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Mariners

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Quick as if he had drawn his sword from its scabbard, Saitou aimed his chopsticks at the unguarded throat of Ibuki, causing the other to freeze and choke out a yelp of surprise. "If you need me for something, wait until I finish eating… in the world of beasts you have little room for complaint if a stronger beast kills you for disturbing its meal. Also, this is one of my favorite dishes… don't go after it!" He advised lowly, seeming to have instilled the fear of god in the poor boy.

Ibuki nodded dumbly as he fell back on his ass, feeling like he had lost a few years off his life, stammering out, "r-right, sorry!"

Kawa snickered before taking a hearty sip of her own soup, "Coulda warned you to not go after Saitou-kun's food… it's basically like poking a sleeping bear." She said lightly.

"W-well why didn't you?" Ibuki asked annoyedly, sulking at seeing the mentioned man go back to his food.

"Because since I've known him, I've never met anyone who took dumbass advice from Shinpatsu… never mind it's common sense to not steal food from those higher on the ladder." Kawa explained.

Saitou smiled a little in amusement, nodding his chin, "she's right." He agreed from his place at her left.

Kawa smiled at her friend, glancing to her right as Souji finished wolfing his food down, cocking a brow, "It's not a sprint, dummy, there's plenty more…" She pointed out.

Souji brushed off her comment with a cheery smile, "One helping of your delicious cooking was enough, princess." His smile lingered and softened a degree at regarding her shy grin in response.

"That was fast, Souji," Kondou noted when observing his prodigy's feat.

"I wanted to get in a bit of sword practice, considerin' every second counts." Souji shrugged and offered the same cheery smile to him, straightening to leave.

"Practicing right after ya eat is bad for you," Shinpachi commented.

Souji huffed as he was about to step out, "well I'm not as lucky as Hajime-kun and Shinpatsu; I'm itchin' to slay a bunch of those ronin." He remarked calmly, causing the rest of the room's occupants to perk up at his words.

Toshi regarded the concerned look sent at the brunette from Kawa and he said, "Souji, I want you to go back to Edo."

"That joke ain't the least bit funny, y'know…" Souji laughed slightly, having stiffened at the order and trying to pretend that his friend was joking even though, knowing the man for years, he knew that Toshi wouldn't joke around like that.

"Lately Serizawa-san's influence is making you go on about killing, and you're still a kid. He's making you lose sight of yourself," Toshi continued sharply.

"Toshi, come on, that's not true…" Kawa put in, concern furrowing her brow, as she looked between he and the brunette who turned slightly to glare at him.

"You're only sayin' that because I stick to Kondou-san, aren't you, Hijikata-san?" Souji demanded annoyedly.

Toshi huffed, "if that's what you wanna believe then go ahead."

"Toshi, what're you getting at?" Kondou asked as he looked between the odd trio.

Toshi shot a glare at Souji as he explained, "we're here in Kyoto to defend the peace, but all he wants to do is kill. It's all he thinks about… we can't let someone like that stay here!"

"Souji…" Kondou looked over at the named brunette with concern.

"There's no way I'm goin' back; I came here to stay and help you, Kondou-san!" Souji snapped angrily, turning away to throw open the door and rush out into the darkness.

"Souji!
" Kondou called as he had shot to his feet.

Toshi remained seated and perked up a bit when the lone woman stood to head to the door, assuring her, "don't worry about him, he'll come back…"

"Shut it!" Kawa snapped back, further surprising the others present, turning to glare at him, "You and your big mouth believe that Souji's out of control, but he's not! He's not the hopeless boy you make him out to be, Toshizou… and if you still think that, then you'd better send both of us back to Edo." She stated firmly, looking away to then run after her friend.

"Yasakawa!" Toshi called in her wake, also having stood when she left, and he groaned under his breath, "that girl never listens…" He lamented.

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Bringing her feet to a halt as she entered the alley, Kawa exhaled softly. Looking about the alley, she recognized it had been the very same one their band of friends had run through to follow in the Shogun's procession mere weeks ago. Her feet moved again as she followed the alley's path to the same bridge, and they picked up the pace until she was running. The notion that he had gone to the bridge was a stretch but, the longer she let it fester there, maybe not so much.

Maybe he was there… just maybe.

Watching the river pass beneath his bridge as it glinted moonlight, Souji closed his eyes for a moment to exhale, reflecting on the stern look in Toshi's eyes, and on Kondou's concern for him. Ironically what he thought of most was Kawa's frustration with the whole conversation, the steel in her grey eyes… Green eyes snapping open when hearing rushing feet coming up to him from the dark streets, he looked to the right side of the bridge to meet her familiar grey eyes. Relief swam in her gaze, he minded, shortly followed with exasperation, and the longer their stares held the more he realized the bottoms of her eyes looked puffy with withheld tears. "Kawa…" He started as he straightened up to face her, watching her shut her eyes and shake her head before she stepped onto the bridge and, before he believed she knew what she was doing, ran to throw her arms around him.

Kawa felt him teeter for a second, his longer arms latching onto her, her own arms fisting in his haori as she buried her face in his shoulder.

Souji considered poking at her about following him into the night but, at recognizing without asking that she had been worried for him, reconsidered it to instead hold her tight, glad it was her who found him.

"Y'think you can not scare the hell out of me when you disagree with Toshi, the next time around?" She asked, voice cracked a little, after a short bout of silence between them, cheek pressed into his chest.

Hearing the exasperation return to her voice, he scoffed and curled his fingers in her black hair, "Sure ya just don't wanna come with me when it happens?" He remarked.

She drew away then, regarding the sincerity hiding behind his usual nonchalance he managed to muster, to smack his chest with a gentle palm. "You know we can't just run off like that, Souji… we need them like they need us, no matter what." Romantic as the idea was, she didn't see a future without their friends being possible.

They had come so far together, and it was anyone's guess what else lay in store for not just Souji and herself but their whole makeshift family.

"Ow… ya don't have to be so forceful, y'know. But ya should also know that I was gonna come back, I just needed a minute. I didn't mean to worry ya, princess." Souji had released her of one hand to rub the spot gingerly, looking elsewhere for a moment before looking on her with sincerity.

Kawa quieted and glanced down at the wooden railing his back rested against, smiling and tilting her head up, "good. Y'know that I'm always here for you, too, to complain to." True that she loved the boys with all she had, but Souji was who she cared about most, and he was as dense as a stone wall if he didn't know that by now.

Minding the likewise sincerity in her eyes, which seemed to brighten in the moonlight, he smiled before looking away with reluctance as they both heard feet rushing to them from the direction she had come. He pouted slightly at the break in their moment.

"Souji!" Kondou called with relief at seeing the couple, seeming to surprise them at having not come alone but had Ibuki with him.

Kawa's surprised look faltered at being found and she smiled between the two men, "you two took long."

"Kondou-san," Souji began before smiling wryly.

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Considering the streets were busy as always, the silence between them was calm if not somewhat awkward. Given he was used to noise at this point –which he blamed entirely on the baboon trio back at the manor—the silence was gnawing at him. He looked briefly at his walking companion, at her calm demeanor as she picked at a bit of dirt under her right thumb, orange eyes drifting to the two swords at her right hip.

Left-handed, much like Saitou… another interesting peculiarity about the woman who in retrospect was only a year or two his senior.

"If ya've got a problem with my tagging along, I've got no problem going back." Her patient voice cut into his thoughts then.

Having slightly started before regaining himself, the blue-haired boy blinked once before minding that he had her attention. Ears burning a bit as grey met orange, he looked elsewhere, "n-no, you're fine, I was just thinking, that's all." He replied.

Lifting a brow at his fumbling, to wit she was unfazed by now due to living with the boys as long as she had, she looked ahead only to shrug, "Considerin' you're younger than me, I'd have to politely refuse your advances, Ibuki-kun. Robbing the cradle isn't my thing…" She said.

"That's not it!" Ibuki barked indignantly, cheeks pink, quieting when she snorted and valiantly covered up a laugh at his reaction. He folded his arms at his chest and looked away again as he asked, "why did Hijikata-san make you tag along? He can't still be worried that Serizawa-san has it out for ya after Shimabara, can he…?"

Kawa's curious look faltered at his questions and she shrugged again. "He was makin' Shinpatsu and Saitou-kun cook tonight, so he tossed me out of the kitchen like a damn cat… you'd think he wouldn't be concerned about what happened the other night, but ya don't know him as well as I do." She explained.

Ibuki briefly considered skipping dinner if the mentioned men were in charge of the preparation, chuckling at the image, before curiosity drew him back to the oddly confident woman. "But he's your brother, right? I mean, I've heard you share the same last name, and you look a lot like him too…" He wondered.

"He did that to keep me from gettin' in trouble with Serizawa, when we first joined them, to keep his 'kid sister' safe… I get that a lot, though." Kawa explained with a slight huff, brow furrowing at mention of that man, before she looked at him and smiled a little, "Toshi and I met when we were kids, and ever since it seemed that wherever he went I would follow… hence why I'm here. He's actually a really good man, when he's not being so damn serious." She finished thoughtfully.

Ibuki smiled wryly as he processed her explanation, leaving her when they arrived at the intended shop to buy another gourd of sake. "So you picked up the sword too, to stay with him and Kondou-san and the others?" He asked when finishing the errand minutes later as they returned to the manor.

Kawa laughed slightly at that, "It only seemed fair. I wasn't much of a conventional girl, growing up, and it was loads of fun beating the shit out of boys who thought they could defeat me in spars. When Kondou-san saw I wasn't right-handed he taught me to fight with my left instead… he's treated me well these last several years, even after Mum died when I was fourteen, but he's a big softie that way." She said, thoughtful again, minding the pensive look on his face and she looked at the gates of the manor with a soft sigh.

"Ryunosuke!"

"Kawa-chan!"

Both companions perked up when hearing their respective names, looking at the brunette trio that came running to greet them.

Kawa pouted slightly at their loudness, "Yell louder next time, why don't ya, nearly woke up the dead…" She trailed off at seeing Saitou and San'nan-san had followed them, brow furrowing as she asked, "now what happened?"

"You two didn't see Souji, did you?" Heisuke asked first, looking between the two as he added, "I went to get him for dinner, but he wasn't in his room or anywhere else!"

"You looked everywhere?" Kawa asked, remaining calm even though her mind started racing, looking to her fellow lefty.

Saitou nodded, "Yeah, no sign of him. Supposedly he was seen leaving with Tonouichi." He explained, minding the worry darkening her grey eyes. "He had nowhere else to go, he'll undoubtedly come back." He added for her benefit.

"'Tonouichi', huh?" Ibuki asked, frowning at recalling having seen the man before.

"What, you know the guy?" Sano guessed.

A guilty look crossed Ibuki's face as he started, "Well…" He retold the five about hearing Serizawa ask Tonouichi to get rid of Kondou.

Kawa surprised the four as she broke away when he finished talking, speaking before any of them could ask, "Toshi needs to be in on this." She heard the men follow her lead, her fisted hands shaking a little at her sides.

Maybe Souji or Toshi wouldn't be the ones to kill that asshole after all.

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Both sets of feet skidded to a halt before Toshi was first to yank the door open. "Serizawa-san!"

The named dog looked bemused and curious as he regarded the younger man as well as Kondou who had been at his heels, "what seems to be the trouble, Hijikata-san?" He asked.

Before either man could bombard him with questions, a third set of feet had followed them and broke past them into the spacious room, the owner being the swordswoman. She was trembling, Serizawa noted, but not out of fear… Her grey eyes looked like blades, and he wagered his right hand that she had finally come to kill him. "Hijikata-kun, how nice of you to join us." He greeted calmly.

"I came to apologize for Shimabara… it was foolish of me to throw rice at you. I should've thrown a knife instead." Kawa said, her calm voice a dangerous drawl, as her hand that had dropped to the hilt of her katana unsheathed the blade. She barely got it out by a few inches before being firmly reprimanded by her 'brother', and she tried to get away to get at the observant Serizawa who was being shielded by Niimi and another of his men, giving an annoyed growl when Toshi dragged her away. "You lay one finger on Souji's head, one disgusting finger, and I'll gut you like the dog you are, Serizawa!" She shouted angrily, tears stinging at her eyes, wincing when being shoved out and onto the walkway. "Toshi, let me go!" She protested as he steered her back the way they had come.

Toshi at last let go of her pinned arms when locating her room, shoving her inside with some gentility. "We will deal with this, Yasakawa!" He stated firmly.

Kawa blinked back tears and scowled up at him, minding the anger present in his violet eyes, and she exhaled through her nostrils. "Save him… please." She pleaded, voice cracked in several places, as she watched his mask crack a bit at her words regarding the guilty party.

"Get some sleep." Toshi replied, his own voice quiet, receiving a short nod before he watched her enter the room and slam the door on him. He turned about to return to the other side of the manor, giving a weary sigh once he had put distance between him and her quarters, her puffy-eyed expression burned into his mind.

He hated seeing her cry, and if it was someone else's fault then he found the bastard and made him apologize, but he knew she wasn't mad enough to kill Serizawa just because.

She really did love Souji if she reacted so brashly.

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Souji pouted over at his guardian between eating his dinner.

After getting out of his dirtied clothes and into his sleeping robe, she had come to him with his dinner on hand. He had thought she was being forward and had mentioned it only once before she shot him a scowl and made him eat, saying she had delegated herself to keep watch over his room for the night because of what happened. If anyone was gonna get to him they had to go through her first, she had stated between taking a seat by his door with her katana in the crook of her arm.

It was sweet of her to protect him, even when he would do the same for her a million times over, but he knew she was worried. Funny enough, he realized that she had adopted her trademark forcefulness from being around her 'brother'.

"How'd you figure I didn't eat dinner when I left?" He asked as he went to sit with her, leaving the tray by his bedside.

She opened an eye at him from having closed them for a moment, "I didn't, but if ya were gonna kill someone, then it's better to get their guard down instead of yours, right?" She returned.

Souji bobbed his head a bit at her wisdom, ironic considering she had never killed anyone, smirking ruefully, "You're kinda scary when yer frustrated, princess." He observed.

Kawa's blasé expression faltered and she cracked a smile, "I wish Toshi hadn't made those damned rules. I was never afraid of death, even when we were in Edo, but I… I don't want to see anyone die. You least of all." She said quietly, having glanced at his now-empty dishes feet away from them, looking up at him.

Minding her sincerity and worry for him, Souji huffed quietly and looked at her as she leaned her head on his shoulder, green eyes soft. "Don't frown so much, dummy, you'll look more like 'im… never mind I'd rather ya smile more." He said in the same tone, his hand on her shoulder lifting to run his fingers through her hair she had down. When she lifted her head to pout up at him, her eyes somewhat misty and her cheeks pink, he kissed her.

She stiffened in surprise before calming, reciprocating when he started to draw back, her hand she'd lifted to bunch in his robe collar moving to curl in his reddish brown hair. "Souji… you dummy." She chided gently as she drew away only to return her head to his shoulder.

He chuckled at the resigned smile on her pretty face, leaving a kiss on her forehead.

He'd do whatever it took to stay not just for Kondou, but for her as well… a future without her just wasn't possible to him.

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an: as you can tell this was based moreso in episode 4 of the season. and yeah like most of the female population i too love Souji welp
* "Mariners Apartment Complex" - Lana del Rey (you can't tell me this isn't the song for Souji and Kawa)