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[adlantisag]

My spear to your swords. I will gut you like a fish.

[inroad]

now that youve said it
try not to disappoint me
youve a hell of a lot to live up to

[adlantisag]

It is you who should try not to disappoint me, Masamune Date.

I will meet you outside the city gates in a quarter-hour's mark. Do not be late.

[ True to her words, he'll find her there, in her loose tunic and leggings. She has a cloak on, but it's still cold for that kind of clothing, so clearly she's expecting to warm up.

She carries six well-wound bundles in one arm. ]

[inroad]

[ if there's one thing he's never late for, it's a fight. he's pretty sure pearl didn't mean this, but he can't lie that it's way easier for him to do than talk. his defense is that he let her pick.

it's also that on some level, he may somewhat get it. or think he gets it, anyway. if what he's told is true (and he doesn't really consider muneshige one to lie about such a thing), he knows nothing about hurt feelings but he knows that if he were caught off guard like that and let someone get the better of him so easily, it would be a personal necessity to show both to himself and the other once a mistake but twice will never happen. he's not really doing this to indulge her, either. he's just... frustrated. he doesn't understand what needs to be apologized for or where to start because he can't understand it past the view of someone getting the better of her. he'll ask if he gets the chance to see where pearl's advice would have led (which even he is sure is a way better idea than this but does he feel like pissing her off by adding insult to injury and denying her?

hahaha, not really).

He's pretty sure Pearl's method would not include a clobbering session like two kids in a sandbox, though.

he shows up without his swords since he doesn't have them but he somewhere had a feeling she probably did. Yukimura would have done the same—if they weren't in the other's possession, it would have been less easy to insist on a fight. he also wears a cloak, but his armor is decidedly lacking and if one could see the back of the jacket, it's a different symbol altogether. honestly, even if his stuff wasn't shot to hell from damage, disgusting mistreatment due to them being stuck in prison for such a length of time, its too easy to class it differently from the european armors of the guards here. so that's out of his wardrobe for a while.

he really just doesn't have a wardrobe like Kida's—she'll have to take up matching fashion for fights with Gilgamesh or Ban or whoever else is absolutely into fighting half or almost completely naked. Sorry, he's overdressed for this date!!

...Back to the seriousness, however he can't tell how he's feeling about this entire ordeal. it's not cocky and he's not amused or even really excited. no, if he's honest with himself he really just wants to get his aggravations concerning her out. why is he so agitated, though? why can't he just see the issue rather than feel he's mad back at her?

(he's really mad at her because they're too alike. nothing is more annoying than trying to take down yourself in an argument). ]

This was your idea, not mine. [ if this ever gets out, he'll have enough to deal with concerning her friend he imagines as it is. he doesn't need her thinking he went and deliberately discarded her advice to go pick fights with kida. ]

[adlantisag]

[ She had thought that the days would allow her anger to wane; not so. She's as red-hot now as she was when she was stalking him through the forest with Muneshige. He's only half-right as to her motivation, however. She's angry about being bested, but mostly at herself. What she accuses him of is reckless selfishness, and cowardice.

The thought that she could have found him dead on that riverbank makes her blood boil.

She doesn't respond to his comment; instead she turns to hand him his swords. The movement exposes her spear, hidden on her other side. It's a strange weapon, the pirak. It looks as if its creator had never heard the word 'spear', and designed instead a weapon uniquely suited to life beneath the ocean: like a scythe met a shepherd's crook, the handle is almost as tall as Kida herself, a sharp finial on one end and a wicked zigzag blade on the other, with a small notched spur at the base of the curve. It's a tool for impaling, for gutting, for climbing, for harvesting, for digging. It is a weapon whose use she's been cultivating for seven thousand years.

Handing him his swords, Kida turns and makes her way down the dark road, away from the light of the city. She has a lantern in one hand; that and her pendant will be their light to see by. If he has objections, now would be the time to voice them. ]

[inroad]

[ he takes the weapons, inspecting them in their sheathed array before turning to follow her and equipping the belt back about his waist to let his swords hang at their proper place.

He's not going to make an objection, he's mad but he is also here because he's trying to make some kind of effort to mend things. He notes that weapon of hers must have a reach on it that rivals or even surpasses Yukimura's. Already he sees a disadvantage but he'll have to assess it once he sees how she wields it. ]

[adlantisag]

[ As they walk the silence stretches and hardens. The the time they've hit the line of trees Kida's anger forms a cowl around her she's ready to shed. They reach a clearing, wide enough for fifty paces across: big enough for battle, certainly.

She pulls off her cloak, hangs it and the lantern in the boughs of a tree. The cold air makes gooseflesh on her skin. She takes up her spear and twirls it lazily, considering him and their terrain. She circles like a cat. ]

On your count.

[ She'll let him start. Her pendant sways against her chest in the dark. ]

[inroad]

[ Masamune sets his own cloak aside and does end up giving Kida a look, somewhat doubtful of her clothing attire choice. Maybe others in his position would be thinking it's too cold all together even for a workout to dress that way now or something inappropriate altogether but his only thought is: this woman is so pissed he's gotta wonder what she'd do if he did something really bad.

They're already off to an interesting start. He rarely gets circled, almost never at the initiation of a fight. There is a short moment where he considers the situation and her before reaching across with his left hand to pull the middle sword from its sheath. He isn't sure if he's healed enough to be 100% on his game but he is positive he can control his weapons with ease and not accidentally injury her seriously in a bout of anger.

Shifting his stance to something more battle inclined, he rolls his his shoulders back once before pointing the sword forward. ]

Okey, let's dance!

[ first attack: rush her in direct full frontal clash. There's nothing sneaky and he fully expects to be blocked or dodged but regardless he puts a decent amount of force into it. He's not afraid of her weapon but it is a rather large question mark and the only way he will learn anything about it is to get her to make use of it. ]

[adlantisag]

[ She watches him move. Her eyes track the way he straightens his shoulders, which of his swords he selects first and the way he holds it, with the comfortable weight of familiarity. There's a promising glint in his eye. When he speaks, a part of her is pleased to hear him boisterous; maybe she's glad he's unbowed. Like this, he feels like a different person: sharper, more attentive.

He attacks exactly the way she'd predicted he would--dead-on, just like the rest of his personality. But they have a difference in reach: he needs to be much closer to score a hit. Instead of parrying his blow, she lets his blade skim along the long shaft of her weapon, the momentum carrying it in a downwards arc. She braces her foot in the ground for power, and lets her weight carry the rest, intending to slam the blunt edge of her spear-hook into his knees before bringing the blade back up in defense.

The difference in execution between them is primarily one of education. Masamune is a soldier who cuts down men. Kida is a hunter who cuts down beasts. There is no honor in the hunt, only a need to survive, the need to be just a half-breath faster than the sharp-toothed fish that swim in the deep waters. Kida strikes either to permanently incapacitate--or kill.

If Masamune wants to know how she uses her spear, he'll find quickly enough that the answer is savagely. ]

[inroad]

[ it's incredibly primal, even to him as someone doused in countless wars. Soldiers are usually primitive in technique if not properly trained but primal and primitive do not mean the same in a fight. He has only fought against a few warlords that use anything close to hers. None of them are names he can even think of without heavy reminder of the obstacles they created in his path.

Most samurai are power strikers with their blades. Although he is strong, arguably strength is relative when you have a weapon that is sharp enough to be capable of cutting through five human men at once. Kida's brute strength is absolutely above his as by default spear users tend to be by the weight of their weapons alone but the difference is even more considerable because while Masamune can fight (and currently is) just like any other samurai, his real prowess is nothing like it. So while most any other sword wielder would have to either block or take that blow and minimize the damage somehow, Masamune is more than agile enough to side shift just shy of the hook's width to avoid what would be at the very best a fractured set of kneecaps and at worst a shattered set of them. While he could have made an easier dodge with further distance, that's exactly the opposite of what he needs to do. As she has already taken note of her reach is further than his and by a good amount. Avoiding blows is not as hard when all one wishes to do is dodge but if he conforms to that method, he'll be on the defensive until she manages to trip him up or they both collapse from exhaustion. He also would have had to risk losing his sword with the way it was caught on the length of the weapon.

So it's a close agile maneuver and he follows the blade in the direction of least resistance to get within a reaching distance of her until the weapon comes back into his full control by sliding off the polearm. Bringing it around to grip with both hands, Masamune cuts back to swing the sword at a diagonal in swiping motion, but all that manages to meet is the steel of the hook. His timing is just a little bit slower in being able to recover from having to react to her battle decisions and as can be seen that still makes all the difference in the world even if he does get within a possible striking distance (which... He isn't quietly sure he would have been able to reach just yet but it was close if not, at least. For a second or two, the one-eyed dragon takes advantage of having made the offensive downward cut to her defensive upward block and continues to apply force but it may be only to let himself pause and get a good look at her. He tilts his head ever so slightly as if assessing, but needless to say his expression, the light in his one good eye suggests he is definitely intrigued by how this will play out for them.

Regardless, she will be able to push him off and he'll back off when she wants to give that extra shove of strength to shake apart the weapon clash. ]

[adlantisag]

[ He's fast. Easy to move with. She sees less Masamune-the-man and instead registers movement, the displacement of air, the colour of his jacket as it dances around him. Her swing passes him by a fraction, and she can practically feel the resistance pass along the blade. Uninterrupted, it continues it arc, rises, and then she's twisting it, palms and feet braced for impact.

His sword comes down, thudding into her spear. The noise is eaten by the wood. Kida hardly flinches under the weight. They watch each other over their joined weapons, her gaze plunged into his one good eye. Her face is full of the fire she still feels for him, her body still taut with rage. Can he feel her anger through their weapons? She can feel he's containing himself, still. It only serves to make her angrier.

She isn't going to push him off with her shoulders. Her shoulders don't carry most of her weight, and besides, she isn't afraid to get in close.

She'll use the strength of her shoulder just to brace him back enough--after which her knee will come up to strike between his legs. Kida's legs are the strongest part of her, and a direct strike with knee is enough to lift a grown man off his feet.

If that lands, she'll slam the finial of her spear into his stomach, trying to get him to double over fully. If it doesn't, her priorities will shift to blocking that sword again. ]

[inroad]

[ he certainly can feel it. It's an intense aura and thick in its invisible consistency. Masamune can also see it on her features but that only serves to cloud his intrigue for frustration. He's mad, but he's especially mad because is this some kind of punishment for attacking her? That she won't even speak to him of the issue and he is expected to get exactly what her issue is?

What is with women and their lack of willingness to state what they apparently feel is the obvious?

It's not goddamn obvious if he's left—

He's never really had a fight where anyone's decided to try and do this type of attack and so for his slight wavering of paying attention due the distraction of trying to sort his frustrations he takes the hit. And even if she didn't catch him between the legs it would have been obvious to him that that's where her strength lies.

It's luckily not a full on hit because while he would never expect to get hit there purposely as a tactic (men aren't assholes to each other like that) he won't let her move in any way without some stance change in a subconscious manner to defend.

It hurts like hell, though, nevertheless an intense and exploding pain that's enough to make him want to collapse. When she hits him in the stomach to get him to double over he does but he also reaches off to grab hold of the weapon to prevent her from being able to pull back. Unfortunately for Kda, whoever taught her that technique of being an effective maneuver should have informed her it's not failproof. His pain experience and tolerance for it is over the top as it is, well conditioned to a point of absolute absurdity to even other warriors of his rank and skill. However, add that to his fight or flight response rush when he actually loses his temper over something?

Yeah. Girl, you're not dealing with a normal human being here. His grip on the end of her spear is damn strong and he lifts his head just slightly to glare up at her. He is livid and he is done with this. The amount if willpower it takes for him to not reflexively lash out is more than he would like, especially for he considers himself a friend with.

Instead, he simply jerks the spear forward roughly once he takes a step back before going to attempt to just simply yank it from her hands. If she doesn't let go, it's very unlikely with the amount if strength he actually is capable of that's she's not going to get yanked forward with it. So either she lets go and that spear gets jerked behind him before letting it drop or he drags he'd down with it for her to have a first class trip to the ground face first unless she's got an incredible way to recover her balance.

Either way he lets go of it once she's put on a disadvantage of some sort but he does not move to attack or even bother with her. Instead he shifts to attempt to straighten and walk, but there's a bit of a stumble before he only gets a few feet of distance and has to retch. It's mostly bile but there's blood too—not from her stupid stunt but just still lingering in his stomach and the sudden alarm influx his body reacts to her attack from.

Coughing once he manages to get control and stop his heaving, he yells angrily at her but does not face her. ]

What exactly the fuck are you trained to kill or otherwise survive against that requires ball-kicking, anyway?!
Gutting me like a fish is one thing but if you're you wanna pull this type of shit beat your rage out on someone else. You can't even tell me what you're so pissed about but it's absolutely okay to do that? Goddamn it, Kidagakash!

[ fucking fish in Atlantis have balls to knee just like that?! You need to finds yourselves a new home.

but truthfully, he's really mad at himself more than anything for letting her have the opportunity for such a stupid thing. It also shouldn't have effected him like this. Granted she's perhaps not seen anyone come out of a successful hit like that before or she may have thought twice about doing it but for Masamune the damage was definitely done by dropping him into a dizzy state and nausea to the point of puking. Whether it's her strength in executing it or still not completely settled from his recent recovery (an over-active defense system to the firs sign of another potential reoccurrence) or a combo of both he doesn't care.

this is the worst and is way more humiliating to him than getting gutted or even just losing the battle.

he ends up ultimately crouching before kneeling and defensive holding his stomach, curled in a little as he waits for the pain to stop pounding soon enough.

That was the whole point, she wanted to humiliate him into a loss?! she got it so whatever.

(He'd really like to be able to go lie down alone somewhere now and pretend that didn't just happen.) ]

[adlantisag]

[ His strength, once aroused, is terrible. His grip on her spear can be felt through her arms, and when he casts the weapon aside she goes with it, unwilling to let go. He tosses her like she's nothing, and she goes tumbling through the grass, rolling, and back up again.

She lets him have his tantrum. In truth, she hasn't excised her anger. She's warmer than she started, but sweat hasn't formed on her flesh. Seeing him kneeled, curled in on himself, so soon after they started, does nothing to ease her ire.

There's no pleased smile on her features for having won their little bout. Her expression is tight, quiet. ]

Has no one told you it is not up to your opponents to cover your weaknesses?

[ Because it is a weakness, an inalienable weakness of the flesh. But what made her decide on that tactic in particular was--

The same thing that's in his gaze now, that makes her want to put her blade to his throat. Let him feel that burning humiliation, if that's what he feels. He humiliated her by giving her less than his full consideration.

That it's 'okay' or not wouldn't have crossed her mind. She wasn't trained to do that--she wasn't trained to do much. She did it because she knew it had a definite chance of putting him on the ground.

And it did. And it shouldn't have.

She's angry now, and the words bubble up like lava. ]

What if our enemies had found you before I did? What if I had found you dead by that river, Masamune?

[inroad]

[ he eyes narrow as he just stares straight off into the woods. ]

Don't women have a code of honor to not punch each other [ he brings a hand to dramatically pat against his chest a few times so even though he's not facing her it's still obvious what he means ] here?! Us men have one for down there!

[ which doesn't stop accidents and whatnot but to be honest ... Masamune almost never stays in front of one opponent long enough to let them even have the chance to make the action to hit him there accidentally or otherwise.

but yes he's having a huge tantrum right now and it's a wonder that if he is whining so much how he didn't just drop like a rock. really, he's being a child about this but it's that he's also mad over the same situation surrounding this and not being able to have his A-game from the start of the confrontation that has him sensitive.

But when the subject changes he is quick to turn around and snap back her ]

Is that what this about?! I didn't ask you to come take responsibility for me. I left to give you and Tachibana the ability to get the hell out and help whoever else you could that you wanted to without being chained to someone useless!

[adlantisag]

[ He won't even look at her. Her eyes are boring holes into his face and he can't even meet her gaze.

She wanted to fight him to determine the strength of his mettle, but also his flexibility, his willingness not just to meet her but to meet her, as equals. He's failed. She's not inclined to forgive him. ]

You presume much!

[ Her voice is a roar in the silence. Birds wheel away. She isn't talking about any 'code of honor', either--all's fair in battle, but that's beside the point. ]

Do you listen to yourself? Masamune, I am angry because you put yourself in danger! You failed me, you failed Muneshige, you failed Sieglinde!

[ Her words are cutting because she intends them to be. She's rounding on him like a snarling tiger. ] What would I have told her if I'd found you dead? That you'd run? Because that would have been the truth!

[inroad]

What— [ it's impossible to really explain how he engages with people in fights.

The fact he was willing to fight her at all may seem insignificant to her but it's absolutely not for him. If he doubted she'd be worth taking seriously he wouldn't have agreed. She's not frontline soldier in his way. But, he has to asses what he's up against before determining how to best consider drawing more swords or really pushing his opponent.

When she speaks of failing her and the other two it's a cut the bites deep. Although he wants to defend himself to be accused of failing the people that you felt responsible to not he a burden to or bring more harm potentially by your own adequacy is not something a sengoku jidai commander can take and reply to childishly. He is quiet a moment, inhaling before exhaling. ]

I did. I wasn't able to move fast enough to evade the guards I lured and to avoid potentially leading them back to any of you I ran.

[ he faces her now, looking at her straight. ] I never intended to not come back. It was just to be a decoy and get them turned around.

... My failure to all of you then was when I was injured to begin with.

[ he thinks. He's trying really hard suddenly to understand her side of it but it's because she pulled the strings of a group that apparently was relying on him and that he already felt responsible for. Of course the last thing he wanted to was fail them on top of abandoning. ]

As for dying, death was not what I was looking for... however, me dead is better than all of us dead.

[adlantisag]

[ She expels an exasperated breath, but the energy shifts between them. Less aggressive. ]

All men falter. It is the nature of battle to be injured. But you left us with no choice, with no chance to help you. Are we not your allies? Did you not believe we would have your back?

[ Kida would never hesitate to ask for aid from one of her warriors--because she knows they would leap to offer it. That serving her, helping her, protecting her gives them purpose. They cannot rally to her if she remains an untouchable figure. But she's not a commander the way he is. The way they approach leadership is bound to be different. ]

You are my ally, my colleague, my friend. I am strengthened by your presence. What I needed was to see you safe.

[ She's crossing over to him, her brows still knit tightly, but the need to attack visibly gone from her frame. ]

But you--you ran--and you made us scour the woods for you, not knowing what state we'd find you in. Sieglinde was beside herself when we brought you to her.

[ With worry, it goes without saying. She mentions Sieglinde to avoid mentioning that, beneath all that anger--she'd been frightened, too. In truth, she doesn't think she'll really get through to him. She thinks he didn't see them then and he isn't really seeing them now; all he sees is his own pride. ]

[inroad]

This wasn't battle where I was injured, though. I was dead weight from the start...! and...

And... I didn't think anyone would come after me. [ It's perhaps quite strange that while trying to stand as an equal and rage over his choices just seems to be endless failure on his end for passing any tests of holding esteem or respect for his angry partner

Yet, taking a seat above him— scolding him like a child as if one knows better—rather than talk his level and giving him the ability to see someone who should be unable to have more life experience than him on these matters...

He thinks on her words for a moment. It's actually not that he doesn't let others help--he's learned to trust his men--but Kida and Muneshige and Sieglinde never claimed loyalty to him. Presuming they would be there to fight for you when things were truly sour... the young Date clan leader's expression shifts, an actual clear sign of guilt. Right, Sieglinde. She, too, had tried to put up a front as Kida is doing and while Kida is certainly being far more successful hiding her feelings Sieglinde had rather deteriorated in her exhaustion and stress and whatever else he did to get her to that point. ]

I... already was given a terrible punishment by Sieglinde for causing her such troubles. [ the way he says it--the tone of his voice and the guilt still lingering to make a small smile that's formed rueful.

Experiencing her breakdown and all the tears, the fright, the upset and the emotion of caring in general was... unsettling and maybe eye opening. Perhaps Kida's best angle yet has been to drag the girl into it because she and Muneshige certainly do not have the same method of honesty expression to bring things even if they had anywhere near close to just talking about Sieglinde does.

He won't talk about how he's a commander and how he has a complex of his own recklessness getting good people killed needlessly. he puffs a small sigh before actually continuing words. ]

Okey. I... will take responsibilities for my actions. What I did was reckless and I did not take how anyone else may have felt concerning helping me or otherwise.

And... I never... want to hurt or scare her like that ever again.

[ Masamune has to look away from her now, but it becomes rather clear once he starts talking again that he's not looking away out of being stubborn or feeling like he's obligated to say anything he didn't mean. ]

...I'm sorry, Kidakagash. I was out of line and... left you with further trouble in having to be the one to speak the words if I didn't make it. [ he couldn't understand before his heart to heart with Sieglinde but it's impossible to deny that now ]. I took it upon myself to protect physically but I neglected your feelings. Tachibana lives in the same times and place I do so we can relate easier for anything like this.

But... it's clear to me that that girl has had her life ripped out from under her. [ he ducks his head now, which is incredibly opposite of his behavior seconds ago. ] ...I really messed up. I don't really remember much beyond making it out of the prison. But, I do remember... a feeling that I definitely didn't want to die because someone was waiting for me.

You aren't her parent, and you aren't my wife to even partially excuse me forcing that burden to you. [ he pauses. ] I'm especially sorry though if I hurt you. Not physically but... [ he brings a hand up again to pat at his chest but this time to suggest hurting her feelings. he doesn't know if he did but Pearl said he did so it's not as if he hasn't been oblivious to a bunch of shit here.

He doesn't get all of it, he hasn't lived even a fraction of what she has but Kojuro has done a good job teaching him tough core things when it gets down to it. And Mitsunari taught him that death is a real option for his own lack of ability. Therefore he needs to compensate, at least until he's no longer insufficient to absolutely pull past death even in the face of it. If she were talking to a his merely a year or two ago this would have reaped very little from him in terms if getting through to him. But, since it's not... ]

[adlantisag]

[ She listens, quiet. If the guilt that washes over him isn't enough to soothe her ire, the apology does it--because it's unexpected, because it shifts her perspective. In increments, her shoulders unwind, and her arms relax, spear lowering in a slow tilt towards the ground. ]

She loves you, did you know? You really are as a brother to her.

[ It's embarrassing to recall their little prison theatre, but it's a fair point nonetheless. It's a transparent truth to Kida, at least. It's visible, bursting from the girl each time she looked at Masamune's prone body, when they'd brought him in, all but trembling with grief. She remembers what Sieglinde had told her, about her life before. Masamune's right, it had been torn away, making the new connections she'd forged all the more important. Neither of them fights alone, now. She thinks of Pearl, Riza, Sieglinde, Masamune, Hellboy, Loki, Clarke, even Gilgamesh--these are all indelible marks on her life, now. Wherever she goes she will carry their influence with her.

She considers Masamune, still on the ground, now with his head bowed.

She'd challenged him to a fight. But in truth--she hadn't wanted to fight him, had she? She'd wanted to hit him. And she had. Suddenly, he's not the only one feeling guilt. She'd done the same thing to Hellboy--set him up to fail. He presents her with humility when all she's given him has been anger. And that anger is hard to pinpoint--she doesn't think of herself as a violent person. But increasingly, she's been angry. Not in the productive sense, either--just a consuming, bottled-up rage.

That anger sucked out of her, she lets herself slide to the ground, on her knees facing him. She owes him at least to look him in the eye. ]

You had lost your senses, though I was too angry to see it, then. You attacked me. I worried for you. I worried for Sieglinde, who worried for you. And not because I am her mother, or your wife--because you are my friend. I care for you.

[ She had thought she'd feel a prickle of embarrassment at saying it, but no--she's not ashamed of that emotion, of caring. Caring makes her strong. ]

I am only glad you are here. I accept your apology.

[ A beat. She lifts her eyes to his, and now it's her turn to be apologetic. The shadow of a smile ghosts over her face. ]

Call me Kida, yes? You have suffered enough for it.

[inroad]

[ no, he didn't. He hadn't really considered anything at all because he's never been around in someone's life like that. Time slips away when you're still interested in living your life alone and not being held down and whether by a partner or a sibling or child. He's not that good at reading things concerning such because he has little experience and little need for it.

Still his expression softens a little which of course is not so great when she comes to crouch down and talk face to face. As much as he appreciates it he can only look at her and listen for a few moments before he has to glance just slightly to one side bringing a hand to cover his mouth in order to prevent it from easily being seen that his face feels a bit hot thinking about her words. She says she cares and he is a friend and all these actually really meaningful things with such a strong and steady yet simple tone that it's just so easy to catch him in surprise and make it hard to control his total reaction.

Still even though he can't quite get his reaction in check when she says she accepts his apology and offers the nickname, he has to glance back to her. ]

...I'm really glad to be allowed to call you a friend, Kida. You're amazing and I don't want to lose you, either. ...especially not to my own mistakes.

[ he closes his eyes a moment a now giving a slight clearing of his throat before slowly removing his hand. It's not perfect, he still looks a little soft and affected by such simple and few words but it's fine so long as he doesn't look like an embarrassed or infatuated child still. ]

I'd give you something back as a sign of mutual earnings but I'm pretty sure everyone calls you that already so it's not as special.

[ he's teasing though, a gentle smile barely touching his lips before he reaches into his jacket to be able to take something out ]
I know you said you didn't want anything from our expedition but I was told a gift might make my apology more sincere. Luckily you went for my important crap to break rather than something like my ribcage or it'd been ruined.

[ he removes a very strange flower to offer to her now, looking down at it thoughtfully. ]

It reminded me of Moonflowers. In a world where the night doesn't end a moonflower would not exactly be able to last long so this probably something those winged bugs did with their snot powers [ ah he means the faeries and yes he just had to use the word to describe it. ] but I thought it would be a reasonable I-owe-you stand-in until we end up somewhere I can show you the real thing. There are legends of certain Moonflowers that only bloom once a year for a night and wilt by sunrise. They are also said to be connected in pairs. If you pick one, their partner also dies along with it.

I figure, if I promise to take you to see something like that so unpredictable and rare, it might help you have a little more faith in me that I really am not planning on failing you again.

[ he offers it out to her, his expression maybe looking a little embarrassed because ah cheesy things like what he's about to say usually are usually only worth picking women up or if you're really campy with poetry.

still... it does really mean something here no matter how lame it sounds. ]

So, also... let's be like that and stay connected. I won't die and neither will you because regardless of what is going through our heads at a critical moment, if nothing else we owe it to one another to live, yeah?

[ a pause before quietly he adds sheepishly, a small 'aheh' and mumbled. ] It's not a pickup line or a date this time, okay? Just in case that needs clearing up.

[adlantisag]

[ His teasing only makes her roll her eyes. ]

Many people call me Kida--but you are the only one here to have earned it.

[ It's more weighty than he'd think. He made the effort--one of the only ones. That he doesn't give a nickname back doesn't bother her. Perhaps he doesn't have one, or doesn't use one. Maybe he's just taking his time.

Instead, he gives her a flower.

She thinks at first that it might be just the adrenaline draining out of her, but the more he speaks the more aware she becomes of the chilled grass beneath them, the lantern-light enveloping them, the moon overhead. His face is flushed; even his hand can't hide the stripe of pink that creeps up his nose. But he's looking right at her, his single eye solid and steady, his voice low. A moonflower, he says; something from his homeland. Rare and precious. He gives her a promise.

It's--ah. Oh, you silly man, she thinks, half-fond and half-furious, redness touching her cheeks. How can you say such things?

When was the last time anyone had spoken like that to her? With care and sweetness. She's not immune to his charm, he must know it. Idly, she turns the flower in between her fingers, its fragrance wafting into the night air. Had he brought this here, even knowing they would fight? He'd gone deep into the fairy forest to retrieve it for her. This was--almost to-the-last--a courtship gesture.

The feeling that wells up in her chest is bittersweet. Why could we not have met another way? she thinks, knowing where his loyalties would forever reside. She could not take him from Oushu, if ALASTAIR would even allow it, nor he take her from Atlantis. Impasse.

And yet--Kida isn't the type to deny herself. She tucks the flower behind her ear, pushing back her hair. The dark blossom contrasts sharply against the paleness. ]

Masamune...

[ His name is velvet on her tongue. She leans forward on her knees, one hand reaching for his jaw, her fingers gliding over his skin. The other hand lands on his knee, stabilizing. She closes the distance.

It's not a chaste kiss. She lets the adrenaline and the affection that suffuse her pour out, her mouth sliding over his. She thumbs his cheekbone, right beneath his eyepatch, close enough to feel the warmth from his body. She draws it out, tastes him, tastes the night and the cold air. Then she pulls back, her expression bright with mischief, and more than a little desire--but her gazes slides away even as her body tilts back, gets ready to stand. ]

The next time you kiss me, you really must do better.

[ Implying, of course, that there very well might be a next time. ]

[inroad]

[ if someone told him that's exactly how this would go down if done step by step from how this started to know he never would have believed them for a second (flat out laughing at them would be quite likely as well

and yet here they are.

Masamune isn't going to complain, not in the least, either. The samurai manages to be able to do much else, either. Damn if he doesn't regret it a missed opportunity to give back proper, leaving him a little bit stunned.

Kida's voice is enough to catch his attention and get him to answer her. he can't say he actively recalls moving as he does to grab her arm to prevent her from getting up, leaning forward himself rather than pulling her any which way back towards him. When he has his mouth near her ear is when he stops, words calm albeit to be such is incredibly difficult to manage.

but, restraint is crucial right now. the first time while he had absolutely different intentions than now, he finds it exactly for that reason he can't take her kiss as it being fine to initiate another. ]

And 'next time' can't be right now? Just checking. [ Even he understands enough that if that situation left anything particularly hurt or otherwise sour he needs to even further demonstrate respect now that was not there before, himself or not.

It's clear, however, that while he'll wait he would really rather not. While he doesn't know that he was the first person to kiss her in longer than what his entire lifetime will be, she really absolutely deserves something better to reference back to. ]

[adlantisag]

[ Flirting is nice, easy; she likes as much as any other woman to feel desired, a winsome smile, handsome shoulders. Masamune is pretty, yes, but ambitious, driven, strong. Attraction for him settles low in her belly, pooling there stubbornly. His mouth is close to her ear, his voice a rumble in the dark. She can smell him, feel the warmth from him. The lines of trees extend past the line of his shoulder, and it's all she can do not to nose into his hair.

But there's an intensity to Masamune that remains foreign to her, however. In Atlantis she'd never really entertained a proper suitor. None brave enough to court the princess, and her too occupied by seeking the respect of her warriors rather than a man's love. Of course it had bothered her: she was the last of her lineage, and Atlantis' heir. But she had bigger worries then, and even bigger ones now.

She turns her head in increments. Her nose skims his cheek. She feels tethered to him by his hand upon her arm, keeping her close. She wants--wants to push him down into the grass, fall with him, laugh into his mouth like a giddy adolescent and let only the darkness be privy to the hunger that lives within her. But she can't. ]

If kisses are what you want, Masamune, then I can provide.

[ Her mouth is a curve, her body arched towards his, an invitation despite herself. That is all I can provide goes unsaid; he is a lord. They both know the stakes, and how the rules may differ between them. She kisses the shell of his ear, trailing back languidly along his jaw, knowing he'll meet her partway. ]

[inroad]

[ he understands well enough the limitations of what she is offering to him but she's still giving him more than he hoped for. Of course she thinks clearer than he and had it been his responsibility alone to lay the limits down they would have ended up severely close before he would have put a stop to it (if at all). But it's not all unfamiliar, either, and if he's honest with himself... these sorts of limited enjoyment can be better than the rest. ]

I accept, then. [ the volume of his voice is uniquely low but his tone is powerful enough to convey he's more than happy with the offer, even if his lust is going to have to go unfulfilled. His other arm moving to slip around her waist now that she's presented herself in a manner that gives him the permission to, he pulls her closer. Once she's in range he lets go of her arm guiding it just past his shoulder, tilting his head to be able to catch her lips with his own. It's a simple kiss, at least until he pull hers forward flush against him, and then it escalates to something far less innocent. He's careful not to be forceful but he is insistent in being able to taste her as fully as possible from a kiss alone.

Masamune always works to make the best of any opportunity. If it's just kissing he can work with it; but he's going to make sure to get absolutely everything possible there is to be had within his limits. It's not just this so much as his nature in general to get everything he can out of something. Really, he thinks more people should be like that anyway.

Plus, he really does have a lot of making up to do to her in more ways than one, already forgiven or not. ]

[adlantisag]

[ She grins wickedly into his kiss when he pulls her against him, her hands unabashedly winding into his hair, tight against his skull. The kiss is unhurried, her open mouth slanting over his, kissing his top lip and bottom lip, sucking it in between her teeth.

She loses track of how long they stay like that, entwined in the grass. Her in his lap, moving against one another, sharing heat and breath. By the time they part, laughter light between them, the lantern is almost dead. From this close, his eye is bright like a silver coin, like the moon. She kisses his nose, his cheeks, suffused with affection. Her every nerve stands on end, and it's almost--almost enough to ward off the chill.

They need to head back.

Taking his hand in her own, she pulls him to his feet. She collects her lantern, her spear, her cloak. Her step is light. If she walks diagonally a bit to 'accidentally' press against him on their walk back to town, well. She knows he won't mind.

She keeps their fingers laced the whole way. ]