Prompt: Aug 4/kiss her true love from the 31_days community
Series: Hakuouki
Characters: Saito, Okita, Yukimura, Hijikata, Shinpachi and Sano.
Rating: PG. Some swearing. Mostly Hijikata. I don't own Hakuouki.
Its a warm summer afternoon. Okita's sing song storytellling voice rises from the central courtyard and drifts through the hot still air. Sunlight glints off steel as I continue cleaning my blade.
Once upon a time.
In a land far away. There lived a beautiful princess. But because she was so beautiful, she was kept locked away in a tower which was guarded day and night by a fierce Demon.
In addition to the Demon, there were also skilled guards, whose duty it was to make sure that the princess didn't get hurt, kidnapped or otherwise leave the tower. But mostly they went out on patrol, or bought groceries. Or cooked for everyone else.
From my seat by the open door, I see another screen door slide open. Yukimura's. She sits just inside the doorway, eyes alive with curiosity.
Many bad people came to take the princess. But they all got killed either by the guards or the Demon. And day by day, the princess got more and more breathtakingly beautiful.
Till, finally, one day. Even the Demon fell in love with her.
A gasp from Yukimura. Souji's eyes remained wide and innocent and he continued his tale in his singsong voice as if nothing had happened.
He couldn't do much to express his love at first. Except maybe to write crappy poetry and step up the guard around the princess.
Another door slides open. From within, there is a menacing rasp of steel sliding out of a scabbard.
Souji carries on, seemingly oblivious, his audience listening with rapt attention.
But then. One day. The princess gets cut in a horrible domestic accident and falls into a deep deep sleep. Everyone tries to revive her, from quack medicine in hot sake, to accupuncture, even to generally threatening her in a loud voice with death unless she revived immediately, all to no avail.
Even the Demon, is. Here Souji pauses, seeking a word. Distraught.
The air of menace thickens around Hijikata's open door, but no further movement comes from within.
Till one day, one of the herbalists they hired to cure her speculated aloud. "A kiss might do it."
Everyone is aghast. But the demon, seeing as it's the only hope they have had so far, orders everyone in the compound to line up and in his words, "get on with it".
Yukimura giggles. Sano and Shinpachi who by now have started to eavesdrop are much less restrained. Their laughter echoes around the compound, eliciting a low feral snarl from the vice-commander's room. That soon quietens things down.
Finally. The end of the line approaches and still the princess slumbers.
Then the herbalist turns to the Demon. "Perhaps the Oni-sama would like to try. For what it's worth after all"
"I guess I just have to do this? But all of you lot can damn well get out of the room while it's happening."
And so, after chasing everyone out of the room, the Demon, looks down at the sleeping princess in all her innocent sleeping beauty and...
A pregnant pause. The courtyard listens with bated breath. Unknowingly, I too, have paused in my sword maintenance.
Kisses her.
...
"Or we could try this new medicine that I just cooked up." Says the herbalist from behind the pair.
There's a roar of rage from Hijikata's room and he bursts out, murder in his eyes. Sano and Shinpachi have once again dissolved into cackles of glee.
OKITA SOUJI YOU BASTARD... WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TRYING TO SAY!
The children scatter, some laughing, some crying in fear. Either way, they dash out of the compound.
I sigh and slide my now clean sword back into its scabbard. Then after adjusting my garb and replacing the sword at my waist, I go out to see how best to keep the peace.
