Disclaimer~ We don't own Hakuouki Shinsengumi Kitan, or anything relating to it. Zan nen desu ne?
Chapter Seven
The Right Company
By the back porch, Asaji was wiping down the floors, her back arched as she moved her hand around in circles against the wood.
As she finished the last circle, she stood up and wiped off her face with her sleeve, admiring her work—this time with the correct soap. "It looks great," she said with a smile; she picked up her rag and walked around the back of the house "I wonder how Sayo-sama is doing…"
Suddenly a figure stepped in front of her, pulling her to the side. Opening her mouth to scream, Asaji stopped, recognizing the bright red hair. She slowly closed her mouth as Sayo looked one way, then the other before turning to Asaji anxiously.
"Asaji! I have a plan," Sayo whispered.
"A plan? For what? Dinner? I thought we were making fish…" Asaji said, giving her a puzzled look.
"Keep your voice down. Remember when I told you we would get out of here as soon as I came up with a plan? Well, I have it! We're going to escape."
Asaji hesitated. "Oh…that's good right? Yeah…that way we can go wherever we want without samurai escorts," she replied with a smile and a nod. "What is it?"
"That's not the point," Sayo said looking at her sister disappointed. "We're trying to avenge our parents, remember? Have you forgotten everything since we were captured, held hostage?"
Sayo sighed and Asaji looked at her apologetically.
"So, my idea," She continued. "They're never going to let us off grounds without one of them accompanying us, right? So we'd need to find a time when no one's watching us… When is the one time we're completely alone?"
Asaji paused thoughtfully. "When we're…cooking dinner?"
"No! They would see us walking out the main door," Sayo said; she sighed again, and paused to calm herself before lowering her voice. "In the bath…"
"Ohh…are you sure they leave us alone?" Asaji asked, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "I'm pretty sure there are more plants around than there was…and knowing Shinpachi's history with hiding behind plants…"
Sayo made a face. "You're right…but I think it might work. Tonight, Asaji, we're going to make it out of here, but please don't give us away! Don't say anything to anyone! Nothing! And don't act suspicious, understand?" Sayo took Asaji's hands in her own and stared into her eyes.
Asaji nodded furiously. "I won't tell anyone anything, promise!" she smiled, then looked around suspiciously. "Okay, coast is clear. Shall we go back to our chores?"
"Yes," Sayo replied, hugging her. "I'll see you at dinner."
With one last look at her, Sayo ran back into the house, leaving Asaji to continue with her chores. With a bucket in hand, she made her way out to the garden and began to work on the plants.
"Doing your chores?" a voice asked behind her; she turned and saw Yamazaki.
"No mission today?" Asaji asked.
There was a pause in which Yamazaki walked over and leaned against the tall tree in front of her.
"Are most of your days this slow?" Asaji questioned, looking up to smile cheerfully at him.
"Depends on if much is going on… Usually I just watch Sano and Shinpachi pull pranks on Heisuke," he answered with a shrug.
"And they're busy now? Darn…sometime you and I will have to stop them," Asaji said with a nod.
"Why stop them? It keeps them busy…" Yamazaki pointed out with another shrug. "And gives me something to do."
"But…you're smart. You could…come up with pranks to pull with Heisuke against them. They are more deserving."
"I suppose, but that would just make them angry."
"You're a ninja. They couldn't touch you even if they wanted to! Then again you are no match for me. Don't forget I caught you when we first met."
A smile crept on Yamazaki's face as she spoke. "That was a one time thing… I bet you couldn't catch me now," he said, bracing himself.
"But…I have to do chores," Asaji said, pointing at the ground; she had already picked all of the visible weeds, which she soon realized. "I'm sure there are some weeds left…they're just being sneaky…"
Yamazaki sighed and leaned back against the tree. "I didn't know you liked to come up with excuses…"
Asaji frowned and slowly got to her feet. "Now, say again, you bet I couldn't what?"
Yamazaki smiled.
"Wipe that smile off your face," Asaji ordered; as she finished her sentence, his face became completely expressionless.
"On second thought, I like you better when you smile…"
Yamazaki stepped forward, holding back another smile, and cautiously walked around her. "So, like I said before, I bet you couldn't catch me now." And he was suddenly gone.
"No fair! You got a head start!" Asaji yelled, running toward the house.
She stood at the base of the short wooden steps, looking around. Where had he gone? Before she could finish her thought he appeared stealthily behind her. "He's not over there," Yamazaki whispered, breath tickling the back of her neck.
"Ah!" Asaji jumped and spun around. Their faces were now nearly touching. "Don't scare me like that!" She leaned back from him as she began to blush at his closeness.
Yamazaki smiled. "Looks like I caught you."
"But I could easily catch you," Asaji defended, reaching out to grab his arm. But he was already out of reach, once again standing behind her.
"Not that way," He dismissed.
Asaji turned to glare at him. "I… won't give up!"
Yamazaki disappeared again leaving Asaji standing alone and searching. When he allowed himself to be seen again, his face came down next to Asaji's, this time upside down hanging from the roofs edge. "You're getting closer, come on, I'm right here."
She turned to him, stepping back. "I… can't climb up there… you've had more practice than me at that kind of stuff…"
"You think I practice climbing on rooftops?"
"With as much skill as you have doing that you might as well." She shrugged. "I'm not a ninja; I don't know how you train…"
After she was finished, Asaji saw a conveniently placed ladder out of the corner of her eye. She climbed, careful not to step on her kimono. Once she reached the top, Yamazaki was there waiting for her, holding out a hand to pull her up next to him. "Now that I've got you up here … I have something I want to show you."
"It better not be the other side of life, because I'm really not ready to die yet." Asaji took a deep breath and grabbed his hand, using all her strength to squeeze, making sure she couldn't fall away.
Yamazaki pulled her up further to the highest point of the highest roof, using his strength to make her nearly float over the tiles. "Don't be afraid, I won't let you slip." He perched his feet like a bird on the narrow ledge running along the center as he looked out over the many houses and sakura trees.
Asaji followed his gaze, admiring the warm glow the sunset emitted. She clung to him for dear life, clutching his sinewy arm. "Wow, it's so pretty… I've never seen anything this beautiful…"
He turned to her and smiled slightly, his lips shifted to a barely noticeable curve. "Me neither…"
After a slight pause, Asaji looked up at him, not having heard what he said. "Hmm?" she asked with a smile.
Yamazaki turned back to the sunset, fighting back a blush. "Er, nothing. I just thought you tried so hard to catch me that you deserved a reward."
"It was worth it...but…you know how to get down right?"
"Get…down? About that…" he said, smiling and looking forward. "I could sit here for hours…this time of year everything is so perfect. The flowers, the sunset, and with the right company-"
"Sunset?" Asaji interrupted worriedly. "Oh dear, I have to go make dinner… Sayo-sama will be angry if I'm late…and Hijikata…" She shuddered and looked down. "I don't think jumping from this height is safe, but if it's the only way…"
Before she was able to react, Yamazaki picked her up in one smooth motion, and the next thing she knew she was safely on the ground in his arms. She only was able to get one last glance of him before he disappeared completely.
Blushing, Asaji stumbled toward the door, making her way to the kitchen.
"Where have you been?" Sayo asked in a harsh tone as Asaji joined her in the kitchen; she was putting the finishing touches on a pot of boiling rice. "I asked you not to draw attention to yourself. Skipping out on chores is not helping!"
"I'm very sorry Sayo-sama, I didn't mean to be late, but I was reckless and didn't pay close enough attention to the time. I'm very, very sorry…"
She bowed, hoping to avoid further scolding. Sayo waved her hand dismissively. "That's okay. Just please hurry and chop those vegetables. What were you doing? I looked for you in the gardens…"
"I was out…with a friend…" Asaji replied leaning over the vegetables to hide her blushing. "Did I miss anything important besides most of making dinner?"
"A…friend?" Sayo repeated; she glanced at her smaller sister, but saw the matter was closed. "Nah, you didn't miss anything. I helped Hajime and Hijikata put their hair up. Not all that interesting, though surprisingly soft. I didn't know what kind of soap they're using. Maybe they have a secret stash somewhere for the Captains…"
She poured out the rice and took out a few bowls as Asaji looked at her. "I wish I could've seen you fix their hair!"
Sayo opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by shouting from the other room.
"Man, am I sure hungry! Ne, Shinpachi?" Sano yelled.
"Yeah, where's that woman and my rice?" Shinpachi agreed.
"Hey, don't be mean!" Heisuke protested.
"Oh dear, I've made us so late…" Asaji muttered, adding in the vegetables to the dishes.
"Let's hurry out there, I'm getting anxious," Sayo agreed with a laugh. "Can you carry these out to Hijikata and Souji?"
She handed her two trays and took four in herself.
"Thank you very, much," Souji said as Asaji placed the tray in front of him.
She swiftly moved over to Hijikata, placing it gracefully in front of him. As she made her way to the corner, she felt a slight sense of pride at her gracefulness. This changed once she turned and saw Sayo's flawless movements as she juggled the trays and set them down in front of the Shinsengumi members. Her feet glided across the floor, not taking unnecessary steps, or hesitating.
Her amazement was interrupted by Shinpachi's outburst.
"How come you have more rice than me?" he asked, pointing at Hajime's bowl.
"I don't."
"Yes you do," Shinpachi said, sticking his fingers in Hajime's food. "See! It's a centimeter deeper!"
Hajime responded by reaching over and trading trays with him. Sayo saw this and frowned. "What are you doing? I made that special for you two… Shinpachi, you don't want the extra piece of fish I gave you?"
Shinpachi turned to Hajime just as he popped a small fish in his mouth. "I guess I don't have a choice now," he said, glaring at him.
Hajime finished chewing and looked up at Sayo. "He put his fingers in my rice. It's contaminated."
"Your rice was lucky to have been touched by my lovely fingers!"
"Then you'll be happy eating that lucky rice," Hajime replied, eating some of the rice in front of him.
Sayo rolled her eyes and shuffled Asaji into the kitchen. "I'll be glad when we don't have to deal with these guys anymore. How can they eat so much?"
"Well, they are samurai, so they need lots of energy to fight with," Asaji said with a nod. "And that's why fish was a good choice for tonight. Lots of protein for their muscles…not that they could get much bigger…"
Sayo laughed. "Yeah, their muscles…" She paused and spaced out for a moment before snapping back into reality. "Speaking of protein, be sure to eat a good tonight. Who knows when we'll be able to eat a meal this full again."
"I understand," Asaji said, nodding.
The two girls put bowls of food together from the leftovers, and sat on pillows off to the side of the kitchen. When they finished, and the dishes were washed, Sayo took a deep breath before turning to Asaji. "I'm going to announce that we're going to bath. Are you ready?"
Asaji paused and nodded. "…hai."
With one last nod, Sayo walked into the other room, where Hijikata, Kondou, Souji and Heisuke were sitting and conversing. She bowed when they turned their attention to her. "Asaji-san and I are going to bathe in the river behind the houses before it gets any colder."
Hijikata nodded. "Some of us will be patrolling the east road tonight, if we're not here when you return."
"H-hai," Sayo said; with another bow, she turned toward the door and glanced back. "Oh, and Hijikata-san, can you…make sure Shinpachi-san is occupied?"
A blush crept on her face as Heisuke, Souji and Kondou snickered.
"Hai," Hijikata replied with a serious face.
Sayo bowed yet again, and walked back into the kitchen where Asaji anxiously stood. "I'm still kind of…nervous…what happens if…?"
"Don't worry about that, nothing's going to happen," Sayo said quickly.
"If you're sure about that…then I trust you completely, Onee-san," Asaji said confidently.
Sayo turned away from her, hiding her nervous expression. "Let's go."
The two girls made their way back to their room, and in what seemed a blink of an eye, they had already bathed and were on their way through the dark forest near the Shinsengumi's residence.
"Just stay close to me and keep quiet," Sayo hissed under her breath. "I don't know how far we have to go before we're clear of them finding us, because I know for sure as soon as they return with us missing, they will not easily give up on finding us. Hopefully the town isn't too far from here. It'll be easier to blend in there than in the forest."
Asaji listened intently to Sayo as she followed closely. She glanced at their kimonos, then at the forest, whispering, "Yeah, we do kind of stand out… But we don't make that much noise," she said as she stepped on a twig, making a loud cracking noise. She leaned over and put her finger to her lips. "Shh, Twig-san," she said, giving it a stern look before quickening her pace to match Sayo's.
XXX
After what seemed like an hour of walking, the moon was the only light illuminating the path as Sayo and Asaji made their way through the dark, thick forest. Suddenly, there was a noise behind them.
"Did you hear something?" Sayo whispered; she surveyed their surroundings without slowing down.
Asaji followed her gaze worriedly. "I…think so…maybe it's just a bird? There aren't any carnivorous animals in this region, are there?"
"Besides Shinpachi? No… But maybe I should go look. Stay here," Sayo said sternly.
She stepped cautiously over to the brush. Not seeing anything suspicious, Sayo turned back, eager to continue forward. But before her steps found the foot worn path, her feet became entangled in the thick roots and she fell to the ground.
"Sayo-sama…?" Asaji whispered.
There was a pause.
"Sayo-sama?" Asaji repeated, narrowing her eyes in the direction she had gone in; suddenly she spotted Sayo lying on the ground.
Rushing over to her, Asaji leaned over, and looked worriedly at her older sister.
"I'm fine…fine… Just help me up, I think I got my foot caught on a stump. I can't see a thing out here."
"Hai!" Asaji said, unhooking her foot from the roots and taking a step back, still holding her hand. "Is your foot okay?"
"I… think so," Sayo said; she tried to put pressure on it, but fell against Asaji instead. "Itai… But we can't…stop…"
The bushes rustled again, causing Asaji to turn nervously to them. "We have to rest if you're hurt, Sayo-sama…"
"We don't have time to rest! Don't you understand?" Sayo exclaimed, flinching.
When she opened her eyes again, there was a sword at her throat.
"I think you have time."
Translation Notes:
Onee-san - Elder sister
Itai - Ouch