Disclaimer: Hakuouki is a visual novel game by Idea Factory. (They make a bunch of cute guys! Drools. So I always look up new series just so I can stare at them~) Hakuouki then was adapted into an Anime by Studio DEEN. And today, the Anime series is licensed by Sentai Filmworks in North America. (I got this information from Wikipedia and I believe the information is accurate. I wouldn't know though!)

"Forever" will not keep us connected

Chapter 11

"Perhaps Sano should have been the one to come with you, Yumeko-san," Hajime said.

The wagon shook from moving and the horses seemed to pant. Yumeko lifted her eyes from staring at Ayumu and she stared at Hajime's cool eyes. She was not able to read the emotion in his face and did not try to understand it. "Why do you say that?" she asked, but she was not too curious about it. She had her own reason.

Hajime closed his eyes and felt the wind through his hair. "With his power, it will determine he is more of use to you," he replied quietly.

"I chose you because of your power." He opened his eyes slowly and looked to her. Yumeko was holding Ayumu's hand and her eyes seemed frightened. She then continued saying, "Because you can control water… if I mess something up, I know you can use your power to stop mine." Her flames had always scared her. But she was willingly to face that fear for the sake of Ayumu.

"…I see," Hajime said, still looking at her directly. "Then I shall do my best to meet your expectation, Yumeko-san."

She nodded, closing her eyes. "Thank you, Hajime," she sounded relieved.

Really, do Kanon and Yumeko all call other people's first names like that so easily? Hajime wondered if he could ever get used to it. His eyes then glanced to Ryunosuke and he asked, "Have you been training when you disappeared?"

Ryunosuke gagged, as if Hajime was nagging him like what he did in the past. "Of course I am!" Ryunosuke replied almost angrily and did not look back. " Though, I'm no where as good as you, Saito-san, but I should be able to hold on my own if I faced one or two men… pretty much anyway."

Faintly smiling, Hajime said, "Good to hear." From time to time, Hajine had thought about Ryunosuke and days of the past. As much as Hajime wished for time to go back, nothing would last forever. Like the Shinsengumi. Hajime lowered his eyes down quietly and gripped on his katana. He was not planning on leaving it behind anytime soon. He still had some things to protect, even now.

"…We're here," Ryunosuke grumbled with a light glare. Just meters away, the bandits were guarding the front gates, which were huge wooden doors. The old yellow walls reached about five stories, expanding from the far left to the far right.

Turning her head slowly, Yumeko's eyes gazed to the bandits that walked up to their wagon when Ryunosuke slowed the horses down. There were about four of them, two of them had short black hair and the other two had semi-long black hair. They wore color-coded kimonos in the hue of yellow. In their arms, they carried rifles as Sanosuke had stated before, but Yumeko and Hajime looked closer. Each bandit also had one knife that was on their left side, underneath their brown waistband.

"And who are you guys?" one of the bandit asked. His voice was a bit high pitched, but it sounded like he was only faking his voice. His hair was short and he was the shortest out of the four.

Ryunosuke kept his nerves calm. "I returned from work," he answered them, making sure to keep his voice inferior to them. "And this is my home."

"Who's the pretty lady?" They already taken the bait and Yumeko was prepared. She kept staring at them and the taller bandit stepped up. "…Are those people with you?"

"Yes," Ryunosuke nodded, gesturing with his head. "My job is to transport."

"Then that means you have money," they all grinned.

Ryunosuke glared at them, which he probably should not have done because they were all were walking closer with their greedy eyes. 'I hate these kinds of people,' Ryunosuke gripped on the reins in his hands. Just under the wagon, Ryunosuke actually hid a katana down there. If these bandits were going to do something to him or his friends or to Yumeko, he would kill them. But then he thought about Kosuzu. If he made a move, what if more bandits came at them and he would have to leave her behind? Gritting his teeth, he wondered what he should do. He was never the thinker.

"What are all of you doing?" a familiar deep, calm voice called.

Hajime looked up quickly and his eyes saw Yuma. The man with silver hair walked from the front gate calmly. And Yumeko glared right away. "Ah, Yuma, sir…" the four bandits backed away to greet silver head. Despite the fact Yuma still had the bruise that Sanosuke left on left cheek, the bandits were not planning to disrespect him or even laugh.

Stopping by the shorter bandit, Yuma glanced to him, "You men were only ordered to keep watch at the gate. Do not cause too much trouble for others."

"Uh… yes," he nodded, keeping his head low. Yuma's quiet eyes glanced to Ryunosuke and to the people behind him. He looked like he did not recognize any of them. Shortly afterward, Yuma turned around and begun to walk off to the town.

Yumeko moved her hand, wanting to throw her knife to Yuma's back, but then Hajime's hand stopped her arm. She narrowed her eyes to Hajime and he shook his head silently to her. 'Right,' her mind cooled a bit. She was here to find a doctor for Ayumu. Nothing more. Her eyes relaxed and he let her go without a word exchanged.

As the wagon moved, Ryunosuke glanced to the bandits who were now quiet. As they walked under the gates, Ryunosuke let out a relieved sigh. "…Yuma was his name?" Ryunosuke asked himself. "I wonder who he was… they listened to him right away."

Hajime stayed quiet and rather not have Ryunosuke get involved with their problems. Because Ryunosuke was already leading a life with someone he may love, therefore it was better to keep Ryunosuke in the dark. Hajime glanced to Yumeko to make sure she was behaving and saw her smiling at him. "…Yes?" he blinked at her.

Shaking her head, she answered gently, "It's nothing." She was really glad to have chosen Hajime to come along. His peaceful aura was so calming and she trusted him and his judgments. Her eyes laid to Ayumu and there was still no sign of him waking up yet. 'Ayumu,' she thought sadly. '…We'll get a doctor to see you soon… Hang in there.'

From the far distant on a higher hill, Sanosuke's glowing eyes watched the wagon safety disappearing pass the gates and walls. He sighed to release his distress, but now there was another problem that rose. "…I saw Yuma," he notified. "It seems he's with the bandits. They seemed rather friendly towards each other."

"Eh?!" Kanon popped out from the tree and grabbed his arm. "Are you serious?! I can't believe he's here!"

Saburo jumped on her with an alarmed face. "Do you think Haru is the boss then?" he quickly questioned. While Kanon pushed Saburo off of her, Souji and Kyou both walked out of hiding. "What are we going to do now?" Saburo looked at everyone curiously.

"We stick to the plan," Kyou sneered. "There's nothing else we can do for now."

Souji glanced to the Oni, "…Really, why are you still with us?"

"Why can't I?" Kyou smirked to him. The only reason Kyou had in mind was his concern of Amagiri Kyuuju. Nothing more, nothing less.

Looking back, Sanosuke's eyes returned to normal. "I couldn't sense how many bandits were in the town," he told them, a bit ashamed of himself. Maybe he was too far. "Hopefully there aren't that many of them."

Kanon whined, "I hate this. If Yuma's here, then that means Ren is here too! What are we going to do now?"

Frowning, Souji told her, "We already said we'll stick to the plan."

"I'm just worried they'll get in the way," Kanon shot him a glare. "Since Sanosuke clearly stated the bandits were 'friendly' with Yuma, do you know what this means?"

Souji smirked hungrily and looked away to where the town was. "It just means more action," he chuckled. He could not wait to move his body again. He was tied up the last time too, so he would give those men a good payback.

"No," she slapped his arm. Souji was very still and slowly gave her an irritated look. "There may be more skilled people like Yuma and Ren in town." Kanon turned to look at Sanosuke. "Make sure you guys look after each other when you enter the town later. You got that?"

Saburo smiled, putting his arm around Kanon's shoulders. "Don't worry!" he nodded to her and she blinked at him. "We're men after all!"

Sanosuke let out a burst of laughter and patted on Saburo's head once, who looked a bit awkward because Sanosuke was laughing at what he said. "You really do know how to worry for others, don't you, Kanon-chan?" Sanosuke grinned. She flatly stared at him and then he gave Kyou thumbs up. "We're men, Shiranui. We shouldn't make the women worried, don't you agree?"

Scoffing, Kyou said with a small smile, "Sure. Whatever you say, Harada."

Kanon just had a sudden realization. She was surrounded by men. Oh, how she missed Yumeko already. Speaking of which, Kanon got out of Saburo's grip and she walked forward a few steps. "I hope Ayumu will be treated soon," she murmured and her heart sunk. He never woke up. Was that supposed to be a bad sign? And another problem was the money. To find a doctor to treat Ayumu, Kanon was uneasy about how much Yumeko and Ayumu had on them. Those two actually used to leave the village very often to do a bit of work in towns and cities. Then they would buy some extra clothes and other supplies seasonally as required.

"Looks like Kanon will be worried as long as her brother is still injured," Souji said, moving to stand by her side. He rested his hand on her shoulder and she glanced to him warily. "You worry too much," Souji gave her a half smile. "Look, even your shoulders are tensed. You'll grow old very fast and lose your beauty."

She shrugged him off and looked back to the town. 'So what if I worry too much,' she thought to herself. When her heart felt something bad might happen, she really feared that possibility. But it was always healthier to think more positively.

"So, Shiranui-san," Saburo blinked to him when he faced to the blue haired man. "You never told us about yourself, have you?"

Kyou looked at him curiously, "You ask this now?"

"Oh," Saburo slightly looked a bit embarrassed. "I'm sorry. Should we introduce ourselves again?"

"No need," Kyou smirked. "Sa-bu-ro… right?"

There was a strange hint in Kyou's voice and Saburo stared blankly. "…Have we met?" Saburo inquired, scratching his face. Kyou looked away with a secretive smile and both Sanosuke and Souji looked over to them. 'Oh hell,' Saburo's face turned upside down. 'Does he know me?'

"Saburo-kun?" Souji grinned to him, sensing something was amiss. "You look almost pale there."

"No, I'm fine!" Saburo hurried to smile. He started to laugh uneasily and went to hug Kanon from behind. "Kanon-san, hold me!" he cried rather insecurely.

She glared back at him, "What's up with you all of the sudden, Saburo?!"

While the two were arguing, Sanosuke pulled on the collar of their kimonos and broke them apart easily. "Quiet, or you'll both give our positions away," Sanosuke said, letting them go at the same time.

Saburo bowed quickly and Kanon frowned at herself. Souji eyed to Kyou and then over to Saburo. 'Something just happened,' Souji told himself, curiously staring to Saburo. 'Was my suspicion correct all along?' There really was something fishy about Saburo because he was rather easy to read.

But for now, the main issues are the bandits and have Ayumu see a doctor. Then they have to look for Hijikata and the others.

[…^…]

On the way through the town, Ryunosuke glanced around at the citizens. Most of them were in their houses and a few walked about. And then he saw a couple of bandits in their color-coded clothes. It would appear they were patrolling. What was going on? Hopefully the outcome would not be as bad he was thinking.

"Ibuki-san, you're back," an old man's voice called out joyfully.

To the right, Ryunosuke slow the horses a bit and smiled in relief the moment his eyes lay upon an old man with gray hair and small eyes. Dressed in dull blue kimono, he was sitting in a chair and taking a smoke. "Yep, I'm back, Fukui-san," Ryunsouke grinned. "I'm going straight to see Kosuzu so…"

"Go on, lad," the old man waved for him to continue his way. "I heard she was getting better. She would be trilled to see you."

That was great news! Ryunosuke leaned forward when the wagon blocked their eye contact. "I'll come and visit with Kosuzu!" he called happily.

Hajime was glancing to Ryunosuke as the old man bid him well. 'He has been getting along with other people socially as well,' Hajime thought with very faint smile. Ryunosuke grew up so much over the many months that passed.

Yumeko turned her head to the back of the wagon, staring at the old man as the wagon kept on moving. She saw a child going up to old man named Fukui and they shared bread together. Yumeko slightly envied the sight of them because they seemed to be in such cozy place with one another. '…I never had that feeling until I met Kanon and Ayumu,' she thought to herself. Her eyes glanced to Ayumu and her face was a bit emotional.

Observing her, Hajime sensed she was in great pain all of the sudden. But he could not offer words to comfort her. After all, he did not know her very well. Maybe she preferred the silence and he quietly obliged. '…I hope Hijikata-san is with the others,' he worried as he narrowed his eyes. Especially Chizuru, she was always around Hijikata Toshizo. Were they out there somewhere and living peacefully now?

"Hey, we're here," Ryunosuke looked back to them. He noticed their depressed faces, but they quickly looked at him calmly. "Go ahead and take that guy to see a doctor first. I'm going to park the wagon to the side of the hospital."

"Thank you," Yumeko said, hurrying to get Ayumu up.

While Hajime led a hand, Ryunosuke waited for them. The two left out the back of the wagon and Hajime carried Ayumu on his back. Yumeko's hand touched Ayumu's face, checking to see if he would respond. But there was nothing. Hajime looked to the hospital to the left. It only had two floors and the building was pretty wide. "Let us go in," he told Yumeko.

She nodded as Ryunosuke drove the wagon off. They both took Ayumu and headed to the entrance together. The front yard had a beautiful garden. There were tall leafy plants and colorful flowers in big brown pots. It felt so welcoming and Yumeko trusted on its aura that was given. As soon as the two of them entered through the doors, an older woman with brown hair looked up at them from the counter. She was dressed in a dark orange uniform and her hair put back in a bun.

"Welcome," she smiled with a bow.

Outside where Ryunosuke was, he had taken the straw hat and jacket off. His kimono was red, black, and orange and his pants were black. He made his way to the front and walked in. He did not see Yumeko and Hajime around, but he could always look for them another time. Walking up to the counter, Ryunosuke asked, "I'm here to see Kosuzu."

"Oh, welcome back, Ibuki-san," the same woman smiled. She tilted her head back, "Go right ahead. She has been getting better."

Ryunosuke smiled a bit, "I heard." And then he walked around the counter and made his way to the right hallway. "Thanks!" he waved a bit and the woman waved back gently. After a couple of steps, he started to jog. He had been dying to see her so bad and he could not wait to tell her he made enough to pay for the hospital fees.

Heading up the dark wooden stairs now, he soon reached to a door near by and slides it open. He smiled a bit wider when Kosuzu was drinking hot water by her. She looked up quietly and he walked in. "Ryunosuke," she smiled softly.

"How are you feeling?" he grinned, moving down to sit by her. Even if people were saying she was getting better, he wanted to hear it for himself.

Her hand moved to her mouth as she giggled. "I'm fine," she replied. He reached for her head and patted her head gently. "The doctor said I could leave tomorrow afternoon."

"Really?" he asked, resting his hands on his lap. He did not think she would get better so soon. Finally, they can work together again. He missed her so much! She set her half-emptied cup to the side and gazed to him warmly. "Hey…" his voice lowered and his eyes more serious. "Have the bandits come here at all?"

Kosuzu blinked, "…What bandits?" She had not heard of anything because it had been quite peaceful as of late.

Ryunosuke sighed in ease, "Good… then that means they hadn't cause too much trouble inside the houses and other places."

She tilted her head, "Did something happen?"

Not wanting her to worry, he suggested, "Get lots of rest. We can talk again later." He stood up, but then she grabbed for his hand. So he paused as he kneeled. "What's wrong?" he inquired. She looked a bit worried.

"…If there are bandits around, please be careful," she quietly said. Her fingers slid off his hand, but she held his fingers for a moment. "If it gets out of hand, don't do anything too reckless. Okay?"

He had to crack a smile, but the silence felt awkward. The two of them hated people who bullied the weak, but they were rather powerless themselves. What could they do? He nodded, "Promised. But—"

"Wait until I get better at least," she smiled genuinely. "I don't want you to run off without me."

Ryunosuke slightly blushed and gripped on her fingers gently. "Yeah," he grinned back, almost like an idiot.

"Oh, what fearless lovers." The two in the room turned their eyes to stranger who had an eye patch. The door was opened, so the man was just standing there, rubbing the back of his purple hair. "How cute," he grinned. "Makes me wish I had someone special too."

"…Um," Ryunosuke slowly stood up and turned to face him. "Is there something you want?"

"Nope, just passing by," the man chuckled, walking backwards. "Sorry for interrupting. Go back to your lovely aura of romance."

Ryunosuke flushed and wanted to give the man a good smack on the head. But Kosuzu was giggling and Ryunosuke calmed right away. Looking back to her, he said, "I'll be right back. Do you want anything to eat? I'll go and get your favorites."

She smiled up to him and replied, "It's fine. I already ate."

"Oh, okay," he nodded, blinking. "Then I'm going to check on my friends. I brought them here to the hospital with me."

Her eyes widened in surprise, "Friends you brought here?" What did he mean by that? She had known him to be rather hot-tempered, yet loyal, and the people would not able to work well with him. He grinned happily and she had a feeling he was excited about something, so she smiled wider and relaxed herself.

"Friends from the well known Shinsengumi," Ryunosuke told her.

"Oh?" her mouth covered her mouth. "That's great! They're here?"

Ryunosuke tilted his head, shaking his head, "Just Saito-san and a couple of his friends. One of them is hurt, so I assisted them here."

She nodded, proud of his action, "I see. Then you go to them. I'm sure you're worried as well."

Indeed he was. He waved and left out the door. Before sliding it closed, he smiled one more time. "Don't forget to get more sleep," he wanted to say.

Kosuzu sighed with her eyes smiling to him. She had more than enough sleep already, but she wanted him to feel no trouble. "I will," she nodded softly. Then he closed the door. She listened to his footsteps leaving down the stairs. Taking her cup of water, she suddenly heard movements beyond the window outside to her right. She turned to look and stared at it cautiously. No shadows. Nothing happened and she kept her breath steady. '…Was someone there?' she asked herself, sitting very still.

The world had been very restless after the war. Many wanted to believe it was well again. But Kosuzu did not want to trust everything was fine as Ryunosuke wanted to make it as. It was better to stay alerted than to think peace was finally here.

[…^…]

An hour passed already. The bandits at the gates saw Sanosuke, Kyou, and Saburo down on the path. Souji and Kanon were watching their friends closely. The spot they were hiding was closer than what they hid an hour ago. When their three friends were close enough, the bandits talked to them for a bit. And then they let them through without troubles. Kanon sighed and Souji looked to her without much concern.

"What should we do to kill time?" Kanon questioned, looking back at him. The two of them were hiding behind different trees, which were more than two yards away from each other.

He shrugged, "…Spar?"

"I'm too anxious to do something like that," she looked away with complete boredom.

Souji snickered at her and leaned against the tree with his shoulder. "Are you afraid now?" he taunted. She gave him a flat expression and he smirked. "Kidding. We should save our strength when it gets dark."

She snapped her fingers to point at him, "My thoughts exactly… but it's going to be a while though. What should we do to kill time?" She had to ask again because he did not have a satisfying answer. And before he even tried to think of something, she inquired, "Tell me about Shinseeeeeen… gumi?"

He blinked at her and she blankly stared back at him. "No," he said, looking away.

Sighing heavily, she walked off and he turned at her back. "Let's go for a walk then," she said. "Come on, Souji!"

What was her problem? She really cannot sit still, could she? Souji frowned and moved to follow her. 'I didn't want to talk about the Shinsengumi,' he mentally said to himself. It would only bring back painful memories that would never return and be the same again. He stared at the ground as he walked slowly. '…Kondou-san.' His death was still a heavy blow on Souji.

He was upset the first time when Hijikata was unable to project their leader. And how Hijikata had gone missing made him even madder. And Chizuru was always with him. Was she missing too? Is everyone safe and sound? It was so frustrating… Souji started to feel the urge to search for them, but he was stuck being with Kanon because of her power. Just how long would they have to be stuck together anyway? Forever? So many things were annoying him now. Just how much harder could life get?

"Souji?" He stopped walking and almost ran into her body. She was looking up at his green eyes curiously with her arms folded to her chest. "Are you okay?" she inquired.

Her voice was rather gentle this time. His muscles relaxed from tensing up from hearing her calling his name. "I'm fine," he assured her, smirking a bit.

'But you looked so damn sad,' she squinted her eyes at him. But if he did not want to say it, she would leave him be. "Well, we can't walk far either. Saburo got through the town… so maybe…" She walked around Souji and her eyes studied tall wall of the town. Souji glanced back to her and she faced him again. "Let's make our way to the back."

"…Whatever you like," he shrugged uncaringly.

She smiled at how easy he was listening now and she skipped backwards. "Okay, you better follow me," she expressed happily.

Souji scoffed, "Uh-huh…" He did not care what she wanted. He only wanted to get this over with. And then with a curious thought, he inquired, "Kanon, didn't you say we can't be more than half a mile from you? What if Saburo walks too far?"

"That's why I told Saburo to be with Sanosuke, who can sense presences, and at the same time, Saburo can lend a helping hand if Kyou runs off by himself," she replied with a snort. "Did you actually think I wasn't using my head?"

"Nope," he grinned. She was really thinking ahead? Too good to be true.

She snapped her head to him and the both were still walking. "Don't look down on me," she pouted, looking away. "People would hate you if you press them too hard."

Souji snickered, "I don't care what people think of me." She frowned. "Besides, you know how to deal with me. I'm not afraid of being hated at all."

"Ha, you make it sound like if everyone hates you, friends are all you needed," she said out loud.

He blinked and thought about what she said. It was pretty much correct. And obvious. He thought back about taking her kindness for granted. Maybe he should really try to get along with her a little bit more. "Then that means we're friends," Souji grinned. He would rather say that than to thank her properly. He had no desire to see her anymore conceited than she was.

She faked a laughed, "Huh, I don't know about that, but sure, I don't mind. I don't think I would hate you that much. I never really hated anyone at all."

"Because you shut yourself in your little village," he joked with a grin.

"I don't hate anyone," she glared to him, getting irritated.

For her not to hate, her kindness could not be at that level. Souji truly did not believe there were people like her around here. But she was still young. Perhaps that would be the reason why she never encountered anyone she hated. "There has to be someone you hate at least," he thought out loud with a frown.

Kanon shook her head, "Nope. No one. Hating doesn't feel good anyway. And it makes the world go around… I do argue, but not enough to hate." Souji returned a disbelieved expression. "Geez, what kind of world were you living in?"

Not a pleasant one, but he refused to answer. There was no point discussing this. He grew quiet and she started to ignore him. The two of them made their way around the town from a distance, with Kanon still leading. Souji let out a sigh with a thought, 'Why do I get a sudden feeling Sano-san purposely put the two of us together?' Wait. Sanosuke was not that kind of person. This was a serious situation… But what if Sanosuke did intend on it?

Thanks for reading!