Shuri couldn't help but let out a huge smile as his red parrot flew in. Sarasa and he had already exchanged a few messages, and while they were no substitute for actually seeing one another, they were better than nothing. Shuri was also quite pleased with how their relationship was progressing. She might still be reluctant and protest his advances, but he could tell she was slowly beginning to return his feelings. He was surprised at how strongly he felt for her, especially considering how little he knew about her. Then again, he was never one for indecisiveness. Once he decided on a plan - or fell for a woman - he did it all the way.

          Her last message had been tinged with a bit of panic - apparently things in her search for revenge weren't going well. He felt so useless, sitting in his capital, unable to help either her or his best friend. He didn't have any idea where she was at the moment, but the very nature of her quest was dangerous. It agonized him to know that the two people he cared about most could be fighting for their lives right now, and he neither knew about it nor could aid them.

          Still, though, she had been able to inject typical Sarasa-humor into her writing. Since she wasn't near enough to actually punch him (which he would now laughingly accept - but only from her), she instead told him of the time she and her brother had gotten into a fight. Apparently he had been training with a sword to become a fighter, and at one point had become a little too proud of his abilities. She wrote that at that time she was just beginning her studies with Nagi, but she refused to let her brother think he was a god. She had been in a bad mood, and when her brother began prattling about how good he was getting, she jumped him and knocked him to the ground. Startled, her brother had wrestled her back, until she triumphantly had him pinned. She told him, "You may be handy with your sword, but if a girl can beat you, what kind of fighter are you?" It seemed like something she would say. He could imagine her proudly holding her brother down on the ground, her twin braids loose with hair sticking out everywhere.

          He almost laughed out loud at the image - yes, that was her all right. All the time he was learning new things about her, things that only strengthened his resolve to marry her one day. They were also things that seemed strangely familiar to him - if someone told him a new fact about Sarasa, he would likely answer, "I knew that already," even though he didn't. There was something just so damned familiar about her.

          Despite that sense of familiarity though, he wanted to learn more about her. The most time they had spent together had been that night when she had taken care of him. What he wouldn't give for her to be there every morning when he woke up, telling him of her childhood escapades with her own voice. He knew how he felt about her, and nothing would change that. But he still didn't know much about her as a person, and he hoped that there was nothing there that would prevent them from being together. He'd probably kill himself rather than live without her. He really was that type of person - a romantic fool to the core.

          He unfolded her note. Things had turned in her favor and she was out of immediate danger, it said. However, she felt a horrible guilt. Something bad had happened, and she had watched people die. She wrote that she finally realized that the people she was fighting were just that - people. Did she have any right to kill them and leave their families alone as they had done to her? She wrote that she was beginning to feel lost. And the part that pleased and hurt him the most - she wished he was there, just to hold her and make her feel safe. While Shuri would gladly embrace her any time and protect her, he knew she also was perfectly capable of taking care of herself. She must be very shaken to need him so much.

          The rest of the note was in a lighter tone; she was probably trying to tell him not to worry. Baka. Of course he would worry! She was out there, alone, lost... argh, Shuri told himself, she'll be ok. This is Sarasa. But as soon as I see her again, I'm holding her as tight as I can. I'll help her shut out her pain, if only for a few minutes.

          At the bottom of the note was a cheesy drawing of her sticking her tongue out at him, along with a postscript. It read, "PS I taught your parrot a new trick. Hope you like it!"

          Shuri was in the middle of writing a reply when the parrot decided it was time to display its new "trick." It belted out proudly, "Shuri no baka!"

          His pen left a long streak in his note.

          He glared at the bird. "Oh, so Sarasa taught you a new trick, huh? To insult me? Stupid ungrateful bird. I raised you, you know!"

          The parrot tilted its head, in perhaps its version of a smile. Then it replied, "Shuri's a loser. Sarasa is the best!"

          "That's it, bird," Shuri growled. "You die." With that he lunged at the bird, who gleefully took to flight. It then began a litany of insults, its favorite clearly being, "Shuri no baka, Shuri no baka!" Two of Shuri's advisors walked in, wondering what all the noise was about. The Red King's glare was sufficient to send them back on their way.

          Despite the absurdity of his position (or perhaps because of it), he couldn't stay angry. He threw his head back and began laughing. If Sarasa could still find enough to look forward to to do this, then she was doing all right. Next time they met (at an onsen, of course!) he would still hold her as tightly as possible. And then he would launch her as far as he could into the hot springs.

- by Rebecca