The Guardian Fox

Seven

The sun was up; rays of sunlight shinning into this very room. It wasn't warm, since it was in the midst of winter. The room was awfully cold without the heater functioning, making myself snuggling even more in the futon, and the sleeping fox. Unable to go back to sleep anymore, I decided to wake him up. The others should be up by now.

"Kogitsune, time to wake up."

He hummed in response, wrapping his arms around my waist even tighter like a body pillow. Amused by his childish demeanour, I gently took off his hands and slid out from the futon, covering him with the blanket to keep him warm. After a quick wash up I found him awake, with disheveled locks and a loose yukata which looked like it was going to fall off once he stands up. I gave a small chuckle before walking nearer to him and tie his belt again. He was still dazed, and let me did as I wish. Ruffling his hair, I then stepped out of the room, leaving him to get changed.

~~

"Let's have a competition today!" I announced as they looked at me with eyes widened.

"What is the competition about?"

"Simple! A snowball fight. Two teams of six people each will pit against each other. Rules are similar to sorties. The last survivor will get something special from me!"

The word 'special' seemed to get them all fired up, as they quickly formed a team and discussed strategies for their 'fight'. Teamwork was what I wanted to see between them.

"Ready... Start!"

Numerous snowballs were thrown from both sides, making the scene quite a bit of mess. But well, it's snow. No one can't resist the urge to have a snowball fight especially when it's the peak of winter!

As I turned my head, I saw Hasebe's team building walls and hiding behind them after they threw, while the people was building the wall earlier, it was their turn to attack. They are smart, I thought, as the opposing team was slowly defeated, leaving only the fox and eyepatch behind.

"I will not let down Aruji!" Hasebe claimed as he aimed for Kogitsune and Mitsutada, who still hasn't threw his snowball yet. Just when the snowball almost reached the fox, he pulled his sword out, cutting the snowball into halves. Everyone was shocked, including myself. Mitsutada's mouth was wide open as he was hit on the shoulder, leaving only Hasebe and himself. 

"There's no rule that I can't use my sword, right?" He then launched himself forward, throwing the snowball at the self-acclaimed secretary who was taken aback. 

"Sorry, but I win in this fight."

The winner was decided at that moment.

"Kogitsune wins! As promised, you'll get something special from me later!" Standing up from the corridor, I stood nearer to him and whispered, "Come to my room at night" before running off to cheer the secretary who became depressed.

~~ 

Nightfall.

As promised, I waited for his arrival. It was almost 10pm, and yet he still didn't arrive. Has he forgotten about the prize? Being an anxious one, I went to visit his room, only to see him in his grey yukata and a gift box in his hands. 

"Ah, Nushi-sama. I am sorry for being late, I couldn't find the gift, so I was searching for it just now..." His voice trailed off as his eyes averted me, not daring to look into my eyes. 

"I thought you forgot about it, so I came... Sorry for barging in... and your surprise..."

He looked at the gift box before chuckling, "It's fine, it's fine, don't feel sorry about it. Come."

He waved his hand and patted on the tatami mat, gesturing for me to sit in front of him. As I did so he undid my hair tie, making my hair loose. I was surprised by his sudden action and was about to turn back before his arms stopped me.

"Don't move. Stay still for a moment." He said as he brought his hands to my black hair, tying it up with his swift movements. I felt something being pushed deep into the roots of my hair, and used my hand to touch it out of curiosity.

It resembled the shape of a hairpin. A mirror was then put in front of me to let me take a better look.

Three sakura flowers forming a ball shape with two golden tassels attached, in addition with black lacquer painted over the stick. It was certainly exquisite. His arms then wrapped around my neck, nuzzling it.

"Thanks!" I gave a wide smile and turned to hug him, feeling all the warmth spreading through my body. Carrying me to his futon, we laid down together and lit the lantern. With both of us enjoying the silence at night for a while, he broke the silence first.

"Haru... I love you."

He said my name. How my name just rolls off his tongue made me feel the deep bond we had with each other, aside from the master-sword relationship. It just felt different. Those three simple words were enough for me.

"Me too, I love you."

His arms then made movement once again, with him hovering his body above mine. Sending a light kiss on my lips, he then bit my lower lip to deepen the kiss further. We both enjoyed it, sinking into the passion that both of us had buried deep in our hearts, unknown to everyone. He then slightly loosened my top; enough to show my collarbone and a part of my shoulder. 

Planting light kisses on my neck, it left small little red marks as a trail. I tried to keep the moan down, but it wasn't enough to keep the next one. It was slightly loud, when he stopped his kisses and looked into my dark orbs deeply. His expression told me that he was pleased with my reaction, leaving my face to be dyed in a darker shade of red. His slender fingers were felt on my chin, gently lifting up to meet his kiss. It was slightly rougher than before, as our tongues twirled together as one.

Wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me closer, I could feel his chest sticking to my back, feeling every movement his breathing made. He gently bit my ear from behind, sending shivers down my spine. I was totally overwhelmed by his actions, as I turned around.

"Can... you k-kiss me again..?" I stuttered, burying my face into his chest. I could hear him laughing in the midst of my humming ears before he moved to see my reddened face. It was so embarrassing to ask him something like this!

"Always for you, my love." My request was granted immediately before he took off the hairpin and set it aside before turning in for the night.