A/N: I forgot some thank you's in the previous chapter. I'll do those at
the bottom of this one.
But a shout of big thanks to Misaoshiru for her suggestion. Maa...I see how it goes. So I won't use "Tokio-kun" anymore. I just thought I heard someone use it before with ladies in Rurouni Kenshin, so...maybe I was confusing it with something else. --;;, but gomen for the mistake. Thank you for correcting it! (I would go back and change it...but I'm too lazy...-.-;;)
Also, I realized that my story just can't fit into the regular Saitou & Tokio timeline, so I'm trying to make it as close to it as possible, but some things are just going to have to be warped a little. ;;
The fifth chapter ended kind of abrupt, but I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless. It did seem kind of odd for Saitou to be right there after Kenshin...but, I didn't want poor Tokio to keep going back and forth from the door, so I just decided, "Ah, what the heck..." ;; Also Okita seemed the resolve his emotions for Tokio last time, but I didn't reveal what it was just yet. I'm not very good at making people wonder...-.-;; Oh well, that's ok. Keep the reviews coming please!
Chapter 6 Tears of the Mother Kitten
July 7 of 1866 ::Takagi Residence::
Tokio took a step back as two soldiers carried the covered body of her little brother. She bowed her head in reverence, keeping her tears in check, willing herself not to cry in front of men. Outside of the house, the sound of horses' hooves could be heard. It sounded quite deafening to Tokio. The gate was thrown back with such force that the edge of it chipped a part of the stone wall that supported it. Matsudaira Katamori silently followed a desperate looking Takagi Kanjuuro. Seeing his only son's body covered in cloth, he unashamedly started to weep.
Tokio rushed to her father, holding him as he went down to the ground like a little boy. It was heart wrenching. She rocked him back and forth as her mother had done to her when she cried. He shook with sobs and hiccups as he murmured Seinosuke's name with a breaking voice.
Tami had woken up from her nap due to the galloping horses and peeked outside. Seeing her father crying, she ran out and threw herself in his embrace. Hugging his two children like he was never going to let go, he cried. Tami learned of Seinosuke's death when Tokio gently told her the devastating news. Naturally, the child cried, beating her tiny fists against her sister, letting out her anger and frustration of the news of his passing.
Tokio held fast and she led the two of them to rest in the house. She wanted to speak to her brother's captain alone. She asked Saitou to follow her to the parlor of the house, where he could explain just how Seinosuke died.
"Saitou-san, what happened?" She asked firmly.
Saitou was actually surprised that the woman did not break down crying like her father had. Was she some sort of a heartless woman? He let out a breath and looked at her for permission to smoke. She granted it and he lit one. Taking a draw from it, he looked at her straight in the eye. "It had been a spy mission and my squad was assigned to it. We were about to attack, as quietly as possible, but a boy soldier gave away our position. We had no choice but to fight. As we predicted, the Hitokiri Battousai was their main guard and slaughtered most of my troop. Unfortunately, I was too late to discover that your brother was struggling with the Battousai himself. I could not save him. But Takagi-san, it is rest assured that your brother was one of my most trusted men. He died serving the Shinsengumi well."
During the retelling of the battle, Tokio grew angry.
He died serving the Shinsengumi? He died at the age of eighteen, when he could have lived for another sixty? He died without being able to create his own style of swordsmanship? He died in a goalless war because his sister had let him? He died when he had her?!
Saitou knew she was thinking. Her silence gave it away. He looked at her pale, shimmering face and admitted to himself that she was very beautiful. It was no wonder that a goof like Okita couldn't resist falling in love with her. But he suddenly found himself asking what a woman like her would look for in a man. Someone like Okita? Surely not...or could she? Perhaps it was possible; after all, Tokio was shorter than Okita. He stopped and mentally stabbed himself with his katana. What was he doing thinking about her all of a sudden?
His thoughts were interrupted by the two other Shinsengumi soldiers that came in to ask him where to put the body. Tokio gave them very precise directions to leave the body at their home, so she could bury him later beside where her mother lay in a burial mound a quarter of a mile from her home.
Tokio looked up at Saitou, a calm look of question on her face. "Saitou-san, is Souji-san alright? Has he recovered from his cold?"
He raised an eyebrow at her rush of words, but all the same nodded. "Okita is fine. He is back to training again."
A smile twitched very slightly on her lips at the thought of him. She turned grave soon after and she invited Saitou to take a rest in his journey. He refused, informing her that he needed to go back and check up on how his decimated squad was doing. Tokio nodded and bit him a polite good bye after she walked him to the gate.
It was growing dark, the sun setting and Tokio's spirit setting even lower. She peered in to her father's room to see his sleeping fitfully. Tami was exhausted from crying and was now resting in a quiet mode.
Tokio went to her room, changing slowly into her sleeping yukata and washing before attempting to sleep. She knelt on her futon and there was complete silence. Her strong face began to crumble. Doubling over, as if in pain, she mourned for her lost brother, mourning for another company that she lost. The young woman grasped her hair, still in the same position, and tugged at it, trying to make the painful images of her brother stop. But she couldn't. Her soul felt like it crumbled and her heart was shattered in a million pieces. Tokio shook her head in her arms, wishing that Seinosuke had never joined the war...wishing that she had never allowed him to join the Shinsengumi. She wanted to turn back to the days where time did not matter, a timeless place where her family would be happy.
'I can't cry. I have to stay strong for my family and Seinosuke. No crying."
Her unshed tears would be a secret...the tears of a mother kitten.
The next day, the Takagi home was still. The sun reluctantly shone from the horizon, shyly greeting its salutation to earth. The spacious house did not awaken from the sun's greeting. Instead, it went on with its sad slumber, not wanting to let go of the death of a beloved one.
A knock echoed through the empty courtyard. No one stirred. Another knock came. Again, there was no answer. "Tokio, it's Okita Souji! Please open the door!" The man on the other side tried the door and it creaked open slowly. "To-chan?"
He briskly walked, climbing the short case of stairs and looking around. "To-chan?"
Okita did not want to intrude, but he had to open almost every single door to find her. When he found her sleeping, he sighed with immense relief. "I'll come back when you are feeling better, To-chan."
He sighed and looked around. "Well, I hope she doesn't mind my cooking..."
::Shinsengumi::
"Saitou-san, Okita-san is missing!" Someone yelled.
"Ahou, Okita when to Kyoto. There's no need to shout. He'll be back." Saitou said calmly, staring at the curling smoke that rose from his cigarette. "I don't know why he's so concerned about the Takagi girl." He muttered.
"What was that, Saitou-san?"
The captain cleared his throat. "I said I am going to Kyoto also. He'll need all the help he can get."
::Okita:: ::Currently attempting to cook...::
"Er, is that supposed to smoke like that? Ouch, that's hot! Ack, my vegetables! The water is smoking?! Nani?! Oops, too much pepper in that. I hope they don't mind the smell... Hmm, a kitchen knife is so much different than a katana. When do you put the egg in? Maybe I should put garlic in that...or ginger. I'll go with ginger. It helps the breathing. Whew, I saved the vegetables. Where's a towel when you need one? Ah, I knocked it over! No, no! My vegetables! It's ruined! Oh no, the water! It's alive! How do you put out the fire underneath there? Oh, for the love of kata, I need some help! Tokio!"
"Souji-san, what are you doing?" A soft voice asked. Okita jumped at the sound of her voice and quirkily smiled.
"I'm afraid my cooking needs some sharpening, To-chan."
He noticed how she did not return his smile and how frail she looked, wrapping her yukata around herself resignedly. Okita did the best he could to help clean up his mess before she shooed him out of her kitchen. He stood by the doorway, his shoulder leaning against the post, watching her just in case she needed help.
It was so hard for him to stay where he was and not take her up in his arms to reassure her that everything was going to be alright. He wanted so much to have her smiling again, but knowing how much she loved her brother, he knew she was never going to be quite the same again.
Okita shook off his Shinsengumi uniform and was only dressed in a simple blue gi with a gray hakama. Tokio looked at him as if she was tired of seeing him. "Souji-san, what are you doing?"
He masked his look of hurt under his bright smile. "Why, To-chan, I'm going to be an extra hand around here. I'd like to help you."
She shook her head. "I will manage fine, Souji-san. Thank you for the offer."
His smile faltered. "It's no problem, To-chan. I'd like to help."
"I said I will be fine, Souji-san."
"If you'd only—"
Her eyes flashed with something unknown. "Souji-san, I know you are not deaf. I would just like to be left alone with my family. Don't you see, Souji-kun, he died serving the Shinsengumi...and you are Shinsengumi. I just can't forget. Forgive me."
She ran inside the house, trying to avoid him. Okita slowly went after her. He stood outside her room, listening to her silence and feeling rather downcast himself.
"To-chan, I admit that I know how you're feeling. I've had it happen to me 263 times so far in this war. The people that serve under me in my squadron are like brothers to me...and I've lost them 263 times. Every time I lose one, I give his family a letter. Can you imagine that?" he humorlessly chuckled, "Their son gave his life and I give them a piece of paper with words that only a poor, scarred soul wrote. I feel that pain every time a battle is over, when the struggle is temporarily stopped. At times I get so blinded by the pain that I lose sight of what I'm fighting for. Isn't that scary, To-chan, a soldier who loses sight of what he is risking his life for? I admire Saitou-san, he lives by his principles and doesn't waver from them. I can only with to be like that, I'm afraid.
"But on the battlefield, when I'm fighting, my purpose comes very clear to me. It's as if my eyes are once again open to my goal and I press on further until I reach it. Perhaps you are like me, To-chan, losing sight of what is really important to you because you lost one of those reasons to keep fighting. But once you are back on your pretty little feet, you'll see again what your purpose is."
Okita heard silence in her room and he decided that it was safe to go in. He slid open the door and Tokio was already fully dressed in a plain pink kimono, looking in the mirror to tie her hair.
"To-chan?"
"Yes, Souji-san?"
"I'm hungry."
"Let's go to the kitchen and I'll finish up my cooking."
Tokio led the way, with Okita following her eagerly. In fact, she set him to work on chopping firewood. He smiled submissively and obeyed. As she finished up her cooking, she heard the thud of his axe continuing. The woman set two tables for the both of them and went around back to call him in. That's where she stopped and stared.
Okita had let his gi hang from his waist due to the rising heat, while he chopped wood. Sweat glistened on his skin and to Tokio's surprise (and embarrassment) she saw very tone and defined muscles underneath. They rippled with each movement that he made. She never expected such a delicate looking man to have this kind of physique. Turning away while blushing slightly, she stood on the porch and snuck another peek at him.
"Souji-san, the food is ready. You should come inside." She said, composing herself. He quickly turned around, slipping his arms into the sleeves of his gi, causing him to drop the axe on his foot. Okita winced as he massaged his foot to relieve the pain, while signaling to Tokio that he was fine. He joined her a minute later and she offered him a towel to wash off the sweat. Accepting it, he paused to wipe his face and hands before going inside.
"To-chan, what about your father and Tami-chan?" He asked, picking up a piece of seasoned radish.
She let out a soft sigh. "They will be fine. They only need some rest and some time to get over...get over the recent event."
"That's what you also need, To-chan; some rest and time. After eating, I expect you to march back into your room and take a twelve hour nap." He grinned before taking another bite.
"Souji-san, why did you come here?"
He looked surprised at her question. "My, my, To-chan. Do you think of me so heartless? I came because I knew you couldn't go through it alone. Losses aren't meant to have people going through it alone. I also came to cheer you up and to see you smile. I haven't seen you in a long time. I missed it... But would you prefer that I leave? I can very well do that for you, if you want to be alone."
When Tokio said nothing and sat with her head bowed, he sighed and got up. "I will see you later then. Don't forget to write." He said, walking out to where his sandals were. Strapping them on, he stretched his body and looked at the sky above. 'Such a perfect day...' he thought.
A hand reached out and grasped his gi from behind. He felt Tokio move closer to him and she whispered, "No, don't leave. I...don't want to be alone. I don't want to be strong anymore. I'm so...tired of being strong for my family. I want to be weak, I want to be the person receiving help, and I want to be the person receiving comfort. Don't I sound so selfish, Souji-san? Can you stay with me for awhile?"
Okita turned around and embraced her. "Of course, To-chan, I'll stay as long as you want me to stay." She broke down and wept into his gi until the tears would not come.
Thank you to...
Alice- I posted soon! Yay!
Miburo Kid- evil grin Is it that obvious that Okita likes her?? Hm, I'm not doing a very good job at portraying a confused Okita... Thanks for the review!
Jazzywolf- Neither do I. I love Tokio x Saitou.
JadeGoddes- Thank you so much for your faithful reviews! Muuwa!
Dustyfall- You rock! Thank you so much for reviewing!
Misaoshiru- Again, thank you very much for your correction!
::Author's notes::
This wasn't a very eventful chapter, but I wanted to wrap things up after Seinosuke's death. Now that I've got that over with, I will present new dilemmas in the next chapter. Time will forward to a year later after Tokio's brother's passing. We will see what happens to Tokio and Okita. And is Saitou actually hinting a bit of jealousy?
The historical notes will stop due to my time warping to the realistic timeline of Tokio and Saitou's life. --;;
Tokio really didn't seem herself, did she? She let herself be weak this time. Okita is so comforting, he's like a big brother to her.
But a shout of big thanks to Misaoshiru for her suggestion. Maa...I see how it goes. So I won't use "Tokio-kun" anymore. I just thought I heard someone use it before with ladies in Rurouni Kenshin, so...maybe I was confusing it with something else. --;;, but gomen for the mistake. Thank you for correcting it! (I would go back and change it...but I'm too lazy...-.-;;)
Also, I realized that my story just can't fit into the regular Saitou & Tokio timeline, so I'm trying to make it as close to it as possible, but some things are just going to have to be warped a little. ;;
The fifth chapter ended kind of abrupt, but I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless. It did seem kind of odd for Saitou to be right there after Kenshin...but, I didn't want poor Tokio to keep going back and forth from the door, so I just decided, "Ah, what the heck..." ;; Also Okita seemed the resolve his emotions for Tokio last time, but I didn't reveal what it was just yet. I'm not very good at making people wonder...-.-;; Oh well, that's ok. Keep the reviews coming please!
Chapter 6 Tears of the Mother Kitten
July 7 of 1866 ::Takagi Residence::
Tokio took a step back as two soldiers carried the covered body of her little brother. She bowed her head in reverence, keeping her tears in check, willing herself not to cry in front of men. Outside of the house, the sound of horses' hooves could be heard. It sounded quite deafening to Tokio. The gate was thrown back with such force that the edge of it chipped a part of the stone wall that supported it. Matsudaira Katamori silently followed a desperate looking Takagi Kanjuuro. Seeing his only son's body covered in cloth, he unashamedly started to weep.
Tokio rushed to her father, holding him as he went down to the ground like a little boy. It was heart wrenching. She rocked him back and forth as her mother had done to her when she cried. He shook with sobs and hiccups as he murmured Seinosuke's name with a breaking voice.
Tami had woken up from her nap due to the galloping horses and peeked outside. Seeing her father crying, she ran out and threw herself in his embrace. Hugging his two children like he was never going to let go, he cried. Tami learned of Seinosuke's death when Tokio gently told her the devastating news. Naturally, the child cried, beating her tiny fists against her sister, letting out her anger and frustration of the news of his passing.
Tokio held fast and she led the two of them to rest in the house. She wanted to speak to her brother's captain alone. She asked Saitou to follow her to the parlor of the house, where he could explain just how Seinosuke died.
"Saitou-san, what happened?" She asked firmly.
Saitou was actually surprised that the woman did not break down crying like her father had. Was she some sort of a heartless woman? He let out a breath and looked at her for permission to smoke. She granted it and he lit one. Taking a draw from it, he looked at her straight in the eye. "It had been a spy mission and my squad was assigned to it. We were about to attack, as quietly as possible, but a boy soldier gave away our position. We had no choice but to fight. As we predicted, the Hitokiri Battousai was their main guard and slaughtered most of my troop. Unfortunately, I was too late to discover that your brother was struggling with the Battousai himself. I could not save him. But Takagi-san, it is rest assured that your brother was one of my most trusted men. He died serving the Shinsengumi well."
During the retelling of the battle, Tokio grew angry.
He died serving the Shinsengumi? He died at the age of eighteen, when he could have lived for another sixty? He died without being able to create his own style of swordsmanship? He died in a goalless war because his sister had let him? He died when he had her?!
Saitou knew she was thinking. Her silence gave it away. He looked at her pale, shimmering face and admitted to himself that she was very beautiful. It was no wonder that a goof like Okita couldn't resist falling in love with her. But he suddenly found himself asking what a woman like her would look for in a man. Someone like Okita? Surely not...or could she? Perhaps it was possible; after all, Tokio was shorter than Okita. He stopped and mentally stabbed himself with his katana. What was he doing thinking about her all of a sudden?
His thoughts were interrupted by the two other Shinsengumi soldiers that came in to ask him where to put the body. Tokio gave them very precise directions to leave the body at their home, so she could bury him later beside where her mother lay in a burial mound a quarter of a mile from her home.
Tokio looked up at Saitou, a calm look of question on her face. "Saitou-san, is Souji-san alright? Has he recovered from his cold?"
He raised an eyebrow at her rush of words, but all the same nodded. "Okita is fine. He is back to training again."
A smile twitched very slightly on her lips at the thought of him. She turned grave soon after and she invited Saitou to take a rest in his journey. He refused, informing her that he needed to go back and check up on how his decimated squad was doing. Tokio nodded and bit him a polite good bye after she walked him to the gate.
It was growing dark, the sun setting and Tokio's spirit setting even lower. She peered in to her father's room to see his sleeping fitfully. Tami was exhausted from crying and was now resting in a quiet mode.
Tokio went to her room, changing slowly into her sleeping yukata and washing before attempting to sleep. She knelt on her futon and there was complete silence. Her strong face began to crumble. Doubling over, as if in pain, she mourned for her lost brother, mourning for another company that she lost. The young woman grasped her hair, still in the same position, and tugged at it, trying to make the painful images of her brother stop. But she couldn't. Her soul felt like it crumbled and her heart was shattered in a million pieces. Tokio shook her head in her arms, wishing that Seinosuke had never joined the war...wishing that she had never allowed him to join the Shinsengumi. She wanted to turn back to the days where time did not matter, a timeless place where her family would be happy.
'I can't cry. I have to stay strong for my family and Seinosuke. No crying."
Her unshed tears would be a secret...the tears of a mother kitten.
The next day, the Takagi home was still. The sun reluctantly shone from the horizon, shyly greeting its salutation to earth. The spacious house did not awaken from the sun's greeting. Instead, it went on with its sad slumber, not wanting to let go of the death of a beloved one.
A knock echoed through the empty courtyard. No one stirred. Another knock came. Again, there was no answer. "Tokio, it's Okita Souji! Please open the door!" The man on the other side tried the door and it creaked open slowly. "To-chan?"
He briskly walked, climbing the short case of stairs and looking around. "To-chan?"
Okita did not want to intrude, but he had to open almost every single door to find her. When he found her sleeping, he sighed with immense relief. "I'll come back when you are feeling better, To-chan."
He sighed and looked around. "Well, I hope she doesn't mind my cooking..."
::Shinsengumi::
"Saitou-san, Okita-san is missing!" Someone yelled.
"Ahou, Okita when to Kyoto. There's no need to shout. He'll be back." Saitou said calmly, staring at the curling smoke that rose from his cigarette. "I don't know why he's so concerned about the Takagi girl." He muttered.
"What was that, Saitou-san?"
The captain cleared his throat. "I said I am going to Kyoto also. He'll need all the help he can get."
::Okita:: ::Currently attempting to cook...::
"Er, is that supposed to smoke like that? Ouch, that's hot! Ack, my vegetables! The water is smoking?! Nani?! Oops, too much pepper in that. I hope they don't mind the smell... Hmm, a kitchen knife is so much different than a katana. When do you put the egg in? Maybe I should put garlic in that...or ginger. I'll go with ginger. It helps the breathing. Whew, I saved the vegetables. Where's a towel when you need one? Ah, I knocked it over! No, no! My vegetables! It's ruined! Oh no, the water! It's alive! How do you put out the fire underneath there? Oh, for the love of kata, I need some help! Tokio!"
"Souji-san, what are you doing?" A soft voice asked. Okita jumped at the sound of her voice and quirkily smiled.
"I'm afraid my cooking needs some sharpening, To-chan."
He noticed how she did not return his smile and how frail she looked, wrapping her yukata around herself resignedly. Okita did the best he could to help clean up his mess before she shooed him out of her kitchen. He stood by the doorway, his shoulder leaning against the post, watching her just in case she needed help.
It was so hard for him to stay where he was and not take her up in his arms to reassure her that everything was going to be alright. He wanted so much to have her smiling again, but knowing how much she loved her brother, he knew she was never going to be quite the same again.
Okita shook off his Shinsengumi uniform and was only dressed in a simple blue gi with a gray hakama. Tokio looked at him as if she was tired of seeing him. "Souji-san, what are you doing?"
He masked his look of hurt under his bright smile. "Why, To-chan, I'm going to be an extra hand around here. I'd like to help you."
She shook her head. "I will manage fine, Souji-san. Thank you for the offer."
His smile faltered. "It's no problem, To-chan. I'd like to help."
"I said I will be fine, Souji-san."
"If you'd only—"
Her eyes flashed with something unknown. "Souji-san, I know you are not deaf. I would just like to be left alone with my family. Don't you see, Souji-kun, he died serving the Shinsengumi...and you are Shinsengumi. I just can't forget. Forgive me."
She ran inside the house, trying to avoid him. Okita slowly went after her. He stood outside her room, listening to her silence and feeling rather downcast himself.
"To-chan, I admit that I know how you're feeling. I've had it happen to me 263 times so far in this war. The people that serve under me in my squadron are like brothers to me...and I've lost them 263 times. Every time I lose one, I give his family a letter. Can you imagine that?" he humorlessly chuckled, "Their son gave his life and I give them a piece of paper with words that only a poor, scarred soul wrote. I feel that pain every time a battle is over, when the struggle is temporarily stopped. At times I get so blinded by the pain that I lose sight of what I'm fighting for. Isn't that scary, To-chan, a soldier who loses sight of what he is risking his life for? I admire Saitou-san, he lives by his principles and doesn't waver from them. I can only with to be like that, I'm afraid.
"But on the battlefield, when I'm fighting, my purpose comes very clear to me. It's as if my eyes are once again open to my goal and I press on further until I reach it. Perhaps you are like me, To-chan, losing sight of what is really important to you because you lost one of those reasons to keep fighting. But once you are back on your pretty little feet, you'll see again what your purpose is."
Okita heard silence in her room and he decided that it was safe to go in. He slid open the door and Tokio was already fully dressed in a plain pink kimono, looking in the mirror to tie her hair.
"To-chan?"
"Yes, Souji-san?"
"I'm hungry."
"Let's go to the kitchen and I'll finish up my cooking."
Tokio led the way, with Okita following her eagerly. In fact, she set him to work on chopping firewood. He smiled submissively and obeyed. As she finished up her cooking, she heard the thud of his axe continuing. The woman set two tables for the both of them and went around back to call him in. That's where she stopped and stared.
Okita had let his gi hang from his waist due to the rising heat, while he chopped wood. Sweat glistened on his skin and to Tokio's surprise (and embarrassment) she saw very tone and defined muscles underneath. They rippled with each movement that he made. She never expected such a delicate looking man to have this kind of physique. Turning away while blushing slightly, she stood on the porch and snuck another peek at him.
"Souji-san, the food is ready. You should come inside." She said, composing herself. He quickly turned around, slipping his arms into the sleeves of his gi, causing him to drop the axe on his foot. Okita winced as he massaged his foot to relieve the pain, while signaling to Tokio that he was fine. He joined her a minute later and she offered him a towel to wash off the sweat. Accepting it, he paused to wipe his face and hands before going inside.
"To-chan, what about your father and Tami-chan?" He asked, picking up a piece of seasoned radish.
She let out a soft sigh. "They will be fine. They only need some rest and some time to get over...get over the recent event."
"That's what you also need, To-chan; some rest and time. After eating, I expect you to march back into your room and take a twelve hour nap." He grinned before taking another bite.
"Souji-san, why did you come here?"
He looked surprised at her question. "My, my, To-chan. Do you think of me so heartless? I came because I knew you couldn't go through it alone. Losses aren't meant to have people going through it alone. I also came to cheer you up and to see you smile. I haven't seen you in a long time. I missed it... But would you prefer that I leave? I can very well do that for you, if you want to be alone."
When Tokio said nothing and sat with her head bowed, he sighed and got up. "I will see you later then. Don't forget to write." He said, walking out to where his sandals were. Strapping them on, he stretched his body and looked at the sky above. 'Such a perfect day...' he thought.
A hand reached out and grasped his gi from behind. He felt Tokio move closer to him and she whispered, "No, don't leave. I...don't want to be alone. I don't want to be strong anymore. I'm so...tired of being strong for my family. I want to be weak, I want to be the person receiving help, and I want to be the person receiving comfort. Don't I sound so selfish, Souji-san? Can you stay with me for awhile?"
Okita turned around and embraced her. "Of course, To-chan, I'll stay as long as you want me to stay." She broke down and wept into his gi until the tears would not come.
Thank you to...
Alice- I posted soon! Yay!
Miburo Kid- evil grin Is it that obvious that Okita likes her?? Hm, I'm not doing a very good job at portraying a confused Okita... Thanks for the review!
Jazzywolf- Neither do I. I love Tokio x Saitou.
JadeGoddes- Thank you so much for your faithful reviews! Muuwa!
Dustyfall- You rock! Thank you so much for reviewing!
Misaoshiru- Again, thank you very much for your correction!
::Author's notes::
This wasn't a very eventful chapter, but I wanted to wrap things up after Seinosuke's death. Now that I've got that over with, I will present new dilemmas in the next chapter. Time will forward to a year later after Tokio's brother's passing. We will see what happens to Tokio and Okita. And is Saitou actually hinting a bit of jealousy?
The historical notes will stop due to my time warping to the realistic timeline of Tokio and Saitou's life. --;;
Tokio really didn't seem herself, did she? She let herself be weak this time. Okita is so comforting, he's like a big brother to her.