Thanks

Disclaimer: Don\'t own it. This is probably a good thing.

Himiko panted heavily, fingers reaching for her acceleration scent again. What was supposed to be a routine delivery from Mugenjou had turned into a battle to the death. Admittedly, Mugenjou was dangerous at the best of times, but the item of interest- a wristwatch of supposed sentimental value- shouldn\'t have been of any interest to anyone but the client. Apparently the client had been lying, because the attacker was showing far more tenacity than your average Lower Town thug.
She was probably smuggling something in the watch. She made a mental note to string up the employer when she got out of this. A Transporter typically didn\'t care what he or she was transporting, but when lack of knowledge left her unprepared, Himiko got angry.
Inhaling her perfume, Himiko charged at the enemy - who wasn\'t there anymore. How was it that he was so damn fast? It was insane, especially since she\'d already bruised him up some. Of course, he\'d bruised her up too.... She spun around in time to block a kick at her head and kneed him in the gut. He gasped slightly and retreated, obviously having the wind knocked out of him. He circled her warily and she charged him again, not about to give him time to recover. He dodged, now on the defensive-
Himiko was distracted by a slight glimmer out of the corner of her eye, and the enemy used the opportunity to circle behind her. She whirled and threw an elbow at his face, which he dodged as well. They both dropped into crouches and circed each other warily.
Himiko knew she couldn\'t keep fighting much longer, though. She was exhaused. After a few seconds of staring at the man, she threw a kick at his head, following it with a jab to his stomach. The kick missed, but the punch connected, and the wind was knocked out of him again. He recovered more quickly this time, though, kicking her in the wrist. Her eyes teared up, but she forced back the pain- it wasn\'t broken, and she\'d have to tolerate it.
She panted, trying to force more air into her tired lungs. She fumbled for the flame scent, fingers clumsy with exhaustion inhaling it and breathing fire at the man.
She was conscious just long enough to see him dodge mostly out of the way and drop to the ground to put out his clothing before the world went white in front of her eyes. She had just enough time to think Oh shit, before she felt herself falling.

If this is heaven, it feels awfully warm and comfortable, Himiko reflected. Then it occured to her that maybe she should open her eyes and see whether she was sitting on a cloud, because if she wasn\'t she probably ought to find out where she actually was.
Her eyes opened slowly to what appeared to be a small bedroom - one that didn\'t look familiar. She sat up abruptly, reaching for her perfumes, which she was relieved to find were still at her waist- along with the watch that had caused her all the trouble in the first place. She kept her hand on her flame scent, comforting in its familiarity, and stood up. She had the sinking feeling she\'d been asleep for a good while - she didn\'t feel tired at all. Her nervousness grew, and she swung her legs out of the bad, standing up, shakily at first until she\'d found her legs.
Her hand had reached for the doorknob and she was about to open it when it turned under her hand. She stumbled hastily backwards- to be greeted by the face of Kagami Kyouji, wearing his infernal false smile. \"Oh, honey, you\'re awake,\" he said smoothly, showing no trace of surprise.
\"Don\'t call me that,\" she snapped reflexively, backing up a couple more paces.
\"Now, now, is that the thanks I get for rescuing you?\" Kagami said, mysterious smile still firmly in place.
\"I didn\'t need your help,\" Himiko snarled, fingering her perfume deliberately.
\"Ah yes,\" Kagami said. \"I should have realized that you were talented enough to deal with an enemy while unconscious.\"
Himiko stared at him suspiciously. A joke? Well, she supposed that everyone did have a sense of humor. Except, apparently, for Juubei. But to hear the slightly sarcastic words from his lips was a little disconcerting. \"I wouldn\'t have needed it if you hadn\'t distracted me!\" She realized now that the glimmer she\'d seen was Kagami, probably deliberately alerting her to his presence.
\"Don\'t be silly, it had no affect on the outcome of the battle whatsoever,\" he replied calmly.
She noticed for the first time that he was carrying a glass of water and a bowl of food - probably for her. Did he know she was awake? Had he been watching her?
No, she decided after a moment. She certainly wouldn\'t put it past him, but he wouldn\'t have had time to prepare the food. He probably did have some idea what time she was waking up, though. A sudden image of Kagami in a pink apron standing over a pot popped into her head, and she resisted the rather bizarre urge to giggle, instead ending up making up an odd face.
\"You should lie back down,\" he said seriously, smile dropping deliberately. \"You\'re probably still tired.\"
\"Why did you save me?\" she blurted.
The infuriating smile returned. \"I think you know the answer to that,\" he said, giving a characteristic non-answer as he set the bowl and glass down on the table near the door. \"You must be hungry,\" he offered instead, gliding towads her, which had the effect of causing her to back up and pull the flame scent from her belt, preparing to use it on him.
-And suddenly he was behind her, arms wrapped around her, which effectively prevented her from using her flame scent, and also had the wonderful side effect of getting her exactly where he wanted her- wrapped in his arms.
Himiko struggled briefly until she realized that he was bigger and stronger to begin with- her main asset was her speed, and that wasn\'t doing her any good right now. She stopped struggling with an annoyed sigh.
She had to admit (no she didn\'t! her mind screamed) that it felt kind of nice. No one had hugged her since Yamato died, though Ginji probably would try, given half the chance. She relaxed subconsciously, and Kagami nudged at her ankle with his toes, getting her to walk forward towards the table.
\"I\'m going to let you go now so you can eat,\" he said cheerfully. \"But I\'ll be kind of annoyed if you attack me again.\"
\"How do I know you didn\'t poison it?\" she asked crossly.
Kagami looked at her innocently, smile temporarily melting into a serious expression, though Himiko knew it all to be a masquerade. \"Now why would I save you only to kill you? Your friend Dr. Jackal might relish every fighting kill for himself, but that takes up more energy than I am interested in expending. Whether someone else or myself kills someone I want dead, it\'s all the same to me. If you are still alive, it\'s because I want you that way.\"
Himiko stared at him suspiciously, catching the slight and probably deliberate emphasis on the word \"want\". She decided that there was no way to gracefully comment on that, however, and gave a put-out sigh. \"Fine,\" she replied with a slightly put-out sigh that sounded more as though she was trying to be annoyed than she actually was. Kagami released her, stepping backwards with his guard obviously up in case she tried anything.
She didn\'t, however. She realized she was currently at his mercy, since she was still too weak to fight him. She sat down at the table, picking up the bowl and sipping at the soup, which was somehow surprisingly good. Kagami sat down a second later at the seat across from her, looking slightly more relaxed now that she didn\'t look like she was interested in attacking- not that he was ever completely off his guard. \"Did you make it?\" she asked, not enjoying his silent, smiling gaze.
\"Delivery,\" he replied simply, leaving Himiko to wonder how the hell one got delivery to Babylon City or wherever the hell they were. He didn\'t offer any more information, and went back to staring. She was tempted to ask him what he was looking at or tell him to stop, but she had a feeling that whatever his response would be to that, it would make her even more uncomfortable than she already was. She drank her soup instead, doing her best to ignore the intense gaze focused on her.
\"Don\'t you have to work or something?\" she snapped after a moment.
\"Not today,\" he replied, again with the most infuriatingly vague answer possible. She rolled her eyes at him and finished the last of the soup- which had made her feel much better, much to her annoyance. She stood up suddenly and reached for her perfume - only to find herself pinned again as the Kagami in front of her continued to smirk, now obviously an illusion. Well, of course he\'d been prepared for her, she berated herself, as she sagged against him in a sign of surrender.
\"You haven\'t thanked me yet for saving you, Himiko,\" Kagami said, not releasing her.
\"Thanks,\" she muttered, looking at the ground, hoping that would get him to let go.
\"You\'re welcome,\" he practically purred, \"but that\'s not what I meant.\" Himiko felt a slight tugging in her hair and she looked upwards towards the source, and blinked in surprise. Kagami\'s lips tugged on a lock of her hair, smirk still in place.
\"D-don\'t,\" she stammered after a second\'s surprise. \"Why are you-\"
One of Kagami\'s hands covered her mouth. \"Shhh, you talk too much,\" he whispered into her ear, warm breath causing her to break out in goosebumps.
\"But-\" she said into his hand.
\"Himiko!\" he pretended to scold, and then he gripped her shoulders and turned her around, bending down to cover her mouth with his own.
\"Mmmmph!\" she objected momentarily.
\"Shhh,\" he repeated with surprising patience, before kissing her again, gently sucking on her lower lip and then pulling away, tugging slighty on her lip with his teeth as he did so.
\"Kagami,\" she started, sounding like she wanted to be angry, but couldn\'t.
\"Yes, honey?\" he replied, liberally running his fingers through her hair while the other hand traced the side of her neck with his knuckles.
She melted into his touch despite everything, and then mentally threw her common sense out the door. If she was going give into this- and she knew she would- she\'d do it right. \"Kiss me again,\" she demanded, grabbing him by the front of his suit coat and tugging him closer. His smile grew wider, but he didn\'t say anything, crushing his lips against hers in a far more thorough kiss than before, forcing her lips to part so he could slide his tongue into her mouth to duel with her own.
Her neck was starting to get a little stiff from craning so far upwards, so she was almost ironically grateful when Kagami slowly drew them towards the bed and sat down. He gripped her by the waist and carefully pulled her onto his lap, resuming the kiss where he\'d left off. One of his hands slid slowly under her shirt, curious to see if he\'d get slapped for it. When there was no immediate reaction forthcoming, his hand slid further under her shirt and up to her bra.
Of course she wears a sports bra, he reflected, amused, as he hooked his fingers under the elastic and pushed it upwards, causing it to bunch up just above her breasts. He ran a thumb over her nipple, causing her to moan into his mouth. \"You like that, do you?\" he asked, breaking away to comment before he began sliding his lips along her jawline and then down her neck. Finding a spot just below her ear that caused her to gasp extra loudly, he nipped at it gently while rolling her nipple between his thumb and forefinger.
Himiko moaned, head tilting backwards as she fumbled at the buttons on his suit coat, sliding it backwards on his shoulders. He pulled his free arm out of the sleeve, letting the coat hang from his arm while his other hand continued its ministrations. She reached up and unbuttoned his shirt with hands that were trembling slightly; he chose not to comment, but stopped what he was doing momentarily to slide out of both the coat and the shirt.
She seemed to appreciate that she could now get to his skin as well, and she dragged her nails lightly down his chest, eliciting a slight and unexpected groan from him. He, however, didn\'t think it was fair that she was fully clothed, and he pulled her shirt and bra over her head, tossing them aside.
Now he had full access to her breasts, and he returned his lips to her mouth as he cupped them again and ran his fingers over the nipples in circular motions. After a moment, though, he got bored with listening to her moan at the sensations and flipped her over onto the bed, running his right hand down her stomach and slipping it into her pants. Himiko arched off of the bed at his touch, and Kagami gave a slight smirk, rubbing her clit teasingly through her underwear.
Himiko moaned, thrusting into his touch. \"Look at me,\" he commanded, reaching his free hand up to run a finger over her cheek, just missing the star tatooed there. She cracked her eyes open, staring down at him; he paused momentarily in what he was doing, looking at her questioningly. It was the closest he would come to asking for permission, but he wouldn\'t imply a lack of control over the situation by actually asking - she would have to tell him what she wanted.
She knew it, and she hated it, but she loved what he was making her feel even more. \"What are you waiting for?\" she snapped at him.
\"For you to tell me what you want,\" he said lazily, removing his hand from her pants and settling his body carefully over her smaller frame. He thrust slightly into her, letting her feel his erection through their clothing.
Himiko said something rude under her breath, before wrapping her arms around them, running down his back. \"I want you to fuck me,\" she growled, giving in.
\"You\'ve never been one for pretty words, have you?\" he asked, amused, and kissed her again before she could answer, unbuttoning his pants. He rolled off of her long enough to shimmy out of his pants, noting with amusement that she was doing the same next to him. He had just gotten his pants off when she rolled over, slinging a leg over him to straddle him just below his erection and putting a hand on one shoulder in a way that implied she wanted him to stay in that position. He looked up at her, amused, willing to let her do what she wanted and waiting to see what she did next. No matter what it said to others, being in this position did not imply a loss of control to him, and thus he waited patiently for Himiko\'s next move.
He didn\'t have to wait long; she lowered her mouth to his chest, kissing a trail down to his stomach. She reached with one hand for his cock and grasped it lightly, sliding her hand up and down it. At first he thought she was just uncertain, but then he realized she was teasing him in a slight mimicry of the way he\'d teased her earlier. \"Himiko-\" he gasped, unable to help thrusting into her touch slightly. He grasped her by the hips and pulled her none-too-gently upwards, implying what he wanted.
She looked at him, amused and pleased to have gotten the upper hand, at least momentarily, and took his penis in a firmer grip, carefully guiding it to her entrance before she settled down onto him, seating herself fully onto him. He let out a slight sigh of pleasure at the feeling of being inside her, and waited patiently while she shifted slightly to find the most comfortable position.
Moaning slightly, she lifted herself off of him and then lowered herself back down, beginning a rhythm that he helped, holding her hips and guiding her back into place each time, and thrusting into her at the same time. She moved the hand that had been on his shoulder to his hips, trying to hold him still, to give her full control, but he just smiled. She wasn\'t strong enough to hold him down.
As their speed increased, so did the speed of her moans, until they dissolved into gasping breaths. The sweat beaded on her forehead, making her hair clump up - Kagami thought she was beautiful. He wished he could kiss her, but she was a little too short for it to work. Instead, he settled for running a hand through her hair, down her back, over her side, and to her breast, which he ran his fingers over gently.
She opened her eyes, which had closed, and in them was an unspoken challenge- see who could hold off longer. He grinned, accepting the challenge, and slid his hand down her stomach, finally finding her clit, which he gently rolled in circles with his finger. In retaliation, she closed a mouth over one of his nipples, rolling her tongue across it teasingly.
In the end, his experience won out. Her body tensed and her vaginal walls clamped down on him in orgasm. He growled, thrusting a couple more times into her, before finding his own release. Himiko collapsed on top of him, and he put one arm around her waist in a surprisingly tender gesture before rolling them to the side and sliding out of her with a sigh.
She blinked at him sleepily. \"Kagami?\"
\"Yes, honey?\"
She smacked him in the arm half-heartily. \"I was going to thank you for saving me...\"
He smirked. \"Any time.\"