HijiChi Week 2018 Day 1
Prompt: Sun/Moon
Pair: Hijikata Toshizou/Yukimura Chizuru
Background: Alternate Universe where Hijikata and Chizuru were a painter. They were on the situation where social status was still a matter for society.
Warning: English is not my first language. I try my best to make this story as enjoyable as I can. Sorry if there are many grammatical errors with the story. May you enjoy this one shot story.
An: I KNOW I have to post another chapter on my Hakuoki story 'Desires'. And believe me, I have written half part for for the new chapter. I'm getting to the rest half and hope that I can post it at the end of the month. This is what I made to participate in HijiChii Week 2018 on Tumblr. It's un-betaed by the way.
Miyuu
Sun and Moon
"Chizuru-chan!"
A woman let out a gasp from the sudden called of her name. She turned to see her friend stood beside her and gave her an amused look.
"Osen-chan," the woman, Yukimura Chizuru, said her friend's name with surprised. "Where do you come from? I didn't see you coming."
"I have called your name several times, but you are too absorbed with the poster on the board that you didn't hear me calling your name," stated Sen, the one that Chizuru called as Osen-chan.
"Sumimasen," said Chizuru sheepishly, her cheeks redden from the embarrassment.
"It's okay," Sen gave Chizuru a reassuring smile. Then, she also looked to the board, on one particular poster to be exact. "So, you've decided to join the competition?"
Chizuru returned her eyes to the poster she had been looking before Sen interrupted her. She nodded. "Uhn."
While looking at the poster before, she had decided that with this, she would convey her feelings to the one person who had been occupying her mind since the beginning she entered this school, more so after the accident a year ago. She would pour out her feelings into her painting and she hoped that this would be enough for the man to know that her feelings were sincere and serious. That whatever he told her, she would always love him and no one else. Not to mention that the theme for the competition was a perfect personification as what the man had become to her.
Sen sneaked a glance at Chizuru and her lips tugged a secret smile when she saw the determination that reflected on Chizuru's brown eyes. She knew what her friend intended to do and gave her support fully on the matter in silence.
'Ganbatte, Chizuru-chan!'
"Will you join the competition Toshi?"
A man, Hijikata Toshizou, whipped his head to look at the voice that had addressed his name. "Kondou-san."
"You were looking intently at the poster that you didn't realize I have been standing beside you since five minutes ago."
"Eh?" Hijikata blinked by the information. He looked around and found that the hallway where Hijikata stood was empty, except for him and Kondou Isami, the owner of the art school where he had been working for the past four years.
"So, will you join the competition?" Kondou asked his previous question again. "You never gave thoughts about joining any competitions before. No matter how hard I convinced you in the past, never even once you agreed to join any competitions. But by the way you were looking at the poster that made you didn't realize my presence, you have different thoughts this time haven't you, Toshi?"
Hijikata turned his head to look at the poster and gave a short answer, "Yeah."
Kondou narrowed his eyes to also look at the poster about the competition, "Tell me Toshi, why do you decide to join the competition now? What makes the event so special this time? This is not the first time I will display the winner's painting at the Gallery Hall."
"It's not about displaying my painting at the Gallery Hall, Kondou-san," answered Hijikata solemnly. "There's something this time that the other competitions didn't have."
Something, or rather someone.
She joined the art school on the previous year. Her stature was average and she wasn't someone that would stand out if she was within the crowd. Well, she was someone that others would describe as sweet and innocence. Maybe a bit naive. But she had something that made Hijikata wanted to know her better.
He fell in love with her painting.
He was so drawn and attracted to her painting that in the end he found himself -his eyes- always focused on the woman. She was a student in his class, but he never paid any special attention to her. For him, all of his students were the same. Even though there were student like Souji or Heisuke that always trying his patience, well at least Saitou was not that bad. But her… When he looked into her painting, his breath was caught and his heart pounded so hard in his rib-cage.
He swore that was love at first sight.
He had been looking at her with a different light since then. On one occasion he had a chance to have a chat with her. Not only her talents was extraordinaire, but her character was also something else. Yes, she was sweet and innocence. But she also had a charisma and was someone that would defend on her belief. His fate had been sealed then and later on, he found himself falling for the woman.
The accident that happened a year ago, when he found she was nearly raped inside the art school by one of the male student. If not for Harada and Nagakura, his fellow teachers in the art school, restrained him from hitting the student to death, he would be inside the jail with the charge of murdering the male student.
But… she wasn't someone that he could ask to be with him. Her family was on the different social status. He was an orphan and his only family was his married older sister. He was a nobody. That's why he never confessed his feeling to her.
Then again fate had a different story for him. Just a month ago, she came to him and said the she loved him.
The woman that he loved also had the same feeling as him to her.
She told him that he was someone that she respected and she admired his talents. His painting was something that inspired her. Then when he rescued her from her nearly raped accident, she knew that she had fallen for him.
He wanted to tell her that she was also someone that had occupied his heart and mind. He wanted to tell her that his heart had belonged to her. He wanted to tell her that he was hers already. But…
In the end, he told her that he couldn't accept her feelings. Someone from her social status shouldn't have a serious feeling with someone of his status. He appreciated her feelings but that's it.
He didn't have to look back to know that she was crying when he left her alone after that. He knew he left her with a broken heart, because he could also hear his heart was slowly broken into pieces. Later he told Kondou about this, but he didn't tell Kondou her name.
"Don't be so hard on yourself, Toshi. There's nothing wrong with loving someone that has a different social status from us. If we are talking about the matters of love, nothing else matters except the feeling of the love between the two people itself. I hope that you won't regret this decision of yours later. It's still not late to change your mind on this. Please think carefully."
He thought about Kondou's words again and again after that. When he was still contemplating on what he should decide, Kondou made an announcement about the painting competition that he would hold in the art school. The winner's painting would be display on the Gallery Hall on the next exhibition that he usually held every once a year. Hijikata then decided that he would use this chance to tell her about his feeling. She had told him that she liked his painting very much. She could correctly guess the meaning behind some of his paintings. This time, he would gamble whether she could also see the meaning behind the painting. Not to mention the theme of the competition was so perfect to describe of what she was to him.
Kondou gave Hijikata a knowing look, understood on what Hijikata's meant. He remembered Hijikata's story about the woman that he fell for. He had a gut that Hijikata's decision to join the competition had something to do with the woman. He hoped the best for his friend regarding this matter.
'Good luck, Toshi.'
Chizuru walked around the Gallery Hall, her eyes were scanning around the exhibition with glee. This was her first time since she attended the art school to come to the event like this. Even though she liked to visit if there was painting exhibition else where, but to see the painting of her friends and people that she knew was something else. Then, there was the competition. The winner of the competition would be revealed on that day, the first day of the exhibition. Kondou said the the winner's painting would be displayed on the deeper part of the gallery.
The deeper she walked into the gallery, she could feel her heart pounded on her rib-cage, like it would like to explode. When she walked around the gallery, she had seen her friend's painting that was displayed on the gallery. So far, she hadn't seen her own. The gallery was rather large and she hadn't visited most of the area. Maybe hers was on the other part she hadn't visited? Then again, she had walked straight to the area where the winner's painting would be displayed.
One more corner and she would arrive on the area that would displayed the winner's painting.
She gulped. Slowly she walked and turned to the next corner.
What was waiting for her was something that she hadn't expected. When her eyes landed on the winner's painting, her body froze, rooted to the ground. There, on the display, was her painting.
Her painting and someone else painting.
Kondou didn't tell that there were two winners on the competition. But that wasn't what made Chizuru's body froze. The two paintings that were displayed, side by side, were like one long painting that was separated by a thin frame. In each painting there was one figure that stood and gave its back, while the figure look on the one object that was the theme of the competition. In Chizuru's painting there was a man standing and looking at the sun, while the other painting was a woman with the same pose but she was looking at the moon. There were Sakura petals scattered around both of the figure.
She gazed intently at the other painting and then she understood something. The two paintings were the same yet it was not. It conveyed the same meaning. It portrayed the same situation. But then, it directed to different people. Hers was for the man inside her painting, and the other was for the woman inside the painting. The woman that somehow resembled her so much…
Chizuru's eyes watered when she realized who the owner of the other painting. She didn't need to see the name's placard to know whose painting she was looking at now.
"Chizuru."
That voice, the voice that always appeared inside her dream and… just how many times she had imagined for him to say her first name like that? Her first name sounded so perfect when it escaped from his mouth.
Chizuru looked at her behind to see the man inside her painting, the man that she loved. "Hijikata-san."
Hijikata was also shocked to see the winner's painting. He knew exactly whose painting that where next to his belonged to, without had to see the name's placard. Then his eyes caught the sight of her and he called her name.
Who would ever thought that their painting would end up like they had planned for the result to look like it was one big painting? It was then that he knew that he had found the answered. Their mind had unconsciously linked, likewise their feelings also had called to each other.
He stretched his hands, then said, "Come."
The area was surprisingly empty, except for the two of them. Chizuru ran to Hijikata's arm without any hesitation and embraced the man. Hijikata caught Chizuru and hug the woman tight.
"I will never let go of you again. Just be ready that I will chase wherever you are even if you want to run away from me later."
"I never want to be away from you."
"You are mine."
"And so are you."
They shared a long passionate kiss in front of the painting that made them together.
Light on the Sakura
By Yukimura Chizuru
—
Moonlight Petals
By Hijikata Toshizou
Bonus:
There were voices heard from one area in the exhibition.
"Kondou-san, why do you restricted the area that displayed the winner's painting?" asked Heisuke pouting. "I really want to see the painting."
"You can see it later Heisuke," answered Harada looking at the restricted area. "It just, there is something not suitable for your age happening on the area now."
"What do you mean by that?" said Heisuke annoyed. "I'm twenty and mature enough to know about some adult matters!"
"Who said that you are not mature enough? We just said that it was not suitable enough for your age." Nagakura said with mischevious glints in his eyes.
"Don't twist Sano-san's words, Shinpatsu-san."
"Be patience Heisuke. If you still value your life, you will not enter that area for the time being." Saitou said indifferently.
"What do you mean by that?"
"It means that Hijikata-san will chase after your life if you are curious and dare enough to enter that area now. Well, it's not that I'm afraid of such thing. I just don't want to disobey Kondou-san's words." Okita explained while shrugging his shoulders.
"You guys… really," Sen shook her head, exasperated.
Kondou just smiled observing the others conversation.
The End