Yui shook uncontrollably. The wind had picked up and snow was coming down very hard.
     Dammit! Don't tell me there's going be a storm!
     She sagged against the horse and looked up at Suboshi who was drifting in and out of consciousness.
      They had been traveling for nearly an hour and Yui's strength was about to give way.
      This is a bad idea from the beginning. Her mind was beginning to fog and she flexed her fingers, afraid that they might fall off from frostbite. Her feet felt like it weighed a ton. She could hardly walk anymore.
      I don't want to die of hypothermia, she thought.
      She looked around her. They were just coming out of the forest and headed up a mountain path, which she knew would lead to camp.
     I can't do it anymore. Got to stop.
     As she took another step, she stumbled and fell.
     Clumsy fool! she berated herself. She struggled to her knees. When she looked up, something up ahead caught her eye. She blinked, making sure she was not hallucinating.
      Is it…?Yui squinted her eyes and a slow smile spread across her face. She scrambled up, brushing herself off. A surge of energy flooded through her body and she grabbed the reins of the horse. I can't believe it! She pulled at the reins urging the horse faster.
      They stopped in front of what looked like a tent--just like the ones commonly used in Hokkan.
      Yui cautiously pulled back the heavy leather flap, which served as a door. She looked inside, the tiny stream of light that filtered in revealing a somewhat clean interior. Her face fell. There's no one here. No fire. No food. Empty.
      She looked back at Suboshi worriedly.
      I know we should be heading back to camp but I don't think I can handle it anymore.
      Strengthening her resolve, she walked up to him and shook him hard. He groaned in pain.
      God, I'm sorry, Suboshi. With an effort, she braced her arms around him and unceremoniously pulled him off the horse, only slightly managing to keep his dead weight from toppling her over. Suboshi gasped in pain as her arms grinded against his chest.
      "Lady Yui…"
      "Shhh…" she said to him, tears stinging her eyes. I'm sorry, Suboshi, I know it hurts but…with the last ounce of energy she had, she dragged him inside.
      The interior of the tent was dim. With only enough light coming in to be able to distinguish forms. She laid him down the soft but freezing tent floor. Spent, she sank down beside him. Her eyes fluttered shut. I just want to sleep…she thought.
      A soft moan jarred her back to reality.
      Suboshi. She opened her eyes and slapped herself hard. Stay awake, Yui!
      With pain stinging her cheek, she began to crawl around in the semi-darkness, searching for anything she can cover herself with. She was still shaking uncontrollably. Groping around, her hand was able to grasp something soft. She pulled at it and ran her hand through it.
      A blanket!
      Standing up, she slung it around her shoulder and moved to the door, pulling it open. Savage winds immediately began to blow inside.
      Damn! There really is a storm! She thought in utter dismay.
      "The horse!" she muttered under her breath but she knew that she couldn't possibly do anything about it at this moment.
      Using the light that came in, she scanned the room. In the middle of the room were smooth stones arranged in a rectangular manner which Yui knew was where they lit the fire. Further squinting and inspection told her there were still bits of log in there.
      She dropped the tent flap and again, the room was in semi-darkness. Carefully stepping over Suboshi, she headed for the hearth and felt around for the tin used to light fires. She found none.
      She bit her lip in frustration then went back to where Suboshi lay. She placed a hand against his cheek and his skin felt deathly cold.
      Yui was panicking. He's going to die! He's going to die because of me!
      She forced herself to calm down. She was shivering uncontrollably again and she realized that her clothes were wet from the melted snow.
      She shook off the blanket and started to take off her wet clothes. Then she stopped as she realized she was about to strip down in front of Suboshi. She looked down at him, sure that he was unconscious. Do it, Yui!
      She turned around and stripped. As she dropped the last of her garments to the floor and wrapped the blanket around herself, she then turned her attention back to Suboshi. Gingerly, she unwrapped her cloak from around him and felt his clothes.
      Wet.
      She hesitated, but only for a moment then started to take off his clothes starting with his lower garments. When she was done with that part, she covered him with her cloak and began to rummage through her discarded pile of clothing.
      "Ouch!" she yelped as something sharp nicked her hand. She brought it to her lips and sucked at the blood that oozed out.
      Found it. She closed her hands carefully over the small knife, which she took from one of the guards before leaving.
      She turned back to Suboshi and carefully began to work. She was still trembling from the cold but she forced her hand to steady itself. She pulled at a portion if his shirt and began to slit it open. She then carefully removed it, taking care not to move his arms too much as not to aggravate his injuries.
      When she was through, she examined him as best as she could in the dim room. She couldn't really see but she knew that he's badly bruised. She placed a hand on his shoulder and felt him shiver. Yui frowned. He's freezing too. We need fire. She looked around frantically. Dammit! No matches, no nothing! We're...we're going to die here.
      She slumped down beside him in frustration and started to cry.

      I'm so cold, was all that he could think of. Even the burning sensation on his chest was nothing compared to the biting cold that gripped his body. Then he felt something hot falling against his cheeks. Hot liquid.
      Warmth.
      Suboshi forced his eyes open but saw only darkness. He blinked a couple of times before he finally saw a silhouette above him.
      "Lady Yui?" he asked weakly. The effort it took him to speak sent waves of pain across his chest.
      "Suboshi? Suboshi!" Yui cried out softly, laughing in relief. Then she caught herself. Why am I so happy? We're going to die here?
      She felt around until her hand found his. His hand was very cold.
      "Where are we?" he asked, wincing in pain.
      Yui moved her head closer to his.
      "Halfway from the camp. We had to stop. There's a storm and... I can't travel anymore. I'm sorry…you're injured and I wasn't able to get help…I'm so sorry…"
      Suboshi again felt her tears. This time, they fell on his arm.
      He lifted a hand to touch her cheek, ignoring the pain in his chest. Yui shivered against his touch and she wasn't sure if it was because of the lack of warmth.
      "Lady Yui…please don't cry," he said, "If it'll make you feel better...I know of a way. You can heal me…"
      Yui willed her tears to stop.
      "What? What did you say? Me? How?"
      He winced as he moved the cloak, which was on top of him. Then he stopped. He realized he was completely naked underneath.
      "Wha…where…" he looked up at Yui.
      Yui felt her cheeks heat up. She was thankful the room was dim.
      "I removed them. They were wet. You'll freeze."
      Now it was Suboshi's turn to blush, his pains temporarily forgotten.
      Gods…she saw me…He pushed the thought away.
      There was a period of silence.
      When it grew unbearable, Yui spoke up.
      "Suboshi, tell me. How can I help you?"
      Suboshi swallowed. "Uh….I…."
      "What?" she prompted him.
      Suboshi shifted in his position with a groan then threw back the cloak that covered him.
      "Suboshi!" Yui cried shrilly, turning her head away. She knew that her face was probably as red as beet.
      "Lady Yui, I need to absorb your chi and the only way for me to do that is if you'd lie beside me," he explained quickly.
      Uncovered, Suboshi's teeth began to chatter and his ribs hurt as his body shook. And Yui knew it.
      Clenching her teeth, she quickly got down on the floor beside him and took the cloak he discarded and used it to cover the two of them.
      Suboshi felt his face begin to heat up as she settled beside him, her body pressed close to his arm.
      Yui silently turned to him. She pressed against him stiffly, images swirling in her head.
      No, she told herself, don't think about that. You need to help him. This is fine. This is Suboshi. He won't hurt you… Then she realized he was still shaking.
      Moving her head up, she saw that the cloak barely covered him.
      Darn it! She thought. Then without thinking, she flung off the cloak and unwrapped the blanket from around her.
      Suboshi drew in his breath as the faint light in the room revealed that Yui was also bare underneath the blanket. He just laid there in shock as she settled back beside him and wrapped the blanket snugly around the two of them. She scooted as close to him as possible without hurting him, and he flushed as he felt her body heat against him.
      She turned to him and whispered, "Do it now. Do it quickly."
      "Alright," he whispered back and he gritted his teeth as he turned on his side. Pain shot through his chest but he didn't want to ask Yui to do anything more.
      Yui eyebrows arched up in surprise as he rolled on his side and cupped her face gently.
      "I'm sorry, Lady Yui. But it has to be like this…"
      His fingers applied pressure to her mouth, forcing it to open slightly. Yui's breath caught as he lowered his mouth to hers. She closed her eyes, waiting for the kiss. But it never came.
      Yui felt a warm stream of air moving from her body to his. She opened her eyes slightly and saw a faint blue light between their lips.
      Yui looked up at Suboshi, the blue light highlighting his features. His eyes were closed and she studied his face. He…he looks angelic. So beautiful.
      Suddenly, the light disappeared and Suboshi opened his eyes.
      Yui felt light-headed. His hand left her face and he laid back down as before. Yui leaned up on her elbow looking down at him.
      "Suboshi? Are you alright now?" she asked softly. He nodded. Yui lightly ran a finger down his chest and he winced.
      "What? Did that hurt? I thought you're okay now?"
      Suboshi shook his head. "No. I only took enough of your chi to mend the broken bones. I didn't take more than necessary."
      Yui frowned. "What? Why not?"
      She shifted her position until her face was only inches away from his.
      "Lady Yui?! What are you doing?!" Suboshi squeaked, scandalized.
      "Shut up, you dummy and do it again!" she hissed.
      "But Lady Yui…!" Yui placed a finger against his lips. "Do it again and get well. Then you can get us out of here."
      Suboshi just stared up at her for a moment. She was so close that he could smell her hair. It smelled of roses, just like before.
      "Alright, Lady Yui," he said. In the dim light, he saw her lips curve in a smile and she lowered her head down. Suboshi pressed a hand against the side of her face, closed his eyes and concentrated. Again there was a stream of warm air flowing between them. Suboshi felt a warm, soothing sensation spread in his chest. He began to breath easier and little by little the aches in his body began to disappear. He concentrated harder and the whole tent was bathed in a bluish light.
      Then, his eyes opened as he felt Yui's lips touch his.
      Suddenly, she slumped against him, her head sliding down to the crook of his neck.
      The light vanished and Suboshi sat up, gathering Yui in his arms.
      "Lady Yui?"
      He turned her face towards his and realized she had fainted.
      "Dammit!" he cursed out loud. I took too much! Suddenly, he froze. He looked down on her.
      Gods…I'm…I'm holding her and she's…she's…Suboshi could feel the blood pounding on his temples. He hastily set her down on the floor, grabbing the cloak and wrapping it around his shoulders. He arranged the blanket decently around her.
      He stood up shivering and flexing his arms. The room was chilly once more. He could make out the hearth in the middle of the tent and walked over to it but could not find the tin and flint.
      Suddenly, he had a burst of inspiration. He concentrated and smiled to himself as his ryuuseisui spun to life. It floated from his pile of clothes towards him. He grabbed a hold of both ends and he knelt down by the hearth. The two globes at the end spun with lightning speed and Suboshi touched them together, sending sparks flying. In a few minutes, Suboshi had a fire crackling merrily in the hearth.
      He walked over to Yui and carefully lifted her in his arms. He carried her nearer the fire and set her down gently. He looked at her face for a moment then brushed a finger against her lips. She stirred and he retreated from her. He gathered up the wet piles of their clothing and spread it neatly around the fire.
      When he was through with that, he sat down in the far end of the tent across from her and watched her sleep.

Part 3 on next page

Author's Note
      Ok. This is my answer to Iridal's Blanket Scenario Challenge. Well, if you really wanna know, I'm just thankful for the excuse to make one hehe...
      Anyway, this fic contains some spoilers for my Retribution series. Comments? Suggestions? Violent reactions? Write me: [email protected]