A/N: I hope you're still breathing after that last chapter. Sorry, still not sorry.
The scene she tells him the news is my favourite so far. Which one is yours, out of curiosity? On a sidenote, if you imagine Hijikata as the weary caretaker of a bunch of kindergartens, each and every one of his appearances take a life of their own.
Timeline: May 1863.
A fine lady...
...and unforeseen events.
Soon enough, news of the most advantageous marriage had made the full rounds at the capital; anyone who was someone would know of lady Tokio's betrothal to the eldest son of the Aizu-based hatamoto Eguchi Arata, Eguchi Asahi. He was a pleasant man apparently—both to the eye and to be around. They said he laughed a lot and always found himself doing something; they said he was tall and handsome. They said more…but the thing was, Tokio knew, no one had ever met him. So how could they really know? All ever her father ever knew of the man's character was the letter he had sent, asking her hand. He did say he sounded respectful, but also maybe playful. Whether that was disrespect after all or simply what made him special, remained to be seen.
She had sighed then, she sighed now, too, walking between the busy stalls and shops of the Kyoto shopping district.
As her hand glided over of a nice deep blue hairpin with quite the striking amber details, she remembered Saito...and how, if it weren't for her shameless outburst that night he caught her red-handed, she'd be doing much more than sighing at the moment; but he was there. He listened. He saw her at her worst and accepted her so casually, it felt natural. Part of her was glad it was him who found her, too because she knew he would judge her harshly, so if she managed to win him over, she was not so wrong after all.
Yet that night earned her more than a shoulder to cry on; it brought her someone sympathetic, one who could relate. Something like a friend! But not quite; maybe a confidant? She shook her head; no matter what, she felt closer to him. And every time they would talk, she felt comforted. And then, there were people like her father who only served to irritate her!
"Father, I told you I do not need a new kimono; Matsudaira-sama bought me one three months ago and I have worn it only once. It's practically new."
"But your husband is to come meet you in a week from now! You can't possibly wear a kimono you have shown to people before."
She stared. "Why not?"
"It is too special an occasion, you know that." She clicked her tongue for the umpteenth time. "Come now, allow me to buy it for you…as a wedding gift."
"A hair pin would make a wonderful wedding gift;" her eyes darted to an absolutely stunning purple-black hair pin with flowers at the top "a kimono is a too expensive and ostentatious wedding gift! Father, I beg you, let us get something else."
"No! I have set my heart on a beautiful gold trimmed kimono and that is what I shall get you."
"Father, we have to save for the wedding; don't buy me gold trimmed anything."
"Nonsense; my eldest daughter is getting married and I shall provide her with lavish clothes for this joyous occasion."
She sighed once more, but followed, even as she wistfully looked back at that hair pin; there would be no changing his mind now. She made a mental note of the street and the shop though; maybe Teruhime-sama would be kind enough to gift it to her, even if she didn't agree with her betrothal, to make her feel better.
Ah...
Not three metres away, two men watched as Tokio reluctantly left the hair-pin stall, sparing looks full of yearning for its contents.
The short one pouted. "So it is true; Tokio-chan is getting married—and not to me!"
The tall one snorted at the same time he hit his friend on the head; the offended party retaliated with a hit on the ribs. "Why would she marry you, idiot?"
"Because I would have made her happy and treated her like a queen," he stated with the authority of two emperors and the shogun.
"But she's a full-fledged princess; no matter how you treated her, she would still need the cushy life of one."
Okita practically glared at him. "Stop reminding poor little me."
A crooked smirk while a hand rested on his shoulder. "Move on, Okita-chan."
"What did I tell you about calling me that, younger-than-me Saitou-kun?"
"Alright, alright, alright; you made your point. Let's go."
He spared a last look behind him as they left.
.
.
"How can it always be you that are chosen for the best assignments? I protest! This is not fair; I want to be in Tokio-chan's entourage, too!" Hijikata actually hit Harada because of his outburst with the hilt of his sword, right at the top of his head. "Ouch! Commander…!"
"Do not refer to her so casually; what is it with you four?"
While Okita and Saitou pretended they had no idea what he meant, Nagakura looked offended! "I never refer to Tokio-san casually!"
"You cover for them when they do, so it's practically the same." Nagakura looked away annoyed. "That being said, they were chosen by her father, due to the lord's recommendation, to ride with the welcoming party. I had no say in it so stop complaining."
"Why do that though? They never did tell us."
Nagakura posed a fair question, one Hijikata obviously resented. After all, when they had been invited to the Matsudaira compound that morning, nothing but their duties were announced to them.
"For some important reason…most possibly to make more work for us and by us I mean me seeing I'm the only one who actually frets," because of course the world revolved around Hijikata "and even when I was asked, I strongly advised them against it."
They had decided to meet with the groom right outside of Kyoto, at the easternmost point of contact with the surrounding forest. Despite wisely making the decision not to send Tokio to Aizu, one the groom himself supported, they still wished to put someone in some sort of peril and decided to send Kojuuro and Teruhime to receive him there; it would have normally been the mother, but Tokio's mother never made the trip. And of course, Matsudaira and the bride herself would wait for them at the mansion.
That's where these three where supposed to report at the main gates at eleven o clock sharp, a week from now, too. Horses would be provided by the lord.
Hijikata sighed. "But what do I know?"
The men struggled not to show their amusement at their commander's plight. "So don't talk to me about why I didn't pick you. Now make sure you have a good night's sleep, this week—all of you. Get it?"
He left only after they nodded gingerly.
"Aw, and here we thought we were being discreet!" Okita announced faux-surprised.
"Nothing comes to pass under this roof without Hijikata-san knowing about it," Nagakura commented "he even knows things happening away from this roof apparently. Yet I'm the only one singled out."
"True; and he still has all of these things on his plate! Hijikata is impressive," Harada opined, "but also a sadist; can't believe he so shamelessly said all of that in front of me, with no regard to my feelings!"
"No one cares about your feelings, Harada."
But Harada smirked, instead of complaining per usual, making all others suspicious. "Haruka-chan does; and so does Kohaku-chan" he commented devilishly.
Saitou was lost. "Who are those?"
"Wha—who are those? Who are those!? Those, my friend, are the lovely geisha who serve us drink every other night." Realisation dawned on the tall man's face. "And the second one is the lovely woman who used to flirt with you but in the end decided her time was much better spent with a man like me."
"You mean the woman who realised she wouldn't be getting any money out of me so she decided to switch targets? Ah yes, lovely woman indeed."
"They have to make a living somehow, Saitou-san," Okita reasoned.
"Agreed; but I'm married."
All four snorted with laughter at that. "Right; have you received any news about her lately, by the way?" Nagakura asked with a keen interest. "They said they'd be keeping you informed of her actions but I know you haven't received any letter. Did they contact you in any other kind of way?"
"No…but now that you mentioned it, maybe I should inquire. Who knows? With a little bit of luck, she'll have eloped with another by now."
Okita chuckled. "Ah, ever the romantic…"
"You bet."
.
.
"Tokio-sama, Tokio-sama!"
The twin sisters came at her in full speed, accosting her as soon as she set foot in the house.
She had gone to the tailor's for a fitting, seeing the day of their first meeting was drawing near, yet she didn't want anything to do about it. She didn't even want the damn thing; she definitely didn't want to pose for it twice…! But seeing her two maids so excited, put her in a good mood instantly. Each grabbing a hand, they started dragging her around, explaining as they went, ignoring their master's protests.
Kachako, ever the impatient, blurted out: "We found a beautiful little box outside your room just after you left the mansion!"
"It had a letter accompanying it."
"And we left them both on your table, waiting until you arrive to open them!"
"Girls, girls…I am delighted you made certain it was removed from any curious people's eyes, but I have to go to Teruhime-sama." They came to a screeching halt; the twins deflated. "I can't go open my present n—"
But Ochako perked up again! "There's no problem if Teruhime-sama sees it, is there?"
"Um, I don't think so; I don't mind, letting her kn—"
"Then here's what we're going to do: Kachako will escort you to the lady while I run to fetch them both and we'll open the altogether once we're there!"
"I guess we can do that."
"Great! Go, go; I'll be bringing them to you; I'll be quick."
Tokio chuckled; if Ochako was witnessed speaking over and interrupting her lady, she could be punished. Both women knew that which was why they never did it outside of the confines of her personal space, as Tokio never really minded or cared about things like that. So if she chose to do it in the openness of the corridor, it meant she was very excited! That must have been a very beautiful little box to get her like this.
And now Tokio was getting her hopes up, too.
Shaking her head, the two of them headed for the room of the grand lady. It didn't take longer than ten minutes at a normal pace to reach it – it was one of the furthest rooms in the compound, hence there were always two guards on standby somewhere near there – and yet, by the time the two of them had expended with the formalities and sat down, there came Ochako! They saw her shadow on the shoji door; she was hunched, hands on her knees for support, breathless and frazzled. All three women chuckled while Kachako stood to allow her sister in.
"M…y...ladies…Teruhime…sama…Tokio-sa…ma…"
Teruhime shook her head. "Dear, come inside, sit down; catch your breath."
As one sister all but collapsed on the tatami mats next to the table and the two ladies, the other shut the door behind her; the lady offered her a drink of water which she shyly but gladly accepted.
"There, better already."
"Thank you so much, my lady." She finally produced the coveted objects and presented them to Tokio. "Here they are! Open them, open them!"
With sufficient curiosity, all four women leaned over the black, wooden oblong box. It really was beautiful, with its carvings of flowers on top. She moved it in her hands, feeling the anticipation building up inside her and the rest in the room. Judging by the size and the width, it could hold nothing other—
"A hairpin!" Tokio exclaimed after she carefully opened the box!
"Oh it's beautiful Tokio-sama!"
"Oooooh, look at the size of it; it's quite impressive, Tokio-sama."
"The colours are very interesting; the flowers are tasteful, too. What a sensible choice."
"And what a thoughtful gift to a woman who loves hairpins so much," Ochako added wisely.
The flowers on the hairpin were the same as on the box: hydrangea. There was a small cluster of them concentrated at the very top, extending like a bouquet; and from that, a single chain hang leading to a petal. They were all purple in colour with a black finish, the same black colour as the a-little-thicker-than-usual body of the rest of the pin. It was very special…and she knew exactly the two, no three, kimono she could wear with this! What she also knew was how much this hairpin looked like the one she wanted to buy three days ago. So she also felt confident about knowing the identity of the sender.
With a naturally wide smile, she gave the pin to Teruhime-sama to inspect it closer, while she herself took the letter and unfolded it…! But wait a minute; this brushwork wasn't familiar to her.
"Not the one you were expecting?"
Teruhime's astute observation made her nod repeatedly. Yes; it was far too messy yet distinguishable to be—
"My father and I were looking at something like this so I thought it was him; I figured…maybe he caved in and decided to buy the pin as well as the kimono." All four women rolled their eyes at the same time. "Because there was no swaying him from that one," distaste "but the pin itself was actually cheap."
And it might not have been identical, but, she surmised, in true man fashion, he forgot what the one she looked at was exactly like and bought her the next best thing, which of course was just as gorgeous, simply not the same.
Apparently she was wrong.
"Then you should read the letter with haste Tokio-sama! It must explain everything," Kachako, always the impatient one, advised.
"I will; I was simply startled."
"Ah," Teruhime's lips curled into a knowing smile them, still examining the present "I was confident this would be the case."
She pulled the top of the hairpin from below the flowers, but before anyone had the time to protest or feel sorry for the now ruined trinket, they watched with amazement as it actually separated in two neat pieces, like it was meant to do that. "This isn't an ordinary hairpin, Tokio; this is one meant to protect the wearer from any surprise attacks. See?"
She held it out; indeed, it looked like the bottom part of the pin was like a scabbard for the decidedly sharp rather thick needle it revealed underneath. "It is a lady's weapon; I have my fair share of them which is why I know." A small pause so everyone could digest the news. "Whoever gave you this gift, I'd like to meet them Tokio-chan. They seem very sensible indeed."
With a sneaky suspicion, she all but grabbed the letter and started reading. It wasn't all that much to go through, only two lines:
Not quite a knife, not quite a hairpin; a compromise. Quite the apt gift for your upcoming wedding.
Signed…with a simple, short horizontal line. No, wrong; the kanji for the number one. One, as in, first as in…Hajime.
For a short moment she was astounded; then warmth spread inside her like wildfire! Had he seen her that day? Or maybe, he heard her say she loved hairpins and decided to give her one—one not quite as innocent as it looked, but certainly useful, just like him. She couldn't hide the smile that came to her lips; slowly she started shaking and soon enough, laughter broke out! He was stubborn after all; but she'd admit, she didn't mind. It prompted the best wedding gift.
"I see you do know the sender."
"Hahaha, yes my lady, I do. It's…" she giggled. "It's a fitting wedding gift, if I may say so."
She wiped her tears of joy away, remnants of mirth shaking her chest. But she knew she couldn't reveal his identity so she quickly made up a cover story. "We were discussing with the rest of the ladies yesterday and…it is an inside joke, Teruhime-sama. And judging by the kanji "one" they put here, they plan to make more of these."
"Or maybe they are implying this hairpin is the only one you'll ever need!"
Good girl, Kachako! She played right along. But Ochako didn't. She simply gave her mistress a shrewd look, nodding in agreement, but easily detecting the lie. Not because Tokio didn't lie convincingly, but because, much like Teruhime, she simply knew none of those women would ever consider her betrothal to Eguchi Asahi a bad thing thus take steps to provide her with ways to protect herself should push comes to shove.
Which was one of the reasons Teruhime summarily dismissed the two maids, leaving Tokio all to herself.
"So who really sent it?" Tokio pretended to be ignorant. "Do not underestimate me; weren't you the one who had said you dislike those women anyway? You only keep them company in your spare time to please my naïve little brother."
Alright, she would come clean. She'd hate to keep any sort of secret from Teruhime-sama anyway. "I…I can't say, your ladyship, which is why I lied in front of the girls. If they don't know the truth, they can't lie for me, too, yes?"
"…so it is a man."
Her cheeks burned. "Y, yes but…but it isn't anything improper, I promise." It's understanding. Someone was on her side.
"Hmm, too bad; at least you'd be having a good time, if it were."
"Teruhime-sama!"
The lady chuckled. "Come now Tokio, I have been married, divorced, used as a political pawn…enjoying one's life when one has the chance is now, to me, a desirable choice. One never knows when it might come to an abrupt end; even more so for us, noble women."
Tokio saw a touch of sadness permeating her armour of imperial attitude, feeling she referred more to herself than noble women in general. Considering her weak constitution, she could understand. "Though I do respect you for braving this path; I simply hope it won't end in misery or tragedy."
A smiled touched Tokio's lips at the same time Teruhime's hand touched her face tenderly, like a mother; Tokio was comforted by the familiar creases around her lady's eyes and imitated her.
"In fact, I know it won't. You're strong, Tokio. You'll figure it out. And whoever sent you this exceptional gift thinks so, too. Hydrangea flowers symbolise pride," she explained the last bit, seeing Tokio had no idea where she got that confidence from. But now her cheeks were dusted with red once more, eyes lowered. Teruhime removed her hand, using the same one to pat her shoulder. "Treasure this gift. It was thoughtfully chosen and carefully given."
"I will, my lady. Thank you."
"Wear it, too! If the gift-giver's someone who visits the house often, I could spot them from their reaction."
The two women laughed unrestrained.
After their little heart-to-heart, the conversation strayed to other topics, all but tactfully forgetting the wedding gift next to them.
.
.
.
Eguchi Asahi was meant to arrive in Kyoto around one o clock; the time was well over four, but there had been no sign of the groom. Delays were normal, but a three hour one was the furthest thing from it. Everyone at the welcoming party, almost twenty people, was starting to worry; from impatience to annoyance to anxiousness, they all periodically checked to see if anyone was coming from somewhere they had a blind spot, but every time the horse with its rider came back, they were empty handed.
"Why don't we form a small search party and see if we can find them?"
It was Saitou who suggested that, after having enough of bad jokes and unsuccessfully supressed concern. The only one seemingly unperturbed by the developments was Teruhime, who watched things unfold with a grin on her face. In fact, she was the one who turned to him and said: "you think something happened and they can't reach us?" with thinly veiled…hope?
Hajime's brow arched, but didn't mention it.
"I think no matter what, sending someone out to investigate is a good idea; two or three people will do, as far as numbers are concerned. We won't go too far into the woods, so we can easily gallop back here should we encounter any problems."
Kojuuro was thoughtful, fist in front of his mouth, and Saitou couldn't help but remember Tokio; she was very much like her father.
"It sounds reasonable…I assume you wish to go." He nodded, having enough of doing nothing. "I assume you'd want to take your comrades with you?"
"Nagakura is the leader of the party, thus is ill advised to leave; Okita I do want with me, but should anything happen I know he's best suited for mass combat out of everyone here so in the end I'd rather he didn't come. I think the ones at the very back of our formation – Kashitaro and Fukumoto, yes? – are the most suitable. We three have the fastest horses."
"So be it. I'm giving you permission to go."
"Thank you, Takagi-sama."
The three men took no time organising themselves and taking off as a solid three-man formation; Saitou became the natural leader and led them through the foliage and into the woods. He decided a moderate speed was a good choice for reconnaissance aimed at maximum coverage. They only had a general idea where the carriage would be coming from; other than that, it was anybody's guess. So they began their search from the furthest possible point, agreeing that it was best, since they had to return to a certain spot and their time was restricted.
Bur even after an hour in the forest, they found no sign of any carriage coming through, being attacked, stolen, anything. They either hadn't made it that far out yet, or they had simply disappeared. In all three men's opinion, they were for some reason delayed. And that was their report to Takagi Kojuuro.
"No signs whatsoever?"
"None, my lord," Saitou reconfirmed.
"But…I'm sure they began their journey when they told us in script; how can there be such a big deviation?"
"Half a day isn't too much of a deviation," Saitou tried to reassure him "a couple of days are. The road is long, something could have happened. Maybe a horse was injured; the carriage broke down—"
"They were attacked by bandits," Teruhime offered her two cents, way too excited at the prospect.
"—or one of the people in the entourage fell ill. Many things can go wrong."
"I see…then shall we head back? I fear the others will worry about our health."
"Yes, we should." Nagakura was absolute. "And once we get back, we can put together an extensive search party without the restrictions of this one."
"Let's go then."
.
.
"Tokio-chan, you'll never guess what happened…the suitor never appeared!"
Teruhime had dismounted first, ran to the girl who was leading the crowd of people headed their way in all of her overdressed glory and caught her hands as she excitedly relayed the news! Matsudaira, not even three paces behind, widened his eyes at his sister's statement.
Tokio too was shell shocked. "He did not show?"
"Sister, please do not set such a bad example for Tokio, who admires you. Simply because you thought the match was bad, the prospect of him being hurt shouldn't cause you this much glee."
"I'm afraid he didn't child," her father finalised it as he came to regard his daughter.
"Oh, do forgive me, brother." Teruhime schooled her face into a worried expression, still clutching at her hands. "Tokio-chan, for one reason or the other, Asahi-san didn't show. Please don't cry."
"Sister!"
"Teruhime-sama!"
But all the young ones were trying to hide their smiles; either guards, or the bride or the Roshigumi men struggled to keep a serious tone. "Yes, yes, I know; I conveyed the important news now so I don't care." She expertly linked her arm with the blushing bride's and immediately turned her back on everyone, taking Tokio with her. "We shall be going to change and freshen up now; bye bye."
One of the servants and the twin sisters followed after them "We shall have tea after; later, Tokio-chan has a lesson with the doctor. Make sure she isn't bothered unless it is very important Ochako, yes?"
"Of course my lady."
Both women spoke loud enough to be heard from everyone; displeased, the two men who mostly wished for this union sighed or shook their heads. "Now that sister is out of the way, I demand explanations."
"Saitou-san and Nagakura-san shall tell you the details," Kojuuro gave up on trying to sound grandiose "all I can say is he didn't make it."
Nagakura fixed his glasses then. "That reminds me, my lord, we need to put together a search party immediately. We attempted to look for him but the area covered wasn't as extensive as we wanted so we need to repeat it, especially while there's still light out. Otherwise we'll have to wait for tomorrow. If they don't show, of course."
"Did you find anything?"
There was silence; then there was awkward silence. "Saitou-san…"
His head snapped towards Okita immediately. "What is it?"
"Do explain to the lord what happened."
"Of course."
He then proceeded to relay his information with impeccable precision but…there was something off about him. Okita looked at Nagakura; Nagakura had turned his eyes at him at the exact same moment. Silently, they decided they both knew something was up with Saitou – yet none other should be aware of it – because it wasn't like him to be distracted. How much more during such an important debriefing! Yet he had been, if he missed a cue as big as that one and had to be addressed specifically.
Why was that?
The same question that plagued his friends, swirled in his own mind, too. He couldn't figure it out.
Alright, if he worked in reverse he might be able to pin point it: what did he remember when the question was asked instead of the actual question…? Hmm, he was watching four women shrink as they walked away; he remembered Teruhime was speaking to Tokio—or at least he remembered her mouth moving; two maids escorted them with a skip in their step; and Tokio was…looking back at him. She kept stealing glances in fact, never did it for a length of time, but she was positively looking over her shoulder in the hopes she'd catch his eye. And she had, she simply couldn't tell because she feared to linger.
So she distracted him by looking over her shoulder? No, that was idiotic.
So he thought harder and realised, he barely remembered anything Teruhime had said after they had arrived; all he could recall was how ridiculously embellished Tokio looked in that kimono and all the makeup, how out of character it felt for her…as well as how her eyes darted around, searching for something. When he realised that something was him, seeing she stopped looking once their eyes met, he was stricken.
Ah, so that's when his problems started.
He was trying to figure out why she did that. She appeared nonplussed by the news and it was only natural, but for some reason she kept looking for him urgently. Did she want to tell him something? He felt like that was the case and she wanted to speak to him. But she couldn't possibly do that now so she tried to convey that to him by looking over her shoulder furtively even as she walked away.
Yes that must have been it.
Even as he spoke, he kept thinking; once he was done he made a small pause. "My lord, I request us three to be put on the search party," he said after some seconds of deliberation "I request we take a small break to have a bite and then get started immediately; ten men in total is the ideal number I believe."
He turned to Nagakura for confirmation, who gave it immediately. "Indeed it is. I am willing to join the search party, too if my lord so desires."
Okita smirked. "I am more than willing, too!"
"So three have already been decided; what about the rest?"
"We want to take part in it, too," Kashitaro spoke up for both himself and Fukumoto. "Saitou-san coordinated us very well and I believe he will do so again."
"I'm not the leader; Nagakura is. But he's just as able."
Fukumoto nodded respectfully before saying "then all the more reason to follow you."
"So five."
"We want to participate, too!"
One by one, even after they exceeded the number ten, the guards joined in, wanting to be a part of the search effort. In the end Matsudaira had to select them, but he felt all the more secure in the hands of these men, who were so eager to help. So he did them the honour of inviting them into the primary entertainment room to enjoy their meal, as a sign of his own respect.
But Saitou had to decline. "My lord, we thank you for the honour but maybe it's better if we eat something out here even, to make haste. The more light we catch, the better."
"Of course, if you still feel generous once we return, then maybe your lordship could invite us in for a feast tomorrow night!"
Of course it was Okita who said it; he was the only one who could say it…and not be misunderstood or accused of being presumptuous. Indeed, Matsudaira laughed, assured them that would be the case and promptly sent people to tell his cooks to prepare something quick for them.
.
.
Alright, this was ridiculous. He had just spent an entire day searching for her fiancé, he had barely eaten anything, he was awake since six and the time was already passed midnight. He needed to rest. Why was he out here waiting for someone who shouldn't even be out at this time of night? It wasn't even certain she wanted to meet, why was he doing this? He was such an idiot!
And yet there she was; her figure appeared opening the balcony door of the medical room, scamper outside and overcome the fences. Of course she did.
The real question was, how the hell did he guess correctly that was what she was trying to say through simple freaking glances? Frustration apparent in his brow, he shook his head.
"Why are we here Tokio?"
His strict look made her giggle. "I'm here because I wanted to speak with you." She took a deep breath and her amused expression became neutral. "I want to know what's going on. They said Asahi-san didn't come and there was no sign of him; but what did you find in your second search? Matsudaira-sama and father have been keeping very quiet about it, saying nothing was found, but I could tell. Something was indeed found, something they didn't like. What it is?"
He sighed. "If they didn't tell you, then why should I? And how do you know I was a part of any search if they won't tell you anything?"
"Oh please! They asked you to escort father and Teruhime-sama; they'd certainly ask you go look for my fiancé if they thought he wasn't safe. So what did you find?"
"…we found nothing. At least, not any physical indications of something going wrong."
He wasn't telling her the whole story and she made sure he knew she knew. He sighed again. "We did run into a couple of travellers, well, more than just a couple, who said they saw a man with a large entourage fitting the description we gave, who was holed up in a place you'd call a reputable establishment of the red light district."
Her chin fell; her hand covered her mouth. "He was not on time to meet his future wife because he's been wasting his time in brothels!?"
"That was our general consensus yes."
"And they still want me to marry him," she continued flabbergasted.
"…I suppose." The sound she made wasn't human; it was the groan of an animal trapped in the vocal cords of a woman. He chuckled. "If you want, I can find out what sort of women he visited—!"
"Hajime!"
He grinned. "What? If he likes a certain type—"
"I shall not try to make myself into what he likes, especially after all I heard!"
His mirth died down. "…but you will be stuck with him forever." Maybe, maybe that was a little mean of him; tears came to her eyes almost immediately and she became too red. "You know, maybe he is just foolish, thinking this is his last time to enjoy any other woman's company so he went a little overboard. Maybe he wasn't aiming to hurt you; he doesn't even know you, too, right?"
"R, right, yes; of course. That, that actually makes sense." She practically willed the tears away and graced him with a watery smile. "No matter what, I can always ask him about it once I see him again, yes?"
"Oh yeah, sure; first thing you'll ask your future husband will be all the other women he has ever slept with, how proper."
"Shush! I didn't mean it like that."
"I admire your grit though; straight to the point, no sugar coating."
She actually, physically reached out her hand and smacked his arm. "I said I didn't mean it like that!"
If he hadn't seen her do it, he wouldn't have believed it—mainly because the smack was weaker than a tap. He smirked again; teasing her was fun. "Then again you're never proper, so—"
She covered her forehead with her palm, shaking her head. "Hajime, I swear, you're the single rudest, most unrelenting person I have ever met." He got her to smile again, though. She released a heavy sigh. "What about tomorrow? They instructed me to put on my new kimono again, but are we certain he'll show?"
He shrugged. "I don't know, hime-sama; they simply told me to come by the same time and do the same things as this morning. If he fails to show again, I have the suspicion Matsudaira-sama will not like it—in fact, he'll dislike it enough to consider postponing the marriage, from what I could see." Hope overtook her. "So better hope he's a no-show again. It'll get you exactly what you want. Goodnight Tokio; and please don't make a habit of this."
"Haijme."
She took a bow and then took her leave; he didn't go until she was inside. As he watched her go, he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. He didn't know why, but it was there. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but it left a bitter aftertaste of something unaddressed. He shrugged. He was sure it wasn't that important, if he didn't even know what it was. So he turned around and left.
Time to rest.
.
It'd been fourteen hours since he went to bed, around two; he only managed to sleep for four hours, he was hungry, he was thirsty, the light was blinding him, the heat was scorching for this time of year and he was suffering from the worst headache ever. Plus, he had to contend with insects and Okita's always cheerful attitude for the past eight hours.
And still no sign of the future husband.
Was that idiot willing to evoke the wrath of the most important man in all of Aizu, simply to enjoy a couple more women before he came to be married? He was actually getting the long end of the stick here: according to her father there was an army of people asking him for his daughter…and this Asahi person knew it, too for he went to great lengths to convince him he was the right one.
So what happened?
Nagakura was the first one to lose his temper with the situation though. He approached Kojuuro's horse and bowed. "My lord, I suggest we go back; we can send a couple of men to wait here for any passing travellers later, see if they bear any news."
"We shall do just that," the man was quick to agree "let's turn back."
"And two of us will stay behind until the ones you'll send, arrive; I volunteer myself and Saitou-san!" Okita suggested brightly.
Impressed by his determination not to let this get to him, Kojuuro nodded affirmatively. "Then please do; your replacements will not take more than half an hour."
They all left immediately, none willing to wait for no reason. Yet as they made their retreat, neither man staying behind missed Teruhime's knowing smile, accompanied by a shrewd look; it was directed mainly at Okita, but Saitou wasn't spared.
"What was that?"
Saitou shrugged. "Maybe she figured out you have a soft spot for her lady in waiting, who knows?"
The short man's reaction was the one he was expecting, so he didn't forget to roll his eyes at his booming laugh. "Everyone has a soft spot for Tokio-chan! Ask the guards; they all volunteered to come in this welcoming party for no other reason they wanted to make sure her future husband would arrive safely. She's very kind and polite to them apparently," he explained, seeing his friend's questioning look.
"Ah."
"She takes care of them frequently, too, they say; dresses wounds, helps with colds; she's a dear! How can I not have a soft spot for her really?"
"Don't get too soft though; we are still here waiting for her suitor."
Okita's eyes narrowed, looking away. "Killjoy," he accused.
"Look; travellers. Distract yourself."
"Saitou-san, don't be so mean!" he shook his head. "You always leave these stuff to me, too; why can't you talk to them?"
"I scare them off. Go on now, you first."
"Fine, fine."
Once the people in question came into view, Okita urged his horse to approach the carriage's driver. He was a modestly dressed man, no signs of a rich benefactor, so he certainly didn't carry the man they wanted. He was accompanied by two other men on horses, all looking like quite the law abiding, simple citizens.
"Greetings, travellers! My name is Okita Souji, this is Saitou Hajime; we are acting in the service of Matsudaira Katamori-sama. Can you please tell us if you came across anything unusual on your—?"
The moment he spoke the name of the lord, all three men looked at one another urgently, one signalling to the other to speak, until the door of the carriage actually opened and a woman came out, effectively stopping Okita.
She was short, cute but deadly; she was glaring daggers at the three men and caused them to stop as soon as she came out. "Those idiots will keep waving to one another until they fly, so allow me to tell you instead: we've been meaning to reach some sort of official as soon as we entered the city but how fortunate, you ran into us first."
She nodded curtly with her head towards the forest. "While we were passing by a very dangerous trail half a day ago, after my stupid brother got us lost for the umpteenth time that day," she hissed this part "we saw a very expensive carriage, nothing like this one—it was big and beautiful, toppled over and abandoned at the side of the road. There were signs of horses that ran away. We went closer to inspect it, maybe find anything valuable we could sell" Okita chuckled at the girl's honesty "and what we saw once we drew near…it was horrible. It was a graveyard. About twenty people dead; throats slit, guts on the dirt…they were all murdered. Must've been a robbery because all valuables were already stolen."
One of the men finally stepped in. "We checked inside the carriage for any survivors but all we found was a man, no older than you," he addressed Okita "who was stabbed in the chest."
But the girl took over again. "Obviously the owner of the carriage and the important person because his clothes were very formal and nice; he was holding this, too."
She held out a piece of paper that looked suspiciously like a torn letter, handed it to Saitou. It had bloodstains on it. "That was all we could salvage. Well, that and some rings but don't expect us to cough those up—only this one."
She gave it to Saitou again and upon seeing it, she knew why she gave it up: it was the insignia ring of the Eguchi family. "…we'll consider it your payment for delivering the news along with proof," he expertly settled the matter, to avoid any future confrontation. "But don't leave town; we may need you to repeat all of these to Matsudaira-sama. Just make sure not to mention the rings."
The woman winked. "You got it sir. We're the Suzuki brothers, look for us at the bad side of town if you need us. Let's go, boys."
"Wait, wait," Okita exclaimed "were the bodies fresh?"
"Well, they stunk sir, so it wasn't a two-hours-ago kinda thing, you know? Probably a day."
"Could you maybe lead us there again if we asked you?"
"Nah, we were too lost! All I can say is it was half a day worth the journey in a place with more bushes than trees."
"That much is enough; thank you."
And just like that, they were dismissed. But there was only one thought going through their minds as they watched the Suzuki brothers leave: shit.
.
The Matsudaira compound was in an uproar for the second time since Roshigumi's arrival at Kyoto. The Aizu-han was pacing up and down endlessly while Tokio's father had already started writing letters to pretty much everyone under the sun. He had promised not to send them until the search party they sent out found exactly what the Suzuki brothers told them about, but that piece of paper was evidence enough: it was part of a love letter in Asahi's hand writing, as Kojuuro confirmed, addressed to his future bride, presumably. The content was pretty explicit, so maybe he was writing to a former lover—no matter what, it was enough.
And then the insignia ring came and sealed it.
Teruhime was only briefly glimpsed as she gave condolences to the devastated father and then took her leave to share the news with his daughter while Tokio wasn't seen at all. The only ones who had seen her for the next two days actually, were her two maids, her mistress, her father and the lord—the last ones only because they visited her quarters on their own. She basically isolated herself until the news were finalised…
The search party had returned two days later, too late to formally announce anything to anyone other than the Aizu-han. Okita relayed the news, while Saitou carried the dead man—thinking it too rude to bring back only his head. In fact, everyone mounted a dead on their horse, wishing to give a proper burial to the men who died while protecting their master from bandits. Bodies were respectfully lain to the cemetery, awaiting their burial the next morning. Eguchi Asahi would be laid to permanent rest once his parents arrived; they were meant to come half a week after their son, to meet their daughter in law.
Now instead of a betrothal they'd be treated to a funeral.
And that was when Tokio finally emerged from her room…at least that's what almost everyone thought. For the night the men returned, burdened with the dead, something quite amazing happened: Teruhime-sama came up to the two Roshigumi personally, when no one else was around, and saluted them. "It's such a shame my dear Tokio has no taste for socialising," she lamented out of the blue "after the news of her fiancé's fate reached her, she's been too depressed. If only there was some way for her to feel better."
Saitou held his tongue; the first thing he wanted to say was how Tokio was already feeling better than a week ago, seeing the source of her frustrations disappeared. Also, the lady herself was opposed to the marriage, what was she doing, trying to convince people she was upset? Besides, what would make Tokio feel better was highly dangerous and not recommended.
But he said none of it. Instead, he gave a small nod along with Okita, who immediately took the bait and started a grand speech about how Tokio didn't deserve all of this grief and how wonderful she was…pretty typical stuff, until that knowing smile from three days ago made a fleeting appearance on the lady's lip.
"I wish she could see you tonight, even for a moment; you'd lift her spirits."
Did she say that in a…way just now?
"She has told me numerous times how much she appreciates you, I am certain she'd enjoy your company." A small pause and a curling of the lips. "Alas, it is past midnight…and no lady of her status and age would ever leave the safety of her room so late at night."
"Well of course your ladyship! Tokio-chan is too proper for that."
Ah shit; that was spoken with too much innuendo. This one, he could not mistake. Teruhime came out here to talk to them, only to deliver a message for her charge. But Saitou was nearly speechless. Did Teruhime love her so much she didn't mind acting as the middle man? And what was it with both of them, being so improper?
"Indeed." Teruhime looked at Okita a little confused, but regained her composure in an instant. "Have a nice night gentlemen."
"Goodnight your ladyship," they chorused. Once she was gone, Saitou sighed. "Okita, you go on ahead; I will remain behind for any other questions that might come up."
His friend was shocked. "Wh-are you sure? You've been doing the most work on this trip, you must be too tired."
"I'm fine, go."
"I can definitely—"
"I'll make up for it by sleeping in tomorrow, go."
"—stay. Alright, as you wish. I do prefer going, but I was prepared to do you this favour," he continued all airs "even if it would cause me to lose precious sleep."
Saitou smirked. "You and I both know you have a weaker constitution than mine." Glares and teases, men will be men. "Go."
"Yes, I'm going. Good morning, my friend; I'll be on dream number five by the time you get back."
"One can only hope."
"Asshole!"
.
"You really need to stop doing this, hime-sama."
"You still came though."
"Yes, the alternative would be allowing you to come out here on your own and who knows what you might do; then of course, the wedding is off so trying to kill yourself is out of the question."
"I wasn't trying to kill myself that night!"
His sigh felt less genuine when a smirked seeped into it. "What can you possibly want to know that you had to send Teruhime-sama to make your appointment for you and couldn't wait till tomorrow morning?"
"If I came out just as you came back, it would look suspicious. And I was curious." She was serious now. "Is he really dead?"
"Yes."
"Bandits?" He nodded. "I see. I…can't say that's how I wanted the marriage to be cancelled, but I can't bring myself to feel despondent at his passing…maybe a little dejected, certainly sorry for his family but…I can't say I am too depressed by the news."
He snorted. "Why would you be? You didn't want the marriage to happen. I can tell you right now, if Yaso heard news of my death, she would be delighted!"
"Hajime! Don't say things like that," she scolded scandalised "they're awful! Yaso wouldn't go that far, I'm certain."
"Not everyone is as nice as you, you know." Her half glare went unaddressed. "Anything else your highness?"
"No…I don't think so…"
"So you brought me out here just to ask me something like that? You do realise you could have just asked Matsudaira—"
"I wanted to be told by someone who understands my feelings towards the situation…I didn't know how I'd react if…maybe I wouldn't be convincing enough…"
"So you used me."
"Hajime!"
"No really, you could have just asked Teruhime-sama, she was told, too. Why torture me?"
She panicked a little at that, she wouldn't lie; her mouth opened and closed numerous times, looking up and down frantically, feeling there was a gap of communication. "B, but I wanted you to tell me…" An eyebrow rose critically and she felt more shame rise to her cheeks. "…I just wanted to see you. Is that bad?"
He didn't expect her to say something like that and for the second time this week, he was stricken. He didn't really show it, but he sure as hell felt it. After that second it took for him to process, he shook his head. "You'll be the death of me."
"No, I won't; don't be ridiculous. In fact, people say I bring good fortune."
"We'll see about that if you keep asking me to meet you here this time at night."
"We won't be seen, Haijme; I have Ochako keeping watch."
"Your maid knows!?"
"She knows everything—almost everything. She doesn't know I'm sneaking out to meet you particularly, she simply helps me escape."
"So that's how you do it." Her smile was coy. "Tell this Ochako person to get her act together and act more like she should."
"Ochako is perfect."
"Whatever, hime-sama; I have to be going. It's too late and I have done nothing but ride and trek through forests all day."
"Oh, I knew I was forgetting something!" She searched her pocket and produced a little vial that looked like it had something unsavoury in its bowels, judging by the colour. "If you want to feel well-rested, try drinking two drops of this before going to bed—dilute it in water and you'll be fine." She clicked her tongue at his hesitation. "It's perfectly safe; I brewed this myself."
"That's the part that scares me." Still he held out his hand. "But I have faced men with swords unflinchingly."
"It won't kill you, relax. I have tested it, it works." His look was inquisitive. "On me; I took some of it, as soon as it cooled down after I made it. It was decent, flavour-wise; but it did its job admirably."
He chuckled; he could definitely imagine her using herself as a guinea pig. "I'll try it then."
Nodding their goodbyes simultaneously, they both went their separate ways. And yet, that feeling of something left unaddressed only intensified. He tried to ignore it again, as he turned around and walked away, though this once, he was unable to shrug it off as unimportant. Even if he still couldn't grasp what that was.
A/N: See? All that's well, ends well. Leave a review on your way out lovelies, it always makes my day!
Kisses,
FAI