Healing with Friends

[Willoria]

A couple days after taking it easy in the hospital and making sure not to tear her stitches, and Ume was allowed to leave. After leaving a few instructions with Masako in regards to her home and having the other woman bring her a bag of her things, Ume went with Kotaru to his home to stay for a couple of weeks and recuperate to her full strength again. It still felt a bit unnecessary, she was certain she had plenty of protection with Masako at her side but she wasn't complaining. Not only would this give Masako a chance to heal properly at Jinsai's side, it would also give her a chance to potentially spend time with Kotaru.

When she arrived she was surprised at the sheer size of the home, as well as the beauty of it. She knew he probably liked to spend his down time in comfort, but she hadn't expected something quite so grand. Even the room she was led to was beautiful, though she knew almost immediately she'd rather spend her time outdoors. She didn't have much opportunity to do so at her own home. Jinsai and Masako both never really allowed her to spend unsupervised time outdoors due to the danger of being attacked, it wasn't exactly something that Kota had exaggerated about. The amount of times the woman had been attacked by members of their own clan seemed unreal most days and she didn't entirely understand why. She thought Masako might know something of it, but as much as she trusted the woman she knew she still had secrets she kept because of her direct affiliation with the Elders. That was an entirely different subject.

Not long after arriving Ume had already found a place outside, but within the walls, she liked in particular. It was simply under a tree but the combination of sun and fresh air was invigorating. She wasn't wearing her usual clothes of course, considering she was still healing. Instead she wore a simple loose pair of black pants that tied loosely about her waist. Her shirt was loose as well that seemed to barely rest on her frame. Her hair was loose and she had simply swept it over a shoulder as she leaned her head back against the tree with her eyes closed to enjoy the rare sunlight and relax for a moment. 'How long until he yells at me for not being inside and in bed resting I wonder?'

[Kao]

The days leading up to Ume's stay at his home were hectic for Kotaru. He left her that first night and returned home and realized it was in no shape to receive a proper guest. He had lived there for four years now and he had never thought to furnish or decorate half of the rooms within the mansion. With a sigh he contacted one of his old playthings who had a knack for that sort of thing. She was happy to help, and by early morning on the day she was due to be discharged from the hospital, the place was much cozier than before.

He instructed her to pick out whatever rooms - plural - that she liked. He left her bag in the large foyer and let her wander around alone a bit to feel more at home. In the meantime he rummaged around in the kitchen, attempting to wrangle up a snack for her. The hospital staff had gotten wind that Ume's frequent visitor was the village's youngest bannin so they had done their best to ensure her stay was as pleasant as possible lest they incur the man's displeasure. That included making sure her meals were tastier than usual, but there was only so much they could do to dress up hospital food and not violate any policies. With that in mind he found a few pastries and did his best to make pomegranate tea.

When he went looking for her in a few of the rooms he found them untouched. Instead of being in a room like he expected he found her outside in the courtyard settled beneath a tree. With a sigh he stepped outside with the tray. "Inside's not nice enough for you?" he quipped as he extended the tray. Similar to Ume, Kotaru wasn't wearing his usual clothes. Instead he wore a dark grey open robe that nearly dragged the ground, and beneath it was a low cut black v-neck. His charcoal pants were similar to hakama, with a deep drop-crotch and tapered to fit snugly around his angles. The loose fabric of his robes billowed slightly in the breeze. "Haven't found a room you like yet?"

[Willoria]

Ume smiled as she heard his voice and at first didn't open her eyes. "Don't be offended, the inside is gorgeous." she admitted, lifting her head and finally opening her eyes to look up at him. "But so is the outside, and in the compound I don't get to spend much time outside. For obvious reasons Masako isn't really comfortable with me spending time outside the house with my guard down." She looked at the tray he offered briefly before picking up something small from it. It smelled sweet and she was happy to bite into something that didn't look like it had spent the last week wrapped in plastic. He asked about the rooms and Ume couldn't help a bit of a grin. "Hard to choose I guess, I wasn't expecting something so huge and so many options... My house is so small." she admitted, blushing a bit.

"I still live in that small two bedroom if you remember it... actually its a one now. I converted one of them for my clinic, added an exterior entrance to it so I don't have strangers coming in through the house all the time." She took another bite of the pastry in her hand and glanced around at the yard, taking in the trees and the sun with a sigh before looking up at Kotaru again. "So is this the part where you make me go back inside for the next two weeks now?" she asked, smirking slightly. She was so used to being forced to being stuck inside and probably under some kind of guard, she pretty much expected it here too.

She'd lived that way under Koyama's guard, and under Masako's it hadn't been much different.

[Kao]

"I like my space," he added when she commented about the size of his home. His childhood was spent alone in a cramped home, and when he lived with Tatsuo and his family for a few years it was roomy enough but there were too many people going in and out every day. It had been loud pretty often, and Kotaru liked the quiet. "Why would I do that?," Kotaru replied as he sat next to her. "You're free to go wherever you like here. If I wanted you locked inside all day I'd have just made it so you were in the hospital for two weeks instead. Besides, we don't get warm sunny days often and sunshine is good for healing or whatever."

Kotaru took one of the sweet rolls and bit into it, suddenly feeling at a loss for what to do or say. He and Ume hadn't been alone like this in...he wasn't sure. Whenever they had found themselves alone it was usually due to her being ill, injured, or needing to train. Besides that day all those years ago that they had dared to share a kiss, they had hardly ever been by themselves in such a calm and peaceful circumstance. He decided to try to get a sense of what she was thinking about. "Still unsure about staying here for a couple weeks? It's not too late to be readmitted to the hospital."

[Willoria]

Ume raised an eyebrow and looked at Kotaru for a moment as he told her she was free to go where she wanted in his home. Normally that would sound like more restriction to her, but his place was so huge, even within the fencing, it sounded like more freedom still. There was certainly plenty of space to explore, she was pretty sure she could try to explore the entire place the two weeks she was here and still not find everything. "Glad to hear it." she admitted, looking over as he sat down next to her. As she continued to nibble on the sweet she'd picked, her free hand moved to rest on Kotaru's leg beside her without much thought. She was enjoying the rare quiet, she didn't get much of it in her life, and she certainly didn't get much of it with Kota for that matter. Seemed to her any time she was alone with him it ended either awkwardly or in an argument.

She really was hoping to avoid that this time.

He asked about her hesitation to stay and she chuckled a bit, shaking her head. "No, I definitely don't want to go back to the hospital." she replied, turning her head to look at him again. "So if you get tired of me I'll just go back to my house." she added, sticking her tongue out at him playfully for a moment. "Although you might not get sick of me. I'm an even better cook than last time we spent time together, just that alone might mean you may want to keep me around a bit." It was true, the woman had become an excellent cook at this point. Even in the early days when she'd first met Jinsai and he couldn't stand her, he couldn't resist showing up when she was cooking no matter how much they'd argue.

[Kao]

It was hard not to react when she placed her hand on his. The bannin swallowed thickly and looked down at her hand, settled quite comfortably and familiarly on his lower thigh. He squirmed, just a little, but not because he was uncomfortable with the sensation. It was quite the opposite. A tiny electric jolt radiated from her touch throughout his leg and to his groin, and from there it branched upwards to his stomach. He did his best to ignore it, relying on sheer willpower to pay no attention what should have been a pleasant sensation. But that was a difficult feat with her hand resting on his thigh so casually.

"Oh really? Maybe I'll let you in the kitchen at some point then. Either way, you're not going back to your apartment early. If I get annoyed with you I'll just go to the other side of the grounds. It's not like you can walk very far right now." Kotaru nodded towards her torso before grabbing another pastry. The warm breeze picked up slightly at that moment, unravelling part of his ponytail and whipping a few strands towards her face. "How is it? Don't forget we have to clean it later and make sure nothing's shifted."

[Willoria]

When Ume finished her pastry, she didn't reach for or ask for another one. Truth be told, she wasn't very hungry since her hospital stay. She had only just started eating solid foods again after being stuck with liquids after her injury and hadn't fully gotten her appetite back. She kept her hand on his thigh, her thumb shifting back and forth across it slightly as she listened to him and her fingers shifting a bit as she adjusted how she sat to get more comfortable. When he mentioned going to the other side of the grounds the woman snorted. "Truth, I guess that's one advantage of the size of this place. If you get annoyed with me I'll be pretty easy to avoid." she remarked, turning to glance at him just in time for a few strands of his hair to get into her face.

She sputtered a moment at it and laughed, brushing his hair out of her face and shaking her head. "Not sure I'll ever get used to you having so much hair now... or that you're taller now." she teased him before growing serious at his comments about her wound. She made a bit of a face and blushed slightly at the thought of him helping her with it. "Y-you don't need to help with that, I can manage." she said awkwardly. "Most of that I can check with a couple of jutsu... no sense you troubling yourself with that." She wasn't sure why the idea of him helping her with her wounds made her feel a bit embarrassed but it did. 'More like shame I'm feeling I guess...' she thought to herself. 'I hate him seeing me like this... just him knowing I'm near helpless is bad enough.'

[Kao]

"Yeah, well, it just sort of happened. Hard to find a barber in the middle of a war. The height thing surprises me way more than you, trust me." He pulled the strands of his hair out of her face, his fingers briefly brushing against her cheek. He didn't react to the touch since half of his focus was still on Ume's hand on his thigh, especially since her thumb began to move around. He did, however, notice the way she blushed. Ume blushed quite often, so initially he didn't think anything of it or think too hard about the reason behind it. With a furrowed brow he stared at her, then he shook his head in response to her refusal to let him help her.

"You can't manage. The only reason you were discharged so early is because I made a deal with the charge nurse. She doesn't take shit from anyone, not even me. She lectures worse than Mitsuo. I had to promise her I'd help clean your wounds, make sure you take walks and eat and rest. I barely know iijutsu but she made it clear that you're supposed to use the medicated wound wash, too." Kotaru tilted his head when he noticed the idea of him helping seemed to upset her. He couldn't help but frown. "Don't worry, it's nothing I haven't seen before." The reference was to wounds and injuries, but then he thought about what the other implication could be given his predilections. He cleared his throat, hoping she wouldn't think of his statement in a way other than what he intended.

[Willoria]

Ume frowned as he made it clear that he was helping her whether she liked it or not. For a moment all she could think about was the time he helped her after Koyama died, and how had she thanked him? She had practically abandoned him, treated him like trash for a long time. It was probably one of the most significant blows she had ever dealt him and she still hated herself for it. But she tried to brush the thoughts aside when he tried to make her more comfortable with the idea of helping her and nodded. She knew the charge nurse he was talking about and couldn't help a bit of a snort. "Yeah... she's a bitch." she said flatly before laughing a bit more. "I'm not really her favorite person either. When I went looking for help learning Iijutsu she tried to put herself as the best option for a teacher and wasn't happy when I refused her help..."

Awkwardly she glanced at the house for a moment, or rather the mansion, and sighed a bit before looking at Kotaru. "I guess I should finally pick that room huh?" she mentioned before awkwardly repositioning her legs under herself to try and stand without exerting the muscles in her core at all to avoid pulling at her stitches at all. It was difficult but manageable. It did mean she finally removed her hand from his thigh however before she managed to stand, using the tree to brace a hand against before standing. "Is there any area of the place in particular you'd rather I'd be?" she asked almost hesitantly. She wasn't sure how much time he'd actually want to spend around her, or avoid her, but the last thing she wanted to do was pick a room too close to some main part of the house if he was trying to avoid her.

[Kao]

He wasn't surprised that particular nurse didn't take kindly to Ume's snub. "She thinks she's hot shit. To be fair she sort of is in that hospital, but there's a ton of better medics in the village than her." Tatsuo's wife, Natsumi, came to mind immediately. And then he very belatedly realized that she had told him that Natsumi taught her iijutsu. He had been so focused on her situation at the time that the revelation had gone completely over his head. 'Oh that must have been interesting,' he thought, and he wondered why Tatsuo hadn't mentioned it. Maybe it had all happened when he had left the village for a couple months.

Ume struggled to her feet while he was still thinking about whether or not she and Natsumi had gotten along, and he had to resist the urge to help her stand. It was important that she did as much as she could so long as it was safe, and once she successfully picked herself up he was able to relax his shoulders. "Not really. My room is in the main building in the center of the grounds, but there's other rooms in there and in the smaller buildings, too. I don't care, take your pick." Whichever room she chose would be comfortable. He made sure that no matter where she wanted to lay her head it wasn't in a cold, bare bones room. All the beds were perfectly firm and had beautiful views of the grounds. It was up to her whether she wanted to be closer to the front of the mansion, to the kitchen, or to the center courtyard.

When he saw that she had to brace herself against the tree, he hesitantly held out his arm for her to grab onto. If it was that difficult to remain upright then she was a fall risk, and he didn't want to have to explain to the charge nurse how and why she had fallen when he sent over the notes on her progress at the end of the day. That woman was truly by the book and he had no desire to cross her to the point where she demanded Ume return to the hospital. If she took his arm he would lead her back inside and then urge her to lead the way in choosing a room.

[Willoria]

Ume nodded as Kotaru confirmed what she knew, as good as that woman was there were better. "Well for what I've been studying, I needed the best, and frankly she wasn't good enough." Her words were oddly cold given even her usual demeanor, but they were true. She still remembered how angry the woman had gotten at her remarks and it almost made her laugh again. She'd never seen someone turn so red before. As the subject moved on and he mentioned where his room was, she almost felt a twinge of disappointment. Some part of her had hoped that maybe he wanted to keep her close, but it sounded like he truly didn't care where in the home she ended up at. 'Or were you hoping he'd offer you a portion of his bed?' Her own thoughts interjected and she had to fight to keep from making a face at herself for it. 'Stupid Ume. He doesn't have the same feelings for you. He doesn't want to share a bed with an invalid anyway. He'll want his own space... obviously.' She silently chastised herself but tried to mask her own expression to keep her thoughts safe, in spite of the fact that Kotaru had always been good at reading her like a book. Even back when she was dating Tatsuo, he always seemed to read things in her face that Tatsuo never noticed.

When he offered her his arm she couldn't help a surprised look, but took it as offered. She couldn't really afford to fall after all. She went back into the house with him, feeling only slightly disappointed at leaving behind the sun and the fresh air as she soon retrieved her bag from where she'd left it out. She was careful with it, not wanting to pull her stitches as she thought about where she'd want to sleep. "You mentioned smaller buildings." she said suddenly, trying to make the best of her earlier disappointment before turning to look at him. "Any of them have a kitchen too?" she asked.

'I could make the best of it... this way if he chooses to come see me I can still cook for him or something, feel like I'm paying him back a bit that way. But he still has his space to himself. Completely. No interference from me.'

[Kao]

Her brief change in expression didn't go unnoticed. Kotaru had been watching her in the moments before she took his arm. Was that disappointment? What could she upset about? Even before she arrived he had made sure her stay would be comfortable enough that she didn't consider going back to the Akari compound before she was completely healed. Perhaps it was manipulative of him, but he had doubted she would say no to him considering her feelings for him. But as she watched the fleeting change in her expression, the bannin couldn't help but think there was something on her mind that she didn't want to tell him. Even after all these years he could still read her pretty well at times, though he internally admitted that it was much more difficult now that it had been when they were teenagers. The Akari decided not to mention it for now. It wasn't the time, and know how they both were it might turn into a disagreement or maybe even a full blown argument.

Without asking he took her bag from her and slung it over his shoulder. Afterwards he looked over at her, taking a moment to think about the layout of his home. "The main building and the west wing both have kitchens. The east wing is more like...I guess it's where other people would entertain guests. Most of the rooms in the east wing were empty but I figured I'd give you more options. So for now, I arranged two bedrooms in the east wing. Then there's the three in the west wing and the empty four in the main buildling." When he said it out loud, it seemed excessive. But Kotaru wasn't someone who did things halfway once he found the determination. "If you're thinking about a kitchen then we can head to the main building or the west wing. The main building's is obviously bigger and better stocked, if that matters."

[Willoria]

She couldn't help a roll of her eyes when he took her bag. She almost snapped at him that she wasn't an invalid, but she kinda was at this point which she quickly realized. He explained the layout to her and she couldn't help an expression of surprise for a moment. "That's.... a lot of house. Planning a lot of kids or a lot of wives? Or both?" she asked him with a bit of a snort, clearly joking with him about it. She thought she remembered he wasn't big on the idea of having a bunch of kids, but it still seemed funny in the moment given the sheer size of the place. She felt like he could easily house an army or something in the place.

He explained the kitchens and she nodded briefly. "West Wing will be fine." she said, sighing quietly. "I should be pretty out of your way there, but I can still cook for you over there at least if you want." She turned and saw the way he was holding her bag and made a slight face for a moment however, not quite realizing yet that she'd given away potentially why she was asking more about the rooms rather than just picking one already. "Careful I have a.... a plant... in the top of that bag...." she said, hesitating as she realized how weird that sounded before laughing awkwardly. "It's handy for healing and training... Natsumi gave it to me after training one day actually."

[Kao]

At the mention of kids he nearly gagged. Kotaru was not a fan of kids of any age, and the thought of him having even one was enough to make him feel ill. It was frankly a miracle that he didn't have kids by now, but he did his absolute damndest to make sure there weren't little Kotas running around the village and the country. "No kids," he grumbled, his lips turning downward slightly into a frown that was dangerously close to a grimace. "Multiple wives...? Probably not. Haven't really thought about that." Most people who knew about how much Kotaru liked to sleep around would probably assume he would be enthusiastic about the idea of having multiple wives. But frankly, Kotaru wasn't sure if he would ever get married at all. Whenever he felt one of his playthings was getting too attached he would cut them loose and end any fantasies of marriage or even a relationship right then and there. He enjoyed doing as he pleased without having to worry about the women's feelings.

He looked over at Ume with the thought of a wife in mind and then immediately - forcefully - killed that thought from taking its natural course. Their situation was still, as far as he was concerned, uncertain. She may say she loves him but the bannin was hesitant, to say the least. Instead he focused on helping her get situated in his home. But even as he tried to keep his thoughts centered around ensuring she was taken care of during her stay, her words gave him pause. "Out of my way?" he echoed, suddenly understanding why she might have looked so disappointed a few minutes earlier. But before he could press further, she said something about a plant within her bag. Kotaru scoffed a bit, looking at her in confusion, then at the bag.

"A plant...?" The man shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Of course she did. And of course you'd bring it with you. Let's find a room first and then we'll worry about your plant, alright?" When she had decided on the west wing he had immediately altered their course to head that way. But now he stopped walking, which would make her stop as well. "Ume. Don't worry about being in my way. You can pick whatever room you like." Kotaru paused and swallowed a bit before continuing. "If you want to stay in the main building then just say so. It has the nicer kitchen, bigger rooms, and you won't have to walk as far if you need anything from me."

[Willoria]

If Ume thought him grumbling about kids was funny, his sudden thoughts about multiple wives really made her snort. "Your reputation would say that's far too much commitment for you." she teased, turning to look at him with a mischievous glint in her eye. Though in doing so she also caught him giving her a look that seemed off somehow. Not sure what was on his mind suddenly, and another small blush creeping its way in, she quickly looked away to return to the matter at hand.

His grump about the plant at least made her laugh a bit again. She had almost expected more pushback from him about it. After all, the house seemed pristine and she had brought in a plant, complete with dirt. But after the moment of humor he had stopped suddenly and come back to what she'd said about getting in his way. A light blush returned again and her eyes quickly dropped to the floor. "I just..." She paused a moment, reaching up with her left hand to brush some of her own hair out of her face. The loose nature of the long sleeve of her shirt revealing a bit of the tattoo that covered her arm now, and covered old scars from another time Kotaru had helped her. "Every time you help me, I seem to manage to burn you, or upset you." she finally said quietly. "Even I don't know why or how I manage that and I just... I don't want to disrupt your life again. I just wanted to pick a place where hopefully I would cause the least amount of trouble for you..."

It was mostly true. She wanted to be as close to him as possible, but in her mind, every time she gave in to that she seemed to also mess things up for him.

[Kao]

"So don't." Those two words came out firmly, matter-of-factly. If he had allowed himself to think about it too much, his mind would have been swirling with the same misgivings that were clearly plaguing Ume. Their history was a mess, and each and every time he opened himself up to her, Kotaru ended up hurt. To combat him once again dwelling on their past Kotaru had to almost hyperfocus on making sure his home was comfortable enough for her. That focus made him appear calm, and after a few days of faking it as he got things ready he had found himself actually feeling it. But now she had brought it up and he had to address it.

"Don't burn me then, Ume. Instead of tiptoeing around me and worrying about 'getting in my way', focus on being comfortable. You're here to recover and be safe. It's not 'disrupting my life.' I wouldn't have invited you here if I thought that was gonna be an issue." Kotaru placed two fingers under her chin then lifted her head toward him. His gaze was piercing, but she would find sincerity within them. "Just pick a room."

[Willoria]

Ume couldn't stop a partial laugh when he told not to. "You realize every time I've never intended to." she replied, sighing as she turned to say more. But instead he had more to say. She swallowed hard, her breath catching when he lifted her head by the chin to look at him. She nodded slowly and brought her left hand up to touch his wrist briefly, if only to create a pause as she tried to get her mind to catch up for a moment. If she didn't have that pause she might've blurted out the wrong thing. 'What kind of heart attack would he have if I told him I'd feel safer with him in his room?' She quickly buried the thought again.

"Probably whatever is close to the kitchen then." she said quietly. "I'd hate to explain how I fell trying to get a glass of water in the middle of the night." she added before a light smirk. "Maybe an East facing window for the plant..." If she thought she was getting antsy waiting to hear back from him after sending him the box and the letter, she was quickly relearning how much stronger the feeling was when she was this close to him.

[Kao]

Though the gesture was brief, Kotaru's breath hitched when Ume touched his wrist. For a moment his heart tap-danced in his chest and he had to clear his throat to reset his body and mind. It was bound to happen, these fleeting touches, and he thought he had been prepared to pay them no heed. But as always it felt nice to have her close to him. More than nice. It was different with her than with anyone else he had ever been with. Kotaru searched her eyes and he found that there was something that she wasn't saying. Strange, he thought, since she had been so honest with him recently. But once again he didn't push it.

"Alright then. Come on." On the first floor of the main building not far from the kitchens was a bedroom that would hopefully fit Ume's needs. Kotaru opened a door, revealing a large suite. Situated against the opposite wall was a king sized bed, covered with a plush navy comforter and a few pillows. Next to it was an ornately carved mahogany night stand, upon which sat a lamp and an empty reflective gold tray. To the left was a long plush seat beneath a window - east-facing, as she preferred - and the windowsill was wide enough that she would be able to set down her plant. A tall chest of drawers stood opposite of the bed, and to the right of it was an open door that led to a walk-in closet and the bathroom. Kotaru led her to the bed so she could sit. It had been a bit of a walk from the courtyard to the room, but not so far that it would be too difficult for her to make the trip on her own if she wanted.

The man sat her bag down on the floor and opened it. Just as she said, there was a plant sitting on top of everything, slightly tipped over from how he'd handled it. Maybe about a third of the dirt had spilled out of the pot, and he looked up at her with an expression of both amusement and sheepishness. "I'll probably have to wash your clothes. Maybe have a smaller bag for your plant next time?" He picked it up, turning it a bit in curiosity as he walked over the the window and set it down.

"Is this an okay room then? If it is then we can go to the bathroom and clean your stitches.""

[Willoria]

Ume followed him to the room, once again feeling more than a little surprised at the sheer size of it. She felt like she shouldn't keep being impressed by everything in the place. It seemed clear by now that the place was huge and every room was full of luxury. But she couldn't help being impressed, she just wasn't used to this kind of place. He led her over to the bed and she sat down on the edge of it, her eyes looking over the room more than once as she took in every detail. She turned and watched him take out the plant and chuckled as he commented about it, the look on his face was almost cute. "Yeah... packing isn't really Masako's strong suit." she remarked, shaking her head with a bit of a smirk. The idea of Kotaru washing her clothes for her struck her as odd, given the sheer size of the place she supposed he had people who did that for him, or maybe it was just something she hadn't thought of him doing.

She nodded when he asked about the room. "It's perfect." she admitted, running a hand over the comforter on the bed as she thought about how much more comfortable it was going to be than being stuck in that hospital room. Of course, now that her room was picked out that meant he was going to help her with the stitches which just brought a blush to her cheeks again.

[Kao]

"Good. Be right back." In a flash Kotaru disappeared from the room the fetch her medicine. It took him a moment to remember where he'd left it. It was still on the kitchen counter from when he stopped to make them snacks, which he then remembered was still outside in the courtyard. He retrieved it quickly and stuffed one of the last buns in his mouth just before heading over to her room. In all he was gone for less than five minutes. It felt longer to him since he felt himself losing focus. Now that she had chosen a room her stay had officially begun, and he tried not to think about the fact that her room was almost directly below his own.

Shaking the bottle of wound wash, he returned to her room. Kotaru jerked his head in the direction of the door leading to the closet and bathroom. "You might want to do this in the bathroom. Pretty sure this stuff stains and those sheets are new."

[Willoria]

Kotaru wasn't gone long but Ume used the time to check her plant and retrieve some of the dirt that had spilled in her bag, making sure the plants roots were still adequately covered. The sight of most of her 'clean' clothes she'd had Masako get for her being dirty already made her chuckle a bit. When Kotaru returned she was sitting in the window, debating if she should try to feed it a bit of chakra and realizing her wound was already a bit sore from all the moving around she'd been doing. But he motioned towards the bathroom and she simply nodded, slowly realizing this was going to get a bit awkward. She turned and headed through the closet and into the bathroom, immediately noticing that even this space was luxurious by her standards.

Of course, she also blushed as she realized a difficulty that was presenting itself. Her wound and stitches were high enough that she'd had to forego a bra when she had gotten dressed. Lifting her shirt enough to reveal the wound would mean making a mess of her shirt. She couldn't help chuckling to herself as this all dawned on her in the bathroom, with Kotaru, as she thought through the logistics of it and looked at the man for a moment. "...guess its a good thing you've seen most of me before, huh?" she suddenly said as she felt a heat spreading through her cheeks and even up to the tips of her ears. There was nothing light about her blush this time.

Still, she turned her back to him for a moment before carefully pulling her shirt off over her head. It was a little painful, bringing a small whimper from her as she did so, but she managed it. She made sure her hair was behind her before dropping her shirt to the floor and turning around, careful to put her hands over key areas of her chest to keep covered. Her eyes were pointed towards the ground however as her blush only deepened.

[Kao]

"I've-" The bannin stopped himself suddenly, realizing what he nearly said probably would have been too frank in that moment. The words I've seen most of a lot of women were close to falling from his lips with ease. He had certainly come a long way in holding on to his careless tongue. He watched as she turned her back to him then pulled off her shirt with considerable effort. Before she could fully turn around Kotaru set the bottle down on the counter and washed his hands. The warm water rinsed away the soap suds down the drain, and Kotaru found himself focusing very, very intently on his hand washing. He steeled himself as he turned the faucet off with his elbow and dried his hands, and then slowly he turned back around.

Her wound looked awful. It stretched from just above her navel to just past her solar plexus, and based on the amount of stitches it took to close the slash it had been pretty deep. No wonder the charge nurse was hesitant to let Ume out of her care. Kotaru exhaled, the breath coming out in a slight shudder, and he closed the gap between them. Her face was flushed and her eyes were trained to the ground, and had it not been for the herculean effort on his part he may have turned just as red as she was. Kotaru cleared his throat as he reached toward her bare hips to grab her gently and guide her over to the counter. Carefully, very carefully, he lifted her so that she could sit on the counter rather than stand uncomfortably in the middle of the bathroom,

Kotaru glanced up at her, looked for any indication that she was uneasy or in pain, then opened the bottle and poured some of the wound wash onto a cotton pad. "It's kinda cold," he warned her just before dabbing it onto the highest point of her wound. The man then trailed it downward, taking care to clean every inch of it.

[Willoria]

The way he touched her and lifted her onto the counter might've sent a shiver down her spine if she wasn't feeling the wrong kind of vulnerable in the moment. He had seen her in pain before, even seen her when she thought she was going to die before, back when she'd been diagnosed with a disease that should have killed her. But this was something entirely different. She had nearly died on mission, and in her mind it was entirely her own fault. She had used the wrong tactic, the riskiest, and had paid very dearly for it. She had thought making jokes about how he'd glimpsed her naked before would have lightened the mood but really it had done nothing for the moment. She kept her hands covering herself, sitting on the counter and simply nodded as he warned her about the wound wash before he started on the stitches.

The blush on her face didn't waver and she couldn't help flinching at the cold of the wound wash. "I guess I should prepare for another scar from this one." she said, trying to make light of the situation still, but when she chuckled at her own comments she ended up wincing and realized she hadn't taken her pain meds yet. "I suppose I can look into another tattoo design to cover this one when it heals well enough..." she added, motioning with a jerk of her head towards her left arm. She knew Kotaru would remember the scars down her left shoulder that had been hidden by the tattoo sleeve that now covered that arm. "I don't really have any plans of getting fat to get in the way of it anyway that would destroy a tattoo so... could work."

[Kao]

"Nice to know you aren't planning on getting fat," Kotaru quipped with a slight smile as he continued rubbing the wound wash onto her skin. Once the slash was completely covered in the dark orange medication, Kotaru reached slightly behind her left side for a washcloth. His arm brushed against her, dangerously close to her breast. The contact was unintentional and again he glanced at her, fully expecting her blush to deepen. She was still a bit predictable in that regard. In a swift movement he turned on the faucet and wet the cloth with warm water. He absentmindedly rested his free hand on her right hip as he brought the cloth to her skin to wipe away the medication. He had seen her tattoo once before when they were training in the cave, but at the time he hadn't paid much attention to it. This time he made a point to admire it more closely.

"You could do that," he continued as he rinsed out the cloth and then brought it back to her abdomen, "but the nurse mentioned some ointment that will prevent it from scarring too badly. It's up to you, obviously. You could always do both." Nearly done with cleaning her stitches now, Kotaru continued to wash off the rest of the medication. "We have to do this twice a day, so we'll do this again before you go to bed tonight."

Finally finished, the bannin tossed the cloth into the sink, but he hadn't moved his hand from her hip. He stared at her for a moment, and he suddenly lost his train of thought and fell silent.

[Willoria]

She didn't miss the fact that he almost touched her breast as he reached around her. Her blush did deepen and she caught him glancing at her. She couldn't help pursing her lips as she glared at him slightly when he did, almost as if making it clear she knew he was trying to catch her blushing more. The blush didn't fade either as he took the time to admire her tattoo before continuing work on her stitches. "Scars always bother me I guess. Just feel like bad memories." she said quietly. "I got the tattoo so I could at least cover it with something I thought was pretty... I could do the same with this maybe, though not sure what I'd cover it with. I can't imaging putting something as dense in the area..."

She nodded when he finished and mentioned doing it again, but when he stopped she was still standing there with her hands covering herself. He hadn't moved and he was staring at her and she found herself staring at him in return as she wondered what he was doing. "Thank you." she managed to say quietly. She felt like she was becoming more and more aware of his hand on her hip as they remained staring at one another. After a moment she adjusted the way she was sitting, covering herself with one arm instead of both hands as her other hand moved to rest over his on her hip. Without thinking about it much she leaned forward and kissed Kotaru gently on the lips.

[Kao]

A small shock of electricity radiated through his hand when she touched him. As soon as she began to lean forward he when what was coming, and Kotaru’s head immediately mirrored hers. Their lips touched and without meaning to a small moan vibrated the back of his throat as he softly returned her kiss. A few blissful seconds passed before he broke the kiss and he breathlessly said her name. “Ume, I….” Every part of his body wanted to kiss her again. His mind, however, was ringing every alarm bell possible. After all, Kotaru had brought Ume to his home in order to heal wounds, not open them.

But, despite himself, he gave in and kissed her again, gripping her hip a bit tighter and kissing her a bit deeper. With his free hand the man took hold of her forearm - the one that was stretched almost protectively across her chest - and guided it so it rested at her side. His hand then slid across her side, fingertips gently tracing lines across her soft skin until they reached the small of her back. And then suddenly he thought better of it, again, and he broke the kiss and cleared his throat.

[Willoria]

Relief washed over her when he returned her kiss and she felt every part of her relax. She found herself even smiling into it as she felt his moan against her lips. Even the way he said her name kept the smile on her face. He kissed her again and her heart raced as he moved her arm, but she didn't stop him. Her breath quickened as she felt his fingertips across her skin, though she was surprised when he stopped kissing her again and cleared his throat. When she looked in his eyes she thought she saw a conflict in them and couldn't help an almost sad smile. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cross boundaries I thought..." she paused a moment and simply sighed, blushing slightly in embarrassment as she tried to carefully slide off the bathroom counter though that brought her only closer to him for a moment. It brought her so close she had to be careful not to brush her stitches against his clothing as she tried to move away towards her clothing again to retrieve her shirt.

'I really might hurt him again...' she chewed on her lower lip a moment as the thought crossed her mind and she tried to pull her shirt on over her head. She couldn't help a small whimper as she did so, she was still incredibly sore and was probably due for pain meds she really didn't want to take right now. 'I'm doing enough stupid shit without the influence of those meds aren't I?' For a moment all she could think about was the last time she had admitted having feelings for him, and how badly that had gone for him. 'How selfish of me to say all that... deathbed confessions should be saved for actual death...'

[Kao]

The last time they were together Kotaru had found it almost impossible to get a good read on her. She had felt like a different person, which made the blow of her rejection all the more painful. This time, however, he could clearly see the sadness within her smile when he pulled away. “It’s just…not now. You’re supposed to be resting.” It truly was for her sake. Kissing her has opened a door he had tried to keep closed - for at least as long as her stay there - and now that he had kissed her the warning bells had gone silent. Now it was a matter of him ignoring how badly he wanted to keep kissing her and feeling her skin on his fingertips. And with his sexual appetite and his unspoken feelings, he wasn’t sure how long he would be able to limit himself to just kissing.

Kotaru barely moved when she slid off the sink counter. Ume may have been trying to avoid touching him with her stitches but that didn’t stop her bare chest from brushing against him. The man gave a barely audible hum at her touch. As she struggled with her shirt he gently stopped her by touching her forearm and then taking it from her hands. “Here,” he mumbled as he shimmied out of his robe and draped it over her shoulders. “If it hurts that bad then don’t worry about a shirt.” Then he paused, looking thoughtful, and added, “Did you not take your pain meds today?”

[Willoria]

She nodded as he mentioned her resting. She knew he was right, but she was still disappointed. Ironically she couldn't really get a read on him and how he felt about her, though she had told him at the hospital he didn't need to respond in kind to how she felt about him, it didn't mean she wasn't curious or wanting to know. She felt goosebumps rise across her skin as he touched her arm, stopping her from getting dressed before giving her his robe. She pulled it around herself carefully and smiled at him as she did so and nodded. Though when he asked about her pain meds, she blushed a bit again. "No, I didn't." she admitted quietly. "I get pretty loopy on them and... and apparently I say uncomfortable things." she said, her blush getting a little worse.

She turned towards the bedroom again, walking through the closet carefully before making her way back to the bed to sit down again with a sigh. "You know..." Ume sighed for a moment as something occurred to her before she looked up, certain Kota would have followed her out. "I've spent so much time ranting about what I want and what I feel, I'm not sure I've actually asked you... what do you you want, Kota?"

[Kao]

“Things’ll probably be uncomfortable whether you take them or not. So take them.” He followed her back into the bedroom but remained in the doorway, leaning against the frame since it probably wasn’t a good idea to join her on the bed. She began speaking, and then she sighed, and something about the combination of her tone and breath let Kota know that whatever she said would be related to what just happened between them. As expected she started talking about feelings and desire, and her question sapped the moisture from his throat. He looked away from her and towards the window, allowing several silent seconds to tick by.

“I want to be able to believe you.” A tiny shadow darted past the window, then it circled back to settle upon the windowsill. “Your letter sounded nice but you tend to change your mind a lot, Ume. Every time I get close to you….” Kotaru crossed his arms over his chest. Outside the window the little songbird started its repetitive, cheerful tune. “I want to be able to be around you without you beating yourself up about how you think I feel and I want to not regret inviting you to stay here.” He swallowed, finally turning to meet her gaze. “And I want to be able to kiss you without feeling like I’m making the same fucking mistake all over again.”

He sighed forcefully, the frustration washing over him. This conversation came as no surprise, but it wasn’t something that Kotaru expected to have the first day of her stay. Honestly he had hoped to avoid it completely.

[Willoria]

Ume watched him quietly, waiting for his response. When he finally spoke, nothing he said really came as a surprise to her. The only thing that really surprised the woman was that none of what he said really hurt her. In the past when he had talked about her like that it had hurt her, even though it was true, perhaps because it was true. But at some point she had finally come to terms with that truth and quit letting it really eat away at her. She couldn't change the past, and looking at him she didn't hate herself for her past mistakes, she was simply disappointed in herself, knowing how much they both had likely missed out on because of her mistakes. She forced herself to stand up again, walking over to where he stood with his arms crossed and rest both of her hands on his forearms.

"I can't make you believe me. And it'd be wrong for me to even try." she told him quietly, her eyes fixed on her own hands for the moment. She wasn't sure she could even find the words to convey what she wanted to say. "I just..." She sighed and finally looked up at him. "I'm here. I'm not pushing anything this time. It's whatever you want, or don't. You already know how I feel." She realized she was probably already pushing though with what she was saying and took a step back from him. When she walked back to the bed this time she couldn't help a light grimace as she felt some pain wash over her again, this time sliding under the comforter to try and get comfortable.

"I think I've been moving around too much..."

[Kao]

Even as Ume gingerly touched his forearms Kotaru’s gaze remained firmly on the window. His own words echoed in his head and their weight bore down on him. He simply wanted things to be easier. Part of him expected her to say something self-depreciating, but instead she comforted him. She reassured him. Somehow that didn’t immediately make him feel much better. But then he turned to her and their gazes met. That made the tension in his shoulders relax.

She was trying. At that moment he realized her uncertainty and hesitation was a show of how hard she was trying to be considerate toward his feelings. She didn’t get upset with him. She didn’t throw it in his face that she confessed her love for him. Not only that but they were able to speak calmly and openly like this. It was a new development and he certainly appreciated it.

“You probably have been.” His response was a bit belated. Revelations sometimes had that effect. “Are your pain pills in your bag?”[/color[ The bag was still open on the floor, so he picked it up and rummaged through it. After finding it in a zipped pouch he grabbed a cup from the bathroom, filled it, and went to her side to offer it. He paused for a moment then leaned down to kiss her.

“You look tired. Take this and nap. If you don’t need anything else now I’ll check on you later. My room’s upstairs so I’m not far.”

[Willoria]

"They should be." Ume replied concerning her pain meds. She stayed quiet, laying in the bed as Kotaru dug through the bag for the pills and even went to get her some water to take it with. Once she took the pills she was surprised when he leaned down to kiss her. She couldn't help looking up at him curiously as some part of her wondered just what this meant. She thought about asking him to stay with her, to even lay down with her until she fell asleep but that immediately seemed like too much. 'One step at a time... you don't even know if he wants more with you or not yet... and you have no right to ask for more, Ume. Let him tell you.' she silently reminded herself even as she nodded at his words.

"Alright." she said quietly. "Thank you again, Kota... this is definitely so much better than the hospital." she added, smiling up at him. She made herself comfortable in the bed, careful to lay on her back because of her stitches and everything. She knew as she napped she should probably summon Kantai to help her speed up the healing a bit, but right now she just didn't have the extra energy for the summoning. She also didn't have the energy for Kantai's energy or her worry.

[Kao]

Kotaru left the door cracked. He has no idea if Ume slept with the door open or closed, so he decided on a neutral middle ground. That was how he planned to approach her stay with him: take the safe route and maintain his carefully constructed walls, for both of their sakes. She would hear his slow footsteps fade as he made his way down the hall in a daze, and once he was in the kitchen he simply stood there and stared at the granite countertops. ”What did I get myself into?” the man asked himself as he absentmindedly touched his lips. The feel of hers on his lingered. The way his hand rested on her hip felt natural. Now, he could feel his body and mind screaming unintelligibly at each other, and he couldn’t make sense of the struggle between them.

It was just two weeks. Two weeks. The bannin repeated this in his head to build up his resolve but every now and then he would picture violet eyes and smooth skin. Maybe he would regret this, but maybe he wouldn’t. The seesaw of thoughts and emotions made his stomach churn with anxiety and eventually he walked back upstairs to his own room and collapsed onto his own bed. Kotaru still felt confident that his intentions were correct. He was still protective of Ume, but he was also protective of his own heart. For now, Kotaru would do his best to ensure the both of them made it through the next two weeks intact.

[Willoria]

Ume lay on her back, listening to his retreating footsteps. Her head towards the door as if she were watching him go, even though she couldn't see him, and her mind racing over the events of the day already. She lowered her head slightly, her nose touching the robe of his she was wearing, and taking a deep breath of his scent that remained on it. There was a comfort in the scent for her, the light mint was even in it. But something also ate at her. '...am I being fair to him at all?' The thought crossed her mind for a moment, but she immediately stifled it. Every time she had withdrawn, thinking it was for his own good, he had gotten hurt even more. 'I've taken the choice away from him every time... its all up to him now.'

Still, as she stared at the door of the bedroom she couldn't help worrying, her eyes heavy as the meds took effect and her breathing slowing down. Slowly sleep began to take her away and silently she hoped she wouldn't dream. Worry and dreams never went well together. 'I'll wait as long as it takes... and if he says no or never again that's fine too...'