when I saw the troops in the courtyard and the wound on your arm, it all got too much and I panicked." Hanayo said as she finished with the bandage "I was just so scared all the time I would lose you; I couldn't bare that Rin; we've been together since we were kids, I don't want to lose that or you."
"Kayo-chin…" Rin said looking at Hanayo feeling her heartbeat like drums that Hanayo was so worried about her.
"I'm sorry I yelled; I was just so scared." Hanayo said as her own tear fall down her cheeks.
"Aw, Kayo-chin don't cry, I'm fine Nya." Rin said hugging Hanayo while the pair sniffed.
"I know, I'm so relieved." Hanayo choked out "I'm sorry I upset you."
"No, I'm sorry I scared you." Rin said pulling back to look into the brunette's eyes.
As Hanayo and Rin looked at each other for a second, they got lost in each other's eyes, the pair smiled at each other both feeling their throats dry and their cheeks warm up. Hanayo then saw the string around Rin's neck "I see you still have your good luck charm."
"Oh yeah." Rin said pulling the little cat out from under her clothing "Do you want it back now?" Rin asked as she began to take it off.
"No, don't." Hanayo said cover Rin's hands with her own "Keep it." Hanayo whispered "I want you to have it, so I know you'll always come back to me."
"Kayo-chin…"
"Rin, you'd never hate me would you?" Hanayo asked quietly.
"No, never, why?"
"There is something I need to get off my chest to you, but I'm a little worried."
"Kayo-chin, it fine whatever it is tell me it will be fine." Rin smiled.
Hanayo took a deep breath to try and steady her nerves before she gently cupped Rin's cheek "Ok." Hanayo said as she inched her face closer to Rin's "But it's better if I tell you this way."
The pair swallowed as they heard their hearts beating in their heads like thunder as they inched closer "Rin…" Hanayo whispered "Kayo-chin…" Rin whispered before they closed the tiny distance so their lips touched. The pair shot apart as they felt the electricity from their kiss and then the pull to kiss again as they leaned back and kissed each other again.
"Rin..." Hanayo whispered as she broke the second kiss "I love you."
For a second Rin looked stunned and Hanayo thought Rin might reject her but then Rin smiled and hugged her "I love you too Kayo-chin." Rin smiled.
"Rin will you stay here with me?"
"Always."
The pair smiled as they kissed each other again as they laid down on the futon, cuddling each other Hanayo patting Rin's head. While Rin drew small circles on Hanayo's back.
"Kayo-chin?"
"Hmm?"
"Is this a dream?"
"If it's dream, then I don't want to leave it, I want to be held by you till the end of time."
"Me too."
The pair drifted off to sleep in each other's arms with smiles on their faces and hearts flying.