Author's Note: Hello, and I apologize for not greeting you sooner! But that first chapter was a really long first chapter and I figured you wouldn't want to read more than you needed to, soooo... *laughs* But anyway, welcome to my first Hakuōki fanfiction! I love this series a lot, for the story and characters and especially the gorgeous artwork and animation. I hope I manage to capture its essence in this story; please tell me if I do. U v U
A few notes first - all the songs are fictional (meaning, I made them up) unless otherwise stated! Also, I've changed the date of Okita and Asuka's meeting (Day One) to October 24 rather than November 2 for certain reasons. I apologize for all the editing in the first chapter. But from here on out, I hope you enjoy the story! Feedback is deeply appreciated! ~ v ~
Day II — Mist
The morning came with a light, silvery fog. The heavy rain from the previous night beaded the grass like dew, and the deep puddles in the roads now resembled mirrors. The mist softened the sharp edges of Kyoto until the entire city seemed like a hazy picture from a dream. The scent of rain saturated the very air. It was incredibly surreal and incredibly beautiful.
Asuka pushed open the window, holding out a hand to feel droplets of rainwater drip from the roof onto her palm. Her breath emerged as white clouds of vapor. She couldn't see the misty view, but she could feel it, smell it. A cold freshness wafted against her skin and filled her lungs, bringing with it the air of winter. Very soon the rains will turn to ice, solidifying to snow and covering the land in white powder. If she were out playing for alms then, it would put drifts of frigid crystals in her way, chilling her to the bone so that her fingers would be numb as she plucked her shamisen. For now, however, the sky was clear and there was no sign of the inevitable snow.
Days like these were the ones that had her reminiscing most. It was a pity not all those memories were good ones.
She inclined her head, sightless eyes closed. From outside, the song of a few errant birds drifted into the empty room, filling the silence.
"Asuka-chan!" Asuka turned her head at the jaunty call just as the door slid open. Okita peered into the room, and when he saw her by the window, his eyes narrowed in pleasure. Perhaps it was because it was still early; he seemed in a good mood.
"Mm, good, you're awake! Hijikata-san and Kondō-san want to talk to us. Come on, let's get going." He spun on his heel and headed down the corridor. Okita had gone a good distance when he realized that Asuka had not followed him. Raising an eyebrow, he backtracked and saw her still standing there by the window. He blinked, then something seemed to hit him, and he promptly burst out laughing.
"…Ah…"
"What, worried I'll do something?" Okita managed to say between gasps. "Re… Relax! Haha, I was just kidding last night! Hahaha!" He practically fell against the doorway in his humor. Asuka's expression flickered. "Ha, or maybe you're worried about my warning? Don't be so uptight, that's only if you try anything. Though I am glad you're taking me seriously."
In that moment, his grin turned malicious, and in the next it reverted back to his cheerful mien. "But anyway, we're getting sidetracked. C'mon, Asuka-chan, Hijikata-san doesn't like to have to wait." He rapped on the door pointedly, chuckling.
Asuka hesitated for just a moment longer before her fingers splayed on the wall. She began to feel her way to the door, slowly but steadily, at times using the wall to guide herself and other times reaching out to make sure she wasn't going to bump into anything. Okita quirked an eyebrow when she stepped in close and, without realizing it, brushed her fingertips against his chest. Her hand snapped back as if she'd stuck it into a fire. "Oh… I'm sorry!" she apologized at once.
The first unit captain merely smiled and turned. "Let's go," he said, stretching as he walked down the corridor. "Ahh, we're going to be late for breakfast at this rate!"
Okita went along at a fair pace but still, in a few minutes he'd left Asuka behind. The goze had to feel her way down the corridor and that made her a lot slower than him. The young samurai paused to glance back at her, and upon hearing him stop, a small frown crossed her face and her effort to move faster increased visibly. Okita couldn't help but chuckle at her unconscious show of tenacity, and he turned and headed back towards her. She lifted her head to suddenly feel his hand close around her wrist.
"You're too slow," was all he said. He pulled her along behind him the rest of the way, humming under his breath. Surprise lined Asuka's face; she had clearly not expected him to guide her.
His hand was warm. The expression she wore faded to her usual mask of thoughtful blankness, which stayed even after they stopped in front of a door and he let go.
"Hijikata-san. I've brought her."
"Good. Come in, both of you."
Okita slid open the door and took Asuka's wrist again to lead her inside. Hijikata and Kondō were both seated on cushions, each holding a steaming teacup. Before them were three more cushions and a tray with the same number of cups. Apparently they were waiting for one more person.
Asuka was seated in front of Hijikata whereas Okita took the cushion nearest to Kondō. He plucked a teacup from the tray and slurped the hot liquid noisily, eliciting a grimace from the vice-commander. Kondō passed Asuka the other teacup and a warm "Good morning," which she accepted with a nod of thanks.
"So what's up? You worked out all the details, Hijikata-san?" Okita asked, though he made a face as he did so. It was clear he was still unhappy about the arrangement.
"Yes. We've decided on the matter." Hijikata put down his teacup and folded his arms. He leveled his gaze on Asuka, looking at her as he talked. "Goze-san, you will be staying here for room and board in return for work. There will be certain areas of the compound you'll be allowed access to, including the courtyard and the kitchen, but otherwise you will be punished if we catch you wandering around somewhere you're not supposed to be. We have our men do the cooking in shifts, so you'll be doing it with them rather than by yourself. This is not because of your disability, mind you. It's to ensure that you don't slip anything into our food to escape or to kill us."
He watched her face carefully at this last part, but she only nodded, and he continued, "As we said last night, you'll be here under the guise of Sōji's mistress. I'm not asking anything unreasonable of you—" With this he threw Okita a glare, in response to which Okita raised his hands in surrender, grinning. "—but it's best to at least act close to him. Under normal circumstances we would not allow women in the compound, but Sōji is one of our unit captains. The men would not question him bringing a mistress into the headquarters, nor would they touch you in that case. Do you have any questions?"
"No," Asuka answered, bowing. "I understand completely. Thank you again for this."
Hijikata just nodded once, curt. Kondō was a little more sympathetic and smiled at her kindly. "In some lighter news, we're giving this back to you." He reached behind him to pick up the goze's staff. The commander gently took her hand to close it around the wood. "I'm afraid we had to search through your belongings, but they're all being put in Okita's room right now. I hope you have a comfortable stay here, at least."
Okita muttered something under his breath ("…still can't believe I can't keep my room…") and Asuka leaned back on her heels, holding the staff close. "Thank you for your kindness," she said quietly.
Just then, a light knock sounded on the door and it slid open. A slight, young man stood outside the room. His hair was short and dark save for a long ponytail in the back, and he wore a willow-green kimono top with black hakama. Sharp eyes flicked from face to face, lingering longer on Asuka's for a moment before he looked at the commanders and bowed.
"Fukuchō-san, you called for me?"
"Ah yes. Come in, Yamazaki."
The man bowed again and closed the door behind him. Okita caught his eye as he took the seat on Asuka's left and grinned, waving his hand. He got a flinty glare in return but laughed, having expected it in the first place.
Hijikata turned back to Asuka. "Goze-san, this man is Yamazaki Susumu, our medical advisor and one of our officers. He's been called here to check on your eyes."
This made her furrow her brow. "My…eyes?"
"Mm. There is of course the possibility you are only faking your blindness. We can't take that risk, and Yamazaki will know at once if that is the case," Hijikata added in a threatening manner. However, Asuka only seemed hesitant for another minute. Then she nodded silently, giving her assent for the examination.
Seeing this, Yamazaki bowed and turned to face her. "If you will, goze-san," he said in his polite way. "Can you open your eyes for me?"
Asuka frowned but nodded, and with some effort she managed to open her eyes most of the way. Yamazaki took out a small candle and a box of matches from his kimono. He struck one match to light the candle, then blew out the match; the acrid smell of smoke floated lightly into the air. Gently, he reached out to lift one eyelid up further, taking care to tell his patient exactly what he was doing.
"I'm going to hold up a light to your eyes, goze-san. If you see anything — anything at all — please don't be startled."
"Yes." Asuka didn't move, remaining still as Yamazaki picked up the candle.
The examination lasted about ten minutes. It was a fairly simple process: the medic moved the candle back and forth, slowly, in front of each eye, watching closely for any sign that she was following it. After the examination, he leaned back on his heels to blow out the candle, sighing and intoning a soft, "Thank you, goze-san." She silently inclined her head, and he turned back to the commanders.
"Well?" said Okita. He had been watching them with growing impatience and now looked at Yamazaki expectantly. The medic glared at him and spoke to Hijikata instead.
"She had no reaction whatsoever to light. What's more, her cataracts are severe and seem to have been acquired from a young age." He hesitated and glanced sideways at her. "I'm afraid it's no act."
"Understood, Yamazaki. Thank you for your help," Hijikata said, Kondō sighing lightly beside him. The vice-commander turned to Okita and Asuka and nodded once. "The two of you are dismissed as well."
"Finally!" Okita leaped up. "I'll leave the rest to you then, Hijikata-san! See you later, Kondō-san!" In one swift motion he bent down to grab Asuka's wrist and haul her up, pulling her behind him. The goze gasped and held her staff in close. Yamazaki sighed, cast the commanders a weary look (which one mirrored and the other laughed sheepishly), and stood up to follow.
"Okita-kun, that is hardly the way to treat a woman," he said severely as they headed down the corridor, a disapproving frown on his face. Although the medic stood four inches shorter than the younger man, he had a certain air of authority about him that most likely came from his profession.
Still, despite his pout, Okita defiantly held onto Asuka's hand a moment longer before letting go, his lips curved into a wide smirk.
"Hnn, but it's all your fault, Yamazaki! My food is probably cold now because you took so long," he groaned. The medic scoffed.
"I have no control over the temperature of your food. Nor did you actually have to stay for the examination, you know."
Yamazaki glimpsed back as he chided Okita, watching Asuka move along with them. With her staff she moved more quickly than she had without it, tapping the wood floor in front of her in a routine manner, but making sure to mind the feet of the other two men. Her staff was carved from a wood Yamazaki couldn't quite name. However, it looked sturdy and was a shade of red-brown that was darkened from age. There were several areas of wear on the wooden surface, and a groove where her thumb rested, a clear indication of habit. The staff was old, plainly old, and Yamazaki had to wonder for how many years it had served the goze.
He looked up at her face — and was startled by what he saw.
As a working doctor, he had encountered many different kinds of people. Sometimes they were people who were tired, tired of the effort they put in just to scrape by. Tired of having to struggle to survive, tired of being broken down only to struggle again. Sometimes, he found himself sharing in their exhaustion.
But for a brief instance, he had seen that same world-weary look in Asuka's face.
"Hm, here we are!" Okita's cheery voice jerked him out of his reverie, and he blinked to see them in front of the dining hall. The captain of the first unit threw open the doors and all but dove in. From inside, there were cheers and an aggravated shout of "You've finally come! You better make this up to my starving stomach, Sōji!" from Shinpachi, which were next followed by a clamor of voices and loud eating.
Yamazaki rolled his eyes and scoffed at their behavior, giving Asuka a rueful smile. "Be careful in there. They're a rowdy bunch, especially that Sōji."
She chuckled faintly and they bowed to one another, the medic turning to return to his office. But he couldn't help looking back, once, watching with an indecipherable expression as the goze entered the hall.
The room fell silent almost the instant Asuka came in; the tap-tap of her staff suddenly became very audible. Surprised, no one said a word until Shinpachi managed to recover. "Oh, so that's what took you so long, Sōji! Nice job!" He beamed and held a thumbs-up to the first captain, who just sniggered and lifted his soup bowl to his lips.
Sano snorted, getting up. "I doubt it's the that you're thinking of, Shinpat-san. Here, this way." This last part was to Asuka, who gave a start when he took her hand without any warning. "Oh — sorry…! I'm not used to…you know." He looked embarrassed as he guided her to an empty seat beside him. "Well, I'm Sano, by the way! Harada Sanosuke, but you just call me Sano. A pleasure to meet you! That silent guy on your right side is Saitō Hajime, and the overly loud guy on my left is Shinpat-san."
"It's Nagakura Shinpachi! The strongest!"
"Right. And next to him is Tōdō Heisuke, but he's only a kid so you only need to call him Heisuke. And beside Saitō is Sōji, but I guess you already know him!"
Sano suddenly leaned in to whisper in her ear confidentially. "By the way, breakfast is rice with fish and miso, but if it tastes like crap, blame Heisuke. He was on cooking duty."
"I heard that!" came the indignant cry. "And no fair, Sano, you're already trying to steal her from Sōji! And I'm not a kid!"
Sano laughed at Heisuke's insulted expression. "C'mon, you're totally a kid! You cuddle with your blankets at night and everything!"
"That doesn't make me a kid!"
"Besides, she's going to need all the stealing she gets if she's Sōji's mistress!" Shinpachi threw in with a guffaw. "Knowing him, he'll probably drive her away and she'll end up totally lonely and in need of our comfort!"
Okita put on an injured expression and placed his hand over his heart. "Even if it's true, there's no need to be so hurtful!"
That got laughs out of them and verbal barbs continued to be thrown between the two. Fairly soon the entire circle was chatting and bursting with laughter. Saitō watched the activity behind the rim of his teacup and sighed, leaning over to Asuka. "Please excuse them. They're always like this," he murmured.
"No, no. It's fine," replied Asuka, and for the first time since her arrival, she smiled.
"Asuka-chan!"
Okita opened the door to his room to find it empty. He pouted, disappointed, although the pack against the wall didn't escape his notice. It was open and things had evidently been taken out; a shamisen wrapped in blue cloth leaned against it. He gazed at it for a little longer before turning aside, and in doing so he noticed Sano coming up the corridor with a spear over his shoulder.
"Hey, Sano, have you seen where Asuka-chan went?" he asked.
Sano paused. "Asuka? The goze, right? Um…" He fingered the shaft of his spear as he thought. Though perfectly capable of wielding a sword (and very well, at that), his greatest strengths lay with the spear. It stood as fact that Sano preferred the speed and maneuverability of the spear, but unfortunately that preference had gotten him into a fix just as it'd gotten him out of many. A samurai once mocked him, stating he would be unable to commit seppuku like a proper warrior, which Sano had immediately set out to prove him wrong. The ordeal left him with a horizontal scar on his navel that, when drunk, he loved to show off.
"Oh, I think she wanted to bathe so Hajime-kun went with her to make sure she'd get some privacy," he said. But when Okita's eyes lit up, the tenth unit captain gave him a wary look. "…You did hear me say Hajime-kun's with her, right?"
"Maybe," Okita snickered, already starting to jog off. "See you!"
There was little else Sano could do besides stand and heave a long-suffering sigh.
The Shinsengumi compound had a bathing area, composed of the outdoor lavatories, the well, and a storage building-like edifice housing a kiln — but since the men weren't exactly inclined towards hygiene (a bath was more or less a bucket of water dumped over themselves), it went largely ignored. Winter in particular had few visitors, and so the curl of smoke in the sky was like a beacon to Okita. The sight of Saitō standing guard outside the little building made his lips curve into a smirk.
Saitō, on the other hand, was not so enthusiastic to see him. "It's impolite to peer in while a woman is bathing," said the man before Okita could even say a word.
"I was not going to suggest such a thing!" Okita protested, acting hurt. "Besides, I probably wouldn't even be able to see anything. You know how it fills up with steam in there."
The captain of the third unit just looked at him.
"All right, all right," Okita snickered. A short silence fell over the scene. Saitō leaned against the frame of the building's door, arms folded across his chest. In manner he seemed idle, his expression appearing to be deep in thought, but it was deceptive. Okita knew firsthand that beneath that pensive expression, Saitō was extremely alert and ready.
"Wanna take a peek with me?"
"Absolutely not."
Okita chuckled and lifted his hands in defense, making a show of backing away. As he did, he went over his options in his head. It was true what he said earlier: the small building had a habit of filling up with steam from the hot water. There was a chance he wouldn't even be able to see anything good. But that was supposing he even managed to get past Saitō, which Okita knew he had next to no chance of doing. With Saitō there, he wouldn't be able to get within ten feet of the building.
So there was no choice but to wait for Asuka to finish bathing. He sighed and sat down on the deck outside his room; how boring.
Though at the very least it was a beautiful day. The sun was out on a rare winter expedition, and it offered a pleasant warmth to offset the more recent chill of rain. Okita yawned, stretched, and lay backwards on the deck, arms clasped behind his head. Looking up, the sky was a lovely cerulean between the wispy gray clouds. There remained moisture in the air, though; from the look of the low clouds on the horizon, it seemed there might be more rain later on, perhaps the next day. But for now, it was sunny and warm, and Okita's thoughts began to turn to more pressing matters than the weather.
His lazy expression changed to one of unusual pensiveness. It'd been a surprise when Hijikata had assigned the goze as his mistress, that was certain. And to be honest, he wasn't sure how he felt about it himself because he never had a mistress. Despite the fact he went to Shimabara as an almost-regular with Shinpachi and the other two, and how he would flirt with the geiko there, boredom was always present.
His eyes fell closed under the warm sunlight as he thought. None of the young women there ever held his interest for very long, and for a simple reason. He'd enjoy the flirting, and he'd enjoy making them squirm a bit with a certain comment or so, but eventually they became boring. Then Okita would return to what truly gave him passion: his swordsmanship, and perfecting it for the Shinsengumi's sake.
But he also had to admit, in terms of boredom, Asuka hadn't really gotten there yet. No matter if it was her, her mannerisms, or her personality, he just hadn't gotten tired of her yet. That in and of itself was interesting.
So when he heard the soft tap-tapping of her cane and then felt it bump against his leg, he grinned. Then at the sound of the quiet voice saying his name, he opened one eye to look at her. Her hair was down, was what he first noticed. Next was that she had changed her kimono. Gone was the black, leaf-patterned kimono, replaced by a light purple one with a rather formal obi. The obi was silvery-blue and patterned with plum blossoms; Okita noted that her hairpin was tucked in the drum knot. She wore the red collar from her former outfit — along the edge was a small stain, and suddenly Okita remembered the cut he had given her on her neck. Said cut was only a thin red line now, and when Okita looked, a droplet of water from her wet hair trailed down over it. He blinked both eyes this time, looking her over approvingly.
"Hmm…sexy," he remarked, breaking the silence. She looked taken aback for an instant before recovering, her face smoothing over as she sat down beside him. Then he heard a very quiet, "Thank you," in response.
He laughed. No, he was definitely not bored yet. Asuka's manner of speaking was peculiar to him, as it was coming from a woman: she tended to pause before speaking, as if thinking through her answer first. He liked that — it was a difference from the geiko in Shimabara, who always spoke whatever they thought would please. Asuka's words were careful, thoughtful — and to Okita, very amusing.
Who thanked someone for calling them sexy?
There were other things, too, that set her apart but he couldn't put his finger on them. It was more of an essence than an exact quality. Asuka had a certain air about her that intrigued him. If the Shimabara girls were flowers, grown with the goal to please and satisfy until they ended up outright gaudy, then Asuka was something modest and inconspicuous, growing secretly in the corner but turning out eye-catching nonetheless.
He grinned. Now she had him thinking in flower metaphors.
Chuckling over this, Okita stared at her openly, appraising her profile. She sat very still, one hand on the staff leaning against her shoulder, head bowed and eyes closed. Only her chest moved with her breathing. Not far off from her, lingering rainwater fell from the eaves, dripping onto a cluster of uncut grass.
"Who's Katashi, then?"
She turned her head at the abrupt question. Okita stretched before sitting up, green eyes trained on her. He wore a devious smirk. "A sweetheart of yours? It might be a problem if you went looking for your boyfriend while we're supposed to be…haha, well, you know." He snickered and leaned in closer, smirk widening.
She didn't lean away from him, although the flicker in her sightless eyes showed him she was very aware of their proximity. "He's not…" she began slowly, then paused. "…He is someone I owe a debt to. That is all."
"Oh, I see," Okita hummed, tilting his head away as if bored. "You did mention you do that kind of work as well, huh."
No reply. Okita looked at her askance to see that she had turned away, her expression unreadable. He arched one eyebrow. Oh? Had he touched a nerve? Just as he was about to grin and ask so, she suddenly spoke. "Saitō-dono said that you were looking for me. Is something the matter?"
"'Saitō-dono'?" he repeated and gave a derisive snort. "What is he, the freaking shōgun?! Haha, nah, Hijikata just said I need to show you around. Also, you've got kitchen duty with me and Sano later. But something else first—" He suddenly jumped up, Asuka turning to follow the sound of his footsteps as he headed into his room. When he returned, her shamisen was in his hand.
"Here." He placed the instrument in her lap as he sat down again, smiling. She ran her fingers over the neck of it before angling her face towards him. The question in her face was for permission rather than clarification. "Go ahead, I'm the one you're playing for. And one song's not going to kill anyone," Okita said and snickered at his own joke.
Her fingers touched the plectrum where it lay tucked against the shamisen body. "Do you have any song requests, Okita-dono?" asked Asuka.
"Nah. I'm not really a music expert," he said with a shrug. "And by the way, don't call me that. Just 'Okita-kun' or 'Okita-san' or whatever is fine. You are my mistress after all. Special privileges," he added with a chortle, tweaking her chin.
Her eyes flickered, but she gave no further response. She repositioned the shamisen on her lap and took the tortoiseshell plectrum in hand, fingers curling around it in a way that showed how familiar the action was to her. Okita watched in open curiosity. Whether or not she was a spy, she certainly didn't start playing the shamisen yesterday.
And that became increasingly clear: the moment she began to play, he was riveted. The song started off with a flutter of notes, which shifted into a melody resembling that of the tune about cherry blossoms. However, this one was livelier, a carefree walk down a mountain path. Okita listened with his chin in his hand as she began to sing. Her singing voice was, of course, louder than when she spoke, but still melodious and clear.
"Seven children playing
In this fine mountain air;
Father is cutting wood behind the house,
Mother cooks sweet rice with the cat watching closely."
Saitō, swinging his sword in one of his daily practice sessions, paused to listen out in the courtyard. In a room nearby, Kondō smiled and closed his eyes, humming along to the familiar song. Hijikata glanced out his room window, setting down his calligraphy brush for a second.
"A deer runs past
And with it comes evening.
We all go inside for our supper;
Ah, such a picturesque scene of this mountain life."
The others heard as well. Heisuke, Sano, Shinpachi, Yamazaki — some of them could only catch a faint sound, but they all heard and listened to the goze's song.
"Now grown, I find myself remembering these things often
With as much joy as sorrowful longing.
In this fine mountain air,
Seven children play."
With two final strikes of the strings, the song ended. Asuka exhaled softly and angled her head towards Okita. The young man was silent, his eyes on her with a surprisingly sharp gaze. Finally, a soft chuckle escaped from him and he closed them, smiling a sweet smile.
"Why that one?"
There was no animosity in his voice, solely an inquisitive note. But when no response came and he opened his eyes, the edges of his forest-green irises were hard.
Asuka was — as he was coming to expect — quiet at first. Then at last, she said, "I thought it would suit you, that's all."
Okita didn't say anything and several heartbeats passed. Then he lifted his head from his hand and sidled over to her. Before she could react, the hairpin was slipped out of her obi so that the bell jingled, free, and he set it on the deck to sweep her hair into his hands. Asuka didn't so much as breathe as his fingers brushed against the sides of her neck. Noticing, he chuckled and caressed her jaw, but withdrew his hand the next moment to gather her hair into his fingers. With an adroit motion, he twisted part of her long hair into a bun (if a rather messy one) and picked up the pin to fasten it. When Okita let go, the rest of her hair slipped out of his fingers to flow down over her shoulder.
"You look better with your hair like that," was all he said, smirking widely. He stood up. "Come on, let's show you around then."
Asuka was motionless for another heartbeat, then stood as well.
The silver bell on her hairpin chimed softly. Okita noticed there was a tiny pattern etched on its surface. A pair of swallows flew across the metal, beautifully detailed despite the minuscule size, the swallows turned towards one another to symbolize devotion.
Okita thought again about the man Asuka was looking for, and wondered.