I don't own Hauouki or any of it's characters.
Chapter 9
Okita paced, his soft footfalls beating a rhythmic path in the mossy grass. The time he had proposed was long , his mind could not accept that she was not coming, that she did not feel like he did. She will come. Countless excuses for her not being there swam in his head, none of them convincing.
He stopped to stare at the moon above, hoping his sense of time had been wrong, it was not.A long sigh left his lips and his nervous pacing commenced, trying his best to convince himself that all was not lost.
Finally the sound of birds ushering in the early dawn broke his resolve, his heart breaking as the first rays of light peeked over the horizon.
I was wrong. With a heavy heart he slowly trudged down the incline that the Cherry Tree reigned over, caught in his own miserable thoughts he did not notice the old woman steadily walking up the rise.
"You are still here young man?" she asked with puzzlement.
Her voice brought Okita back to reality, at first confused, he tried to recall where he knew the old woman from.
"Last night my dear." she reminded him, "After Sumi-chan's fall."
"Oh...yes," he murmured. "Forgive my forgetfulness oba-chan, I've been...distracted."
"Well you are still here, it must have been quite the distraction." she gave him a toothy grin.
"Unfortunately not like I would have liked it to be."
"Oh?"
Okita's head drooped even lower, "I hoped to meet someone here…they did not come."
"Why did they not come?" she asked.
"I can only assume they did not want to…"
"And why would you assume that? I am sure there are many reasons why she could not be here, not 'wanting to' being only one." The old woman noticed a flash of hope cross Okita's face and a faint smile gracing his lips.
"You could be right oba-chan, I shouldn't be so fast to judge"
"That's right young man, there's always hope, always a reason." She smiled as she saw Okita's posture straighten.
"Thank you oba-chan, you have lightened my heart." Okita gave the old woman a slight bow, as he turned to leave his thoughts recalled the injured performer of the previous evening, "Oba-chan, is the woman from last night…is she going to recover?"
"Sumi-chan is a fighter." The woman smiled, "Her injuries were not as severe as they seemed, she has not regained consciousness but recovering all the same."
"That is good to hear, she is a remarkable acrobat, it would be a great loss if she could not perform again." Okita's sincere words brought an unseen tear to the old woman.
"That she is , young man, she is great at many things." she sighed. "It is tragic when such beauty is marred."
"Indeed." Okita agreed.
The old woman looked up at him, her eyes large with worry. "Will you be the saviour?"
Okita blinked in confusion, not understanding what she was asking of him.
"No matter young man." her voice laced with a sigh. "I should not interfere."
"Oba-chan?" the confused Okita uttered.
"I should leave." The old woman cut her sentence short as she shuffled forward. "Only time will tell my dear." she said in a near whisper as she passed him, her gnarled hand momentarily resting on his arm.
He could only stare as she climbed up the rise, confused by the old woman's abrupt exit.
/
"O...ki...ta...do...no."
Shinji heard the name leave her lips in a desperate whisper. His brow wrinkled into a frown. It was the third time the name had come from her, and now, Shinji was certain he had heard it correctly.
Who was this person? What were they to Kasumi?
He looked down at her sleeping figure, her fine features set in a grimace. It was a miracle that she was alive, the fall would have killed anyone else, but the training they had endured kicked in, they had been taught how to fall, to relax their bodies and Kasumi did exactly that, even in a panicked state. Always so perfect Kasumi, even in dying?
She had survived the fall with a few broken ribs, arm and a multitude of cuts and sprains, yet she was alive and seemed more preoccupied with this Okita-dono than her own injuries.
"Is he the one that is keeping you from me, the reason you slip away at night?" Shinji's hand softly traced her cheek and jaw. "Why, why will you not love me anymore?" His hand came to rest on her neck, her pulse beating strongly against his palm, even broken as she was.
"How is our patient?" the old woman asked as she came through the tent's entrance. Shinji turned with a start, jerking his hand away from Kasumi.
The old woman made him uncomfortable, her eyes always on him, like she knew who he really was, knew the real reason he and Kasumi had joined the travelling troupe.
"She'll be fine oba-chan, a lot of pain, but fine...It's Kasumi" he shrugged as if that mere fact would explain everything.
He gave the old woman a respectful half-smile before he pushed past her to leave.
The old woman watched his exit with disdain. "Sometimes I wonder how well you really know her..." the old woman uttered as she watched Shinji's form disappear into the camp.
Her gaze turned to the young woman. "You carry much in your heart Kasumi-chan." she sighed, "... including a very handsome young man, one that does not seem to know who you are..." the woman's lips curled into a small, knowing smile, "I see everything Kasumi-chan, especially those things you try to hide most."
/
Isami Kondo was anxious, a feeling he was not familiar with. His bare feet thumped heavily on the common room floor as he paced, he could not place his worry, didn't know what the root of it was, and that, made him worry even more.
After weeks of no word, Susumu had sent an alarming message, one filled with fear and angst, telling of some unknown threat. He had failed in his assassination mission and had returned with only half of his squad. Never had Kondo heard of Susumu's people failing.
"Kondo-dono" Hijikata's deep voice pierced through his thoughts.
"Yes Toshi?"
"Heisuke-san has sent a messenger." Hijikata noticed Kondo's shoulders stiffen.
"Yes? What news?"
"He says Susumu-san has arrived in the outer reaches of the province, he'll be joining him in travelling here, it would seem Susumu is injured Shushou."
A frown swept over Kondo's face. "We need Susumu here as soon as possible and, safely. He carries important news with him." Kondo's eyes spoke of his worry as he looked at his second-in-command. "There is trouble coming Toshi, I can feel it in my bones..."
Hijikata stared at his commander for a few moments, his face not betraying his emotions.
"I know Kondo-dono, I can feel it as well, the unrest in the air, the smell of blood."
A long silence fell between the two men, each staring at the others' face, hearts pounding, thoughts tugging them deeper into their contemplations.
After what seemed hours, Kondo's head lifted from his stare.
"We should prepare Toshi." he gave Hijikata a knowing stare. "War is coming."
