Here´s my third OS, written for Aen Silver Fire. Enjoy and review! :)
A light breeze received her with warm arms as she entered the courtyard. Colorful leaves danced in the wind to an unfamiliar melody to which she hummed softly. She grabbed the broom which she had brought from within and began to sweep away the leaves. One year ago she met the Shinsengumi at a cold winter night and started to live with them. In her early days they had always considered her with skeptical eyes or expressed their threats to her. But now they accepted her in their ranks. Even the foot soldiers threatened Chizuru as one of them what made her happy.
She had begun to regard them as friends.
Chizuru hummed as she swept away more leaves and began to think about the latest adventures she had experienced with the Shinsengumi. Last month they raided the Ikeda Inn with great success when she found herself in the middle of a fight. She was frightened as she saw all the blood and the death hung in the air. The girl shook her head to drive away the dark thoughts as she heard someone call for her.
"Oi Chizuru-chan!"
Chizuru turned in the direction of the familiar voice. The sun burnt down with immense heat so she had to protect her eyes from the bright light as she recognized the captain of the tenth division who walked towards her.
"Harada-san."
Chizuru was surprised to see him so early in the morning. When she saw the blue haori she knew it was his turn to go on patrol. She leaned the broom against the wooden beam and greeted him with her best smile.
"Have you finished your patrol ?"
He shook his head when he came to a halt in front of her.
"No, not yet. Hijikata-san switched my shift with Heisuke and Shinpachi. My patrol will be in the afternoon."
The girl nodded in agreement and stared at him, waiting for his reason why he had come to her at the first place. Harada looked at her with his Amber eyes and smirked.
"Do you want to come with us to Shimabara tonight ?"
Her gaze was for a moment puzzled as she looked at him. She wasn´t sure which answer he wanted to hear so she decided to take another way to find out.
"Are you sure you want me to come with you ?"
"Of course. Without you we´ll have half of the fun." He grinned at her.
When she saw his gorgeous smile she knew it. She knew that she couldn´t deny his offer, no matter how hard she tried. The wind blew her hair to the side as she spoke.
"Yes, I would like to come."
When they reached Shimabara, it was overcrowded with drunken people. But this did not stop them to enjoy the evening. The group went through the gate and reached after some time the room which was reserved for them. The captain of the second division grinned as he saw all the expensive sake and the good food in front of him.
"Thank you Sano for the good job. I´ll drink until the sun rises up! But before I start, I´ll take this!"
"Oi Shinpatsuan! Eat your own food you goddamn bastard!"
Shinpachi laughed before he ate the fish of his friend and took his cup of sake to drink it in one motion. Heisuke tried the same but Shinpachi was faster and protected his own food with great success.
„You´re an heartless monster!" Muttered Heisuke under his breath.
Chizuru looked at the two and sighed deeply.
"Do you regret that you have already agreed ?"
She looked surprised to Harada, who smiled at her apologetically. In the next moment she blushed and looked away.
"No, I don´t regret it."
The girl took her chopsticks and began to eat.
Suddenly the shoji screen pushed open and a dark haired geiko came in. Her pale skin shone in the light and made her appear like an angel. She wore a green kimono and looked so beautiful in it that all people in the room stared at her. The men almost forgot to breath.
´She looks so handsome.´
Chizurus thoughts were interrupted when the man next to her shifted. She looked at him when he smiled at the geiko and something glimmered in his eyes.
"Konbanwa mina. My name is Yura and its a pleasure to meet you."
She bowed deeply and began with her dance.
The room went quiet as she raised her hands and began to wave the two fans in a rhytmical motion as she started with her performance. Her voice was high as she sang to a song she rehearsed only hours ago.
"Asagi iro no sora ga ima moete yuku
Haruka rakujitsu
Hito mo kuni mo somenuite
Watashi no namida
Ten ni subete chiribanete
Anata no yuku yami hoshi de
Teraseru nara
Inochi no ito
Akaki eneshi jidai ni utarete mo
Tomo ni aruku shinjite yuku
Tada anata wo"
Slowly she stepped in the middle of the room, still moving the fans, and smiled at her guests with the most beautiful smile she has ever seen. The song ended with her last moves as the geiko knelt down next to Harada and smiled at him. The woman leaned forward and whispered something to him she could not understand.
But he smirked back at her.
"Woah! This was so fucking damn good."
Shinpachi raised his cup and said more compliments to the woman but Chizuru did not hear anything. Her gaze still stuck on Harada who chatted quietly with the girl besides him. She felt how the jealousy rose in her body as she looked down at herself.
´Why is he so openly with her instead of me ?´
She knew the reason for her stupid feelings but she did not want to accept it. It was a simple reason and she hated herself for it. The girl shook her head and tried to continue her meal but her eyes were still on the chatting pair. After some minutes she could not bear it longer and stood up.
"Excuse me. I have to go to get some fresh air."
The whole room went quiet the moment Chizuru said this. She looked down and regarded the tatami mats with a sad expression so she did not see the expression of the men around her as she exited the room. The moment she reached the balcony her self-control broke in thousand pieces.
Hilariously, she began to cry and sob.
How could she be so naive to think that Harada would like her ? She was only a girl dressed in boy clothes. She was not something special or beautiful like the geiko which pleased Harada more than her. She tried hard to regain control over her feelings but it seemed to be pointless, shacked her body more and more no matter what she did. The pain was too great to handle on her own.
She thought she could act tough, but when she was away from him she began to cry.
Why was life so unfair ?
Suddenly a hand grabbed her on her collar and forced her to look around. There he was, as if nothing happened.
Harada looked at her with a hard expression on his face, still thinking what he had done to make her cry. She should not cry when he was around. Instead she should laugh and be happy like all the girls he cheered up in his life.
"Chizuru, what´s wrong ?"
His question felt like a slap against her cheek. Had he really no idea why she was so depressed ? She thought about to tell him everything but then she decided to do the opposite. As she looked up, her face showed nothing about her fallen tears.
"It´s nothing, Harada-san. I´m alright."
Liar.
Chizuru knew this was the biggest lie she ever told in her life. but what should she do ? She was not allowed to decide with which person Harada surrounded himself. He was an adult and did not have to act according to what she wanted.
But why felt it so wrong ?
The man did not seem to believe her, was his gaze still fixed on her eyes. He could see the last remains of tear strains which told him she cried some seconds before.
"You know that I can´t believe you."
She remained silent and turned her head away. Harada sighed as he looked at the girl. He didn´t want to see her crying like this. With a determined expression, he stepped forward ans embraced her tightly.
"You don´t have to act tough. You´re a girl after all. Even if I don´t know your reason, I´m sure you´ll do the right thing"
Her eyes widened at his words. Chizuru could hear his heart beat together with hers which calmed her down. She wanted to say something, but she didn´t know what. He loosened the embrace and looked at her, waiting for something she should say or do. But no matter how hard she pondered, there was nothing she could say to explain her misery. Suddenly Harada bent down to her so their faces were only inches away. Both stared at each other with eyes she could not interpret. Their faces came closer and closer until a loud voice interrupted them.
„Oi Sano, what´re ya doing ?"
He stopped in his tracks and looked up to see Shinpachi who grinned at him. Next to him he saw Heisuke who laid in his arms, visibly drunken.
„Heisuke passed out some sec ago. We should go back."
Harada sighed annoyed and forced a smile at the girl who stared baffled at him, not knowing what to do. What was Haradas intend ? She knew she would never know it.
´Was he going to-´
„Let´s go Chizuru."
Embarrassed she regarded the floor and slapped herself for her stupid thoughts. How could she think he would do such a thing ? There was certainly a good reason for his behavior. The two of them reached Shinpachi and Heisuke soon and walked back to headquarters.
„Harada-san ?"
She was surprised to see him in the courtyard, had she expected to find him in his room. The red-haired man looked in her direction, a faint smile on his lips.
„Come here, Chizuru."
He clapped with his hand the spot besides him. Hesitantly, she did what he wanted from her and sat down, gazing at the star-crowded sky. The sun was set long ago behind the mount of Tenno. Only darkness accompanied the two of them.
Nervous she shifted on her place, not knowing what to do as he spoke.
„Why did you cry last night ?"
His question came suddenly, but did not surprise her. Chizuru knew what he wanted from her the moment he invited her to keep him company. He was a man who cared for others and tried to cheer them up. He did it often enough.
„I-I..."
"Could it be that you can´t trust me ?"
She did not want that he knew about her feelings. Her eyes looked still at the distance so she could not see his expression. But his words shocked her so she turned at him.
"No! I-I trust you. The reason is just that I..."
Embarrassed she looked away. No, she could not say him the truth about her feelings. She was not sure if her feelings were true or not. Again he sighed, like the night they were at Shimabara, and like this time he bent down to her and forced her to look at him.
"I don´t know your reasons, but I know my reasons why I can´t let you go without an answer."
Perplexed she looked into his eyes as their faces where only inches away. She waited for something to happen, but there was nothing he did. He only stared at her.
Chizuru bit at her lip as she made her decision.
She overcame the last inches which separated her from him and met his lips. His eyes widened in surprise but he did not stop her. Instead he pulled her closer to him and deepen the kiss with more passion. When they broke apart, a smile graced his lips.
"Was this the reason why you cried in Shimabara ?"
She nodded.
Harada sighed as he broke out in laughter. Perplexed she stared at him, not knowing what to do. What was so funny ? As he saw her expression, he stopped.
"I´m sorry, but it was too good. Did you really think a geiko can give me more than the woman I love ?"
She choked.
"W-What did you say ?"
He smiled at her with the smile she loved so much. There was no mistake that his words satisfied the truth even if she did not understand why. He bent down again and whispered in her ear.
„Because I love you."
Time seemed to stop the moment he said this words. Tears wet her eyes as she hugged him desperately. She did not want to loose him or wake up from the best dream she ever had. He replied the embrace, still smiling.
In the silence they heard a voice :
"Anata marude komorebi no youni
Watashi ni ikiru kibou kureta shiawase ga warrata
Kioku no naka no nukumori mune ni
Nani yori mo tsuyoi kizuna wo kanjiteiru wa
Watashi ga watashirashiku irareru no ha anata ga iru kara
Anata wo aishite umareta utaou watashi no ai no akashi ni
Shinjite doko made mo todoke watashi no omoi anata ga ikiteiru koto ga shinjitsu
Itoshikute ureshikute kanashikute setsunakute
Kuyashikute modokashikute...ai no merodi"
Harada looked in the sky as he saw a shooting star passing. It was as if someone wanted to share the moment of the pair who found the true meaning behind the word love.
The songs I used are Kurenai no Ito, the song of the first Hakuouki Movie and Ai no Melody from Kokia. Here you can find the translations :
Kurenai no Ito
"The pale blue sky is burning right now.
The distant setting sun leaves stains upon the people and country.
My tears decorate the entire sky.
Because your endless darkness can now shine in the stars.
The strings of life
The red thread of fate
Will both defeat time.
Heading towards my companion.
I will believe in this path.
Only if it´s you."
Ai no Melody
"Like sunlight coming through the tree canopies
You gave me the hope to live: fortune has smiled on me
Of all the warm memories within my heart
More than anything else, I feel the strong bond we share
I can continue being myself because you are here
I'll sing this song born from my love for you as a testament to my love
Let me believe that no matter what,
my thoughts will reach you and know the truth that you are still alive
It's a tender, happy, sad, painful
Frustrating and tantalizing melody of love"