Ezra deflated as they walked, feeling as if a huge weight had been taken off her shoulders. "Whew!" she laughed with a wide grin, swinging her arms as she walked. "That went so much better than I was expecting."

Shinah gave her a small smile in response to her enthusiasm. Happiness bloomed in his chest at getting to see her bright grin again; he'd felt oddly bereft the past few days without it.

"Thank you for everything, Shinah," Ezra told him, her eyes sincere. "I don't think I would've had the courage to talk to my brother if it weren't for you."

He shook his head. "You would've," he said simply.

As soon as they got back to camp, Ezra rooted around in her pack, pulling out the small amount of fruits and nuts that Yun had left them. She held some out to Shinah with a rueful smile.

"Well, it's not much, but it'll do," she said cheerfully.

He took a berry and popped it in his mouth, chewing happily.

She watched him, her lavender eyes crinkling with happiness. "Hey, Shinah?" she asked.

He stopped chewing and glanced at her.

"Will you take off your mask?"

He gave her a small smile before he nodded, slipping off his mask and letting it fall to the floor. He seemed to think nothing of the action; without another second of hesitation, he popped some more food in his mouth and continued chewing. Ezra grinned before following suit.

The happiness that lightened her heart in that moment felt so surreal. She harvested so much joy just from the simple act of enjoying a snack with Shinah.

After they were done with their small meal, Shinah frowned at her, his eyebrows furrowed. Ezra tilted her head to the side. "What's wrong?" she asked, concerned.

He lifted his hand to her cheek, gently touching the dried blood on her face from the cut she'd gotten while fighting. "What happened?" he asked.

She gave a nonchalant shrug. "The soldier was a bit quicker than I gave him credit for," she told him.

His frown deepened. He didn't like the fact that the cut was on her face; what if she hadn't dodged fast enough? She could've gotten seriously injured.

"More importantly, how are your injuries, Shinah?" Ezra's lavender eyes lost their playfulness, her expression growing serious. "You didn't have to fight, right?"

Shinah's hand moved to the still-healing wound on his side as he shook his head. "No fighting," he told her. "I led them on a chase like you said to, then knocked out his companion. Noah might've fought me, but you came before he could."

Ezra let out a breath. "Thank god." She'd made it in time, then. "Did the running aggravate your wound?"

He shook his head, a small smile on his face.

Ezra's brow furrowed. "What are you smiling about?"

"You sound like Yun," Shinah told her with a grin.

Ezra opened her mouth to protest, but then she cut herself off. Shinah was right; she was acting like an overprotective mother hen. She let out a sigh instead. "I suppose I do." Rolling her eyes at her own behavior, she leaned back, laying out flat on the ground to stare up at the sky overhead.

She heard the shuffle of clothing as Shinah joined her, laying on his back next to her. For a while they lay in comfortable silence, enjoying the sun.

"I love... the sky," Shinah said quietly, interrupting the silence. "When I was in the caves... I never got to see it."

Ezra frowned, turning her head to look at him. Shinah's golden eyes were peaceful and serene as they studied the clouds above them. "You were in caves?"

He nodded, keeping his gaze on the sky. "After I killed that company of soldiers with my eyes, the Seiryu's village was moved to a network of caves to keep me, the monster, away from others. They kept me in the deepest tunnels, never letting me out."

Ezra's eyes grew sad. "I'm so sorry, Shinah."

He looked away from the sky to smile at her gently. "I'm not. It's the past. It doesn't matter."

Ezra closed her eyes against the wave of sadness that overcame her. She could see exactly what he was hinting at. "Sometimes the past does matter," she said quietly. "We can't always ignore what has happened."

His gentle expression never changed as his gaze didn't move away from her. "But we should focus on the present." Shinah paused for a moment. "You're a good person, Ezra."

"I'm not." Ezra opened her eyes to give him a small smile. "But thank you for saying so. If you think I'm a good person... well, that just means that I have to do everything I can to live up to your expectations."

A genuine smile lit his handsome face. He returned his gaze to the sky, not seeming aware of how Ezra's heart just did a flip inside her chest.

Her heart did funny things when he smiled at her. Maybe asking him to take off his mask had been a mistake.

After a few more minutes of silence, Shinah spoke again. "Should we go help the villagers?" he asked.

Ezra shook her head. "Katan Village is doing a lot better now than it was when we first arrived, and Yun doesn't want to bring officials down here. They've shifted the presence of the Happy Hungry Bunch, so we should lay low." She smiled, staring at the sky. "We'll just tie up the loose ends here, then go join the others."

"Your brother... is just a loose end?" Shinah asked quietly.

Ezra closed her eyes. "No, of course he's more than that. But Noah's a soldier and I'm a bandit. I just want to make things right between us before we part ways."

Shinah looked at her. "You're going to be separated again," he said sadly.

Ezra gave him a serene smile. "Well, I certainly can't stay with him. And besides, you guys are my family now. I can't leave you."

Shinah frowned. "But..."

Ezra held up a hand. "No, 'but's, Shinah. I stay with you and Yona and the others. Unless you want me to leave?"

"Of course not," Shinah answered quickly.

Ezra grinned happily, and a slight blush covered Shinah's face.

Ah, he's so cute.

Ezra returned her gaze to the sky before she could lose her own composure. "Then I'm not going anywhere."

~~~

The sun began to set, dipping below the horizon and coloring the few clouds that hung in the sky in brilliant shades of orange and pink. Ezra sat up, yawning after taking a nap. After the excitement of the morning, the restful afternoon had done her some good.

She stretched experimentally, grimacing when she felt the soreness in her ribs. The soldiers had managed to get in a few good hits, after all.

Shinah was sitting up with his elbows resting on his knees, staring off towards the village.

"What do you see, Shinah?" Ezra asked.

Shinah turned towards her. "Noah is walking towards the town center."

Ezra got to her feet. "Then I suppose we should get moving."

Shinah's golden eyes widened. "You want me to come with you?"

Ezra frowned. "Of course. Why wouldn't I?"

Shinah's only response was to sweep his mask off the floor and place it back over his face, standing up next to her.

She smiled at him. "Let's go."