A/N: this's a continuation of where 'Gengetsu' left off after Serizawa was assassinated. it's still being told from Kawa's POV, and yes she's still with Souji ;D anyway, enjoy the chap!
[edit: the title translates to 'Flying Cherry Blossoms']
disclaimer: i don't own Hakuouki; Kawa belongs to me.
Chapter One: Blooming
A shiver crept up my spine.
I grimaced and snuggled deeper into the blankets, instantly cursing the cold front that had suddenly plagued the capital a few weeks ago.
The shuffling of feet sounded from the back hallway behind my room before the door was opened a fraction.
"Yasakawa-kun, are you awake? Breakfast is ready." A kindly male voice declared from the hall.
I looked up slightly to see the kind brown eyes of Inoue Genzaburo looking into my room.
"I'm getting there, Inoue-san. Thanks," I replied, smiling for him before watching him nod and close the door to let me get dressed in peace.
A sigh escaped me as I reluctantly threw the blankets off, shivering and rubbing my arms.
"Shit its cold," I muttered, straightening to my feet and shuffling to my closet to pull my regular clothes out.
I slipped out of the sleeping yukata and pulled on my white sleeveless kosode, tying the sash at my waist before slipping into my navy hakama; I tied the blue sash at my waist like a belt, stretching my arms to the ceiling and yawning.
Another shiver ran down my arms, reminding me of the disadvantage of wearing the sleeveless top; I grumbled under my breath as I looked through my closet for a haori to wear.
My eyes focused on a familiar haori: it was colored pale blue like the sky and had white triangles designed into the bottoms of the wide sleeves.
I smiled to myself at the sight, pulling out a gray haori that was folded next to it and shrugging my arms through the sleeves, closing the closet doors.
My katana and short sword stood against the wall space beside my closet; I smiled softly, slipping the short sword beneath the blue sash and carrying my katana in hand as I slid the door open to the courtyard.
I looked out at the white blanket of cold snow that had enveloped the ground and shivered a little, walking down the porch's raised pathway to the dining hall for breakfast.
It'd only been a year since we really got settled into living here in Kyoto.
Of course a lot of things happened before we got settled, but that was something I tried to forget.
If we focused too much on the past, we would be haunted by it forever.
Or at least that's what I thought on it, considering everything that'd happened.
Either way, we were moving forward and even though progress was slow, we were getting somewhere; that was the important thing.
Wasn't it?
:::::::::::oOo:::::::::
The door to the dining hall was closed when I got there.
I looked at it and smiled to myself, exhaling before I reached for the door.
"Good morning, sunshine~!" I declared as I threw the door open wide to let in the rush of cool air from the frozen courtyard as I stood in the open doorway.
"Fer the love of God, close the damn door! It's freezing…!" A gruff bark sounded from inside.
I looked at the owner of the gruff bark and met the slightly-annoyed blue stare of a spiky-haired brunette by the name of Nagakura Shinpachi.
He blinked before his face split into a light smile, his blue eyes sheepish. "Oops, sorry! I didn't know it was you who did that, Kawa-chan!" He apologized, laughing weakly and lifting a muscled arm to rub the back of his neck.
I rolled my eyes at his apology, smirking. "It's alright, Shinpatsu, I don't blame you in the slightest." I replied, slipping inside and closing the door behind me as I shuffled inside to plop down across from the second-division captain.
A lanky arm draped across my shoulders before the owner pulled me close to kiss my forehead. "Mornin', beautiful," he smirked gently at me, his jade green eyes half-asleep and warm at the same time.
My cheeks warmed and I smiled up at the brunette named Okita Souji. "Morning, love," I replied, gently shirking free of his arm to turn to my food.
"Seriously, Souji, do we have to see you put the moves on Kawa so damn early in the morning?" A young voice wondered, perking my ears as I looked up at the annoyed teal blue eyes of the long-haired brunette Todou Heisuke, his eyes scowling over at Souji from above his nearly-finished meal.
Souji shot him a look. "If ya don't like it, eat in the corner, Heisuke," he remarked calmly, sipping his soup.
THWACK.
"Ow, what the hell, Sano-san!?" Heisuke yelped, rubbing the large bump on his head gingerly and scowling at the tall brunette to his right with scolding gold eyes as Shinpachi snickered.
Harada Sanosuke scowled patiently at the younger eighth-division captain, cracking his knuckles. "Idiot, show some manners, will ya? Just because y'don't understand love don't mean you've gotta rag on two people who're happy with each other." He scolded calmly, peeling his gold eyes away from the younger man to his food.
I swallowed a clump of rice, smiling sheepishly at him. "Good mornin' to you too, Sano," I said.
Sano winked at me and smiled lightly. "'Morning to ya too, Kawa-chan," he replied.
"Honestly, Harada-san, try not to flirt with Kawa this early in the morning; you're going to make Souji homicidal again." Saitou Hajime, a man with raven-black hair and cool blue eyes, advised calmly from sitting at my far right, looking up from sipping his tea.
Souji shot him a sore look. "Geez, way to ruin the fun, Hajime-kun!" He declared.
"Both of you knock it off. It's too damn early to hear you fighting over who gets to say 'hello' to my sister." My half-brother, a man with flowing jet black hair held in a ponytail and violet eyes by the name of Hijikata Toshizou, scowled sternly from both first and third division captains, his brow furrowed.
The man to his right, with spiked black hair and kind brown eyes, laughed sheepishly. "Honestly, Toshi, they were just playing around." Kondou Isami chided lightly.
"Kondou-san is right, Hijikata-kun; it's too early to hear you scolding the men, as well." A bespectacled man with brown hair and calm brown eyes by the name of Yamanami Keisuke (or "Sannan-san" as we all referred to him as) agreed, flashing a slight smile.
Toshi scowled slightly at being outnumbered before he huffed and returned to his food. "Fine," he grumbled in defeat.
I smirked over at him. "What's with the long face, nii-san?" I wondered teasingly.
"It's too early to hear you heckling me as well, Yasakawa." He remarked gruffly.
I sniffed. "I told you not to call me that; it's 'Kawa'." I retorted, scowling at him before digging into my meal to keep from spouting further comments at him.
"A witness?" I repeated, looking from my brother to Souji.
Apparently they – that is to say, Toshi, Souji, and Saitou – had a run-in with a couple of Fury on the loose the night before; luckily they returned to headquarters unscathed, but when returning they brought along a witness who'd seen the blood-lusting Furies.
Memories of our first year in Kyoto flashed in my mind at the mention of those blood-drinking monsters; I lifted a hand to rub my right arm gingerly out of habit.
Toshi nodded, seeming to notice I'd grabbed my arm, looking away. "Inoue-san, bring him in." He said.
The door to the meeting room opened and Inoue-san stood there with a young faced man at his side, his wrists bound by ropes that were led by Inoue-san.
I blinked at seeing the boy, watching Inoue-san and the boy walk into the room and sit down before my brother, Kondou-san, and Sannan-san.
This kid looked familiar.
I looked at his sharp-yet-serious features, his dark cobalt eyes that showed no fear despite his situation, the mop of slightly messy black hair that was pulled back by a short ponytail; even though he was serious-looking, he was still young.
Probably my age, or even as young as Heisuke.
"I didn't see much, if that's what you're inferring." The boy declared in a bored tone, perking my ears and stirring me from my thoughts as I noticed Saitou had recounted the scene to him.
"The hell ya didn't; y'were aiding at least one of those things." Souji quipped from his post sitting at my side with his katana in his lap.
"No, I wasn't! What the hell's yer problem, blaming some stranger you barely know?" He snapped, breaking out of that bored tone and scowling over at his poker-face stare, his blue eyes sharp.
He snickered and smirked. "Feisty one, aren't you?" He wondered coolly, his green eyes nonchalant.
I ribbed him. "Cut it out, will you? If he says he didn't see anything, he's probably telling the truth." I scolded wisely.
The boy looked at me then, his cobalt eyes locking on my gray ones; he scowled. "Do I know you from somewhere?" He wondered.
I blinked before huffing. "Probably not, kid. Besides, you're not supposed to be asking the questions." I quipped cattily, crossing my arms at my chest.
He scoffed, looking away. "Since when do they allow women into the infamous Shinsengumi?" He grumbled.
Toshi glared at him, quieting the boy; leave it to Toshi to be able to scare the hell out of anyone with that face.
I looked at the boy, vaguely listening to my brother as he pointed out to the boy that he was to be taken back to the room they'd put him in, watching Saitou lift him to his feet by his arm and drag him out of the meeting room.
"Nii-san, what're you gonna do with him?" I asked calmly, looking at my brother.
He sighed quietly and his shoulders slumped a little. "Well, it's not as if we can let him free after being confined here. We can't allow him to leave after seeing the Fury, either." He mused.
"Then assign him to be someone's attendant or put him in someone's squad. If he's not allowed to leave then he might as well stay here." Souji commented, looking at my brother with one open green eye.
Toshi scowled reprovingly. "Don't start with that, Souji," he began.
"For all I know, you're only saying that so you can get back at him for making that comment about women being in the Shinsengumi." I interjected, my elbow stabbing into his ribs again.
He smirked at me and slid his arm to hug my shoulders. "Y'always see right through me, love," he mused with a sigh.
I rolled my eyes at him. "Shut up," I grumbled.
"Regardless, Souji may have a point about keeping him here. The boy doesn't look to be very skilled with a blade, but with training he might become something." Saitou mused as he reentered the meeting room, sitting down at my left.
"Well if he's not that skilled then why d'ya suggest he stay with us?" Shinpachi piped up, looking at Souji.
He shrugged, his green eyes looking stoic. "He claims he's seen Kawa before." He mused, perking my ears.
I looked at him curiously, looking away.
That kid did look familiar, I had to admit. But where I knew him from, I hadn't a clue...
"Yasakawa-kun, do you know that boy?" Sannan-san asked quietly, stirring me from my thoughts.
I ignored the questioning look my brother shot, shrugging. "He seemed familiar. I mean, I did fight a lot of boys at my old dojo, but I hardly remember anything past the name-calling and curses they'd shot after losing." I explained, shrugging my katana against my right shoulder and mirroring Souji.
Toshi sighed. "If that's the case, then until you remember who he is from your childhood, he's staying here. If you don't remember him, we'll kill him. If you do, we'll think of something." He stated.
I looked at him and nodded, sighing. "Sounds fair enough." I mused, letting the meeting dismiss before I straightened to my feet and stretched my arms.
I hoisted my katana over my shoulder, exiting the room through the door leading to the courtyard and heading out onto the porch.
Shuffling feet sounded before Souji caught up to me wordlessly, looking down at me with a smirk.
I looked up at him curiously. "Doesn't your patrol start soon?" I wondered.
"Yep, in a few minutes. Hijikata-san said you could come, though," he mused, perking my ears.
I blinked. "I thought he didn't want me to leave headquarters," I began.
He shrugged. "Dunno what changed his mind, but I guess he's going easy on ya because of that kid." He replied.
I raised a brow before smiling slightly, nodding. "Guess so." I ran a hand through my hair, sighing. "I'll meet you at the front gates, I've gotta get my coat." I excused, smiling up at him.
Souji smirked gently and pulled on my waist, kissing me. "Don't take too long, princess," he requested, making me blush at having him kiss me in the open.
I kissed back and smiled, punching him. "Don't rush perfection," I remarked with a wink, slipping free to rush to my room and grab my haori.
::::::::::::oOo::::::::::
It hadn't snowed much in town.
I walked at Souji's left, ignoring the various looks we gained from the villagers.
He glanced at me and smiled a little. "So you seriously don't remember that kid?" He asked.
I was wondering when he was gonna ask the inevitable question.
I shrugged. "I'm trying to remember. Like I said, there were too many boys that it's hard to remember each one I beat." I replied quietly.
Souji sniffed. "Y'make 'em sound like they fought like little girls." He mused, perking my ears.
I smirked and shrugged again. "They might as well have been." I replied.
He sighed and ran a hand through my hair. "Either way, if you do remember that kid, at least your brother will prolly let him stick around. Y'know we're always lookin' for recruits." He reasoned.
I nodded and smiled up at him. "Yeah, you've got a point." I replied, rubbing the back of my neck before looking away as I tried to recall that boy's face.
:::::::::::Flashback::::::::::
'C'mon, let's see what you can do!' A boy called.
'Kawa-san,' the boy with cobalt blue eyes and messy black hair tugged on the sleeve of my training
kosode, his eyes concerned.
I'd smiled lightly at him, gently shirking free of his grip on my sleeve. 'It's okay, Kisuke-kun, I'm gonna be fine!' I'd declared, sprinting forward to fight the boy who'd called me forward to spar.
'Begin!' My dojo sensei called as we started to spar, the
shinai clashing loudly in the training hall…
:::::::::::End-o'-Flashback:::::::::
"Kawa," he poked my cheek.
I blinked before shaking my head fervently, looking up at his green eyes to see there was a hint of concern in his stare; I smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, spaced out for a moment." I apologized.
Kisuke… that's what his name was?
Now I remembered!
Kisuke had been my friend in the dojo, only on account of his being too stubborn to not give up in a spar; was it possible that he had a crush on me, when we were kids?
"Souji, I remember now," I declared, perking his ears.
Souji blinked before he smiled slightly. "Hell, at least it didn't take long for you to remember." He mused.
I nodded. "I know; I'll tell Toshi when we get back," I agreed.
He smiled again and looked forward. "Good, that just means we can kill him a lot sooner than expected," he mused lightly.
I raised a brow before sweatdropping and sighing, punching his arm.
"Ow, hey!" He griped, looking at me sorely.
I crossed my arms in the sleeves of my uniform coat. "Give it a rest," I scolded.
Souji huffed and pouted, looking away. "Fine," he grumbled.
I looked at him and smiled to myself, giggling.
No matter what, Souji was still cute when he pouted.
A/N: so yeah, hope you enjoyed the first chap.
Souji: oi, review Porcelain-chan's fic! i'll hafta kill ya otherwise~ /winks