Disclaimer: Hakuouki is a visual novel game by Idea Factory. (They make a bunch of cute guys! Drools. So I always look up new series just so I can stare at them~) Hakuouki then was adapted into an Anime by Studio DEEN. And today, the Anime series is licensed by Sentai Filmworks in North America. (I got this information from Wikipedia and I believe the information is accurate. I wouldn't know though!)
"Forever" will not keep us connected
Chapter 9
In the early morning, the sun had yet to peek from the horizon. Everyone was resting for the moment. A moment to catch their breathes. Souji was sleeping with his back lean against an old cabin, which they found after they stopped Ayumu's bleeding. The door to the cabin was on his right. And on the left of the door, Saburo was lying on his left side, arms wrapped around his body to keep himself warm, and his back touching the cabin. On the roof, Kyou did not sleep a wink and was just sitting up there even though Hajime and Sanosuke were keeping watch elsewhere.
It was cold hours ago, but they could not afford to light a fire. It would only reveal where their position were. At the very least, there were some rations left in the tent from before when Ren and Yuma left without anything. The air felt warmer now. Souji's head bobbed down and he opened his sleepy eyes. He slowly looked up and squinted his eyes. Glancing to his left, he saw Saburo and smiled, 'And he said he'll keep watch after Hajime-kun…'
Standing up quietly, Souji turned to the door and pushed it open softly. He saw Ayumu and the other two girls in his view. He softly sighed when he saw Kanon was the only one awake. She probably could not go to sleep. Sitting on her ankles, she simply stared blankly at Ayumu lying in front of her on his right. Yumeko was sleeping closely to Ayumu with her right arm around Ayumu's chest, as if it was to keep him warm and secured.
Kanon blinked her tired eyes and glanced to the door when she realized the light coming from it. Souji slightly opened his eyes wider at her silent gaze. She looked miserable and worried. He did not dare to walk into the heavy air of the cabin. But he waved her to come out and she took a moment to respond. She put her hands on her knees and pushed herself up. With a glance to Ayumu and Yumeko, she walked to the door in which Souji opened wider.
"Didn't I tell you to rest?" Souji quietly asked when she stepped out.
While she gently closed the door behind her, she gave him a look that she was not entirely tired. "You're not my dad," she whispered, walking forward. From the roof, Kyou watched Kanon and Souji going off together. "Hajime and Sanosuke weren't sleeping either, so I didn't want to feel bad."
Souji chuckled a bit, "I'm sure Sano-san wouldn't think that. He'd force you to sleep no matter what. And maybe he would even let you rest on his lap."
The two of them did not walk far when Kanon saw Sanosuke and Hajime returning together. At least they were safe and there were troubles. While Souji and Kanon waited for the two men to come closer, Sanosuke spoke first as soon as they got together. "How's Ayumu?" Sansouke inquired.
She sighed before saying, "I think… we should find a doctor." Sanosuke fell silent and was concerned for Ayumu's life. Kanon's eyes looked to Hajime and she wondered about him. "So you're actually no longer influenced by the mind control?" He nodded and she smiled. "That's good. Now we can stand a chance if we meet them again."
"I haven't thanked you properly," Hajime slightly bowed his head.
"It's fine," she folded her arms to her chest. "It was nothing."
Souji smirked, glancing to her. "Well now… care to explain about what a Time Healer is, Kanon?" She grunted and looked sleepy all of the sudden. He hoped she was not planning to avoid the question. "We need to know."
"And we're in this together," Sanosuke smiled to her. At the same time Hajime nodded, Sanosuke added, "And we'll help you no matter what. I don't want you or Ayumu to shoulder whatever you're both hiding. We're friends now. The two of you saved our lives."
As touching as his words for, Kanon had to think for a moment. "My… Ayumu and my mother was known as the Time Healer," Kanon begun explaining, staring at the ground. Her memory was a blur, but she tried to be as accurate as possible. "It was a title given to her because she was the strongest of our clan. And she was only fourteen years old when she received her status."
Souji raised a question, "Then why is your clan considered cursed with an Oni blood?"
She closed her eyes, her head aching. "From what Aunt Akiko mentioned before, she said my great-great-great grandmother was an Oni and fell in love with a human. She was betrothed to an Oni already though… but she ran away with the man she truly loved."
"Oh, one of those stories," Souji commented with a small smirk. Hajime and Sanosuke gave him a look, telling him not to interrupt.
Kanon continued, giving Souji a look herself. "I don't remember much, but I can say this… the Oni, who was supposed to marry my great-great-great grandmother, never found her or the human man. So when he died at a young age, they said his spirit cursed her. At first, my great-great-great grandmother did not understand why she suddenly got the strange healing power. But the man, who she loved… He had a dream about the Oni man. And that was how it pretty much started." Kanon was not certain how her great-great-great grandmother even started to find out she had the power. Did she accidentally heal someone?
"That's pretty deep," Sanosuke stared at her blankly. "And this means you and Ayumu have this cursed power?" She nodded as she looked at him.
Hajime had learned a bit from Sanosuke when they were guarding the area, so he asked, "Why would an Oni curse a family with a power? Even though there are side-effects to it…"
She frowned about the thought. "The cursed power may have benefits, but the Oni made sure it would only bring us trouble. The result of our current clan was exactly what he wanted, I would think. There's only me and Ayumu left alive."
"That's true," Souji looked off to the side. It was one hell of a curse. He still did not understand a few things. Instead of asking about all of them, he combined them into one question. "But it's just a curse, right? Maybe there's a way to undo it."
Kanon sighed at him, slapping him in the arm. "You think we haven't done that already?" she queried.
He gave her a light glare, "Maybe you guys didn't try hard enough." Not going to go and get upset about his statement, she faced the other way to stare at the cabin. Souji walked closer and purposely hit her shoulder with his shoulder. Her body tilted forward and she gave him an annoyed expression. "What do you want to do now?" Souji questioned. "Find a doctor?"
"Obviously," she pouted.
Souji smirked, "Oh. By the way, you and Ayumu kept talking about your aunt. Akiko, was it? Before, you even said she sealed your power. How did she do that?"
She had a long exhausted sigh, looking at the sky while doing so. "She's… not related to us," Kanon explained clearly. The men all stared blankly at her and she returned her eyes to them. "Aunt Akiko was the first person I saved when I was about seven years old. She was like an 'aunt' to me since my parents died after Ayumu turned five years old."
"Oh," Sanosuke was surprised.
"Wait," Souji blinked. "…Ayumu's two years younger than you? Just how old are you?"
Kanon gave him a look. "What would that matter?" she asked him, tilting her head. "I'm sixteen, by the way."
Hajime glanced to look at their faces. Sanosuke was snickering and Souji seemed a bit amused. "Wow, Ayumu looks much more older than he actually is," Souji thought out loud. Her brother was tall and quite mature for his age, making him look like he was eighteen years old instead.
"Yeaaah," Kanon smacked her mouth. She felt a bit depressed thinking about it. "The boys in our family grow tall as soon as they hit puberty. I didn't enjoy being tall for very long when Ayumu started to grow up and pass my height." Souji snickered for some reason and she glared, "What's so funny?"
"Nothing," he curled his lips into a grin. Hearing her indirectly calling herself short was somewhat adorable. It was like she had a height complex.
Sanosuke shook his head with a smile and then gave Kanon a questioning look. "Let's talk about your aunt again," he said, going back to the topic. "When you saved her, that meant she gained a power then... Does that have something to do with your power being sealed up?"
She nodded, frowning with her head tilted to the side. "Yeah," she replied sadly. "She was worried for me being too kindhearted and helped fulfilled the village chief's dying wish. So I can't use it like a wildfire. Aunt Akiko forbids me to use it too. I hadn't saved anyone until I met Saburo and Yumeko."
"Huh?" Souji blinked at her. "Don't tell me I'm the third person you saved in all of your life."
Hajime wondered why Souji sounded shocked. "It's only natural not to save people, is it not?" Hajime inquired.
"Yeah, of course," Kanon smiled to Hajime. He was so calm and quiet, unlike Souji.
"Then…" Sanosuke rubbed his chin and narrowed his eyes. He gazed to Kanon, who was waiting for what he had to say. "How did you and Ayumu meet Yumeko and Saburo? Were they also dying?"
With a long sigh, Kanon shook her head. "Well…" she now frowned. "Saburo was already near death and Yumeko was heavily injured herself. They came by our village by accident. Ayumu and I went over to them when Yumeko was calling out to save Saburo. She begged and begged." Kanon closed her eyes, recalling that moment. "Yumeko did not beg her life to be saved though. Only Saburo's. I told Ayumu that we should help them. They seemed like nice people who were struggling to live… And then Ayumu agreed. Since he did not want me to save them both at the same time, he said he would take half of the share. That was when we saved those two. It had been over a year since they lived with us." Kanon opened her eyes and smiled with a giggle. "I was so happy to have met Saburo and Yumeko."
"Huh," Souji flattened his face. "It makes me wonder how they got injured in the first place."
Hajime nodded, glancing to Kanon. "You said Yumeko-san only begged to save Saburo-san's life?" he inquired.
She gave him a strange look, "Yeah. Why? Is something wrong?" Hajime looked away with a quiet thought. "Guys, I'm sure they ran into some bad people or something. And people are always getting hurt out there."
"True," Sanosuke blinked. He looked to Souji and Hajime. "But it seems like these two are seeing a missing piece of the puzzle."
"What puzzle?" Kanon gave them a hard look. They acted like they were suspicious of Yumeko and Saburo. She would not allow them to think that way. "It's not like they're bad."
"We didn't say that," Souji grinned. "We simply think something is odd about them. That's all."
Kanon pouted, nudging him, "Right. Whatever. It's about time we go back." She did not want to further discuss something as absurd as this.
Sanosuke chuckled, "Then we should get going now."
Hajime walked around them silently and went ahead. Kanon then jogged off toward the cabin, going ahead of the men. Her thoughts soon led her to Ayumu's condition. 'Aunt Akiko…' she prayed, her eyes begging for hope. 'Please… please watch over Ayumu… Don't let anything take him away from me.' Because he was her only family left.
[…^…]
On a rocky road, a wide wagon with four healthy brown-furred horses was on a common trail path. A man with a straw hat was holding the dark reins, keeping the horses in check. He was taking his time on the lonesome journey back home. The sun rose, but gray clouds were filling up the sky. It might rain, but luckily he was wearing a straw jacket that covered most of his body.
Unexpectedly, out of the blue, a throwing knife flew right by his head and hit the ground over the wagon. He cried out a bit, but glared and stopped the horses that were not disturbed. "Who did that?!" he shouted rather angrily. "If you're a group of bandits…!"
"Yumeko-chan, I told you not to use this method," Sanosuke's voice sighed. The man lifted up his straw hat and saw two people up on a hill of trees. His mouth dropped when he recognized Sanosuke.
The girl with the short black hair simply glared at the man with straw hat and put away her other knife in her hand. "We need you to take us into town," she told the man in the wagon.
"Harada-san?!"
Sanosuke turned his eyes from Yumeko and to the man, who had short blue hair. Slowly pointing to the man of orange eyes, Sanosuke uttered, "R…Ryunosuke?" Yumeko glanced to Sanosuke and down to the man, who both seemed to know each other like they were old pals. "Is that really you, Ryunosuke?!" Sanosuke smiled widely.
[…^…]
"Sorry, we needed a ride," Sanosuke laughed, putting his arm around Ryunosuke's neck. The two of them were sitting in front of the moving wagon. Sanosuke could not stop smiling because he not seen Ryunosuke ever since that day. Though, Ryunosuke seemed upset about their encounter earlier.
"Yeah right," Ryunosuke frowned, pushing him away. "I saw what that girl wanted to actually do."
"Yumeko-chan's just worried for Ayumu's safety," Sanosuke grinned, his voice convincing enough. Then he quickly asked, "What are you doing out here alone anyway?"
Ryunosuke frowned for a second. "Now I'm making a living out of transporting goods and people," he replied. "Kosuzu travels with me, but then she got sick two days so I left her at the hospital while continuing to work so I can paid the doctor in time."
"She's with you?" Sanosuke smiled. "How is it progressing?"
"That's none of your business right now," Ryunosuke pouted a bit, slightly blushing.
Sanosuke laughed and patted on his back, "Fine. Whenever you want to talk about it, I'll listen."
Looking back, Ryunosuke looked at the people in the wagon. Sitting on the right side, Souji smirked to him and Hajime was next to Souji. The injured man with long brown hair was lying back on the center. To the left sat the two girls. Yumeko was further at the end and Kanon closer to Ryunosuke. "Who are they?" Ryunosuke asked loudly.
On the top of the wagon, Saburo lay on his stomach. "I'm Saburo," he smiled. "Thanks again for lending us a ride." Behind Saburo was Kyou, who sat at the edge at the end of the wagon. "And you're Ryunosuke-san?"
Ryunosuke gave Saburo a look and nodded. "Yeah…" he only said. "Ibuki Ryunosuke."
"Nice to meet you, Ibuki-san," Saburo beamed happily.
Souji snickered and Ryunosuke shot him a glare. "I really thought we would never see each other again," Souji sneered to him.
"Who would want to see you again?" Ryunosuke glared, looking back to the road. Okita Souji. Ryunosuke still had not forgot Souji's cruelty, but he had already forgotten those horrible days. He simply lived on. "When I heard Hijikata-san went missing, here I thought—"
"The Vice-commander?" Hajime asked, looking over to him.
Sanosuke and Souji were shocked while Ryunosuke answered, "Yeah. He disappeared long ago. The war already ended… and the country only begun changing, but there are still remnants of those who still rebelled and only went into hiding."
"Hold on," Souji glared, slighting moving forward in his seat. "Hijikata-san went missing? What happened to the Shinsengumi?"
Ryunosuke lowered his eyes and bit his lower lip. Sanosuke read his expression and looked away with a depressed, hopeless sigh. And then Ryunosuke replied, "They are no more. The emperor was overthrown and a foreign government is establishing in Edo. But… at least they mean well. Just as long as Kosuzu and I live in peace, then it doesn't matter."
"It does matter," Souji retorted. He almost got up, but Hajime grabbed his shoulder to keep him seated. "Hijikata-san couldn't even protect the Shinsengumi!"
"Souji," Sanosuke lightly glared back at him. He knew Souji cared for the Shinsengumi and understood exactly how he felt. But Sanosuke did not want them to linger on. "…Enough." Souji's eyes twitched in silence and he turned to stare at his hands. "It's the end of our era now… It was inevitable. Accept it."
Kanon glanced to look at the guys and Yumeko was only keeping her eyes on Ayumu's still body. Kyou snickered from where he was and Saburo felt awkward when they were all quiet. Feeling a raindrop, Kyou looked up and frowned at the gloomy sky. He threw his legs off the wagon and moved down into the back of the wagon to sit by Hajime. "Excuse of the intrusion," Kyou smirked and Saburo entered the front wagon too, sitting by Kanon.
"Damn, I should hurry," Ryunosuke said, giving the horses the signal on the reins. "Harada-san, you should get inside too. Pull down the curtains so you guys won't wet."
"Thanks, Ryunosuke," Sanosuke smiled. He was a big help. At the same time as Kyou went to pull down the rolled up black curtain, Sanosuke moved to the center of the front wagon and then pulled down the curtain on his side. The wagon increased its speed and the ride became bumpier. 'I wonder how Heisuke and Sannan-san are doing right now,' Sanosuke stared into space. There was still Shinpachi too.
Kanon hit her the back of her head when the ride slightly flew in the air. "Ow…" she rubbed the pain with one eyes closed.
Saburo laughed, "You okay, Kanon-hime?"
She grabbed his collar and pulled him close, "From now on, stop calling me hime. People will get suspicious once we get into town."
He made an unhappy face. "But—" She let him go without a word and he sighed. "Okay… Kanon-san."
"Do you not have a last name?" Hajime inquired. She looked at him with a frown and he blinked. "…Right, you're trying to hide your identity."
"Then make one up," Souji smirked, forgetting the moments of the disappearance of Hijikata Toshizo. "Want me to think one for you?"
"No, thank you," she crossed her arms at him. Even if she knew him a little, she could imagine him just joking around. He would not be thinking seriously. "Kanon is just fine."
Kyou then asked, "And you're actually a hime?" Something he was wondering for a long time. He hoped someone would inquire her about it, but apparently no one did. "Or is it just some nickname Saburo thought for you out of strange respect?"
She blinked, "People used to call me hime, really…. Like the princess of the clan. So I represented them." Now making a face, it was like it brought her bad memories. "They rarely let me go out, but Aunt Akiko would sneak out with me and I was able to explore a bit of the world and meet a few people, however I never made friends either…" she begun mumbling. 'And there was Souji when we met in Kyoto for the first time.' Did he not remember her from that time? Not that it bothered her though.
Sanosuke chuckled at her expression. "What's wrong?" he questioned when she stopped talking.
Shaking her head once, she replied ruefully, "It's nothing." Bad memories were not worth thinking about. Her eyes moved from Sanosuke, Souji, and then at Hajime. She blinked and gave Hajime a good, long look. Hajime looked back at her quietly and she smiled. "Oh, cool. Hajime, you can control water," she told him.
"Hm?" Hajime stared blankly at her.
Kyou raised an eyebrow, "Oh, right, Harada said when you heal others, you give them an additional power." Then he pointed to himself with his thumb. "Why don't you heal me too?"
"You don't need it," Kanon gave him a light frown. "Would you want to be around me forever? Because I, for one, do not wish to have another person when I already have three men with me."
Kyou merely laughed in agreement.
Wasting no time to ask, Souji directly looked at her. "What about me?" he inquired. "What power did I get?"
Saburo's voice rose and he nudged Kanon, "Wow, Saito-san can control water? Teach him how to use it! There's water in our bodies, right? Saito-san is going to be a deadly assassin if he wanted to be!"
"Quiet, you," Kanon pushed his face away. "Ayumu's still sleeping." Afterwards, she gave Kyou a look, "And it's not that I gave people addition power. It just happens without my will."
Lifting up his left hand, Hajime stared at it curiously. 'I can control water?' he asked himself. But how? He felt nothing special happened to him when Kanon 'heal' him. Realizing something, he looked at her seriously, "Kanon-san. How did your healing powers break me away from the mind control?" He never asked because they were too busy with Ayumu and recovering from the shock.
"I'm the daughter of the Time Healer, remember?" Kanon leaned back. The road had gotten smoother and the rain pounded outside on the wagon. "It's not entirely a healing ability to help the injured. Time. I can change a flow of time in a person's body, restoring their cells and even the mind to their original state. I would assume that was it, I don't know the details." Which was why she risked trying to 'heal' Hajime in that moment.
"What?" Sanosuke gave her a puzzled look. "…Does that mean you can even change us back into babies?"
Kanon sighed, "No, stupid." Sanosuke was slightly startled by her insensitive word. "It's kinda on a default. Besides, it would take a lot of power to actually change you back into a baby. If I could, I would have turned Souji into a baby and raised him to be a better person." Souji gave her a disapproving look and she stick her tongue at him.
"In other words," Hajime lifted his hand higher. "You went back in 'time', back to the time before the mind control started." She nodded. "Interesting…"
Souji blinked and gave Hajime a look. "And how did you get mind controlled, Hajime-kun?" he inquired seriously, narrowing his eyes. "What happened when you were supposed to be with Hijikata-san?"
Recalling it made Hajime ashamed of himself. He closed his eyes and had a long pause. Everyone waited while Kyou was just relaxing himself with his back against the moving wagon. "…I don't remember," he murmured.
"What?" Saburo and Sanosuke questioned at the same time.
Hajime looked at them, "My memory is a blur. On the other hand, I do remember waking up and this person… named Haru… was standing in front of me. Before I knew it, my body listened to her will."
"Kanon," Souji quickly looked to her. "Can you use your power to see what happened?"
Before she said anything, Hajime said, "No, Souji. I was unconscious. It happened when I charged toward an army with bullets. So I have no memory how Haru found me… so there is no way of telling if Kanon-san can help me recover an unseen memory."
Unsatisfied, Souji simply grunted. He glanced to Saburo who spoke next, "This Haru chick sounds so complicated. I wonder what her identity is."
Silence gloomed and the rain seemed to have lightened up a bit. Yumeko blinked and glanced to Kanon, but she said nothing. It was then Kanon declared, "Hajime, try practicing your power first." He stared at her curiously. "If you concentrate enough, you can easily use it. It'll come in handy if we run into Haru again. Can you do it?"
He nodded with confidence and stared at his left hand once again. Lowering his eyelids a little, he stared at his first finger. 'Controlling water…' he thought to himself. Recollecting the sounds of the rivers, lakes, and the rain outside, he tried to feel the movement of water running through his hand. In deep thinking, he was, blood suddenly sprouted out of his first fingertip without warning.
"Gah, Saito-san?!" Saburo gasped. "Are you okay?! How did you do that?"
Kanon moved from her seat and walked over Ayumu. Hajime looked to her and realized what she was going to do. Becoming stiff, he let her forehead touch his and a faint light went by. His fingertip was healed quickly and she moved back. "That was a good first try, Hajime," Kanon chuckled, going backwards back to her seat.
"Y…Yeah," Hajime nodded, staring at his finger. The trace of blood was still there and he wiped it with his sleeve.
Souji squinted his eyes the time when Kanon easily invaded Hajime's personal space. Getting an idea, Souji raised his hand to Hajime's face. "Do that on me too," he told him. "To see how well you can control it."
"It was not that difficult, Souji," Hajime informed.
"Just do it."
Sanosuke and Kyou exchanged smirks when Hajime sighed. Turning his eyes on Souji's fingertip, he imagined water again, but this time on Souji. Within that second, blood sprouted out and Souji was impressed. "Are you content?" Hajime shook his head at him. 'I'm already getting used to it.'
"Kanon," Souji smiled to her, showing his minor injury. She frowned and he said, "Help me out there."
She rolled her eyes. Taking her sleeves, she used her teeth to rip out a strip. Leaning forward, she took his hand and simply wrapped the minor wound up. "There," she said with a flat face, leaning back.
Souji gave her a disbelief look. "…Are you kidding me?"
"I'm quite serious," she stick her nose in the air. It was what he deserved for doubting Hajime.
Letting it slide, Souji inquired, "What's my power anyway? You never told me."
Kanon looked at him now and waited for a moment. He stared back seriously and she snorted. "I'm not telling you," she snickered, leaning against Yumeko, who was still as quiet as before. Sanosuke took a glance to Yumeko and was concerned what was going through her mind right now.
"Why can't you?" Souji begun to glare at Kanon.
She replied proudly, "I don't think you need to know what kind of power you have. Besides, you already have your 'white hair' form, so there's no way I'm letting you beat me the next time we spar."
"That's what you're worried about?" Souji smirked with mockery. She nodded firmly. "Fine. If you put it that way, I don't need an extra power to beat you down. And I don't need to be a Rasetsu do it either." It would be all of his entire knowledge and skill. It was all he needed.
"Good," she grinned happily.
Sighing heavily, Saburo questioned, "You two still want to fight? Please don't! It's getting old!"
Driving the wagon out in the open, Ryunosuke looked around and slowed down a bit. Glancing back, he was half listening to them and found Kanon's power to be odd. It seemed they were keeping it as a secret, so he would not pry on it. His eyes concentrated on the road and the sky remained dark. 'I hope Kosuzu is feeling better,' he worried. But after a few more miles, he would be able to check on her soon enough.
Thanks for reading!