Chapter 4: A promise beneath the stars

Saturday, September 9, 2017

5:37 PM

After Abigail's sparring match with Saito, she decided to go back to her room to rest. So, I might be able to meet Chizuru Abigail thought happily, to then suddenly be interrupted by a grim thought But wait… if she does appear… then that means that Hijikata will… she immediately blinked, her eyes widening in shock at her own thoughts. "Why did I just… Why was I thinking about Hijikata-san?" she asked out loud, not noticing there was someone standing at the frame of her door.

"Me? What happened with me?" A deep, male voice interrupted her monologue. Abigail's eyes widened in pure fear and shock, turning around almost instinctively.

"A-ah… H-Hijikata-san… I didn't notice you here." she said nervously, looking around him as if to make sure someone was standing behind him to make a lie about it. Noticing no one else was with him, she started growing anxious, her cheeks turning a bright red.

Hijikata looked at her coldly yet curiously What's with this girl? He thought. "Everything alright? I can call Yamazaki if you are feeling sick."

"N-no it's alright! Don't worry about me, I'm fine I promise!" she exclaimed, making his eyes widen slightly in surprise. Oh no! I'm making a fool of myself!

"Well, if you insist, I was just making sure everything was ok. After that match with Saito I thought you might have been tired." he simply said, turning around and walking out of her room, closing the door shut behind him.

Abigail stood there frozen, her eyes wide in fear What… why do I feel so… broken right now… she thought as her legs started failing her, making her fall on her knees. Now I remember… he is my favorite character from the series… seeing him up so close has made me fall for him…. But… if Chizuru appears… I got no other choice but to stay out of his path… Sobbing silently, she watched as her own tears fell on the wooden floor. She quickly covered her mouth with one hand to avoid any noise to come out of it as she cried all alone in her room.

Hijikata, on the other hand, was standing silently on the other side of the sliding door, staring aimlessly at the blue sky Abigail… such a mysterious girl. He simply thought as he then walked away from her room towards the lunch room.

As he walked, Okita was walking towards him "Hijikata-san? What's with that face? Are you thinking about another poem perhaps?" Okita asked, smirking teasingly.

"Not now Souji… I got work to do." Hijikata replied, walking past the teasing man. Okita looked at him surprised.

I can't believe this! What made Hijikata act so serious all of a sudden?! He thought, looking at the direction Hijikata came from. "Wait a second…" thinking a bit harder, Okita then noticed the room at the end of the hall Abigail?

After around 15 minutes of continuous crying, Abigail had fallen asleep on the floor. Her hair spread around her like silver strings. Her cheeks and nose colored a soft pink, a clear proof that she was crying herself to sleep. It was a normal thing for her already, she had to learn to keep her emotions to herself in high school, for she used to be bullied a lot for being "too nice" towards others. She quickly drifted off to the land of dreams…

"Abigail… promise me you won't do anything stupid…" he mom pleaded as she walked out of the house in the middle of the night. Ignoring her mother, Abigail was now on her way to town, where she would meet with the same girl that 'accidentally' cut her arm with a pocket knife. Her school, though it was one of the most prestigious in academics, was still in the middle of a drug-dealing sector, so any type of white arms was secretly infiltrated by the students closest to the drug-dealer boss.

With only 18 years old, Abigail had developed a strong sense of independence, including dealing with these kind of affairs by herself. After a 5 minute walk she was already at the alley entrance. Looking around, the alley was dark, for no lights were allowed to be turned on by the drug-dealers of the specific sector. Glaring darkly at her destination, Abigail decided to walk inside, her eyes slowly turning from amethyst to light blue. Once she reached her destination, she found the other girl, standing besides a dangerous looking man with short hair and short beard.

"Are you the bitch who told my girlfriend to meet you here?" the man asked in a loud yet intimidating voice.

Abigail did not respond, just simply glared at the girl by his side.

"Hey! I'm talking to you! Answer me or I will kill you right on the spot!" the man yelled, the girl smirking at Abigail, as if waiting for her to be scared by her boyfriend's words.

Abigail then turned her gaze towards the man "Kill me…?" she said darkly, barely audible.

"That's right bitch! For not answering me and for threatening my girl!" the man yelled yet again, to which Abigail simply smirked.

"Try it." she taunted, the man quickly pulling out his gun and shooting it at her. But Abigail dodged the bullet, and in a flash was standing in front of the man, slightly crouched down. The man's eyes widened in fear, almost popping out of his eye sockets as Abigail looked up at him with her gleaming, light blue eyes. Her eyes no longer looked human, her glare resembling how a predator looks at it's prey. She then smiled, "I said… try it." she repeated. Not giving the man a chance to respond or even move, Abigail pulled a kitchen knife out of her pocket and slashed the man in two, killing him on the spot.

As his blood covered her face, she turned to look at the girl, who was now on the floor, shaking and crying in fear "P-please… d-don't hurt me…" the girl pleaded. Abigail slowly walking to her.

Looking down at the girl with her demonic eyes, Abigail was slightly curious at what the girl was saying "Huuuh… now you are asking me to not hurt you? That will not be, suffer the same pain I suffered when you got cocky on me." she answered darkly, quickly pulling at the girl's arm, who started screaming. Slowly and carefully, Abigail drew the knife to the girl's skin, cutting through it ever so slowly. The girl screamed and thrashed around, making Abigail glare at her "Stay still or it won't be as perfect."

"It hurts! Stop it! It hurts!" the girl screamed as Abigail finished cutting through the girl's arm. Once finished, Abigail rolled her sleeves up to her shoulder, showing the girl her own arm. On Abgail's arm was the scar of a deep looking wound, a single line going across her arm horizontally. Abigail then smiled "Now we are the same, we got the exact same wound." she said, walking away from the girl and the alley. Almost getting out of the darkness, Abigail suddenly collapsed, panting harshly as her eyes turned back to normal. And as her vision faded away, she could see the silhouette of the first man she ever loved.

"Kino…" she said as her vision went black.

"Abigail?! Abigail!" someone yelled her name from afar, getting closer and louder as she slowly woke up.

"Abigail! Are you alright?!" it was none other than Harada, and beside him were Shinpachi and Heisuke, looking extremely worried.

"Harada-san… not so loud please…" she complained groggily, rubbing her eyes gently as she sat up. Yawning once she looked around her "What's wrong? Did someone steal Heisuke's food again…?"

To her words, the three men looked at each other, first in shock, then Heisuke and Shinpachi started laughing loudly. "I cannot believe her! That's the first thing she says?!" Shinpachi yelled, still laughing.

Harada then looked at her, his eyes full of worry "What were you doing on the floor?" he asked.

Abigail blinked, remembering what she had done earlier in the day "Oh… I was so tired after the match I had with Saito that I fell asleep before reaching the tatami." she answered.

Harada then smiled, petting her head "You silly girl…" Abigail looked at him, and after a few seconds she realized what he called her. Girl?! How old does he think I am?! She thought furiously. Looking down, Abigail started shivering wildly, making Harada blink. "Uh… Abigail?" he asked.

She then looked up, glaring at him "GIRL?! HOW OLD DO YOU THINK I AM?!" she yelled, the three men jumping from the shock. Hugging each other, Shinpachi and Heisuke trembled in fear, Harada lifted his two hands, surprised.

"Uh… wait a second… how old are you?" he asked, then footsteps were heard towards them.

"Why don't you try guessing?!" she yelled annoyingly as the others arrived, looking at the show. She was now standing up, her hands balled into fists that rested on both side of her hips as she looked down at the still kneeling Harada.

Okita then looked down at Shinpachi and Heisuke "What happened?" It was Heisuke who answered.

"Sano-san called Abigail a silly girl and then she got mad." He looked at her scared for his life.

Harada scratched the back of his head "Uh… maybe… 18?"

Abigail's left eye twitched "Too young!" she yelled, crossing her arms in front of her chest "For your information… I am 21 years old." she said, turning her head to the left with her eyes closed.

Hijikata was walking towards where the group of captains were gathered, sighing in frustration. "What are you imbeciles doi-" he was cut off by the surprised yell of Shinpachi.

"You are 21?! You don't look that age to me!" Seeing the scene before him, Hijikata noticed they were talking about Abigail, who seemed to still be irritated for some reason. Hijikata then cleared his throat loudly as to make his prescence noticeable, everyone then looking at him, even Abigail, with surprised eyes.

"What in the world is going on here? Why are you all in a woman's room?" Hijikata said, glaring at them, annoyed.

It was Heisuke who started talking "Uhm… I don't know about the others, but Shinpachi and I asked Sano-san to look for Abigail for dinner, and when we noticed he was taking his time we came to check what was happening, apparently Abigail was fast asleep and wasn't waking up. Then when Sano-san called Abigail a girl she got mad."

Hijikata looked at Heisuke with a dumbfound expression, then looked at the others "And what about the others?"

Souji then spoke "We heard Abigail scream, and we decided to come here and check what was going on." he smirked "Then we saw both Heisuke and Shinpachi hugging themselves in fear as Abigail told them her age." He started chuckling mischievously at them.

"W-we were not!" Shinpachi yelled, Heisuke following suit.

"T-That's right!" Heisuke stuttered, his face flushed red in embarrassment.

Hijikata cleared his throat again, trying to catch their attention, but this time he was completely ignored. Abigail stood in the middle of the room, looking down. Her long bangs covering her eyes, her hands balled into fists, trembling slightly. Hijikata noticed, and was trying to silently signal her, when she suddenly looked at the ones making the fuss, annoyed.

She punched Heisuke, Shinpachi and Okita on their heads, the three of them groaning in pain and rubbing their heads "Aren't you three forgetting something?! This is MY room! If you want to cause a commotion take it outside my room!" she yelled, the ones outside had already moved out of the way, Abigail pushing the other three out of the room.

"H-Hey Abigail, not so hard." Okita complained.

"You were making quite a commotion, you deserve this." she simply said. Once they were out of her room, she looked back at it, noticing that Harada was already walking out as well.

"I think it's dinner time, right Abigail?" he said, smiling at her, as if telling her to leave them be. She quickly let go of them, nodding and smirking.

"Yep, don't want the food to go cold." she said as she closed the door of her room and walked with Harada, Hijikata and Saito towards the dinning room. The other three looking at them with wide and confused eyes.

After a quiet dinner, Abigail decided to take a quick bath. She came out wearing a long purple sleeping dress, loose yet marking her curves really well. She sat over the wooden floor in front of her room and looked up to the stars. "Kino… I'm sorry… I think… my heart already belongs to someone else… but I won't forget you." she whispered, her eyes shining their natural amethyst color as the moonlight illuminated her. Her glance was sad, but satisfied at the same time. But if Chizuru appears… She blinked, her eyes widening at her thought, then she looked down "That's right… If she appears… it will be in vain, won't it…?" she said softly.

Tears formed in her eyes quickly Why am I being this heartbroken? It has only been a month since I got here… it's too early to fall for anyone… she thought to herself, crying silently.

"Abi?" she heard a familiar voice in her head, and she immediately looked up.

It was Kino, standing right in front of her. "Abi, what's wrong?" he asked.

"I'm sorry Kino… my heart belongs to someone else… but it cannot be…" she sobbed softly. Kino walked towards her, it was then that she noticed something odd. "Kino… you're wearing white?" The tall, tanned young man was dressed in elegant white clothes, and he smiled at her.

"I died, remember? I came here to check one last time on you… I heard your cries." He said, his hand touching her right cheek gently. Her eyes widened in shock as she felt… nothing.

She looked up at him "Kino… I can't feel your warm hand… you really are gone, aren't you?" he nodded at her question. Hijikata was silently walking towards his room, when he noticed Abigail staring at the distance.

"Kino… what should I do? The one I have feelings for will soon meet someone that will stay with him forever…" she said, Hijikata's eyes widening She's talking to herself?

Kino then pulled his hand away from her cheek, signaling her to stand up "Abi, remember what I told you?" she looked at him, confused, as she stood up. "Whenever you're feeling lost, I told you to look at the stars right?"

Abigail nodded "Yes, I remember…" she said as she looked up at the sky. Kino then walked to her, giving her a hug she couldn't feel.

"Promise me, right here, under the stars, that you won't lose yourself. I cannot say anything about your situation right now, I am just a ghost trying to ease the pain in you, but promise me to stay yourself and look at the stars every time you are lost." at his words, Abigail started crying, nodding slightly.

"I promise… Kino." she said between sobs and tears, as she tried to hug him, ending up hugging herself. He then smiled and kissed her forehead gently.

"Thank you for those wonderful short years Abi, they were my best 3 years alive. And please, don't forget about me." he said as he walked back so she could see him. She looked up at him, noticing he had started to disappear, waving his hand. "Goodbye hun."

Her eyes widened, and she tried reaching for him "Kino wait!" but he had already disappeared completely, and she tripped over her feet, landing on her knees. Crying loudly, she pressed her forehead against the soft grass, her long, now loose hair covering her shoulders and face almost completely. Hijikata, unable to believe his eyes, rushed to her side, kneeling down close to her.

"Abigail." he said softly, making her gasp. Underneath her hair, her eyes widened Why him? Out of all people… him! She thought as she lifted her face, looking at him in surprise. Her now messy hair fell all around her face and shoulders, reaching the ground. Tears still running down her red cheeks, she couldn't look away from the man she had developed feelings for. "Abigail… are you alright?" he asked softly, but clearly worried.

"H-Hijikata… san…" She said as she fainted in his arms. Hijikata was shocked, for he never thought the energetic woman would collapse like that. He then started shifting her so he could carry her to her room, when he touched her arm he noticed something strange. She's burning up? But she doesn't seem in pain or close to catch a cold… he thought. He then carried her on his arms, seeing her sleep peacefully. Then another man appeared from the shadows, it was Saito.

"Vice commander…" Saito started, Hijikata meeting his eyes.

"Saito, call Yamazaki, she isn't sick but her temperature is abnormally high." he said, the captain simply nodded and walked away. Opening the door to her room and laying her down gently on the tatami, He heard footsteps coming their way. Saito and Yamazaki were at the door frame, waiting for their vice commander to give them instructions. Hijikata looked at them with his usual serious but concerned face "Yamazaki, I believe Saito let you know what's happening." at this, Yamazaki just nodded once.

"If you permit it, may I check on her, just to make sure?" Yamazaki asked courteously, bowing to his superior. Hijikata nodded.

"Yes, do what you must." saying this, Hijikata stood up and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him and letting Yamazaki do his thing. Around 10 minutes had passed, Hijikata and Saito making some conversation while they wait for some news about the woman's well being.

"Vice-commander, I am curious about something…" Saito started in his quiet, serene voice.

Hijikata looked at him with only one eye open "Yes? What is it Saito?"

"Abigail… she's strong, physically strong, but when I was fighting with her I noticed something odd." Saito started, looking at the wooden floor.

"And what was that?" Hijikata asked.

"She was wavering, it seemed she was using the fight not just to train, but to keep her mind away from something that is haunting her." Saito lifted his gaze to the sky, his azure eyes now showing a bit of concern.

Hijikata, thinking it's the first time he had seen Saito show such concern over someone other than the Shinsengumi, smiled slightly In such a short time she has made this impact on us. He then remembered what he had seen before, a sad Abigail talking by herself as if someone was right in front of her. He raised his right hand, holding his chin in thought "Now that you mention it… I did see her talking as if someone was with her, before she collapsed I mean." Saito then looked at his vice-commander in question.

"'As if', vice-commander?" Saito asked, not understanding what Hijikata had meant with that.

Hijikata nodded "Yes, she was all alone, yet she spoke as if someone only she could see was right there listening to her."

Saito's eye widened in horror "You mean… she could probably see and talk to ghosts?"

"More or less." Hijikata said thoughtfully, then a certain line came into mind "The one I have feelings for will soon meet someone that will stay with him forever…" is what she had said, and he blinked as soon as he noticed he had been thinking about that particular sentence. He frowned slightly, then the door was opened behind him. Yamazaki held a serious look on his face. "What is it Yamazaki?"

"Sir… you have to see this." he said, almost asking for them to rush inside. When they got inside her room, Yamazaki walked to her, looking at his vice-commander and the captain by his side "How long has it been since she arrived?" he asked. Both Hijikata and Saito looked at each other, then Hijikata looked at Yamazaki with a grim face.

"Around a month, why?" Hijikata asked I have a bad feeling about this… he thought.

"If I remember correctly, Abigail had a big piece of glass stabbing her shoulder, and as far as I recall, it was a pretty deep wound, enough to make her unable to move her arm for about a month." Yamazaki started.

"Where are you getting with this?" Hijikata asked.

"Well…" Yamazaki said, pulling the sleeve on her left shoulder and revealing her skin. Hijikata and Saito's eyes widened in horror. The wound that was supposed to still be healing was completely gone, as if it never happened.

"A Fury?" Saito asked, and Yamazaki shook his head.

"Not exactly, from my experience with Furies, they have cold skin, or regular body temperature, in her case, I checked her temperature, which is inexplicably higher than that of a normal human, for not having a fever or being sick that is." Yamazaki looked at Hijikata "Vice-commander, I had never seen something like this before, a human that has the Fury's abilities, yet it's not a Fury."

"I agree, this is certainly strange, we will ask her tomorrow when she wakes up, for now, I think it's best we let her sleep." Hijikata said, looking at the other two "This will stay between us, no one else is to know of this, understood?"

"Yes sir." the other two responded in unison, then they walked out of her room, Hijikata being the last one heading out. He stood at the doorframe and looked back to the sleeping Abigail.

"I heard you promise something earlier tonight… now I promise to keep this secret of yours." And with that, he got out of the room and closed the door behind him, leaving only but darkness.