Chapter Twenty-Eight
"Hey, flakey, what's with that sour look?" Rin jolted as a finger suddenly poked her cheek. "We're third years now, so you should be smiling."
She brushed Masamune off and said crossly, "I don't know what you're talking about, so go back to your own class and leave me alone." She sidled away from him to continue staring out the window gloomily. It was April yet again, as he said, and the cherry blossoms were almost in full bloom. Even so, with a front row seat of them, Rin just couldn't force her attention to them with what was on her mind at the moment.
In an attempt to make him leave she asked, "Shouldn't you be in your own class, anyway?"
He shrugged and said idly, "It's a free period for me. Besides, I have a question for you."
Rin sighed and asked impatiently, "What is it?"
"Can I stay at your apartment tonight?"
"…Why?" Rin asked as calmly as she could. Ever since their night together during their previous winter break a few months back, it had apparently granted unspoken new powers to him and he openly took advantage of it. Not only that, but he wasn't afraid to use their last experience as blackmail either. Plus he wanted to start telling people of their relationship.
Now that the rumors had spread, he said that they might as well advertise it. So now when Rin refused to go out with him somewhere or refused to do anything he really wanted he'd pretend to shout, "Kazehaya Rin is my girlfriend and we have hot-" though Rin would always effectively shut him up before he could get any further. She had an idea of what he would say otherwise.
And so came he to, from time to time, sleep at her apartment with her. Luckily, now that they were "home" home, she had the advantage of the futon being in the center of the room, allowing her to easily kick him or crawl away when necessary.
Date sighed heavily, "Kojuro let some woman stay over and I can't get any sleep because of her."
Rin turned to look at him now as she asked, "A woman? You don't mean Suzume-sensei, do you?" she looked over at said woman, who was still teaching her lesson and pretending Masamune wasn't there. She usually did this whenever he came into the class because it was easier to do this than to spend an entire twenty minutes or more trying to make him leave like she had tried in the past. Normally, he would listen to Suzume, but only if he had his "Rin Tank" filled. Rin wished she had this holy power against him as well sometimes.
He rolled his eye and said, "Of course not."
"Then who?"
He sighed, "A business associate who he couldn't really refuse… But anyway, can I? I'm dying right now; I haven't been able to sleep properly in two days."
He did seem a little worn out at the moment… Rin asked, "Couldn't she have stayed at a hotel or something? Couldn't you?"
"I wish," he grumbled. "But I'd rather sleep with you." Rin wondered how this woman was so important that she could override Masamune's wish to keep her away.
Rin turned to look out the window again as she sighed and said idly, "Fine. But you aren't sleeping with me. Got it?" she mimicked one of his favorite phrases and he laughed as he rubbed the back of her head affectionately.
"Got it."
"So where are you going now?" Masamune trailed her even as Rin left the classroom.
"Something's been bothering me, and I want to check it out," she said simply as she headed to the nurse's office.
"I'll come with then," he replied cheerfully. "Where to?"
"Kanon-sama's office."
"Okay, great; I actually have to stop by somewhere past that area too, but why there?"
He grabbed her hand and entwined their fingers as he started walking and Rin blushed. They were already in the hall before she looked around and asked timidly, "W-wait, Masamune… Is this okay?"
He paused to ask, "Is what okay?"
"Us… Holding hands so openly like this…" she blinked worriedly at him; suddenly feeling a strange sort of tenseness starting to invisibly ferment around them. It was as if she were being watched by hundreds of pairs of eyes, and not by anyone friendly. She mumbled nervously, "P-people are staring…"
Masamune seemed completely oblivious to her discomfort but he understood why she was asking so he laughed and tried brushing her worry away. He started walking as he reasoned, "Look, Rin… If you want people to accept us as a couple, then you need to show them by acting more open about it. We've been dating now for almost half a year; it's about time we made it obvious so they get the picture."
"B-but…" He pulled her calmly down the littered hall of students as her thoughts suddenly became jumbled. "M-Masamune… I…"
"Would you like me to let go?" he asked teasingly and smirked because he already knew the answer.
She shook her head furiously, "N-no, but Masamune… I… I don't like all this attention…"
"Well, get used to it," he said somewhat unsympathetically. "Because it'll be like this for the rest of your life."
"And who said I'd stick with you for the rest of my life?" Rin asked, slightly offended. It was as if he thought she couldn't survive without him or something. He smirked and she blushed again. They left the offended question hanging. They both already knew the answer anyway.
To try getting her attention back on track and off their entwined fingers he asked, "So, why do you want to see Kanon-sama?" They had started walking again. "You aren't pregnant because of what we did a few weeks ago, are you?"
Rin stopped walking as she almost screeched, "And what did we do a few weeks ago that would make me pregnant?!"
Masamune only chuckled as he stopped walking, "I was teasing you Rin; no matter how close you sleep next to me or how many times we kiss, you can only get pregnant if I stick my-"
Rin slapped her hand over his mouth tightly and hissed, "Don't. You. Dare." She looked around to make sure on one was listening. There had been a few students wandering around; some girls watching them, but not really listening. She felt safer with that knowledge, but she was still furious.
She could feel him smirking with a horrid sort of glee under her fingertips. He knew how to get under her skin, and he enjoyed that little fact immensely. He moved out of her range to sing, "Fine, fine. I was going to use child appropriate words for you, but anyway, you know I'm right and we haven't done anything like that yet."
Rin took a few deep breaths to calm her nerves as she replied, "And we won't be either, until I'm ready."
Masamune sighed mock woefully, "Oh, how cold you can be, Rin… If we stick to your plans I'm going to be stuck looking and never touching you for real forever."
"Don't be ridiculous," Rin blushed as she tried matching his large strides with her timid ones. "Y-you'll…" she coughed and said in a small voice, "Get your chance…"
He smirked and said, "One can only hope." He had stopped for a third time right outside Kanon's office and Rin bumped into him.
"Hey, quit stopping like that," she complained as she rubbed her forehead.
He grinned as he said, "Sure." He pointed to another room just down the hall and said, "I have to go there right now and I might take a while, so don't wait for me, okay?"
"I wasn't going to," Rin promised almost coldly. She stuck out her tongue but he only laughed and ruffled her hair.
"Whatever you say, Rin." He left a teasing kiss on her forehead before leaving and calling back, "I'll see you this afternoon then."
She sighed and rolled her eyes. "I'll see you then."
Kanon sighed as she leaned on the wall outside of the school. She had hopped out the window of her office and was watching the sakura petals float around. It's that time of year again, she thought idly. She dug into one the inner pockets of her trench coat and brought out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter.
She was just lighting the end of one of the cigarettes when a catty voice asked from inside her room, "I thought you quit smoking ages ago."
She turned unfazed to look at Ichigo who was hanging out the window with her cheek propped on the sill. She greeted casually, "Yo." She continued holding the flame to the end of her cigarette until it lit and she explained, "I did, but watching the smoke curl helps me think and sometimes and I can't bring my kiseru pipe around with me so," she stuffed her box of cigarettes back in her pockets, "These substitute."
Ichigo watched as Kanon leaned a little more heavily on the wall and bent her arm back to cushion her head. She asked, "And what do you need to think about?"
Kanon sighed, figuring that the only way to get a rid of this pest was to answer her. She said lethargically, "Well… Job offers and such. You know."
"Don't you have an apprentice to help you with that?" Ichigo asked with a sneer. "I mean, if you actually used her help like you did with your last one, things would go a lot faster. You even hired a second one; that new Chinese kid. What was his name again?" Ichigo took a second to think about it before laughing, "Oh yes, Anming Yuu. He's kinda cute, but he's so weird!"
Kanon went back to watching the sakura trees as Ichigo continued, "And have you seen how clingy he is to that Kazehaya Rin? He's practically obsessed about her. Not only him, but it seems that Sanada Yukimura has been trying to work up the courage to get closer to her lately too. I actually think he has what it takes to make her his if he really put his heart in it." She laughed, "But then, I guess that's impossible with that Date Masamune guarding her like some sort of watchdog all the time."
Kanon only smiled faintly, good job, Bontenmaru… She watched her smoke curl until Ichigo said gleefully, "But of course, with your job of breaking those two up, it's quite possible for a new combination, right?"
Kanon suddenly turned on her heel as she asked testily, "And what do you mean by that?"
Ichigo blinked in surprise before smiling with smug relish, "Oh, so you aren't going to do that job, even though Mogami Yoshihime ordered you to?"
Kanon crossed her arms as she asked irritably, "Do you know how many resources it took me to bring those two together?" Ichigo shrugged and shook her head so Kanon answered, "A lot. And it would take double that amount to break them apart."
"Didn't you tell Kazehaya Rin that her sister was ill, just to make her have to leave the city for a while?"
Kanon smirked. "She never questioned it either; even when she saw for herself that her sister was well enough."
"And then you sent Date Masamune after her."
"So what if I did? He probably would've gone anyway; I just pointed him into the general direction." She sighed somewhat satisfactorily, "And Kasuga's help was much obliged."
"But then," Ichigo figured out, "You aren't trying to break them up at all."
She snorted, "Break them up? Yeah, right. I brought those two together; no way am I going to be the one to tear them apart."
"But what about Yoshihime-sama's job request? You already accepted her money and act like you've been on the job." Ichigo reasoned, "The only reason why she hasn't breached you about why it's taking you so long is because even she is not brave enough to question your reasoning and work methods."
Kanon's amber eyes watched the smoke continue to curl from the end of her cigarette as she shrugged. Instead of answering Ichigo's question clearly she asked, "Well, what do you do with a cigarette that's gone out of control?"
Ichigo eyed the woman oddly, "Erm… I… Don't know."
Kanon dropped the cigarette on the white stone steps and smothered it out with her shoe as she said simply, "You smother it out before it can start a fire." She hopped back through the window and Ichigo moved out of the way as Kanon finished with, "If it starts a fire, then you're out of luck, but it hasn't quite gotten to that point yet, so I still have some time."
She stuffed her hands in her pockets as she walked to her desk. She pulled them out so she could start searching her drawers for the strawberry Pocky she had hidden. She searched for a good few minutes before finally sighing. She turned to Ichigo and glared, "Oi, you," she held her hand out and demanded, "Give me back my Pocky."
Ichigo pulled it out from behind her and held it somewhat tauntingly to her superior. "First, I have a question for you."
"Brat." Kanon continued glaring as she finally asked grudgingly, "What is it?"
"Why have you worked so hard to bring Date Masamune and Kazehaya Rin together?"
Kanon sighed as she folded her arms together. She sat down at her desk and swung around in the chair thoughtfully. She stopped swinging when she finally answered, "Because they're practically my younger siblings, and I want them both to be as happy as possible."
Ichigo eyed her and asked, "And why is that? You were never this devoted before, even when you were trying to pair your own twin with Kojuro-dono."
Kanon sighed but didn't answer. Thinking she needed some motivation, Ichigo took a stick of Pocky and tossed it to her. Kanon caught it but didn't eat it right away. Instead she smirked and noted, "I see you're learning from my method of operation, that's good."
"Give the dog a bone," Ichigo said sarcastically.
She rolled her eyes as Kanon chewed on her treat. She said slowly, "It's just… They're the first people outside my own family who have accepted me."
"What do you mean?" Ichigo tossed another stick.
Kanon sighed, suddenly feeling like a dog being trained to behave. She answered anyway, "Exactly as I said… Bontenmaru and Rin… No... Masmune and Rin. They understand that I'm cruel… That I would back stab either of them if it meant I could gain something… But despite that, they both stay by my side. They're even prepared for it to happen, they practically know that one day I will, and yet… They don't leave my side.
"They don't try running away. They don't try to make me change my ways. They accept me. They accept my ways, no matter how dirty or unfair they are."
Ichigo thought this over as she asked, "Is that what you thought about Kray-san too?"
Kanon winced slightly as she replied, "Yes… And that's why I thought he'd be a good friend for Bontenmaru."
"By the way," Ichigo asked off-handedly, "How is that kid? I haven't seen him in ages."
Kanon shrugged. "He's doing well, I guess… He's still going to that second hand school near the Kawanakajima District; near Uesugi Kenshin's parts."
Ichigo nodded and then smirked, "But that turned out to be a real flop, didn't it?" Kanon didn't answer. Ichigo thumbed the cover of the Pocky box before chuckling, "Hmph, but trying to match people up that you consider both as your siblings… That's practically incest on your part." She tossed Kanon the box of Pocky with a laugh, "But then, I guess that isn't really true in this case."
Just as she began leaving Ichigo asked finally, "Before I go… I want you to tell me, how do you honestly feel about Kazehaya Rin?"
"Is that an order?" Kanon smirked.
Ichigo shrugged. "I can't really make you do anything now without your Pocky. You know, normal school nurses don't drink alcohol, smoke, or sleep while on the job and neither can they be bribed with cheap Pocky like you are."
Kanon laughed, "Well, I'm not exactly your typical school nurse, am I?"
"Got that right."
Kanon sighed and finally said with a resigned laugh, "Rin, Rin… Dear, little Rin… She's plain. She's not particularly beautiful or extraordinary. She's smart, but not necessarily brilliant. She's completely underdeveloped when it comes to relationships, so she gets upset and flustered easily because she doesn't understand how else to react. She's incredibly naive because she wants to trust everyone, but stubborn and resilient because she knows that just isn't possible.
"She's almost as clumsy as my sister, she can't cook anything worth anything, and she's poorer than your average church mouse, however…" Kanon chuckled, "Despite all these flaws and negative sides… She's kind and she sees Bontenmaru as a person rather than an icon. She sees everyone as an equal because she was raised without our social statuses.
"She doesn't take advantage of his power like some girls might, and even though she may deny it, she loves him unconditionally. They both know that.
"He has too much pride to admit it and she's just too hesitant, but one day, they'll both overcome these emotions and be able to openly say it to each other.
"It may take Bontenmaru a longer time than her," Kanon smiled fondly, "But he will by the end of his high school years." She took a stick of Pocky and crunched it cheerfully. She pointed the half bitten stick at Ichigo as she grinned, "I'm sure of it."
Ichigo turned her back to Kanon silently; preparing to leave, but she smiled softly. She agreed, "I'm sure you're right, Jackal-sama… You usually are…" She paused by the door to collect her thoughts. You're right, Jackal-sama. You've changed too ever since you met those two and started pairing them together…
Just as she was leaving, she paused and made one last remark, "One more thing… Jackal-sama… Kougran-sama has almost finished healing in the hospital. I think they'll be releasing him late May." She turned to eye her superior, "He says to 'get ready; the time is almost here.'"
Kanon stared at her blankly for a second before smirking as she said, "Oh? I see. Well, tell him that's just perfect. The sooner he gets his ass out of the hospital bed, the sooner we can go through with our plan and destroy Crow." And the sooner I can avenge Kray.
Ichigo nodded and left. Just as she was leaving, she brushed shoulders with Rin, who had just departed from Masamune. They bumped into each other and Rin winced because Ichigo had accidentally bumped the bruised shoulder she got from the last time she was cornered by the girls who heard rumor of her relationship to Masamune.
She quickly apologized, "Ah, sorry."
She refrained from cradling her wounded shoulder and Ichigo seemed to notice. She stared at Rin's shoulder as if she had X-ray vision but after a moment she finally smiled casually. She said coolly, "Oh no, it was my fault." She smiled brightly before saying cheerfully, "Just be careful where you're going next time~" before skipping away like a normal, carefree third year student.
What a strange girl, Rin thought as she watched the bright, pink haired girl skip away. She shook her head before entering the room. Kanon was sitting at her desk munching on her favorite Pocky and as soon as she entered the room, before Rin could open her mouth, Kanon demanded, "Take off your shirt."
Rin stared at her, her mouth agape. She stuttered, "E-excuse me?"
"You heard me," Kanon said calmly. She nodded at her, "Now, take it off."
"W-why?" Rin cried. She was used to these sort of demands from Masamune, but not from Kanon.
Kanon sighed and replied as if stating the obvious, "Because I need to see how bad the swelling of your bruises are."
Rin grit her teeth and chewed her lip nervously. She asked dumbly, "Wh-what bruises?"
Sighing again, Kanon put her Pocky down and forced Rin to sit down on the chair in front of her. She grabbed the bottom of Rin's school uniform and promptly pulled it off. She explained impatiently, "You flinched when you bumped into that pink-haired brat; you're hurt."
"H-hey!" Rin shouted, too flustered now to question Kanon's connection with the 'pink-haired brat'. She tried grabbing her shirt back but Kanon only put it out of her grasp. She studied Rin's slim body carefully. There weren't really too many bruises; just a few on her ribs and one just above her bra. Only the one on her left should is really concerning, Kanon analyzed.
Kanon stood up now to grab some ice from the freezer as she asked coolly, "He doesn't know about this, does he?"
Rin had been sitting silently with her hands gripping her skirt tightly, unable to do anything but let Kanon have her way. She mumbled, "Who…?"
Kanon clicked her tongue and shoved the ice to Rin, "Put this on your shoulder. It'll get the swelling down." Rin nodded and did as she told. She wouldn't look at Kanon as she sighed and rested her cheek on her knuckles. She asked, "Why haven't you told him?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," Rin said simply.
After her last conversation, Kanon's patience had waned and she was in no mood for games for once. She shouted impatiently now, "Why haven't you told Bontenmaru about this yet?!"
Rin cowered slightly. Kanon rarely ever truly lost her temper. She shouted and raged at Masamune and was boisterous and loud to Rin... But never, truly angry. She mumbled, "I… Just don't want him to worry."
"And you don't think he'll be pissed when he finds out?" Kanon asked.
Rin continued to mumble, "Well… He won't find out…" She turned somewhat desperate eyes to Kanon, "Please, don't tell him."
"And why not?" Kanon asked crossly. Suddenly, Rin felt as if she were talking to Kasuga all over again.
"Because you know him even better than I do," Rin said. "If he knew something like this was going on, he'd do something stupid. He's reckless that way…"
"Well, yeah," Kanon agreed hesitantly. "But what's the dumbest thing he could do?"
Rin sighed, "I don't know… But really, it isn't so bad… I'm only being pushed around a little; nothing big."
"You don't consider this big?" Kanon waved at the bruise reigning her shoulder like a giant thunder cloud and Rin winced.
"W-well… That was sort of my fault… They pushed me and I crashed it into the wall…"
"And how do you explain the bruise on your knee?" Kanon asked, pointing to it.
"I-… I tripped," Rin said. She wasn't exactly lying... But it wasn't the complete truth either.
"More like they tripped you," Kanon sighed. "Am I right?" Rin only nodded glumly. Kanon sighed, "Well… I won't tell him, if you're worried about that, but… Rin, be careful. You can't pull the 'clumsy' act forever."
Rin nodded again and looked up at Kanon. She was looking out the window and she seemed tired. Rin asked hesitantly, "Jackal… Are you sick?"
Kanon looked back at her in surprise and asked, "No, why?"
"Because you seem… Different," Rin said slowly.
"Oh…" Kanon leaned back in her seat and sighed. She murmured, "No, not really… I'm just a little tired, that's all…" Rin studied the older woman silently. Suddenly, she seemed to wake up from some sort of trance and she handed Rin back her shirt. "In any case," she coughed, "What were you here for in the first place?"
Rin put her shirt back on gratefully and said, "I just wanted to check up on you. I was worried you'd caught something…"
"Hmm…" Kanon nodded and took out her Pocky again. She shrugged indifferently, "Nope, I'm fine." With luck on her side, the period bell suddenly rang and Kanon turned back to Rin. She grinned, "Better get back to class now, you know."
Rin nodded as she stood up to leave. "Right…" she sighed, "See you later, Jackal."
Kanon smiled to herself now. "Yeah… See you later." She had just started coughing after Rin left the room.
"Masamune… Do you think Kanon-sama is ill?" Rin asked, later that night. She had propped her cheek on her hand and was watching him over the counter as he cut vegetables up for the soup he was making. Since the only thing Rin could 'cook' without making a horrible, destructive glop was tea, it was an unspoken agreement that Masamune, who had been taught by Kojuro, would cook if he ever stayed over at Rin's home. It was obvious who the cook was and who wasn't when it came to these two. Not Rin.
Seriously, the only thing she hadn't managed to make completely inedible and beyond human recognition as food was the traditional tea she had been taught to make when she was younger. Her family had fallen apart long before anyone could teach her how to cook properly, but even before that, she was terrible.
He held three cooking knives in between his fingers similar to how she'd seen him hold his swords when he was ever practicing, and he cut the vegetables efficiently and quickly… Though Rin sometimes wondered why he couldn't just use one knife at a time like a normal person.
"Why do you ask?" he asked without pause.
Rin hesitated, "W-well, because… Don't you think she's been acting odd lately? She seemed very much so when I spoke to her this afternoon."
"Hm? Odd?" he asked, stopping now to look at her.
She nodded, "Well, yeah… I mean, haven't you noticed that she isn't as lively as she used to be? And she seems paler than usual."
"Hm…" He continued chopping the carrots now as he thought out loud. "I guess so."
"Not only that," Rin persisted, "But after she hired that new kid, she's been hanging around the shop a lot less." She almost shuddered upon reflection of "that new kid". He hung around her constantly, and it was getting on her nerves. Anming Yuu seemed to have taken quite an affection to her.
If it weren't for the fact that she made sure to either stick with Kasuga, Masamune, and even Yukimura or Sasuke, 'that kid' would probably be at her side day and night. She was even more careful about where she was seen going than ever before now.
Masamune shrugged and said reasonably, "She may be out on more jobs or out drinking or something. Whatever it is, you shouldn't worry about it."
"But she was practically hacking up a lung when I left..." Rin sighed, was she the only one who worried about these sorts of things? She sighed. This conversation was going nowhere... "Well," she said hesitantly, "I guess you're right…" But I still don't trust her.
"Don't worry," Masamune repeated. He put down his knives to pat her on the head, as childishly as he always did.
Rin sighed again. "I won't…" She still worried.
A/N: I've read from many historical references that Date Masamune really was a good cook and used to serve his men himself. ... Though... Ha, my Japanese isn't very good yet so maybe I translated the historical reference incorrectly (from the second expansion BASARA game: HEROES) so, I may be wrong. But, figuring that Kojuro likes to plant, it isn't too farfetched of an idea that he also likes to cook and would pass it on to Masamune.
Ha, thanks for all the replies I got from you when I asked, "Why does Kanon want a cow". I hadn't actually expected you to answer, so it was a pleasant surprise. :3 Comments are my nourishment. I feed off them like some sort of insect. Like a mosquito. Like a leech. Like Ishida Mitsunari. ... Because that is what he is.
An insect/arthropod. ._. ... I kind of like him though... For a total deuce. Haaaa... His hair is too modern though... Justin Beiber modern...
Oh, I'm getting off topic.
Anyway, Chapter 28, ladies. (and possibly gentleman? I honestly doubt any guys are reading this) thanks for your support. I'll work hard on the next one. :) I don't think I'll be able to finish this series by chapter 30, no matter how much time I try skipping. T.T
- Jackal
(I should give Mitsunari a role in this series (I should give everyone a role!) but unfortunately, he appears only during the movie and I'm trying to stick to season one for right now, which centers Oda Nobunaga. :/ Maybe next time though!)
