YOU'RE A NUISANCE!

We started to eat the fish that Naoki grilled calmly and stopping the heartburn caused by hunger, my throat is a little better because of Hiroki's massage a while ago.

"When we finish eating, we will leave," said Hiroki unawares, I open my eyes very confused.

"Where to?" I ask him "All the villages must be full of soldiers and....

"There is one that has no soldiers," he interrupts me, "a very forgotten village: it is across this river, crossing the forest to the north. It was owned by Momoyama, but nobody remembers that town since the war" I have never heard of that town until now... it seems so strange to me, that so many years of education I have never heard of this town or this kingdom, my father never mentioned it to me and I don't understand why my governesses gave me any lessons about Momoyama.

When we finish eating, we start walking as Hiroki said and head north, further away from the capital where the castle is. The sun is a little hot and combined with the tiredness, it gives me a headache, soon the summer will come, it is normal that in these last months it is too hot. We have walked for at least an hour since we left the river, and we have not rested at any time.

"Hey Hiroki, how far is it to that village?" I ask to know at least how far is this trip that feels so eternal.

"at least two days" he replies curtly.

This had to be a joke, "it's really going to take us two days to go to a filthy village", if that's the closest I don't want to imagine the farthest. After a good stretch of long walk and without stopping to rest, my body has no more energy, every step I take my head hurts more and I sweat a lot more; again my throat starts to burn too much, I sweat excessively, yesterday that we walked more I didn't sweat this way, but I feel all the sun on my face.

"Princess, your cheeks are very red" said Naoki already quite worried, I start to see his face blurred and I try to lean on him "are you ok?" he asks me very uneasy, I nod in order not to worry anyone, I already put them through a lot of trouble and I really don't want to be a bother anymore "Hiroki... I think we should stop to rest... the princess doesn't look well..."

"and you hardly realize how lazy she is" he said jokingly without noticing to look at me or turn his face.

"this is not a joke!" Naoki recasts in annoyance, already very disgruntled. I start to feel that now everything is spinning around me, my feet can't take it anymore and my body fails completely. Hiroki finally turns around

"NO!" Hiroki exclaims, at the exact moment he holds me and prevents me from falling. I lie down on a log and with Hiroki's strong hand he touches my face lightly measuring the temperature "damn!" he startles stressed "you're burning" he is puzzled, I'm still barely conscious that I can't hear him very well "we can't stay here, we have to move forward" he said taking me by the waist and carrying me in his arms so we don't get left behind.

We continued our journey, without any rest; I was coughing less and less, but I still felt horrible; until the sun went down and the moon appeared sheltering the night.

"Aren't you tired?" I ask Hiroki who kept carrying me all night, the truth is that I feel very bad... I bother him again now with such a horrible cold that doesn't even let me rest.

"that doesn't matter, I promised I would protect you" I feel a strange burning in my chest that doesn't come from my discomfort, this burning consumes me when I hear those words, when I see Hiroki I feel a tranquility that I know that in his lap I am safe and that nothing will happen to me if I stay by his side, the truth is that I am very grateful to him for what he has done for me...

We stop to rest by a pond. Hiroki carefully lays me down on the grass that was no longer wet like yesterday, Naoki lends me his cloak to use as a pillow and Hiroki uses his cloak to use as a blanket. It's nice that they used their things to take care of me. Hiroki runs his hand over my forehead again...

"We have to lower your temperature," said Hiroki in a hurry not knowing what to do, "I need a cloth or something to wet it with to put it on her forehead," I touch Hiroki's hand signaling him to tear the other sleeve of the dress to make the cloth. He forcefully rips the sleeve and dips it in the cold lake, wrings it out by rolling it up, removing the excess water so that it is just wet, returns with the rag, folds it and spreads it all over my forehead removing the fringe of my hair.

The water of that lagoon is freezing cold, but it helped to reduce the fever and it was also a little refreshing... we remembered that we had left some fish; so we shared them so we wouldn't go to bed hungry, mostly me because of the tiredness I have to eat to not get worse, but I had problems just trying to sit down and eat, but at least I was fed, I just know that I am very thirsty and we have nothing to drink water with, Hiroki lights his light, taking a big leaf thrown on the ground of a tree, to roll it up and give me to drink, the truth that the lagoon is not dirty as such, and Hiroki knows about these things so it won't be a problem to drink it.

Hiroki stayed by my side all night taking care of me, always asking if I needed anything; maybe in his heart he is tender and attentive, he just rarely shows it, I understand his way of changing his attitude, but without leaving that frowning expression all the time, maybe he doesn't want to look weak to avoid any threat, maybe he gives me a sign to trust him.

For Hiroki it has been a very long night, as he has been very vigilant, he barely slept and every time I made any movement he was always attentive to any discomfort, the cough also left him so uneasy and every time he could he massaged my back to calm it down a little.

I wake up in the morning sun, feeling a little better thanks to Hiroki's care, I look beside me and see him awake looking at me almost staring.

"How are you feeling?" Hiroki asks very attentively.

"A... A little better..." I answer him with my cheeks a little bit burning, seriously I feel a little ashamed for making him spend such a bad night, although his face doesn't show tiredness, I consider that he is a very strong person. Hiroki approaches me and runs his hand on my forehead.

"The fever has gone down... I think it was just a little discomfort from tiredness and I see you don't have a cold anymore. That's good... Will you be able to walk the rest of the way?" I nod affirming that I have good conditions to continue with the trip, the truth is that I don't want them to continue worrying about me, but I will be more careful so that this embarrassing situation doesn't happen "for now stay, wait until Naoki wakes up. In the meantime I'm leaving" she gets up from the grass without adding anything else....

"Where are you going?" I ask her, because I really didn't want to be alone. But he ignores me and leaves. I sit for a few minutes pondering, then stand up and fold Hiroki's cloak. Naoki slowly wakes up, yawns and rests his eyes on me.

"And Hiroki?" he asks in a lazy, hoarse voice.

"He left and didn't tell me where he was going."

"How strange... I wonder where he usually goes."

It's strange that Hiroki never tells us where he goes, I feel that he hides something from us, I really want to think that he just goes for a walk and wants to be alone because he is a very introverted person, very quiet and reserved, he is always very cautious, maybe... he just wants to think about his things, but I prefer to ignore him because they are Hiroki's things and after what Satoshi made me go through I don't want to know anything else.

We made the fire, roasted raw fish left over from yesterday to prepare; I was still thirsty.... But we didn't have anything to boil the lake water with, to tell the truth, even though it wasn't dirty last night I didn't drink much water, Hiroki didn't want me to get a stomach upset and then it would get worse, but the truth is that we need some water.

"Are you thirsty?" Naoki asks, I nod touching my throat still a little sore, the sore throat must be because of the screaming I did when we escaped and the encounter with the bear, the tiredness only made my vocal area worse. Naoki takes out a small glass of wine from his pockets.

"Are you sure it's washed, where did you get it?"

"Since the party, I kept it for myself and kept it; I forgot I had it until now" it seems very inconvenient that he remembers at this moment when I need it the most, but I just think how he couldn't remember us dying of thirst by a river. He washes the cup in the pond and collects some of it, then he brings it closer to the fire, the water starts to create small bubbles "now you can drink it" he extends his hand. I receive it and take it in one gulp, wanting to relieve the pain in my throat. At least it quenches my thirst a little.

"Won't you drink water?" I ask.

"Don't worry, I'm fine," he smiles. It's so nice that he didn't worry about his own wellbeing and instead he worries about mine.

Hiroki was taking a little while, the sun was about to set at noon. I was wondering where he was and if something bad hadn't happened to him, it makes me very angry that he doesn't take responsibility for his actions without telling us, even if it's where he would go to not worry so much; Naoki only consoles me to not feel so worried and says that he is very strong and impossible for any animal to hurt him if he knows how to defend himself very well, but even so my head is very treacherous and I only thought that I was not going to see him again, that the soldiers found him and that I was going to be alone without any hope of surviving.

"Were they waiting for me?" asks the voice that is somehow so irritating, it's what I want to hear and it calms me down quickly. I burst into tears in his warm lap and knew it was what I missed the most "what's wrong with you, you're crazy!" he recasts annoyed and confused.

"I was so worried! You fool!" I yell at him and with red cheeks and tears in my black eyes.

He just stays quiet and lets me cry in peace, in the blanket of his warm and protective lap, not knowing how to comfort me, he is really the only person who makes me feel safe and comfortable even as annoying as he is, but I know he is the most needed being in my life and I just can't afford to lose him?

During the walk there was only tension, but it was a mild tension that you could break just by putting a topic to avoid the awkward silence, since I hugged Hiroki and confirmed that I missed him, I have felt so embarrassed; I had some questions like why I missed him if he knows how to defend himself, it's unlikely that a wild animal could give him a scratch; but there is something I keep thinking about and that is his chest so warm, it is something familiar because it is practically the same feeling I had every time Satoshi hugged me; however Hiroki's chest makes my heart beat so fast, it makes my chest burn. My sensations make my tension rise and all I want is to break the ice in my mind and not to think about this kind of absurd nonsense.

I approach Hiroki slowly while standing next to him.

"Hey Hiroki..." he makes a noise of irritation and attention "what took you so long?" I ask him curiously, he rolls his eyes very annoyed by me.

"first I'm going to tell you two things, one: stay out of my business and two: you don't care about anything I did" he said very inconsiderate and curt; I get angry to such a point because of his nonsense answer, no discretion of discomfort; he is so irritating that the feeling I had just had is gone.

"you are so rude!" I exclaimed to make his low manners clear.

"and you're a silly and hollow girl who thinks everything revolves around her" he insults me exalting me, I stop avoiding the step to give my posture and he just looks at me in a defiant and annoying way "move away" he orders me, I cross my arms not to give him way and let him listen to me.

"You're rude! I don't understand your damn attitude, what's wrong with you bull face? I'm trying to be nice to you and you're just annoying and annoying" I insult him giving him to understand my annoyance.

"Me a nuisance? If it wasn't for me you wouldn't be alive" he throws me in my face "I could have just left you lying there to let you die and until now I wonder why I didn't do that" We look at each other defiantly very annoyed, Hiroki is a fool without any scruples and without education "how dare he say these things?" he throws me in my face as if it was my fault, I never told my father to tell him that he was going to protect me.

Suddenly an arrow shoots out at full speed, Hiroki manages to see it and pulls my arm with force making me stick to his body grazing is in my hair avoiding to be killed by that arrow.

"b..b...-but what..." I stammer scared at such an act, I can only think that they found us, the soldiers are here and they have found us.

We look in all directions without a trace, but I can't distinguish anyone, Hiroki just stares straight ahead, and when I turn my face I notice figures of people among the trees and bushes.

In the shadows of the trees a boy's face is visible; he is young, not very tall, his expressions are threatening, the same as Hiroki's, he has the same frown, greenish eyes, brown hair and is at least 17 years old. Seeing Hiroki changes his gesture changes in a couple of seconds and stops frowning to a surprised of old memories, Hiroki stares at him and I can't understand what is happening, I can't understand why Hiroki doesn't do anything to him if he tried to kill me with the arrow, he just stays surprised without turning away from me.

"Brother..." Hiroki addressed that young man as his brother....