A/N: Largest part incoming. Please tell me if it does not load fully!

His hand throbbed where it was kissed by fire the day before. With every beat of his heart, the blistered skin ached. Opening his hand Shimon glanced at the palm presenting a red weal. It looked like he had held a burning sword. Yet, it had been his lack of experience that had marked him.

When he had woken up, the sun was rising in the sky and he'd been very cold. Without his coat even the fire had not been able to shield him from the coldness. Glancing over to the sleeping form that was covered with his coat, he had been glad to find out that the girl from Narukami had not attacked him while he was sleeping. She looked to be resting with much more comfort and so he had decided to let her regain her strength a while longer at the sight of her soft expression.

The fire had dimmed down and he'd thought about gathering more firewood but decided differently. If they needed this much wood to keep a fire through the night, they couldn't afford to keep it running at day. But chopping wood was impossible, too. They had no tool for that.

And so he had made plans on how they most likely would survive until they either found a way to get off this island or to be found by the search parties which where likely turning each stone on Tsuchimikado around at the moment. At some point they would set their sight offshore, when they realized their prince was nowhere to be found on Tsuchimikado.

During planning on their tasks, Shimon's mind had drifted off to the girl sleeping peacefully a few feet away. She was odd. She looked like an underclass maid but acted and spoke like a noble. Something was off about her. She was clearly hiding something despite the stolen dagger and that was a dangerous thing.

And then there was also something familiar about her. Like he should have known her.

He was playing with a stick in the dying fire, when he'd heard her sigh.

Forcing her out of his head, he had continued to shovel the burning parts of the fire closer together.

When he'd heard her sigh again, he had turned around and watched her rise, before folding his coat neatly in her hands. It was a bewitching sight and he stared at her without understanding why. She'd looked like a princess and not like a simple girl. Her movements were graceful despite the restriction of her yukata, her expression awe-inspiring despite having risen from sleep just a moment ago.

He had watched her coming closer, his gaze fixed to her like in a spell. Was she able to use witchcraft like some people were said to be?

Anyway, this morning he'd learned that she was nice actually.

Until a few moments ago they had discussed the plans he'd thought about and she'd been logically and strategically adding to what he had planned. The result was them agreeing on collecting and stocking up firewood at the border of the forest, more shielded from rain. Moreover they agreed on a strategy to provide for food and start building a raft when they had time.

It had been almost surprising on how well they actually harmonized in discussing a strategy. Yet, that had not been the most surprising thing this morning.

He had been slightly surprised, when she'd thanked him for giving her his coat but even more, when she'd apologized to him. In kind he had told her his name while he carefully placed the folded piece of clothing in front of him which was soaked in her body warmth. And that was when the most astounding thing happened: The sound of his name rolling off of her tongue in a gentle tone was a hundred times more surprising than their harmony or her gratitude and apology; or rather the flutter it caused beneath his lungs was. It had taken him a moment and a steadying breath to catch himself after having heard her say his name in the slightly different accent, the foreign slur of vocals he had grown used to thanks to Seigen-dono. Without thinking about it, he'd called her Otomi-san in respect and had received the offer to call her by her birth name in return.

Now as he sat on the ground beside her and watched her bend over a unfastened scroll, he wondered when the Narukami girl had turned into Otomi-san to him and why it been so easy to accept calling her by her first name.

After they had devised a plan for securing their survival, he had mumbled, that he'd wished to know, where they were. He'd been staring off into the bright sky, free off clouds, remembering the storm that had nearly swallowed him yesterday, when all of a sudden she had pulled out her scroll.

His gaze shifted from her form down to the scroll and he noticed now what she was looking at. A map. He could make out the wide and broad form of Tsuchimikado and recognized the centered posture of the Crystal Island and the large sea in-between. Why Mayura was in possession of a map he had no idea, especially a map that showed both nations, but he leaned closer now, wanting to have at least an idea of his whereabouts to calm down this inner worry. One more information, one less insecurity.

She turned to him and said with a finger gently grazing the ink on the paper, "I remember the ship having crossed at least one other island to the north but I could not tell, whether it was Crystal Island or another isle."

He felt the heat of her breath. Startled he leaned away, to get more space in between them. His skin tingled where her breath had caressed it. Shimon cleared his throat and turned more of his back towards her. Reaching out a hand he tapped a finger on the map, onto the point he had stared at earlier: The sea in between Tsuchimikado and Crystal Island as well as the southern vacant ones. "I was hit by the storm while being on sea. I don't think the current could have swept me so far as to round either Crystal Island or the great one to its south, which must mean –"

"Which must mean we are on the isle in the south-west of Crystal Island!"

Her excitement got to him. The happiness of her exclamation inspiring him to release a sigh of relief while he eyed her over his shoulder. Not having known where on their sphere they were, must have been as unnerving to her as it had been to him. Getting lost was one thing, having no means of how to find a way back home was another.

He looked at her thoroughly while she smiled brightly at the map. She was odd. And he still could not shake off the feeling that she was someone he knew but could not remember. Regardless, he realized, that he did know nothing about her. If she was proud and witty, he should not disrespect it. Maybe she was somebody else beneath the clothes of a lower class maiden. Maybe she was a person who was too clever for the class she was born in and that was the reason why, he'd found her, stranded on the same isle he was. Either way, he had no reason to misbehave towards her or to act as if he was higher of class or be presumptuous in any way. On this island he was no prince. He was just a shipwrecked warrior.

Feeling much more comfortable he said, "Now that we have covered, where we are we should make preparations. Maybe we could scout the island first. I wonder, if we can find something else to eat except fish." He rose to his feet and waited for her to pack away the map.

With delicate fingers she rolled up the scroll, obviously thinking about his question. He stretched his hand towards her to help her get onto her feet. While she reached for it with a small smile, she asked, "How about mushrooms?"

Her suggestion buzzed in his ears, when she grabbed the hand he held out for her. He could not tell, if it was pleasure or pain that crawled over his skin. Confused he asked, "Mushrooms?"

"Oh, they are food –" she started explaining.

"I know," he interrupted and pressed the palm of his hand against his Jin-Baori to make the tingling sensation go away. "I just don't know how to find them. They are rare on Tsuchimikado." He murmured staring at his hand. What had been that reaction right now? Was it the aftermath of the fire or had it been because of her touch?

"Is the climate very dry in Tsuchimikado?"

His gaze rose again. Seeing she'd leaned her head slightly to the side, Shimon shrugged. "I don't know. Compared to here, maybe."

"Hm, I've read most mushrooms grow on the ground or on trees shielded from the sun in forests. Some of them are poisonous, too but I think I can remember which are eatable."

He blinked at her. She was extraordinarily knowledgeable. It did not matter where she'd learned to read but that she was able to and that she knew many things that would help them survive was amazing. Next to her he felt rather useless, which irked him. It was a false sense of pride, yet he could not help but want to show her, he could be of use, too and so he said, "We should search for some while scouting the isle."

And so they walked further along the beach to the north where the shadows from the trees fell onto the sand. It looked like it rounded most of the isle with the forest towering in its middle, spread over a hill to the north-east.

"Would you mind, if we went to the lake on our scouting tour? I'd like to wash up a bit," Mayura said strolling a few feet behind him.

"Sure," he agreed. He could use a bit of washing himself, too. His clothes had been washed by the sea but it was still uncommon for him to wear the same clothes a few days in a row. So it would be nice at least to clean his face with fresh water.

They finally reached an end of the isle that was neither beach nor forest. At the northern end they needed to climb up a stoney hill. Behind them lay the beach, to their right the forest and in front of them were high cliffs towering over the sea hitting its waves against the cliffs.

The most welcomed sight lay across. From this point he could see the objective of his journey: Crystal Island. He could roughly see the outskirts of the big island stretching over the horizon with it's massive cliffs on guard but it was there almost within reach.

As quickly as it came to his mind, he'd discarded the idea of swimming. There was a very low chance he could make it that far and a bigger one to have his life claimed by the sea in the end. His gaze rose to the sky above, while a white bird passed over their heads screaming. Shimon wished he could fly. He'd cross the distance in no time.

"How long do you think will we be on this isle?" Mayura's voice broke him out of his day dream.

He though about this. How long would it take to build a raft? Days? Weeks? Months? But certainly not as long as someone to find them here. "Before we'd built a raft... It might take a while with both of us having neither tools nor knowledge on how to build one. However, I am sure that someone will find us first."

"They'd better not find a soldier from Tsuchimikado though," she replied.

Irritated he frowned not understanding, what she was implying at first. He'd heard the strange term from Seigen-dono before but why would his warriors bother? Then he realized, what she meant but it did not help to smooth down the confusion. Turning around he looked at her. "Why would people from Narukami come here?"

He watched Mayura blink and fidget with her fingers. Her eyes drifted to the left before they settled on his again. "I-I just thought that we don't know, where they might come from and that it is easier for me to act as if I was from Tsuchimikado, whereas you wouldn't be able to disguise your identity."

He could not help but smile at the double sliced irony. He would certainly not be able to pretend to be someone else, if they came here looking for Prince Ikaruga Shimon of House Tsuchimikado. "I suppose I won't," he replied before continuing, "Nevertheless I am sure if people would come here, they will be from Tsuchimikado."

She looked at him big eyed, mouth slightly agape, a mask of pure confusion and totally different from her graceful demeanor earlier. Guessing he should stay away from remarks about Tsuchimikado to keep his true identity hidden, he walked past her. "We should continue scouting. There is no way to say how long the island stretches into the east."

They walked in silence into the forest at a passage where the trees stood less dense. She took the lead looking for mushrooms while he observed their surroundings. His gaze passed the trunks of trees, bushes, foliage and moss. It would be easy to collect firewood together. Between bushes and grass the ground was covered with old twigs and sticks that had been torn off by the wind and animals. It won't help them forever but it was a good start, if both of them gathered and stocked up a high amount of it.

Looking over to Mayura, he saw her pressed against a tree, trying to reach out for mushrooms that were growing in the shadow of it like she said. Shimon walked over to her and reached for them from behind, being a head higher than her. Startled she jumped away.

He tore off a mushroom and held it out for her. A red hue formed on her face and she mumbled her thanks before taking off her coat and spreading it in front of her. Understanding the cue he placed the mushroom inside the hollow between her arms and started to harvest the rest of the mushrooms.

After picking the last of them he looked at her while she folded up her coat into a bag. Rays of the sun broke through the leaves above like beams, framing her form. It was now that he noticed he had not seen her without her coat yet. What had been hidden beneath the coat could not be made invisible by her dark blue yukata now. Round hips, a slim waist and ample breasts met his gaze, which he quickly tore away.

His stomach clenched. He had not meant to do something this indiscreet and he had no idea where this kind of interest suddenly came from. He'd never – looked at a woman like that.

If she'd noticed his gaze, she did not say anything.

Feeling guilty, he followed her through the forest and scolded himself or his lecherous eyes.

Thanks to the slope he could tell that they were nearing the place where the stream was. Time and time she would stop to gather more mushrooms.

When all of a sudden something rustled in the bushes next to Mayura. Instinctively his hand grabbed the handle of his katana.

With a yelp she jumped backwards and walked into his chest. Her coat dropped to the ground. Like a wave the mushrooms tumbled out of the cloth and onto the ground.

Shimon rounded her and stood in front of her like a shield.

Time seemed to stop while they both looked intensely at the rustling bush. Finally something broke through the deep green leaves.

Something small, making a bleeping sound. It was some kind of rodent. A brownish gray rat or something with a bushy tail. (2) Quickly it ran off into the other direction.

From in front of him he heard a deep sigh.

"You are scared easily," Shimon commented and bend down to collect the mushrooms that had fallen out of her coat.

She did the same going onto her knees and chattered, "Do you gave any idea what animals live in this area? From what I read there are colorful animals shaped like ropes which slide over the ground and snap at you with deadly poison and cats as big as horses with sharp teeth and strong yaws. Close to Tsuchimikado there are said to live monstrous creatures, bodies long as boats, their skin hard as stone and their mouth almost as long as their tail and big enough to swallow a child at once." (3)

"Sounds like fairy-tales and myths," he said after she'd finished. Looking up he saw her glare and he quickly added, "Although I heard about those long monsters, too. But they are said to live in the moorlands in the west of Tsuchimikado."

She stopped searching for the mushrooms and leaned back on her heels. "People say the closer to the Crystal you live the more potent the fruits you bear. Who knows what we might detect?"

He did the same thing, shifting his weight by putting a knee on the ground, facing her fully. "My people have a similar saying. Nothing grows out of the Crystal's reach and the closer the more ripe your gains."

"And don't you believe them?"

Somehow he remembered walking by a conversation when he was younger; the old drunken Commander had bragged to Shimon's father, how he had been able to impregnate his wife faster the more often he'd returned from Crystal Island. The memory was as disturbing as the experience and made heat rise to Shimon's cheek. It was a good thing the old man had retired soon, clearing the way for a much more potent candidate who would not brag about impregnating anyone, not only because it was impossible for her. Then he thought about Sayo and how the Crystal's power was slowly tormenting her body and stealing more of her strength day by day. This probably wouldn't happen, if she would live farther away from the Crystal, where its reach was much more softer.

Sucking in a deep breath through his nose, his eyes skipped to the sea blue ones of Mayura and he'd noticed he had yet to reply. "I do."

She mustered him. Her felt her gaze traveling over his face like the touch of a feather. Breaking their contact, she leaned forward again and started to collect more mushrooms. "Are all Tsuchimikado people as dry and serious as you?"

"I don't think so," Shimon said in all honesty. His siblings had often remarked this and therefore tried to get beneath his skin, to make him go out of himself but there wasn't much that could aggravate him.

Mayura's reply was a smile and not a face of disapproval which he'd had reckoned with.

With uplifted spirits he got back to work and started to collect more mushrooms.

Suddenly Mayura released a high pitched sound, trapped between a yelp and a scream. With wide opened eyes she stared at the ground, pressing a fist to her chest. Tensed he followed her gaze to find a white, polished thing glaring back at him from beneath a bush, a white pipe with a round, bulbous head. It took him a blink of an eye to realize that it was a bone. His heart beat accelerated. Surely this was the remains of an animal having been killed by another animal. Yet, he couldn't help tensing up even more as he'd pushed away the bush to examine the object closer.

Whatever this had belonged to, it was no small animal.

Pushing away the leaves surrounding it, he uncovered a loosened a pile of earth. Holding his breath, he reached out for the bone striking out towards him. His fingers closed around the cold and surprisingly porous thing and he pulled it out of the earth. Beside him he heard a gasp and he whipped his head to the side looking at Mayura who looked into his direction with horror but without looking at him. He glanced at the thing in his hand again. It was longer than he'd expected. The half that had been covered with earth was blackened. He wondered which animal had such long bones. When he noticed something else being naked to the sight in the ground now. A black socket of an eye staring back at him and rotten teeth fixed into a grin.

Shocked he dropped the bone.

A skull.

A human skull.

This had been a human.

Mayura gasped again. This time the sound broken with a whimper. She stuttered, "That's..."

"Yeah," he said, trying to control his breathing and to concentrate on the possibilities. Why was a human skeleton buried on this island? How did the person die? How did they get buried?

Clearing his throat he tried for an explanation, "Maybe the person died of starvation."

"Then why are they buried?"

"It could have been an animal?"

They both looked at each other, restless and terrified. There was no clear explanation for what might have happened and they both knew.

Shimon swallowed hard. His eyes shifted onto the skull again. What would he uncover, if he dug deeper? He wasn't sure, he wanted to find out. But if there was a sign for anything dangerous on this isle, he'd like to know. Determined he leaned towards the pile of earth and started shoveling it away with his bare hands.

What he did uncover made a shill run down his spine as he had found a second skull buried beneath the other, also blackened. Someone gagged. He wasn't sure if it was himself or Mayura and continued to stare at the two skulls in the ground.

This he really did not expect.

Taking a few deep breaths he leaned forward and examined the second skull. It was similar to the other in terms of size. The black looked more like stains though and it on the right temple of the skull stuck a black crust. Gathering his courage Shimon reached out and touched it. It broke apart at the point where he touched it. Black dust was on his finger tip above the cover of earth.

Soot.

They had been burned.

No animal was able to make fire.

Drifting his gaze towards Mayura he saw her looking at him with a mix of fear and expectation. Her eyes were like mirrors reflecting a pool of emotions, widened and brightened like a sea waiting for the next storm to come.

When he was sure to trust his voice, Shimon told her, "Somebody burned them."

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(2) And so it begins. First round of guessing what animal made a mention in the story. In this case they saw a squirrel. Were you able to guess right?

(3) The first animal is a snake, the second a tiger, the third one an alligator or crocodile (whatever suits you, it's not that important to this story.) It is not easy to find out if these animals lived in Japan at medieval times. Right now I am very sure snakes and tigers exist/existed there. But I don't think there are any crocodiles/alligators. But let's pretend in Crystal world they are there cause it has its own climate system as well. It's fantasy and there will be more fantasy elements soon, I promise.

A/N: Reactions? Did you feel the suspense?