This chapter is in part for half of my other story's readers… So they'll stop thinking there's something wrong with me (Which there's not). So to my normal readers, thank you for all your reviews, they've helped a lot… I probably shouldn't admit how much but… you get the idea. And to my FMA Fanfiction readers THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH ME, STOP TELLING ME TO "GET WELL SOON" …. (Thinks about that) BUT I WILL SEND YOUR GOOD WISHS TO THE ONE WHO IS HAVING PROBLEMS…
Thank you Syldoran-chan, who is the current editor of this Fanfiction. I hope you all continue to love it.
Hiraru woke just before dawn, as usual. Until her memories caught up with her thought process, she found it odd that she was lying in an actual bed. Then she remembered; Kaoru and Yahiko, Kenshin, and painfully, Sanosuke. Hiraru sat up, stretching as she did so; already she was making list of the things she'd need to do today. Feed Katsu, make a name for herself as a person who'd do just about any odd job, find places that would supply her materials for a decent price, remind Kaoru to have someone else look at the roof . . . .
Hiraru stood, finding her work clothing in her bags. She still hadn't unpacked; as far as she knew she was only going to be staying here for a short while. The blue happi coat, with its sleeves torn off and re-attached with thick strips of cloth, was perfect for just hanging around the city. It was unadorned and, other than the rich blue color that had faded over the years, wasn't very impressive. She pulled it on over a simple white shirt, triple checking that her breasts weren't visible with her wrap on. She'd been lucky in being given her own room, but she didn't expect it to last. And she didn't want anyone, especially Sanosuke, finding out she was a girl just yet.
Next she pulled on a pair of tough, off-white pants, which she'd bought off a traveler. The pants stopped just below her knee and gave great flexibility without being overly in the way like her hakama. She pulled her hair back into the high ponytail it had been in the day before, making sure as many of her bangs as possible were pulled back too. Had she left them loose she was sure Sanosuke would have recognized her lineage much faster than she would have liked.
Hiraru wore no jewelry, except her mother's locket, which was securely tucked in her wrap. Clean, it was much easier to tell she was a girl, but luckily the bruises on her face helped hid that fact. She realized this morning, how close she'd come to Sano finding out she was a girl the previous night. The man had been joking with her, and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, asking a snide question. Then he'd made the loud observation that she had a very soft body. Blushing, she added, "Don't let Sano touch me" to her to-do list.
Last night before her bath she'd removed the head bandage, and then replaced it again before bed. She removed it once more now. Moving her hair so she could look in the small mirror provided in her room, she noticed the bright red, but scabbed-over, cut on the top of her forehead, not entirely hidden by her hair line. Pulling out a piece of surgical tape, she put a small piece of cloth over the cut and taped it there, letting the loose bang half hide the white tape. That helped with the one open cut, but her face still looked like she'd been hit with a bat.
Best to ignore that, She thought to her self as she tucked her multi-use tools (twelve six-inch steel rods, which could twist into each other to make a six foot staff) into the back of her sash. With these rods she could hammer nails, check the strength of wood, measure things, or beat down anyone that got in her way.
Hiraru padded down the hallway, shifting her weight so the wood wouldn't sing as she walked. She had expected to make herself some simple rice and then go about running her errands. When she arrived at the kitchen she was more than a little surprised to see Kenshin working on, for her what was, a feast for breakfast. She stared in shock, not remembering the last time she had anything that looked that good.
The red-head turned, noticing her standing in the doorway, practically drooling. He smiled in his knowing way, "Good morning, Fudo-san. This one thought you might wake up early, so this one decided to start breakfast early."
He smiled to himself, noticing the intent look Hiraru was giving the sizzling food in the frying pan. "Kaoru-dono left out some leftovers from last night," he told her, watching the food to make sure it didn't burn. "If you are too hungry to wait."
Hiraru nodded dumbly, not really paying any attention to him, but really making sure she'd get some of that food. Kenshin continued to talk, but she paid little attention to him, until he called her by her first name.
"I'm sorry, what?" she reacted honestly, dragging her eyes from the frying pan; the act was almost painful.
Kenshin just smiled patiently and repeated, "I asked you to go wake the others."
"Oh, ah, sure . . . no problem," She turned to walk back down the hallway but after three seconds stuck her head back into the kitchen. "Um… Kenshin-san? I am going to get some of that, right?" she asked, pointing at the food in the skillet.
Kenshin gave her a blank look. "Oro? Of course Fudo-san, this one made enough for everyone," he said reassuringly.
"Right, I was just . . . checking . . . ." The carpenter disappeared into the hallway again. This time she actually was going to get the other sleeping members of the household.
Hiraru easily woke Kaoru, who slept on her side perfectly under the cover. She had more trouble with Yahiko, who slept as though someone had tossed him in a general direction from the futon. Sanosuke was a whole other story; he slept on his back, his pillow covering his face, the comforter raked up so it only cover his stomach and a single foot (yet some how missed the rest of that leg), and he was hanging off the futon in a strange fashion. The hard thing about waking him up was that he slept like the dead. Hiraru highly doubted that a cannon would wake the rooster-haired fighter. After ten minutes of poking, prodding, shoving, and kicking, Hiraru left Sanosuke's room and knocked at Kaoru's.
"Kaoru-san," Hiraru began when the other woman opened her door. Kaoru's hair was still down and she was in the middle of tying her obi, but Hiraru had little trouble keeping her eyes on Kaoru's face. "May I use . . ." She paused thinking of a good word, "Unusual methods to wake, Sagara-san?"
The blue-eyed woman blinked several times, but nodded. Hiraru bowed, and walked outside. She filled the bucket near the well and carried it back inside. Entering Sanosuke's room, she lifted the pillow from his head.
"Sagara-san, I apologize now," she said in a normal tone, "but I am hungry, and I hate to think you would miss out on the morning meal." She took a deep breath, and said in a louder voice, "If you're not awake by the time I count to five, I'm pouring this nice, cold water on your head."
She stood back up, tossing the pillow to the side of the room, and held the water bucket over Sanosuke's head. "One," she said loudly, pausing after the number.
"Two." Had Sano always been dead to the world?
"Three." That would have been very dangerous considering he'd fought with her father.
"Fou-"
"I'm up!" The scared rooster-head said, staring nonstop at the bucket as though it might choose to dump itself on him any way. "I'm up, don't you dare pour that on me!"
Hiraru raised an eyebrow. "Then wake up the first time I try to wake you," she warned, letting the bucket hang at her side. "Next time I won't go ask Kaoru-san if I can pour water on your head," she added before heading back out.
Behind her she heard, "That guy's scarier than the vixen on her worst day. . . ." She smiled, remembering how her brothers used to cower in fear after they'd made her angry; it had always been funny. Hiraru did take the time to take the water out for Katsu before she sat down at the breakfast table.
Kaoru was already setting places around the table by the time Hiraru came in. Not long afterward the woman, and hidden woman, were joined by Yahiko and a complaining Sanosuke. Kenshin brought the food in quickly after they'd all sat down.
It was Yahiko that broke the silence that had come with mouths being filled. "So, Haru, (Hiraru's new nickname) you said you had brothers, but you didn't really tell us about them last night. What are they like?"
Hiraru smiled, and swallowed her mouthful before she spoke. "I didn't talk about them because you were more interested in the story about how I escaped those thugs that gave me these bruises," she answered, pausing for effect, waiting until Yahiko opened his mouth again to speak. "But if you must know, I suppose there's nothing wrong with talking about them." Yahiko smiled and leaned forward, the others obviously listening in as well.
"As I said last night, I have three brothers; one older, one twin, and one younger. The eldest was named after my father, Shiro, my twin was named for my grandfather, Tatsuo, and my youngest brother was named after my father's brother, Sozo." Her last one wasn't a complete lie.
"So you were named after your other grandfather?" Sano interrupted.
"No," Hiraru replied simply, refusing to elaborate. "My youngest brother will be eleven this year, my twin and I are both nineteen, and my eldest brother is twenty-three. It was my twin that gave me Katsu, and my younger brother that I write letters to, my eldest brother is . . . well . . . a bit of a jerk."
Hiraru paused again, remembering something. "We used to live in a small village with my mother and father, but when the revolution started, Dad decided to help out with the fighting. Things . . . well, they changed. Soon it was just my elder brothers, my pregnant mother, and me. After my mother got news of my father's first battle, she went into early labor; we nearly lost Sozo." Hiraru paused again.
To the others, it seemed as though she were telling an epic tale, but Kenshin noticed other things. He noticed the way she paused and avoided question, the way she seemed to leave things out. He took mental note of all this.
"Two years after Sozo was born," Hiraru continued, "My father was killed. He was beheaded by the government. He had taken precautions to protect us, but my mother was afraid. She took us to her parents' home, a temple in the north."
"Six months after his death, some of his men were able to steal his body away from the government and brought it to us in the temple. It cost them greatly, and it was when we buried his body that we realized how frail my mother was. She died two years later. After that we lived with my grandparents; my grandfather was strict, good for my brothers, and my grandmother was gentle, everyone said I took after her. When I turned fourteen my grandmother became ill and died."
"Three years ago my grandfather started to decline in health; he was the last thing that was holding my brothers and I together. My twin moved out of the temple and to some coastal town, and he refused to tell my eldest brother where. I left last year . . . to look for something. Something that I believe will bring my brothers together again. I've narrowed my search area to Tokyo, and the towns surrounding it."
She bit her thumb as she concluded, "All I have to do is find two more of my father's men, and I should be able to narrow the search area even further." Hiraru's eyes connected with Sano's for just a second, then she went back to staring at her, now, empty plate. "The problem was that I got into that fight, then I had to pay clinic bills, and I'm basically broke, now."
Hiraru gave the group her silly smile, "But I guess you didn't want to know all that." She stood abruptly, "Listen Kaoru-san, you need to have another person come in and look at your roof. I need to go into town and see if I can find another job, to pay for Katsu's food, and to look for a good place to supply wood." She stood taking her plate to the kitchen. When she walked back in she was wrapping a set of bandages around her hands and wrists. "I should be back some time before dinner. I'll see you all later."
With that the dark-haired 'boy' left, hopping the fence and running along the forest road and into town before any of them could react. Kaoru quickly went to pick up the dishes to clean them, and Yahiko went to start practice. Sano sat cross legged on the patio chewing on a piece of grass.
Kenshin was the one that broke the companionable silence that had spread between the two men, saying "This one thinks there are many things Hiraru-san isn't telling us."
Sano opened an eyelid looking at him. "Like what, Kenshin?"
"This one is not sure . . ." Kenshin said slowly, "This one just noticed a few things. . . ."
"Like what?" was the repeated question Sano asked.
Kenshin gave his secretive smile, "This one is not sure Hiraru-san would approve of my telling you."
"Ahh . . . ." Sano groaned through his nose, but did not press, because Katsu walked up and tried to eat the piece of grass Sano was chewing on.
I have no clue what the names of the real Captain Sagara's children were but I'm not changing them now soo… moving on…
Aren't I evil to Sano… and I think Kenshin might know something… you'll have to read the next chapter to find out.
And Remember, if you review I post the next chapter.