~CHARLOTTE~

Yami was looking at her with those eyes again. Those dark eyes that pulled in her soul as if he controlled gravity itself. Those eyes that made her want to close her own and submit to anything he asked of her.

He broke their long-distance kiss and stood up, extending a hand to help her up as well. When she stood up, she relaxed her arm so it would fall back at her side, but Yami kept his hold on her. Quick to notice this, she shifted her weight to stand closer to him so that their hands could still be clasped together. He let out a long breath, allowing his muscles to uncoil, and he instantly looked more relaxed.

Yami spoke, "I'm glad we made it through that hallucination, but I'm not sure how we're going to get those fangs now."

"Actually, I think I found a way to get the bats without having any difficulties. I can't really explain it, but after I broke out of the hallucination I started searching for you with my vines. When I finally found you, I awoke a new skill of sorts. If I focus hard enough, my briars can act as an extension of my hands. Now I can more accurately feel my surroundings without having to see it first, and I won't be able to be affected by the clicks," Charlotte explained.

"Oh, that's great! Look at you Prickly Queen, already surpassing me," Yami teased her, his boyish persona returning in full force.

Charlotte didn't wait for his permission, she closed her eyes and focused all her energy into a few of her briars. Slow and steady. That's it. Found them! Now if I just...

An eruption of clicks sounded off in a distant corner of the cave, but they were too far away to have an effect on either of them. Charlotte's briars recoiled speedily, bringing with them five lifeless Sakkaku Bats. Yami furrowed his eyebrows as he saw them being dragged in and placed a hand on his sword hilt. However, he made no further moves as Charlotte stuffed the bats into the bag.

"Mm, Char, did you happen to notice the Hikari stones on your way in here? I wanted to show them to you," Yami asked her. She froze at the sound of her nickname being said in his husky voice. Heat crept into her face, but she pushed down her other reactions.

"Nn-mn," she shook her head and pulled out Julius' grocery list, "Hikari stones? Those are... yes, those are next on our list! We only have those, some underground spring water, and a mineral called mermaid scales left to gather. Thank goodness there's no more creatures."

She tucked the paper away into her armor and turned to face away from him. Too much more prodding and she wasn't going to be able to hide her need for him. The desire to be close to Yami that the hallucination caused was still fresh in her mind, and on top of that his words that pulled her out of it weren't imaginary either.

"See over there?" Yami's breath tickled her ear. He had whispered his words only inches from her face. His hand snaked up her arm and stretched out next to her face to point at a stalagmite in the distance, "Those are the Hikari stones. You can still see them glowing faintly where I touched them earlier."

She tried her best to maintain a steady breathing pattern. It wasn't working. If she turned her head, their lips would surely met. Self-consciousness crept over her as she remembered all the grime that covered her from their excursion. Her voice was a little shaky as she replied, "Oh-okay. So we need to scrape off some powder from the sides, just enough to fill this pouch." Her fingers trembled as she reached for a fine fabric pouch.

Yami stepped away from her and the tightness in her chest receded a little. She took a step toward the glowing purple stones, but slipped as she felt a sharp pain in her ankle. Her hand shot out to steady herself against the wall and Yami hastily grabbed her by the waist.

"Woah, watch yourself my Prickly Queen."

There he goes again, calling me his... his queen... Her knees felt weak.

"I think I twisted my ankle. It's nothing. I ca-"

"To hell it's nothing. You can't go walking around a dark cave with a twisted ankle, you'll just make it worse for yourself." Then, he swooped a burly arm under her knees and lifted her up to his chest. Charlotte was rendered speechless. His body heat mixed with her own, and she could feel every defined muscle in his chest.

"I told you already, I admire your strength, but it's okay to lean on someone once in a while. Especially if that person is me."