After that battle, it was safe to say Asuka reeked of death's ominous scent, that iron and metallic smell of blood heavy upon her battered and torn skin, not to mention exerting herself like that may have re-opened her ghastly wounds upon her abs and her stomach. Luckily, no, but they did ache a bit more from pushing her tired and withered body to its limit. It had been forever since he had fought in that way, the way which was her old self...a part of her the ronin feared...was slowly but surely returning. Tonight was just an extent of the true Slayer of a Thousand's unstoppable presence. What could tomorrow bring? Would tomorrow finally be that day when Asuka banished every inch of her that is good, whole-hearted, and cast it unto the abyss to welcome back the Wind of Death with full force? No....as long as she stood upon her own two feet, never again would she return to such a dark and violent persona. And thankfully, she wouldn't have to tonight, or once again unsheathe her sword for that matter. Finally, it was peaceful. The tranquility that fiend Gankuro robbed of this sacred place with his horrid shadows had returned greatly as the spirits of the forest celebrated in their own jovial and whimsical ways.

There were fireflies out tonight too, little stars that seemed to have fallen from the heavens above and flickered and fluttered about these tired and weary travelers. Such an eventful evening indeed it been, but now it was over and the midnight sun....that pleasant full moon....was in bright spirits with her pale light dancing upon the stream, notably calmer than before...the water almost as still as glass until Asuka disrupted that stillness wading into the shallow portion of the stream, fully clothed mind you, as she was only washing off the dried blood left upon her, not to mentioned her clothes were quite bloodied too. She shivered a little at the brisk touch of the water to her sensitive exterior, but gradually she eased into it....feeling yet again at peace. Her hand reached for the silk black hair tie that kept her ponytail in place and removed it, letting her dark hair fall about her rather slim shoulders as she closed her eyes and submerged into the clear, cool water. She opened her eyes momentarily underneath, noting how....different it felt under the water....such a different world below, even more mysterious with the rays of the moon permeating the crystal surface and casting dim light upon everything. She resurfaced again with a breath of air taken in and exhaled, pushing back her damp and heavy hair, a few meticulous strands clinging to her face and obscuring the scar on her cheek, a parting gift from that creature Kurohebi.

Asuka soon recognized she was not alone, for Hanami had also come to the stream to relax. The samurai observed the young miko, listening to her quiet but sweetly rendered prayer before she rolled her hakama to her knees, giving a generous gander at her legs, which Asuka refrained from staring at, for her eyes seem to fall upon Hanami's face...... She looked so peaceful, so innocent in comparison to the ronin, nothing wrong could be seen in those dazzling eyes of hers, a different story for those who looked into Asuka's. You could see everything in hers, her wretched past, her guilt, everything......but in Hanami's, there was nothing of the sort to Asuka.... A sigh escaping her, the samurai resumed washing blood away from her, occasionally stopping to look upon the beautiful shrine maiden....