Re-edited Feb 2021
Almost a week later, Saitou was joining them in the living area for their meals. His diet still largely consisted of broth with tiny slivers of meat and vegetables, a small portion rice and a rather foul-tasting tea that helped aid his healing. Kaiya didn't allow him to move around to much more, largely because she tend to think that if given the chance, Saitou would push his limits.
Three days after his awakening she had finally decided to tell him what had happened the night she'd disappeared. She could see the rage in his eyes as she told the story, and the irritation when she told him how close he had been to preventing her from leaving. Despite the rage in his eyes, the rest of face maintained a more neutral look. He didn't hug her like Souji did, but he did show more affection and concern than she'd expected. He'd grabbed hold of one of her hands gently and pulled it towards his heart and placed his other hand tenderly on her cheek.
"I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect you." he said softly.
Kaiya had managed to keep the tears to herself, but his eyes were like daggers that pierced through the act she put forth to protect herself and others from her real emotions. When she tried to move on, Saitou seemed to feel the need to tell her where he had been those few days he'd been gone.
The Aizu had been receiving several complaints that the Roshigumi were extorting and bullying local farmers and merchants. They had enough faith in Kondou and Hijikata to believe that it wasn't them who were committing these crimes, but all parties didn't have a hard time believing that Serizawa and his followers would do such a thing. Saitou had been charged to investigate and though he had never found solid evidence, he did find enough evidence that when mixed with Serizawa's recent behaviour, it was reason enough to order the assassination.
In the last day, Saitou had also managed to meet Haru, who came over for supper and made a big scene in front of them. While Kaiya and Haru were arguing, Souji leaned over to Saitou and whispered.
"He proposed to her the day you woke up. She rejected him and told him that she'd be leaving with us."
Saitou looked a little shocked, "She is?"
"Pfft, like she'd trust me to take care of you or you to take care of you on our way back to Kyoto. Anyways he thinks he's protecting her from us. They are childhood friends apparently, he's totally in love with her." Suddenly an orange struck Souji in the head.
"I can totally hear you whispering over there Souji!" Kaiya growled; arm still extended from whipping the orange at Souji.
"And I am trying to protect her from you and from herself. You're just leading her off to her death, I know you're lying! I hear what they say about the Shinsengumi. You're nothing but a bunch of murders!" Haru said pointing his finger at them angrily.
Both Souji and Saitou gave Haru a deadly glare that caused him to take as step back, "See, that's exactly what I mean!"
"It's not wise to question a Samurai's honour. If you weren't Kaiya-chan's friend, you'd already be dead." Saitou took a sip of his broth.
"Pfft, you can barely stand." Haru crossed his arm and tried to look unperturbed.
Saitou reached for his katana which he had brought with him when Souji had helped him into the living area. "Would you like to test that theory?"
"And then there's me." Souji said as he gave him another deadly look. "Careful what you say, there's a point where not even Kai can save you from our blades. If it's a matter of our honour, we will do what it takes to restore it."
Kaiya stepped in between Haru and Saitou and Souji. "Stop posturing you fools! And that includes you Haru! I know who I'm dealing with, way better than you." She continued as she turned to face Haru and then to face Souji and Saitou. "And you two are just proving his point if you strike him down." Kaiya threw her hands up in the air "Men!" then turned and stomped off to her room which she had moved back into when Saitou awoke.
Three weeks after Saitou had been injured, she found him stumbling down the street towards the village on her way back from the market. She rushed forward and managed to catch him as he stumbled and nearly pitched forward. Once he managed to steady himself and stand up as straight as his injuries would allow, she yelled him.
"Baka! What do you think you're doing? You're no where's near ready to be walking around on your own!" She steered him to the side of the road and ordered him to sit.
"I'm going to lose my sanity if I'm locked away in that house any longer." After getting Saitou to sit down, she sat down beside him.
"You know, my father's room is full of books. You should read some of them." Kaiya had to work to keep her hands to herself. She desperately wanted to check on his stitches to make certain that he hadn't ripped any open, but he wouldn't like it if she started pulling his clothing open in the middle of the road.
"I'm not a man who likes to remain idle. I do enjoy reading every once in a while, but doing it all day for an extended period of time, I'm not sure I can do that." Saitou relaxed against a tree.
"It's not like I'm telling you to do it for the rest of your life, Saitou-kun. Think of it as a time to reflect and a time to expand your mind." Kaiya smiled at him. "You consider yourself an intelligent man, don't you? Reading will help you think more creatively in battle situations. Haven't some of the best general's been readers?"
Saitou huffed out a little frustration. "You are not wrong."
"Let me make a deal with you Saitou-kun. Stay inside for a few more days, then I'll let you accompany on my rounds throughout the village. You would only be walking short distances before you would get to rest while I look after my patients."
Saitou gave her a small smile. "I think that will help my sanity. I'd feel better being able to keep an eye on you anyways."
Kaiya chuckled then frowned. "Where's Souji? He should have stopped you from leaving."
"Visiting his sister's grave, I believe."
"So, you took your chance at a prison break?" Kaiya asked with a slight smile on her face.
"He is not my keeper." Saitou said sounding slightly annoyed as he slowly got to his feet. "I believe I am hungry."
Kaiya laughed. "Yes, I believe your short little walk would work up an appetite. I have a treat for you, solid food not a broth in sight." Kaiya got to her feet and grabbed on to his arm, only partly to support him.
"That will be a nice change, but I imagine the tea will be there to ruin my meal." They slowly strolled back towards her house.
"Yes, you'll be drinking that tea for a while." Kaiya patted his arm sympathetically.
"You should cook more often. I don't believe we had the privilege of tasting your cooking during your stay." He looked down at her and smiled, in a way he very rarely did.
"I do believe you are trying to flatter me." Kaiya blushed but looked up into eyes and returned his smile.
"If the truth flatters you than I'm more than happy to do it. I am at your mercy right now, you know." They stepped into the house to be greeted by Souji.
"Where the hell did you wander off to Hajime-kun? Are you trying to get me into trouble?" Souji groused.
Saitou slowly sat down near the cooking area as Kaiya brought her purchases and started preparing lunch. "That would give me some entertainment." He said with a sigh.
Kaiya listened to Souji and Saitou banter back and forth in silence. Not as entertaining as watching Heisuke, Sano and Shinpachi doing it, but it was still entertaining. It also showed how much better Saitou was feeling and it made her feel good to see him do so well. He was a tough one though, so it wasn't entirely surprising to see him improve quickly.
Still, it was going to be difficult for them to get Saitou to walk all the way back to Kyoto as they hadn't ridden there. Even if they had, the movement wouldn't do well for Saitou's stitches; even could possibly rip the wound open again. The best option would to be able to catch a ride on the back of a wagon just like she had done to return home.
The more Kaiya listen to them as she cooked, the more she realized how unhappy and even depressed she had been over the last six months. When Serizawa wasn't around, Kaiya had been very happy with the Roshigumi; even felt like she was a part of a family and as well as a worthwhile cause. In light of what happened to cause her departure, she never realized that her happiness had never recovered and that she had be perpetually depressed ever since.
Now watching them, they brought back all the happy memories she had started to accumulate. She knew that she had made the right decision to eventually return with Souji and Saitou, even if it might lead to her death. At least she had been happy again for a while.
"Yo, Kai. Wake up!" Souji said snapping his fingers.
Kaiya shook her head when she realized that she was being address. "Sorry Souji. What were you saying?"
"Food. Is it done yet?" Souji made an eating motion with his hands.
"What, are you five? Can't speak full sentences?" Kaiya asked sarcastically as she rolled her eyes.
Souji gave her a broad smile. "I was trying to be considerate to you since I had call you name like six times before you responded."
"Sorry. I was just thinking how much I missed you guys. My life has certainly been boring over the last six months." She said as she returned his smile.
Still smiling Souji came up behind her and gave her a big hug. "I missed you too Kai. Now about that food!"
Kaiya tried to elbow him in the ribs but this time he was expecting it and rolled away before she hit him. "If you keep that up, you won't get anything and only Saitou-kun and I will be eating."
Souji made a sad puppy face, "Don't be so mean Kai. Hey, you should take up cooking when we get back…although Chizuru-chan is pretty good cook too."
Kaiya gave him a confused look. "Who's Chizuru-chan?"
"I thought you would have told Kaiya-chan about Yukimura when you let her in on the Furies since the two are indirectly related." Saitou gave Souji a bit of a cross look.
"She escaped my mind. Yukimura Chizuru is Koudo-san's daughter." Souji said with a shrug. "She showed up a couple weeks after you disappeared, looking for her father. Since we both were looking for Koudo-san, Kondou-san decided to let her stay and made her Hijikata-kun's aide." Souji snickered.
"I take it that Hijikata-kun didn't like that." Kaiya smiled as she started dishing out food and placing the dishes on to trays and put the first one in front of Saitou along with his tea.
"Tch, no. But he was the one who wanted to bring her back to the headquarters after she witnessed us killing furies. Oh, and we originally thought she was a man when we first met her, as she was dressed as one. I wanted to just kill her…although I thought she was a man at that point."
Kaiya was about to put a tray down in front Souji but stopped. Souji tried to look as repentant as possible.
"What? She witnessed a very big secret. What better way to keep a secret then to kill the one who witnessed it?"
She gave him a bit of a glare before finally putting the tray down but didn't really feel any better with what he said. Kaiya glanced over to Saitou who was digging into his food without hardly coming up for air.
"Saitou-kun slow down, you're going to make yourself sick."
He stopped and took a sip of his tea. "I'm sorry but eating barely more than broth for three weeks has left me with a bit of an appetite. This is also delicious; I think it's the best I've had in years."
Souji gave her a meaningful look which she ignored. "I'm glad you like it Saitou-kun. I haven't really cooked for too many people other than my father, Mitsu-chan and sometimes Haru."
"No wonder he won't leave you alone." Souji chimed in. "Saitou-kun's right, this is awesome."
"Did you tell her about Ibuki? They were friends." Saitou enquired then resumed eating his food but more slowly.
Souji looked up a little worriedly. "Huh, no." He looked back down at his food and started stuffing food into it.
"Souji, what is he talking about?" Kaiya pulled his tray a way.
"Well, you see. He kinda witnessed us assassinating Serizawa-san and he didn't like how we did things. He ran, Hijikata-kun sent me after him to…dispatch him. But I didn't kill him, at least not out right. You see I stopped him on a bridge. I thought I could kill him, being so pathetic and all. But he saved you twice from Serizawa-san…I couldn't gut him, and I couldn't disobey my orders either…so I pushed him into the river."
"Souji!" Kaiya's face started to flush with anger.
"Hey, it's not all my fault! Hajime-kun was supposed to prevent Ibuki-kun from finding out and failed." Saitou gave Souji a bit of a glare but said nothing. "I'm sorry Kai but I had to. If it makes you feel better, I think he survived. I glimpsed somebody in Edo, looking a lot like him running in the opposite direction."
Later that night, Souji went out on his typical 'rounds' looking for both troublesome Ronin and Furies. While he was out Kaiya decided to clean and re-dress Saitou's wounds. He seemed willing enough to let her worry of him when Souji wasn't around, but if Souji was present he was a little grumbly.
Saitou stripped down to the waist so she could proper see his wounds. Instead of sitting in the patient room they sat in the living area by the fire with an extra lamp to help with the light. Kaiya carefully pulled back the bandages that had begun to stick to the suture and when she began to peel it back, she saw him wincing.
Kaiya mumbled a sorry then peeled the bandages even slower. After she finally had removed the bandages, she grabbed a bucket of water that she had warmed. Then she began to wash his chest. It had become a very awkward routine over the last week with him being more and more healthy. Saitou generally closed his eyes and tried to blank her out but by the time she was done washing his chest, his cheeks were good and red. Just as Kaiya dropped the washcloth into the wash bucket, Haru came bursting in and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Saitou bare chested.
When he finally collected him, he finally stuttered out. "W-what's going on?"
Saitou opened his eyes and glared at Haru. "Isn't it obvious." He said in a more patient tone, indicating the large gash down his chest.
"You were enjoying her touching you way more than is appropriate, don't you think?"
Haru crossed his arms and tried to look intimidating. Saitou got to his feet and closed the distant between him and Haru quicker than Kaiya could react. He grabbed Haru by the throat and since he was a little shorter than Saitou, Saitou managed to lift him the couple inches to bring him eye level.
"You really need to watch your tongue when dealing with Samurai." Saitou snarled, something Kaiya had never heard him do. "Any other Samurai would have split you open a long time ago. Your survival, until now, has ridden solely on our affection for Kaiya-chan."
Kaiya grabbed his arm and looked at him pleadingly. "Saitou-kun please, he thinks he's protecting me. Rather misguidedly but still. Put him down before you hurt him or yourself."
Saitou dropped him so suddenly that Haru collapsed as soon as his feet hit the ground. Saitou then turned around and resumed sitting from where he had begun when Haru had first entered. When Saitou resumed his seat, he took up a posture that he had taken when she first met him.
Kaiya knelt beside Haru, to make sure he was alright. After getting him to sit up, she made sure Saitou hadn't crushed Haru's windpipe.
When he caught his breath, Kaiya asked. "What are you doing here Haru? Besides trying to get yourself killed."
Haru coughed to clear his throat before answering, "I just wanted to come plea with you one more time before you leave. Kaiya-chan please don't go with these men, they're dangerous! Even if they or their boss, don't kill you, they deal with dangerous men all the time. Your life will be in constant danger! I can make you happy, Kaiya-chan, if you let me. I will love you and support you and protect you with my last strength." He rasped.
"That's really sweet, Haru and I'm sure you'll make some woman happy. But I don't love you Haru. My life is now with the Shinsengumi. You can't change my mind." Kaiya hated having to say it and breaking his heart, but he needed to give up on her.
Haru hung his head and sat there silently for several minutes, then with a shaky voice asked. "Just answer me one question, Kaiya-chan. Would you have said yes, if they hadn't shown up?"
"…yes, I probably would have. But not because I loved you Haru, because I can't live on my own anymore. You deserve better than to have a wife who settled. I'm so sorry Haru…" Kaiya hated being brutally honest, but he needed to hear how she felt, maybe he would move on.
"I am too." Haru got to his feet and he left without another word.
Kaiya sat there staring at the door until Saitou moved to sit beside her and touched her back. "I'm sure that wasn't easy, but he needed to know. And I'm sorry that I upset you."
Kaiya put a hand to her face as a tear trickled down her cheek. "I just feel like a horrible person, leading him on like that for so long, taking advantage of his kindness."
"You're the most giving person I know, Kaiya-chan. You deserve to have somebody who will look out for you and you thought it was going to be him. It isn't. Men and women break up all the time." He said trying to sooth her.
Kaiya dashed away the tear and tried to chuckle, "I'm not used to breaking men's heart. I'm sure a handsome man like yourself breaks hearts of women all the time, intentional or not." Saitou just gave her a little smile, which to her meant he probably had. "Now let's finish tending to your wounds."
And back to Kyoto we go!
-Shockra
