Chapter 2 – The Blue-Eyed Ghost

A/N: Hey everyone, this chapter turned out longer than I expected, but I'm quite happy with it.

Enjoy!

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Their reunion was colder than he expected.

Maybe cold wasn't the right word to put it.

As soon as her eyes met his, she went rigid and stared at him as if he just crawled out of the grave. "Oh…it's you," Okatsu murmured. Her eyes became distant and she gave a stiff bow before looking elsewhere. William could only be confused at that and turned to Hanzo for answers. Did something happen while he was back at England?

"It's…not my place to speak," Hanzo said, leaving him with nothing to go on. He hoped with time things would go back to the way they were, but that never happened. His encounters with her became painfully awkward as she offered him nothing but stoic looks and curt responses just like when they first met. He even offered to spar with her once, but she declined even though there was a time when she would have jumped at the chance either to warm up or test how well his skills were improving, teasing him endlessly if he got a technique wrong. What caused this change was beyond him.

While training in the dojo one morning, Hanzo came to William with some news. "A neighboring town has requested help. They have been having trouble with bandits it seems,"

At the time, William saw no problem in coming along, so he agreed only to be thrown off when he found out later that the ninja had arranged for the two of them along with Okatsu to head there. His first thought was to back out, but he couldn't bring himself to when there were people in danger. The night before his departure he did whatever preparations he could.

What William hadn't accounted for was for Hanzo to be absent when they got there. "Where could he have gone? He said he would be here. Wouldn't he have sent us Nekomata if something else came along the way?" he asked.

"We shouldn't waste time waiting. I say when split up and gather whatever we could about the bandits," said Okatsu solemnly and gave him an expectant glance. He sighed in defeat.

"Alright,"

By the end of the day, William was silently simmering in middle of the bustling town. Lanterns were lit all around. Since it was plainly obvious he was not from around here, he kept getting curious looks sent his way which did not help improve his mood in the slightest. The only thing he could think about the entire time was Hanzo. I'll be sure to have a word with him!

As far as the people whom he asked said, the bandits came usually at night and took whatever they could get their hands on. They killed every person that got in their way so far.

Bored out of his mind, William's eyes wandered around until they found Okatsu talking to a nearby shopkeeper. The longer he watched her, the more he grew to notice how different she seemed. Her face was bright and her smile energetic when talking to the old woman. He couldn't help staring. The way she would laugh, the carefree glint in her eyes was a huge contrast to the way she acted on the battlefield and in front of them. She was far livelier, less guarded.

Having paid the shopkeeper, she left with a small basket and her face became guarded again once she found him. "Here," she reached inside the basket and tossed him a meat bun. It would have hit William in the face if hadn't snapped out of his daze.

"Uh, thank you," he said and bit into it. She stood by his side, silently scanning the crowds before noticing that his eyes hadn't left her.

"What?" she said, self-conscious.

William had no clue how to voice his thoughts. "I…I was just-"

A scream suddenly reached them, making them drop everything and rush to the center of the town where they found the bandits. They were breaking into shops and houses, threatening anyone they came across with their swords and sickles. Without needing to say anything, the two of them dove in. William unsheathed his sword and cleaved his way through one bandit after the other. Okatsu ran to a bandit threatening a man and a child and kicked him in the back of his head, sending him tumbling away.

William focused on the enemies coming at him with their glinting blades. He dodged each strike and cut them once their guard was down. The third one clashed his blade against his, sneering. The scarred man back up and swung, aiming for William's neck only for him to roll out of the way just in time and face him again. In that moment, William noticed another man sitting on a nearby rooftop far too late. The archer launched an arrow straight into William's shoulder and he staggered back.

"Got you!" Grinning, the scarred bandit marched over ready to cut through him when a kunai struck him in the chest.

"Anjin!" While their enemy collapsed on the ground, Okatsu came running to him.

"No! Don't let them escape!" William yelled as the remaining bandits began fleeing. He tried removing the arrow without risking any more damage, hissing in pain when he got it out.

"You're bleeding!" she insisted, crouching by his side. Taking out a medicine container, she held it out to him, "Take it! Don't make me force you!"

He reluctantly accepted it. "One of my spirits will do the rest," he told her when he got up and already felt a cool wave already passing through his body, healing his wound. He stared at the empty street and huffed. "I'd have been fine. I've been injured before when I was alone. You should have gone after them,"

"Did you really think I would leave you like that?" she said, crossing her arms.

William looked away. "Well, you have been indifferent toward me ever since I've returned,"

He knew that was petty. It honestly surprised him that he would bring up such a thing at a time like this, but it wasn't any further from the truth.

She fell silent, her eyes becoming distant again before sighing. "Anjin, why did you come back?" she asked, which made him bristle.

"What does that have to do with-"

"I need to know," she cut him off. "After you defeated that man you were looking for, you left us without even saying anything. Why are here then?"

William blinked and sighed, feeling a little guilty about that now. "When I finished the work I had at England, I…learned that this land was in danger of war again, so I returned to prevent that. The thought has been on my mind, but I feel no urge to leave this place yet,"

She finally met his gaze and her face slowly softened. There was almost an underlying look of relief in her eyes. "I see. So the powerful Anjin couldn't forget about us?" she teased.

Now that was familiar.

Raising a brow, William shook his head in amusement. "After all those perilous missions you had me do? Impossible,"

Okatsu rolled her eyes, but a smile betrayed her annoyance.

William walked past her, returning to the problem at hand. "I can send a spirit to search for the bandits, but it can't get very far from me," he said, Yatagarasu appearing on his shoulder. He gave the crow spirit a look and watched it take off into the air, hoping it would find them a trail of some kind.

"I would guess they probably headed to the mountain. That's what I've been told by the locals," she turned to him and grinned. "Don't let yourself get knocked down again or I won't keep running to your aid every time,"

"I appreciate your help, but you shouldn't have done that in the first place," William said again.

She scowled. "How could you say that like it's nothing?"

William rubbed his temples. "You're better off just finishing our mission. There is no point in coming to my aid. I'm already dead!"

A heavy silence followed that.

It was a reality he couldn't deny. William might have clung onto life despite facing death many times before, but that didn't make his deaths any less real or vivid. He was like a ghost walking among the living, always searching for something. Why care for someone who drew their last breath so many times already?

Okatsu was staring at him quietly and he began to regret losing his temper in front of her like that.

Just as he was about to say something, resolve returned to her eyes and she came over to him. To his surprise, she placed her hand on his cheek, her thumb brushing the corner of his lips. A rush of heat flowed through his face when he felt her lips press against his other cheek. His mind became blank.

She leaned back and gave him a look. "For someone who is dead, you have shown more compassion than any samurai I have met alive…think about that," she said seriously before finally pulling her hand away and turning around. "Now let's hurry. We have bandits to catch,"

William stood there dumfounded before forcing himself to walk after her. "Right,"

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Once Yatagarasu found the bandits' lair, they managed to deal with the remaining ones and returned to report back to the town. Upon their return from the mission, William immediately sought Hanzo and found him sitting in the dojo staring at the garden, pipe in hand.

"You planned that, didn't you?" William growled.

"So the town was saved. That's good to hear," said Hanzo, the smugness in his voice nothing short of irritating.

William dropped next him and shoved him on the shoulder. "You fiend! You sent us to deal with the threat alone?"

Hanzo shrugged, lowering his pipe. "I decided to put my trust in the hands of the mighty William. I'm glad to know I made the right choice," he smirked knowingly at his fuming companion. "I brought some tea along. Care to join me?"

"Fine," William groaned, seeing no point in arguing further. His scowl deepened when he heard the ninja chuckle to himself before rising up and walking away. He found himself leaning back and staring at the garden. While relaxing in the sunlight, he could almost feel that warmth brush against his cheek again and that same beaming face reared at the front of his mind. He smiled.

No, I couldn't possibly forget.

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A/N: Occasionally when William gets knocked down by an enemy in the finale of Nioh 2, he says something among the lines of "Just go on ahead. I'm already dead," which inspired this idea of mine. I don't usually write romance, but I really wanted to make something for these two.