When the bathroom was available, I took Haruhi to get clean. As I was suspecting it, she didn't have the physical strength to do it by herself and so, I helped her. I feared that she would back off when I undressed her but she let me wash her without any protestations. Of course, I stayed fully dressed. I would bath later, alone or with other men, I didn't care. After she was clean, she stayed in the hot bath several minutes under my surveillance. I feared she could fall asleep and drown if I left her. I put her in a clean sleeping nagajuban and took her upstairs to sleep some more. I gave her sheets and her sweat-drenched nagajuban to the innkeeper for laundry and I went outside to practice. Since we were going to stay all day here, there was no reason for me to let go of my discipline and morning routine.
I sliced the air repeatedly, unsheathing, sheathing, striking an imaginary opponent and found some calm in these movements I knew by heart. From afar, I could see Koan flirting with the young girl from breakfast. She was totally under Koan's charm even with the age difference and the giant scar on his face. Of course, she couldn't know that Koan was 853 years old but still, if she was really fithteen, the man in front of her looked like he was fithty years old and that was enough of an age difference in my opinion. He could have been her grandfather. She was chuckling at everything he could say to her. She didn't seem to be very smart but that wasn't any of my concerns anyway. I wasn't the one flirting with her.
« What an idiot... » i heard and I turned around to find Mika.
« He seems to enjoy it. » i answered with a smirk.
« Not him, her. » she smiled « Koan doesn't care about her. If she had refused herself to him, he would have found another one. He's promising her anything just to get in her underwear, making big vows of eternal love and tomorrow, she'll wake up alone and will never see him again. And she'll probably have a child to remind her everyday how stupid she is. Koan is particularly fertile and he's getting worse lately. He already had two or three daughters before me. I think he wants another one before the end and he lays with every girl he gets the chance to lay with. I'm even surprised he's not doing some kind of magic tricks to impress her. She's probably so dumb he doesn't even need it. »
I escaped a small laugh and kept practicing my moves conscientiously. Mika's gaze was still fixed on her father.
« It seems like you are sorry for her. » i said.
« I am not. » she smiled « Koan wanted her so he took her, as simple as that. This girl doesn't matter more to me than she does to him. What is funny though, is that if she slept with Koan last night then there is no way she can still ignore his true nature. He wouldn't have been able to hide it. And still, she's here, chuckling and flirting instead of being ashamed. »
Was she speaking about the golden eyes ? Because if she was, the first time I witnessed it on Chizuru, it didn't reveal me at all her true nature and I even thought that maybe, I had imagined it. Maybe that girl was feeling the same. And even with her golden eyes, I've never been ashamed of sleeping with Chizuru.
« I should go check on Haruhi. » i said in my toneless voice.
« She's probably sleeping like a log. With her fever, she's a very heavy sleeper. She needs that rest to fight the illness. » she replied.
I sheathed back my sword and headed towards my bedroom. I was already exhausted just by staying one hour outside in the sun. I thought I could get used to it but now I knew that I couldn't. I could fight it but not make it go away. As Mika said, Haruhi was deeply asleep. I stayed near her and tried to meditate but I was interrupted by Koan, barging in the room.
« We need to go. » he said « pack everything, now. »
« Haruhi is still asleep. » i objected.
« There is no time. The girl I was with, she's the innkeeper daughter. »
« I'm sorry Yasha-san but your adventures aren't any concerns of mine or my daughter. » i replied coldly.
« No » he sighed « there's an imperialist checkpoint nearby. The innkeeper sent someone to say that he had strangers in his inn, travelers, and that one of them was a samurai. The imperialists are coming and Mika confirmed me that they had guns. We can't fight this. We need to go. »
I understood the urgency of the situation and I quickly packed my bag before taking Haruhi in my arms. I couldn't do much alone against a whole patrol and with a sick child. I rolled her body into the covers and she woke up, looking at me with wide eyes.
« What is happening ? » she asked, afraid.
« Bad guys. We need to go. » i answered and I followed Koan. Mika joined us outside the room, carrying her bag as well and we all headed to the nearby forest to hide and keep walking. In my arms, Haruhi was trembling in cold. Even if I wrapped her in the covers, she only had a sleeping nagajuban underneath. As soon as we were far enough, I stopped to put Haruhi back in her pink kimono and I wrapped back the covers over her, tying them around me so I could have my hand free while carrying her on my back.
When nighttime came, we made a fire as usual and I put Haruhi next to it to warm her but she couldn't stop trembling and shivering. She could die. Out in the woods with the cold and the fever... She really could die. Koan and Mika exchanged a long stare and Koan kneeled to adress me.
« I can help her. » he said.
« You can't do this, Koan » said Mika firmly. « It's too dangerous. »
« I can't stay impassive when a child is suffering. » he replied with a steely silver gaze.
« It can ruin everything ! » she objected, angry. « You know how humans are ! »
« I thought your illusions couldn't have any real effect on her body ? » i asked, confused and angry by seeing Haruhi in such a state.
« I'm going to reveal my true form, Saito-san. » he said with a lot of seriousness « It can be impressive but please, keep your swords in their scabbards. I cannot heal like an Oni. And just like times flows differently for me, same applies to my injuries. I don't want to spend the next twenty years healing from one of your cuts. »
I nodded. If I used my analytical mind earlier, maybe I could have understood that Koan couldn't heal like Chizuru. Otherwise, why would he have that giant scar on his face ?
« Same applies to you, Haruhi. » he asked, looking her trembling body « do not unsheathe your wakizashi, please. »
She didn't answer or nodded but I did it in her place. I would not let her unsheathe her sword.
Koan took a few steps back and his body started changing really quickly, growing, covering in fur. In front of me, there was no man anymore but a giant silver fox, high as a horse and with... One, two, three... Eight tails.
« Kitsune... » i whispered.
A fox spirit. Known to be evil, possessing people, seducing them, making them loose themselves in illusions... I was traveling with foxes ! I instinctively took my hand to the pommel of my sword but according to my promise, i didn't unsheathe it. The enormous silver fox came closer to the fire and laid down.
« Lay her against me. » he said in Koan's voice, plunging his silver animalistic eyes in mines « I will keep her warm. »
I hesitated. The fox's mouth was so big it could probably crush Haruhi's skull in a heartbeat. I looked at her trembling body and took my decision. I came closer to Koan and laid Haruhi against him, facing the fire. His eight tails came covering her like a blanket and a few minutes later, she stopped shivering and fell asleep, soon joined by the fox. In his animal form, his snores were more like roars and it had something terrifying but Haruhi kept sleeping peacefully, kept warm by the fur and the fire.