Sorry it's been a while, but I hope you guys enjoy!
Chapter 10: Unexpected Company
Okita is a good man. He wouldn't hurt me unless he was ordered to, right?
I'm desperately trying to convince myself that Okita isn't a bad person, but the expression on his face can beg to differ.
His surprise to see me lasts no longer than a second, and then I see his eyes ablaze with the urge to hunt. I don't know how I should react. Should I scream? Or should I trust that Okita wouldn't hurt me? Nevertheless, I'm so shocked that my body can't move, and Okita is smart enough to take advantage of my paralyzed state.
With lightning speed, he launches himself off of his futon and lunges toward me. I can't even gasp…
I watch wide-eyed and idly as Okita's long arms encircle around me, and not in a pleasant way. One of his hands blocks my mouth to prevent me from crying out, and his other arm shuts the door behind me before pulling my back closer to his chest. My instinctive reaction is to grab his arms to pry them off of me, but to no avail. I squirm under his hold and begin to muffle sounds against his hand. Okita is a good man… I keep reminding myself of that thought, but in truth I have no idea what to expect from the man gripping me tightly. Even so, within the calamity, I can't help but notice the direct heat my back is receiving from his radiating bare chest. Why am I thinking about this now of all times?
"Calm down…", Okita whispers to my ear. Knowing that fighting against him is pointless, I freeze. If he were really injured, he wouldn't be able to grab me like this…
After several quiet moments, neither of us move.
"If you say a word, I'll kill you. Understand?", he threatens me. What?! What's so important about his missing wound that he has to kill me for it?! The questions that come to mind are endless, but neither of them matter if I die. Because there isn't any other choice, I nod solemnly in agreement.
Finally, Okita releases me. His heat quickly disappears, leaving my back cold with a feeling of…hollowness. Despite that, I immediately put some space between us, but I can easily sense that he isn't through with me yet. I stay put in his room and bite my lip nervously to prevent myself from saying anything stupid that could get me killed.
The silence between us remains. At this point, I'm just waiting for something –anything- to happen. Okita gazes at me with a calm, but cold expression. I constantly find myself wanting to look away from his eyes, but if I do I'll almost certainly look at his unscathed shoulder again. Just say something, Okita! Every second the silence is progressed, my anxiety grows along with it. That's it. I can't take this anymore!
"Um-", I begin but-
"When did I say you could talk?", Okita almost spits his question. I've seen Okita upset several times, but not many things can enrage him. I guess tonight I'll finally see how he looks at that stage –not that I'm looking forward to it.
What's going on?! Why is Okita's wound missing?
"I suppose you've got a lot of questions…", Okita –as usual- reads my mind. I nod slowly. Somewhat surprisingly, he laughs softly.
"Man, you're easier to read than an open book, you know?", he grins at me as I start to wonder what happened to the other Okita who was gripping me tightly with anger.
I do know, I answer his question mentally.
"…Guess there's no helping it. Come here and sit", Okita instructs while taking a seat on his futon. He pats the empty spot in front of him on the futon, encouraging me to oblige. Cautiously I do as I'm told, and wait for him to begin talking.
"What I'm about to tell you… You can't tell anyone else, even if you have to die protecting this secret. Got that?", something in his tone seems off. Even with his normal grin, nothing can hide the small amount worry and dread reflected in his eyes. If he's behaving like this…that can only mean that his "secret" isn't a laughing matter…
"You and I… Perhaps we're not so different after all…", his words compel me to think back to my first week with him. The night he rescued me from those masked men, ironically, he was also threatening me for lying about my healing ability. Then after we found Doctor Matsumoto's letter, he promised he wouldn't say anything about my secret so long as I didn't say anything about it to anyone else.
Suddenly, I have an idea that can possibly explain all of his past actions that revolve around my secret.
"Your wounds heal quickly. Not by a week or more, but in days, maybe less depending on the severity of the wound", though I'm aware I shouldn't talk, I can't hold my tongue any longer. To my surprise, Okita doesn't scold me for my outburst.
"…Yeah, you're exactly right", he answers in a soft, distant voice. Now it all makes sense. The reason why Okita was so desperate to keep my secret hidden from everyone else was because he shares it as well.
"How long have you been able to regenerate like that?", he goes on to ask me.
"…I've probably been able to heal like that since I was born, but I haven't begun to notice it until I was a child", I keep my voice as soft as a whisper to avoid anyone overhearing our conversation. But everyone is either still at Keiko's or asleep, nevertheless, I'm not willing to risk my chances.
"What about you? When did you notice you're healing ability?", I ask the same question in return. Okita furrows his brows to go into pensive thinking, but I can't help but notice that he's hesitant to answer me. His gaze breaks away from mine, almost –if not- intentionally.
"Same as you…I guess", he answers with exaggerated nonchalance and finally meets my gaze again with a small grin. Perhaps I should ask him to explain in more detail about his past, but I get the feeling that I would be pushing his invisible boundaries if I do.
"…Does anyone else know about your…condition?", I go on about a slightly different topic.
"Only Sanan-san. Other than him, I'm sure that nobody else knows", he answers seriously. Of course, how did I forget? If my memory recalls correctly, Okita only allowed Sanan to treat his "wound". As to why Sanan knows Okita's secret, that's something my mind can't put together.
"Can you trust Sanan-san to keep your secret?", I ask worryingly.
"Well I have to, because he sorta found out about me…accidentally. The moment I start losing trust in him, I'll just simply kill him to shut him up", Okita answers with his usual sardonic smile. How can he talk about killing his own comrade?!
"Okita-san!", I begin to reprimand him, but he shrugs and waves his hands at me dismissively.
"C'mon, I'm only kidding. If anything, Sanan-san is the trustworthy one out of all of us. He knows that my skills are valuable to the Shinsengumi…to Kondou-san…so he isn't going to rat me out. Besides, a lot of our superiors would freak out if they found out someone like me is involved in the western military. Especially northerners around here; they get really…superstitious about this kind of stuff", he explains. I have no doubts that Sanan is a good person, but he'll put the welfare of the Shinsengumi in front of everything else, and that includes Okita and me. He might be protecting Okita's secret because he's an asset, I -on the other hand- am only valuable to search for my father, and that investigation has given us no leads on my father's whereabouts. If it comes down to it, Sanan will easily sacrifice me to protect the Shinsengumi.
"Does Sanan-san…know about me?", I choose my words carefully.
"I haven't told him anything, so I doubt it. But Sanan-san's a smart guy. If you act suspiciously, it won't take him long to figure out that you're just like me", Okita takes on a more serious demeanor.
"Wait…so you're not going to tell him?", I lift a brow at him. He looks at me for moment, probably considering what words to use, but his expression looks as though he took a bite out of something sour.
"…Let's just say it's better if he doesn't know…", the look on his face says that he isn't going to explain himself about that statement, but perhaps it's for the best.
"So what happens now…?", I ask the most important question.
"Nothing special. Like you never saw or heard anything", Okita is quick to answer.
"Huh?", I blurt blankly. Wasn't he threatening to kill me a moment ago? How can we treat this as "nothing special"? Seeing my confusion, Okita sighs heavily.
"Look, if we pretend like tonight never happened, no one should suspect anything. If you do or say something that could bring unwanted attention, I might just have to kill you after all. You get where I'm going with this, right?", his wolfish grin returns along with a set of cold, distant eyes. I've heard him threaten me so many times, and I thought I could never get used to it. But right now…it seems as though he'd rather not take action on his own words.
If only I'd remembered to pick up my sword, I would've never been faced to discover Okita's secret, which yet again put a barrier between us that I thought was at last crumbling down. At the same time, however, I'm the second person that knows of his vital secret. If he wanted to, he could've disposed me, but he's choosing to trust me, or at least keep an eye on me so I don't slip up. Perhaps our friendship isn't totally ruined. In return, I don't want to be a burden to him.
"Okita-san…I promise I won't tell anyone about your wound", I say in all earnestness. He shouldn't have to feel pressured about keeping my mouth shut. After all, I don't want anything horrible to happen to him. I won't be able to sleep easily for the rest of my life if I cause him irrevocable damage.
His keen eyes watch me for a long time, perhaps searching for any sign of doubt –doubt in which he will not find in me.
"Easy for you to say. This is your secret too. If I go down, so do you", parts of his words are true. If anyone else finds out about his secret, my own becomes at risk of being discovered too. Still…
"Even if it wasn't, I still wouldn't say a word", I state more determinedly.
"Why?", the harshness in Okita's tone is almost enough to have me jump due to being startled.
"You shouldn't concern yourself over me", his eyes narrow irritably, holding me in place without escape, yet I'm not afraid.
"Of course I do!", I almost make myself jump by almost yelling. Now I'm tempted to clap my hands over my mouth -suddenly realizing that I was too loud, but I already spoke out. Can't keep quiet now, especially since my outburst drew out a wide-eyed gaze from Okita. Both of us are speechless, but it's obvious that I have to be the one to explain myself.
"…Um, sorry. I think I misheard you", Okita says in between small, nervous laughs.
"You didn't. I do worry about you", the words are out my lips before my mind realizes. Why did I say that? I really don't have a filter sometimes… Nevertheless, the words are true.
"Um, I don't really know why, but…I can't just forget this happened", I pause, desperately looking for the scrambled words to use. It's…hard to explain my own feelings that I can't even understand.
"…If this is a secret we both share, then of course it worries me. And I don't mean for just my sake alone… You're just as important", I say with all honesty, so much so that I even sound a little stern.
"You've already done so much for me. So please, don't shut me out. If there's anything I can do to help you, then please let me know. I really want to help", my voice rises again, and I keep my head up in defiance. I don't want to carry on like nothing happened. I might have to pull that façade in front of others, but I want to be active in helping Okita –at least when no one else is around. It may be risky for the two of us, but sitting around and not contributing in some way sounds entirely worse.
"…You're a strange girl", Okita snickers softly. Oh no, he's not going to want my help… Slowly I begin to feel the uncomfortable knot of defeat in my stomach. Then Okita's lips pull back into a warm smile, one that I've seen several times but never directed at me until now. Even with a twisting knot in my gut, his smile –for a reason I can't fathom- cajoles my heart to flutter.
"If you insist, then do as you wish…so long as nobody else gets dragged into this", I hear his words but struggle to grasp his message. It takes me a moment, but after I thoroughly process what he said, the weight that had been pushing down on my chest is gone.
"I will", I boast as a stupid smile plasters my face, but neither do I care. Not all is lost with him, then. At that thought, I feel both content and relieved.
"Well to start, you can begin by being a good girl and getting yourself to bed", Okita says blithesomely as he hands me the kodachi that I'd forgotten in the first place. I grab the sword, doing my best not to guiltily frown, before fastening it back to my hip. Reluctantly, I stand up to leave. Our conversation had ended on a good note, so I want to extend the time I have with Okita. Then again, after all that happened tonight it's no surprise that I'm exhausted. I suppose there's always tomorrow to talk to Okita…
…After saying goodnight to Okita, returning to my room, and settling in bed, my thoughts are preventing me from entering a deep stage of sleep. I keep thinking about that strange man called Kazama, and of course Okita.
I don't know what I saw with Kazama. Sometimes I like to think that what I saw was a strange illusion or hallucination, but I know that my eyes weren't playing tricks against me. Not only was what I saw strange, but also the things Kazama said to me were so bizarre. He knew my family name, and he claimed that my sword was connected to my background. Then he went on about "our kin" being oni… Dozens of questions washed over my brain, but I can't seem to focus on a single one.
I shake my head defiantly.
Why should I have to listen to anything he said? My name is Yukimura Chizuru. I'm just a medic's daughter from the South. I'm ordinary…
I know I'm not "ordinary", but I want to believe that I am. If I repeat that thought in head continuously, I might very well make it true. However, my encounter with Okita is solid proof that I'm not a mundane girl. Before, I used to think that my "ability" would repel people away from me, but now I'm sure that the consequences of it could be much dire. Not only could Okita and I face exile from the Shinsengumi, but also military superiors or "superstitious" northerners –as Okita put it- would probably want us eradicated.
Even so, I'm glad that Okita is willing to trust me to keep our secret hidden. And admittedly, it feels good knowing that I'm not alone in this situation. After tonight, I feel as though we've both reached a milestone together. Two months ago I would've cowered in fear had I faced that issue with Okita earlier, but I finally know how to get past my fear of him. I'm aware that Okita isn't the nicest of men, but overtime maybe, I hope to see that kind of warm smile from him again and again.
…Morning came early to me, or I just woke up at the same time as usual and everyone else is deciding to sleep in. With the festivities from last night, it doesn't surprise me that the men's energy is spent.
I don't want any of them to wake up to cook, so the first place I go is to the kitchen to prepare meals for everyone. Knowing that some of the men are probably suffering from headaches, I prepare simple, yet tasty meals to kick-start their stomachs. Once I'm done, I organize the platters neatly and begin to take them to the dining hall. When I'm bringing the fourth platter in, I unexpectedly see Sanan in the room.
"Sanan-san…what're you doing up so early?", I ask a random question while at the same time remembering what Okita had said about him last night.
"Unlike the other men, I had to…take care of several things last night. That's why I was absent from last night's banquet. My energy isn't quite as spent", Sanan smiles at me as he explains his actions. He then takes a quick glance around the room and then to the platter in my hands. It's at that moment when I suddenly realize my greeting to him wasn't proper.
"Oh! Good morning!", I try my best to bow my head without spilling any food. In return, he smiles again. At first glance, anyone can assume that he's a kind man, and I wish I still had that impression of him. But after all I've learned last night, I can't help but be nervous around him.
"I must thank you for working so diligently to prepare us this meal, Yukimura-kun. However, the others must realize that you're our guest. It should be us preparing the meals, not the other way around", he says gratefully and apologetically.
"U-Um it's okay. I don't mind making breakfast", I scold myself mentally for stuttering. I don't want to stand another second longer with Sanan all by ourselves. The Unknown must hear my silent pleas when Inoue –thankfully- enters the room.
"Good morning, you two. I was beginning to think I was the only one up this morning", he greets us kindly. I inwardly sigh with relief.
"Good morning to you too", I smile happily as I set the platter down.
"Even in times of celebration, we must not allow this circumstance to become a daily routine", Sanan thins his lips.
"After today, I'm sure it won't be", Inoue tells the other man.
"Today?", I voice my puzzlement.
"Yes. We are having important guests from both the higher faction and the northern embassy here later this evening", Inoue explains to me.
"After our success at the Cove, it was about time higher officials recognized our efforts. As for the northerners, they are perhaps seeking our services for the future", Sanan adds. Northerners…here.
Never in my life had I met someone from the North, but everyone is aware of the stereotype. Coming from a prosperous and modern country, northerners are supposedly arrogant and snobbish. They drown themselves with riches without a care in the world. They're pampered for success and groomed to be the epitome of eloquence.
I'm not entirely aware of their foreign involvement, but northerners tend to keep their eyes on the West due to its success with trading. And for those that make residence here, they only live in the northern rim, closer to the ocean that separates the North from the West.
And of course, there was that incident in the East. After that, it's better for the other nations to keep the peace with them to avoid a similar outcome.
But what worries me the most is Okita.
He's attentive to the detail that northerners will tense if they find out about us. To have them here at headquarters as guests isn't comforting to that idea.
"For now, let's worry about waking everyone up for breakfast, as challenging as it may be", Inoue suggests teasingly.
With help from Inoue, we finish setting the rest of the platters and go on to wake the dormant men. Saito had been up early, he's just been in his room polishing his sword with great care. Later Inoue and I find Nagakura, Harada, and Heisuke all in one –messy- room, passed out. To wake them up, Inoue "offered" to wake them up with a cold bucket of water. As hard as it was, the men chose to face daylight rather than icy cold water. Inoue then decided to wake Hijikata up alone, knowing that the Commander would most likely be in a grouchy mood after last night.
Then I have to wake Okita. I nearly run to his room in my eagerness to see him and to tell him about the northerners, but I have to constantly remind myself not to arouse suspicion. Along the way, I bump into Kondou. He offers to accompany me to Okita's room. I want to say no because it's important that I talk to Okita in private first, but I oblige, hoping that Kondou will tell Okita about our "guests".
As I open the door to his room, I'm silently praying that Okita remembered to put on his bandages. The sunlight shines through the opening of the door, which provides a spotlight to the still sleeping man in bed. Restlessly, he turns to his other side, away from the protruding light. He's not much of a morning person, is he?
"Rise and shine, Souji! Today's a big day for all of us!", Kondou boasts as he steps inside. Hearing his voice, Okita's head perks up immediately and he shifts back to the other side to face Kondou and me. He blinks several times to adjust to the morning light and finally smiles warmly. That smile again… I can't help but notice.
"Good morning, Kondou-san. Ah, Chizuru-chan's here too", he finally recognizes my presence, his smile still unwavering. I give a quick smile, trying hard not to focus on his mouth and blush at the same time. My eyes wander to the rest of him. The sleeping yukata he has on is disheveled and barely clinging onto him, baring a majority of his chest. If it weren't for his blanket, I can assume that the rest of his garments don't conceal most of his skin. I'm sure I would've gawked, but thankfully I find the beginnings of bandages on his shoulder to keep me distracted.
"Now get dressed for breakfast. We have a lot of things to discuss, and several preparations to make", Kondou tells Okita.
"What's going on?", Okita asks.
"Our superiors, as well as members from the northern embassy, are coming to dine with all of us this evening. That's good news, right?!", much to Kondou's excitement, I can catch the tiniest flicker of dismay in Okita's bright green eyes.
"It certainly is…", Okita smiles, appearing to share Kondou's excitement, but I know he's doing his best to hide his disquiet. Luckily Kondou doesn't notice his uneasiness.
"Oh, Chizuru-chan, would you mind helping me change my bandages?", Okita asks lightheartedly, but only I can hear his urgency.
"Okay", I nod once before I head over to his drawer to pretend to look for new bandages.
"Well I'll see you in few minutes, so be quick", Kondou says before speed walking with barely-contained enthusiasm out of Okita's room. As soon as he's out of eyesight, I quickly shut the door and rush to Okita's bedside.
"What business do northerners have here?", Okita asks me grumpily while sitting up rapidly.
"No one really knows what they want with the Shinsengumi, but the Cove incident caught their attention", I say.
"…Don't go near the dinner party tonight. Do whatever you have to do: clean, sleep, anything. Make it up as you go, just don't risk your chances of running into them", Okita shares his concern for me.
"What about you?", I ask out of worry.
"I'll be fine. I've kept my secret hidden for years, so I'm sure that I can pull off one dinner", Okita assures me with a grin. Even with his statement, my nerves are still getting the best of me. I bite my lip as my gaze lowers to the floor.
"You're such a worrywart", without warning, Okita suddenly pats my head and ruffles my hair teasingly while laughing.
"Hey!", I tense, trying to get him to stop. Great. Now he's making fun of me!
"Well, you wouldn't be you if you weren't", he chuckles, finally removing his hand from my head. Is that his way of thanking me? If it is, then that's enough for me.
He could've brushed me off aside, or called me a nuisance, but he didn't do either of those things. For that reason, my nervousness is replaced by warm happiness and hope.
…The day goes on with a lot of cleaning to prepare for our visitors. All of the chores are finished early, so everyone has a chance to take a bath and get cleaned up for tonight. The soldiers relax a little without the usual daily training, but they were still sent out on patrols, and mainly to pick groceries to please our guests.
There are a lot of preparations for just one night, but knowing the position of our receiving crowd, it's not hard to figure out why the Shinsengumi wants to give a good impression for them. The higher ups have usually looked down on them, so for them to finally acknowledge the Shinsengumi with the honor of attending the banquet is certainly a big deal. Tonight, perhaps the Shinsengumi will at last be given the chance to further grow here in the West. The northerners will perhaps assist in that goal as well, but it all depends on what they want from us.
…At long last, evening arrives, and as directed by Okita, I purposefully maintain myself away from the banquet. All of the captains are dinning with guests, leaving me all by myself. Though I miss the company of the men, I remind myself that it's better not to be near the men right now. So I eat my dinner in my room, and decide to check on Chibi.
As I walk through the halls to get outside, I notice that it's not just the captains feasting tonight. The foot soldiers are in their rooms eating and drinking with their companions in their quarters. It seems as though all of the compounds are alive with high spirits. Perhaps I was worrying too much…
I pick up a small candle along the way to guide my way. Eventually I make it outside and reach one of the edges of the property where the stables are. It's late, so it's no surprise that the stable master has left. My footsteps echo through dark stables, waking up several of the horses, which lose interest in me right away and lower their heads to go back to sleep. Once I arrive at the last stall, the dappled grey horse immediately sticks his head out to greet me.
"Hello there", I whisper as my hand pets Chibi's soft, velvety pink nose. Zoning out the rest of the world, I repeat the same stroke on his nose for what seems like an eternity. How I missed the lively horse, my only memento from home. I make an effort to at least see him once a day, but I haven't gotten the chance to take him out for a leisure ride. My mind wanders off on its own, thinking about the things I haven't done with Chibi for a long time. I'm so distracted that I almost don't notice Chibi's ear twitch to the side as he raises his head.
Something's not entirely right. Suddenly an itchy feeling travels up my back.
"What is someone like you doing here?", beside me, yet in my blind spot, a voice asks abruptly.
"Ah!", I cry out, startled. Without any time to mentally process what's happening, I spin around as I jump, dropping my candle during the moment. Despite that, I can only focus on the stranger in front of me. He's a man I've never seen before, dressed in expensive southern clothing. Half of his long black hair is pulled up, and his lips are only slightly pulled back to form an intimidating smirk. Even in the dark, his steely grey eyes stare pointedly at me like sword's edge.
"Well? You haven't answered me yet", the man's voice is soft and graceful, but his eyes continue to stagger me.
"O-Oh. Um…", I quickly pick up the dropped candle, which luckily didn't land on few strands of straw.
"I was just…checking on my horse, sir", I say with a mighty effort to keep my voice from shaking. Who is this man? Is he one of the Shinsengumi's guests? If he is, he must be one of the higher ups from the look of it. Either way, the anxiety that I thought had vanished returns with knots in my stomach. Chibi doesn't like the stranger's presence as well because he starts to breathe heavily and slam his hoof against the stall's door with a thundering sound.
"I didn't just mean here in this muck. Rather, I was referring to why are you here in the Shinsengumi's headquarters?", the man rephrases his question, paying little mind to Chibi.
"Eh?", I still don't get what he wants from me.
"You're obviously not a soldier. So what's you're purpose here? Are you their plaything?", he goes on to ask, taking a step closer to me. Instinctively I begin my strides backward. My heart begins to race with panic as the word "plaything" echoes through my head mercilessly. A dangerous, animalistic glint clouds the man's stormy eyes as he continues to walk toward me.
He extends a long slender hand for my collar, but that's when I catch something flying toward us from the corner of my eye. The object soars past the man's hand –almost hitting it- with vigorous speed. It then hits the wall with a resounding thud, while its parts and juice splutter in all directions. It's only after a moment that I identify the object as an apple. My head quickly turns to the direction from where it came from.
Ascending from the darkness, Okita appears. So it was he who threw the apple... Relief is the first emotion that passes through my body, but I quickly notice that the situation isn't close to being safe. Once again, I find myself staring into the cold, emotionless eyes of a killer with a dangerous grin. Okita won't look at me, though. His glaring eyes are trained on the stranger in front of me.
"I thought you would've liked to give a horse a snack, so that's why I tossed you the apple", Okita's voice is slightly deeper than usual. "Tossed"? It was more like he aimed with the intent to kill.
"How thoughtful. But how crude of you to toss it without warning", the stranger –mysteriously to me- seems unfazed by Okita's gesture.
"I wanted to surprise you, after all", Okita steps closer to us. That's when I notice that Chibi's kicks have stopped, but his ears are still pointed back in the opposite direction of the stranger.
"…I must say, that was quite an impressive throw, especially from someone who was injured not too long ago", the stranger's lips curl up into a devious grin. Did he really just say that?! Well how could he not? The violent throw was intended to hit him, not just "surprise" him. Either way, it doesn't change the matter that the stranger could already suspect something about Okita's wound.
My heartbeat progressively gets stronger as it pounds against my chest. Calm down. I'm sure that Okita knows what he's doing.
"I may have been shot on my left shoulder, but that didn't have an impact on my right arm. I am still right handed", Okita counters the man's statement easily. He then moves to my side, but still standing in between the stranger and me.
"But isn't it funny, Itou-san? Why are you here instead of the party?", Okita asks the man apparently called Itou. I wonder if I'm the only one who heard the sarcasm in his tone.
"I thought I caught a glimpse of something…eye-catching and pretty that wandered in here", my skin crawls as Itou speaks, but I manage to keep my face plain.
"Then you should walk by the gardens. The flowers are the only pretty things you'll find here", though Okita's voice is light, I feel the strong, territorial demand radiating from his tone.
"Perhaps some other time. It's hard to adore flowers at night, but thank you for the suggestion", again, Itou glosses over Okita's silent warning.
"Well then, shall we get back? There's nothing to do here with the horses and the pageboy, and I'd be awful if your food turned cold", finally Okita decides to drive Itou away.
"Excellent idea. Then let's be on our way", and with that Itou turns on his heel and begins to head for the exit. Suddenly he stops and peers over at Okita and me.
"Oh. I almost forgot. We're running low on sake. Would your pageboy be kind enough to bring us some from the kitchen?", I'm not sure if Itou's question is directed at Okita or me.
From the angle I get of Okita's face, I can see his jaw shift.
"…Of course", the words seem forced out from Okita's mouth. His head turns to finally look at me. Even without meeting his eyes, I can tell he's aggravated.
"Do what he says and meet me outside the dining hall. I'll…distract Itou-san", Okita whispers to me in an annoyed tone. I nod, not daring to question him, and quickly run past Itou to get leave the stables behind me.
I almost trip several times on my way to the kitchen, but somehow I make it in one piece –physically, I should say. My mind is exploding with all sorts of worries and predictions about the outcome of this situation. I don't like to think about what could've happened at the stables -had Okita not have been there. And now Itou has an eye on the both of us. I have to relax. If I do anything abnormal, then Okita and I are both doomed. With determination setting in, I find a new jar of sake and calmly make my way to the dinning hall.
As I approach the room, I see the several silhouettes of the captains and other indistinguishable men. The room isn't as lively as the one in Keiko's, but it's understandable. Kondou had told everyone to be on their best behavior for tonight, and though it seemed unnecessary, everyone understood how important this dinner is.
I'm about to kneel in front of the door to open it, but that's when it unexpectedly slides open. Okita –with a not too happy face- snatches the jar from hands and begins to close the door.
"Leave", his voice is soft and curt, but alarmed. Wanting to know the cause of his uneasiness, curiosity gets the beast of me as I take a peak inside the room. Through the openings of the door, I can barely catch a glimpse of the men inside. I see the familiar faces of the captains, as well as formally dressed men, who must be northerners.
Then I spot the source –rather sources- of Okita's distress. Itou is sitting beside someone I wasn't expecting –or wanting- to see at all. The man inside catches my gaze with his own crimson one. I can swear I see a smirk beginning to form on his lips the moment he sees me.
Kazama.
Shock keeps my feet grounded, and I feel my eyes bulge out, but neither does my eye contact with Kazama last long. Okita is quick to notice my surprise and frowns before he almost violently shuts the door in my face.
I stare at the door, dumbfounded, for several moments. Kazama's here? But why?
When I saw him, he was sitting next to Itou. Could he be a higher up? If he is, then he must be an extremely important higher up due to his connections with Lord Matsuda. But what if that's not the only reason why he's here…?
-No! I can't be thinking about that now. I should leave as Okita told me to do.
I back away from the dining hall before I almost sprint down the hallway to my room. What's going on? What do those men want from us? As the questions keep piling up, my head feels like it's about to burst. After a labored run, I finally reach my room and collapse on my futon. I groan and moan into my blanket. I'm tired, frustrated, panicked, and confused.
The last several moments were so tense that it felt as though a noose was coiling around my neck. I just want tonight to end… As I think that, I begin to curl up into a ball in my futon, not bothering to change into proper sleeping garments.
The silent minutes go by, and finally sleep begins to call my name to rest. My eyes drift slowly, and as I finally feel the world darkening around me I hear a shuffle from the other side of my room. I crack an eye open to figure out what the sound was. My vision isn't enough to see past the darkness of my room, so I reluctantly sit up and rub my eyes.
The clouds in the sky must have shifted because suddenly the soft, silvery glow of the moonlight seeps through the paper of my window. The light allows my eyes to adjust to my surroundings. On the other side of my room, from where the mysterious sound originated from, I spot something darker than even the blackest shadow.
The figure of darkness steps into the moon's spotlight.
I'm suddenly paralyzed the strongest pit of fear, so much so that I'd rather deal with Itou and Kazama. It's a sort of emotion I never wanted to experience again.
No… Please! No!
The person, or thing, in front of me is something that I thought I had left behind in the South.
In high contrast against the dark robe, the white, emotionless mask stares back at me with omnipotent power.
Thank you for reading! Please leave a review telling me about your thoughts on this chapter! I'm sorry if there were a few errors in the text, but I was running a short time when uploaded this. For previews and news regarding this story please check out my tumblr blog (hakuoukiandmocha11). As always have an awesome day!
