Alice: Don't worry, it's not important to know any of Tokio's brothers and sisters at the time being, except for maybe Yamato. They were in there to basically explain how she comes from a large family, and they were part of explaining her second father, since if it weren't for him, she and Saitou wouldn't be together!
To Jadegoddess: Malaria isn't incurable, but it can be lethal. And there's no solid proof that Tokio had Malaria, but it's most likely that she did. (I actually did put a reference in to Mosquitos in one of the chapters before she got it, seeing how mosquitos are what carry the virus.)
To Kakashi-fan: Yes, I created all of Tokio's siblings. Tokio isn't a real person, so I couldn't have found them from historical research.
To Boneesan: Since you mentioned it, I though I'd point this out to all the readers. Tokio's stepfather has all the daughters of the family in arranged marriages. Her older sister's depression is there to show that not all arranged marriages turn out for the good.
-- -- -- --
Chapter 11: Summer StormsLike I had planned, I only manage to sleep for an hour, possibly a little more, before I wake up again. It's still light outside, which means I should have time still to start dinner, we could either eat late or I could make a simple meal. Yamato was visiting though, and I wanted to make something nice for him.
A delighted scream from Kari finally jolts me enough to rise from my bed. I really do feel fine, just very slightly drowsy from a nap I hadn't originally planned on taking. It's a defect that will wear off easily. I stand up from my blankets and straighten out my garments. I ponder for a moment whether or not to do my hair back up, but I really don't feel like taking the time; my sleeping was impolite enough, really. I put in a simple braid instead and head out of the bedroom. Only Eiji is in the living room though. When I see him I realize that Kari's yell must have come through my window.
"Eiji, where is everyone?" I asked, brushing a loose strand of hair behind my ear.
Eiji looked up from a few papers he was working on. "They went outside a little while ago."
I start for the kitchen, but halt myself. "Eiji dear, are you doing homework?"
"Yeah." He answers casually, not looking up from his writing.
I smile calmly. He really does want to become like his brother, Mishima. It seemed as though my bribery with the dojo was successful.
"Tomorrow, then."
"Huh?" Eiji turns around to face me.
I pause for a moment to think. "I hope it isn't rude to Kaoru-san, but I suppose I could take you to the dojo tomorrow, while I still have a substitute at the day care."
Eiji's next move is so fast I can barely see him when he suddenly plummets into me, his tan arm squeezing my ribs. "Arigatou Tokio!"
I laugh. "Eiji, you're hurting me..."
He immediately lets go. "G-gomen..."
"Go do your work." I instruct. When he returns to the table, I head through the kitchen and outside to the garden. I hold still for a moment and hear Yamato talking in the backyard. Perhaps he and Saitou are getting along as I had hoped. I follow their voices until they come into sight near the back fence. Kari is crawling under Yamato's legs as the two men talk. I sigh when I see an unwelcoming look still planted on Saitou's face, his arms folded across his chest. As I near them, I can make out more of what they're saying.
"And I suppose you don't have much time for her either, hm?" Yamato says in a friendly voice as Kari's head pops up in front of him. He smiles and accepts her lifted hands.
Saitou's eyebrows lower, which makes me walk a little faster. They're talking about his work again, I'm sure. Oh please Yamato... don't talk about his work...
Saitou opens his mouth to say something, but Kari drags Yamato's hand around and he turns to spot me.
"Tokio!" He says, letting go of Kari for a moment and stepping up to me, placing his hands on my shoulders. "Imoto, are you feeling well?"
I smile my brightest, or at least try to. I hate it when others worry over me. "Onii-san, I'm fine." I glance over to my husband. He gives a bit of an unbelieving look, but doesn't speak. I don't know why, I really do feel fine.
I quickly refocus on Yamato as Kari pulls at the back of my kimono. "Onii-san, what would you like me to cook you for dinner?"
"Cook?" Yamato laughs. "Tokio, I won't ask you to do that for me. Actually, I'm more than happy to treat all of you to something. I imagine you don't get to go out much."
For a moment, I sense an indirect blow to Saitou in his statement. "Arigatou gozaimasu." I answer. Before either of us can say much more, I feel my kimono loosen a bit. I grab the front of my obi quickly.
"Kari!" I shout out, startled. My four-year-old pulled on the end of the tie against my back and nearly made it come completely undone. My cheeks get a little hot with embarrassment. I saved myself from immodesty, but I am still in front of my older brother.
Yamato laughs lightly. Kari tugs on my bow more.
"Kari, stop, now." Saitou appears behind me and lightly pulls Kari's hand away from the bow. I'm very grateful for that. Kari frowns and runs to Yamato.
"G-gomen..." I say to Saitou, who is gathering my obi and retying it. Of all times...
"You're fine Tokio, really." Yamato picks Kari up and rests her on his left hip. I release the front of my kimono when I feel it is secure enough. Saitou finishes quickly. I turn and thank him.
"Where would you like to eat?" Yamato questions.
I'm not sure, really. "Saitou, do you have a preference?" I ask.
Saitou pulls out the front of his collar. "I'm afraid I won't be attending with you, Tokio, I have to get back to work." I watch his amber eyes gaze bullets at my brother before he turns on his heel and heads back to the house.
"Saitou..." I whisper after him. Today was his day off, too.
Yamato frowns at him. "Work again, isn't it? It may mean you're well provided for, Imoto, I can't argue with that, but with that man..." He sighs. "You deserve better."
"Please... don't say that." I ask quietly. "Saitou is all I could ever ask for." I look back to my sibling. "I do love him, Yamato. Please remember that when you speak so idly of him."
Yamato's eyes seemed to sadden a bit, and I look away. I hope I didn't say anything to offend him. Almost as to match the setting, the sun hides behind a cloud, casting a shadow over the house. I gaze up at it. It's not one cloud, but several, fairly gray in color. Maybe a storm was coming in.
Yamato's warm hand lightly grips my fingers. "Gomen nasai, Imoto-chan." He says quietly, easing Kari down. "I don't mean any harm to you."
I don't say anything, but I accept his apology. It's true, he will never mean any harm to me, but I fear that no matter what I do, what I try, he will never feel that way towards Saitou. Not many people do.
We go out as planned to a diner called Shiroryuu, and Yamato really does seem to go the extra mile in his spending. He works merchandising with my father, and he's very prosperous in it. I looked around the house to see if Saitou was there, but once I found his belt and katana missing, I knew he really had returned to work. Perhaps he was avoiding further confrontation with my brother, or perhaps he didn't like the idea of sitting at a meal with him. Yamato is very friendly, and he's very understanding. Saitou is quite serious, perhaps one of the most stoic people I have ever met, but deep down he has a loving soul, and he's very determined. He is someone who I doubt I will ever see fail. Perhaps their personalities clash mildly, but something else triggers their disputes. From the moment Otou-san brought Saitou and his father into our home to arrange our marriage, he hasn't been fond of him. My other sister was betrothed... but perhaps it was an older-brother thing, maybe he merely wanted to protect me.
Yamato also takes the stride to walk my family and I home. The clouds are much darker now, and though I think it only dusk, it looks as though the night sky has settled early. The wind picks up as well, so I hold Kari's hand rather tightly. I am more than pleased to see how well Yamato and Eiji are getting along. Eiji really warmed up to him.
As soon as the three of us are safely at our home, Yamato bids us farewell, not staying the night because he has to catch a late train to Yokohama to rendezvous with Robun. The house is dark, and I light the lantern by the front door. Saitou still isn't home. I hope he doesn't work all night... he does that when he's upset, though it's taken me years to learn how to read what little emotion he gives off. Instead, I see the dark clouds as an excuse to get the kids into bed early. I'm glad Eiji will be in the same room as Kari, she seems to get a bit frightened when it thunders. I carefully guide the children up the stairs with the lantern and help them get into bed, though Eiji does most of the work of setting up the futons.
"Tomorrow, right?" Eiji asks, almost reminding me that I said we'd go to the Kamiya dojo.
I smile. "Yes Eiji, do you have school?"
"Nope! We can be gone all day!"
I nod and get him to quiet down, and soon he and Kari are asleep. Right before I exit the room, a loud firework of thunder blasts down from the sky, Kari jumping up in her bed. In the dark and can see Eiji reaching out for her hand, and it keeps her from crying. I close the door silently behind me and make my way carefully down the darkened stairwell.
I realize that I return to Seishun Preschool soon, and in my previous bedridden state, I hadn't prepared a single thing. I'll be completely lost in the children's lessons upon my return... I don't know whether the substitute continued their learning, helped them review, or merely acted as a babysitter.
With the aid of my small light, I go into my sewing room and silently slide the door shut. On a high shelf are two more candles and another lantern, and with a long incense stick I light all four, leaving the candles height and setting the lanterns on the floor. As to what I should prepare, I have no idea. It's something I'll ponder on.
I notice that a pair of brown hakama pants are strewn over my dresser. They're Eiji's. He must have put them there recently. I pick them up and examine them in the dim light, finding a tear in the hem at the bottom of the right leg. Seeing as how I don't have a lesson idea, I take up the pants and search for a needle and thread. I can sew the clothing up and ponder on a few thoughts for the school at the same time. I kneel in my kimono on the wooden floor and carefully stitch by candlelight. At that time another explosion of sound rips through the clouds, tearing the sky so it releases fast pouring rain that hits the roof over my head. I find it relaxing for some reason. We don't get many thunderstorms, though summer is the season for them.
I hope Saitou doesn't patrol tonight.
-- -- -- --
I suppose my busy work keeps me a bit oblivious from the time, because after Eiji's pants are repaired and I begin writing with a pen and ink for my lesson, a yawn tries to inform me of the hour. I'm not very tired though, most likely due to my nap, so I keep working. I figure a lesson that's more random than usual, more games than work, will be enough to entertain the children while letting me catch up on where they are after my three week absence. I write several ideas down, and because of what happened earlier that day, I decide it would be useful to help teach the children how to tie obis. I can bring two from home, one of mine and one of Saitou's, and put it around a wooden board for them to practice.
A glimpse of lightening, another sound of thunder. One of the candles on the shelf goes out. It had only a short stem left anyway, and the room only dims slightly. At the same time I hear heavy footsteps coming towards the door, and it slides open to reveal Saitou. He must have seen the light through the rice paper and knew I hadn't been asleep... since I usually am by the time he gets home.
His demeanor doesn't seem to be a very chipper one.
"Tokio, it's late." He scolds me like a father; "you should have been in bed a while ago."
I place my pen down and am about to apologize when I realize that Saitou is dripping in the hallway, soaking wet from the rain. It doesn't even phase him.
I stand up, concerned. "Saitou, you're soaking wet!" I point out my thoughts in a vaguely hushed voice. I walk towards him. "You patrolled tonight?"
Saitou seems weary of my fret and evades his eyes.
Our roles switch now and I act as though I'm his mother. With a sigh I take his wrist and make him sit down on a chair I pull out from the corner. "Saitou, earlier you had me rest for my own health, perhaps you should consider your own." I unbutton the collar of his uniform.
Saitou brushes my hands away and does it himself, taking off his gloves first. I can tell that he would have preferred me to be asleep so he could have avoided this.
I step back and brush some loose hair from my face. "You know you can't keep wet clothes..."
"You can avoid the lecture, Tokio." His low voice has a bit of irritation in it. "It's one I've heard several times and I don't care to go over it again."
With the newfound joy of his unpleasant attitude, I leave the room for a moment and get a large towel from the closet in the hallway, going back and exchange it for Saitou's damp shirt. I leave again and head to the kitchen, shaking the heavy material a few times before slinging it over a kitchen chair to dry. I don't want to bother searching in the dark for a laundry basket that only God knows where it is. When I come back the white towel rests on Saitou's neck, and his impassive amber eyes stare unfocused on the floorboards. I inhale deeply and remember that it hasn't been the best day for him, what with Yamato and with the stress of work in this horrid weather. With much more patience, a step over to him and lift one hem of the towel over his head, gently drying off his hair. He doesn't move, nor speak. It's times like these that I'm lost again, I don't know whether to treat him as an adult or a child, since neither is ever correct. I know that Saitou is beyond all that, being something that I could never understand, no matter how badly I try.
I drop the towel back to his shoulders and look at him, his gaze still on the floorboards that my body should now be hiding. I run my fingers over his shoulder--his skin is still cold. He doesn't seem so much irritated anymore, though he is far from anything good. I rest my forehead on his damp hair for a moment, smelling rain. He didn't take his cap.
I lift my head again. "Gomen nasai, Saitou." I feel a pity for him that I knew I shouldn't. I brush a few strands of his long bangs away from his face, stopping my hand on his jawbone. I lower my face to his.
His hand suddenly grips my wrist, purposely halting my actions. "Tokio." He says dully.
I pull away, a little hurt. He denies me. He never approves of any sentimental atmosphere.
Once his hold of my hand lightens, I step back a little and smooth my kimono fabric under my knees and kneel in front of him. Finally a glance towards me replaces his fascination with the floor. I just barely touch his thin cheek with a fingertip and lift up to him, not being stopped this time. Even his lips feel cold against mine; I only warm them for a short period before releasing him. I look into his eyes, a bit defiant.
"Saitou, you're still angry." I have to say it for him.
I don't expect him to say anything, seeing how he is, and he doesn't. He merely adverts his eyes again. I forgive him for it, I know that after living through a life of so much war and fighting, any person would have difficult times in more relaxed social... or even private situations. Even after so many years of domesticity.
My hands drop to my lap and my gaze follows them. "Are you angry with me?"
"No."
"I know I'm repeating myself, but don't be angry with Yamato." I continue.
Saitou exhales loudly and straightens. "It's beneath me to allow his mediocre quarrels to be anything more than that." He takes a second to search for his cigarettes before recalling that they're not with him.
After hesitation, I finally say, "I won't defend him."
Saitou looks back to me and lifts my chin up. He examines me for a moment, and his face softens. "You're a good woman, Tokio."
I lay my palm against the back of his hand and rise off my heels to get closer to him. "Please remember," I whisper, kissing the corner of his mouth, "I love you, Hajime."
He turns his head to meet me fully, leaning into me as the rain pounds on the roof a little louder. His hand slides from under mine and slowly glides down my jaw and neck, lingering on the valley between my neck and shoulder. He breaks for a small breath and kisses me again, this time in a way I don't expect, my lips having to part more to compensate for him. My free hand clutches onto his bare side, scratching over it with my nails. I hear his chair slide away, but I'm too lost in the moment to care what he's doing with it.
The cool air of the room touches my shoulder, the warmth of my kimono no longer protecting it. Our kiss ends, and Saitou's eyes pierce through mine. I gaze at them for a moment, but my hunger for him proves too strong, and our next kiss puts the last to shame.
The rain against the roof and walls, the rain in his hair... If only storms like this never ended.
-- -- -- -- --
I can't imagine how late it is. My other candle has burnt out, but the two lanterns are still glowing. Most of my hair has fallen out of its braid, and a lock of it streaks in front of my face, skimming over the lines of the floorboards. I can feel Saitou's breath behind my ear, his arm loosely slung over my hip. My kimono acts like a blanket, though I only feel it over my legs.
"You work the long shift tomorrow?" I asked quietly.
"Yes."
I press the small of my back against his stomach and my head lightly to his cheek. We'll only stay here until our strength is back.
"Eiji!" I call up the stairs, "Eiji, Hayaku kudasai! We'll miss the trolley dear!"
Kari tugs on my kimono and points to herself. "What about me?"
I turn to Kari and bend my knees a bit. "You're going to play with Eshiko today, remember?"
Kari thinks for a moment. "Can Eshiko and me come with Eiji too?"
I smile. "Well, either you can come with Eiji without Eshiko, or you two can play all day long at her house."
Seeing how the sound of playtime far amuses her more than an half-an-hour ride across Tokyo, Kari shouts "play!" and bobs up and down, finally excited to spend time with her friend. Eiji thuds down the stairs and swings off the rail, landing behind me.
"Come on Tokio! I might get a bokken today!" He shouts eagerly.
"Indoor voice, Eiji." I take Kari's hand and lead the two children out the door, picking up a bag off the table as I go. We walk Kari around the corner and down the street to the Mikazuki residence, give my many thanks, then I take Eiji to the trolley center.
"When can I start going by myself?" Eiji asks when we're finally seated. They're the same seats we had the first time, oddly enough.
"Can I take that you don't enjoy my company, Eiji?" I tease.
"You know what I mean. So when can I?" He asks again.
"Hmmm... MAYBE next time, we'll see how today goes. It wouldn't be a bad idea, at least. I can't stay with you for every lesson. Oh, and please remind me to pay Kaoru-san, I'll get the next five lessons for you taken care of."
Eiji beams. "Hai!"
"What was that young boy's name again? The other student?"
Eiji thinks for a second. "Yahaki or Yahiko or something like that.
When we arrive to the area where the Kamiya dojo is, I give Eiji a reminder to mind his manners and to do what Kaoru says. He brushes it off easily. We pass the Akabeko and head down the street. past the small stream and to the doors of the Dojo.
One of them is all ready open, and I spot an old man on the front porch, two young brunettes playing with a ball in front of him.
- - - -
Author's note: I've started on chapter 12, so I'll try not to get sidetracked again and get a quicker update!