Meditation for a samurai was indeed an utmost important aspect of their daily lives, such as was the hallowed art of kenjutsu, the way of the sword, but the meticulous yet beautiful art-form was reserved for times of war, of battles, and bloodshed, where the samurai of the old days proved their mirth and their honor upon burning fields with their blades glinting red from the blood of their fallen foes. However, these were times of peace, maybe not for some, but for Asuka indeed they were, and meditation was so, a time to relax her troubled mind, to reflect upon herself and her past experiences, let her troubled mind drift into a state of tranquil nirvana, a place within the confines of her heart where she could find such peace and relaxation, but....with all these women egging her on to join them in the blissful relaxation of the Onsen, peace was certainly farfetched from the ronin.

Try as she may to keep her eyes shut and take minute, shallow breaths inward to her aching lungs, Asuka indeed found it a daunting challenge to ignore the enticing lulls of her fellow travelers, their jovial laughter and such only serving to tempt the peaceful ronin evermore. [i]Your meditation is important, that it is.[/i] She foolishly kept reminding herself over and over, clenching her eyes tighter, about as much pressure upon her eyelids as there were the two fists she balled up against her ears in a failing effort to drown out the women's calls to her, calls such as...

[b]"Asuka-San, you should join us as well. I think you need it the most. So get in or I'll make you."[/b]

"Oro?" Her eyes fluttered open at the familiar and sweetly laden voice, but immediately they were concealed under two swift hands to her face. "Hime-dono?!!" Did the girl have no decency? She was nobility for Amaterasu's sake! And Asuka dared not to look upon a noble woman with the very eyes she once laid upon the fair miko, for such offense to this would be to have them plucked out of her head and eaten by ravens. "I-I-I would love to join you and the others, that I would, Hime-dono." She managed to stutter out from her parsed lips, never once attempting to remove her hands from her eyes. "But...but I find it intolerable of me how I have acted around the honorable Princess and Miko-dono, indeed I have, and Kaede-dono as well. I don't believe it is best for me to join you and the others, that I do not, so I-" Her rather honor-saving speech though was cut short when another voice begged the ronin to the spring, Kouko's, claiming that Asuka's immoral feeling would only grow worse should she refrain from confronting them.

And then....[i]she[/i] chimed in. Her peaceful whisper set the warrior's heart a flutter, that wonderful and enchanting voice belonging to only one woman, the very same Asuka immodestly had set eyes upon here recent. Instantly Kushiami's cheeks were aflame and burning bright, the heat of her mortification seeping through the crevices from where her hands met her face. She dared not to look upon the lovely figure who waded near her, not again with those same lusty eyes she displayed to the woman of peace. "Miko-dono...." Quietly and hesitantly the black-haired woman replied to the maiden, still keeping eyes affixed forward, and definitely not unto the disrobed Hime-dono at her side. "I-I'm honored, indeed I am, that you and the others show concern for me, and yes I would feel better if I were to join you and our fellow companions in Onsen, that I would, but....I...I would feel dishonorable were I to look upon you with licentious gaze as I have before. Please, forgive me if I have upset you, for in no way was I intending to do such, that I wasn't." The embarrassment of herself, she needed to get away from here quick.

Heaving a deep and burdened sigh, the samurai gently rose to her feet, but the sight that caught her eyes indeed caught her off guard, and it was neither of the beautiful women who frolicked so immodestly undressed around her. Off to the distance, in the thick of the surrounding forest where light was consumed by shadows, she spotted [url=http://cosplayidol.otakuhouse.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/603450_435364689819750_2076798712_n.jpg]him[/url], and immediately, her hand went to her sword, but she rested that frantic grasp upon the ornately wrapped hilt, not yet drawing her sakabato, but preparing in the event of attack. Those eyes that gazed upon her from beneath the brim of his wide, conical hat, they were a pair Asuka recognized no less, as she once upon a time displayed such a ferocious and insatiable hunger in hers, the eyes of bloodlust. "Hime-dono..." Now Asuka's eyes were upon this malevolent character, not once removing her sight from him, even when addressing the matter to Mizuki. "We are being watched, that we are. Warn the others. I shall stand guard, that I will." She soon noticed the shift of his eyes, away from her and onto...the Princess. This only urged Asuka to draw forth her blade, but only by a hair from the polished black saya, until his eyes were back on her, now meeting the woman's vicious glare towards him.

He was amused no less by this show of anger within Asuka, his lips parting to exhibit the most vile and decadent of grins to the ronin, his teeth glinting as sharp as the blades he carried to his side. He extended his thumb forth, bringing his hand to his neck, and in a defiant maneuver mimicked the stroke of a killing blade across his throat before tipping his hat in a mocking more than courteous gesture and tarrying away into the thick cover of the forest brush. Despite him leaving without any attempts however, Asuka was sure he would return, and her hand never once would leave her sword.