Author's Note:
As promised, a much faster update with the second major set of reveals for the story. I keep wanting to call them "spoilers" for some reason...
Please let me know what you think. Reviews and PMs are always welcome!
Thank you to everyone who is reading and especially to
nakigaoyuu
StariChanx
Scintilla of Myself
- your reviews help me very much!
Also, to Guest/Patriarch Listens - I hope you continue to enjoy the story!
I'm still occasionally getting the question "Do you really think you'll finish your story?" The answer is still "Yes."
~ImpracticalOni
Quotes:
"O, what a tangled web we weave when first we practise to deceive!"
- Sir Walter Scott
"Wounds sustained for the sake of conscience carry their own balsam with the blow."
- Sir Walter Scott
Chapter 53 – Kimigiku's Tale
[I] - The Tangled Web
They sat in pairs around a large, low square table in a beautifully appointed room in the home of Sen-hime, Princess of the Oni, Lady of Kyoto and Yase: Okikurune Sen-hime and Harada Sanosuke; Yukimura Chizuru-sama and Saitō Hajime; Kazama Chiharu-sama and Hijikata Toshizō; and Kimigiku – who had once been Yukishima Kimiko-sama – and Amagiri Kyūju – who for some reason was never given his correct honorific as heir to the Amagiri clan. On the whole, there was a great deal of power gathered at the table.
Kimigiku, Sen-hime's bodyguard, chaperone and housekeeper, sometime geiko at a well-known teahouse in Shimabara, was the center of all eyes, with one exception. Amagiri, beside her, appeared to be meditating; his eyes were closed, his breathing was slow and even, and his hands lay quietly on his thighs. Kimigiku was looking down at her own hands, her purple eyes veiled by long, black lashes.
"My own story is actually quickly told," said Kimigiku, finally. Her voice was hard and brittle, a stark contrast to her usual rich, laughing tones.
"I was born the elder of twin sisters to Yukishima Chiyoko-sama and Amagiri Hideo, brother to Amagiri Kyoshi-sama, the current head of the Amagiri clan." Kimigiku's eyes flickered briefly to Amagiri Kyūju, sitting silently beside her. "My sister and I were called Kimiko and Kameko. We were identical twins, as are all the daughters of the main line of the Yukishima clan. I was the Heir, and Kameko was next in line to me. For reasons that you can all imagine, I was expected to choose a suitable husband when I turned sixteen. I did not, and when I was almost twenty, my mother arranged a marriage for me with Yukimura Kōdō-san, the younger twin brother of Yukimura Kazuhiko-sama, head of the Yukimura clan."
Kimigiku looked up with a satirical smile at Chizuru's involuntary gasp. She was evidently distressed, and Saitō's hand closed on hers in an attempt to comfort, disregarding propriety.
"Strange, isn't it? I could have been your aunt by marriage, Yukimura-sama. Who knows? If I had obeyed my mother, Kōdō-san might not have betrayed your family and gone down this mad path of his…"
"That is enough, Kimigiku. Finish your story." Amagiri's tone was curt and his blue eyes were now open and focussed on the dark-haired Oni woman. "You have never been one to hurt the innocent; do not change that now."
Kimigiku's eyes widened, but all she responded was a low: "Aa. As you wish, Kyūju. Gomenasai deshita, Chizuru-sama."
"This must be very hard for you, Kimigiku. We appreciate your effort. Please go on." Chiharu's voice was soft and kind. She betrayed no shock or distress, and ignored the other woman's use of Amagiri's familiar name.
Kimigiku gave her a respectful nod. "You are the diplomat of your family, Haru-chan – possibly the only one there has ever been. Well then…
"I refused the alliance my mother proposed. This angered her very much, especially as I hadn't chosen anybody myself. It would have been extraordinary good fortune to have the potential for some of the Yukimura Gifts within our family, and both Yukimura brothers were strong, although more than a decade older than I was. And, of course, the Yukimura were the only other family with a tendency to produce twins, although usually fraternal and most often one girl and one boy. My mother saw great possibilities in the match.
"Chizuru-sama," the shinobi continued, turning her amethyst-coloured eyes to Chizuru, "we all know it, but I don't think that I told you – you have, or rather had, a twin brother. Yukimura Kaoru-sama was believed to have died in the attack on your family. Now… I'm not sure what to think. I'm afraid there has been a great deal too much to consider, recently."
Chizuru was looking pale, and her fingers were now tightly wound through Saitō's. Nevertheless, she met Kimigiku's apologetic gaze with a small smile. "That is an understatement, Kimigiku-san. But you, and Osen-chan, and Amagiri-san have all done your best. I truly believe that."
"You are generous, as always," responded Kimigiku. "Your current – guardians, shall we say? – are not so quick to attribute good motives."
"No, but we haven't been especially intolerant either, have we?" commented Hijikata. "And on the whole, I don't think Yukimura has done so badly with us." There was something a little challenging in the way he looked at the shinobi.
The likeness between them was very strong. Privately, Chiharu once again had to concede the strong Oni ancestry. She found it interesting that Hijikata-san took more after his Yukishima ancestors than his (alleged) Shiranui father. She cleared her throat softly.
"Please continue, Kimigiku," she requested – but with some authority.
Hijikata, who had made many such "requests" in his time, was amused, even though the comment had been partly directed at him.
"When I rejected my mother's proposed alliance, I was punished. After a year, my mother included my sister in part of my punishment, because she knew that I'd be more concerned for Kameko than for myself. At that point, somebody brought the matter to the attention of Shizuka-hime and the Princess officially stepped in. Although a Princess or Prince of the Oni rarely interferes in strictly family matters – as opposed to issues between clans – in this instance Shizuka-hime felt that she could not excuse the behaviour. Naturally, Yukishima-sama obeyed the Princess immediately. The Yukishima are not just vassals of the Princess in the general way of all the clans, they are her only direct vassals and her bodyguards. If there were to be a war, then the Yukishima would form the core of the Princess' personal levy. It's all rather pointless now – there are so few of us.
"But you can imagine how bitter a defeat this was for my mother. She wasn't precluded from punishing me for defying her, of course, but she knew that it would not be effective. Moreover, my sister had become… ill… At the end of another year, when I still wouldn't submit, she stripped me of my rank and cast me out of the clan. Shizuka-hime took me in as her personal bodyguard, and I have served her and Sen-hime since."
There was a heavy silence. Chizuru was clearly shocked beyond words, but the others were trying to work out the pieces of the puzzle that were still missing. Chiharu, while deeply distressed, couldn't believe that there wasn't more to the situation.
"You have left something out of the tale, Kimigiku-san," Hijikata said at last. "I have met tyrants, and it is true that discipline can be harsh… but you ask us to believe that your mother gave up a talented daughter for refusing one marriage? However embarrassing the circumstances, and however ideal the proposed match, she would be more likely to punish and then seek another match. Is she mad?"
Kimigiku's lips twisted a little.
"Her behaviour was mad by the standard of most Oni – we tend to be very fond of children and over-protective of girl-children. But you are quite correct Hijikata-san. There was a specific reason for my disgrace. Also, before you ask, Sen-hime, your mother would not have condoned casting me out of the clan merely for refusing a marriage. Indeed, given that my mother wished my sister to marry the new Kazama heir, Chikage-sama, she needed two daughters – so losing one was a blow."
Chiharu glanced around at the circle of faces. The three Shinsengumi warriors were impassive and surprisingly formidable. Hijikata-san was the least trained of the three, according to her cousin and Kimigiku, but he had eyes that could be ice or fire or stone, and he gave nothing away when he chose not to. Kimigiku had said that he was the most dangerous of the Shinsengumi, or had been until Saitō-san had transformed; moreover, he had the indefinable ability to lead that was quite separate from race. Saitō-san she had already been forced to concede was easily as talented as most full Oni – though being almost untrained, he was not yet a match for some of them. Harada-san was strange in a way that she hadn't yet identified. According to what she had been told, he had passed no tests and could not even shift forms; nevertheless, he had a knack for being trusted, for understanding deeply and… she sensed a profound ability in him for either coercion or telepathy that should not yet exist. It was as if he were intrinsically Oni in a way that did not require the Trials to access. It was frustrating, but she had to acknowledge that she was unable to fully understand any of the three. In the meantime, however, she needed to push Kimigiku just a little further.
"Kimigiku, why did you refuse to marry Kōdō-sama?"
"Well, if you'd met him you'd understand, Chiharu-chan. Yukishima-sama might not be insane – in a conventional sense – but Kōdō was. I'm sorry to grieve you, Chizuru-sama, but before he realized that I was going to refuse him, he told me a number of things that made me see the truth very quickly. There has always been some insanity among the Oni – as among humans, I suppose – and the inbreeding may have made it worse. Nobody believed me, of course, and my mother had good reason to think that I had a different reason to refuse the match."
This time, nobody spoke. Finally, Kimigiku sighed.
"I don't know why it makes such a difference now… except that it will clear up a number of misunderstandings, I suppose… The main difficulty – the reason I wouldn't marry then and I won't now – is that I have only ever been interested romantically or passionately, in women. And of course… among the Oni… that is practically a crime. Since every female Oni is needed to mate and produce children. You likely haven't had to contemplate the cruelty of the situation as I have. Oni children, especially girls, are conceived through true and passionate love. Sen-hime's family calls achieving such a union the Fourth Trial: the Trial of Heart. I have only ever loved one person in that way and I know what happened to her. She did marry out of duty, and she was unable to have children. She eventually found a way to have a child, and she died young because of it. On the whole, I have been better off here, even clanless, than I would have been in my original home trying to achieve the impossible for my mother."
There appeared to be stunned shock around the table, and Kimigiku waited for the storm to break. When it didn't, she slowly lowered her guard enough to try to sense how the others were coping with the news. Not surprisingly, the emotions around her were somewhat varied. Except that… even in her defensive state she could tell that the men were not reacting especially strongly. It was mostly discomfort and embarrassment to be discussing such matters openly.
"Well," said Harada cautiously, briefly exchanging a look with Hijikata, "it does happen. Your situation is very complicated, though."
Saitō just nodded, his face expressionless.
The girls – the young women, Kimigiku corrected herself – were much more surprised and utterly unsure what to think. They hadn't come into contact with very many people in their relatively short lives and they'd been raised within the narrow rules of the time. Of them all, Sen-hime had had the most unusual upbringing, but love affairs between members of the same sex were not a subject that had come up in the past two years – there had been a great number of other pressing matters.
"Your candour is appreciated, Kimigiku-san," Hijikata said in a neutral tone, "however, I think it would be helpful to explain your reference to Suzuka Gozen earlier – before you related your personal situation. Her name is known in the mythology of humans. She was known as the demoness of Yase, among other things, and I note that while you originally gave us Sen-hime's title as "Lady of Kyoto", today you referred to the "Lady of Kyoto and Yase". Also, while it is important for those of us who may be connected to the Oni to have a much better understanding of the current politics, you haven't yet explained why you insisted on our presence for this tale. It cannot have been by preference."
Kimigiku held up a hand.
"You will understand, I think, when I'm done, Hijikata-san. Or maybe not – I would not have told the story if Sen-hime and Chiharu-sama had not insisted. I will finish the tale, but I would appreciate a short break. Shall we say about twenty minutes?"
"As you wish, of course. Sen-hime, do you still want us to stay?"
"Ah… yes, Hijikata-san. That would be best."
Amagiri was already moving across the room, to where he'd set out sake and cups earlier. A glance out the window showed him that the storm he had sensed would be arriving late tonight or early tomorrow. He shook his head at himself as he set the drinks down on a different table. He thought that there were far too many storms coming already.
"Help yourself, Saitō," he said to the man who was suddenly standing at his elbow.
"Agiratou, Amagiri-san. Would now be a good time to speak with the Vice Commander? You said that there was something…?"
"Yes. I will explain to him how to ask permission from Sen-hime so that you can marry Yukimura-sama. Have you asked Yukimura-sama?"
Saitō reddened a bit. "…No."
"You should. Tonight perhaps, although I have no idea how much night will be left, at this rate."
"Hai." Once again, this was not how Saitō had expected a relationship to progress; then again, he'd never thought about it much before.
"Have you asked permission from Hijikata-san?" Amagiri asked, pursuing the subject.
"I think so."
"Meaning?"
"I explained it to him. He does not wish to lose my services. He does not want to order me to stay against my will. He told me that such things have been authorized in the past, although it is rare."
"Ah. Then ask Yukimura-sama. I will speak to Hijikata-san."
Saitō gave his mentor a bewildered look. "Now? You want me to ask Yukimura now?"
"Later tonight is fine."
"But…"
"Saitō. What do you think of Kazama Chiharu-sama?"
Saitō decided to give up trying to understand the conversation. "She is impressive. She would like Yukimura to marry her brother. She has almost concluded that this will not happen. I believe that she would like to avoid strife, but I don't know if she can avert it or if I have understood her correctly."
"Hnh. Kazama Chikage-sama loves only one thing or person more than his life: Chiharu-sama. If any harm comes to her, he will not hesitate to kill, injure or destroy anyone associated with that harm. I will convey this point to Hijikata-san. In the next few hours, I need to hear the rest of what Kimigiku-san has to say, ensure Chiharu-sama's and Kichirō-kun's safety, see you through the final Trial, congratulate you on a well-chosen union, and leave."
Amagiri stared at Saitō as though trying to convey his urgency.
"It is bad enough to know of your relationship with Yukimura-sama; Kazama-sama will be angry. But I cannot, in good conscience, leave him in ignorance of his sister's presence here. I must go, but I would prefer to see your place more secure first."
A moment later, Amagiri had gone in search of Hijikata-san. At least he took one of the sake jugs with him, thought Saitō, pouring himself another cup and filling a cup for Harada, who had come up behind him.
The two warriors took their cups and a jug out front, where they could sit on the steps. Saitō had already checked (twice) to make sure that Chizuru was alright, but she had been speaking with Sen-hime and Kazama-sama. She had smiled at him the second time, though.
"This sake is better than what we usually get," said Harada after a few minutes.
"Yes. I can almost feel it."
Harada grinned. "I wondered about that."
"It is not a useful skill right now."
"Oh?"
"Although I would not be so rude to Sen-hime as to become drunk in her home."
"Saitō… that was a pretty tense story in there, but that's not why you're worried."
Saitō stared moodily at his cup, refilled it, and emptied it. Harada didn't press him, and a few minutes later they walked back inside. Just inside the door, Hijikata-san met them, looking annoyed. Of course, how could you tell, really? …Great, thought Harada. It's late, I'm a little buzzed, and I'm channelling Sōji.
"Sounds like it will be a long night for you, Saitō," Hijikata said to Saitō without preamble. "For the love of the gods, are you really sure about this? I heard you out earlier, and I'll talk to Sen-hime for you – did you know that it's to determine your bloodlines? – but there's no guarantee that Kondō-san will approve it."
"I know."
"Maybe we should just mug Amagiri and force him to get some sleep. He can complete the Trials with you in the morning as you planned."
Saitō looked as though he were seriously considering Hijikata's suggestion. Bemused, Harada just watched him think.
"No…" he said at last. "We should trust his judgment, I think."
Hijikata glared at him. "I was joking, for crying out loud! I'm more worried about you than about him."
Saitō stared levelly at the Vice Commander, and Hijikata finally shrugged. "Alright. At the moment, I don't completely hate him. It would be too bad if he were killed by Kazama."
Harada blinked. "Why would Kazama kill him? Seems like a waste of resources they don't have.""
"Apparently his sister came without his knowledge and he's likely to go right around the bend if she's hurt in any way."
"She's probably pretty safe with Sen-hime and Kimigiku-san," Harada replied in some surprise.
"He's worried about that spy who's running around."
"Reasonable." Harada suddenly looked thoughtful. "That guy's taken down Shiranui Kyō, gotten away from Yamazaki and may be doing something to Okita."
"Aa." Saitō frowned.
"He wants us to keep an eye on things."
Hijikata looked at his subordinates. They looked back at him. The Vice Commander rubbed at his eyes.
"Well, give it some thought while we find out what else the Oni have managed to screw up."
"Vice Commander."
"Saitō, you know what I mean," Hijikata snapped.
Harada chuckled and put a hand on Saitō's shoulder.
"We know what you mean, Hijikata-san. Come on, Saitō, let's go find out what else the Oni other than the ones we like have screwed up."
Hijikata shook his head. Saitō almost smiled. Then the three Shinsengumi went back into the main reception room together.
[II] - Death of a Princess
Inside, the three cousins had been speaking softly together. For once, Sen was the quietest one there. Despite extreme fatigue and a slight headache, Chiharu was trying to get to know Chizuru better. The headache was easing considerably, which was helpful. Chizuru, on the other hand, seemed rather white. After a moment, Chiharu drew a sign in the air. Sen-hime just nodded at her, but Chizuru asked her to explain what she was doing.
"It's like a magical focus. I think that you are making my headache better. However… I also think that you are rapidly depleting your own resources. Normally, I don't need the extra magic, but it makes things easier when you're tired. There." She completed the now glowing focus and then nodded firmly. "You need to stop. I can heal myself. Besides, I need so much rest right now that you could really drain yourself."
Chizuru suddenly looked panicked.
"I'm not really sure… how to stop."
"Well, the healing Gift is all yours, but Osen-chan and I are two of the top practitioners of Soul magic, so you're in good hands. Let's see now…"
For the next several minutes, Chizuru tried to ignore the pull on her already over-taxed resources so that she could watch what the other two were doing. Eventually they seemed to come up with an idea and Osen-chan told Chizuru to think of it as she had thought of the energy during the Trial of Soul.
"You've got to locate it and shut it down."
And then it was done.
"So I can probably focus my healing in future instead of just leaking it out all over the place," Chizuru mused. "And thank you for showing me the sigil again, Kazama-sama." The other women had told her that signs drawn of magic were usually referred to that way.
"You're welcome. And I really do prefer Chiharu–chan or Haru-chan among family."
"But you are my senior…" Chizuru said doubtfully.
The other girl laughed a little. "In some ways, yes. But does twenty seem old to you? I had the impression that you found it a very acceptable age. Osen-chan told me that Saitō-san is twenty…"
"Oh… well… that's not what I meant!"
"So, Haru-chan what do you think of the Shinsengumi now?" Sen-hime put in, coming to Chizuru's rescue.
"I think that you were both unkind to get here before I did."
"You didn't seem displeased with your companion," Sen teased. "Hijikata-san is extraordinarily attractive, isn't he?"
"Yes, he is, and no, I'm not looking for a lover, thank you. I think things are complicated enough without that, don't you? But I will admit that he is intelligent, well-read and quite obviously the leader of his men."
"And very good-looking," murmured Sen, with a giggle, as the three Shinsengumi returned to the room and her companions' heads turned quickly to see them.
Not long after, Amagiri returned from wherever he had gone, and then Kimigiku came in with her usual quiet glide.
"I needed to think how to present the rest of the information," she said to them as she seated herself. "We'll see how it goes."
Kimigiku looked calm but not quite herself. The three young women present, all strong empaths, consciously and unconsciously extended heartfelt warmth and sympathy. The object of their concern suddenly laughed, quite genuinely, and waved her hands in front of her.
"No, no – foolish children! You'll put me straight to sleep like that! I do feel better – who wouldn't? – but stop that now and just listen!"
There were semi-embarrassed murmurs from the younger women. On the other hand, the atmosphere wasn't quite as somber as it had been a moment before.
"Sen-hime was a very young child when I arrived in this household. Her father, Kazama Kichirō-sama – the uncle of Kazama Chikage-sama – had died several months before she was born. Over the next several years, I became Shizuka-hime's close friend and confidante. She was an extraordinary woman. As Shizuka-hime's health grew worse, she entrusted me with a number of her most important secrets, including the identities of several part-Oni. She did not tell me her most closely-guarded secret until the end. I think she clung to the hope that the worst of it might never come true…
"Essentially, it comes down to this: Shizuka-hime was unable to conceive a child. Under tremendous pressure from the heads of the other Oni clans, she had married Kazama Kichirō-sama, abandoning the principles of the Okikurune, which required passing the Trial of Heart to complete a true union. It's my belief that the Kazama forced the match in part because if Shizuka-hime did not have a child, then her sister, Chizuru-sama's mother, would inherit her position. As Chizuru-sama's mother was intended for Yukimura Kazuhiko-sama, the head of the Yukimura clan, this would mean that the Yukimura – through any of the children of that marriage – could end up controlling both the Eastern clans and the overall leadership of the Oni."
There were nods and murmurs from Hijikata and Harada. Harada was thinking that Shinpachi would find all of this quite fascinating. Hijikata was interested but also irritated – it was worse than the Tokugawas and the Imperial Court… Or at least comparable. He wondered if the Oni had been as prone to having half-siblings marry. Not surprisingly, Sen-hime, Chiharu and Chizuru were finding it more troubling than intriguing. There was an aura of tragedy about the whole thing. When nobody asked any direct questions, Kimigiku continued.
"Kazama Kichirō-sama was frustrated to find that his new bride was willing to try to bear a child, but in no other way interested in him. I do not think that it was a very happy marriage. At some point, an unknown Oni woman claiming to be Suzuka-gozen, First Lady of Kyoto and Yase, started to visit Shizuka-hime. According to Shizuka-hime, Lady Suzuka came because Shizuka-hime had begged her ancestors for help. After all, Suzuka was the first true Okikurune and the most revered ancestor of Shizuka-hime.
"They struck a bargain, and like most such bargains it cost the asker dearly. Suzuka-gozen would eventually help the Princess to conceive a child with her husband; however, in return, the ancestress would have access to the current Princess' life force in order to allow her to exist in the present time. My mistress – Shizuka-hime – told me that she agreed willingly. First, she needed a child in order to continue the Okikurune line without creating an unbalanced and likely untenable political situation. Second, with an heir directly related to the Kazama family, the Kazama would continue to support the court of Kyoto and Yase. Third, Shizuka-hime truly sympathized with the stated aims of Lady Suzuka: the Oni race was dangerously close to dying out and only the unique Gifts of the First of the Okikurune would be able to revive it, by seeking out the remnants of the lost clans and by once more using the Trial of Heart in the way it was intended."
There was absolute silence in the room as everyone but Kimigiku struggled to grasp the implications. Sen was the first to react, shooting to her feet with sudden tears in her eyes.
"That's why she died! Kimigiku – that's why my mother died, isn't it? Because she – because Suzuka – was tracking the lost clans and… and all that time she was borrowing from my mother's life! That's why, oh gods… My mother died just because of a bargain to be able to have me…"
"And to save the Oni," Kimigiku said, jumping up to put her arms around the younger woman, her own cheeks wet. In moments, all four women stood together, arms about each other, giving and receiving comfort.
Amagiri was still as a statue, eyes closed and as remote as a distant star on a clear winter night. The other three exchanged helpless looks. Eventually, reluctantly, Hijikata voiced what they were all thinking:
"Assuming that this is true… then somehow the demoness Suzuka was responsible in large part for the existence within the Shinsengumi of all or most of us who are part-Oni. I have always found all the coincidences troubling. We'll never know, chances are, what has been genuine coincidence and what has been stage-managed by a thousand-year-old schemer. But if Shizuka-hime is dead -"
"No!" With a sudden oath, Harada twisted around to stare at the four women still clinging together.
Saitō, face expressionless, met Hijikata's eyes and inclined his head a fraction. Assuming that any part of the bizarre story was true – and that was a crazy assumption – then there was a strong possibility that the bargain was still in place. So… if Lady Suzuka were to reappear, then she would likely draw her existence from the current Princess of the Oni. How far would the thousand-year-old sorceress go in order to preserve the Oni race?
"I think," said Hijikata quietly, mainly to Saitō, "that we are indeed like shogi pieces. We can dimly begin to perceive the board and the player, but that's all."
The stern face and purple eyes were angry. Saitō recognized the look and understood the sentiment. He was also watching Harada, who could occasionally be impetuous. He was uncertain what kind of understanding existed between Sen-hime and the Tenth Division Captain, but Harada would protect a woman he barely knew, let alone one he might care about. It might make him rash. For himself, he found the revelations and the drama unnerving, not so much in themselves but because he would have liked to not second-guess every sentiment he felt and choice he made.
"Lady Suzuka – assuming that she exists – may have set things in motion. And the immediate effects may be… hard. But, perhaps we need to consider everything together before we judge."
Saitō's eyes moved to Amagiri, who had spoken. He agreed, and he thought that Hijikata would likely agree, apart from his overwhelming resentment about being used (and that was a reasonable complaint, after all).
The women, now dry-eyed and much calmer, drew apart. Chizuru looked at Saitō and he suddenly didn't know what to do. Would she be angry at him if he wasn't angry at the – as yet hypothetical – demoness mastermind? Suzuka Gozen – and her name had been written in many ways over the centuries – had been a warrior and a formidable opponent. Saitō felt that it was too soon to fully judge her actions. Then Chizuru knelt beside him, in her lovely silk kimono, and gave him a rather tired smile, and he remembered again that she was somebody else who should not be judged by others' standards. He risked a tentative smile, probably so faint as to be unnoticeable. In response, she lightly touched her fingers to his and they both relaxed a little.
Meanwhile, Chiharu-sama (like Hijikata, Saitō associated Kazama-sama with quite a different individual), was trying to be heard over Kimigiku-san's angry response to Amagiri's initial comment. Kimigiku had no tolerance for Lady Suzuka, and that was as understandable as anything else. As a dear friend and bodyguard to the mother, and now a guardian and mentor to the daughter, it was unlikely that she could be reconciled to the (presumably expected) death of one and the potentially mortal jeopardy of the other.
Harada had risen to stand protectively beside Sen-hime, but he clearly did not know if he was wanted or needed. Then the Princess turned a white face to him and Saitō saw them – sensed them? – exchange some kind of unspoken thought. Harada drew Sen-hime back to the table, but he sat her beside Chizuru, so that the two girls could be close to each other. Reflexively, Saitō resented the call on Chizuru's energy, but he set his own feelings aside as soon as he realized how much it helped Chizuru to be able to give back some of what she felt she had received from her cousin. This made perfect sense to Saitō.
Finally, Hijikata rose casually from his place and unabashedly interrupted Kimigiku-san's scathing remarks to Amagiri.
"There are a few more things to clarify, Kimigiku-san. Kazama Chiharu-sama wishes to tell us something. Shall we hear her out?"
Kimigiku closed her eyes, breathed out, and then bowed slightly to Chiharu.
"Gomenasai, Haru-chan. Hijikata-san is correct. You know the most recent part of the story, don't you? Please, tell the others what you have told Sen-hime and I."
Chiharu cast a grateful look at Hijikata, who gave her a faint, understanding smile and politely waited for her to seat herself before doing the same. Aside from the one comment, Amagiri still hadn't moved.
"Well…" Chiharu hesitated, obviously martialling her thoughts. She found Hijikata's presence steadying and suspected that he had the same effect on his men – when they weren't terrified of him. Then she nodded to herself, having reached the decision to simply tell everyone everything as Suzuka-hime had told it to her. Except about Kenshin and Amagiri. That could wait.
"It began when Suzuka-hime arrived at our summer home part-way through our mid-day meal…"