A/N: This part is very short compared to the others. But I wasn't able to cut the chapter differently... Well, enjoy!^^

Her eyes shone, reflecting the orange of the sky, colored in an unreal shade. Her skin bathed in a warm glow. Her hand fit right into his.

With a tug he pulled her to her legs and ignored the fuzzy feelings trembling in his stomach. Shimon walked over to the fireplace to put the stand with the boar a bit to the side so it won't get burned and he would have time to suppress whatever ill feeling was distracting him. He should concentrate on his mission – their mission.

Fate was a funny thing. Five days ago he had began a journey to split the Crystal and end this war raging between Tsuchimikado and Narukami and save his little sister. On the very next day this goal had been ripped out of his reach when he had shipwrecked on an isle south of the Crystal, stranded with a stranger, a girl from Narukami who had been odd to him from the first second. Now he had just recovered from the revelation that this girl had been on a journey as well and with the same goal.

Although he did not see eye to eye with her on the method, he felt relieved about this new twist. They could continue their journey together and Shimon felt new hope at their prospects. They would succeed, either way, he was sure of it. Though he would prefer his method. Not only would he save the life of Chiiko but it would keep Mayura from the danger of going to Tsuchimikado. She would be save at the side of the Prince but even one moment of carelessness could turn the tables on them.

Also, despite all her cleverness and knowledge, the idea to convince the Lord of Tsuchimikado seemed to be very naive. Shimon knew his father wouldn't be easily persuaded but he seriously wondered how Mayura was planning to accomplish that. She was smart and should know that a girl from Narukami without prestige or wealth would not be listened to. During their earlier conversation Shimon had asked himself, if he should tell her about the marriage which his father and Seigen-dono had arranged. It might have been enough for her to know that the lords of both nations planned to unite their countries. But it would have revealed his knowledge on a secret affair of state which a simple warrior wouldn't know about. He could not afford to reveal his identity to anyone, not yet.

Turning towards Mayura again, he saw her looking at him in irritation. A delicate eyebrow risen above her big, almond shaped eyes. He figured he must have been wrapped up in his thoughts too long.

Without taking his eyes of her, he grabbed his sword and pulled it out of the sheath. He held it out for her to take hold of the handle. The blade faced the ground between them.

"You are giving me your weapon?"

"If you learn at the beginning with something that isn't a katana, it might give you a wrong edge," he explained. A mere stick wouldn't do it and he hadn't a wooden bokken lying around here.

She took the sword and looked very uncomfortable in holding it as it dangled from her hand. "I mean, you trust me with the sword?"

That's true, why indeed did he trust her with the valuable sword of the Ikaruga family? This had to be the first time a person of Narukami held this sword in their hands. To him she wasn't a Narukami person though and they were partners now. He needed her to learn to defend herself should they get in contact with soldiers on Crystal Island.

"It's fine," he said while wondering when he had started to put such resolute trust in her? Had it been when she had shared her portion of their meal when his stomach had rumbled or when she refused to leave the exhausting work to him or was it built upon the times whenever he helped her rise to her feet as she had made the skin on his hand tingle? Had it been the moment she told him about her plans on ending the war? No, he wouldn't have jumped in to her rescue if he hadn't trusted her before.

"Shouldn't I learn to use the dagger first? This is the only sword we currently have," Mayura replied with a frown.

Shimon stemmed his hands into his hips and answered, "At first you need to overcome the fear to use a weapon. Holding something as powerful and deadly as this sword will help you with that."

He nodded towards the sword again.

Her frown dropped and was replaced by a mask of concentration as she shifted into an upright posture gripping the sword tightly in one hand.

This was better but not perfect. "That's not how you hold a sword. You are too stiff," Shimon told her.

Her shoulders dropped a bit but the form still looked unnatural and forced. She would not be able to move freely like this.

"Use both hands. The katana is meant to be lead by two hands. Your strong hand guides its way while the other stabilizes your hold," Shimon offered another suggestion.

Mayura enclosed her left hand around the handle of the sword and skipped her eyes to him. "Like this?"

"Yes. But your posture is still wrong. You need to be able to shift your weight on both legs."

She blinked at him in confusion and twirled her hips.

"No, they have to be further apart," he replied and bowed down. Without thinking he reached out for one of her legs to change its angle. It was just when her yukata loosened that he realized what he was doing. As if he touched fire, he jumped away.

What was he thinking?

"I'm sorry," he sputtered an apology with heat exploding in his face. He hadn't been thinking. That was his problem.

"No- No apology needed," she murmured with her face as red as a tomato.

Clearing his throat, Shimon wanted to cover up the awkwardness of the moment and picked up where they have left off. "Now," he said croaky. After he cleared his throat a second time he tried again, "Now you will be able to shift your weight easily between both legs, which makes it easy to evade and attack from all directions."

"Like this?"

He looked at her again. She now stood with her two feet diagonal to each other and he ignored how the yukata had loosened for it wasn't meant to fight in. He nodded. "Yes. Now strike as if you want to slice the air."

After rising the sword, she took a swing. The blade flew through the air.

Huffing in and out greedy breaths, Mayura flung the sword down again. They had been at it for quite some time.

"We should call it a day now," his voice became from behind her.

It had been grown dark, only the light from the fire and the moon above disturbed the darkness. Mayura did understand yet didn't want to stop. She felt the strain in her arms, hot sweat running down her temples but she knew she had more to give. "Just a few more moments," she breathed out.

"Mayura, stop," Shimon said and she felt a hand on her shoulder. "You must be exhausted, aren't you?"

She gazed at him over her shoulder. Shimon threw a look of worry at her; knitted eyebrows and the flames of the fire dancing in his eyes. Suddenly her arms felt more heavy and she dropped them straight towards the ground. "You're right," she said.

After handing him the katana she stretched her arms and hissed at the following ache. All in all Mayura felt soar but satisfied. It had been the first time she had held a weapon and even if Shimon had been strict while instructing her, he had complimented her quick way of learning. Though she would need a few more lessons, she felt relieved about carrying the dagger. Now she would now how to use it, if she needed it. It was all thanks to Shimon who had been so kind to show her, although he had been very devoted on getting off the island.

Beneath a star-filled sky they prepared themselves to sleep and Mayura felt the need to hear his voice once again while cuddling into her cape, desperate to make today's accomplishments to stay real. "Shimon?"

"Yes?"

She didn't know what she had wanted to talk about so she asked the first thing that came to her mind, "The legend... Do you believe it's true?"

"I do hope so," he answered lowly, a deep meaning seemed to be buried behind those words.

"Me, too," she mumbled and closed her eyes while smiling. Slowly her mind drifted off, past the differences between Narukami and Tsuchimikado, past boars attacking her out of nowhere, past their plans for the future, past the sting in her arms. She was ready to fall asleep at the warming and soothing fire, when his voice rouse her from her dozing state.

"Mayura?"

"Hn?" She turned her head towards him. He was still sitting in an upright position and wore a funny expression, something between a frown and a disgusted scowl, that made her curious.

Lifting a finger he pointed at something across from where she lay and asked, "Can we eat that, too?"

She followed the line of his finger and spotted in the dark, blueish shades of the beach an odd looking creature. On the first sight it looked like a huge insect because of its many skinny legs. On the second sight, Mayura was able to see that it moved sideways through the shadows and had big, round arms. It was some creature from the sea, of which she could not remember the name. Eating that weird looking thing was surely possible; she wasn't sure, if she wanted to though. Why would Shimon want to eat that? She seriously hoped the boar would feed them until they found a way to leave the island. Reluctantly she answered, "I-I think so~."

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A/N: The scene with the crab was inspired by a prompt of FieryPrincess2063 on fanfiction.net for this fiction. If you have ideas, I try to work with them, if they are possible and not going against the plot.

Moreover I will have to apologize in advance. The next update might take just as long as this one, if not more. Thanks to the new collaboration two people are now working on this fiction, which means more processes are involved. AND I actually passed the first round of the Open Novella Contest with "Branches" so I have to write another 6k for that till the 19th and afterwards I need to work on the Secret Santa Sousei no Onmyouji gift... *blinks* Oh my god... At least there is a lot of shimayu to look forward to, right? *giggles maddly*