A/N: This chapters motto: Life is what happens to you while you are busy making other plans- you´ll see why xD Pure ShuuXRyuu chapter because they need to err ...talk. This chapter is a rewrite of the original chapter btw -cuz it sucked that´s why I wrote it anew. So the style will most likely differ from the other chapters. (not much but still) Due to its importance for the story and...other things (hehehe) it became a very long chapter. (7500 words) See my notes at the end for further explanation of it as well. Anyway, enough of my rambling now, have fun.

Disclaimer: It hasn´t cease to apply until now, so yeah...

Again so much thx and greeting to J Luc Pitard, who continues to be the best beta-reader, a girl can wish for ^^

Chapter 6: Under the surface

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The sun was almost down and it was already a bit dark as Shuurei left Ki Kouki´s office, where she'd delivered her report about her meeting with the emperor. ...Ryuuki... Suddenly, the words he'd whispered echoed in her mind:

"Meet me after sunset at our usual place, I´ll be waiting there."

Not that she'd ever forgotten them while sitting at her desk, doing paperwork. No, the young women found herself staring out of the window from time to time and asking herself when the sun would finally go down. Only to be irked by herself in another moment for thinking on something trivial like that when she had work to do.

Her encounter with Ryuuki in the archives earlier was still confusing and angering her as well. How could he hug her all of a sudden? What if someone saw them? Argh, it was already enough that my father saw that, she huffed. Irresponsible idiot!

Shuurei stepped angrily down the hall until she stood at the entrance of the garden. As she saw the sakura trees from afar, she felt her temper rising once more in counterpoint to her loudly thumping heart. Our usual place, huh? She didn't know what she was actually planning to do there or what to say to him when meeting him in private.

In private? She stopped in her tracks, eyes widening in realization. Ryuuki and she would be there alone. She gulped. All of her courage to face him, to give him a piece of her mind reduced rapidly to a minimum. She wavered. On the one hand, she could go there and give him what he really wanted. On the other she knew that if she didn't face him now, the situation would become a lot worse than it already was. She had to quit it quickly and cleanly, telling him that it was a mistake. Shuurei was his subordinate after all and her behavior last night was more than inappropriate. She couldn't let it happen again or all meetings with him -official or not- would be awkward.

Quit it. She noticed a faint aching in her chest at that thought but shoved it aside as soon as she recognized it. A gust of fresh wind and the rustling of branches pulled her out of her thoughts and she realized that she had already arrived at the appointed destination. She looked up through the bare branches of the sakura trees and saw how lightly they moved in the wind, gleaming red-golden through the light of dusk.

Shuurei took a deep breath but that didn't help to reassure her heart which was beating out of her chest. She knew she would meet Ryuuki here in a few minutes and began to regret her decision again to come. Though since she was here now, those doubts weren't helpful in the slightest. She sighed resignedly and searched the trees trying to find a tall, blond haired man dressed in purple. Ryuuki. After a moment of searching Shuurei stepped past two trees but still couldn't find him. Suddenly she was pulled by her wrist and whirled around to land in well known arms.

"Shuurei, we--I feared you wouldn't come. So I'm really glad you're here," Ryuuki whispered softly in her ear. He intensified his embrace, leaving a compressed and utterly surprised Shuurei captured in his arms. Her arms hung loosely down her sides. Her breathing was fast and unsteady while her eyes fixed on a point behind him. Ryuuki could feel her heart thumping wildly against his chest. Her very own, enticing, mixed smell of roses and soap filled the air and surrounded his senses.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you," he whispered apologetically in her ear. The tickling of his warm breath on the shell sent a heavy shiver down her spine, yet also abated the shock she felt at his sudden appearance. Slowly, Shuurei began to move, putting her arms up to get out of his crushing embrace, even if just a little. She fought against his chest and glared peevishly at him until he finally released her. Seeing how much Shuurei's temper had risen in a few seconds, Ryuuki decided that doing so would be better for his health.

"Ryuuki," she breathed, her cheeks flushed. "Would you please stop hugging me every time you see me?! Think of the people!"

"What people?" he asked in a perplexed voice as he looked around. As far his eyes could see in the dim light, he saw nobody. "We're alone here, Shuurei," he stated with a smile and reached out to touch her adorable, flushed cheek. But as soon as he recognized the infuriated expression in her face, he instinctively pulled his fingers back again. What have I done wrong this time? He'd already apologized for scaring her, so he couldn't understand her anger.

"Ahh, that's not what I meant," she answered, annoyed. Yet, having it pointed out by Ryuuki- that they were in fact, all alone here- made her feel all fidgety. She shook herself mentally to get rid of that feeling before she added, "As an emperor, you... you... can't run around hugging people."

Ugh, what the heck am I saying here? She felt awkward and cursed her nervous mind which brought such nonsense to her tongue.

Ryuuki didn't understand a thing of what she was saying at the moment. Why should he want to hug people? Then he sighed. "Shuurei, I don´t run around and hug people. I just want to hug--," he paused to close the gap between them. Then he lightly groped around her waist with one of his hands, looking gently into her still exasperated, narrowed eyes. "….you." He nearly whispered the last word and enjoyed the immediate shift in Shuurei's face. Her stern face softened all a sudden. Her eyes were captivated by his, their expression soft and without a hint of anger. Shuurei's heart skipped a beat as she heard those words. She felt herself lost in those deep auburn eyes of his again and his touch felt like it was burning on her waist. She closed her eyes to avert them from his and shook her head rapidly to get rid of the commotion she felt inside.

"St-st-stop doing that," she said confused, her face deeply blushed.

"I haven't done anything," Ryuuki protested and pouted as she pulled his hand away from her waist.

Shuurei felt her temper rise again. A massive feeling of annoyance jolted through her system and her body went rigid. So many things ticked her off! Mostly, she was annoyed with herself, that she couldn't remember the words that had played through her mind so many times before their meeting. Yet, now standing right in front of him, she couldn't find any of the words. Her mind was totally blank and it was as if her tongue and brain couldn't connect the way they were supposed to. It was unnerving. What also annoyed her was that Ryuuki´s behavior was unchanged from earlier, still bold and irresponsible. Why did she even come here? It was clearly a mistake. She glared at him.

"Oh great, this is exactly what I need after a miserable day. Pointless arguments. I came here to talk but I see its useless, with you behaving like that." With that, she turned around to leave. Ryuuki needed a moment to realize what was going on, but then he immediately reached out for her sleeves and held her back. Shuurei´s brown eyes widened in shock and she stared back at him, a fiery glint of rage evident.

I mustn't let her get away now. Ryuuki knew this situation, it was similar to the one in the archives earlier. He was not stupid and knew her well enough to know why she reacted like that. Shuurei was a tough, strong woman when it came to business and didn't fear to face, hours-long negotiations with men twice as tall as her. But when she had to face emotional issues concerning her personally, she tended to prefer not dealing for as long as possible. Or to turn around and run away from it.

Just like now.

Ryuuki still held her by her sleeve, refusing to let her go. He knew with her mood at the moment that this was a dangerous thing to do, but there was no other way. They really needed to talk.

"Don´t leave, please. I'll behave, I swear. You came here to talk, right? How about taking a walk, it's a wonderful clear night after all," he tried to convince her and gave her a smile. Shuurei still looked at him undecided, as if weighing the options given to her.

"Come on. It´s just a walk, Shuurei," the young emperor added quickly as he saw her hesitation.

Shuurei sighed in resignation but still watched him mistrustfully. "Okay then. I'll stay. We really need to-- Ryuuki! My hand!" she exclaimed appalled as he took her hand lightly in his. A faint stain of red was apparent on her face.

"Don´t worry, we are alone here. I just want to make sure that you don´t run away," Ryuuki answered quietly. It wasn't a lie he was telling her. He really was afraid that she might run away this anytime, but he also needed to stay in contact with her. Physically. Not because it gave him a warm fuzzy feeling inside to hold her hand -which it actually did- no, because it might bestow her with the same feeling. Ryuuki decided that Shuurei had to become aware of the things she locked up deep inside her. He planned to bring that to the surface. It was like playing with fire and he might get burned, but he thought it was worth the try. Plus, with their current situation, there was nothing to lose anymore. Who am I fooling? There is so much to lose, he thought bitterly. If Ryuuki was honest to himself, tonight's talk was deciding his future with Shuurei,- if there was one- and not the gamble he'd made with her a little while ago.

Shuurei followed, a bit unwillingly by his side and opened her mouth to counter something in his somewhat perkily worded sentence, but quickly decided it wasn't worth the commotion. As if I ever would ever run away. Oh, just wait and see, Ryuuki, she huffed. After all, it was just a walk so that they could talk in private and where she could tell him that it all-- Wait why does my hand feel so warm? Puzzled, she looked down to her hand which was entwined with Ryuuki's now. She hadn't noticed that "improvement" until her skin actually felt hot in his hands and also... good? This slight contact had a strangely soothing effect on her nervous mind and kept her somehow stable. She didn't understood the reason but concluded to leave it at that, for now. After all he hadn't made any further move, just walked peacefully at her side through the palace garden.

It was indeed a beautiful evening with a light, not chilly breeze gusting through the air. The remaining light of the nearly fully sunken sun still illumined all in a faint red light, mixed with the soft white glow of the lanterns from afar made for a peaceful picture. Their walk went slowly on, with neither of them saying a word. They passed the imperial pond, to the hidden part of the palace garden, the place where Ryuuki sought solace or comfort when he needed time for himself.

Shuurei didn't know how to start, how to break that awkward silence between them. Her hand still rested in his and that made her heart flutter unsteadily. Somehow it suddenly seemed to her that the air wasn't that light anymore. It had become rather thick and made breathing harder. Her gaze fell nervously over to Ryuuki but he didn't seem to have recognized it. His eyes continued to wander absentmindedly over the beautiful view of the evening scenery, without regard for her company. Inwardly, she wondered why the air felt so tense. It was just a walk after all. Nothing more.

Ryuuki's mind circled back and forth. Where to start? He couldn't find the right words, didn't know what he should say to her. He could clearly feel how the immense tension grew between them. A fleeting glance fell on their entwined hands and he was sure that this was the origin. Just holding hands with her was now enough that a raw storm of emotions swept over him. He couldn't hinder all of the different kinds of emotions he'd previously kept under the surface as they arose at once and surrounded his senses. His body tingled with the prickling feeling inside of him, the electrifying mood between them made his breath hitch briefly before it sped slightly up. His desire to tuck her into his arms, to embrace her tightly became harder to suppress, but in the corner of his mind there was also fear. He feared losing her even more after having held her so close. He didn't wanted to be all alone again, not after he'd finally found happiness in her arms.

Ryuuki knew that he had to accept her choice, following her words, but still he could try to make her see that last night was anything but a mistake. Not when she was feeling the same for him. With a slight smile he glanced over to Shuurei, noticing the nervous twitch in the corner of her mouth, her ragged breathing and how she clawed her finger in his. She was definitely acting different compared to other times, whether out of nervousness or for reasons beyond that, he couldn't say for sure.

Shuurei felt his stare lasting on her and her heart sped up to a humming beat. Say something, say something, she scold herself mentally. The tension became unbearable.

"Ryuuki, I-I..." Shuurei stammered and broke the long silence. Ryuuki stopped and turned to her, showing he would listen. His hand was not leaving hers, rather he clung to this contact, to feel her.

She sighed. Atypical for her, she'd said the first thing rushing through her mind, anything to end this agonizing silence between them. That first thing was his name. She was searching for words to continue yet struggled with it. They now stood in between two large plum trees, the imperial pond not far from there, still in sight.

"Yes, Shuurei?" Although afraid of her following words he motivated her to go on. He almost knew- could feel- what she would saying next.

Shuurei looked up to him, biting her lip and still searched for proper words. "Ryuuki, last night...," she started but didn't get any further because he hushed her with his palm.

He frowned. "I don't want to hear this." Ryuuki immediately felt how she stiffened up, how her grip around his fingers had hardened, squeezing his hand tightly. She was angry again.

"Whaat?" she growled.

"You are going to tell me that last night was a mistake and that you regret that it has happened. I just don't want to hear those words from your lips, that's why I hushed you. Sorry about that."

"What? How could you... How did you possibly know?" she asked in bewilderment, her eyes wide open. Yet he felt her relaxing again, at least a bit.

"Because I know you, Shuurei. I know you very well." He weighed the next sentence, knowing its impact, the danger that she would snap at him and run away after it. "And I also know that just like me...." He stepped closer and looked her deeply in the eyes before he went on, "You also enjoyed what we've done. Even though you might have been caught up in the moment, you were enjoying it. So don't say you regret it." He lightly caressed her cheek. His gaze still lingered on her.

Shuurei stared at him in disbelief. What was that? How could he? Her blood started to boil but as the pictures of last night appeared before her eyes, the anger immediately changed to feelings of ...shame? She couldn't exactly categorize it but embarrassment was one of those, for sure. Mostly because she had indeed enjoyed those strange feelings in his arms... and his kisses. If she was honest to herself, Ryuuki was right with what he was saying. But not for the world would she ever tell him that though.

She pursed her lips, glaring defiantly at him, "But it was still a mistake."

Ryuuki needed to suppress a smirk, because she had indirectly agreed to his point. This was not the time to amuse himself with such trivial matters though, so he concentrated on her again. Still an interesting revelation...

"I mean, I'm your subordinate; you're the emperor. I can't be with you. Not like that. That was an irresponsible thing to do." She looked away. Her face was burning while talking about those things.

"Irresponsible? Yes maybe it was, but love is rarely reasonable. You can't waver that with arguments, it just happens." He paused for what seemed an eternity for Shuurei before he added, "...And I love you."

He spoke the last sentence very carefully word for word, hoping it would reach her heart this time, after the countless times he had sworn his love for her. Never meant he it more than in that moment. He saw her trying to take it in. Gasping, her face wore an expression of bewilderment and awe. Ryuuki stepped closer, which made her to take a few steps back, trying to keep some distance from him.

"No. You... you can't – You... you are the emperor."

Shuurei cursed herself for talking such nonsense, but she was too appalled by the heavy turmoil she felt inside at his words and his intense gaze into her eyes. Ryuuki had confessed so many times over the years that Shuurei should be used by hearing it now. This time it hit her hard and unprepared. As if those little words got under her skin... "No," she repeated one more time, very quietly. Damn, where has all my confidence gone all the sudden? The confidence to yell at Ryuuki, properly argue with him and shrug him off in the end? She had done it so many times before, why not now? Shuurei failed to comprehend the reason, she only felt that she wasn't dealing with the child-like Ryuuki right now. Just like last night...

Damn.

"Shuurei, I am the emperor, yes, but I'm also a man. Have you any idea idea how much I longed to hold you in my arms like that? How happy I was?" He looked despairingly at her and his voice trembled. He tried to close the gap one more time but Shuurei backed away again. Though this time she could make only a few steps until her back hit something hard and rough- the trunk of the plum tree. Ryuuki left her this last little space, not following, trying not scare her away, not to corner her. Instead he leisurely took her hand and ran his thumb over the back of her hand, gently and very softly. For a moment no one said a word and the air was tense and thick between them.

So much had changed since the day they'd made their agreement. That gamble she was so sure to win that she didn't hesitate to join. But now Ryuuki saw her here in front of the trunk, her breath trembling under his light touch and confusion evident in her eyes. Although she was still denying this with words he was certain that the feeling he felt for her since two long years ago had claimed her heart now as well.

Love.

He didn't know what it was exactly that gave him that assurance- the nervous swiftness in her movements or maybe the way she looked at him when she wasn't aware of it? Ryuuki only knew that regarding Shuurei, he'd become quite observant in the last years. He'd always wanted to treasure those precious, rare meetings with her, wanted to burn every smile and move she made deep within his mind. And tonight her behavior toward him was definitely different from other times. No matter how much she wanted to hide it from him, to Ryuuki it was obvious. Knowing this made him indeed want to see her again give in to the needs she possessed but still failed to understand. She was so beautiful, so lovely and tempting to him in that moment that he had to shove the urge aside to kiss her. But that would have been the wrong thing to to now. It was too early for that.

Ryuuki took a deep breath to calm himself down before speaking "Shuurei, you made me me man I am now, sought the emperor out--"

"But... but you said you can´t be emperor for my sake anymore." she chipped in, confounded by his words.

"Yes, that is true," he answered and decided to switch shortly to formal speech again to give his words more credibility. "We are emperor of Saiunkoku and we will be emperor until the day we die. This is a duty we can and do not want to abandon." Her gasp made him pause. It almost seemed to him as if Shuurei wasn't used to hearing such serious words from him. Ryuuki made sure his serious expression softened before he went on, "I am morethan this duty, this elitist birthright given to me. Remember, you once promised to see the man in me, not the emperor. And yet, now you take the fact of me being emperor as an excuse to keep running away from me. It´s not fair."

Shuurei opened her mouth to reply, but got distracted all of a sudden by Ryuuki's warmth all around her as he closed the last gap between them and embraced her, leaving her pressed against the trunk of the plum tree. Her breath accelerated, in sync with her thudding heart and she didn't know where and how to classify all the different feelings which were currently darting through her body. Shuurei knew she should scream at Ryuuki for cornering her so, force him to let her go, but right now she was simply too confused for that. Also there was a small part of her- a really tiny one- which wanted to surrender to this comfortable warmth and embrace him back. Shuurei fought against this stupid urge and asked herself since when was Ryuuki able to undo her like that with just a few moves?

"It´s not fair, Shuurei," he repeated, whispering it in her ear.

Then he touched her cheek, stroking his fingertips from there to her temple, tracing down the jaw line until he reached her chin. Ryuuki enjoyed her reaction to this light touch, which resulted in an unintentional shivering of her lips. Knowing he had Shuurei's full attention now he went on "… and I don't understand, why you keep running away... when you are feeling..." the young emperor bent down to her and left the sentence unfinished to kiss her lips very tenderly.

"this ?!" he added as the short, coaxing kiss was finished and he looked deeply in her eyes. Although there was a shift in her mood and she had given in to that kiss, he knew he was still playing with fire.

"R-R-Ryuuki," Shuurei exclaimed. She was flustered and pressed herself against the tree until she felt a piercing ache in her back from the rough bark of the trunk behind her. Her lips tingled and her legs felt weak after this kiss. Why was that? She felt a strange need to run away and to stay in his arms at the same time. It was utterly bewildering to her.

"I-I… can't," Shuurei managed to bring out.

"Just like me you are also more than just your duty," the young emperor cut in and drew her closer. Tentatively, he began to kiss her chin leisurely, over the jaw-line until he reached her earlobe. "So please don't run away," he hushed into Shuurei's ear, his breath caused her to tremble. His long fingers slid through her silky hair and over the nape of her neck, tenderly caressing it. "From me," Ryuuki murmured in her ear before he started to kiss it, the little places of her earlobe, the hollow behind the shell and inebriated himself on the sweet scent of her skin.

"Ryuuki." Shuurei intended to let his name out as a protest, to shake him to his senses again. But it sounded too soft for this... almost like a moan. Her tiny hands, which she had reluctantly positioned between his chest and hers to keep a tiny bit of distance, were slowly falling to the side, clasping into the fabric of his robe. Ryuuki's nearness and the brushes of his lips on her sensitive flesh made her head spin and her knees weak.

She'd never understood matters of the heart and body, had little experience in things between a man and a woman before last night and actually never wanted those things bothering her. Yet she felt that she was about to slip into his arms again, to get lost in the feelings which unfurled like a spiral through her whole body, so warm and alluring. She felt his hands running over the silky fabric on her back, drawing little circles around her scapula and down her spine, which made her unintentionally shiver again. Suddenly his lips were on hers, this kiss more wanting, needy, yet gentle. The feel of his lips on her own crumbled the last resistance Shuurei held up to this point. No matter how hard she tried to deny it, something inside her didn't want him to stop. Rather, she wanted to get lost in his arms, those feelings... It was undoubtedly something Ryuuki had shaken awake within her last night- the feeling of being a normal woman, loved and desired by a man. But why must that man be Ryuuki? He of all people-the emperor of Saiunkoku?

She sighed against his lips and Ryuuki slanted his mouth over hers, taking the kiss deeper. Shuurei knew she had lost the inner battle not give in to his wooing, as she instinctively drove herself closer to the warmth of his body and leaned in to his passionate, loving kiss. The world spun around and her head felt dizzy, so she wrapped her arms around his shoulder and clung with tiny hands to hold herself upright.

Ryuuki ended the kiss how it begun, light and coaxing, nipping a last time on her lower lip before pulling away in exchange for oxygen. It left them both panting breathlessly, the air between them even more electrifying than before. He entwined her hands into his, leaving Shuurei unable to touch only to feel. He simply needed to show her how much he loved her. So he lowered his head again, dipping kisses on her exposed throat, regarding every freckle of her skin.

"Nooo," she softly yelped, which sounded more like a tremulous moan than a protest from her lips. Shuurei's eyes shut, her little hands clawing into his long fingers, frustrated to be unable to hug him back. Ryuuki continued paying attention to the small section of flesh near her collarbone which lay bare, licking it. Then he released her hands and caught hold of the ties of her robe, tugging them apart slightly, just enough to loosen the upper portion of it before claiming her hands one more time. Shuurei shivered at the sudden chill she felt on her bare skin but even more at the feeling of his lips on her slender shoulders, her clavicle, while his faster breath tickled and teased her. Her head was in chaos, unable to think coherently, she clung to the warmth spreading in her belly and relished the feeling, in his arms.

Normally she was a woman who liked to have control over the things she did, relying on arguments and rationality. Yet at the same time she also had a very passionate, emotional side she almost never showed, hiding it under the surface. She rarely allowed herself to act on it and feel like a woman, for the sake of being an official in a mens world, solely devoted to her work. Yet now Shuurei shivered at his loving fondling and enjoyed how he made her feel. He made her feel like a woman but not weak. It was rather a side Shuurei didn't know before or hadn't payed attention to before. A side of herself where she could just be. Without caring about keeping control she felt free, actually.

Ryuuki quickly learned to love seeing her this way, her face delighted in pleasure, with her mouth making tiny whimpering sounds. Right in that moment she was detached from all sorrows, not fussing about right or wrong, forgetting about being an official, about her duty. Right in that moment she was just Shuurei and most lovely to him. He might have played with fire before, by acting so forceful and by wooing her repeatedly. With that, he now had lit the flame within her himself. She was indeed enjoying herself.

He ducked his head one more time, kissing her neckline in a nipping, teasing way and enjoying the enticing taste of her skin again. Eventually, Ryuuki released her hands and she immediately seized the opportunity to wrap her arms around him, to pull him nearer and moaned against his chest. Seeing this fiery reaction of her only motivated him more. So, while ignoring his own growing ache, his hands roved over her flanks and went up to the dainty but delicate curves of her bosom. The skin under his hand felt so smooth, so pure that it almost seemed like a sin to touch it with his calloused fingers. Yet the way she responded to his touch as he gentlely cupped her breast in his hand, how she huddled her body against his own and whimpered in pleasure, showed him it wasn't wrong at all. It was only natural. She fit so perfectly in his arms, as if it was a matter of course to love her, as if it was destined that he was the only man making her feeling all that.

The only man, a tiny wave of raw possessiveness darted through him at this thought and his lips searched hers again for a savoring kiss, claiming her. Shuurei joyously welcomed his mouth and she returned the kiss with the same frantic energy he had started it. The boiling passions let them replace the coaxing, soft kisses with a heated game of open mouth kisses and grazing tongues. She felt the same desire as last night starting to rampantly rage within her. Like a fire it blazed through her body, again lit by him. She wanted to feel more, feel all of it. And Ryuuki was more than willing to fulfill her request. After a still moment where he breathlessly leaned his forehead onto her tiny shoulder and gasped for air, his lips continued to travel down again. Her hands however, were restlessly fluttering over the fabric of his kingly attire and searched dazed for skin of his to caress. He allowed himself a small groan before he suppressed his own untamed needs again and continued with his task. Much more important than his own arousal was to make her aware of her own desires and most importantly of the intensity of his love for her. Oh, how much he loved her, his heart drummed hard against his ribcage and was overflowing with thousands of emotions as he got lost in the taste of her delicate skin. Ryuuki cherished every bit of its silky smoothness and would love to never stop kissing it again.

He let his fingers ran over the sides of her undergarment, and Shuurei shuddered in anticipation as he shove it lightly aside. His head dived between the hollow of her breasts, followed the trace of her curves with his tongue and nipped at the sensitive skin of her nipple. Her breath caught as the fingertips of his hand on her bottom roamed past her thigh in an awfully slow, circling motion and eventually found its way to the damp folds in between, fondling her most sensitive spot. She mewled and writhed under his seductive torture and welcomed the ache as she keenly pressed herself at the rough trunk behind her to ease some of the tension he had so constantly built up within her.

It didn't help, her hunger for more kept increasing; it became almost insatiable. Her whole body tingled with arousal, her tiny fist clawed in the silky strands of his hair and tousled roughly through it. She arched her hips toward Ryuuki to beckon him to increase his rubbing but much to her frustration he kept the same steady, torturously slow speed. As Ryuuki suddenly stopped, he earned a protesting whine from her quivering lips. So in order to tame her, he cocked his head and silenced her protests with his lips. She gleefully received those for an ardent kiss she never thought she was capable of. Desperately searching for a physical outlet for all the raw, burning emotions inside, Shuurei pressed herself on his body, seeking his nearness. She heard him gasping in their fervent kiss and an animal grunt escaped his lips before he pulled away.

Ryuuki needed a moment to recover from the surprisingly passionate way she occupied his mouth and body before he began to kneel down to her. Frustrated to be deprive of the closeness of him, she glared at him through hooded eyes, dissatisfied. Though as he bent down, his ragged breathing tickling the skin around her navel and wet kisses gracing the underside of her belly... all of her disappointment subsided. There was barely enough time for Shuurei to wonder what he was going to do, when she felt something hot, slide between her soaked folds… and then her mind went blank. She felt ecstatic, weightless, with every twirl of his tongue she was falling more apart… but in the most blissful way Shuurei had ever experienced. She bit roughly on her lips to not scream, to keep everything in, but she couldn't hinder a moan of his name. At this, his grip around her hips tightened, pulling her even closer. His world was Shuurei. Tasting her wholly, her sweet smell lingering everywhere and hearing her moaning his name in sheer pleasure, overwhelmed his senses. Being able to bestow her with such delight filled him with deep satisfaction.

She was his everything.

He delved further into her heat, supporting her trembling, buckling legs with one of his arms and held her upright while his other hand drew caressing circles over her back. He enjoyed every tremor in her thighs, how she wildly she disheveled his hair with her hands and caressed his neck. She was so passionate since she let herself go and he loved it. Shuurei took one hand away from his head and pressed it to her mouth in order to muffle the escalating cries which came constantly over her lips now. Pressing them together alone wasn't enough anymore. Not when he had filled every fiber of her senses with lust and made her get lost in ecstasy.

Suddenly, all the feelings inside her exploded in one furious, blissful wave and her body thrashed hard against him. For a few seconds she just shuddered before her body relaxed again and every bone within her felt limp. Ryuuki looked up and a sly smile curved around his lips as he enjoyed her utterly content facial expression. He couldn't deny that he was proud to be the one man making her experience the passion of lovemaking and unfolding her desires. After one last kiss he pulled her undergarment back on again and slowly stood up, while placing kisses randomly on her body. Even though he was still very aroused from everything, he felt almost as content as Shuurei. He'd been able to show her his love and it seemed to him that she'd finally understood. With a smile he embraced Shuurei tightly and the rhythm of her wildly thumping heart and accelerated breaths were in sync with his own. For a long, peaceful moment they just stood there in the hidden part of the palace garden and held each other close, enjoying the comfortable nearness.

"Shuurei, I love you," he whispered into her ear and broke the silence between them.

Shuurei, who was still dazed and inebriated from the after effect just let out a humming "Hmm," before she buried her face into his chest again.

"And it will be spring soon."

"Hmm," she hummed again. Yet with Ryuuki talking, her mind slowly returned from oblivion. Why is he talking about that?

He softly kissed her hair and hesitated a moment, before saying, "So, regarding our bet... please forget about it.

Various notes:

Squeeeeaaaal *melts to puddle*

What? I´m supposed to say something clever and author-ish like here? Nahh, I won´t...err can´t . Not after having written THIS. So count me off this time, yeah? Thx xD ( I apologize hereby for the exert use of smutty things in combination with Ryuuki-- ….but it was FUN *silly laugh*)

Okay silly mood aside, for a moment of my two cents why I like this chapter (along with the following one) most of all. So to celebrate the halftime in this story I´ll bore you with a bit insight of the "why´s" now ;D Skip it if you want.

The anew lemony scenes weren´t just fanservice or to indulge in my new blossomed love for smutty things, no they had a purpose. As we all know Shuurei, she is an insecure person when it comes to herself, love is an alien emotion to her and she likes to avoid emotional matters that could shake her heart. In short she is afraid of falling in love, to let go. In the novel is stated by her that "she can´t be with Ryuuki, so she has to keep running away from him" Though there also because of reasons I have omitted in my FF here (Bara-hime) but the core of it stays true. And this is exactly what Ryuuki did now, he made her "let go", let her facing her desires, her other "weaker" self as a normal woman she is so afraid to show anyone. Other than Sakujun who made her aware of that first, Ryuuki is able to shake her deeper inside. Emotionally. Well, that is where I´ll give Shuurei a lot to think about for the rest of my FF :D

As for Ryuuki: Though, as much I love Ryuuki´s child like anime-cuteness, you might have recognized that he differs (a bit) from there. I simply like the serious Ryuuki of the novel more, the more grown-up. Sure he still has his insecurities, fears and silly antics xD at times, but that is what makes him human. Also, his char evolved at the end of the anime a lot and I love how serious he has become with everything. Thus, with my FF taking place after the two seasons it´s obvious that I let him act more serious because of that as well. Serious about his ruling, serious about Shuurei . And no one can tell me that he doesn´t know how to threat a woman, how to bring out the wanted reaction of one. As Shuuei remarked in the anime he has been with (several) women before. Though of course being with Shuurei this way is for him a whole different pair of shoes. ...I mean he is just soo in love with her, he´d worship the ground she´s walking on ^,^ To some, his demeanor might seem too forced or even kinda aggressive in this chapter but as explained above it´s for a purpose. He´s not stupid and recognized the change within her. Aside the fact that I don´t think that any woman being cherished like he did with Shuurei can stay reasonable (xD) or hide her inner self/emotions like Shuurei tried at the beginning. What a clever guy lol.

Though, it´s still a long way to go, so I hope you´ll enjoy the ride in the emotional rollercoster, w00t :D As always, thx for reading this chapter/FF so far and my authoress-rambling as well. Sorry for its length though *drop*. Time to shut up xD. Have fun with the (soon following) rest and if you liked it , being the crazy fangirl I am I´ve written more SaiMono-stories to enjoy ^______^

Meri