Kenshin & Kasuga Chat About Her Engagement
Kasuga: The presence of a kotatsu in the living room, no matter how ridiculous it had seemed at the beginning considering the weather in Atia, paid off now. Even her warmer sweater paid off. But it was nothing like what a fireplace could be like, she mused. She wondered if the man in front of her would like to own one of those - if he'd see the romanticism in it.
She ate a bit more of the rice, and looked up at him from under her lashes, a small flush on her face. To be able to eat together like this, like equals, so domestically, was an honour. Perhaps she would find a way to have a fireplace built in, as a gift for the winter holidays everyone celebrated.
Kenshin: Kenshin ate like he did everything else, with an innate grace to his movements. His figners were long and slender on his chopsticks as they moved from bowl to lips and back again, each movement precise, economical, beautiful.
He could feel, as he did on the nights they shared a meal just the two of them, Kasuga watching him through her lashes. It still made him smile, flattered, that his sword watched him in that way. She was young and beautiful and could have her pick of the men on this island and for reasons still somewhat unfathomable to him, it was him that she watched.
Nor did he miss the soft wash of pink that covered her cheeks and nose as she watched him. And he pondered over Keji's question again for the millionth time, wondering if she could be truly happy, truly satisfied with just this. He truly believed she deserved more, deserved all that she wanted and that he could not give her for a myriad of reasons.
He pushed the thoughts aside once more and smiled at her gently. "What has brought that look upon your face, my sword?"
Kasuga: She looked up fully at his question, not caught red handed, but surprised, perhaps. Nothing unusual for her, in the end.
She could not hide her thoughts from him, though. "Only that...it would be interesting to have a fireplace built in, should the winter weathe continue, Kenshin-sama."
Kenshin: "A fireplace?" Kenshin's head tilted, imagining such a thing for a minute in the middle of his great room and smiled. "I think that would be rather pleasant, yes, should this weather continue. A cup of warm sake and a good fire will do much to keep a man warm on a cold night." With Kasuga in mind he did not add that a warm body pressed agaisnt one's own to his impromptu list. Though the thought did make him wonder about his sword, as this was now her home as well and he couldn't help but glance down at her neck. He hummed softly, inquisitive and a touch concerned.
Kasuga; She smiled slightly at the mention of sake - trust that beverage to play a big part in the majority of Kenshin's relaxation times - it was a pleasant constant. Though the image twisted and took a different shape in her head, of the empty living room, of Kenshin sleeping in his large bedroom, and the fireplace all to herself. There would be wine instead of sake, and maybe just her, or maybe not just her...
Shaking her head, her eyes focused on him again as he hummed, and she tilted her head. "Is there something wrong?"
Kenshin: He almos reached out to touch her collar, but with the low table between them, he'd have never reached. Instead he touched his own throat, his collar loose and hidden beneath the scarf, to show her what had caught his attention. "Truly, I would have thought a ninja of Kai would make a much better fiance. What a poor one he makes indeed if he cannot even take care of my beautiful sword for me."
Kenshin ate another bite of rice, calmly, before adding to his musings. "Perhaps I should have a word with Shingen."
Kasuga; Unfortunately for her, she had thought of eating more rice as he spoke, which only meant that when his words reached her ears, she did something completely unrefined. She snorted, and choked.
Coughing violently, and slowling becoming red in the face out of embarrassment, she mentally screamed at the fact that even Kenshin seemed to have heard of the whole Sasuke and his fiancé deal.
In all honesty, her collar was not as tight as it had been the first weeks Kenshin had been in Atia. She made sure to get it loose by day six at the latest. But that was besides the point!
"Kenshin-sama!" she finally choked out, washing it down with water and setting the bowl down. "How did you - he is not really my - Kenshin-sama!" she finished, frustrated.
Kenshin: Kenshin arched a brow in surprise as Kasuga began, of all things, choking on her rice. He wasn't sure that, in all the time he'd known her, she had ever done so. He was torn between the need to help her out in case she really were in peril and laugh softly behind his palm at the shock he could see written on her face.
When she started speaking, obeviously able to breathe, Kenshin opted for the latter and his eyes shone with mirth in their aquamarine deptsh. "Yes, my beautiful sword?"
Kenshin; "I'll kill him," she muttered, looking away with a clenched fist. Practically envisioning the look of that face when her fist connected with his. Oh, but it would be glorious.
Looking back at Kenshin, she cleared her throat again. Calmer, she spoke. "We are not engaged. He has been saying that for ages now - possibly because he knows how much it irritates me." Not to mention that apparently the entirety of Kai thought the same. That was one joke taken too far.
If it was...a joke. But - the other option was just...no. right?
Kenshin: Kenshin's eyebrows darted up at the death threat he assumed was meant for Kai's ninja and not his leader.
Kasuga's explanation of the situation though made him frown slightly. "Ah, I see." He thought it rather strange on the ninja's behalf to spread that particular rumor were there no sentiment to back it. Perhaps a conversation there was well merited in any case.
"A shame that. I was telling Shingen what a resplendant bride you would have made indeed."
Kasuga; That statement caused not only a blush, but also a look of pure surprise to show on her face. Apparently, tonight was a night of showing emotions for other reasons than a compliment from him. Except, even this was a compliment.
Still. She would have never thought he would think about her as a bride - perhaps, had she not been a ninja, she would have ended up married to someone (maybe old and boring, or maybe kind) - but she was a ninja, and she was his ninja.
"Getting married is not for someone like me, Kenshin-sama," she finally murmured, lowering her eyes. "I have never entertained the thought. And aside from that - he might pretend otherwise, but Sasuke understands that we are on opposite sides."