Please review!

Hanashobu

Chapter 1: The man under the sakura.

The turmoil of the fighting couldn't keep me from coming down and off the foot of the mountain.

I grew tired of temple life, though I'd never tell my sister who managed the land in place of Takeshi-sama. My little adventures were a break from the constant supervision of the holy grounds where nothing ever happened.

"Where are you going?"

I spun and gazed blankly at my older sister. Her long black hair shone against the waxing moon.

"Shouldn't you be staying on the temple grounds? Takeshi-sama wouldn't be impressed if he heard you left your post unattended." I doubted he would be. Nothing ever happened there anyways.

"I'm just taking a short walk around the perimeter. The boundary extends for some ways."

I nodded and continued, wondering how far I could go before she tugged me back and forced me to sleep some before the sun rose. That wasn't actually that far away now, the sky was already beginning to grow pale and the moon was becoming hazy.

"Ayame-chan, is there something you're looking for?" she inquired some time later.

"Sakura petals for fragrances; this is the perfect time of year to collect them and dry them."

She nodded. I couldn't have been more obvious in my lies. I hated the sakura petals.

The sun was just beginning to crest the hill behind us. Hinata-onee-sama opened her mouth, probably to call it a night (for me), when the cold silence was broken by a panicked voice.

"Hijikata-san!" she paused and huffed and I looked for the source.

I narrowed my eyes against the light rising over the hill and saw on a higher path the silhouette of a small woman, a much larger man leaning heavily on her. She collapsed and gently cradled him on her lap. Both were wearing Western clothing.

"Hijikata-san! Hold on, we'll be there soon!"

It sounded to me as though she were completely lost and about to lose herself in hysterics. Nee-san was already scurrying up the mossy hillside to help.

"Are you okay?" Nee-san asked. Obviously they weren't, the heavy scent of blood was already clogging my nose. I was surprised I hadn't noticed it earlier. The sakura were blowing about, which might have explained it.

The girl startled and held him protectively to her flat chest. The man's eyes opened a crescent and he murmured something too quiet for me to hear. He didn't look like he had much life left in him.

"It's okay," Nee-san cooed, holding her hands up slightly, displaying her defenseless form. Nee-san didn't need weapons anyways, not when I was around. "I want to help,"

The girl looked suspicious but it didn't suit her large, deer like eyes. She wanted to trust my sister, which was plainly apparent. I shrugged and kept walking. "I'll go find the other one." People didn't bloody themselves up that badly without help. I wondered which one was in worse shape.

Onee-san dipped her head in acknowledgement. I left them to their own devices then. They could get the man back by themselves and no doubt Onee-san could handle them both without my help. The man's wounds would be cleaned and dressed and the girl would be fed by the time I got back.

I didn't intend to find the other man. I just wanted to take a walk, but naturally when I wasn't actually looking I managed to stumble upon his still form.

At first, I thought he was dead. That was the logical answer. The sword was clean through his chest, probably his heart too. If not, he definitely had a lung pierced and filled with blood. I bet he had drowned in his own blood.

Curiously, I approached him. I'd never seen a dead man before. His hair was golden like a flaxen field and matted in the dirt on the side he laid. The cherry blossoms were covering him like a blanket. His shredded Western clothing was hanging in tatters. He looked like something a controversial painter would have inspired.

I thought he might have been a foreigner. The hair would certainly be explained but on closer inspection his facial features were clearly Japanese. A half breed? I'd never seen one before now.

The petals on the ground next to his face stirred ever so slightly and I realized he was still breathing. Well, I thought to myself, what a tough bastard. I gently placed the palm of my hand against his shoulder, wondering how I would move him without killing him. His eyes fluttered open and I gasped, flinching away from him.

His eyes were blood red.

I didn't have such a good feeling about this. As quickly as he'd opened them, they shuttered, struggling to stay open, gazing at me emptily. Another moment passed and they closed, eye movement from behind his pale lids the only thing proving he was still conscious.

I checked my pockets for the medical supplies I normally kept on me. I had enough bandages and even a small container of a homemade remedy for wounds. The ground iris roots in the jelly substance would help ease his pain.

Carefully, I tore away the purple coat and set to work on smoothing the mixture around the sword. I'd never removed a katana from a person before. I'd helped my sister pull a nail out of her foot though. It couldn't be much different, and probably just as painful.

I grasped the hilt of the sword. It belonged to the man called Hijikata, no doubt. The other sword was several feet away and had a red handgrip that matched the sheath tied to his waist. The blade glowed eerily in the morning rays.

Tediously, I worked on dislodging the katana from his chest. He was in pain and cruelly still holding on to his lucidness. The medicine I had smoothed around the wound couldn't do much until it actually sunk in and I doubted it would have much of an effect even then.

Maybe I should just have put him out of his misery. He was struggling to stay aware but I doubted he was making much sense in his mind.

The sun had risen considerably while I pulled gently at the sword and sweat had begun to collect on my brow. I almost had the tip of the blade out of his back. I bunched together some of the bandages to hold the flow of the blood back when I finally managed to get the grey and black hilted katana out.

I'd have to move him after I got the sword out and I kind of wished my sister would come looking for me. She was probably too preoccupied with the other man. The name Hijikata sounded familiar but I couldn't quiet place it.

"I've almost got it out," I commented to break the silence. I wondered if he could still hear me or even understand what I was saying. His breathing deepened a little so I guessed he could at least hear me. I thought I saw his eyes pinch together slightly but I couldn't take my eyes off my work to better check.

The blade disappeared and I clamped the bandages to the wound where blood had started to pump out. I maneuvered the rest of the sword out, careful not to cause more damage with the slightly curved tip.

With the sword finally out I sat him up, which was much more difficult than I had assumed, and quickly wrapped the bandages tightly around his chest. He wheezed. That was probably a good sign.

For once, I was glad of my monstrous strength. I was able to haul him over my shoulders and balance him there like a sack. I tried not to aggravate the wound but that wasn't possible. I could already feel his blood on my shoulder.

I had to hurry back. He'd die if I didn't do something about the hole in his chest.

"Don't you dare die,"

Review, please!