Unemployed Ninja

"That's wonderful! You girls can go home now, thank you for persuading him!"

I frowned, "Wha?"

"Huh?" I said in confusion. "Persuade?"

"Not really." My mother said after they left, "They were bride candidates, I just wanted to make them feel worthwhile."

I was totally confused, but decided not to ask. It made no sense to me.

"I apologize, my mother is a bit strange. She wants to make people feel useful even if it isn't their original purpose for being there. She's been trying to get me married for years..." I told on a walk through a path behind the house.

"Oh... I see. Why is that? Doesn't she trust you to find someone on your own?" I asked innocently. I knew nothing of marriage customs. All my adult family members died before I was old enough to be told. Well, all of them except my grandmother. She hated me.

"Normally here we're betrothed when we're about five or six. But my mother was never able to betroth me and my father gave up on me during training and then I went abroad." I explained.

"Oh I see..." I furrowed my brows for a long while. "I wonder why I was never betrothed..."

"It depends...if there are a lot of potential brides or grooms around that have good lineage then...there you go." I shrugged.

"Oh... hmm.." I thought for a while, then finally shrugged. "Ah, well. I guess it doesn't really matter..." I stated with a somewhat happy grin as I looked up at him. He was so much taller than me...

"No not really." I pulled her close. "But it's okay, we're together and that's what really matters."

I blushed, and smiled brightly. So kind! So handsome! So- OH MAN I FORGOT! "Y-Y-Y-Your bandages!" I squealed, jumping up and down. "I haven't changed them since late last night!!" I then began to usher him inside.

"Shoot! I climbed the tree!" I shouted, upset with myself!

"Get inside! Now, mister!!" I exclaimed, pushing him towards the door.

I got to my room and pulled the bandages out of my bag.

I pulled his shirt off, and threw it to the ground before beginning to take off his bandages. They were bloody too. "Please don't climb that tree again until you're fully healed, okay Ijin?"

"I'm sorry. I'll be more careful." I knew I wasn't helping anything, earlier was just so...surprising.

"Thank you." I reply kindly. I wasn't mad... just a bit worried. When I got the bandages off, I was relieve to find he wasn't still bleeding. "Whew! That's good!" I then ran off to get warm water and a towel.

They didn't look as bad as they did before but still I needed to be careful. That meant not missions for a short time. I still wished I knew what had happened to me to cause this anyway.

When I got back, I began to gently wash away the blood, sweat, and dust. I hummed softly as I did so, and made sure I got close enough to the wound to keep it clean without hurting Ijin in the process.

I sat in silence. For some reason I felt closer to Aja than I had before...and I was comforted when she did this.
"Thank you." I smiled again, it felt good to smile...it felt like medicine.

"No thanks needed. I'm sure you would do the same for me." I replied with a smile. I liked treating his wounds. It was something any wife would do for her husband. And even though we were not yet wed, I still felt it was my duty to care for him.

"Do you wish for anything, Aja?" I asked, I wanted to know her wants and wishes and needs. I wanted to give her everything. But I knew somehow that I couldn't do it all, but I wanted to do enough.

I looked up at him. "My wish is for you to be better, Ijin." I replied with a smile.

"That is an easy wish to grant." I caressed her cheek gently, "Anything else?"

For me to get better? That surprised me. Three wounds and a scrape on my head...I was sure I could get better quickly from this. Still, her wish was...shocking.