I had this chapter typed up for awhile (except for the ending) and I finally got around to finishing it so here it is~
DISCLAIMERS AND STUFF [HERE]
"Neh isn't that . . . isn't that Otae-san?"
"Ahhh it is, hurry up and let her in, it's pouring outside!"
"Waah Otae-san you're soaking wet!"
"This is the third time this week, don't you have an umbrella?"
Otae patted her hair dry with a towel as her coworkers fussed over her and the rain continued to patter on outside. She smiled weakly and assured everyone that she was fine but there was a flurry of exchanged glances that knew Otae was not fine. Their suspicions were proved as the day progressed and an increasing number of Otae's customers were driven away by her excessive sneezing, coughing, and tired appearance. By the fourth dissatisfied customer the manager pulled Otae aside and told her to go home and rest.
"Bu— HAAAAAACHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO," Otae opened her eyes slowly with a sniff and looked sheepishly at her manager who had been thrown to the other side of the hall by the force of her sneeze. He got to his knees with a slight groan and gave Otae a very stern glare.
Fifteen minutes later outside a small pharmacy with flu medicine in hand, Otae was taking cover from the pouring rain, waiting for the clear skies that would never come. A little put out by the fact that she wouldn't be getting her paycheck for the week, Otae rubbed her reddening nose and considered buying Bargain Dash to cheer herself up. But the convenience store was two streets away and would be a big detour from the road home. Not that any of that really mattered anyway since she was stuck waiting for the rain to stop. She sniffled again and stared out miserably at the sea of umbrellas floating down the road.
Was it really worth it? She bit her lip and thought that karma was a little cruel sometimes. It was all for fun regarding the bento and the umbrella had just been the perfect finishing touch. But now she had caught a cold because Shinpachi had left their only other umbrella at the Odd Jobs, she had been too busy to buy a new one, and on top of that the rain had been pouring endlessly for the past week. Otae let out a long sigh and stared out again at the road but as she watched she noticed among the umbrellas a weaving umbrella that interrupted the flow of the other umbrellas with its path headed straight for Otae. She braced herself as the owner of the umbrella came to a stop before her and slowly the umbrella rose to reveal the owner. Otae's eyes widened as that familiar puff of smoke blew out towards her.
"Trapped without an umbrella again, Otae-san?"
"Hijikata-san," she smiled but it was a smile lacking of its usual confidence and sarcasm. The Vice Commander of the Shinsengumi easily saw past her facade and while staring at her indifferently, snuffed out his dimming cigarette on the ground. Otae watched him calmly without a sound as inwardly she was annoyed that of all people to encounter at that moment it just had to be Hijikata Toshiro. Still she said nothing and returned his unchanging gaze, then he looked away slightly as he closed his umbrella and set it against the wall beside Otae. With his hands now free he took out a new cigarette and lit it with ease. After taking a long drag and then breathing out slowly he looked down at Otae who, despite the usual calm smile on her face, was becoming increasingly agitated by Hijikata's actions. On a better day Otae would have punched Hijikata in the gut or flipped him over while screaming something along the lines of 'smoking will kill you!' or 'second hand smoke is just as deadly as first hand smoke!' but she was tired and should really have been resting in bed. So Otae did nothing and instead stared past Hijikata, trying to ignore him and his surprisingly close proximity to her. For awhile neither said anything or did anything, Otae stared and Hijikata smoked. Then abruptly but still very calmly, Hijikata stepped past Otae, making his way into the pharmacy. Surprised by his sudden movement Otae asked out loud,
"Where are you going?" Hijikata looked back at Otae and replied nonchalantly,
"To buy food poisoning medicine," A moment of silence fell over them as Otae inwardly felt a sense of victory and Hijikata stood blocking the pharmacy entrance.
"Ah customer, I'm sorry but could you please decided whether to come inside or stand outside? Also this is a non-smoking area," Hijikata and Otae ignored the store keeper's request and continued instead to stare at each other. Otae's victory was slowly fading, slowly but surely she was getting glimpses of guilt and an uneasy feeling began to build in her chest. She frowned and Hijikata, still maintaining his calm composure, asked,
"Is something wrong?" Otae blinked and broke their eye contact, glancing away and down towards the ground, frantically she tried to come up with a response in her mind but nothing came to mind. Hijikata continued to stare at Otae who hesitantly looked up at him after a considerable time. She met his gaze for a brief moment before he turned and entered the small pharmacy, despite the store keeper's protests, still smoking his cigarette. Otae blinked, unsure of what had just happened, she took a slight step back and felt her foot brush something. Startled she looked behind her and saw Hijikata's umbrella leaning against the wall. Almost forgotten in the confusion over Otae and Hijikata's exchange, the umbrella had remained against the wall, waiting to shield whoever from the harsh patter of rain. Otae stared at the thin umbrella in deep thought. Meanwhile in the pharmacy, after many glares from Hijikata and many frightened yelps from the store keeper, Hijikata was ready to make his purchase.
"Remember to drink this medicine with water every other hour sir," the store keeper smiled nervously, glancing at Hijikata's still brightly lit cigarette, before handing him a doggy bag containing the food poisoning medicine. The store keeper hadn't been able to summon enough courage to remind Hijikata of the no-smoking policy, especially not after recieving the sharp glares and very-Yakuza-like 'hanh?'s from Hijikata. Instead the store keeper bowed deeply and whispered a fearful "Take care . . ." as Hijikata took his leave of the small pharmacy. As Hijikata exited the store he was surprised to see that the rain had not stopped but even more surprising; his umbrella and Otae were both still waiting against the wall. He looked at Otae with wide eyes, she glanced at him and then smiled sweetly,
"Oh my, Hijikata-san, why are you staring at me like that? You should hurry home and take that medicine to begin the healing process. I hear recovering from food poisoning can take a very long time," Hijikata moved towards her, reaching for his umbrella at her side,
"Is that so? I heard that recovering from the cold takes even longer," he opened the umbrella and stared at Otae who replied,
"Is that so?" they stared again at each other before Hijikata handed the umbrella to Otae. She took it but began to retort his action, however she was interrupted, as Hijikata scoffed slightly,
"Stubborn woman," and then in one swift motion, Hijikata swept Otae off her feet, carrying her in the classic damsel in distress being saved by the chivalrous knight position. She protested by promptly punching him in the jaw, a punch that should have knocked him out, but all it did was knock the cigarette from his mouth. Hijikata still held Otae firmly in his arms although he was now twitching in anger as he screamed at Otae, "Oi what was that?"
"Self defense," Otae looked up at Hijikata with that familiar sweet smile and he stared down at her with that ever prominent glare, there was silence as Hijikata's jaw began to bruise and swell from Otae's punch. Hijikata didn't know how to respond to Otae, his heart was beating like crazy, either from the adrenaline of being punched by Otae or because of that familiar sweet smile she was giving him. Either way he was speechless. Otae didn't know what to say now that she had punched Hijikata in 'self defense', it had really been more of a reflex action towards Hijikata sweeping her off her feet so unexpectedly and easily, besides that she was trying to deny the fact that she was beginning to find it very comfortable in his arms. Either way she was speechless.
They were both speechless for what seemed to be hours. It was actually only a few seconds but it was still enough time for an elderly woman to come along who needed to enter the pharmacy. Blocked by Hijikata and Otae who were lost in each others smile and glare, the elderly woman cleared her throat, but to no avail. So she cleared her throat louder, still no reaction from either Hijikata or Otae. Tired of this the elderly woman said,
"My, isn't it nice that lovers can still be so lovey dovey in the open, and on such a rainy day too," this statement seemed to jolt Otae out of her trance as she replied in her trademark bittersweet tone,
"Oh my, old granny what are you saying? Of course we're able to do this in the open and on such a rainy day too. We still have our youth (unlike you) old granny," the elderly woman was angered by the underlying insult behind Otae's sweet smile but she scoffed and hobbled into the pharmacy, choosing to ignore Otae but still feeling deeply insulted. There was a spark of triumph and spite in Otae's eyes as she glared at the old woman. Hijikata watched her in amusement and awoken from his trance, said calmly,
"Alright that's enough of insulting the elderly for today, you need to go home and rest,"
"So do you Hijikata-san, food poisoning doesn't heal itself,"
Still rubbing that in my face, I see. Hijikata smirked slightly and replied,
"Is that so? Well it can't be helped then," he turned and started down the road with Otae still in his arms. They left the cover of the pharmacy and the rain began to patter on their shared umbrella.
"What are you doing?" Otae demanded, a slight blush overcoming her cheeks as people passing by whispered and stared at the Demon Vice Commander of the Shinsengumi carrying a woman in a way only seen exaggerated in dramas.
"Your dojo is along the way to the Shinsengumi Headquarters, so I may as well share this umbrella with you until then," Otae blinked at Hijikata's response, the Kakidōkan Dojo was not along the way to the Shinsengumi Headquarters at all, in fact there was quite a distance separating the two. Otae smiled and laughed genuinely at Hijikata's claim.
"Yes, since it is along the way," Hijikata glanced at the laughing Otae and he felt his heart skip a beat. Hijikata smiled slightly, almost in confusion, but then quickly masked it with his hard glare. Otae as well quickly checked herself, calming her laugh and glancing away, embarrassed that she had shown genuine amusement instead of her usual sadistic like amusement. So they went along the road of streaming umbrellas under the gloomy sky, Otae in Hijikata's arms, and the shaky umbrella that didn't quite fully shield the two from the pattering rain.
Bordering cuteness overdose, especially for such a violent couple like them, but I was debating whether or not to have skinship (if Hijikata carrying Otae can be considered skinship) in this chapter or later on. Didn't know if I wanted to progress them or just keep them as they are with the childish exchanges of pranks and remarks. I guess I made them progress since the end of this chapter isn't as full of CAPS because of their screaming or whatever. Is it more mature? Ah well, just random rambling of how I should continue from here. I don't like progressing the couple because then I will very abruptly end the story and I like this plot so I want to continue it a bit more. Whatever~ Ignore this since I just felt like rambling.