"Hinata," he breathed my name.

My hand stroked and rubbed him until he became erect and hard. He expertly pried my robe open with one hand and started to play with my already stiff peaks. He broke the kiss to run his lips on my jaw, neck, collarbone, down to the valley between my b.r.e.a.s.t.s. He went lower and lower until suddenly, I felt him slump heavily on my belly.

I opened my eyes to look at him. "Anata?" I tapped his shoulder. "What's wrong?"

A loud snoring sound was the only response I got. I covered my mouth with one hand as my body shook with laughter. He fell asleep on me! He actually fell asleep in the middle of our lovemaking!

"Oh, anata," I shook my head as I dragged him to his futon.

I snuff out the oil lamp after arranging his hair so he was not lying on it. I then grabbed the blanket and covered the both of us with it. I gave him one final kiss on the cheek before joining him in dreamland.

~~~

Kaname was still sound asleep when I woke up. I tried to go back to sleep again but couldn't, so I decided to get up and leave the warm mattress. I noticed that the charcoals of the hibachi have almost died out so I immediately fanned them until they glowed again before adding more charcoals in the cylindrical ceramic. The room was cold and without it, I'm afraid I would freeze to death. Kaname seems used to the temperature, which is unsurprising since he frequents this place a lot. I was tempted to return under the sheets and warm my body with his but my stomach started to protest. I was hungry!

Sighing, I grabbed one extra duvet and wrapped myself in it before heading out to the kitchen. There, I saw Fumi and three of Kaname's shadow guards. Fumi was preparing breakfast while the three guards each nursed a cup of tea. Everyone bowed and greeted me good morning as soon as they saw me.

The kitchen was very warm, thanks to the kamado[1] in the right side of the room. Fumi was squatting in front of it as she stirred the pot and added more vegetables in the porridge she was cooking. One of the guards offered me a cup of tea, I smiled and took it. Coming here in j.a.pan has converted me into a tea drinker, dried leaves and flowers have taken the place of roasted beans in my heart.

The moment I finished my tea, I went to the cooking stove and squatted beside Fumi.

"The food will be ready in a few minutes, Lady Aiko," she smiled at me.

"Is Yasumori-san still asleep?"

"Hai."

"Where's Mirei?" I asked casually although I was br.i.m.m.i.n.g with curiosity.

Fumi frowned and looked like she was about to cry when she said, "Mirei left around sunrise. She said she needs to go back to her hometown and just left both the caretaker and master Ryoji letters to explain everything."

"She left?" And in this weather, too?

"Yes, mistress."

I was about to reply when loud and rushed footsteps caught everyone's attention; our eyes were on the kitchen entrance, curious to know who was hurriedly making his way to this part of the house.

"Where is Aiko!?" came a panicked voice, it was Kaname's. "She's neither in our room nor outside, search for—"

He stopped when he saw me beside Fumi.

"—her," he finished. His frantic expression vanished and was replaced with relief.

"Good morning, anata," I greeted him as I stood. "I was hungry so I went to the kitchen."

"I see, I see," he said while walking towards me. He gave me a kiss on the top of my head, "Fumi, is the food ready?"

"Ryoji-san, it will be ready soon," Fumi replied.

Just then, old man Yasumori entered the kitchen, he looked pale and unwell.

"Ugh," he moaned. "I must be getting old, I usually don't get headaches as worse as this after a night of drinking. Fumi-chan, hurry and serve us breakfast. I feel like my head is about to explode!"

After eating our fill and freshening up, Kaname and I headed to the valley below to do some shopping. Yasumori-san told us that a couple of merchants have arrived to sell silk items that might interest me.

~~~

Kaname and I walked hand in hand as we explored each and every shop, his guards followed us discreetly. While all the baubles and jewelry items looked nice, I was not interested in them.

"What about this?" he said as he showed me a hairpin encrusted with red and green precious stones I don't recognize.

The woman behind the stall beamed when she notice the item he chose and started her sales pitch about how top tier the stones were.

"It is also made by a popular craftsman who specializes in hair pieces," the female merchant said. "In fact, he is known to be the number one supplier of accessories to the royal family."

"I'm not really interested in this, anata," I took the pin in his hand and replaced it on its silk-lined box.

"We've visited every stall there is," he frowned as we left the shop. "All of the items are beautiful but you still haven't found anything you like."

"I already have enough accessories back in the palace," I told him. "I don't need more."

"What about kimonos?" he asked. "Why don't we go back to the first shop we visited?"

"My robes are only a few months old," I shook my head.

He scratched his head. "Geta? How about new ones? You only have two pairs for winter."

"Winter will last for only a few months, I—," I didn't continue because he looked upset. "Fine, let's go."

He ended up buying me three pairs, I didn't ask for their prices although they obviously were worth quite a lot as they were lined with fur. He then dragged me back to the kimono shop to have my measurements taken, the proprietor said my new robes will be ready in three days. He seemed to enjoy buying me gifts because his eyes gleamed every time he saw something that he believed would suit me.

"Anata, I'm tired," I told him after we left the fifth shop. "Let's head back to the villa."

"Just one more shop," he pulled me back to the shop with the hairpin and bought it along with four more others.

"Let's go!" I started to protest when I saw where his eyes were looking. "Do you plan to buy every item you see?"

"But these are all for you," he reasoned.

"What I want at the moment can't be bought!" I was starting to get p.i.s.sed off. "I want to go home… NOW!"

"Alright, we're going home," he finally relented. "But you have to tell me what you want when we get back so I can buy it for you."

"It has no price," I replied as he lifted me up to our waiting horse's back. "Sort of."

"Oh?" he joined me as soon as our purchases were secured in place. "What is it?"

I leaned in to him and whispered to his ear. His lips instantly curved upwards, indicating his approval.

"As you wish, my dear wife," he said before lifting the rein off Kuro's neck, causing the stallion to start running.