Fly Away

Chapitre 28: It was a happy accident! Not a Mistake!

Rin woke up, with a splitting headache. Hazy memories flooded her mind, Shin flinching, sitting in Souji's lap ... things blurred beyond that point. She vaguely remembered being carried back to her room, and ... well, fucking hell. She'd kissed him. Do that again when you're sober, okay?

She hastily yanked a comb through her hair, changed out of the kimono, now crumpled and messy, splashed water on her face, trying to rub the sleep from her features. She had to look presentable; she was to train with Saito again this morning.

She trudged down to the dinning room and sat down gracelessly. Around her, everyone was sitting, some seeming to have worse hangovers than her (Heisuke, Sano, Shinpatchi), others looked fresh as could be (Sannan, Ryunnosuke, Toshi, Kondo, Souji). The meal went smoothly, punctuated by grumbling and whining. Every so often she would catch Souji stealing glances at her from his perch in the doorway.

As the meal neared its end, Rin got up, heading out. When she leveled with Souji, she kissed him.

"For luck." Surprisingly, the man reciprocated, grinned and asked:

"What for?"

"I'm about to get pummelled. By Saito." He made a grand motion towards the door, bowing comically:

"Very well, after you." She swaggered out, leaving a room of stunned faces behind her.

Souji's mind had gone still, he couldn't think of anything else then what had just happened. His facade fell away, a flush creeping up his neck. Last night hadn't been the alcohol. She'd meant it and had remembered at the very least that one sentence. Then, he realized ... he was standing it the dining rooming doorway, during breakfast; everyone, except Rin and Saito, was witnessing his mild mental-breakdown. Sano angled his head, a faint smile dancing on his face:

"How far did you go yesterday?" At that point, the blush had spread from his neck to his entire face.

"We didn't ... we ... she was drunk." The visible tension in Toshi's shoulders relaxed. Sano leaned over to Shinpatchi, a hand open:

"Pay up." The hulking swordsman grumbled and tossed over a pouch that tinkered; money."I told you there was a golden heart under that dick-ish exterior." Of course there had been a bet. It was a long running joke around the Shieikan. Rin and Souji, Souji and Rin.

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Rin was struggling to keep her mask on. It was all she could do to hold in the fit of girlish giggles and she was long past keeping a straight face. Godsdamn, she was acting like a love-struck teen. She was, at the same time, desperately trying to figure out if the thumping in her temple was her heartbeat, her hangover or both.

She rounded the corner and almost skipped into the practice yard. Saito was waiting for her. An unreasonably perfect eyebrow lifted, but he said nothing, a knowing look on his face. Of course, he knew.

No words were spoken. She grabbed her practice sword and prepared for an ass-kicking. It got her mind off Souji and on the insanely painful bruises that now littered her arms, legs and torso.