I don't own Hauouki or any of it's characters.
Chapter 8
It was too crowded, jostling bodies brushed up against him and he often felt the warm breath of a stranger sweep his neck, sending unwanted shivers down his back, Okita hated where he was.
"Come" Asuka exclaimed as she took his arm and tugged him through the throng to the center of the festival. Okita felt uncomfortable with the familiarity that Asuka showed when she touched him, it felt wrong, his heart told him it was reserved for someone else.
He sighed and for the umpteenth time he considered if he had done the right thing. Asuka was naïve, innocent and he had engineered a possible heartbreaking moment for her. His slight frown went unnoticed by the excited Asuka as they made it to the clearing, a towering bamboo installation dominating the evening sky.
White and blue pennants fluttered from the rig's highest points, the evening breeze playing an enthused game of tag with the evading silks and cottons. Long ribbons flowed from the lower sections of the poles, gently folding in upon themselves as they too danced to the wind's rhythm, occasionally catching the firey glints of the lamps dotted around the structure.
Okita could only stare in awe, never had he seen such a large or high acrobatic rig and his respect was already gained by the artists that would be gracing the stilts in a few moments.
They appeared. A man and woman dressed in costume, tails of blue and white ribbons flowing from them just like the structure's own. He could not help but stare as the woman came forward, pride, strength peppered with an alluring sway of her hips marked her stride. Confidence surrounded her, so much so that her partner seemed to fade into the dusk, her flame snuffing his in an instant.
Okita wasn't close enough to see the details, but he was sure she would be beautiful, if in front of him. He was distracted by a shrill squeak from Asuka.
"They're performing the tale of Yuki-Onna" she exclaimed, "My mother use to scare me with the story when I was a child, she always said Yuki-Onna would catch and whisk me away if I went out alone at night." she let out a small giggle as she gave Okita a seductive look. "At least I know I will be safe from her when you are with me...Okita-san."
Okita could only shake his head as he watched the girl hopping around, her eyes showing her excitement and intent, she reminded him of a child, innocent and unaware of how cruel the world is, playing a game she did not understand.
"Look, Look, they're starting." she let out, pointing at the acrobats. Okita's eyes followed the direction her fingers pointed, watching as the acrobats climbed to the top of the bamboo poles.
A low gasp rippled through the crowd as both acrobats took their positions, the woman easily balancing her body weight with her one arm as she flipped to a handstand, the man snaring his foot into a loop attached to a complicated knot of ropes. Anticipation crackled through the air as every man, woman and child waited in silence, the acrobats frozen in place, tension throbbing through their muscles. A solitary whizzing sound took everyone by surprise before the sparks and colours of a firework bloomed in the night, outlining the acrobats as they launched themselves into the air, defying the very sky with their actions.
/
The Tale of Yuki-Onna
A long time ago, in an unnamed village, there lived two woodcutters, Minokichi and Mosaku. Minokichi was young and handsome, Mosaku was an old man, who had lived a long, challenging life.
On a day in mid-winter, they found themselves trapped by a harsh snowstorm, with no way to return home from the forest, they took shelter in an old abandoned hut. As they slept a beautiful woman returned to the hut she had once shared with her family, they had died a horrible death here and the hut only brought saddened memories to the woman.
Mosaku awoke during the night and found the beautiful woman there, she was dressed only in white and her lips were tinted blue, her hair the colour of the night itself. As he came close to her she gently breathed on Mosaku, freezing his lifeblood and so taking his life.
She heard Minokichi let out a gasp and knew that he had woken. She approached him so she could take his life as well, but found herself mesmerised by his beauty.
"I thought I would kill you, like the old man, but I will not, for you are young, handsome and full of life." She whispered in Minokichi's ear, "You must not tell anyone about me or I will be forced to kill you." With that she disappeared in a cloud of mist.
Many years past and Minokichi never uttered a word of his encounter. On a cold winter's morning he met Oyuki, a beautiful woman that immediately enchanted his heart. He asked for her hand, which she accepted, and they married soon after. She gave him many beautiful children and loved him like no other, she was the perfect wife.
One night Minokichi looked at his wife and smiled.
"Why are you smiling so beautifully my dear husband?" Oyuki asked.
"Whenever I see you, I am reminded of a mysterious woman I met once. I was young and I met her on a cold winter's night like this one. I do not know if it was a dream or Yuki-Onna herself."
After finishing the tale, Oyuki suddenly stood up and said, "That woman you met was me, I told you that I would have to kill you if you ever uttered a single breath of what happened that night." A single icy tear rolled over her cheek as she wept at her own words, "I can not, for our children would never forgive me, but I can not stay here, my oath to kill you will always haunt my sad soul." with those words she left into the evening mist, never to be seen again, although it is said her cries can be heard on the wind during cold winter nights.
/
Okita was spellbound.
The acrobats danced through the air like he danced with his sword, fluid and effortless, creating a painfully beautiful tale of two lovers bound to never be together.
He had never seen the tale of Yuki-Onna in this incarnation, the plight of a solitary soul yearning for companionship, betrayed by the one she loved, his heart ached for her, she was not the monster that everyone thought, she was merely alone.
The acrobats were sure footed and their agility was a marvel, the woman could weave through the air and bend her limbs like the branches of a willow, she could control not only her limbs but the ribbons of her costume, to paint glorious moments of pure emotion. More than once Okita found himself unable to breathe as she graced the air with a gravity and body defying motion. He stared, unable to take his eyes off of the performance, sure he would never see anything like it again.
/
The evening was perfect, the light breeze allowing Kasumi to make the ribbons on her costume twirl and flutter like they were extensions of her limbs. The air on her cheeks, refreshing, made her mind clear and focused. All there was, was the next stretch of her limbs, the next arch of her back, Shinji's strong arms or hand to grasp. Here she found peace, all her worries and thoughts whisked away by the wind sweeping through her hair.
She opened her eyes as she came close to the ground, Shinji having swung her low to prepare for a devilishly high execution of a mid-air somersault.
Her gaze fleeted over the crowd, enjoying the amazed stares she was inspiring, on a whim she looked deeper into the crowd and her heart jolted for an instant.
"Okita-dono" his name escaped her lips in a whisper.
Momentarily flustered, she had to re-take her grip on the body ribbon, her heart pounding at the realisation that he was there. She couldn't help but smile as her body was launched into the air, her blood surging as she vowed to make her execution perfect, she could not falter, she had to be faultless if he was there watching her. Her body arched and twirled in the sky, ribbons unhurriedly following the curve her body made, creating a blossom of blue and white cloth. Her feet landed on the upright support with a thud, a small cloud of chalk puffing from where they connected, her gaze immediately went to where she knew Okita was standing, her eyes searching as she waited for Shinji to finish his tumbles and swings as Minokichi.
She found him without effort, she could recognise him from any distance. He was there, the young servant girl from the Shinsengumi compound next to him. He was looking up, the same amazed expression the rest of the crowd wore graced his face. Is he looking at me? Does he know?
Her heart raced at the thought. He doesn't, but soon...soon he will. A smile tugged at her lips, she was ready.
She looked on as the serving girl grabbed his arm to get his attention.
She watched as his shoulders slumped and he looked down to the woman next to him.
She saw the woman twine her arms around his neck and pull him closer.
She witnessed as their lips met.
Kasumi's world crumbled.
/
Shinji watched as Kasumi did her aerial dance with the black body ribbon, twisting and twirling, manipulating the fabric like only she could. Her long legs kicked out as her body arched through the air, her arms intertwined in the ribbon like the lifeline it was, the audience oblivious to the danger she faced. He watched the breathtaking vision that was Kasumi, flying through the sky with the freedom that only birds should have, and witnessed the most perfect execution he had ever seen, ending with her elegant landing on a support beam.
She was looking at the crowd when her shoulders stiffened and unwanted tension flexed in her arms. He was puzzled as he tried to signal her to join him, she did not react, something was wrong.
Moments later relief came to him as he swung down and saw her start her next set, he twirled the brace that held his arm, the next set of moves was the reason they had come here, the reason they would perform for the Shogun. He readied himself for a mid-air twirl and catch that would make the audience gasp and applaud, make them talk for days to come.
He braced himself as Kasumi's body arched in the air before starting slow measured twirls towards their mid-air meeting.
He was prepared as she looked towards him in mid flight, tears streaking down her cheeks, heavy black trails of makeup smudging her face, for a moment she looked like the real Yuki-Onna, heart broken.
Shinji panicked. What's wrong? Is she hurt? His mind raced for answers, his concentration slipped, he had lost speed.
In a single moment, everything changed.
As Kasumi reached the height of her arc, Shinji realised that she did not have enough momentum, she reached out to him without luster, neither of them were where they should have been. She merely brushed the tips of his fingers, no grip, no stability. Shinji felt her slip through his fingers for a second time in his life.
Kasumi plummeted, her dance coming to a swift end.
/
Asuka ran through the crowd, blinded by her own tears. She felt ashamed, rejected...angry. She shoved people aside as she ran, not caring who she angered, she had to get away from here, from him.
Okita had rejected her, shoved her away when she had given him her first kiss, what angered her the most was that he had been nice about it. No harsh or mean words or startled actions, just a gentle shove to seperate them and soft kind words.
"Asuka-chan, this is not what I want, I am not the right man for you and I do not doubt you would know that if you truly knew me..." he had been silent for a few moments, "My heart belongs to someone else, I am sorry..."
The thought of his words brought a new wave of sobs and Asuka struggled to breathe as she lumbered forward in a sea of uncaring faces.
"Asuka-chan?" she heard her name from a distance. Strong hands came to rest on her shoulders, holding her steady and protecting her from the crowd. "Are you alright?" the concerned voice became clearer as her tears faded.
She turned, her eyes red and puffy, something inside her still hoping it would be Okita. "Nagakura-san?" she said confused, "What are you doing here?"
"I like festivals, so I came." he shrugged, "I saw you running and I thought something was wrong." his eyes spoke of his worry for her and Asuka's heart steadied, without a thought Asuka fell into his arms, embracing him with all her might.
"Nagakura-san, I'm so happy to see you." she said with a few last tears running down her cheeks.
Okita-san, you never cease to amaze me. How did you know this would happen? Thank You. Nagakura smiled as he thought of his friend's insistence that he should be here tonight. Shaking his head he took Asuka in his arms and led her to a quieter section of the festival, his mind trying to fathom how Okita had orchestrated this meeting and what he was supposed to do next.
/
Thud. Crack. Gasp.
The crowd let out their collective held breath in unison.
The bird had fallen from the sky in what seemed slow motion, the ribbons of her costume whipping and twining in a panicked flutter, contrarily she did not struggle or even protect herself as she limply fell to the ground below.
Okita joined the masses in a horrified gaze, the woman's body laying crumpled on the ground, she seemed lifeless until a gut-wrenching scream left her lips, blood curdled as the air escaped her lungs in pain laced gasps. The crowd lurched forward in macabre fascination, curiosity overruling common sense as all wanted to see what the outcome of the fall had been.
He had heard bones shatter as she connected with the ground in a cloud of dust, he winced when he heard her agonising gasps, he knew some of the pain she felt at that moment and his fists clenched in sympathy as her partner knelt down to touch her body.
Yet, she was alive and the limpness of her fall seemed to have been her saving grace.
Okita looked on as men rushed forward with a litter to carry her from this place, carefully placing it next to her now straightened body. His quick glance at her form told him that her ribs were broken but amazingly it seemed that the rest of her was intact. Blood covered her face, neck and arms, blue bruises clearly forming on her chest and visible through her now torn costume.
A torturesome whelp left her body as they lifted her onto the litter, blood instantly staining the untreated calico with flowers of red.
They all watched in silence as she was taken away, speechless at what had happened. After a few moments the crowd started to leave, slowly they melded with the rest of the festival, their evenings far from over, the acrobat soon to be forgotten. Only Okita was left in the now empty clearing.
"Are you alright my dear?" an old crackly voice came from behind him.
Okita turned to see an old lady, nervously wringing her hands as she stared at the large bamboo structure.
"It happened so fast, it's not like Sumi-chan to lose concentration, something must have happened up there..." she sighed and looked at Okita, "Sorry young man, I had asked if you were alright, it must have been quite a shock."
Okita could see the worry in her eyes and instantly felt his heart go out to the old woman.
"I am fine oba-chan, I have seen much worse in my line of work."
"Oh?" the old woman was silent for a few moments, "That is very sad to hear."
Taken aback by her words, Okita could only stare at the wrinkled woman.
"The young ones of today live with too much burden and sorrow, Sumi-chan also has that look in her eyes, the one that says you know death, you spend too much time around it. Let us hope that death will not be the truth for Sumi-chan tonight" with that the old woman grew silent and gave Okita a look that bore down to his soul.
"I...I have to leave...for a meeting..." Okita stammered, thrown off by the old woman's eyes and words.
"Yes my dear, take care and don't let death make you blind to the opportunity to find happiness." sadness and understanding lined the old woman's words.
Okita turned and left as quickly as was polite, the old woman had made him uncomfortable in the matter of seconds and he truly had a meeting. He looked up at the sky and judged by the moon that there was still some time before he had to be in the park. His heart instantly lightened at the thought of his mystery woman, the thought of the broken acrobat washed away with excitement and happiness. Tonight I will know who you are, I will see you, I will smell you.
For the first time in his life, Okita felt his heart race at such a speed that it might explode, his feet light and swift, his body filled with a tension that felt astounding. Tonight I will meet the woman who has stolen my heart. He smiled at the thought.
