let me be the fire that sets your heart ablaze

ch36 the hidden village

sen pov

i wore a comfortable yukata along with the haori kyoujurou gave me and packed some minimal things before going, i put my nichirin sword in a cloth case for repairs and went out.

kakushi:" its my pleasure to meet you sen sama rengoku sama im mako i will be carrying you to the hidden village"

kakushi:" im miyo and i will also be an escort"

they came up to us and bowed

miyo:" we are sorry but we will need to blindfold you as well as cover your ears, the route is top secret even us escorts are changed every few days"

i nodded before closing my eyes and everything became dark and quiet, the kakushis lifted us up and began running towards the village. with my eyes and hearing restricted and with only the feeling of the cold breeze remaining i went to sleep to pass time. by the time we arrived it was already late in the afternoon, the kakushis bowed and left and we were escorted to the head of the village. when we entered i saw a small old man.

chief:" hello im the cheif tecchikiwahara tecchin, im the smallest but also the best at my craft"

i smiled and then me and kyoujurou both bowed.

sen:" its a pleasure to meet you im sen"

kyoujurou:" nice to meet you chief im rengoku kyoujurou"

chief:" ohoho what good children, rengoku was it? ah yes we received the letter you sent regard-"

before he could finish his sentence one of the men behind him became flustered and interrupted him and whispered.

person:" chief you cant reveal that its supposed to be a secret"

chief:" oho i forgot sorry rengoku child, but it is almost prepared in the meantime please enjoy the hot springs"

kyoujurou smiled and thanked him i tilted my head in confusion what are they preparing? one of the people showed us the way towards the hot spring and explained where the food and lodgings would be. we headed up the hill and soon enough we cold feel the warm steam, it warmed us up from the cold winds of winter. when we got there i realized i didnt think things through " wait in order to go into the springs we need to be naked..." i thought. i covered my face with my hands and peaked over to see kyoujurou, he was also embarrassed i could see his ears burning red.

kyoujurou:" sh-shall we go in sen"

sen:" y-yeah"

i went behind a tree to get undressed and used a towel to cover my body before quickly getting in, thanks to the steam we could barely see each other.

kyoujurou:" hmmu i can already feel my body becoming lighter it was a good choice comming here"

sen:" yes"

i laid my head back against the rocks looking up to the sky, kyoujurou came closer and lifted up a bundle of my floating hair and gave it a kiss.

kyoujurou:" if you keep your hair like this you'll catch a cold"

my mouth curved into a light smile before replying to him

sen:" dont worry our lodgings are close anyway and isn't your hair wet as well"

kyoujurou:" ah i didnt notice, its gotten longer maybe i should cut it"

sen:" dont it looks nice on you"

i said, i leaned on his shoulder he turned his head to look at me his eyelids drooped into a close and his mouth turned up into a smile before he layed his soft cheeks against my head.

*******

after a while we head back to our lodgings and entered our room, there's still some time before dinner was ready.

sen:" kyoujurou come here i'll dry your hair"

he came over and sat infront of me to dry his hair with a towel.

kyoujurou:" it feels nice i like you drying my hair"

i cupped his face with the towel, and he turned to look at me with a grin.

sen:" ill do it for you often then"

he giggled, after i finished drying his hair i brushed it for him and put it into a low pony. his hair had grown past his shoulder blades, when i first met him it was only sitting n his shoulders. he took the brush from my hands and began to brush mine as well.

sen:" i wonder what hairstyle you'll do for me today"

he had put my hair in a yaki-maki bun the same one that shinobu had and added a spider lily clip to it.

kyoujuro:" it looks like kocho's"

sen:" you did a good job"

kyoujuro:" haha didnt i"

we headed over to the dining room and sat down to eat. as always kyoujurou easily ate five bowls of food. i looked over and saw people carrying stacks of used bowls

sen:" is there alot of guests today? but i didnt see anyone else besides us, the only other person who can eat so much is mitsuri san i dont think she would be here"

kyoujuro started to choke on his food after i mentioned mitsuri.

sen:"kyoujurou are you alright?"

i said worriedly, he waved gesturing that he was fine.

kyoujurou:" im fine i just swallowed to fast thats all"

he said nervously.

******

we took a walk outside to process all the food and i noticed theres alot of people running around. " it seems its comming along well" i heard kyoujurou whisper under his breath.

sen:" prepaing for what?"

kyoujurou:" its a secret for tomarrow"

he smirked, i sighed and didnt ask him more after that. we arrived at a near by lake and the hill was steap and covered in snow, i slipped as i attempted to walk down and was about to fall i let out a small scream.

kyoujurou:" SEN!"

he grabbed my arm and he was dragged down with me, we rolled down together in the cold snow, with snow on our heads and faces we started to laugh. i ruffled his hair to remove the snow before he stood up and reached out his hand to help me up, he strongly pulled me up causing me to get yanked up into his arms giving me a hug.

3rd person pov

the moon came up and they walked beside the frozen lake hand in hand, sen heard a rustle in the bushes she was about to walk up and check when kyoujurou stopped her.

kyoujurou:" its probably a wild animal"

he said, but little did she know it was actually some people she knows very well. kyoujurou turned his head towards them who were hiding and put his finger against his lips gesturing them to be quiet.