Resonance of Love! (r18)

Kai sighed and looked up and found Shinobu secretly peeking at him.

Yet, the moment she noticed him looking at her, she closed her eyes and snorted. Kai's mouth twitched, a rueful smile surfacing on his thin lips.

Shinobu had said not one word to him after waking up.

On the first day, when she had regained momentary consciousness in his arms, Kai had recounted the events related to him and the demon to her.

When he mentioned him creating a new Breathing Style, Shinobu's dead eyes had flickered, filled with great amazement, wonder, and if Kai had seen it true, admiration.

But it was Kai's ambush that angered her the most, he could tell.

A vein kept popping up on her head now and then, and Kai knew it was the times she was recalling his strike, her eyes looking at him over her shoulder.

"I am sorry we will not reach the Entertainment District in time," Kai apologized, his gaze lifting from the fire to land on her face. "I didn't have the mind to jeopardize your mission."

Shinobu opened her eyes, noticed Kai's sincere tone, and for the first time in a while, sighed.

"You have nothing to apologize for, Arlen," she said, her gaze softening as she looked at him. "There was no such mission, to begin with."

Now that surprised Kai, making him raise an eyebrow.

No wonder I didn't get a Hidden Mission, he thought, recalling the time when the Insect Hashira received the mission, but hadn't shared it with him. At that time, he had reasoned it was because of some oddity related to the Verse Fusion Random World. So it was like this. Heh! They were trying to probe my sincerity.

A laugh escaped Kai's throat, mixed with a touch of sadness.

"So, have you found me sincere enough now, Shinobu?" he asked, making the Insect Hashira tremble. "Or should I kill one more Upper Rank Demon?"

Shinobu looked down at her hands and mumbled, "I didn't want to…"

There was no wind to bury her whisper, and the fire was merciful enough to not crackle, letting her words approach Kai with her true feelings.

Kai shook his head and stood up.

The rabbit was done a while ago, it seemed.

He pulled it off the fire and went around the fire to sit next to the Hashira.

They had laid a coating of straw and moss over the snow to keep the cold away, and it was wide enough for the two of them to sit side by side with an ample gap between them.

Kai tore off a mouthful of greasy flesh and passed the rest to Shinobu. She took it from him without looking up and nibbled on a tiny bite.

In silence, they passed the rabbit to each other, taking one bite, then another.

When the food was all but gone, Kai said, "I don't blame you for lying to me. Sigh! I have lied to you, too."

Shinobu's head snapped towards Kai with a jolt, her eyes narrowing at him. "Tell me."

Kai laughed and scratched his head, his long white hair reaching to the orange snow behind him.

"Would you believe me if I tell you that the prime reason for me to bring you away from that cliff on the first we met," Kai whispered, smiling, "was because I found you too cute to not snatch you for myself?"

Shinobu observed Kai with a stunned expression. Then she burst out with a giggle.

"Ara!" she exclaimed, putting her hand over her mouth. "Umu, it does sound like something you would do."

Kai turned to face her.

Shinobu's laugh gradually vanished, as the silence between them became hotter than fire.

Even the surrounding forest didn't dare to utter a buzz, and the moon over their head watched with bated breath, a few broken clouds irritating its moonlit gaze now and then.

Kai leaned towards her and grabbed her left hand, bringing her closer.

The kiss was too abrupt, but no time could've been better than now.

Shinobu's eyes widened, their breath mingling with each other. She lifted her right hand, her palm open, and then once again aimed it at Kai's chest, the very air sizzling around it.

Kai let her lips go and looked into her purple eyes, his breath broken and their hearts pounding.

Her palm landed on Kai with the gentlest touch.

Their lips met again, more passionately than before.

Kai's one hand went for her waist, pulling her closer, but gently. Her waist was slim, small, and injured, and she was a breath that must not be broken.

His other hand lifted to grab her round face, his fingers caressing her warm, soft cheek, feeling the reserved movement of her mouth.

The hand pounced on her ear then, his fingers coiling around it, massaging it gently. And her lips opened with a moan.

Tongue met tongue, and taste lost meaning to them.

Shinobu's hands coiled around Kai's neck, and he didn't need to pull her any closer.

No amount of time seemed enough and right to pull their heads away. Kai laid her down on the straw bed, with nothing but the open sky as a roof and him as the blanket.

When they parted to take a breath, she smelled of spring in winter.

Her cheeks had gained a furious rosy color, the blush rising from her neck and seeping into her eyes. They gasped for breath before pulling each other again.

The fire crackled beside them in shyness. A stray gust of wind came like a breeze, blushing at the sight.

Time seemed to have lost meaning, and lost were their identities.

No longer was she a Hashira. Nor was Kai a demon.

A touch of blood gleamed like molten fire on her thighs...

… their hearts skipping a beat a thousand times every moment.

*

*

Dawn,

2 days later

Light snow pelted the lingering mist, and the sky turned pink and blue.

Under the high covering of trees' canopies, the fire roared, its tongues flailing around, licking the cold air.

In the camp, a second hut had been raised at an angle with the first, with the fire just a few feet away from where their walls met.

Inside the smaller hut, a tiny, curled figure of Nezuko could be seen sleeping soundlessly.

The little girl hadn't woken up since the Dream Demon's spell had hit her. Kai had ruptured his ears to prevent himself from falling under the effect of the same spell, but he couldn't do the same for her.

The second hut was a little colder than the first, and its front was covered for the fire to see into it.

Only a slit-like opening had been left unguarded, from where Kai could keep an eye over the package.

Inside the second hut, within the blue darkness, Kai was lying leisurely and lazily with Shinobu's petite figure on top; both naked.

The butterfly-patterned haori was lying listlessly over them, covering Shinobu from her bare back to ankles.

However, even this failed to hide her sensuous curves, and sheer lust spread around them like a smell that could make the hearts flutter.

The very sight of them caressing each other was the height of carnal pleasures and deepest affections.

Shinobu's head was resting on Kai's chest, her breast pressed against his stomach, and her legs entwined with his, the Golduck-Kai's tail flicking up and down her leg with a mind of its own.

"One day I'll kill them all…" Shinobu said through gritted teeth, her eyes brimming with intense hatred.

She had been telling Kai about her past, her sister's death, and her resolve.

Her tears kept pouring out as Shinobu brought out the hatred buried in her heart.

It was hard not to share such things with her man, she had thought perhaps. Not when he had asked so gently for her to tell him about it.

Kai sighed inwardly, his thoughts unknown.

He patted her head, kissed her hair, and asked, "Which Hashira was it who showed up on the cliff?"

Shinobu rubbed the web between Kai's fingers with her thumb.

"He was Giyu Tomioka, the Water Hashira," she said, her tone weaker than before. "I had a crush on him once."

Kai's eyes narrowed by the faintest degree.

Shinobu turned her head to look up at him.

"Ara-Ara!" She giggled, the smile on her face becoming playful. "Don't tell me you are jealous? That's quite cute."

Kai smiled. "So what if I am?" he jested, flicking her forehead.

As their eyes matched, Shinobu pushed herself up and kissed him, their sweat-sodden bodies gliding over each other like oil on water.

She didn't let go of Kai's mouth, her tongue coiling around his, and determined to make him forget the recently learned names.

When they parted, their minds felt fuzzy.

Shinobu felt the hardness pressing against her hips and raised an eyebrow. "Again?" she asked incredulously.

"You can't blame me," Kai replied, pecking her lips.

With their stamina and the hard-earned respite in their hands, he and Shinobu had already done it in all the manners possible.

With time, Shinobu's hidden personality and thoughts had come pouring out for Kai to observe, bringing them closer to each other.

Yet, there remained a young lady's reservedness, which Shinobu's occasional shyness and tone showed openly.

Kai knew it, and she knew it as well.

Only time was the remedy for such things. Time which both could see running out.

Shinobu's hand left Kai and reached down, grabbing it with her small fingers. Her grip felt both hot and cold to him, and when she stroked it, the smile on her face was anything but playful.

"How many times more will you do it?" she asked in a hushed tone, guiding the tip inside her.

Kai caressed her face and pushed back a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "Until you realize that keeping a count is meaningless…"

Shinobu's eyes widened and a dense red blush surfaced on her plump cheeks, her eyes reddening in shame. "How did you…"

"… know?" Kai asked, completing her question, and laughed. "Instinct."

Shinobu pouted at the answer and then pressed her waist down, her body shivering in pain and pleasure.

"Kiss me…" she moaned, looking at Kai with watery eyes.

The entire hut was filled with suppressed moaning, squelching, and kissing sounds as Shinobu's waist and hips went up and down over Kai's length.

The call of trees and the morning breeze whistled along with them, and somewhere a swallow chirped, singing a song of endearment.

Kai's hand traced her sweaty back and squeezed her hips before pressing them down even more.

"Mhm!" Shinobu bit her lip and her head fell beside Kai's, her breath hotter than blood.

And then, moaning and crying, she whispered in his ear, "Why is it… so big?"