Disclaimer: I do not own PMK.
Chapter 12: Sayonara
"Lie down before you open your wound, girl! You mustn't get up for the next few days!" Kitsune took Hotaru firmly by the arm and led her back to the futon.
"Susumu, the Okita who attacked me last night isn't the real Okita! He's an imposter! Believe me!" The girl called out. Dammit! If she were right then...Susumu's blood ran cold. He was looking at the real Okita.
Kondo and Yamanami will know what to do. He'd have to take this Okita back. "Can't you recall anything? Please, think!" Susumu changed out of his bloodied garments into a clean grey yutaka. He tied up his hair. "Why are you laughing?" The young man chortled as if he had thought of a very funny joke. The man was testing his patience.
"Someone mistook you for Ayu-nee and tried to kiss you. Then you fought. A spear got thrown through my window. Saizou and I thought we were being attacked...and you fell over poor Saizou. I don't know why I'm thinking of it, but it's so funny."
"Heavens! You really are Okita Souji, Captain of the Shinsengumi First Patrol." The part about the spear had been omitted from the official story. The culprit Harada would have suffered Hijitaka's wrath for it. He could have been ordered to commit seppuku. Okita had laughed off his initial fright and covered up for him then. Apart from the Comedian Trio's Harada, no one else had known about it. "Okita-san, you must come with me," Susumu said urgently.
"I know, there's something important but I can't remember..." Okita frowned and coughed. His illness! The shinobi feared he was having a relapse. "I'm fine," Okita stopped coughing.
"You shouldn't get into any more fights. Doesn't do your lungs any good," Kitsune chipped in. "But I must go, Kitsu-dono. Don't ask me why, but I know I must because I'm one of them," Okita spoke with a fierce conviction he didn't know he had.
Kitsune sucked in her breath. How very like her Kojirou..."If you must take him with you, at least let him take this." Kitusne held out a sword. "Keep it. I guess this is sayonara then, Okita-san. Try to stay out of the morgue a while longer." She bowed formally as Okita accepted her gift. She watched the two young men leave with the piglet trotting after them. Kojirou's sword. She had given away her son's sword. Just as well, this way, she can start anew... She went to fetch water from the well.
"So he is Miburou..." Unobserved in the commotion, Suzu had watched the drama play out. First Tetsu, now Kojirou, no, Kojirou never existed to start with. That is Okita Souji. That sure explains why he's so skilled with a sword. Lying bastards! He let out a bitter laugh.
When Kitsune returned, Suzu had taken the swords his master left him and gone. She shrugged. The boy can take care of himself. If not, well, she'd be seeing him about at the morgue.
Why are you so distracted, Tetsu? Saya asked in her wordless manner. What's worrying you? "Nothing," Tetsu patted her hand where she held his. I need not worry her about the attack last night, or Okita's behavior, or Saizou's disappearance... Today was their day off and they'll go to the shrine and...
Okita-san! Tetsu saw the first captain. Okita was still wearing his uniform from his morning's patrol. Strange, he was talking alone with a man at a snack shop and suspected Choushu hideout. "Wait for me at the shrine, Saya."
He walked closer. To his horror, he overheard the captain mention the date of a planned raid. No! It has to be a misunderstanding. Okita must be asking about when the new stock of sweets is coming in. "Is it Tatsu?" The captain turned. "Tetsu," Tetsu corrected. "Were you asking about sweets for the children at the Temple School?" Okita-san never got his name wrong...
"Right, Tetsu," Kichisaburo smiled coldly. The old man Yamanami was much tougher than he had thought. And now this little rat seems to have found him in an awkward situation. Who knows what he had heard. "Care to come for a walk, Tetsu-chan? It'd only take a while..." Tetsu hesitated before agreeing. Okita-san was smiling, right? Maybe he has got over his bad mood...He could always catch up with Saya later.
Saya watched Tetsu walk off with the captain. Somehow, the smile on the captain's face disturbed her. It reminded her of a cat about to eat a sparrow. She trailed a distance behind them; half-afraid Tetsu will turn and see her.
Author's notes:
DarkFusion: Gomen, don't think I can squeeze in any pairings (Tetsu/Saya or Okita/Hotura) in this fic. I think it kinda wound up being a Okita/ Hijitaka thing with occasional comedy by the Comedians.I kinda like the idea of a Tetsu-Saya fanfic as they grow. Maybe later.
I'm surprised the character Kitsune turned out quite well as a tough matronly type with her likes/ dislikes and quirks.
Stay tuned.