Disclaimer: I do not own any of the official Rurouni Kenshin/Samurai X characters. I do reserve the rights to all OCs
Changes in Friendship
Chapter Four
Tokio and Shousha knelt opposite the Shinsengumi men with two very different emotions. Tokio had her head held high, casting satisfied glances at Saitou whenever he looked her way. It was more often than he wanted, but he couldn't help it. He could feel her watching him. Her eyes were burning holes through the side of his head whenever he wasn't locked in a staring contest with the girl.
Shousha was uncomfortable. Though she and Okita had seemingly come to terms with his disappearance, she still harbored guilt over acting so childishly. It wasn't in her to apologize, not to him. He would look at her with his kind eyes and laugh it off. He never showed weakness. Sorrow and anger were two emotions that paved a direct path to weakness and if he couldn't be strong for her, how could he be strong for the men he had to lead?
Shousha sighed lightly, averting her eyes as he smiled in her direction. It wasn't like her to act so quietly, but she had doubted him and for that, she was having a hard time forgiving herself.
"So Shousha," It was Harada who broke the silence, not even bothering to swallow all of his food. " 'ow long you known Okita?"
Straightening, she turned to him. "All my life. We grew up together."
Nodding approvingly, he continued, "Now that you found him again, whatcha plannin' on doin with him?"
Shousha hadn't considered that. In her daydreams, life went on as it had before he had left, but he had duties now. Important duties. Duties that held their country's fate in their balance. How much time would he really have just to 'hang out' with her?
"I don't know," she answered slowly, wandering off in thought. "I used to keep him up all night, but now that he has important work to do, perhaps that won't be possible anymore."
Okita spit out his tea.
Hijikata raised an eyebrow.
Saitou stared in disgust.
Harada grinned.
"All night?"
Blinking, she nodded, then took a small bite of rice.
"Pray tell," Saitou drawled, "what exactly was it you were doing all night?"
Okita held up his hands and laughed nervously. "It's not like that," he protested.
Shousha, completely clueless to the innuendo she had presented, put a finger to her mouth, digging through some of her memories.
"It varied," she said after some thought.
There were several snickers around the room and Okita's face began to warm. She had no idea the fuel she was feeding to the perverse fire that would soon engulf the entire room. Harada punched Okita in the arm in a manly congratulatory sort of way.
"Though we had to be very quiet. I can only imagine what my parents would have done if they had found us. Soushi had snuck through my window and everything. It was all very improper."
Okita covered his face with his hands.
Hijikata looked as if he were to put a stop to the discussion but Harada was leaning forward intently, eagerly awaiting the next nugget of lewd teenage activity. "What was so improper?" he pressed, hoping for a slice of something to have over Okita.
Shousha smiled and lowered her voice as if even she were flustered by her actions. "I couldn't help myself around him."
Nodding quickly, the spiky haired man silently begged for more. Yes. This is it.
She sighed loudly, unsure if she wanted to disclose such a statement before so many men. Finally, she looked Harada directly in the eye.
"We talked for hours."
And just like that, the mood rushed from the room.
"Talked," Harada echoed. Hijikata relaxed and allowed for the conversation to continue.
"Oh yes," she swooned, "until the sun came up. We talked about everything. It was a wonder any of us ever got any sleep."
Settling back into a comfortable position, he gave her a lazy half-smile. "Well ain't that romantic."
"Ridiculous," Saitou spat. "No one cares about your frivolous adolescent fantasy world."
Tokio slid him a sly smile. "You sound jealous."
Furiously, he whipped his attention in her direction. "Jealous? Why would I ever be jealous of a couple of kids?"
She shrugged. "Why would you get so upset over a couple of kids?"
"Aw come on, buddy," Harada coaxed, "lighten up. It was a cute story. It's nice to hear about these things, yanno?"
Saitou bristled at being called 'buddy' and began to eat silently, his aura poisonous, his eyes focused with a deadly calm. He wouldn't give Harada the satisfaction of seeing him unnerved.
"Not to be insensitive Saitou-san," Okita began quietly, peering over at his friend, eyes brimming with concern, "but when was the last time you were with a woman?"
Saitou slammed down his rice bowl. That is enough.
"That is enough."
All attention turned to Hijikata who sat at the head of the room, looking at all of them with a cool and dominating air.
"This is not the type of conversation to be had in the presence of a pair of maidens," he said.
While Saitou was more than happy to drop the subject and Okita completely indifferent, Harada wasn't going to let it go without a struggle.
"They can handle it, Toshi. Trust me."
Hijikata's eye twitched. "Please. Enlighten me."
"Well that one," he continued, holding up a finger at Tokio, "she's feisty. I reckon there's worse spewin' from her mouth than anything we'll be sayin' in here."
Tokio sat, beaming.
"And that one," he moved his arm slightly to the left so his words were directed at Shousha, "doesn't have a clue as to what we're talking about."
"That's not true!" Shousha cried, knocking her chopsticks to the ground with her sleeve as she brandished her arm in protest.
Harada watched her amusedly as she fumbled for the lost utensils.
"Are you married, missy?"
"No I am not married," she retorted before adding quietly, "not yet."
"Then how is it that you are so knowledgeable of the fantastical world of intimacy?"
Okita wanted to leave the room. Harada was going to call her bluff and it would not end well. This was so typical of her, running her mouth and getting in over her head. Normally it was simple squabble with cocky rich young men who were her equals in mouth running, but this involved him and both of their reputations, for what they were worth, and he wasn't sure he wanted to stay and watch them crumble.
"Because I read," she stated simply. "I read all sorts of romantic stories."
It was true, if one considered fairy tales to be 'all sorts'.
She was too funny, really, and Harada was enjoying himself. She was holding her own thusfar, but he knew it was only a matter of minutes before she admitted defeat.
"So you've never had any affections from a young man, then?" he mused.
"I have." Her answer came so quickly, and with such resolve that it surprised even Tokio. Okita's eyes widened and even he was unsure as to whether or not it was true. (It wasn't.)
"Alright then. Let's see how much you've been taught."
Shousha leveled her gaze in a playful challenge. Even she knew she was about to lose. He had called her out, she had put up a good struggle, and she would go down fighting. Fighting or surrendering didn't matter, however. The fact of the matter was that she had lost. In front of an audience no doubt.
"Please," she invited, "issue your challenge."
Setting his chopsticks over his rice bowl, Harada crossed his arms and his face became solemn.
"Kiss Okita."
Instantly the entire room erupted.
"This is ridiculous!" Saitou shouted again.
"In public?" came the hurried whispers of some men, while others hooted in encouragement.
"Harada-san, really," Okita was saying, red faced and feeling slightly dizzy. "Please do not continue with this humiliation."
Shousha had nothing to say. The nail was in the coffin. She had been had. She was done. Dead. Gone. Finished.
There was no way she could comply with his request. Firstly, because Soushi was her best friend with whom (might she add) she had just been reunited after five years. Secondly, as much as she enjoyed rebellious activity, such a public display of affection was beyond even her moral standings. Thirdly, and possibly the most important of all, she had never kissed anyone before. She didn't know how.
All of the commotion was brought to a halt, a sudden and eerie silence, when Kondo Isami walked into the room. Even Harada lost his mischievous facade. Shousha's face began to burn with embarrassment and shame under his gaze. She knew that he was the leader here. She knew that he was powerful, but she wasn't fearful. The only thing she was afraid of was his disappointment.
"I believe," he began softly, watching as all his men straightened and rightened themselves from their unruly behavior, "that we should move to a more polite topic of discussion. To speak of such vulgarities are one thing, but to put such a hard request on an unmarried woman will not be tolerated."
His emphasis on her being unmarried made Okita regret the situation even more. This was all so inappropriate. Of the men, only Hijikata noticed his leader's quick wink at Shousha. He was rescuing her.
"Thank you, Kondo-san. er, sama," she said quietly, bowing perfectly as she had that morning to a more stony man. It was well rehearsed and for the few seconds she performed it, every man in that room was convinced she would make a lovely wife.
Every man except for Saitou, naturally, who was shooting daggers out his eyes at the woman across from him making faces at him from behind her hands.
Kondo bowed lightly in reply. "You have grown to be a very beautiful young woman, Shousha. I pray for your happiness."
"Thank you," she said, raising herself to a more upright kneeling position.
He looked down at her and rubbed his chin. "Though perhaps you should consider your words more carefully next time."
She lowered her head again. He wasn't reprimanding or warning her, he was looking out for her as he often had. This was something about Kondo that she always admired. As strong as he was and as many skills he possessed as a swordsman, it was always his words that made him memorable. Ever since she was a child, he had known what to say, how to say it, and when. It was amazing.
When he had nothing further to say, she raised her head and gave him a devilish grin, "Or perhaps I should consider my opponent."
Surprised, but not offended, Kondo turned to Okita who, without realizing it, was beaming with pride.
"She's got a quick tongue, Okita. Why did it take you so long to return her to us?"
"I don't know, Kondo-sama," he said innocently rubbing the back of his head, "look at all the commotion she has caused on the first day. I don't imagine we'd get much done if this were a daily occurrence."
Kondo let his eyes linger on the two women for a moment before speaking, switching his gaze between Okita and Shousha as he did so.
"Maybe we need a little bit of laughter in this place. It's been too long since the old days."
Both friends knew exactly what he had meant. Both friends felt their heartbeat quicken. Both friends couldn't help but feel it was fate.
Okita stood to leave and in doing so, offered his hand to Shousha. They had gotten off to a bumpy start, but Kondo had seen to it that they smooth things over. To everyone else in the room, their leader's words had been an excuse for the drama that had just taken place, a go ahead for them to enjoy themselves, if only for a few minutes. But they knew better. The words hadn't been an excuse, but aninvitation.
Shousha was going to stay.
xxxx
A sharp slap echoed throughout the Yamata house. The master of the house, Yamata Mori stood straight, tall, and proper. His wife Kanako sat rigid and furious behind him. Shousha stood proudly before her father, cheek stinging but refusing to let any tears fall. She would cry later.
I'm leaving.
The words had not gone over well with her parents. Her normally calm and passive father had wasted no time in displaying his disapproval.
"How dare you," he hissed, "Are you that ungrateful?"
"I'm not ungrateful, father," she replied, squaring her shoulders, "You and mother both have expressed your desire to be rid of me and I am honoring your request."
He slapped her again.
"I will not allow it!" he bellowed.
Kanako steeled her gaze on her daughter. "Do you imagine yourself so capable, my dear? Do you believe that you will survive on your own, without a penny to your name?"
Shousha bit down on her lip to calm her desire to cry. Her father's hand was large and strong, his movements quick and painful. She had expected this, but it hurt just as well.
"I am not asking your permission," she said quietly. "I am leaving. Do not seek me out."
She turned on her heel, but stopped her steps when her mother had lowered her voice to a soft and deadly whisper.
"Why?"
"It is something I must do."
Mori stood where he was, rage seeping out through every pore. He would let her go, his monster daughter. She had brought enough shame to him with her constant disobedience that he saw no real reason to keep her. When the time was right, he would fetch her and she would rue the day she had ever spoken out against him.
He addressed her coldly before she could leave. "When the world is cruel to you, remember that you have no home."
She didn't acknowledge his threat. "I will be taking my maid," she said simply before heading up the stairs for what she fully intended to be the last time.
Once in her bedroom, she clutched her cheek and allowed tears to fall. It had been nearly a week since she had found Soushi and though they had spent a significant amount of time planning how she could come to stay with him, she had surprised herself by pulling it off.
Tokio entered then and with a congratulatory smile, handed her friend a cold cloth.
"It's worth it, isn't it?" she said grinning. "You're free now."
It would be worth it. For all that she had done to rebel against her parents, she was still at their mercy. They fed her, they clothed her, and their status in society, their constant tug of war between the Shogunate and the patriots had ensured her safety. It was something they had always held over her.
You're safe with us.
Be grateful for your position.
We are all you have.
And then there was marriage. Nothing she could do would change the fact that her parents owned her and would eventually have the final say in terms of her groom. She could fall madly in love with the perfect man, but he was not who her parents had chosen, and she wouldn't have any power against them. In the end, she would be alone again.
Not this time. She would be free now and though she had no money, no status, and no name to speak of, she could make her own decisions without fearing the consequences.
Okita appeared in her window then, and his excited expression dropped to one of concern as he noticed the side of her face that was beginning to turn an uninviting shade of burgundy.
"Shou-chan! Your face!" he cried in a whisper, not wanting to stir the house anymore than she already had. Anger swelled up in him, but rolled away like the tide as she laughed at him.
"It doesn't hurt anymore," she told him, "but it was worth it."
She had lied to him, he knew it, but he didn't mind. She had always been that way, pretending her wounds didn't hurt, then secretly nursing herself back to health in the privacy of her own room. Of all the things that had or hadn't changed over the years, he was glad that was among them.
"Are you ready?" he asked her gently, holding out a calloused hand. They had done this plenty of times, escaping out her window, but this excited him more than any of their silly adolescent adventures. Tonight, they were unstoppable.
Shousha turned to Tokio who nudged her forward. "Go. I'll follow."
Grinning, she took his hand, allowing him to hold her as one might a bride. Tokio placed a small bag of belongings in Shousha's lap and with a smile, Okita hopped down from the window and into the night.
"This is so exciting, Soushi!" Shousha whispered as they crept along the walls of her house. It would only be a matter of minutes before Tokio emerged from the servants' entrance and the two of them made their new home with the Shinsengumi men and their wives.
He stopped suddenly, making a quick reach for her hand and pulling her against him as he flattened himself against the wall. He knew just as well as anyone how unpredictable her parents were. They might have let her walk out on them, but he wouldn't put it past them to have guards set on them as they made their escape. There was no doubt in his mind that he could have taken each and every one on his own, but Shousha was coming to live with him so he could better protect her. He wouldn't kill before her eyes.
"Sshh," he whispered against her cheek, hearing faint, yet determined footsteps. They weren't Tokio's; they were far too masculine.
Feeling his breath against her skin, Shousha's stomach did a flip, then shot up to her throat. One of his hands had its fingers entwined in her own, and the other on the hilt of his wakizashi, arm crossed over her midsection protectively. She ran through all of her memories as best she could, but none of them showed her anything like this. Never had they been so close for such a long period of time.
"Ta-chan," she breathed, allowing the nickname to linger on her lips for a second.
He tensed and squeezed her hand in reply. There was something in her voice that he didn't recognize. Something she hadn't even been aware of. It sent tingles up his spine and into his toes.
The footsteps subsided and he allowed his hand to drop from the hilt of his sword. The closeness to Shousha was starting to make him dizzy so, careful not to let go of her hand, he moved further along the wall of the house. They were almost at the servants' entrance. They just had to pass the drawing room and-
They both froze.
xxxx
A strong hand on the back of her kimono ripped Tokio from all of her excited thoughts. She let out a scream, but when she was thrown to the floor and looked up at her attacker, her mouth closed instantly.
Kanako stood above her, all grace and poise having vanished with her daughter.
"M-m-mistress!" Tokio sputtered in genuine surprise and horror. How much had she seen?
"Get up!" Kanako spat.
Tokio did as she was told, despite her desire to point out that it was her mistress that had put her on the ground in the first place. Her feet weren't upright for a second before she was pulled again, this time out of the room and down the stairs.
Tokio didn't fight. There were plenty of people whom she had no problem standing her ground with, but both Mori and Kanako were out of her league. It wasn't that she wouldn't be able to shock them into silence, or send them running in fear for their reputation, but they had a distinct power over her, much as they had with Shousha.
It was a power Tokio couldn't run from.
"I know you have something to do with this," Kanako hissed as she pushed the tiny maid into the drawing room and slammed the giant doors behind her. They locked with a distinct 'click'.
"I don't know anything, mistress," she protested, "I promise!"
Eyes flashing, the older woman pointed a threatening finger at her. "You are the only person on this earth that Shousha has a consistent relationship with. Don't you dare tell me she never even gave you so much as a clue."
Think Tokio. Think. What could she say? What was there to say? Everyone in the house knew they were friends, as much as everyone disapproved. She couldn't deny it.
"She- She did talk about leaving," she stalled, "but I never knew she was serious."
Calming, Kanako took a step back. "See? That wasn't so hard. Now, tell me where she went."
"She didn't say."
"I find that hard to believe," Shousha's mother scoffed. "You and I both know how many ludicrous dreams that girl has."
"Honest, ma'am she never told me."
"Lying is not becoming, Tokio."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Surely your father would be disappointed should he not have the funds to-"
"EDO!" Tokio screamed.
Kanako smiled.
Taking a long breath, Tokio continued. "She went to Edo to find her friend Soushi. She couldn't bear being away from him any longer."
Then, something strange happened. Kanako began to laugh. It was terrifying, how quickly the woman's emotions changed and Tokio soon found herself gripping the arm of a chair lest she need to hide behind something.
"What a fool," the old woman said, wiping her eyes as tears began to fall. Her laughter continued to ring out throughout the giant room and Tokio shifted her gaze uneasily.
"Pardon?"
It took Kanako some time to recover, but when she did, she stared at the maid with a crazed smile.
"Don't you see? It's so ironic."
"I. . .I'm not sure I understand, mistress," Tokio whispered carefully.
"Soushi isn't in Edo. He's here in Kyoto and he has been for four years." Kanako started to chuckle again. "He has been right under her foolish little nose this whole time."
Tokio smiled as well. It seemed they had bested her after all.
xxxx
Shousha picked at her bottom lip as she often did when she was nervous or contemplating something. The scene that was playing out in the house before them was not at all a part of their plan and there was no way around it.
"What do we do?" Okita whispered, wincing as Kanako gave Tokio a verbal beating.
"There's nothing we can do," Shousha mused. "But it'll be alright. Tokio's tough. She'll be able to hang on for a little while."
Okita looked doubtful. "I can kidnap her," he suggested, but Shousha shook her head.
"We can't do anything that might turn out to reflect poorly on her. My parents pay well and Tokio's family is in great need. I am not willing to risk her family's livelihood and neither is she."
Nodding in agreement, he stole away from the house, hand still gripping hers.
"When the time comes, she will join us," he assured her as he broke out into an excited sprint. "Until then, we shall have to come up with many excuses for her to see us."
As they ran down the blackened streets, Shousha finally felt it. She felt the wind against her face and the roughness of Okita's hands. She felt the moisture of every puddle they hopped over and how tragically uneven the roads were in some spots. She felt happy, she felt exhilarated. She was nervous, she was ambitious.
She was free.
xxxx
