A/N: My muse came back, but not for the story I wanted. Also, hooray, I found out I have some sort of issue with my wrists and it's quite painful to use my arms extensively (found out at work the hard way, had to go to the hospital) so writing gets a back seat. Ah...anyhow, I can't give up on it, no way. I just pul through and bite the bullet.
Anon, thanks for the interest. The fires were terrible but luckily for me very very far away from where I live. There were many dead and the damage was extensive; it was horrible. To think that all happened because the goverment didn't strongarm the program of installing the firezones as they should because people protested about tourism. Well, is this any better? Ridiculous. Ah, sorry, I didn't mean to go off there, but so much death and destruction for no reason, you know?
Well, let's change the subject; back to this story because I recently got a big shot of inspiration. I hope you love it as much as I do! Have a great day dearies, and I hope I can publish another chapter in my main story soon. Till then, be good, safe and happy.
Title: The Priestess and the Grump.
Genre: Fantasy, Adventure, Humour, Romance
Alternative Universe: Fantasy, Pathfinder
Tokio was a stubborn woman; Tokio was also not a show off and although she had realised that that would have been the fastest way to be accepted by the unit, she couldn't bring herself to do it, in the end. After all, why should someone as skilled as her be forced to endure this discrimination and, since that was the case, why should she be the one to try and prove herself? Not to mention, she would be forced to act in a manner that went against her character and all of that just so one particular man would stop talking smack about her—yeah, no. Thus, her thoughts became petulant...and so did her behaviour.
But that turned out as unhelpful as Saitou's sneer. And for all ten days she'd been with them, it was a mixture of derision, pouting and a breathless Okita trying to reconcile all parties involved. After all, it was just Saitou who continued this mode of action with her; the rest eventually started conversing with the woman. She was proud to say she made all of them laugh.
Twelve days into the uneventful trip, something finally happened. Just as she was in the middle of a very unladylike laughing fit somewhere around the middle of the long caravan, next to an extremely amused Toudou Heisuke, the horn was sounded. It was long and ear-splitting; an attack!
All other activities ceased immediately and everyone went into battle mode.
Ah shit; she was new. She had no idea what these men's positions were or – even worse – her own! She looked all around her to find all the unit captains take their positions in front of their respective unit...while all units, from one long line that the caravan had been until now, formed a two-men collective front. Impressive; their response time that is. Their formation, solid. But that is, only if they were facing an army. She had the sneaking suspicion that was not the case.
Without expecting anyone to tell her what her position was, she urged her horse to go forward.
"Tokio-chan! What are you doing, come back!"
As she was bypassing them, she heard Okita's cries of desperation for her to fall back – as if, what idiots – but she thoroughly ignored him. The unit leaders looked between them completely disbelieving, Hijikata close to gaping.
"Do you even know what we're up against!?" Nagakura was heard.
"Do you?" she countered, not too far away yet.
"No, but this is why-!"
"—you're all standing in a line?" She shook her head dismissively. "I am going to find out what we're up against and come back to tell you."
Hijikata had to grind his teeth and breathe in and out many times not to pounce. "For the love of Shizuru and all that is holy bring. That stubborn woman. Back. Right now." He turned to look at all of them. "Any moment now. I'm waiting."
But everyone was too numb to move; one second; two; a command split the tension then, and Saitou's horse shot forward!
"Goddess be with me, I'll kill her when I reach her!" he exclaimed to no one but himself as he was running to reach her. He never really lost sight of her, none of them did. It was just too shocking she decided to move on her own. They were a unit damn it! Units moved uniformly and no one broke rank, what the fuck was she thinking? Now someone else, most probably Okita, had to take command of his men while he ran after the damn spoiled priestess!
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he shouted before he reached "Come back now!"
"See these hills? The threat lies behind them. Your hawk warned you of the danger because it can fly, but none of you actually know how to talk to it so you don't know what that danger is. Your formation may be your undoing, or it could save you. If one doesn't make the trip to warn you, how would you know?"
"We always do the same: fight them as they come."
"That's stupid."
"That's all we can do. We are a band of samurai, priestess, no other professions; melee is our biggest specialty and our discipline our biggest asset."
"Not anymore you aren't, idiot." she spat the word to his face. "And I'll be damned if I let more people than necessary be hurt by your self-destructive practices." He moved to catch the reigns of her horse, but she skillfully moved out of range. "If you value your hand, do not try that again." Something in her tone told him she wasn't joking and he had to look at her twice. His respect for her went up a tiny bit but other than that, he was more pissed than ever.
"Hijikata ordered me to bring your ass back and that's what I'll do."
"We reached our destination, might as well let me see."
She gave him no chance to complain further, she jumped off her horse while he was ready to open his mouth. He could have smothered her right then and there!
"This is dangerous!" he whispered very aggressively after he too jumped off the horse and went next to her, both crawling on all fours.
The moment he stood beside her, though, he saw it: hidden by the trees on the hill their heads could peek out and finally spot the small army of Giants waiting for them. They were no more than twenty in number...but they were ten feet tall with huge spears and hair made of fire. Their eyes were orange and their skin dark, almost sun-burnt brown; their breastplates made of metal. And, strangely, they were all standing around the edge of the surrounding forest, as if waiting for someone to come out and into the clearing...
"Fire Giants," she simply stated then "armed and actually wearing armour, they'll be tough to hit. Not just any Fire Giants, too many of them are Polearm Masters. Not to mention they exhibit an unusual amount of patience, for such short-tempered creatures."
His eyes slid to her annoyed. "You know a lot."
"I am full of surprises."
He clicked his tongue displeased as she motioned for them to fall back. But her movement happened to coincide with the emergence of the one the Giants were expecting and they were both shocked to see it was their leader: an even bigger Giant with even darker skin and more threatening aura...the two exchanged but a look and made a run for the horses!
Up on the saddle in seconds, they ordered their horses to go forward with every ounce of speed they possessed.
"Where the hell have you-?"
"Much stronger than average Fire Giants heading our way," Saitou immediately reported, not giving Hijikata a chance to vent his anger "twenty one in total."
"Armed to the teeth, wearing actual armour. They—"
A terrible war cry was heard all the way from behind the damn hill; she watched as half the men visibly shuddered and really wanted to smack Saitou right now: discipline or not, every human being feels fear. "They are coming;" she persevered "and they have a semblance of command."
"We need to change formation immediately," she heard Saitou next to her and the look she gave him was unrivaled. He had no time for pettiness right this moment though, so he ignored her. "Their numbers are great; we'll be severely beaten on like this; we need to surround them." He looked back at the men, making a quick assessment.
"The two units with the best mobility should come around from behind them," Tokio beat him to it and now it was his turn to glare "and the one with the most fighting strength should take them head on."
"That's me and Saitou," Toudou offered instantly "we're the spearhead of attack."
"Nagakura and I will overtake them," Okita was quick to add.
"Takeda and Harada will be the support," Saitou ordered, feeling a little left out.
Hijikata nodded in agreement in a split second but only then did they all move to their places. "Men, we're moving!" and "Follow me!" or "Into battle now, with courage" were heard from the captains, trying to render the thundering of the Giants running and roaring as they went as less frightening as possible.
"You," Hijikata turned to Tokio "go at the very back of the fight, taking care of any wounded coming your way."
"That is ridiculous," she protested vehemently "a cleric isn't effective at such a position!"
"You will listen to the commands of your superior, priestess."
"I have no—..."
Hijikata and Saitou were glaring at her; she considered. This was a turning point for her place in the unit, she could feel it. She had only two choices really: one was to flaunt in their faces she wasn't inferior to Hijikata-sama in rank and let them deal with the fall out of that revelation while she did what she knew to be the best option, or, second choice, she could obey Hijikata-sama, pretend he's higher ranking than her and be a little accepted by the two very rigid men.
She thought fast.
"Putting me there, you doom your unit to more injuries than needed; when you decide to fight efficiently, you'll know where to find me."
She turned her horse around and went at the back without further protest; if the stunned faces of the two were any indication, she was slowly getting there. The moment she reached the back, facing Takeda and his men she jumped of her horse immediately. Staff on her belt, shield at the ready she expected all hell to break loose.
"Here they come men; fight valiantly!" Toudou tried to encourage his men.
"We're better than them and don't you forget." Harada, definitely.
"A samurai can do whatever he sets his mind to." there's Saitou.
"And if any of you get hurt, well, we have a cute healer waiting to heal you at the back so, go all out!"
That damn Okita; she had to smile at his simple-mindedness, as well as most men's, for they all finally roared back at the Giants, katana being drawn instantly. The men around her even snickered and elbowed one another as she shook her head amused. This was it. Her first battle with the unit.
Well, it was only Fire Giants, polearm masters or not. How hard can it be?
Very hard, turned out. Not for her, no; for the men. Too many injured, too many senseless violence. Couldn't they see they needed a system to take one down? Why was it, to her dismay, only Saitou's men seemed to get it? Toudou's men followed their example, after some time and with distaste she realised the unit's progress was directly linked with the captain's ability to discern these things. So, then, Saitou was just that good. Damn it, she had hoped he was all talk but no performance, she could easier disregard him.
But no, the bastard was as skilled as his arrogance made him out to be.
That is to say, the others weren't bad; in fact, in the end they all figured out the system. It just took them twice as long or, in Takeda's case, who almost willingly forwent battle and let his men wildly attack without a plan for a long time, it nearly took them all battle.
But they were victorious. The Giants were defeated without a single death, due to her well-timed interventions no less, and many wounds. "Gather as close around me as possible, as many as you can; no further than two metres."
The turn out was overwhelming, men even slamming into her. Hijikata was almost having a heart-attack, scared she would take it as an insult and nearly struck Saitou and Toudou to go and form a protective circle around her, but in the end, she was unaffected. All she did was bring her hands in front of her chest, fingers interlaced; after a moment, light spread all around her, as far as the farthermost end of the ringer.
That was when all three men, Hijikata, Toudou and Saitou, simply gaped. They watched with unprecedented interest as many of the open wounds on the men's faces, arms and legs simply...disappeared. They left no trace on the skin, as if they were never there. Only the ripped clothes and the drying blood that remained served as evidence something used to be there. They looked at one another dumbfounded. All these...all these wounds they needed so much time to make go away, she, she just...she made them disappear with a single thought.
She took a look around her. "Those who feel almost perfectly well, please leave the circle and let those who didn't make it the first time enter. You," her eyes turned to a man to her left who was ready to exit "absolutely must stay; I can still see the blood flowing, where are you going? And you," she craned her neck to look at the three high ranking men, increasing the volume of her voice "what are you doing just standing there? Come here right now!"
They gave a little collective jump and conformed with her at the same time; for some reason the men parted to allow them closer to her. She rolled her eyes. "So long they are within radius, it doesn't matter where you stand," she explained, a little annoyance slipping in her voice. And yet, they still did it; and these men, trying to be proper, maintained a certain distance from her, in which an entire person could fit, hence healing less than she could. She really wanted to smack the lot of them.
Shaking her head, hands still interlaced in front of her, she performed her magic again and...it was a foreign, but amazing sensation. None of them had been healed by divine magic before, it was so warm, and enveloping...it felt like a hug from something unseen but kind. It brought a relief with it they tasted for the first time.
When they looked back at her and her waning light she saw it in their eyes, the wonder; she grew thoughtful. "Is this really the first time you have had anyone heal you with magical means?" They nodded; she sighed. "This is why I said you don't know how to fight with a cleric in your team; we clerics are far more useful at the front lines, honestly."
"But we have to keep you-"
"—safe, yes, I've heard, vice commander. But that is not the way it goes; everyone always looks to me to keep them safe, in fact, and this role reversal upsets me. If I am not by your side, healing as I go, since that is my role in this expedition, then one of you might eventually die." Realising the rest of the men were still around her, she scolded herself. "Whoever is still feeling hurt please head to the other two healers; they are by the biggest carriage, can't miss them."
"Hijikata-sama," came Takeda's voice from the left "you, too, seem quite hurt; why don't you do as Tokio-sama has asked and head to the two men?"
"Not so fast," she stopped them all from starting an argument "the eight of you the Empress has asked me to take under my direct care." She let that sink in for a moment. "You're all in my charge."
"Oh, how splendid!" Takeda was the first to recover, actually rubbing his hands together. "Then if you'd please take a look at me, Tokio-sama, and my elbow right here; I think I've broken it."
She took exactly one look at it. "It's a just graze." It really was; she even saw it happen, too. "Now that you being fine is established please go and call over Okita-san, Nagakura-san and Harada-san."
"...as you wish, my lady."
She couldn't stop from rolling her eyes at his kiss-ass ways and the three men in front of her found themselves appreciating her a little bit more. "Now, I know you were the essential offense, but how in earth did you get yourselves so beaten? They were just Fire Giants!" She clicked her tongue excessively. "Let me take a look at you; hm...Hijikata-sama, how old are you?"
"Older than you..."
"Not old enough to sport these sort of injuries, though."
She took a deep breath; then her hands moved and they couldn't help but stare; fluidity accompanied her motions, as well as practiced grace; she muttered a couple of words, too and then...touched Hijikata's arm. The difference was obvious: open remaining gushes closed in a flash, his colour got better. His hair seemed to fluff up and...he stared at her. Then at his hand and his shoulder, rolling both. Then back at her.
"H, how did you know...?"
"I didn't, but I noticed when you battled; you favoured your left side although you aren't left handed. I believe only Saitou is left-handed, yes?" He nodded mutely. "So, I figured there was something lingering there. This spell is more advanced and it takes a lot more energy, but it is well worth it; now you are completely healed."
"So I am," he sounded astonished "so it feels." Her smile was genuine. "Once...once you're over with the rest of the men, please come to my tent; we need to discuss battle tactics."
"As you wish."
"You lot can come, too," he added as an afterthought, walking away, looking at his hand like a foreign entity.
Inwardly, her heart ached, but tried not to show it; just what sort of abuse and had these men went through, to become so powerful yet without any real assistance from someone like her? How could they still be alive? They must have been extremely enduring, their fortitude impossibly high...
"Heh, would you look at that. You got to him," Saitou said in a very Saitou way, although, the edge was a little rounder this time. She shrugged. "Battle tactics, huh? Next thing you know, you will be swinging that mace around..."
"That is not my function in this assignment; I shall restrain myself to my medical duties, as difficult as it might be." She gave him a wry smile which he returned. "Now, please let me have a look at you."
"Is...is it always like this when you heal us, Tokio-sama?"
"Oh gods, not you, too, Toudou-san; Tokio-san is more than adequate. And yes, it is; all divine spellcasters are using these spells and abilities."
"Not that necessarily, I mean...does it always feel like this? So warm and...all-encompassing."
"For the most part; it depends on the caster and the god they chose to worship. Basically, it's the deity's essence, filtered through me." She gave the two men a long, hard look. "I have no idea how you managed to survive so long without a cleric, honestly. Look at your injuries; without me, it would take you days to recuperate. What if an oni horde decided to attack? You'd be too wounded to properly fight back."
"This is nothing," Saitou finally let out what he'd been meaning to say for so long "we've faced much worse and made it."
"But there's no need to constantly gamble your life, in every battle. Some should be easy." He shrugged. "At least, even you must admit I do have my uses..."
"Alright, I admit; you aren't dead weight. But that's a far cry from actually being a productive member of the uni—...t."
He watched as she repeated the motions for the spell she performed on Hijikata, only him she didn't lightly tap on the arm, no; him she unabashedly slapped right on the bleeding injury near his abdomen. Toudou tried not to laugh; Saitou glared at her innocent look. "I want one of those spells, too, Tokio-san," Toudou commented "though I'd rather a gentle tap on the shoulder."
"Ah, not to worry; you won't need something so drastic." A deliberate pause. "You don't seem to treat your body with the same disdain he does." Her head nodded to Saitou who looked away. "Nor do you, like Hijikata-sama, have to juggle the finances of the unit and forgo treatments so others can afford a shield."
Just as she started performing different motions, just before she touched Toudou, a deafening "Tokio-chan!" made them all wince and a wild Okita ended up receiving the spell in the man's stead, as he tackled her in a smothering hug, preventing her from touching Toudou first.
Dazzled, Okita let go of her and watched his injuries disappear one by one yet all at the same time. "Oh, wow! I can't believe Takeda was right...it's gone. All of it!"
"That's the point of a cleric," she complained for the umpteenth time "why is everyone so amazed by the damn concept? This is one of the most basic spells. What's amazing is you all are still alive after who knows what sort of battles." She had to massage her temples to calm down.
"Just do your job and we'll do ours," Saitou decided to bring this subject to a close.
"It'd be great if you didn't rush into danger first thing, spearhead of the attack or not."
Saitou was truly, honestly, swears to Shizuru, going to leave; but then he heard what she said and every hair on his body stood straight. "Me? I rushed into danger when you took off on your horse to get to the damn hill separated from the entire unit!?"
"It was the right course of action!"
"Just because it turned out to be in our benefit this once doesn't mean it's right in general."
"Just because you've learnt to operate a certain way, it doesn't mean all other ways are wrong!"
"Oookay, I see you won't agree on this any time soon, so why don't you just heal us, Tokio-chan and argue about this later?"
"I'll gather the horses and then head to Hijikata's tent," Saitou said instead of continuing this any further, sparing everyone the trouble. As he was leaving, the two men noticed the dirty looks the pair exchanged.
Okita sighed. "You know, Tokio-chan, he's not like this, usually; yes, he's confrontational and infuriating but not like that. He always gives credit when credit is due."
She sighed. "He fought me from the moment I got here...now that it turns out I know what I'm doing he'll need time to adjust, I suppose."
The subject wasn't broached further; she simply healed the men in front of her, including those who came a moment later and altogether headed to Hijikata's tent.
.
.
"...why are there are so many people waiting for us?"
Four days later, the warriors' caravan found itself passing through a rather large town. Resupplying and taking care of any damaged armour, that sort of thing; maybe having a drink at a bar, a real bar, with women to make merry. Sleeping on a bed didn't sound all too shabby either. In other words, it was the day the men had to themselves to do nothing but have fun!
So, when they neared the town's entrance and saw a rather large crowd at the gates, cheering and waiting specifically for them, they were at a loss. This was the very first time a large body of people came across them and had a positive reaction.
"We did exterminate a dangerous band of murderous Fire Giants, Harada," Saitou reminded "and then picked off the infuriating tengu who tried to claim the turf as their own, as well as the oni that terrorized the farmers."
"Ha ha, I think we're just not used to people being grateful for our services," Okita excused Sanosuke and almost all the captains laughed.
The tengu ordeal was rather tricky actually; tengu fly. Fire Giants most positively did not. They were fast and slippery, a whole new world of problems. And since they were mostly grounded, it took much more effort than they would have liked or actually had taken them if they didn't fly. In this battle, Tokio had had her way and joined the fray at the first line; she was useful, Saitou hated to admit. She was skilled in her trade, moving gracefully and preventing any serious injuries and rearing in those who tended to forget themselves and maybe tried chasing after the enemy, when that was exactly what the enemy wanted.
And yes, him with his raw strength and fighting prowess and her with her supportive spells and well-timed suggestions, they made a surprisingly effective team. That didn't mean he had to like it...or that they didn't constantly fight about what the other did wrong. Both at the five battles with the tengu and the three with the oni, all in four days, they fought after each and every one.
"You are not used to praise from civilians?" she wondered out loud. "But the Empress told me of your record; most of your feats were for the people."
Toudou shrugged. "Apparently they didn't think so."
"And the few instances they did," Nagakura stepped in "some stuck-up snob, usually the lord or a relative, would convince them otherwise."
"So, your real problem is politics," she summed up.
"Bingo!" Okita winked as he talked making her chuckle.
"One more damn reason your presence here feels like a damn trap," Saitou snapped and she didn't find it in her to even glare, so used she'd become to his complaining.
"Well, the court isn't my biggest fan, so your statement doesn't hold water."
He snorted. "Oh please; spoiled, rich little priestess isn't everyone's favourite?"
"Not at all," she calmly elaborated "for my father was one of the most vocal anti-Jade Regent spokespeople; not to mention the Jade Regent basically whisked my brother away to be his "general", killing him in battle a year later, and kidnapped my oldest sister to keep in the capital as a future bride for one of his closest men, or even himself. That was the main reason I was sent to the West, to escape him...he didn't seize our property either, because we were strategically placed, although my father being very vocal about not wanting him at all. So, we ended up as one of the richest most hated families in current court, because all those kiss-ass bastards would bend backwards for the Jade Regent while we never gave in and now carry favour with her Highness." She snorted. "Politics are so dirty and disgusting, I formally asked my father to never leave me as the family's head, should anything happen to him. He accepted and passed it down to Touka; the middle sister—three years older than me," she had to explain.
All the men were looking at her intently; when she realised she blushed furiously, but managed to maintain her cool demeanour. "But what do you care about that? I understand I am more than privileged compared to all of you, my problems must seem laughable."
"Well, not really," Nagakura started "if you were any younger you'd run serious risk of being assassinated; if you were any older, they'd be pressuring you to get married to a noble of their choice."
"Ah, fear not, they already are; but there's no way I am getting married."
Harada snorted with laughter at her absolute refusal. "At all?"
"To a noble of their choosing? Most definitely. To someone, anyone, maybe; but that's a hard maybe. I have many thing I want to accomplish before even considering the potential."
"Like?" Takeda urged her to continue.
She considered. "Well...one of the reasons I so readily accepted the Empress's proposal to come with you to free the land from the oni was because I am also included in the reward; if I survive by the end of the expedition, should it be successful, I shall also be given my own small domain to rule. I have plans to make my own registry among other things, too..."
Saitou was the one surprised the most; how incredibly nontraditional. "But you are a woman; and I thought you said you didn't want to get married; how would you have enough family members to make a registry of your own without procreation?"
"There is adoption."
"But if you are by unmarried, how will you adopt anyone?"
She chuckled. "Are you implying I wouldn't be able to protect anyone who might be adopted in?"
"Well, no; yes." He seemed to be struggling. "How many people are you talking about? There will be servants yes, but age and gender matters."
"Say I adopt five children, no matter the gender; then take in five women; then, five men so the women have husbands or mates; already, there are sixteen people, me included."
"That is highly unorthodox," he commented, genuinely upset.
"So am I," was all she said about it, quite amused, and dropped the subject.
Ten seconds later, they all made a discovery: this was the first conversation these two held without anyone shouting in anyone's face. Then again, he must have been quite shook by the woman's revelations, much like all of them.
When they finally walked through the gates of the town, there was literally a huge crowd to welcome them; women and children of all ages holding flowers and men shouting words of gratitude. It really was something new to them, she could see from their mild panic. Deciding it would be best to handle this herself, she set the pace for everyone by having her horse strut. The crowd started clapping excited so they were satisfied; on the other hand, seeing the horse perform, they stood to the side so they had more room to maneuver. Seeing the end result, all of them decided to do something similar until they reached the stables.
Oh boy. When they dismounted Saitou instantly they never had, because now the crowd swarmed them! Women trying to touch their faces, hands, armour; men trying to congratulate them and sign their whatever; only children escaped his criticism for children were led around by their parents thus those were the ones who he deemed irresponsible. After the initial wave, three more followed much more tame in comparison; it didn't matter, they were already set two entire hours back.
He clicked his tongue, just as the last wave dispersed. "What do all these people want with us, anyway? Didn't we do enough by getting rid of the damn monsters?"
"I know this is a foreign concept to you, my friend," Okita started, hand on his shoulder "but some people just like being social."
"Ridiculous," Harada played along.
"Oh but indeed," Okita continued "they like talking to people; some even enjoy, should I break it to him" he turned to the rest briefly, all theatricality "group activities."
Saitou physically shuddered at that, causing Tokio to laugh heartily. "What group activities can you mean, Okita-san?" Nagakura humoured him.
"Why, a lovely young woman just suggested to me I meet her at the local pub tonight at seven, with five more of my friends."
"That is one group activity I would not say no to," Harada made his position clear instantly.
"Aye," Toudou agreed.
When Saitou growled to show his displeasure once more, they all laughed. "Why are you being like that, Saitou-san?" Okita teased.
"Because now you'll force me to come with you and you know I hate people hanging onto me."
"Aw, but you're so tall," Okita lamented and actually jumped on his back.
"and muscular," Harada dragged it on and jumped, too, both grabbing onto him from different places.
"and sturdy. You are made to have people hang onto you, basically. See?"
Without a single shred of shame, Nagakura grabbed him by the middle, too and now Saitou was standing there, looking unamused, with three human beings dangling off of him. Tokio was close to crying from laughter, holding on to her stomach, with Toudou being a close second, whacking Takeda on the back.
"You are all idiots." he stated and went his way...with the three men dangling as he walked. Tokio's chin hang, quite lamely, at the display of strength.
"We may be idiots, but you're so difficult!" Okita accused, never letting go. "Please come with us tonight, we want to meet pretty ladies."
"I don't mind coming, I just hate them touching me; why are they always touching me?"
"They are trying to seduce you, I believe." Harada explained.
"Now as to why any woman would try and seduce you is a mystery."
For the first time ever since she met him, Tokio watched as a teasing smirk crossed his features. "And here I thought you said I was pleasingly tall, muscular and sturdy."
"You're still an asshole though," Toudou could finally string together, wiping away at tears of mirth.
"Meh, women don't care about that if they are only going to have sex with you," Tokio waved all of them away, causing quite a lot of staring, without even realising, as she went back to concerning herself with her horse "which I'm guessing is the goal of these young women who approached you."
"Yeah," Okita admitted through a disbelieving laugh, driving himself to let go and finally stand on the ground again, just so he could elbow the man closest to him, which turned out to be Nagakura, who followed his example. "Why would you ask a bunch of strangers to drink with you and your friends otherwise?"
"Exactly; so who cares?" She turned to look at them and saw their I'm-about-to-burst-out-laughing-because-of-the-implications expressions and turned beet red. "Th, though I cannot say I speak out of p-personal experience, just things I noticed; and I'm not being judgmental even, each h-h-h-her own."
"Right," Toudou barely reared in the laugh "and what's yours?"
Every visible part of her was such a deep red, they started thinking she was going to have a heart attack. "Ah, ah, I prefer to focus on my craft, mostly. I d-don't have the time for distractions..."
"Hahaha, men are distractions, hear that guys?" Harada couldn't help it and started laughing.
"At least we found one thing you and Saitou agree on: romance is a distraction." Toudou turned to him. "Isn't that how you put it, too?"
"And I stand by it still."
"S-s-s-sure; I'll just go now..."
They allowed her the privacy to leave alone, and feel as mortified as she wanted all by herself, but they still watched her retreat with amusement. "Awwwww, she's so cute," Okita finally cooed once she was gone in the stable to talk to the people there "she was blushing and everything."
"Well, she's still a woman;" Nagakura reminded "we tend to forget because she's always in that armour."
"Remind me to tease her again tomorrow, as we leave," Okita addressed everyone "I really want to see her blush again."
"She was pretty cute, indeed," Toudou agreed and the two men wiggled their eyebrows.
"She's also very rich and unattainable," Takeda chose to comment on purpose, deflating them "and quite prudent, so what do you hope will happen? Simply because she was humbled during a very big part of her life, doesn't mean she's any less out of reach for you."
"I hope all they serve you tonight is bad sake, spoilsport" Okita snubbed and took off.
The rest followed closely, but Saitou was left last; what Tokio had said earlier on the horses, really surprised him. She wasn't as spoiled as he had originally thought nor as clueless of the world and the politics in it; hell, he could even say, as Nagakura pointed out, her life must have been in danger at some point, with almost certainty. Not to mention their opinions on certain things were very similar—or how they could fight so well when paired together. But...but she was still her, with her unconventional dreams and nontraditional way of thinking.
And he refused to believe he had been so wrong about a woman again—he didn't even listen to his instinct when he first laid eyes on her, just the logical part of his mind. After all, his instinct had led him very wrong once, when women were concerned, so he only trusted his logic. And his logic was warning him against this woman at every single turn damn it, instinct nonwithstanding.
.
.
"Hey, isn't that the woman that's traveling with you?"
"Humph, no wa—...oh wait."
Okita, and every man at the table with him, had to look twice at the woman that just walked in, headed straight for the far corner of the bar. It couldn't be Tokio...could it? This woman had long black hair, reaching all the way to her lower back; her lips looked too red, though they could tell no paint was involved. Her kimono was plain, no design on it whatsoever, but its colour was a rich, beautiful emerald green, with a golden, wide sash as an obi to hold it all together. The shoulders were slightly exposed but they could see that was the design of the dress.
And yet, when they looked at the woman's features, it was unmistakably Tokio's oval-shaped face, framed by her bangs, eyes that same curious black.
"It...is her," Nagakura drawled, surprised; the men looked at one another with the same expression. "What is she doing here?"
"Having a drink?" Toudou's designated date, a lovely brunette, answered naturally.
"Yeah but I thought she said men are distractions," Harada muttered but his own date clicked her tongue.
"Men are distractions but a drink is relaxing; we should invite her come sit with us!"
"No," came Saitou's immediate rejection. His expression was unreadable till now, but his tone was unmistakable. "She can have her drink separately."
"Aw, but look at her," his own date tried to make him see reason "sitting there all by herself, poor thing."
"There's no way she didn't see us when she came here and yet she chose the bar;" conveniently leaving out how he was amost agressive to her to deter her to join "everyone just go back to your drinks." Also, it was the fact they were on a collective date, so her approaching on her own could be seen as her trying to ruin their chances. Thankfully, no one pointed that out, too.
"So mean," Okita's date, the cutest out of all, commented.
"So be it."
Despite being the one who'd urged everyone to pay her no attention, it was him who kept looking at her from time to time, as if ascertaining her place. First time he looked, she nursed a drink; second time, she was sniffing a bite of the plate of food in front of her. She had struck up conversation with the middle aged bartender meanwhile, probably complimenting him on the food, because she kept pointing down to it. It wasn't too long a man went to join her, not one from the unit though, a local. She was conversational at first, but soon enough, he saw her eyes harden and quite absolutely drive the man away.
The second man approached her easier, and she even laughed. It wasn't unguarded, like today when they were joking by the horses, but it was genuine. And yet, that man left, too although nearly as fast or disappointed as the first. He was trying to catch her in a lie, throw in her face she claimed one thing but did another, but she seemed to be really introverted.
Then the bartender passed her a drink, looking perplexed; she sniffed it again. With a thoughtful look on her face, she drank the entirety of the mug in one gulp! Turns out he wasn't the only one looking, because gasps were heard from the men and women all around him at that. Then she gracefully put it down, searching for the one who gave it. When she spotted him, she stood up, took the mug to him and poured the man's drink in it. For some reason, she took out her flask, the one she kept all her dangerous ingredients and poured three drops in. With unparalleled determination, she banged the mug on the table in front of the guy and told him emotionless:
"Now you drink it."
The man remained there, looking speechless. "What, you passed me a spiked drink without even telling me it was drugged. At least I had the courtesy to do it to your face. But I drank the thing, didn't I? Now it's your turn; drink."
"Uh, I don't know what-?"
"Did you think I would miss the distinctive asphodel essence scent simply because it's a western plant?" The man started to shrink into himself. "And if you want proof—turn out your pockets. And your satchel, see if that'll turn out any suspicious empty vials."
"Uh, I, uh..."
"Do it now and I won't force you to drink all of that." she briefly nodded to the half-pint he'd put in front of him.
Then, it finally clicked in the guy's head, and he slowly tied his arms in front of his chest in defiance. "But if I had really spiked your drink how come you're fine after drinking all of it, huh?"
"Because petty poisons such as these don't work on someone like me." Every word coming out of her mouth was drawn out, dangerous, threatening; staring straight into the guy's eyes she leaned forward, nodding towards the drink one last time. "But now we get to test your tolerance. Didn't anyone ever tell you to never serve someone something you can't take?"
The man started sweating; his eyes went from the drink to her pouch, drink to her pouch, drink to her pouch... "Alright, I admit, I did it; don't make me drink that thing, please, I'm sorry."
Saitou tried to get up out of his chair and all but march down the guy and grab him be the neck; Okita shared a similar feeling and both were ready to pounce, had Nagakura and Toudou respectively not held them back, with quite the effort. All the women present in the pub simply clapped their hands over their mouths.
But Tokio deescalated the entire situation with a derisive snort. "You're not worth the effort." Unceremoniously, she grabbed the tankard and emptied all of its contents on his head. The man involuntarily twitched and tried to evade, but it was no use; everyone's laughter followed, and just like that they were forgotten. "But, if I were you, I'd go shower right now," she gave a final warning and walked away and back in her seat.
"Hmm, you didn't want her around but look at you, first out of your chair," his attractive date commented, not a hint of jealousy in her voice.
"Just because I don't particularly like her, doesn't mean anyone is allowed to do anything like that to her—to anyone for that matter."
"You're so ethical," Nagakura's date said through giggles.
"She's also a comrade," Okita stated absolutely.
"That's right; you mess with one, you mess with all of us."
"Ooooh, how noble."
"Just go back to your drinks, show's over," Saitou reminded everyone but his eyes lingered on Tokio as she sat back in her chair, accosted by the bartender who looked mortified – and must have apologised a thousand times – and even brought her more food, seeing she'd finished her plate. A man had just admitted spiking her drink and she had obviously drank the entire thing without a single side-effect. How the hell? Even him, well, not him, maybe Harada. Even Harada would have been affected by that. And yet, she remained perfectly sober, not even a sway in her step.
Incredible.
As the end of the date-night was fast approaching, seeing Okita had already left with the woman on his arm, and Toudou had just announced doing the same, the woman on his arm turned to him. "I'm guessing you do not wish to follow your friends' example, yes?"
"Indeed."
"Don't worry, I figured from the moment you walked in; I chose to sit next to you because of it. I only came for my friends' sake as well."
"That's a relief," he admitted, tone no longer guarded. "Do you want me to walk you home? After what happened with her, I feel it would be irresponsible to leave you here."
"Oh my, what a gentleman! I'd love to."
After they announced their plans to the rest at the table, they left; he caught Tokio's eyes following them to the exit; he decided to ignore it. "Thinking about it, maybe you should come back for her, too. She's already been targeted once."
"Actually, I was going to."
She giggled. "If I may, Hajime-san, you don't seem too convincing when you say you don't like her."
He rolled his eyes. "To allow anyone, especially a woman, be harmed because of my very biased opinion on them is wrong. Now stop talking about it or I'll throw you over my shoulder and you won't be able to talk anyway."
The woman laughed at his "threat" and immediately changed topics.
.
"Missy, this is the fourth drink you're having, five if one counts the spiked one; maybe you should slow down."
"I've been here more than two hours, it's normal; plus, I've been eating plenty! It isn't getting to me."
"Then something else is...I can see how your mirth is a little forced."
Caught off guard that he'd picked up on that, she reddened dramatically. "I, it's nothing, just...you know, these men and I are in the same unit, but not one of them came to sit next to me; or invite me to their table. I feel a little unwelcome."
"They are all men, right? I'd be a little careful, too if I were them."
"But half the men in this bar are comrades; not one came..."
"Aw, cheer up; do you want me to tell my wife to bring you more food? I'll have her make her signature sandwich."
The prospect of more food made her heart flutter; "yes please! She cooks wonderfully."
It hadn't been more than five seconds the sandwich was delivered in front of her that she took the first bite; hmmm, it was so savory and delicious and that sauce they used to flavour it was heaven! Food did make her heart relax, after all. She could have ten more of these with ease!
"Be prepared, be prepared," the bartender whispered in her direction suddenly "one of the men who were here came back, coming straight for you."
She had to fight with herself not to turn around and see who it was, but if he was coming to her, she'd find out soon enough. Deciding to take a bite, she almost chocked when she heard that absolute and crisp "you," that only one man could produce, and only when it had to do with her:
Saitou.
She coughed a little, but swallowed. Her eyes expressed surprise."Why are you here?"
"Get up, we're leaving."
"Pardon? Why!?"
"It's late and someone already tried to poison you. We all need the sleep, too."
"B, but I just got my sandwich; and it's delicious."
"I don't care." It did look very good though.
"Neither do I, then." She blew air out of her nose. "Why are you here anyway? Didn't you leave with that cute girl?"
"I walked her home not that's that any of your business" oh no she'd said that out loud!? "and now I'm back to do the same for you, especially since your room is next to mine."
Her cheeks burnt red. "I can take care of myself; and I'm not going anywhere before I eat my delectable food."
"Fine," he said then, in a rare show of compromise "we'll stay here till the sandwich is eaten."
"Great!" She took a large – for her standards bite – and savoured it. He could see she meant to do that for every bite, too; giving him a big smile, she put the food on her plate and reached for her beer. But that was her biggest mistake because Saitou picked the damn thing up without hesitation and gobbled it down in three bites. She watched with horror as it was being devoured with her chin hanging.
"M-my sandwich!"
"There, it's finished; can we go now?"
"You ate my sandwich!"
"Well, it did look tasty; and I was very hungry; besides, you eat like a rabbit, we'd be here all night. Now move; a deal's a deal."
As she begrudgingly stood, leaving coin to the bartender for all of her orders, she started muttering "I can't believe you just ate my food like that" and "what an animal" as well as other accusations; it inwardly made him smirk. It was a funny situation after all, and if only the remaining assholes at his table – meaning Harada and Takeda – could stop staring so incredulously would be great.
The entire walk back to their inn was silent, save for her scattered protests and her dubbing him "the fearsome food thief". "We're here priestess," he pointed out the obvious as they reached their doors, which were literally directly next to one another. Who had thought of putting them so close, he had no idea but if he ever found him, he'd regret it.
"I can see that, food thief."
"We meet at the stables tomorrow morning at eight; don't oversleep or we're leaving without you."
"I wouldn't give you the satisfaction."
"I don't know, you ate and drank a little too much."
"Nothing I can't handle."
"Bringing that up, how the hell can you be okay? He admitted he poisoned you!"
For the first time in their acquaintance, he was truly curious about her; and for the first time, she looked arrogant, eyebrows raising in challenge. "I just have a naturally high tolerance, cultivated from experiences, from before we ever met."
"...that sounds like a very roundabout way to say "wouldn't you like to know?", if I'm not mistaken."
"According to you, you never are." He glared; she chuckled. "Have a nice night, Saitou-san."
Just as she was about to leave, he grabbed her arm, effectively stopping her from opening the door. Her eyes snapped to his a little alarmed, but not fearful; there was something so open in her expression, he felt a little self-conscious. "All I care to know is if it's something that could come bite us in the ass later, that's it; I'm not trying to pry into your personal life."
"..." She weighed the truthfulness of his words with his actions; she had some sort of bullshit detector built in and, watching his eyes intently, she could safely say he was being honest. She smiled, looking down. "I am quite resilient to most things; I acquired this certain ability through countless battles mostly and that's the entire truth."
"So, you're telling me you've been exposed to much worse stuff and survived thus built a tolerance for it?" She winked and pointed at him with her free hand at the same time. "...like what?"
"Oh, that's a very long story, and if you're truly worried about making it on time tomorrow, I suggest we save this conversation for another time."
He gave her a long, hard look. He was going to say yes, he knew that much, but for some reason, the sudden mystery compelled him; he wanted to know now. It wasn't as late as he made it out to be, he could last with a couple of less hours of sleep. He only had to push a little and he was sure she'd give in. But something kicked internally; the thought of him joining her in her personal room, dressed as she was, for whatever reason, felt inappropriate. And if anyone happened to catch a glimpse of it, what would they think? Not that he'd do anything, naturally, but...and that but made him hesitate.
"Very well; but now I'm curious." She nodded gracefully; he grimaned because he thought she was trying to evade him. "You won't get out of this conversation, I'm quite stubborn."
"Last I checked, it's you who keeps avoiding me like the plague." He swallowed his words at that, unable to counter her honesty. "And now, if you're kind enough, let go of me, I think I'm starting to bruise." A chuckle. "Quite a grip you have there."
Was he still grabbing her? How uncouth; and how weird, he swore he let go of her the moment she answered him. "Forgive me, Tokio" that was spoken with utter honesty and let her go as cordially as possible "have a good night."
He failed to notice her brighter cheeks at the casual way he said her name; this was the first time he ever called her by her name, too and it sounded so natural. She inclined her head, to hide her increasing colour. "You, too, Hajime."
She turned about and closed the door without sparing him a single glance; shrugging, unaware of her internal struggle, he walked into his room, too. Although, the way she squeaked out his name was very cute.
A/N: Second chapter done; two more coming on this, I believe. Please tell me your thoughts, I'm always eager to know what my readers think.
Love you huns, many hugs and kisses,
FAI~~