Fire

I dimly paid any close attention to the soft comfort words of sympathizers.

There was no water- not one relief to the scorching fire in my heart.

But I was able to keep this pain well hidden.

I watched as they buried my father in the death ceremony I have seen too many times.

I caught sight of Hiriko crying softly her eyes swollen- her face never dry.

The cool wind swept my light bangs, waving irritably on my face.

My eyes drifted towards the crowds of people who have attended this funeral.

So many faces, my eyes scanning every familiar face.

So many sad faces.

No joy


No gladness

No happiness

It was so depressing.

My eyes slowly landed on Souji Okita who had a rare frown on his sorrowful face.

Almost expectantly, I looked for the other Shinsengumi¡¦.what¡¯s his name

Saitou Hajime

He wasn¡¯t here.

My eyes dropped to the ground.

Slowly one by one, the viewers of this funeral left, their sadness and pain forgotten.

I remained, silently looking at my father¡¯s grave.

A shadow appeared next to mine, I looked up.

¡°So much grief during war- it¡¯s killing me¡± I softly said.

¡°You¡¯re strong Tokio san- I know you will be able to bear this¡± Okita¡¯s soft voice lingered.

With a gentle smile he continued, ¡°Your spirit is of a warrior¡¯s- you¡¯ll be able to conquer your emotions Tokio san¡±

I nodded numbly.

¡°Thank you Okita san¡±

¡°Of course¡±

I stared blankly at the sky.

¡°Do you still hate the Shinsengumi Tokio san?¡±

The question threw me off guard.

¡°I understand why you dislike us Tokio san- we claim to protect Kyoto, but we could not save your family¡¦¡¦is that why?¡±

I could not reply.

Souji nodded in acceptance and slowly walked away, ¡°I will see you soon Takagi san- if fate allows it¡±

His footsteps grew lighter and lighter until he disappeared completely leaving me by myself.

Feeling the emptiness in the air

The silence

The quiet

Not a soul here.

I was alone.

I let my wave of sadness out.

I cried and cried- not an end to my grief.

I will overcome.

I barely noticed a frightened citizen swiftly walking away once his eyes caught the sight of the Shinsengumi troops patrolling during the evening.

I walked back into the inn, the loud partying noise of my men was deafening, the smell of alcohol and smoke almost welcoming.

After a day¡¯s work-

I wanted a drink.

¡°Saitou sama¡± a man from a group of amateurs approached.

I made no effort to show that I was listening. Instead I slowly allowed a flood of alcohol to rinse my throat.

¡°Saitou sama¡± the man spoke over the loud noise.

I glanced at him before drinking another gulp of sake.

¡°What is it?¡± I softly asked my eyes narrowing.

¡°C-Could we join you in a drink sir?¡± the Shinsengumi coughed

One of my eyebrows raised, I turned back to my drink.

The idiot fidgeted before cautiously smiling, ¡°We heard that you killed yet another assassin from the Ishinshishi sir¡±

I took another take at the alcohol, ¡°So¡¦¡¦. is that what you have heard?¡±

¡°Yes sir!¡±

¡°Very good¡¦¡¦now get back out- you get to patrol for another extra four hours¡± I smothered a smirk

¡°S-sir¡± the man gulped, his eyes widening, ¡°I¡¯ve been patrolling all day¡±

I slowly allowed my eyes to lock on his widening eyes, ¡°Is that so?¡±

A sudden dawn of intelligence crept into the man¡¯s eyes, ¡°E-Er no- I¡¯ll go out right now sir¡±

¡°Of course¡±

I watched the man stutter an answer and hurry outside, I turned back to my drink.

I allowed a sigh to escape my lips.

The irritation of new recruits, I mused, filling my cup with sake.

News travel fast.

Well- rumors- Okita had the glory of ending Choruke.

I lifted my cup and drank the sharp liquid, allowing it to burn my throat.

A hazy image of that Takagi girl flickered in my mind.

I grunted with disgust, shrugging the memory away.

It was a relief to have the old man Takagi out of the Shinsengumi¡¯s business. I grinned wryly, ironic how the Ishinshishi had done the dirty work for us.

I swallowed another gulp of sake.

Tokio¡¦...if that fool of a girl had not witnessed her father¡¯s death- yes she would definitely become another problem for the Shinsengumi.

She had blamed the Shinsengumi for his death.

After one nuisance dies another troublemaker pops right back up.

I shook my head as I poured myself another take of alcohol.

Those grey eyes.

So much emotions I have felt from her ki

I remember the sympathy I had felt for that damned girl from seeing her tears.

I have seen many forms of pain in war- seen innocent people¡¯s tainted and stained from death- but they never brought out the sympathy from me. Just inspiration to the Aku Soku Zan.

Until my eyes had fixed on those clouded silver eyes.

Dismissively, I chased the memory of the smell of her hair and the wetness of her tears

¡°Saitou-?¡±

My eyes drifted to look for the source of the voice.

A tall roguish man grinned, ¡°Saitou- I haven¡¯t seen you here in a while¡±

¡°Harada Sanosuke- your company has been always a pleasure¡± I allowed the sarcasm to flow from my mouth.

He laughed and shrugged, ¡°Let me get some sake¡±

I motioned to the drink.

He pulled one of his recruit¡¯s arm, ¡°Hey you kid, get me a clean cup!¡±

He let go of the flustered boy, who scurried off yelling for a cup.

I slowly rose and gave a small nod to the captain, ¡°I¡¯m going out- look out for my men¡±

¡°Of course¡¯- yer responsibility is mine- see you Saitou¡± Harada waved contently sipping on his drink.

Free from the loud noise and musky smell, I finally inhaled fresh air, noting the chill in the air.

A feeling of discomfort nudged me irritably. Like an annoying splinter¡¦¡¦.

Ah- yes perhaps a visit to the Takagi manor¡¦¡¦..

¡°It¡¯s okay Hiriko¡± I awkwardly comforted my maid, her nonstop blubbering and cries threatened me to join her.

The irony, I wryly thought, that I should comfort her instead of her comforting me¡¦¡¦.

¡°I¡¯m-I¡¯m so sorry Tokio san!¡± the maid wailed her face buried in my kimono.

¡°Hiriko!¡± I let the sternness in my voice take over, ¡°Stop this now!¡±

The poor lady whimpered and struggled to strain her tears, ¡°S-S-Sorry Tokio san- it must-must be harder for you¡±

I nodded weakly, holding the woman upright, ¡°Come- let¡¯s get some sleep¡±

¡°Y-Yes of course Tokio san-¡± she staggered drunkenly to her quarters. ¡°If you need me Tokio san- please wake me up¡±

I nodded assuring her, the heavy feeling in my stomach slowly lifted as I saw her figure disappear in the hall.

¡°Aai¡± exhausted I flopped down on the ground,

Dammit I left the front gates open.

Softly, I crept outside, yes the gates-

My eyes widened.

The gates were closed.

I was so sure I did not have time to close those gates because I had to drag Hiriko back into the house.

My eyes studied- confused¡¦.oh

Maybe I was really tired- I rubbed my eyes and felt my cold cheeks- the weather was getting colder¡¦¡¦

¡°I would have thought that your thick head would realize the dangers of Kyoto by now, Tokio san¡± a deep mocking voice caught me by such surprise.

I jumped, my eyes frantically looking around for the intruder- it was so dark¡¦¡¦.

I let out a sharp gasp as my eyes landed on a pair of gold eyes.

My eyes- silver staring back at golden ones¡¦¡¦.

Recognition-

¡°Saitou san¡± I choked, ¡°What the hell do you think your doing here?¡±

¡°I wouldn¡¯t be in here if you hadn¡¯t so invitingly opened your front gates¡± that sarcasm again.

My eyes widened as the man stepped out from the shadows.

I breathed.

¡°I¡¯m impressed at your recovery from the last time we met¡± Saitou¡¯s oddly pleasant face studied my flushed ones.

¡°You¡¯re trespassing¡± my voice steadily rose; I defiantly reopened the gates and pointed out.

His bright eyes slowly traveled from my face to my finger, ¡°Yes- welcoming indeed¡±

I tiredly dropped my arm and glared at him, ¡°What would a Shinsengumi like yourself want?¡±

Pleased, Captain Saitou nodded, ¡°It is cold outside- and too open for unwanted ears- shall we talk inside?¡±

Studying him, I cautiously shut the gates and locked them, ¡°Very well-¡±

¡°Good¡± he turned and entered ahead into my house.

Relief spread over me.

Damn you Tokio my mind screamed.

Why is his presence such a comfort to you?

The feeling of a Shinsengumi in my house- well

I felt secure and protected.

A blush invaded my cold cheeks.

Baka Tokio, you¡¯re senseless¡¦¡¦.

A.N.: Sorry guys its so short- but I have a lot of work to do @_@ AHHHHHHH the torture of high school¡¦¡¦¡¦

Thanks guys fer reviewing- see you later in the next chapter-

Dark Myst~*