Koira was overjoyed when a small boy came to tell her that she had been hired. The boy introduced himself as Tetsunosuke Ichimura. His fox red hair amused her, and she resisted the urge to pat him on the head before he left. Soujiro Okita's attendant? How could she contain her excitement? She could not have hoped for a better job, and to think that she could stay here for a while longer! She would do what it took to earn her place around here. She smiled and went to make some tea for her new master.
Koira had served before, but it was at a small residence, for a family who could barely afford her employment. She had eventually been let go when the family funds had gone down, and she had come to the city to make a living here. She had found no work until now, and she could not believe her luck, despite what had happened a month ago, it was all beginning to seem worth it. She would earn her new employer's trust through hard work and then maybe, she could call this place her home some day.
Over the past month, Koira had come to love this place, and she was beginning to settle back into her old self. She had taken an interest in all the goings on in the Shinsengumi headquarters, and even met a number of new people. Most importantly to her though, she had been able to stay near Soujiro Okita, and now she could be of some use to him. Not only had he saved her from a terrible fate, but he had cared for her, and when she saw him, he would give her the most wonderful smile. His gentle voice calmed her, and she had almost forgotten what it had been like to be so near the end of his sword. Almost.
It was as Koira was bringing Souji his tea that she thought back to the day she had been attacked. She had come to terms with what had happened to some extent. The fact that she had come out of it unscathed had helped to calm her mind, but something seemed out of place. She had been saved by Souji, yet she had not been able to look at him when he did so. Had she been scared of him too? He must have killed those men in order to save her so quickly, but then why did she not feel fear when she awoke in his arms? Had she been so completely unaware of his identity until she had looked up at his face, even though she must have seen his uniform; even though she must have caught sight of that long purple ponytail?
Koira paused in her steps, not wishing to spill the tea, before regaining her footing. She would not fall. She would carry this tea, and she would bring it to Souji as flawlessly as possible. She continued walking across the wooden floor.
Koira knelt down elegantly in front of Souji's room, before announcing her presence and sliding the door to the side. She carefully lifted the tray into the room and knelt again, before placing the tea on a small table. Souji had turned to watch as she did this, with a sad expression on his face,
"Might I have a word?" He asked her.
"Of course Master Okita." Koira replied, keeping her eyes on the floor as a sign of respect. Souji leaned forward, she could not see his hurt expression until he carefully lifted her chin,
"My lady please, if you are to be my attendant I would prefer it if you called me Souji. I would also like to warn you about something." He paused so that Koira could absorb his first request before he moved on. "Sometimes, it could be the morning, it could be at night, any time, but sometimes I am not myself. I will loose control in blood lust, unable to determine friend from foe. If I appear to be lost like this, please run."
"But Mas- Souji," Koira tasted the name on her lips, "But Souji, you have held back against me before."
"True, but you did not see me. I am a demon, if I had not seen you before hand I could have hurt you too." Souji held eye contact, willing her to see that he was serious. He would not let himself be a threat to her.
"A demon? I know I did not see your face as you fought but surely you looked the same?" She asked, a little confused. She had heard rumours of the wolves of mibu demons, but she had assumed they were just that: rumours,
"No, when I am caught in blood lust, I have eyes only for the enemy and death. Anything that gets in my way will be cut down. That time I already knew you were there, so it was different, but if you stumbled upon me when I was already in this mood, I could be a danger to you." Koira wanted to disagree, but she nodded silently and handed him his tea. He took it and noticeably relaxed a little, his smile returning. That was good, Koira thought. She had hated seeing him look so concerned and... what was that expression he had had?
"Is there anything you would like me to do for you... Souji?" She asked, unsure what a female attendant was supposed to do for a samurai. Tetsunosuke already had most of the chores taken care of.
Souji looked at Koira, unsure of what to request. He should help her become accustomed to this role by giving her a simple task, but he had become so used to looking after himself that he was not sure what he needed help with.
"Ah, would you keep me company for the moment?" That would do until he could think of something more specific. He also thought that her presence would help to cheer up the room. He had been worrying about her since she had been given the job, unsure of how to handle the situation in a way that would help them both. She seemed surprised at this order, but the corners of her mouth and eyes lifted, and she smiled properly for the first time since he had saved her. She took his cup and poured more tea for him. That was when Tetsunosuke skidded into the room,
"Mr Okita! Pardon the interruption, but there's an intruder!" He announced loudly, before running off again. Souji quickly overtook him and Koira ran after them both, just keeping up with Tetsu, but Souji had now disappeared. In the direction he had run in, they could now hear the sound of swords clashing.
When Koira rounded the corner that lead to the north courtyard, she could see Shinsengumi members quickly gathering around two men. One was a stranger, but a skilled swordsmen, clearly a Choshu supporter. Some of the more inexperienced Shinsengumi members were trying to keep him busy, but Souji was now charging towards him, sword drawn. Koira ran over as fast as she could, she tried to push to the front of the crowd, but it took time to get past the strong men. By the time she had scrambled far enough to get a good view, Souji was already locked in combat with the stranger. This time nothing hid his eyes from her. She could see what he had meant about the blood lust, but she still saw no demon.
Souji was in dojo gear, with his hair tied up in a high ponytail, but he wore no armour. He was armed with his katana, but his opponent had a wakizashi too and several small weapons pouches attached to his obi. He dodged Souji's first strike, and reached into one of the small pouches, producing several small shuriken. He threw them before blocking the next lunge of Souji's sword. He dodged most of the shuriken, but one lodged itself in his left shoulder. Koira knew that the pain would be a distraction. Several men stepped forward but Souji stopped them,
"STAY BACK!" He ordered. They understood. They would be in the way if they interfered. Souji needed to be single-minded. Koira hoped that the shuriken had not cut too deep, and was not causing him too much pain. Souji dodged another round of shuriken and cut the stranger's side. He growled low in his throat and stabbed wildly at Souji. He moved away from the frenzy but was unable to dodge the stranger's leg swiping to knock him off his feet.
Koira found herself moving forward at the same time that the stranger realized he had successfully knocked over Souji, and might be able to win this fight. Koira would not let that happen. She could think of nothing else but making sure of this. Souji blocked the oncoming lunge with both hands against the flat side of his sword, but it began to cut into them as the man forced his strength into his arms. He suddenly pulled back and went to stike again. Souji tried to get up but was knocked back by the man's leg. He trapped Souji's sword against the floor with his free foot, and swung his sword down to Souji's neck.
Souji's eyes widened in anticipation of the blow that would surely sever his head from the rest of his body. He was knocked right out of this state of mind, and all that he could see in that moment, was the sandal-clad foot that collided with the side of his opponent with such force that he was sent flying towards the crowd. He saw the delicate kimono that covered the newcomer's leg, and the face of the woman who wore it. She was a firey blaze of resolve. She ran after the stranger the instant after her foot had connected with his rib cage. She brought both fists down on his head, before pulling him up again by the collar. She used the momentum of the pull to throw him in a circular motion in the opposite direction. He gasped for air, but it caught in his throat as he hit the ground again.
Souji came to his senses and jumped up in one swift movement, drawing his sword up and then down on the man's chest. The man lay there, trapped between his sword and the ground,
"Souji wait!" Hijikata's voice came from the crowd. Souji stood there breathing heavily and glaring, waiting to hear why he had to hold back: why he could not finish this man off, "He is Choshu, he could have useful information. He's immobile now, I'll take him for questioning." Souji wiped around his mouth with the back of his sleeve. He had been splattered with some of the man's blood when he had stabbed him in the chest. He looked up at Koira, and was surprised to see her sour expression.
Koira was looking down at the man on the floor with a look of disgust, as if she were about to spit on him. She was also breathing heavily, and her fists were shaking. Noticing Souji's gaze, her eyes moved to meet his. She saw his surprise, and hoped that he was not appalled by her behaviour. She gasped as her hands flew up to hide her shameful expression. How could she have interfered with a fight between two samurai? She had surely dishonoured them or broken some sort of code. She meant to flee the area but Souji grabbed her hand. She stumbled and barely managed to break her fall with her free hand.
"Oh I'm sorry!" Souji sounded so concerned that she couldn't help but turn to look at him, "I just didn't want you to leave. Please, you don't need to hide from me." His expression was so genuine that Koira felt like crying at the sight of it.
"But I disobeyed you..." She looked away again, trying to get up. Souji stood up with her. She noticed the shuriken still lodged in his shoulder, "Oh!" her hand moved hesitantly towards it. "Please let me take care of this." she searched his eyes carefully,
"Of course, you're my loyal attendant." Souji smiled now, he loosened his grip on her hand, and clasped it gently with both of his, before kissing her lightly on the forehead. Koira could not hide her coloured cheeks: He had shocked her into silence for that moment. The heat of his mouth on her skin made her weak at the knees. She wanted to kiss him back, but felt some strange barrier that she could not name. Was it the other men in the area? The shock at being kissed so suddenly. What did this even mean? Surely it was purely gratitude for her attempt to help him. After a few seconds she nodded, and went ahead of him to his room to prepare clean water and bandages.
