***
Kaede yawned, closing the book she had been reading and lying back on her futon. It was mid-morning, one of those rare lazy days when she didn't have anything to do, and she had neglected to fold it. She hadn’t even bothered to put on a hakama. Kenta and Takeshi had left in search of breakfast, and Imari was long gone, but Kaede felt no particular desire to move. Even the thought of watching Imari train with Wen Ling wasn't quite enough of a draw to make her get up.
Still, the thought was more entertaining than what she had been reading. She appreciated bushio wisdom as much as the next samurai, but Imari captivated her. She let her mind drift back, closing her eyes to better enjoy the memories. She could picture Imari sweeping her blade through the air all too clearly, dark eyes glinting as sharp as the steel in her hand, a few loose strands of hair clinging to the pale curve of her neck.
"Kaede?" The sound of her name, accompanied by a soft knock on the screen door, startled her from the fantasy. "Are you in there?"
It was Imari's voice, but not as it usually sounded. Instead of the cheerful chime of bells, her voice sounded tight and thick with tears. Kaede got up in an instant. "I'm here," she said, hurrying over to the door and pulling it back. Imari was standing by it, cheeks glistening with tear-tracks, lower lip trembling. It was a sight Kaede had never seen before, and it hit her straight in the gut. "Imari, what's wrong?"
Imari didn't answer. She simply opened her arms, and Kaede took the request, wrapping her up in a tight embrace. She held Imari for several moments, rocking her slowly and running a hand along the middle of her back. Tears seeped onto the shoulder of her kimono, making the pale blue a darker shade, but she didn't pay them any mind. "It's okay," she whispered, pressing her lips to Imari's temple.
It took Imari a while to answer, but eventually, her sniffing slowed down. "I'm sorry," she rasped. "I don't usually cry like that. I can't remember the last time—"
"It's all right. I don't mind." Kaede wanted to ask what was wrong, but she knew better. Imari needed comfort more than solutions.
Carefully, Kaede led her over to the bed, urging her to sit down. Imari went without complaint, tucking her heels beneath her and curling into a small, folded ball. The stump of her left hand rested in her lap, and she stared down at it with red-ringed eyes. "Wen Ling says my training is done. She wants me to go back home."
At once, Kaede understood. "And she still won't give you a new hand. Imari, I'm so sorry." She reached out, wrapping an arm around Imari’s shoulders.
"Give me a minute." Imari closed her eyes, and Kaede waited until they opened again. "She told me losing my hand made me into who I am. She said I wouldn't be the same person if I still had it."
"I don't think so. You would still be you. Strong and smart and gorgeous."
Imari gave a hoarse laugh. "Flatterer. But I think Wen Ling might be right. Coming from anyone else, I wouldn’t have listened, but she knows exactly what I’ve been through. She isn't speaking from ignorance, but from experience. And she has a point. If I hadn't lost my hand, I wouldn't have gone on this journey." She laced the fingers of her hand through Kaede's, giving them a shaking squeeze. "I wouldn't have met you."
"I like to think we would have met anyway," Kaede said, offering Imari a smile. "The Ancestors work in mysterious ways."
"Maybe." Imari turned to look at her, and Kaede felt the breath leave her chest. Even with red, puffy bags beneath her eyes and messy, smeared cheeks, Imari was beautiful.
Imari must have noticed her gaze, because she turned her face away, wiping it on the sleeve of her yellow kimono. "Please, don't look at me while I'm such a mess."
"Imari," Kaede laughed, "I've seen you covered in dirt and sweat and all sorts of other awful things. At this point, nothing can surprise me." She let go of Imari's hand and reached into the outer fold of her own kimono, producing a handkerchief. "Here, take this."
Imari took it, swiping her eyes and nose clean. When it came away, she looked a little more cheerful. "Wait, this is mine. I recognize the embroidery." She turned the dark crimson cloth over in her hand, running her fingers along the seams. "I gave it to you back in Mirai's marketplace." She laughed, crumpling the handkerchief in her hand. "You got food all over your face. Did you really keep it all this time?"
Kaede flushed. "Yes." A thought occurred to her, and she scooted away, grabbing for the bag at the foot of her bed. "Actually, I have something better to give you than your own handkerchief." She dug in the pack's front pocket, retrieving the small jade teardrop she had taken from beneath the giant wave. "I've been holding onto it for a while, but this might be the right time." She held it in the middle of her outstretched palm, offering it up as a gift.
When Imari caught sight of the gem, her eyes widened. She set the handkerchief in her lap and reached out to take the shining green stone, running her fingertips along its smooth curve. "Kaede, it's beautiful. But why?"
Kaede’s voice caught in her throat. There was so much she wanted to share, though she wasn't sure if she should. Imari's face was still tearstained, but a happy glow of hope had blossomed in her eyes. That was what finally gave Kaede the confidence to continue. She curled her hand around the back of Imari's neck, drawing her face close.
The first kiss was a slow, uncertain meeting of mouths. They had done the same many times before over the past two months, but somehow, Kaede sensed this was different. She could taste the salt of Imari's tears as well as the sweetness beneath. The heat made her shiver, but it also made her heart clench. She knew Imari was disappointed. She knew what it felt like to wish you could change yourself only to find out it would be more difficult than expected. It was a wound that always reopened, no matter how well it seemed to have healed on good days. Instead of offering her sympathy with more words, she offered it through touch. She cupped Imari's wet cheek, always gentle, always careful.
To her relief, Imari didn't pull away. She parted her lips, sighing softly—all the permission Kaede needed. Her sigh said, “This is all right.” Her sigh said, “Please comfort me.”
Kaede ran her thumb across Imari's tear tracks, tenderly wiping them away. "It's okay," she murmured, ignoring Imari's ragged, uneven breaths as they puffed against her mouth. "I'm sorry you didn't get what you wanted, but you still have other things. You have me."
"I know I do," Imari whispered. "I just…I came so far and wished so hard."
Kaede rested their foreheads together, touching Imari’s face in little soothing strokes. "Tomorrow, things will look better. You'll remember you spent the last several years without your hand, and it never stopped you before."
"I know," Imari said, but her voice still cracked. "I'll be fine. I just need to be sad for a while."
"Well." Kaede paused to place another soft, closed kiss on Imari's lips. "You can always be sad with me tonight. I don't mind. I've got another clean shoulder for you to cry on."
"No." Imari shifted back a little, and her dark eyes burned with such intensity that Kaede was taken aback. "I can mope and feel sorry for myself on the way home. Right now, I want to feel something else. Something better."
Kaede didn't understand. Her brow furrowed as Imari mirrored her earlier motion, cupping her cheek and drawing her back in. Their second kiss was longer and much deeper. It tasted of hunger instead of sadness, and Kaede suddenly realized what Imari wanted. Imari wanted to forget. Imari wanted to feel emotions other than disappointment. She knew without being told. But can I do this? Do I want to?
The answer that came to her was yes. She wanted this for Imari, and most important of all, she wanted it for herself. Imari was the first person she had felt so close to, so comfortable with—comfortable enough to share her body, just as she had already shared her heart. Still, with her decision made, she had to be certain Imari felt the same.
"Are you sure?" she whispered, gazing into Imari's eyes. The sadness in them was already fading, eclipsed by something much brighter. They burned, and Kaede's face bloomed with heat as they
focused directly on her lips.
"Kaede," Imari said, her voice no longer hoarse, but low and certain, "you are the one thing in my life right now I'm absolutely sure about. I love you."
The words washed over Kaede like the breaking of the dawn. Her entire body glowed with them, and a wide grin spread across her face until her cheeks could barely hold it. "You love me?" she repeated, almost breathless with joy.
"Yes." Imari's thumb passed gently over the scar on Kaede’s cheek, mimicking the way Kaede had wiped her tears away. "I don't care if you're a ronin. I don't care what anyone else will say about us.”
At once, Kaede felt a stab of shame—familiar, but sharper than ever before. On the cusp of something so intimate, lying about her identity felt even worse. However, she didn’t have time to wallow, because Imari kept going.
“You're the most beautiful person I've ever met. I know what I want, and what I want is you."
Despite her guilt, Kaede believed Imari's words wholeheartedly. During the past few months, she had felt more like herself than ever before. Maybe I'm becoming better by being Iori Kaede. Maybe I really have grown into the person Imari loves instead of just pretending. She wanted to be that person, the person Imari had fallen in love with, for as long as possible—forever, if she could. Aozora Kaede was a coward, but Iori Kaede was worthy of this.
She kissed Imari again and the two of them tipped back onto the futon. Kaede wasn't sure what she was doing, but to her relief, it didn't matter. Imari was more than happy to guide her hands. Kaede rested them above the curve of her hips at first, but slowly, Imari coaxed them upwards. Even through the material of Imari's kimono, Kaede could feel warmth radiating from her sides.
"I don't know what I'm doing," Kaede whispered into Imari's lips, "but I want this. I want you."
Imari responded with a low groan. She brought Kaede's hands even higher, until they were resting at the tuck of her waist. Meanwhile, her own hand began to wander. Kaede shuddered as it roamed along her back, her muscles tensing. It felt good to be held like this, even better than the way Imari held her while they slept.
On impulse, she sucked briefly at Imari's bottom lip and then abandoned her mouth entirely, placing a tentative kiss beneath her jaw instead. Imari sighed, tilting her chin to offer more access, and Kaede took the invitation gladly. She placed another kiss against Imari's throat, and then another, until she had made an entire trail down to the crook of Imari's neck. Imari tasted slightly of salt from her training session with Wen Ling, but Kaede didn't mind at all. The subtle taste of sweat clinging to Imari's skin was intoxicating, and her mouth watered for more.
Before she could get too carried away, Imari tugged at the back of Kaede's head, pulling her up for another kiss. This time it was open-mouthed, and their tongues glided together. The taste and heat were distracting, and Kaede didn't notice Imari was reversing their positions until she was flat on her back. Imari straddled her hips, grinning down at her. Several loose strands of hair had escaped her braid to drift around her face, and her eyes shone with something better than tears.
"How about I help you out of those clothes?"
There was clear desire in the request, but Kaede was touched that Imari had phrased it as a question. That eased some of her nerves as she answered, "Yes," and brought Imari's hand to her obi. It was a narrow, simple affair, meant for functionality rather than decoration, and Imari didn't have much trouble with the knot. Kaede lifted up, bracing her weight on her elbows, and Imari's nimble fingers reached around to unfasten the bow.
However, as she shifted, Kaede inadvertently brought their pelvises together. She hadn't thought the motion through, and when their hips met, a powerful jolt passed through her. Heat shot straight between her legs, and she gasped as pressure began to swell there. She could usually handle her erections, especially since Imari had caused quite a few of them over the past several months, but this was different. Imari was directly on top of her, able to feel everything. Surely her yukata wasn't doing much to hide it in their intimate position.
"I…um," she stammered, blushing furiously.
Imari grinned. "I was wondering whether that would happen. I wasn't sure."
"Oh, it happens," Kaede mumbled. "Especially around you. I can't help it."
"Are you all right when it happens?" Imari asked, her amusement softening into concern. "It doesn't upset you to be different than most women?"
"Sometimes," Kaede said, but at Imari's worried look, she corrected herself. "But not right now. You don't have to stop—that is, unless you want to." She swallowed, trying to choose her words more carefully. "Please, Imari, don't stop what you were doing."
Imari's worry vanished. She finished untying Kaede's obi, unwinding the sash from around her waist. Kaede felt a spike of something as Imari's fingertips drifted up along the front of her yukata and the juban underneath, playing with the seams, but it wasn't blind panic. It was nervousness, but also excitement and anticipation. A large part of her wanted Imari to see her naked, wanted Imari to touch her, to know her.
The breathless look of wonder and awe that broke over Imari's face as she opened the front of the yukata was all the reassurance Kaede needed. Imari's gaze started at her face then moved down along her collarbones, disappearing into the shallow dip of her cleavage. Lying flat on her back, Kaede's breasts looked even more modest than usual, but Imari didn't seem to mind. Bracing herself on her other arm, she brought her hand to Kaede's bare side, starting at her waist and stroking up along her ribs.
Kaede's heart hammered. Imari's palm was callused at the edges, but also incredibly gentle. It felt like heaven on her skin, and the peaks of her breasts pulled into stiff points before Imari even reached them. Imari smiled, and the two of them shared a soft laugh. Her fingers trailed higher, caressing the curve of Kaede's left breast and circling the sensitive tip without touching it.
"You're beautiful," Imari said, continuing her teasing outline. She finally took the nipple between her knuckles and gave it a light pinch. It wasn't hard, but it was enough to send another bolt of pleasure straight between Kaede's legs. She swelled a little further, straining beneath the lower half of her yukata. The fabric was still folded over, but she could feel the press of Imari's thighs on either side of her own.
Imari noticed and her eyes sparkled and her smile spread wider. "So, you're sensitive?" She leaned in closer, until Kaede could feel warm breath wash across her chest. "What if I did this?"
The silky heat of Imari's mouth was even more intense than Kaede expected. She bucked as soon as Imari’s mouth wrapped around her, stiffening and shivering. Her hand shot up to clutch the back of Imari's head without permission. The soft fire, the swift flicks of Imari's tongue, and the steady suction left Kaede dizzy. It was like nothing she had ever felt before, and she desperately wanted more.
Imari finally released her with a soft pop and Kaede whimpered. "Imari," she murmured, but there was no need to beg. Imari was already kissing across her chest, seeking out the other sensitive peak. She passed the next several minutes, switching back and forth, scattering open-mouthed kisses everywhere.
Imari’s hand started at Kaede's stomach, gliding over the quivering muscles there, but gradually moved lower, loosening the edges of her yukata on the way. Kaede was so distracted by the heat of Imari's mouth on her breasts she didn't even notice it peeling open until it was almost too late. She caressed Imari's cheek, urging her to stop. "Wait," she rasped, afraid to be alone in her nakedness. "You too. Please?"
Imari placed a soft, lingering kiss of reassurance on Kaede's lips. "Of course." She rose onto her knees, giving Kaede's lap a little relief, and unfastened her obi.
It fluttered to the floor beside the futon, and Kaede stared in awe as Imari began unfastening her kimono. First her collarbone came into view, then her softly rounded shoulders, and finally her breasts, full and capped with light brown nipples. Every inch of lovely pale skin that came into view made Kaede's tongue grow thick in her mouth. Her eye
s widened and a low moan slipped out before she could swallow it down.
Imari beamed at the sound even as Kaede flushed. "I'll take that as a sign of approval," she murmured as the fabric fell down her shoulders. She held her left arm a little further away with a tilt of her shoulders, as if trying to keep it subtly in the background, but Kaede noticed. She folded her fingers around Imari's forearm, gently drawing it back between them.
"Hey, you don't have to keep this out of the way." It was something of a reassurance to realize that Imari was also a little self-conscious of her body despite her greater experience. "It's part of you."
Imari breathed a small sigh. "So, can we make a pact to not worry about how we look for the next few minutes and focus on learning how to make each other feel good?"
Kaede laughed. "A few minutes?" Her eyes dipped back down, admiring the curve of Imari's breasts. They were much larger than her own, and her palms itched to test their weight. "I really hope it lasts longer than that."
Imari noticed where Kaede's eyes had fallen and took her hand, bringing one up to her breast and urging her to cup it. "In that case, let's see how well you can keep up with me."
Confidence swelled in Kaede's chest. She caught Imari's nipple between her fingertips and pulled, testing what kinds of reactions she could get. Imari hummed softly at first, then gasped as she tugged harder. When Kaede sat up and copied what Imari had done to her, pulling the puckered bud past her lips, Imari tilted back.
Once more, Kaede lost herself in the taste of Imari's skin. Her hands roamed along Imari's curves as her mouth explored Imari's chest, seeking out sensitive places. She savored every shiver, every sigh, and the gentle rake of Imari's nails through her hair as signs of success. Soon, sweat had broken out over her own skin as well, and the ache between her legs had become an insistent throb. She would need to do something about it soon, but she wasn't sure how to ask.
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