The night came and went just as quickly. When you woke up at dawn, you were lying in Jin's arms, naked and wrapped in a blanket. His chest rose and fell against your back.

The curves of his lips nestelnd against your neck while his warm breath tickled the sensitive spot.

With a soft sigh, you turned in his embrace so that you were both lying chest to chest. Your heartbeats merged and became one.

Jin's eyes moved under closed lids. He exhaled deeply. Without thinking about it, you leaned forward to steal a kiss from his lips. His eyes opened a crack, frowned as the first light of day blinded him.

"Amaterasu?", he asked, his voice rough from sleep.

Teasingly, you pinch his nose.

"It's time to get up, samurai.", this time he kissed you.

Since last night Jin had gone from being a stranger to a close confidant. You suddenly felt like you had known each other for a long time when you were close to him.

The feel of his skin under your fingers was like a new addiction, an obsession. Just the thought that you would soon be travelling alone again made your stomach cramp.

Exhaling deeply, Jin buried his face in the crook of your neck and took a deep breath.

"How much further do we have to go?", he asked.

The vibration of his voice pressed against your skin. Closing your eyes, you exhaled deeply as you gently caressed his black hair.

"Maybe two days.", you surmised. "But there will be no more villages. Only land left."

"Then we'll have to sleep under the stars.", he struggled to sit up.

With one hand pressed to his side, Jin managed to get to his feet. Your eyes followed his every move.

"Are you still in pain?", the blanket fell over your neck and shoulders as you sat up.

Cool morning air caressed your skin. It was only then that you realised that Jin was also completely naked. Blue blotches gathered around the slightly weathered bandages. In some places they were already healing, leaving yellow marks on his pale skin.

But even if it wasn't praiseworthy, you couldn't help but let your gaze wander over his muscular shoulders, down the curve of his spine to the curves of his bum. There were individual scars everywhere, small beauty marks and moles. It was like a story his body was telling.

And one of them was the scratch marks of your nails on the back of his neck from last night.

Exhaling deeply, you swallowed hard, averted your eyes and cleared your throat. Casually, you reached for your bag, which was lying on the floor next to the futon.

"I don't have much painkiller left, but there'll be enough for one or two doses.", you rummaged around in the bag.

Sighing, Jin shook his head.

"My muscles are just a little sore.", he said, rubbing his neck, his fingers covering the red marks. "Do you think the bandages can stay on?"

You lifted your head, strands of your (H/C) hair tickling your cheek.

Jin only looked at you from the corner of his eye over his shoulder, he was actually busy with something else. But when it saw you like this, naked, your hair in a tangle and your breasts slightly wedged between your arms, it sucked in a sharp breath.

His grip on the sheath of his katana tightened. You tilted your head and as if he was remembering something, he licked his lips almost imperceptibly.

"What's the smell like?", you asked.

Torn from his thoughts, or rather fantasies, he blinked.

"Huh?", his eyebrows rose.

You smiled with amusement.

"The bandages. Do they stink?"

His gaze travelled down his chest to the first bandage. Most of the white was still clean, only the edges were beginning to fray.

Small stains from the water were visible, but considering that the Japanese considered the springs to be healing, it was probably a good idea to carry some of it with him.

There were no bloodstains, but just because you couldn't see them didn't mean that he hadn't bled. Water usually stopped bleeding quickly and quite reliably as long as it was fresh water.

More than once you had to stitch a Mongol's finger or foot during their raids. They had all sworn to do it in a pond or a quiet stream so they wouldn't bleed to death.

"I'll leave it.", Jin finally said and turned away to inspect his sword.

"Then we have supplies for emergencies.", you agreed and put everything back where it was.

Shrouded in silence, you got dressed, tidied up everything as it was before and left the room without bumping into a single person.

The vapours of the hot springs accompanied you as you made the slippery path from the Inn back to the stables. Jin paid a boy who could hardly be older than nine two of his strangely round coins with the square in the centre.

In return, the boy brought a clean, fed and saddled Nobu. The stallion's ears wiggled with a snort as he recognised his master and pranced on his hooves.

On the way to the village gate, Jin bought rice and a bamboo stem bottle filled with water. He also had his own filled up.

The lady who sold everything scrutinised you for a moment with narrowed eyes before turning her attention to the money that Jin placed in her outstretched hand. Nevertheless, she curled her nose in your direction one last time.

"Go Nobu!", Jin was the first in the saddle and urged the stallion to run.

You clung to him from behind, your arms around his waist. Even if it was unwise to risk a fast pace in his condition, they had no time and Jin knew his horse well enough to know that the stallion would not be satisfied with a leisurely walk.

Snorting, Nobu threw his head into the wind and let it blow through his black mane. The thundering of hooves made the ground tremble.

Like so many times before, it surprised you how overwhelming the feeling of freedom was. It caressed your hair, kissed your forehead and gave you feathers to fly.

And yet.

When you glanced back over your shoulder, there was this feeling like a dark cloud over your head. Something wanted to crawl out of the woods.