No matter where he went, Harada was a ladies' man. Even in the Kazama village.
Perhaps it was his winning smile, or the fact that he was such a gentlemen to all the womenfolk. Women just formed a trail behind him, swooning wherever he went. In a village where the ratio of males to females was 5:1, and where that one male that seemed to attract all the female attention was a human, it made the men rather… left out of the competition.
"That human. He is a threat to my existence," Cousin Kohei, one of the younger sons of the Kazama clan, threatened Kazama one evening when the girl he had been pursuing gave him a large telling off on why he hadn't given her any flowers throughout their courtship when Harada, a complete stranger, had stopped and pressed a perfect persimmon blossom into her hands as thanks for a favor done.
"He is sworn to Chizuru, if you want to kill him, take it up with her," Kazama replied nonchalantly. He was lucky to have made Chizuru his wife, knowing that Harada was one of her suitors. Harada was now part of their village and family, as Chizuru's bodyguard and advisor. Unofficially, he actually assigned to watch over Senka, while Saito was entrusted with Chizuru and Hijikata moved in to be the right-hand man of the entire Kazama clan.
Kohei sighed. He knew that it was pointless to put up any form of argument towards the issue, no matter whom he had spoken to. "I can't believe that she would like a human over me!" he complained further, absolutely ignorant for the fact that a few years ago, his cousin was on the brink of standing in his shoes.
"You have my sympathy, cousin," Kazama added, trying to act as if he gave a damn about his cousin's plight. "However, it would not kill you to be more… receptive towards your woman."
"What do you mean?"
"You've obviously never given her flowers before if she becomes so easily flattered by Sanosuke giving her just one," Kazama said.
"But… I'm… allergic to flowers. They make me sneeze."
Kazama was sure that he was going to punch that fool that dared to bear the same surname as he did into high heaven when he heard those words. "Begone, you fool," he scolded poor Kohei, who looked as if he was about to burst into tears at Kazama's apparent insensitivity towards his plight. "Perhaps you could draw her something," he continued, relenting after a few seconds, deciding that he had been too harsh on his young cousin. "You always had talent with the brush."
Kohei's expression lighted up immediately. "Thank you, Chikage!" he said and went on his merry way, to act on Kazama's advice.
It was at this opportune moment when Harada chanced upon Kazama with Senka. They had just returned from Senka's daily walk around the island just before dinnertime. "Chikage-san, we're over here!" Harada called to Kazama, who walked over to them and picked his daughter up in his arms.
"'Tou-chan, Sano Oji-chan found me this pretty seashell!" Senka told her father, showing him the seashell that Harada had given her. It was a pretty thing, barely covering the breadth of her tiny hand. She had seemed to have developed a preference for all things white, and this seashell was no exception at all.
Unable to contain a little grin, Kazama replied, "It would seem that your Sano Oji-chan knows the heart of every woman he encounters, even one as little as you are." It was the perfect way to deliver a tiny little jab at Harada. "Now, run along home. We'll be behind you."
"Chikage-san, just what were you trying to say?" Harada asked Kazama when Senka was a good distance away from them.
"My cousin, Kohei, suffered a little decline in self-esteem regarding the girl he was chasing after following your actions," Kazama explained. "As much as a fool he is, he has been trying to pursue the girl for a long time already and has requested me to stop your… meddling."
Harada chuckled. "Kohei… isn't that the artist?" he asked Kazama, receiving a nod in answer. "Isn't he a little bit of a… recluse?" Kohei was talented, no doubt, but he was even more socially inept than Saito was, if such a thing was even possible.
"Sadly, yes," Kazama replied. "And he is allergic to flowers."
Clarity hit Harada at that very instant. "Ah. No wonder she told me that no one's ever given her flowers before," he explained. "Poor kid."
"I would appreciate that if you are to conquer the hearts of the womenfolk here, Sanosuke, you would give the men a fair chance," Kazama told Harada. "I will have you hung in the center of the beach in summer to dry like salted fish if any more of my cousins come after me because you have used your animal magnetism on the ladies."
"So you would have me punished because the ladies in this village can't resist me?" Harada joked. "Chikage-san, that's cruel even for you."
"Then perhaps try to exercise discretion," Kazama rebuked. "You must understand that most Oni men do not even know how to function around the women of our kind due to the rarity of females."
"So that's why you kidnapped Chizuru in the first place, right?" Harada jabbed quickly. "Maa, if it makes you feel better, I'll try to be a little more… discreet." Kazama knew that he had spoken in good humor and decided to let it slide.
For some reason, out of all the men from the Shinsen-Gumi that had been sworn to Chizuru, there was this strange… chemistry between Kazama and Harada. The two of them were polar opposites, Kazama being the typical alpha-male, and Harada, one of the most laid-back souls there ever was. But despite Kazama's outwardly mean and belittling manner, there was no singular doubt that he had a large heart for those whom he had cared for. Harada knew this from the very moment he saw him in this village. Apart from Chizuru, Kazama had a soft spot for his grandmother who had raised him, and his closest family, and now, more than anyone else, it was Senka, his beloved daughter.
"'Tou-chan and Sano Oji-chan are such good friends!" Senka commented when Kazama and Harada caught up with her.
Harada chuckled and patted the little girl's head. "What makes you say that?" he asked her. The older Senka got, the stranger, but ultimately more accurate things she had spouted from her mouth, although she did not realize them. Although there were many times Kazama… harassed the Shinsen-Gumi back in the day, the only time he ever held Kazama on spear-point was when he had infiltrated the back courtyard of the Nishi Hongan-ji to tell Chizuru that her father was already working for the Imperialists.
"Sanosuke is a valued asset to our family," Kazama said to his daughter, who was now holding his hand, once again proving that he was hard in his words, but not in his heart. "My heart rests at ease when he is here to protect you, Senka."
"Chikage-san, I didn't know that you loved me that much," Harada said in a purposely coy manner, as though he was trying to impersonate Souji. "Maa, a man's got to do what a man's got to do…"
The three of them soon reached the manor, where the found Saito and Chizuru already waiting for them. Dinner would be served soon, and Senka was soon fussed over by her mother, who grumbled on how gritty and dirty she had become, when she had just bathed in the afternoon.
"It doesn't get any better than this, doesn't it?" Harada asked Kazama. "Wife and children to go home to, warm dinner waiting for you…"
"If that is what you wish for, why don't you pursue it?" Kazama asked him. "Surely, it is not your lifelong wish to live and die in this village, celibate?"
Harada chuckled. "I'll just let things run its course," he answered. "Who knows, one day I'd find a lady so lovely that even you'd be jealous of me."
Kazama harrumphed. "You are welcome to try."
HAN: Heh heh heh this is even fluffier than the one with Kazama and Hijikata, no? The bromance just kills it for me, weee~ This idea just popped into my head when I was trying to get some sleep, but I got so tired that I decided to sleep and luckily, the inspiration to write this was still there in my brain, yay! Sano is a simple man, really, but at the core of his being, so is Kazama, even if he portrays himself to be such a... bastard. ^.^
Night Blooming Rose: I think the very reason why he's always causing the Shinsen-Gumi trouble is because he knows that the Satsuma-han were Imperialists anyways. Oh well. I can't really read Japanese as well, but thank the Force these Otome games have audio in them so I can barely make out what they're trying to say. ^.^
Aogetsu: Ah, you might be quite right though. But I decided to make things similar for Kazama, Amagiri and Shiranui to avoid confusing myself, heh heh.
KatsuyaSaya: Glad you loved it! Please do enjoy the new chapters as well!