********* (I Love You) Aki XXXII: Kakusha-A FFXI Love StoryFollow

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Okay, Aki XXXII of my love story. If you don’t know what it is by now, you haven’t been reading too closely *winks*

Previous chapters, aki, and Interludes

Part I - Connection (Enishi)

Kasho II - Kodoku (Solitude)

Part III - Reunion (Saikai)

Kasho IV- Suriyoru (Closer)
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(Aki XXX)
http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/forum.html?forum=35&mid=112238583589703268&num=3

(Chapter XXXI)
http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/forum.html?forum=35&mid=1122559673284936731

(Interlude IV)
http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/forum.html?forum=10&mid=1122641776503699968

No dedications...and I don’t own FFXI.
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Aki XXXII: Kakusha
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As the ship turned to starboard and started to noisily make docking sounds, I was stirred out from sleep. My back ached from when I had fallen asleep in the chair standing watch over Hitomi, and I rubbed the tender spots gently with the tips of my index fingers in small circles, trying to get the blood flowing there again. As I did, I turned my eyes to look down at Hitomi...

To see her smiling a tiny bit up at me.

"Ohiyo Gozaimasu, Dimitri-chan..." she faintly giggled at me, showing off very few of her teeth as she did so. I placed the back of my hand against Hitomi’s cheek, and the skin still felt rather cold and clammy to the touch.

"Still sick Hitomi?..." I said caringly as I got up from my chair and walked around the room, picking up what little bit of trash Hitomi and I had made there while at sea.

"Hai..." Hitomi whispered back to me, her voice like the rustling of leaves. She then closed her eyes, and crunched her face up in discomfort. "Make better...kudasai...," she pleaded with me, the tone of begging in her voice very much unlike the girl I had gotten to know over the past few months.

...

...I’ve never felt so helpless in my life.

"Okay," I found myself saying, "But first, lets get off this ferry and get you on stable land. I know the owners of this place called the Sailor’s Stay, and they will give us a room for free to use. Not to mention that it’s the hangout point for all the locals, so we will probably run into Isacio there."

Hitomi slitted her eyes open partially, and I could see the evident pain that laid there. "Okay..." she answered with.

After a couple more minutes, the ship finally finished docking into the port, and I slowly helped Hitomi get up out of bed, and stand back on her own two feet. She wobbled a couple times, but using my arm as a leaning support, slowly made her way out of the room and up the flight of stairs with me. We were almost to the docking ramp, when Hitomi cried out in surprise.

"Dimitri-chan, fishing gear! In room..." she said, slightly panicked as she started to pull me backwards onto the ferry.

I just shook my head and chuckled a bit. "We aren’t THAT hard hit up for gil Hitomi, don’t worry. Sides, something tells me that the ocean life doesn’t quite agree with you too much." With that I turned, and gave her a wink that she caught rather quickly.

"Okay...sorry..." she said quietly.

We decended the dock and passed through the port in relative silence. Rather quickly, I could tell that the port in Mhuara was really no different that Selbina’s, with fisheries everywhere and boats docked up in every available slot along the shoreline. Hitomi and I trudged our way up the ramp to the city proper when I happened to see a young boy with brown hair and hazel eyes kissing some arburn golden-eyed girl beneath a doorway a little ways into the town.

"Kumori..." I heard him say as the couple had broken their passionate when Hitomi and I passed them by. "I love you..."

"I love you too Ni-" she started to say back, but the rest of his name was drowned out by the roar of the ferry as it left port somewhat distantly behind us, with Maat probably at the wheel once more.

To be young and in love like that...so sweet...

I remember what its like to love like that...

Before I knew it, Hitomi and I were at the Sailor’s Stay, and I held open the door with one hand while escorting Hitomi in with the other one. Looking around, I could see that the inn part had not changed too much since I was last here on offical Ducal Guard business four or so years ago.

"Dimitri!" a voice out of nowhere boomed out at me as a large hand clamped onto my shoulder, squeezing the still somewhat tender flesh tightly. I winced with pain slightly, my eyes watering up, but I didn’t say anything.

"Hiya Rycharde, how ya been?" I replied as a rather large man with a blood stained apron tied around his waist circled around my body to my front as he let go of my shoulder.

"That’s Rycharde Senior now, thank you very much! The missus and I had a lil bouncing baby boy since you were last here, and he is growing into QUITE the little chef, just like his daddy!" Rycharde threw back his head and laughed hartily for several moments, his belly quaking like a bowl of jelly. "Why, just the other day I was doing some cooking for the Governor, and my little boy had picked up some of my cinnamon, maple sugar, Selbina butter, an apple, then stole a fire crystal from my pile and synthed up his own sweet baked apple to eat! I was so proud, that I forgot to scold him for using up my own supplies."

He paused for a moment.

"Tho...I must say...the missus wasn’t too pleased at him for finishing his dessert earl-"

At that, I cut him off gently. "Rycharde...my lady friend here is rather seasick...do you think you could spare us a small room for the day? We are just meeting someone here, then we will be out of your way, I promise." I said, putting a small trace of begging into my voice.

"Why, sure, anything for you!" With that, Rycharde senior turned around and grabbed a small key off of a wooden peg rack seemingly at random, and then tossed it to me in an underhanded way that I caught easily.

"By the way, someone came in here bout an hour ago, asking for you...took me quite by surprise, because he wasn’t a local to Mhuara. The man said that he knew you were looking for him, and asked if you would mind meeting him in the lounge in a couple of hours. Dismissed him as a crockpot, but I guess that he was right about you showing up now!" He laughed once more at that, and then pointed up a staircase recessed against the back wall. "It’s the last room on the left, past the bathroom," he finished with in a rather professional manner.

I muttered my thanks, and then took Hitomi up the stairs to the room. When we entered, we could see that it was a bare essentials type place, with only a bed, a night stand, and a light. Carefully, I helped Hitomi into bed, which she was rather grateful for.

"Hitomi, I am going to go meet Isacio, while you sleep off the rest of the seasickness. As soon as I get back, I’ll tell you all that happened, okay?"

Hitomi only nodded barely, before falling asleep once more.

-fin Aki XXXII: Kakusha