The last few days had been entirely hellish for Keiko.
Okita had kept a very close eye on Keiko after she had revealed some of her true self in front of him. He was extremely distrustful of her, she could tell, yet he had yet to mention what he saw to Hijikata or to Kondo. Keiko suspected that he was keeping the information to himself in order to blackmail her in the future. In any case, he had made it very clear to her that he was suspicious of her, more so than ever now.
On top of that, Shinpachi had outright refused to even look at her after the night's events.
While it was painfully obvious that he was upset with everyone, save for Heisuke, Shinpachi was especially cold towards Keiko. After her own self admittance of her feelings, after finally pushing through her fear and doubt, after finally opening herself up to the opportunity to love.
And now he hated her.
Keiko sighed in a dramatic manner as she sat on the porch, leaning back on her palms with her eyes closed and head back. It was beginning to get colder out, but that didn't bother Keiko. She had always been exceptionally tolerant of colder weather, perhaps due to the fact that she had lived for years atop a mountain. It was much colder up there, even during the summer months.
Keiko opened her eyes and stared up at the sky. Light grey clouds were starting to gently roll over the sky, blocking out the warmth of the sun. Keiko idly thought that perhaps it would finally snow tonight.
"Oi! Ayama-san!" Heisuke called out to her, and Keiko lazily turned her head to her left to see Heisuke casually walking over towards her. She had a tired look on her face, and Heisuke smirked as he sat down next to her. "You look so gloomy. Guys don't like that you know." He stated with a grin on his face. Keiko rolled her eyes but couldn't help but to warmly smile back at him.
"What do you want Heisuke." Keiko stated, pushing herself to sit up straighter beside him. He folded his arms across his chest before letting out a sigh. He turned to look at her with a hard stare.
"It's about Shinpatsu-san." He said bluntly. Keiko looked over at Heisuke, meeting his gaze for a moment. However, she couldn't hold it. She was wracked with guilt over the events of that night. She looked down at the ground, waiting for Heisuke to continue.
"Ayama-san, he won't even tell me about it. I know something happened, because if I even mention your name he freaks out!" Heisuke reached out and placed a hand on Keiko's shoulder. "So tell me what happened. Maybe I can help."
Keiko looked up at him to see a light smile on his face, a trusting smile. She shook her head, looking away again. "Heisuke… It's, uhm, complicated." She started, and she felt his hand fall from her shoulder as she spoke. Keiko paused for a moment, trying to find the words to describe what happened. "We had a very intense discussion when we went outside. A very personal discussion." Keiko added the second part in, emphasizing that their confessions were personal matters, stopping Heisuke in his attempt to push for more details. Keiko sighed as she finally addressed what she thought was wrong.
"I think that Shinpachi-san thinks I was lying." She stated, staring back up at the clouds. Heisuke tilted his head to the side.
"Lying?" He repeated, more confused than before. Keiko nodded.
"As I said, we discussed some very personal matters. I suspect that he thinks I was lying about everything I said to him in order to distract him from going home." Keiko clarified for him, and Heisuke nodded, his brows furrowing together.
"Okay… Well, were you lying?" He asked, looking up at her. Keiko started at this, her head snapping over to stare into Heisuke's clear blue eyes.
"Of course not!" Keiko blurted, a heavy feeling settling into her chest. "In fact… I had actually forgotten all about my orders while we were talking. It is true, at first I was trying to think of a way to distract him. But once we started talking about-" Keiko cut her sentence short when she realized what she was saying. She didn't know why, but she didn't want to divulge to Heisuke what had gone on between her and Shinpachi that night. She felt a bit embarrassed by her actions and disclosing what had happened with Heisuke… Well, she thought that he may not entirely understand. Or perhaps she was still afraid of opening up to people.
She swallowed a lump in her throat before attempting to continue.
"Once we got into talking, I completely forgot about my orders. Nothing I said was a lie, nor was I exaggerating to keep him occupied. I was completely honest at that time." Heisuke nodded, his right arm folded across his chest while his left was resting on top, his left index finger lightly tapping his chin in thought. He stared up at the darkening sky, deep in thought.
"Do you regret it?" He asked, still tapping his chin as he gazed up at the sky. Keiko's eyes lowered.
"More than anything." She murmured. "I've never felt like this before, where I've so badly wanted to take back my own actions. By not telling him, I betrayed him. I feel… ashamed." Keiko couldn't bare to look at him after that. She really did feel shameful, a feeling which was completely new to her. She wanted more than anything to take everything back, mission be damned.
"Well." Heisuke stood up abruptly, startling Keiko out of her thoughts. He stomped in front of her in an exaggerated manner, before pointing at her dramatically. She started at the sudden movement.
"Ayama-san. You were given orders to distract myself and Shinpatsu-san on that night. In other words, you were ordered, by the demon himself, to directly betray our trust! Is that correct?" He asked, a little too loudly. Keiko looked around in a hurry, searching to make sure they were completely alone. Once she was sure no one was eavesdropping, she looked up at him sheepishly and nodded. Heisuke smiled. "Then is it not also true that you may have been kicked out, or even possibly made to commit seppuku, had you denied that request? That if you were to abide by your friends, you would be betraying your commander?" Heisuke's grin had grown impossibly wide by now, and Keiko could not understand how he was possibly so… pure. She nodded slowly in response to his assumptions.
"See then? By betraying us you were doing right by us!" Keiko tilted her head in confusion, raising a brow at the joyful boy before her. "If you were to disobey Hijikata-san or Kondo-san, you would be cast out, one way or another. So then we wouldn't be able to see you anymore, and the Shinsengumi would have lost one hell of a warrior!" Keiko's eyes widened. She had never thought of it that way before. She clasped her hands together and placed them on her legs, her grip tightening so much her knuckles went white.
She looked back up at Heisuke with a slight smile that reached her eyes. "Thank you, Heisuke." She said quietly as she stared into his teal orbs. Heisuke nodded, placing his hands on his hips.
"If you're feeling up to it, you want to spar for a bit?" He asked gently, and Keiko nodded eagerly. She needed to blow off a bit of steam. Heisuke laughed at her energetic reply. "Okay, and if you want to, afterwards we can go out and grab a drink!" He enthused, reaching a hand out to help her up off the porch. Keiko took his hand gladly.
"Sure thing. Feeling bad now that you've realized that you guys never bothered to invite me out anywhere?" She teased lightly, a sly smile playing on her lips. Heisuke chuckled as he pulled her up.
"Heh, you caught me." He grinned, reaching up to scratch his cheek as he looked away in lighthearted guilt. The two of them began to casually walk towards the training grounds. They walked in a comfortable silence, Heisuke leading and Keiko following behind.
Keiko was truly glad for Heisuke's friendship. She had been wracked with guilt for the last few days, and even if only slightly, Heisuke had lifted some of that from her shoulders just by being there for her. He was doing everything he could think of to cheer her up. And she was certain that he was doing the same for Shinpachi.
As she stared at Heisuke's back, his long ponytail swishing from side to side, Keiko smiled. He's really a wonderful boy. She thought, just as the pair had reached the training grounds.
Keiko headed to the rack which held all of the training weapons, reaching for one of the heavier mock spears. She held the weapon at arms reach, balancing it out in her palm to test it's weight. She spun it in front of her a few times, then nodded to herself, pleased with it's performance. She turned to Heisuke then who was idly swinging his bokken as he waited for her.
"You ready?" He asked casually, his feet planted firmly as he pointed his wooden sword at Keiko. She smirked in response.
"Are you?" Keiko didn't give Heisuke time to answer, as she had lunged forward and swung her spear down at him in a powerful strike. Heisuke countered her attack flawlessly, sliding his own sword down her weapon to strike at her torso. Keiko lifted her spear away and spun around, gracefully avoiding Heisuke's counter-attack. When she turned back to face him, he was beaming.
The two of them continued darting and dancing around each other, throwing equally powerful strikes towards the other. As they fought, both of them were laughing heartily. They had both needed to unwind, to let go of all the built up stress and anxiety from the last few days. As a result, neither one of them had taken this fight seriously. They were both having fun, simply enjoying each other's company rather than actually trying to improve their swordsmanship skills.
After some time of simply laughing and striking, Keiko began actually dancing as she fought with Heisuke, resulting in him laughing even harder. Keiko smiled as she twirled on her tip-toes, her right hand holding her spear out in front of her while her left arm was above her head. Heisuke was laughing so hard he had to lean on his bokken to keep himself upright. Keiko twirled her way towards him and haphazardly thrust her spear out towards his shoulder, which Heisuke only narrowly dodged.
"I wonder if I could beat you while dancing." Keiko snickered at the thought, smirking mischievously as she pranced over to strike at Heisuke again. He stumbled backwards, again only barely evading Keiko's careless attack. He could barely keep himself upright from laughing so hard, how was he going to actually fight her while she was behaving like that?! Heisuke dove to the right to avoid another of Keiko's prancing strikes, getting to his feet again and immediately lunging forward to attack Keiko. It was a desperate attempt at regaining his composure, and as Keiko twirled away to avoid his strike, what little control he had mustered was instantly gone.
As Keiko danced away from the laughing boy, avoiding his lazy attempt at an attack, she caught sight of something from the corner of her eye. She turned her head to the side, only to see Shinpachi leaning against a post, his arms folded across his chest, watching the scene with a lonely frown on his usually cheerful face.
Keiko's heart dropped to her stomach when she saw him, and she was halted in her tracks immediately, her feet rooting to the spot. She stared at him, and she felt an overpowering urge to run over to him. She wanted more than anything to apologize, to explain herself, to tell him that she wasn't lying.
More than anything, she wanted him to talk to her again.
Just as Keiko had found it in herself to take the first step, she felt something catch in between her feet. She gasped as she was tripped over, and she fell face first onto the ground, with a very ungraceful "oof!".
Keiko groaned as she turned over, looking up to see Heisuke beaming down at her.
"I did it! I really did it! I finally beat you!" He exclaimed, barely able to contain his excitement. Keiko rolled her eyes, a grimace forming on her face. "I was distracted." She murmured, turning her head back to the post. However, Shinpachi was already gone.
"Gods woman! Where is all the booze going?!" Heisuke shouted as Keiko finished off her fifth bottle of sake. She simply shrugged as the geisha brought her a sixth bottle. Heisuke gaped as Keiko calmly poured herself some of the sake into her cup, her behaviour having stayed entirely the same for the duration of their night out. Heisuke suddenly huffed as he poured some more sake into his own cup, and he quickly downed it in an effort to keep up with his female companion. "By the way… I hope you don't think I'M paying for all that?!" He gestured to Keiko's growing collection of empty bottles, a bitter expression on his face. Keiko giggled as she took note of the expression on Heisuke's face. If she wasn't mistake, she could swear that he seemed jealous of her alcohol tolerance.
"I'm not like you and the other two idiots." She grinned with mirth as she spoke, leaning over to jab Heisuke in the ribs with her index finger. "Unlike some people, I am good with my money. I have enough saved for quite a lot more than a few bottles of cheap sake." Heisuke grunted as he took a large gulp, his face starting to really redden from the alcohol. He turned to her then, his eyes narrowed.
"Ayama-san." He said, emphasizing the honourific as he leaned closer to her. Keiko raised a brow as she leaned back slightly. "I wanna knooow~..." Heisuke trailed off as he spoke, hiccuping a bit. He had to rest his hand on the floor to stabilize himself. His eyes had long since glazed over in his drunken state. "What is going on with you and Shinpatsan? He's so upset." Keiko sighed, setting down her empty cup.
"I think you're at your limit, Heisuke. Let's go home no-"
"NO!" Heisuke suddenly bolted upright and darted away from Keiko. She shot her head up and looked at him in shock, her icy-blue eyes widened. "Tell me what's wrong!" Keiko huffed, standing up and walking towards him briskly. She grabbed his arm and was about to pull him out of the building forcibly, when he suddenly rag-dolled onto the floor. Keiko grunted as she now held him up by his arm, the rest of him hanging limp by her side.
"Heisuke!" She uttered sternly as she dropped him, rather ungently, to the floor. "What on earth is the matter with you?!" She demanded. However, he did not respond. Keiko sighed in annoyance as she leaned down beside him, reaching out to try and carry him home. She paused when she heard a strange, strangled sound come from the drunk boy in front of her. She leaned in closer.
She heard the muffled sound of a boy sniffling.
Keiko stared down at her friend in confusion, slowly lifting him up to see his face. Heisuke had tears in his eyes and was sniffling as he bit his lip in an effort to keep himself from crying. Keiko gently helped him sit up and sat beside him, her hand on his shoulder in reassurance.
"Heisuke. What's the matter?" She asked with forced gentleness as she tried her hardest to suppress her irritation with the boy. Heisuke turned and looked at her desperately. "Two of my best friends are fighting and I don't know what to do! I don't know what's wrong!" He nearly shouted in his exasperation, his tears threatening to fall down his face at any second. He furiously rubbed at his eyes, willing himself to just not cry.
Keiko was taken aback by his outburst. She could see that Heisuke had had far too much to drink, and she was surprised to see that he cared this much that her and Shinpachi were at odds with each other. More shocking to her was that Heisuke had referred to her as one of his best friends… Keiko could feel her heart swell at the thought, all of her previous annoyance fading quickly.
She looked at Heisuke, who had his knees pulled up tight against his chest and was hugging them, pouting. She shook his shoulder gently and he looked over at her.
"If you come home quietly, I'll tell you what's wrong. Is that fair?" She looked at him with tenderness in her cold blue eyes, and Heisuke nodded slowly in agreeance. Keiko smiled sweetly as she rose to her feet, reaching out to help Heisuke up. She pulled him up from his seat on the floor, and held onto him for a moment to help him steady himself. When she felt he was steady, she turned to leave the room, Heisuke following her obediently.
Keiko paid the establishment what was due for both of them and led Heisuke out and away from Shimabara. They walked back to the Shinsengumi headquarters in relative silence, though the trek was slow due to Heisuke's unsteadiness. Some time during their journey home, light snowflakes began to gently drift down from the sky, and ss they gradually made their way home, Keiko could see Heisuke beginning to sober up a bit. She raised her face to the snow speckled sky, mentally thanking the Gods for giving her friend a bit of a clearer mind.
They reached the large gate of the mansion and headed inside. Keiko walked over to the stairs leading up to the main hall and sat on the bottom step, waiting for Heisuke to follow her. He seemed exhausted, his eyelids half shut already, but he followed her over to the stairs nonetheless.
"You still want me to tell you?" Keiko asked, leaning over to him slightly. Heisuke nodded, staring blankly at the ground with a sullen expression on his face. Keiko took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, leaning back onto her palms as she exhaled.
"That night… We talked about, erhm, feelings." Keiko grimaced as she said the words, looking over to Heisuke with a slightly guilty look. He raised a brow at her, but did not comment. Keiko glanced off to the side before she continued. "And… and I kissed him."
Heisuke jolted upright and pointed at Keiko accusingly. "I knew it!" He shouted, and Keiko's grimace only grew. "I knew it! I could tell something big like that happened! About damn time too, you two have been flirting for ages!" Heisuke bellowed, his signature grin back on his face. Keiko huffed in annoyance.
"Did you so easily forget that he won't talk to me right now? Why are you so delighted." Keiko straightened herself up, resting her left elbow on her knee to lean her cheek upon her knuckles as she glared at him. Heisuke laughed out loud, folding his arms over his chest.
"So Shinpatsu-san thinks that you were lying about your feelings, and that you only kissed him as a distraction. No wonder he won't talk about it." Heisuke mused, his eyes staring up at the night sky in thought. He looked over to Keiko and beamed at her. "I'll knock some sense into him!"
Heisuke got up abruptly then, turning and rushing to scurry to the top of the stairs. Keiko jolted up, turning around as her eyes widened in surprise. "What, now?! You can't go now!" She started to hastily climb the stairs after a laughing Heisuke, when the two of them heard footsteps approaching from the gate. The pair turned around to see Hijikata, Saito and Okita filing into the compound, the snow gently falling around their forms as they walked. But something was off.
The body Okita was holding in his arms.
Keiko narrowed her eyes in confusion. She could tell that the person - who looked to be a young boy, dressed in light grey pants and a dull salmon-pink shirt - was alive. Heisuke was the first to walk over to the group, and Keiko only hesitated for a moment before she followed. Upon closer inspection, Keiko could clearly tell that the young boy was actually a young girl, a bit younger than Heisuke. She was unconscious, and Keiko glared at Okita.
"What happened." She demanded, her frozen stare locked on Okita. He only shrugged in response, not bothering to be gentle with the girl in his arms.
"The kid saw some of the Furies." Hijikata answered in Okita's stead, although he did not bother to stop walking. "We will deal with it tomorrow morning. Souji, tie the kid up." And with that final order, he stalked off towards his room.
"He looks around my age…" Heisuke commented with a dejected look on his face, watching Okita walk off with the young girl in his arms. "I hope we don't have to kill him."
Keiko snorted and quickly covered her mouth with her hand when she heard Heisuke refer to the girl as 'him'. Heisuke whipped his head around to face her, apparently offended. "What's so funny!?" He demanded, but Keiko only shook her head with a slight grin on her face. She walked past him, heading towards her room, and uttered a sentence as she passed by the confused boy.
"I'm sure you'll find out soon enough."
A/N: OKaaaayyy now we're finally getting somewhere! This one was purely Keiko/Heisuke friendship building. And OH MY GOD it just kept going and going! I felt like I was writing this one forever, but in a good way. Like I just couldn't stop. Writing this one was quite fun, actually. The kind of sibling relationship between Keiko and Heisuke has completely taken over my writer's brain, apparently.
Anyway, let me know what you guys think about this one! Thanks so much for reading! :)