"You're gonna get a cold out here," Hyaku's voice startled me as he came to stand just under the tree.
I yelped in surprise. "How long have you been standing there?" I asked nervously, moving, trying to change position so that I could jump down, or attempt to climb back down. Why was it always so much harder to get out of situations than it was to get into them? The branch beneath me was beginning to crack under the weight and movement.
"Long enough" he replied, looking up at me. "Stop Moving so much you're gonna fall and wake the others," he warned. "Just come down"
"I am doing that," I said, trying to get to my feet so that I had a better chance of not falling awkwardly, but the branch broke under me, dropping me to the ground. But, instead of the hard ground, I found myself straddled on top of Hyaku.
I groaned, slowly opening my eyes to find myself staring into his blue ones, my chest pressed up against him awkwardly.
"Get Off!" he said, looking away.
"I am sorry" I said as I looked away, my face turning a slight shade of pink. I had never been in close contact with a man before in that way, where he wasn't trying to push himself on me. I quickly moved, rolling off of him, falling onto my butt.
"Yeah," he said as he stood up. "Just be careful next time." He put out his hand, and I instinctively shied away from him. I knew he wasn't going to hit me, but the reflex was still still there. Looking up at him, I slowly grabbed his hand and allowed him to help me up.
"Thanks," I mumbled; I still couldn't look at him straight in the eyes.
"What are you doing out here anyway?" he asked as we began our walk back into the house.
I shrugged. "I didn't want to go to sleep yet, and I love being outside, looking at the stars, thinking of better times, a life that is a million miles away."
He eyed me for a few seconds before staring straight ahead. "We all come from difficult pasts."
I nodded. "I know. It's how you walk down the path of life that determines who you are."
"I like to make my own path," Hyaku replied as we got to our rooms.
I stopped at my door and opened it, but before going in, I said, "You might want to travel a path taken by others at some point, otherwise, you'll end up all alone. Now one deserves to be alone forever." With that, I walked into my room and shut the door behind me.
~.~
The next morning, I was up before anyone else and in the temple attempting to look over the stupid book that still made no sense to me. I could not get used to reading. It was too difficult for me. Sighing, I decided to go out into the garden and see if I could distinguish what plants did what.
Juki may not have ever taught me much, but I did learn a few of the medicinal herbs from the back garden that helped in case fights broke out in the tavern, which it did a lot more frequently than people thought.
"You're hard at work early in the morning," Hyaku startled me again. What was with that guy and never making a sound when he approached. I needed to start getting used to never turning my back on the house.
"Mind warning me when you're gonna approach me? I'd rather not die of a heart-attack when I've managed to survive this long," I said as I continued to weed through the plants, not recognizing nearly as many as I had hoped I would.
He chuckled lightly, a rare treat for my ears. "I can't help it a weak human such as yourself can't hear my movements. I make no attempt to sneak up on you." He moved behind me.
I thumbed the leaf of one of the plants, not knowing what it was. Was I going to be at everything I wanted to be good at? Sighing heavily, I went to the next plant.
"That's Arnica," Hyaku told me. "It is used for sprains and bruises." I nodded, moving onto the next row. "That one is Chamomile; it's supposed to help calm you. Hana gives some to us when we come back from a battle."
I knew the next plant. "That's Meadowsweet. It reduces fevers and can be used for pain relief." I felt somewhat smart for knowing that. I glanced back at the temple, seeing Hana come through the door. I turned to Hyaku. "Thanks for the lesson, but I better go work on my other duties." I gave him a forced smile before pushing passed him to go and work with Hana.
