In every breath, life or universe

by FallenAngelItachi

A collection of multiple takes on the relationship of the same two people: Saitou and Tokio. AUs galore. Each take will span a couple of chapters, maybe three. Credit to legalronin, she did it first. Just wanted to try my hand, too.

7. The Priestess and the Grump, Part three

A/N: Good lord, this has been a wild ride. I've been writing non-stop, my wrist hurts like a bad bitch but I wrote a whooping 18.000 words in two days brah, how? Inspiration, you know? Crazy. Well, it still hurts a lot and I need to wear my hand othesis but at least I no longer move huge boxes around, the reason I got worse on the first place.

Anywho, this is the next part of the story. It's huge, I know, but it needed to be. This had to get out in one chapter, to be cohesive. I could devide it into two and make this a five or six-parter but this way the plot is better served I think. And due to worries about size, I didn't finish my previous story the way I wanted, so I'm still bitter about that, too. Sorry.

So, huge chapter ahead, I think the biggest one I have ever written. But don't be intimidated by it lovelies, it really reads well, effortlessly, too. I hope you enjoy it~!

Title: The Priestess and the Grump.
Genre: Fantasy, Adventure, Humour, Romance
Alternative Universe: Fantasy, Pathfinder

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"Where the hell have you been?"

Tokio looked back over her shoulder more than a little surprised to hear these words leave Saitou's lips, out of anyone's; not the swearing part though, that made sense. But the annoyance, the worry and impatience were all there; how odd.

"What in earth?"

Just as Okita, who was standing next to him, tried to explain, he started talking again, in that same exasperated tone. "We were looking for you everywhere! Went to the blacksmiths, already left; went back to the stables, not a trace; took a look at the tavern, nowhere to be found."

"Then maybe you should have asked Hijikata-sama."

His eyes became smaller. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Ever since he decided we should be making regular stops along the towns we pass by, I make it a point to help people in need, a fact I have made him aware of an entire month ago. Hence, I have been, for the past hours, tending to the sick of this lovely town."

He looked completely taken aback, as Okita looked impressed. "Way to go, Tokio-chan."

"Why?"

She laughed disbelieving. "What do you mean, why?" Suddenly her face became thunderous. "If you start going on about resources, I swear to god, I won't hesitate to punch you—they come directly from my pocket so I take no shit from anyone about how I spent them. My money, my rules. Or do you think all of the services I provide are paid by the unit's funds alone?" She snorted. "Please, you'd all be dead by now." The two men gaped at her honesty. She shook her head. "Sorry I came off a little aggressive, Hijikata hadn't been accepting at first. I didn't want a repeat..."

"But why?" Saitou simply repeated, confused as ever.

"Because that's what I do." He didn't seem any less confused "That's what clerics do, help people." He still didn't seem able to process it. "Know how you instinctively reach for your sword whenever you see an ogre? It's the same, only I reach for my pouch when I see sick people; I like helping, that's all." He remained staring at her, slightly unfocused; her eyebrows came together, concerned. "Okita-san, I think I broke him."

The short man burst out in laughter, as Saitou finally collected his wits. "That's..." amazing, his brain completed, but he dared not compliment her out loud "irrelevant," he finally made up his mind "and it's actually Hijikata who asked us to find you."

Resisting the urge to roll her eyes dramatically at that, she simply followed their lead. Heading back to the stables, they took their horses and headed to their camp.

But "camp" was a poor way to describe it; it wasn't an exaggeration to say their encampment resembled a village of tents, actually, with a solid structure plan. At the core of the "village", naturally, stood the commander's tent, more imposing than everyone's, that also served as a command centre - currently just as a command service, due to Kondou's absence – ; next to it, naturally was the vice-commander's. Both were deep red, to stand apart both in size and importance. There was a little circular path around them, which felt a lot like a moat without any water or depth, after which the captains' tents stood, proud and cerulean, a lighter hue of blue than one would expect. They were bigger than the rest forty-something tents all around them.

And that was only the ones they slept in. There were more to go around, like the one that served as an armoury, another as a hospital, a mess hall...for men on the road, they certainly allowed themselves relevant luxury.

Of course, the biggest tent wasn't Kondou's, no; the biggest tent was way off centre, a little remote, in all its emerald glory. In fact, the colour of the tent was the same green as the jade on the Empress's throne. It was rather spacious and the only one that was a circle in shape: eight by eight metres, it stood to three metres height, the tent of their cleric, Takagi Tokio. The actual hospital tent wasn't that one either, to excuse the size. That was at the right, immediately as you reached the complex of tents. On the left was the pen for the horses and the first place the three headed to leave their horses to rest and eat.

Then, they continued to the very core, entering the command centre, only to be greeted by a very displeased Hijikata, who was all but tapping his foot on the floor. "What took you so long?"

"You didn't tell us Tokio was going around performing acts of kindness to the townspeople, Hijikata-sama!" Okita informed a little too cheery.

"You hadn't noticed yet? Where do you think she disappeared to for so long?"

Saitou sighed, pushing through all the stupidity. "Why do you need us, Hijikata?"

"I'm leaving for a while," he went straight to the point, earning himself surprised faces "and I want you three to split my duties between yourselves. Well, not exactly. Saitou, you are to act as vice-commander in my stead, undertaking full responsibility for the unit both at war and peacetime."

The proud man felt his chest puff up involuntarily, despite fully realising how much of a burden this was for now both natural commanders of the unit would be absent.

"Tokio, as far as you're concerned...I know your actual rank in this mission is the same as mine. Although you have deliberately never overruled any of my decisions, I wholeheartedly ask you not to do the same with Saitou, if you feel it is a matter of life and death or he's making a catastrophic choice. But only then."

Saitou barely managed not to look stupid at the revelation, but Okita didn't; they had no idea. Their eyes slowly turned to the woman then, fearing she'd be over the moon, but, in a strange turn of events, she was actually concerned. "Of course, knowing you, you will have an opinion about everything, but please try to reign it in. And you, Okita," Hijikata sighed "you have the most important duty of all."

There was a pause, the older man building the tension on purpose. "You have to be the mediator between them."

Okita's face fell; Hijikata appeared sympathetic. Unexpectedly, both parties involved shook with repressed laughter.

"You're so screwed," Saitou almost whispered through his mirth and Tokio couldn't help but nod repeatedly.

"You are," the vice-commander admitted but cleared his throat immediately. "This goes in affect tomorrow at eight in the morning, when I shall take my leave. I am expected to be back the day we depart; in case I am not back by then, you have my permission to pack up and go anyway. If, for any reason, you decide leaving is more dangerous due to some unforeseen event, you are allowed to overrule my current decision."

"Yessir," they chorused.

"Any questions?"

Okita raised his hand. "Should Saitou take your tent?"

"Yes, it'd be better that way."

Okita spoke again. "Should I take over Saitou's unit?"

"No need," Saitou answered for himself.

"What if we must reach a serious diplomatic decision while you're away?"

Heh, nothing escaped that woman; he had no idea how he found out, but he was going to attend a meeting of the local lords and some representatives of the capital – but not the Empress herself – to decide what their official purpose as a unit was. "I trust the three of you to make an informed decision." She seemed satisfied. "Anything else?"

"No, sir."

"You are dismissed."

Okita looked between the two now basically in charge. Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy, this spelled trouble any way you looked at it. He sighed for these two were already sizing each other up. How was he ever going to mediate that?

.

Upon finding out, congratulations to the captain flew out of everyone's mouths as well as encouraging pats on the back. Tokio was brushed aside completely, consciously or not, but she hadn't particularly minded, she was allowed to go to her tent in peace. She needed her rest tonight. Going to bed a little earlier wouldn't hurt...although she did burn with desire to go to town with the rest. Apparently, the entire unit, all sixty something, doctors included, would go to the bar to celebrate the promotion of one of their own. But, sadly, as that first night they had found themselves at a pub, every time she joined them, they all kept their distance. As of yet, not one single individual had invited her to their table or pproached; only Okita had gone to her, once or twice.

But not more than that and never did they ask her to go to the captain's table. She was always alone. She did promise herself though, not to be discouraged; maybe one more night out all by herself, wasn't as terrible as she made it out to be. She'd be surrounded by familiar faces anyway. It wouldn't hurt any more than it already did...right?

Wrong; watching everyone make merry with their new acting vice-commander, while completely forgetting about her, felt like shit. And that bastard made it none easier, showing he was acutely aware of her presence the entire time, simply not caring to ask her to join...although she was still higher ranking than him. But she wasn't petty; she asked the barmaid to take him a drink, ego be damned. He nodded to her in thanks as he drank it but other than that, did nothing else.

Asshole.

Next morning was harder; she had no headaches or a need to throw up, like most of the men did – she could really hold her liquor – but she had to contend with almost every single person calling Saitou vice-commander thus granting him all the importance he had already bestowed upon himself. She could feel her brow twitch in ten minutes flat. Well, that was quite alright; she was strong, she'd shoulder this, too. She only needed to go into town and take care of her patients and she'd forget herself in no time.

That tactic had worked well for the first few days; but the time to depart had arrived and Hijikata was nowhere to be found. Only his letter was, advising them to leave and he'd meet them next week. Gritting their teeth, they did so and continued packing their things. They were gone in three hours.

After that, they recommenced their trip to even norther places, just as they had decided on that first meeting. The route they were following was the exact one, in fact...but where there had once been luscious forests now only stood dying greenery or destroyed settlements. The more they ascended, the bigger the disaster. Tokio was a naturally compassionate person that earned men's favour usually, but after with her daily stops to help the people she saw and couldn't just leave there, as they'd wanted her to, she had garnered a lot of complaints. Not only was she setting them back, she was forcing them to wallow in self-pity and horrible scenery every single day: burnt or uprooted trees; demolished buildings; barren land where once used to be rice fields; and of course, death and devastation no matter where they looked.

What...what in earth had caused all of this? This scale of destruction, only natural disasters left behind, but the people Tokio treated would only talk about "the apex of all their sins", "the monument to their debauchery"; a creature so horrible to behold the sky went dark and everything around them shook; it would split the heavens and burn their houses. And, it was all their fault: the deeds they committed while the Jade Regent was still in power, came back to haunt them.

There even used to be a city half the size of Kasai around, one that was very pro-Jade Regent, but now only ashes remained.

They eventually saw it, too; it was a vast place, filled with nothing but half-burned, half-knocked down structures that once served as houses, city hall, hospital...all was destroyed. But the biggest loss of all was the people; in such a densely populated city, only one fifth was left behind; a whooping eighty per cent had disappeared, gone with the wind and the hideous creature.

The men felt humbled; the doctors desperate; and Tokio...furious. It was lucky this all coincided with them finally camping somewhere—the devastation would serve as a motivator.

"Whatever this is, we need to track it down and kill it," was the eventual decision the "council" reached.

The council consisted of the six captains, with Saitou having the final and decisive word; Tokio never participated, they simply told her the conclusion they'd come to. If she agreed, she allowed them to proceed; if not, she threw her own idea and if it was already discussed but dismissed, they'd try to reason with her. If she insisted, they'd reach a compromise. If the idea she presented though was new, Saitou would think about it and act accordingly. So far, the score was council 10 - Tokio 3.

So, when Saitou came to announce their decision to her, she readily agreed.

"Really?" She nodded grimly. "I expected you to be against it, not knowing what we're dealing with."

"Whatever this is, it's been decimating these northern parts; I have no idea where it came from, but I swear to God, I will do whatever I can to find out and send it back."

"You're upset."

She decided not to comment ; after all, her outward calm demeanour was a little misleading, so she deflected. "What did Hijikata's letter say?"

"Due to whatever it is that's attacking, the meeting has been postponed and the lords are trying to throw together a task force. He, too, expressed the sentiment for us to act."

"But he's already higher than us; so is the creature and the task force they are putting together; I think, whatever this is, they'll run into it first. For the sake of the people, I hope they can contain it but—..."

She forced her face into a neutral expression, drawing a deep breath. "All we can do is hope right now; it'll take us a while to find it."

He looked at her for a long time. There was something there that bothered him. "There's something you're not telling me." She looked away in discomfort and he knew he was right. "Tokio...!"

"If this thing is so powerful it resembles a force of nature, I don't know how effective that team will be; or our own team, even." She looked at him square in the eye with more severity than ever before. "We mustn't take the rest of the men with us. A team of six will be ideal. Yes, I said it right, not seven; if we bring Takeda and count on him when forming a plan but he skips, we are done for."

"But if we leave to face that creature alone, the unit stays without command. And no, I shall not pass my duties over to the snake."

"That is a legitimate concern; maybe if we allow him to simply enforce our orders?"

"You know he'll get advantage of it anyway."

"Is this anytime for selfishness?"

"I don't want the unit to dissolve because of him."

She found it in herself to chuckle. "We can march only when we are certain of its position and leave Takeda in charge for mere hours. No matter what, someone will come back till midday, to take over command; you don't mind Okita or Toudou leading in your stead for a while, yes?"

"...no," he decided. His eyes slid to her. "But why not you?"

She glared. "Oh yeah, boot the cleric from the party, the sole magic user, how insightful." He gave her a look. "Besides, I might not look like it, but I can fight. Really fight."

He stared at her for a long time; dependable, peaceful Tokio wasn't in the habit of lying or agreeing to senseless violence, so if for any reason she was sent back, she would not appreciate it at all. He naturally had to be the vanguard of the attack as he was the best fighter out of the five, with Okita a close second. Then Toudou, then Nagakura and in the end Harada. That is to say, they were all exceptionally gifted, but between the five, that was the order. So, Okita was out of the question; so was Toudou; Harada would hurt less, in terms of strength, but Nagakura was the most gifted as far as leadership was concerned.

He sighed.

"It will be Nagakura," he finally decided and felt like the weight of the entire world just settled on his shoulders "if it comes to that."

"I approve of this choice." Hers, too. They looked at one another for a long time. "May Qi Zhong and Shizuru be with us."

She needed to pray and pray a lot. Maybe, if she was lucky, she'd be able to have her questions answered; she just needed a lot of expensive incense and holy water, but gladly, she had both.

.

Saitou was a very calm man, who rested heavily on routine to get through each day; and right now, eleven am, it was nearly time to sleep. Eight hours of uninterrupted rest and he would be up and about tomorrow early enough to train without people around to annoy him. But just as he was settling down, determined to face the next day with as much as optimism as he could, the door of his tent flew up in the air!

So did his nerves. "What?" came his snippy response instantly, but he was almost knocked down when Tokio all but invaded his field of vision – and personal space – and grabbed the collar of his kimono.

She looked like she had just come to a groundbreaking revelation, eyes wild and hands shaking. She too was wearing nothing but her sleepwear – a very basic kimono – hair a regular mess. He stared, a little worried.

"I don't know exactly what we're dealing with and it's gonna be a colossal problem but I know where to find it!"

She shook him as she spoke, letting go a little indelicately when she turned around to reach the maps. Slightly stunned, he reached for the candle – forgoing the lamp because he had no intention of anyone seeing Tokio in his tent – and offered some light. "It's only half an hour worth the trip on horseback from where we are!" Her finger traveled from their spot on the map to a village called Hiroaka. "It's going to be there in two days from now and we can finally face it."

"How can you possibly know that?"

She pretended she never heard his question. "I also know the lords' attack force failed; they went today, they were all killed. Hijikata's letter reached us too late; the man himself is safe though."

"But how-?"

"We have to do this; and we have to do it right: on the second day, we ride out and reach the village; tomorrow, we sent Okita and Nagakura as scouts; then we're all set."

"Alright, I agree; but how did you come by this information?"

She looked to the left; she looked to the right; then down and finally massaged her temples. "If I tell you, you have to promise you'll believe me." A pause and a look. "And maybe keep it to yourself."

That was never a good sign. "Go on..."

"I've...been speaking with divine beings; they answered my questions as best as they could and this is what I got out of them. They can only answer in yes or no format, see, hence I couldn't accurately determine the type of creature that's been wreaking havoc."

"You were right not to tell me," he deadpanned "that sounds ridiculous."

"Aaaaah, I knew you wouldn't believe me! But it's the truth, I swear; please, we have to act. We have to reach it by the day after tomorrow or who knows how many more people will meet tragic ends? And...and we might die, too, I warn you; some of us may fall. But I think I can do damage-control."

"One of us for all of that is a small price to pay; even if it was me that got killed, I wouldn't mind. That's not what I fear." He looked at her for a long time. "But if I listen to you and it turns out to be just mad ravings, we'll have lost precious time."

"I am positive it will be there."

Ten seconds; that's how long it took him to incline his head in compliance and it felt like an eternity; but when he did, she honestly, actually wrapped her hands around his middle in a surprise hug and squeezed! "You will not regret this, I swear."

Was it his idea or was he feeling discomfort from her pressure? She was kind of strong, huh? "R, right...relax." He awkwardly stroke her back once or twice otherwise she would never let go of him, as he blew out the candle at the same time. And yet, it didn't bother him as much as it was mostly his brain screaming "this is so easy to be misinterpreted" that caused him to panic the little he did. "And go to sleep; it's late. You need the rest as much as any of us."

"I know, forgive me," she actually bowed "but I had to make sure you agreed to this; I didn't want to say it in front of the others, too they tend to be immature."

She wasn't wrong; and making someone feel good about themselves was always a great way to seal the deal, he had to hand it to her. "Don't worry about it; I won't change my mind." Her smile was appreciative. "It's not like they have much choice either."

A chuckle. "Too true, acting commander."

A small smirk escaped him. "Vice-commander."

Her eyebrows rose. "But I thought you were filling in for Hijikata-sama."

Inside jokes never went unappreciated; he smirked in his usual arrogant way and shook his head. "You can leave now, shadow commander." Her laughter was immediate but silent, recognising the need for stealth at this time of night. "And next time you decide to storm my tent, please choose to wear something else."

Even in the dark, he could see how her cheeks dusted with pink, looking at herself critically; big deal, she was wearing a red, silk kimono robe. "I had no mind or time to change to deliver these extremely important news to you."

"It's your reputation on the line if anyone sees you," so, I'm making you a favour telling you, was implied.

"Have a pleasant evening, Hajime," she bid goodbye all proper and superior.

And just as suddenly as she came, she left. Although he wasn't expecting that to be the case, sleep came hard after that; somehow, he could still feel the soft fabric grazing his fingertips. How strange; it had never happened to him before.

When the men heard of his decision the next day, he wished he hadn't had trouble sleeping. The entire goddamn unit had something to say about it! None could contradict him - Saitou did rule with an iron fist and the way he thundered them, made all talks stop - but it didn't stop them from complaining to others about it. Even rumours started flying all over the place, most of them included Tokio and how she must have strong-armed him into this uncharacteristic decision. There's strength in numbers, they would champion, and value in seniortiy, hence it was ridiculous the newcomer would go on this quest rahter than one of them.

So, it was no surprise that not long after eight, once their official duties for the day had ended, two dozen men approached Saitou in his tent. There were too many of them to fit in the thing, and yet, they crowded him. He groaned internally; this was a bad omen for tomorrow.

"What do you want?"

"Sir, we are officially petitioning you to let us fight at your side."

"There are some dangers better faced with only a few people, Daichi," he retorted.

"Sir," the same one continued, one from Saitou's sub-unit, too "we must feel useful somehow."

"Then, tomorrow morning, you are allowed to help with rescue efforts in the neighbouring villages, or stop poachers and black marketeers."

"That is not the duty we were looking for!"

"But it is the one you're assigned; why not help if you'll be confined here anyway?"

As if he'd said the one thing they were expecting to prove their point, the men looked between themselves. The one next to Daichi urged for him to go on, and only then did he take a deep breath, bracing himself, and continued: "Sir, with all due respect, the words coming out of your mouth make you sound more like Tokio-sama than you."

Saitou stared, face taking a very severe expression; had they just implied that she was influencing him? He was sitting down until that very moment, but that sentence compelled him to stand to his full height, as straight as he possibly could, intimidating everyone around. "Tomorrow morning the six of us shall head out and the rest of you will stay here. If I hear even one of you left this caravan for anything other than aforementioned reasons, I will personally see to it that this person faces me in a one-on-one, no bars held, duel. Do you understand?"

Daichi had difficulty swallowing then; the rest simply shook a little. "Now, what do you do tomorrow?"

"Help with rescue efforts or handle small-scale scuffles, sir! Or stay put."

"Exactly. You may go now. And don't ever let me hear you speak that drivel you were spouting earlier again."

Of course, the threat lost its weight when at the exact same moment Tokio walked in, map in hand. He wanted to pinch the bridge of his nose so hard right now...! At least she was fully armoured this once.

"We-..." She noticed the inordinate amount of people glare at her and stopped to return a confused look. "Why are there so many people in here?" They were about to leave, too, but her arrival stopped them.

"They came to express their disappointment with their appointed duties."

"And what exactly do you think is unfair to you?"

"We want to participate, not sit back and let you risk your lives for us; we aren't useless. We want to fight this thing with you!"

"And you will, in your own way." He was having none of it. "Not all assignments fit all people."

He clicked his tongue. "That is sophistry."

Oh no.

He must have said something wrong, because for the first time in their lives, they watched a woman take such a deep breath; her own impatience was reaching unfathomable levels and whatever this thing was, it was getting to her the most, even if she didn't let others see it—others than Saitou anyway. Then her vein twitched and she was barely holding back the storm but when his challenging expression never changed, she finally had enough.

"If you think swarming this certain target will render it useless, you could not be further from the truth. All your presence will accomplish is waste and split my efforts in many more people than needed." She appeared calm but she almost spat her words. "Also, an enemy that outclasses you by this much, will kill you instantly; now, I'm not in the habit of demoralising troops but at the same time, I am not in the habit of making stupid decisions, either." She tied her hands in front of her chest, tapping her foot. "Go take a look outside the tent, oh wise one," she snubbed, pretense of civility gone with the last shred of her calm "did it look like all those men that banded together made any difference? Or you are under the impression that so many villages, so many cities, so many human beings didn't think of coming together to face the threat?"

"The problem isn't how many, but how powerful," Saitou explained briefly and she absolutely hated how his voice alone held more authority than her entire being "and in this unit, it's the six of us."

Time to take the lead again. "If you think this is anything short of a suicide mission, you are sorely mistaken. But we have to go, because we are the responsible adults. And yes, as a woman of the cloth, sworn to protect and preserve human life, this has become personal; and yes it hurts and makes me feel like a caged animal but I'll be damned if I take more people than needed to the grave. And if you're still not convinced about your own incompetence, come on; I dare you. Attack me."

Saitou looked at her sharply; that look transferred, even more austere, to Daichi, who looked like he was entertaining the thought.

"Come on, try to come at me. I won't report you or what have you."

"This stops right now," Saitou intervened absolute.

"Oh come on, Hajime, aren't you curious?" she goaded expertly. "Don't tell me you haven't thought of it, just how skilled I can be to talk all that smack." Well, the thought did cross his mind. "Besides, it will take the edge off the men, too." She turned to look at the instigator. "Right, oh wise one?"

A smirk formed on Saitou's lips. "Fine; I'll allow it. But there can only be one blow from each."

"I don't need to strike back; I'm not looking to hurt anyone. I simply wish to show him how weak he is in comparison."

"...I'll allow it."

"Perfect! So, come at me, oh wise one; put your all into it, don't be scared."

Twenty three souls were holding their breaths as Daichi took his stance; he wasn't fucking around, he was really going for the kill. Bent knees and hand over his hilt, a quick draw; they all knew what was bound to follow: a one-hit ko. At least, to those weaker than him. He counted the seconds mentally: one, two, three; he launched himself at her and he became a blur! At least to those behind him; she never lost sight of him. Thus, he came to be revealed a little too soon, as, even without her fancy shield, his attack was rendered completely useless. She only needed to raise one armoured hand to stop him dead in his tracks, and that was all; that was it. His katana reverberated off of her black metal and the shock shook him entire.

Just one simple move and he was rendered completely immobile.

Chins hang; eyes became wide. Then, she grabbed the sword with her bare hand and twisted it in such a way it left the man's possession and came into hers without so much as scratching her hand. She gave it back to him with an open palm.

"If one failed attack freezes you enough for me to extract your sword as if I'd asked for it, I'd hate to see how you'd fare against what we'll be facing." He took it back, numb and speechless. "Reevaluate your strength before rushing into danger thoughtlessly." He nodded, unable to do anything else. Just like that, her attitude changed from hardass to weary in 0.02 seconds. "Now, please; go to sleep so tomorrow you can help those weaker than you. They will need all the help they can get."

The men nodded mutely, bowed to her as deep as they could and exited their commanders' tent. She gave a long suffering sigh once they were all gone, face in her palm. "We are all up-to-date with the plan, is what I came to say, and if there are any last details you want to change, do so now."

"No, it is satisfactory."

A pause lingered, which she took as a dismissal and made to go.

"Tokio."

The sound of her name stopped her; it was spoken softer than usual, making her curious as to why he was asking for her. The reason was...there were about one million things he wanted to say to her: you were incredibly badass; where did you learn to do that; you're the strongest woman I have ever met; instead, all he could get out was three little words: "Pray for us."

"I already am."

.

"It's you again, isn't it?"

"Yes," came the whispered answer.

He felt a vein popping. It was barely three hours later, nearing eleven again; just as he had blown out his light, ready to lie down, he heard rustling right outside. She burrowed inside like a mouse, not using the door this once. Considering his tent was smack-dub in the middle of the whole tent-complex, he found it amazing how none had seen her yet. She couldn't make herself invisible, could she?

"And what could you possibly want now?"

She finally emerged from the fabrics, face and clothes smudged by soil, while small twigs had entangled themselves in her long hair. She stood to her full height and he didn't fail to notice how she was, in fact, wearing her nightwear again, instead of her armour.

"I have been doing a lot of thinking, and it's been keeping me up." She became a little awkward, looking to the side. One of her hands was stubbornly made into a fist, held up at the front, while the other fell to her side. "I needed to...I considered..."

The large intake of air seemed to put her thoughts in order; refocusing, she clutched her hand closer to her chest and walked to his bed, where he was sitting up. She knelt in front of him. "I spoke of how we may all die earlier, but I never truly realised how right I was until I lay down to sleep, which, naturally, I couldn't do. Because what if I do die?"

Ah shit; he wasn't having this conversation with her so late at night, damn it! When she looked straight at him, serious yet still a little nervous, he felt like grabbing her cheeks and turning her face away. Besides, concerning her choice of words and the way she approached the topic, his mind ran wild with what she could really be doing there.

"Contrary to your belief, my family is well-prepared for the case of my passing. I made sure to get it into their head, long before I took this assignment at your side...thus, should anyone deliver the bad news, he won't suffer any consequences."

Finally, he discerned the purpose of her visit. It was a very far cry from what he had originally thought, thank Shizuru. "But I don't want them to know a month after the fact, nor am I comfortable with the idea someone I haven't personally approved of doing the deed. Thus, I humbly ask of you, should I meet my end tomorrow, please, please Saitou Hajime; please let my family know of my passing."

She bowed at the same time she presented to him what lay hidden in her fist: a translucent, perfectly round bead, that appeared to be made out of glass; it was at least three by three and, as he took it in his hand for a closer inspection, it was quite hefty, not hollow at all. He raised an eyebrow at the thing and then her, who was sitting opposite him properly again.

"And this? Payment?"

It felt absurd just saying it out loud and her chuckle only confirmed it. "Though it did cost a large sum to make and the sweat and time went into it all but triple its worth, no, this isn't payment; this is the means by which you are to contact my family."

"How am I to do that?" He examined it very closely, but with no light, there was not much he could see. "Does it go somewhere?"

"No; you simply crush it in your palm." The way he looked at her, doubt written all over his face and larger-than-normal eyes, was comical. "H, hear me out," she asked through silent laughs. "This was imbued with magic by me, personally. It doesn't take strength to shutter it, but intent; if you think of needing to contact my family when you hold it in your palm and then apply the pressure, it will break into thousand pieces and immediately dissolve. It won't even cut your hand."

"But I don't know your family."

"It doesn't matter; it's magic. You just think you need to contact my family and that will do the rest."

Saitou wasn't satisfied, and it had nothing to do with her instructions; he remained looking at the damn thing for well over a minute, trying to figure out what didn't sit well with him, while being impressed by how smooth this thing was. It took him the full minute, but he finally traced the problem to its source. "Why are you giving me this?"

She swallowed. "I know I'm constantly giving you a hard time about how you always rush into things and how much your body suffers because of it, but, as your healer, I couldn't help but notice you are also the most resilient fighter. You receive twice the hits others do, even take the full burnt of it, yet you maintain a very decent level of movement; others can't, with half the damage. So, if one of you makes it out alive when I don't, there's a high chance that's you."

"I would never allow myself to watch the only woman of the party die." Without even thinking, he handed it back. "If you're dead, I've died before you."

"Things one does not expect happen in battles all the time Hajime, you of all people should know that."

She tried to push the see-through orb in his hand, taking firm hold of his wrist; albeit surprised by her strong grip, he managed to wiggle free. "Not these things don't; these are matters of honour."

"No they aren't! And I am as skilled in saving people, as I am getting them out of danger. Maybe you won't have a choice; and maybe, if it comes to that, I want someone I can trust to do this."

"If this is your plan for tomorrow, some self-sacrificing bullshit, I swear on the Goddess above, I will not hesitate to leave you behind—"

"That is most certainly not what I have planned for my future," she was absolute on that "but I cannot be sure it won't happen, either. This is, to put it simply, my backup plan."

He clicked his tongue, sentiments obvious. "Why would you trust me out of everyone here anyway?"

"Because you keep your word no matter what."

It was crystal clear the man did not want to be put in this position. His pride alone would perceive the thought of her dying before him as incomprehensible, just as he admitted and she knew befroe he said it; but she also knew he was the one most likely to survive. Nagakura was an excellent choice as well, if she was being honest, but, something about the way Hajime carried himself, she knew her father would like him better. And if one was to deliver such news, better have all the advantages in the world...she wasn't lying anyway; he would undoubtedly do as promised. The problem lay in getting him to do so.

"Your reasons are adequate; and yet, I shall not accept the task. Please give this to someone else." He held out his palm in refusal, too in case his words weren't enough. He stopped looking at her then and turned to the upturned fabrics at the edge of his tent, the place she crawled inside from. "If that is all, I would like to sleep now."

"I understand; you have the right to refuse what could potentially be someone's last request, but I shall leave this here." She put the orb on the floor in front of her, right between them. "Just for the night. If you still do not accept by tomorrow morning, I will take it back."

"Tokio-"

"Goodnight, Hajime. Please think no more about it for now."

And just like that, she was gone, exiting properly this once. From the lack of surprised voices, he figured no one saw her. Yet, somehow, her being seen was the least of his problems right now. He sighed, running a hand through his hair.

What an unforgiving woman.

Next morning, although they had not set a specific time – such as the break of dawn, or seven and a half – strangely, all of them came together at the very front of the camp, the part that was considered the entrance, at eight o'clock sharp. Well, not exactly; Tokio had first passed by the acting commander's tent. When she saw he wasn't there, she looked at the small training grounds, to find him practicing his swing. She waited for him to finish, not daring to interrupt his focus, even if he had clearly sensed and then seen her coming.

But once he had put on his hitatare back on properly, she approached him. "Have you reached a decision?"

Her head was slightly inclined, eyes to the side, voice meek; this woman was the perfect manipulator; his choice solidified it. He nearly growled. "I have; and if we all come back from this mission, I am very tempted to break the damn thing just so I can meet the people who raised you to always get your way."

She beamed at him! "Thank you very much, acting commander. I shall not forget about this."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah; move, you little schemer." When they gathered their horses and moved to the informal gates, they noticed the rest converging. "How fortuitous," he commented without a shred of humour "we are all here. Are we ready?"

"Yessir," they chorused.

"Then Okita, Nagakura, lead the way."

"Wait, before we leave," Harada stopped everyone "we have to make something crystal clear right now." Their expectant looks egged him on. "If push comes to shove and you two ain't agreeing, whose lead are we supposed to follow?"

Shit, they hadn't thought of that; the way they looked at each other confirmed it. There wasn't malice in the ensuing wordless argument that broke out between them, just confusion, ego and exasperation.

"Mine," they stated at the same time.

Both positively fumed at one another and yet there was no shouting involved. Just ample glaring and a second, silent argument that transpired as if on another plane of understanding. He seemed to win it in the end, as a pointed stare made her look away. "Fine, his," she gave in and they could tell she really hated it "but if there comes a moment where I have to choose to follow my lead or his, I'm choosing mine."

"Wouldn't even dream of the alternative," Saitou teased and she actually threw him her leftover breakfast – an apple –.

Apple serving as the cue, Okita spurred his horse into action, first in line to lead the way; Nagakura was last, since he, too knew the way and had no concerns of him accidentally breaking off and getting lost through all those trees. The very fact there still existed such thick woods at this part was in itself a comfort: that meant both the creature hadn't found its way here yet and they had good cover, should they have to wait. They'd hate to enter the village after all, unless absolutely necessary.

Half past eight, give or take, the party of six had arrived at their destination. They were overlooking the busy village from the top of the hill, where they definitely had the high ground, whatever side their enemy decided to approach from. Saitou had given himself a timetable: if the target hadn't showed up till midday he would: a) lead the men back to the camp and b) skewer Tokio for leading him astray. Or maybe he should skewer himself for listening to her and her flimsy excuses as to how she got the info. So much incense she breathed in everyday, who knew, maybe she got high and imagined the whole thing.

"Alright, I don't mean to sound rude captain, but when the hell is that thing coming?"

"Patience Harada-san," Tokio spoke softly, next to their perceived leader "it's barely half past nine."

"Of course, Sanosuke, didn't you know? Monsters never wake up before nine." Toudou was within her range, so she unforgivingly slapped his shoulder with her shield. "And shining their claws takes time."

"How could I ever forget?"

"You two are joking, but come to think of it, have you ever heard of a monster attack before eleven?" Nagakura mused out loud. "Forget the Fire Giants and the oni and brrr, those goddamn swarms, even before we embarked for this mission, do you ever honestly recall doing anything other than training in the morning?"

There was collective silence. "No," Okita drew out the word in his reply "I really don't; you are right."

"Not me, Heisuke here."

"Shut up, butter; shouldn't you start heading back to camp any moment now?"

Eyes traveled to Saitou. "In half an hour," he informed and silence fell over them again.

"So, is anyone interested in knowing what I found out about horses last night?" They all groaned. "Oh come on, not one?"

"Let me guess: you found out horses, much like humans, start panicking and look for ways to make themselves scarce at the very sight of you?"

"That was so mean, Toudou, and I even supported you just now."

"What do you want me to say, when—?"

"Shhhhh..."

Tokio had put her hand in front of her mouth to emphasize her need for them to be quiet while the other hand was motioning for them to be completely still. "Do you hear that?"

Toudou gave her a look as if she was crazy. "Hear what?"

"The buzzing..." she answered as she held both hands parallel to the ground and now all men gave her the same look. "You don't even feel it?"

"The buzzing," Harada repeated, to make sure they all heard well and that yes, it sounded ridiculous.

"Not exactly...it's like a separate entity. How—how can you not feel it? It's suffocating." She looked out to the horizon, the village sprawling out in front of them. Her hands started moving, lips muttering incantations. "Whatever it is, it's coming."

Her eyes had gone wild now, focusing on the horizon in front of her, but not knowing where exactly she should be looking; her breathing became a little shallow, preparing for the arrival. Then her hands worked like crazy and she was casting spells left and right, going through motions they had never seen before—and other than two, all focused on her. The men would look at one another and then her in rapid succession.

"Any moment now; it will be here."

Then she realised; eyes wide as saucers, she grabbed Saitou from the collar in a very forward manner, upsetting each and every samurai, and without sparing him a second glance, she gestured to the sight in front of them. "It's coming for the village!" She let go a little too indelicately. "We have to ride out and meet it or the people will die!"

"Then let's go," Saitou agreed, dusting off nonexistent dirt.

He needn't say it a second time; she had kicked her horse into a sprint well before the others so much as registered the order. "What has gotten into her!?" Harada wondered out loud.

She's been weird half a week now, Saitou estimated but dared not voice it.

"How can she feel—how can you feel it's coming?" Okita shouted at her while catching up.

"How can't you?" she snubbed back.

Toudou shrugged. "Maybe it's a cleric thing."

"Whatever it is, it ain't attuned right," Harada insisted "nothing showed up ye—eet!"

He never properly finished his train of though.

An otherworldly lighting split the sky right before their eyes; their reality blended with another to create a portal through the slit that was made. Deafening thunder followed, the skies blackened for miles. The men had to control their horses not to fall over. And then, something unbelievable happened: a terrible, enormous clawed hand appeared from the dark pits, struggling to crawl out. Then an identical sprang out from the other side and slowly, but certainly, the most horrific, elongated neck of the ugliest...something they had ever laid eyes on emerged.

Screams and mass hysteria hit the village; like ants, the people screeched, running around and into one another in desperation and horror. Their horses were also struck by the sight, neighing and refusing to take a single step forward, if it meant charging towards that thing. And through it all, a solitary rider took pause right in the middle of the reverse miracle and took in each and every aspect of the monster.

She was wrong; this was something none of them could face, a threat on a whole other level. Her anger had led her teammates into danger and now she would be the one to blame for their deaths. She hated herself in that moment. She should have seen it coming. But she hadn't and this development...it made her vulnerable. She'd only managed to cast a few spells. She had to make it up as she went.

On the other hand, for what felt like an eternity, all the men could do was stare at the unrecognizable monster with fright and pause; they saw it flap its leather, sickly wings to take flight and their hearts started beating again. At the same time, they turned to their healer, looking for anything helpful.

"This is a Jabberwock," her tone was clipped and urgent "they are akin to mythical creatures, never saw one before. It's a western dragon and it can't see, but it doesn't matter-it uses blindsight. It fears vorpal weapons and can use its wings to create powerful winds; can shoot fire beams from its eyes. Screeches loud enough to render you useless." She finally turned back to look at the lot of them: they were apprehensive; and despite the coolness of her voice, she was white as a sheet. "If you have any vorpal swords, this is the day to use them—its the only type of sword that deals it damage properly. Now, steel your determination and stand proud; also, stay back. Please stay back."

She had never moved with such speed before, nor this way—her hands did something they had never seen before and a faint light hit her. It disappeared immediately. But her hands didn't stop there, no; urging her horse to gallop forward, she remained committed to her spell and simultaneously, what felt like a warm gust of wind hit the entire team. Saitou felt faster, arms lighter.

What did she...?

Just as she had warned them then, they saw the despicable creature descend upon the village, sparks starting to form in its eyes; it was going to burn it down!

"Over here, you overgrown lizard!"

Her shouted insult earned its attention, but also its gaze...and the attack that came with it. The two fiery beams meant for the settlement, were redirected towards her. And in a not at all expected turn of events, Tokio was hit directly. Something constricted in Saitou's chest; her words from last night rang in his ears louder than the beast's ferocious victory cry.

This could not be it; this can't be how it ended. After everything she'd put them through, all the talks about not rushing into a fight—this was unacceptable.

But then, there was hope: Tokio pulled herself upright just to jump off of her horse in the next moment, and roll away. Relieved beyond possibility, he shot forward, ditching the horse, spurring the rest of the men into action, too, to ascertain her state of being. But the creature didn't like her being alive and just as it was about to turn its efforts back to the village, it almost complained and turned back to her.

"Leave, you idiots! It's gonna kill us all!"

"How can you still be alive after that!?" Harada was all but dumbfounded. "We saw it hit you!"

"LEAVE, get out of its range, what are you doing?"

She stood with close to no effort and was prepared to break into a run, when Saitou's hand grabbed her and almost threw her back down. "Remember the self-sacrificing bullshit we talked about yesterday night?" He turned to face the dragon. "We are a unit."

"This is not—move!"

She tackled him to the ground; with such heavy armour, it was a miracle she could move so well. She rolled a good five metres away from them and then took off towards the beast! "TOKIO!" they all screamed, astounded by her sheer speed and determination to leave them behind. But the ugly monster stopped its advance on purpose and perched itself just twenty metres away from her. Now it stood so close, they could see its size—one scale from its skin as big as their heads. It was...disheartening.

"Why is she running towards it!?" Toudou almost ruined his vocal chords with desperation.

And then that twisted dragon let out a terrifying amalgamation of voices that no one knew if they were its own or it had borrowed them from some other mystical creatures. But oh gods was it unbearable! Saitou clamped down, enduring the confusing screeches as best as he could; two seconds felt like two centuries. He couldn't blame Okita and Nagakura when they just stood there, not knowing what was going on around them. Toudou and Harada barely communicated with their surroundings, too but he, he somehow could still walk, draw his sword...he needed to draw it; he needed to fight. He had to protect his men, keep the unit together, prove he wasn't lying when he said he would not allow her to die before him.

But it was no use. The frightening beast had set its sights towards them. He gulped; this was it. He reached for his katana, familiar and right in his hand—that gave him a little courage. He took a stance ready to attack; his hand trembled. If he didn't move now, he'd miss his chance. He had to move, had to move, had to move—

"Not so fast, monster!"

Tokio was standing right in front of it; she drew her sword—...her what now? It was a katana, too, only hers was better than the one in his hand. He didn't know how he could know that, only that he did and it was the truth. "This blade will be your undoing, decapitation-fearing dragon!"

She wasted no time lunging at it; his heart fell to the pit of his stomach, yet at the same time he felt like it was going to beat out of his chest. It all came down to the hit: did it connect, did she reach him, did it—it did! A strangled cry of pain and panic was released by the Jabberwock, as a blue, blood-like substance gushed out in a fountain.

No, not blood-like, it was its blood; it was just blue.

Then she continued her attack and the second hit landed, too; the third missed the target, but it didn't matter, the creature was too stunned to do anything too complicated. That was when she saw her opportunity: drawing power from her fearlessness, if he had to guess, because sure as hell none of them did anything for her, she moved like she swayed and few whispered commands later, huge whirling blades made purely of energy sprang into existence! They formed a prison around and on the dragon, who tried to evade, but didn't make it. More pain and anguish came from the staggering beast, that couldn't entangle itself from the force blades.

He gaped. Could she always do that!?

"Ride to the village," Tokio ordered, voice absolute "protect the people. I will be with you shortly."

Unable to act in any other way, the dragon fell pray to Tokio's intentions: her body moved again, grace and speed forming a pure, white circle of light in her hand; without a shred of hesitation, she jumped skillfully through the blades she herself created and struck the Jabberwock with it!

But nothing happened. "DAMN YOU!"

The dragon found its bearings again, shaking its problems away and turned to the cleric; after it slithered its body through the blades, its head swooped down. Disgusting mouth open, the not-too-sharp fangs closed around her body.

She screamed out in pain; Saitou's hand finally moved. But before he could take on the beast as he wanted, its two claws descended upon the woman, trying to grab her; in a show of mercy, both missed, but then the tail came from behind, to slam into her back! And yet, despite the blood and those horrible cracking sounds, somehow, Tokio was still standing.

Then Saitou finally focused enough that he could attack. The blow was instantaneous; he, too found his target, but he could tell, he was barely able to hit it. But his trusted blade drew enough blood to draw the attention of the horrid dragon, even if just momentarily. For some reason, it was laser-focused on Tokio damn it, and it would not look away from her.

"What's happening...?" Okita stumbled on his words.

"Hell if I know," Toudou admitted, head in his hands. Harada groaned from next to them, but Nagakura was too bad to even move.

"Stand up and ride to the village," Saitou's voice broke through their haze. "If Nagakura can't move, pick him up and go."

As fast as they could, they looked his way. Just as they had expected, their leader was crouching three metres away but in front of them, katana stained with their enemy's blood and ready to strike. He was indeed the better fighter, they had to bitterly admit; they could barely hear themselves think but he was out there, defending them. "What about you?" Okita managed to ask without stuttering.

He looked back just for a second. Those who could see him nearly fell back from shock! There was something primal in his face, fear, determination and hate all mingled together. "I will join you when she does."

As if they could not really see beyond their captain before, they felt like their eyes were opened to the scene in front of them for the first time: Tokio was slashing at the ugly dragon, drawing blood for her efforts, while the beasts fangs clamped tightly around the hand and shoulder that held her weapon. The fangs weren't sharp, which only meant they were better at breaking; and right now, they were breaking her. Saitou pushed off the ground and aimed for the beast; dirt flew at his jump, getting in everyone's eyes.

Okita felt like throwing up. "TOKIO-CHAN!"

"No, Okita, you heard him; let's go!"

Toudou had already thrown Nagakura over his shoulder; Harada was trying to do the same with Okita, who stubbornly shouted the woman's name and felt like an unmovable object. Damn it, what sort of man was he to allow Tokio take all the hits as he escaped? Saitou even found his target, too—why couldn't he try? And what kind of second in command leaves his post on the first place?

"Leave, you idiots," Tokio's strained voice crept under his skin and made him shudder "ride to the village. Protect its people as best as you can."

Her voice was laced with pain; anger; he couldn't bear it. "We can't just leave you here!"

"Don't force my hand!"

"Tokio—HARADA!"

The man had enough and finally succeeded in his endeavour, grabbing Okita, the smallest and lightest of their company and dragging him away. "No, Tokio-chan is hurt, don't you see?"

"She's the healer asshole! We can't do anything for her." Harada shouted back and jostled him. "Besides, didn't you notice? They are both agreeing..."

What could he possibly say to that? He had to listen to his superiors. His head hang, tears of frustration reaching his cheeks. "If you don't come back in an hour, I will personally come for you!"

Fuck; the Jabberwock might have been focused on Tokio, but it wasn't an idiot; it must have had a basic understanding of the language, too for it suddenly redirected all of its attention to the four retreating samurai. Unceremoniously, he slapped Tokio with its tail again, only this once, he put all of its strength into it, aiming to get her out of its way, rather than actually harm her and Tokio flew back an impressive ten metres into the air before crushing into the ground. Flapping its wings, creating very strong gusts of wind that pinned Saitou down, it launched itself against the four men.

"Run; run! Faster, go!"

But Toudou's screams didn't matter; the dragon didn't even bother reaching them, no—sparks flew from its eyes and the fire beams were soon to follow. As if in slow motion, Saitou and Tokio watched as the Jabberwock hit all four of them with deadly accuracy. And then, the most terrible thing happened: they caught on fire!

"NO!" Her scream was shrill and deafening. "Leave them alone you monster!"

Thank Shizuru, the fire brought Nagakura out of his stupor; despite the pain and agony, training emerged and all of them immediately rolled on the ground to put out the flames. Tokio took off running with all of her speed towards them; Saitou, now able to move again, darted for his men in an instant. His sword hit the dragon at the side of its neck—but why couldn't his hits connect damn it!? No, it was what Tokio told them: he needed a vorpal sword to get through it properly and he didn't have one.

It didn't matter, the beast was distracted momentarily. Instead of unleashing its fury on the lot of them, it first turned to attack Saitou. Its head came down and Saitou felt the sensation of someone trying to tear him in half, such power the creature held. Were he a lesser man he'd have dropped his sword, but he held on to it with spite.

But he was forgotten; next thing, the ugly monster of lore concentrated on his comrades, one claw striking Nagakura mid-roll; the other found Toudou right at the abdomen as he was trying to stand; and the tail whip found Okita square on the face.

All three fell to the ground, bleeding; Nagakura wasn't moving but at least still breathing; Toudou's breaths were shallow; and Okita, oh dear Shizuru, Okita was not a sight to behold, albeit still somehow alive. And the flames might have gone out, but their after affects remained. But Saitou, with his bitten shoulder and bleeding face, he was still standing; he had to do something.

Stubbornness rather than perseverance guided Saitou's hand to raise his sword once more; one; two; three slices. But only the first one was successful. The Jabberwock hadn't cared too much, it only shook it off. He felt regret bitter in his mouth; it was too strong for them. It would kill them all. At least he did well to listen to Tokio and leave the others back. With an eerie serenity, he watched as the dragon began descending upon them once more, ready to deal the finishing blow; and they all looked upwards, refusing to face their end in a coward's way.

The fangs of the Jabberwock turned to Saitou. His end would come at the hands of a beast he could barely fight against; he wasn't at peace. At least the villagers would remember him—however long that was anyway. There was silence in his mind; Shizuru, receive me in your sacred halls, he thought a quick prayer, forgive my wrongdoings and allow these men with me.

"Not today, foul beast."

He jolted, eyes opening – when had they closed – as the determined voice of their healer snapped them out of it. They saw her standing right in front of them, katana embedded deep in the monster's skin, as well as the beasts' sharp teeth in hers. Blood sprayed out of both as the Jabberwock cried out in pain and stumbled backwards, releasing her and itself. It tried to gain height, but its pain didn't allow it, so it decided to strike out. Try as she might to defend herself, nothing helped; all three hits connected—ribs, chest and her back.

Horrible, cracking sounds reached their ears; her blood hit their faces. And her body was just patches of clear skin on mangled flesh...

"T, Tokio-chan..." Okita's strangled plea was barely heard. Saitou's heart stopped beating for a long second as the rest of the men held their breaths.

Her body became limp; she slumped and began her horrible, downward descent...

A blinding light engulfed her; time seemed to have stopped. Something divine cradled her, suspending her mid-air, right before she hit the ground. The Jabberwock suddenly became fearful and flapped its wings to distance itself as much as it could. Tokio was pushed upright again by something unseen; Saitou noticed her hand closing in around her katana firmly and clutching at her shield. Then her eyes opened wide, emitting unadulterated energy and they watched with fascination as the lethal damage became undone. Not all of it, not even half of it; just that which almost killed her.

They all just stood there, mouths wide open, chins hanging. Her breathing was shallow and her wounds severe but she was...she was...alive. Then the light burst out of her, hitting all of them square in the face! That unmistakable warmth only she could make them feel washed over them in a wave and they too could feel themselves feeling better.

They gaped even more, looking at one another and how a portion of the damage was undone.

Then, as if nothing extraordinary had just happened to her, she casually reached into her satchel; and just as they thought that nothing else could ever surprise them again, she produced a fist-sized crystal vial, fulled to the brim with diamond dust. She thrust her hand into the sky, screaming incantations that made the Jabberwock panic and try to confuse her with its own screeches, but it didn't even faze her: the heavens rumbled above her and just where she stood, the sky started to clear.

"Oh protector of the weak and champion of medicine; Qi Zhong, lover of knowledge and all that is just and pure, grant me your favour!" Her voice was booming, but quiet at the same time. "Allow me to succeed in my next attack, make it the best this sword can ever achieve; allow me to triumph over this evil creature in your name and in the name of all that's good and wise!"

A spoke that consisted of all five elements hit her! In an impressive show of unbelievable feats, it was all absorbed by the woman who now burnt with the fire of a thousand suns, yet she was as fearsome to behold as the sea; unbending as a rock, her countenance had not changed at all, but at the same time she was not the same person. Residual energy swirled around her, steeling her sword even further. She slowly started moving, gradually breaking into a sprint, that felt more like the ground was pushing her to go forward than her putting any additional effort into it.

The Jabberwock did all it could to fly away, heading straight for its slit in the sky; the ground propelled her upwards then, sent her spinning in perfect loops, until she found herself directly above and in front of the monster.

"Haaaaaah!"

She slashed at the monster, blood spraying and spilling everywhere. In an almost impossible turn of events, they watched as the Jabberwock froze mid-air, an ear-splitting scream causing everyone to cover their ears...!

Next thing they knew, a long neck came to slouch rigid and lifeless, as the Jabberwock started falling. The body hit the ground first, shaking the earth; some seconds later, the head followed, like a sick, oversized jigsaw puzzle. After a moment of profound amazement the men craned their necks to make sure what they were seeing was true: the Jabberwock lay beheaded and very much dead twenty metres away from them.

They exchanged long, numb stares; had Tokio just killed the monster?

Suddenly, Saitou's heartbeat spiked; Tokio! He looked up to the sky and spotted her free falling a good distance away from her sword. It only took a split second. Saitou's muscles constricted and then tensed; he counted down: seven, six, five, four, three, two—now! He pushed off the ground with impressive form and grabbed onto the woman just before impact. They both rolled on the ground, to shake off gravity's pull and potential damage as much as they could and they came to a stop ways away from the dragon.

He was the first one to put his elbow on the ground and try sit up; as he did, he watched Tokio's chest rise and fall rapidly, one hand held out and the other on top of it. Her face was riddled with cuts, blood and bruises, chips in her perfect black armour visible. Her legs twitched on their own. And yet, she found it in herself to pop one eye open, as much as she could, and offer him a small but genuine smile. "W...we made it..."

"Yeah," was all he could lamely respond with.

"Go...team..."

"Go you," he corrected and he still couldn't wrap his head around what he had just witnessed.

"N...nonsense...we all...played our part..."

Sure; of the victim, he thought self-deprecatingly but spoke none of it; he just watched her close both eyes again and savour the feeling of her back flat against the grass, the safety of not needing to fight anymore. He looked up. The others only now were able to shake off their utter astonishment so he looked at the right. The horses had settled there now that the threat was dead. He made his decision fast. Putting both hands underneath her, one at her knees and the other at her back, he pushed off and started walking.

"Wh, what are you doing?" She sounded a little panicked – oh the irony – looking all around her. "I'm too heavy with this armour, put me down. I'll be able to walk in a minute, it's fine."

"You carried the entire party all on your own for the duration of this fight; about time someone else carried you."

She didn't speak, even if it was obvious she wanted to; she simply put her head on his chest and allowed her muscles to relax. Only now did he realise she had never let up—she was constantly in overdrive, even after she defeated the unbeatable foe.

It didn't take long for the rest to catch up and when they all met up, small distance away from the horses, he put her down. To his surprise, she was standing on her own, without any help. But not for long, because all four men moved at the same time and they brought her down, in a group hug! Sniffles of congratulations, whispers of thanks and whimpers of accusation for her stupidity were ample on the men's lips who could not, would not, for the life of them comprehend how she was still alive. Neither could Saitou for that matter, but right now, he chose not to think about it.

Once the emotional reunion was over, they all stood, helping her up whether she needed it or not. "Look at us," she finally said, good-old fussing Tokio shining through "so much blood, so many injuries...we have to heal." She shook her head. "Gather around me gentlemen, this requires a lot of effort."

She closed her eyes and stood in the middle of the small circle they formed around her; words they would never recognise left her lips, as she moved gracefully, dancing almost, to the chants she herself produced; not one second later, a very familiar – at least to Saitou – sensation ran through everyone, healing as it went, cleansing them inside and out. Nagakura's headaches were gone, his confusion dissolved completely; the burnt skin became smooth once more, pain-free; the fear was replaced with a sense of achievement, the worry with tranquility. Their shaking stopped completely.

And just like that, they were as good as new.

She didn't expect anyone to thank her, just turned to look at the village. "Thank the gods, the village remained untouched," she noted with relief as she collected her sword "but maybe we ought to send a couple of people over to make sure everything is fine. I would prefer to go back to the camp, relax a little, so if any of you'd rather-..." She stopped talking upon realising the looks they were giving her. "What?"

"We either all return to the camp or all of us head over to that village, no more moving around independently." Saitou thundered her with the look but relented. "Personally, I would prefer returning to camp, send them a missive and visit them later."

"That sounds reasonable," she actually yawned through that "let's go."

The ride back was silent.

Saitou had made a point to stay by her horse's side and maybe catch her in case she fell asleep on the saddle, but despite her non-stop yawning and blinking just to keep her eyes open, she didn't need the extra hand. In fact, they had all formed a protective circle around her, even if they had no idea why. She apparently didn't need it—if it weren't for her they'd all been dead. And that, that was incomprehensible. They owed her their lives not in the "oh you fought well and maybe staved off a hit" way that was used between them, but in the "if it weren't for you doing everything and anything possible to keep us whimpering, sniveling asshats safe, we'd be long dead" way. It was...a new sentiment.

When they arrived back at the encampment, more than thirty men swarmed them! All full of questions and exclamations, they claimied their fight was felt for miles and miles away. "Whe the sky went dark, people started freaking out," Daichi explained once they managed to get off their horses "saying it was coming and we're all doomed."

"When nothing came, they started lamenting the poor bastards that were dying in their stead," another man, no older than sixteen added "but calmed down significantly."

"We told them you were on it though," Daichi continued, preening like a peacock "and that our captains are the best there are; there was no way you wouldn't defeat it."

"And from what we heard, the creature died! You defeated it."

Saitou couldn't help the derisive snort that escaped him at both men's comments; his eyes slid to Tokio. "Well, some of us did anyway." They seemed to capture the heart of his jab but not his tone.

"The Jabberwock was killed;" Nagakura intervened "that is all that matters."

"Yeah and not even a scratch on you...had an easy fight?" Every hair on the six people's body stood at attention. "What's this Jabberwock-sounds crazy. Must have been an easy opponent."

Five out of six turned to look at him with so much anger and exasperation, the young man felt their fury, rather than see it; they were seething at him, some even entartaining the thought of pouncing at the guy for daring to speak such a thing out loud.

"Actually," Nagakura started speaking, the relatively calm way he cleared his throat helping relieve the tension "it was a very difficult and dangerous fight; it's a miracle we are all still alive." Their momenntarily haunted expressions convinced the men of the veracity of his statement. "If it wasn't for Tokio-san's amazing talents, we'd be...unsightly right now."

"Forgive me, captain," the man apologised from the heart.

"That's okay; it only serves to show how insightful the decision to leave you behind was." Saitou asserted himself, hoping this would teach the unit to never speak against them again. "Takeda, stop skulking around, come here," he then decided to change the subject "I want you to write and deliver a letter to the village we rode out to; we will all be going there close to nightfall, tell them. If any of their elders want to speak to us, they are welcome, but they need to catch us at the gate." He looked over his men. "I have a feeling if we reach the pub, we ain't leaving any time soon."

Cheers followed that statement and he knew he made the right choice. "Don't make it overly complicated and don't use your big words; they are simple people. And don't be arrogant; be polite." He snorted. "Sixty eight men will be taking over their public places, the least we can do is be nice about it."

"But you just defeated the evil creature that wrought destruction as an agent of chaos; why shouldn't you-?"

"We didn't do it for the praise," Tokio spoke for the first time after a long, long time; it was clipped and absolute. "These people owe nothing to us; make sure your words convey that sentiment."

"As you wish, Tokio-sama."

She gave a nod and no one else the time of day; she dragged her feet to her tent, where she would lie in her bed for a well-deserved nap. Saitou watched her go. "Daichi."

"Yessir."

"Make sure no one disturbs her." He nodded. "And if she hasn't emerged by the time we start preparing to leave, come find me."

"As you wish, vice-commander."

"By the way," he stopped him "tell the men to refer to her with more formality." Daichi looked confused. "She's higher ranking than a captain, you know," the man looked impressed "so you have to address her accordingly."

"Yessir."

He complied immediately, protest not even a thought, while he actually seemed enthusiastic at the prospect; heh, his lesson yesterday night – it did feel a week ago – was very educating. Well, today's lesson was going to be a much more difficult one to forget, Saitou was sure.

.

.

When Tokio walked out of her tent that afternoon, she was surprised to see Daichi idly standing about. When he saw her emerge, he gave her a nod, a small smile and left.

What the hell?

She went to the horses' pen, found her trusted stallion and stroke its snout. The animal appreciatively rubbed its face in her embrace. "I put you through so much today," she whispered in its ear and it neighed "forgive me old friend." The horse neighed once again, tail wagging wildly. "I'm sorry that I'll be using you again today, but you don't mind a simple trip, yes?"

It rubbed its face into her again and she smiled. "The only man in my life who never judges," she joked and stroke the animal one final time. "I'll be back in a couple of hours, be good till then."

Time passed like a breeze; oddly, but like a breeze.

Men started bowing to her as she passed them by, much like they did with Hijikata and now Saitou. She was pretty certain no one had said anything, otherwise they'd have stormed her tent with questions. Quizzical, she went to the tent they held the crafting supplies, trying to tinker with her armour. She knew she couldn't really repair it until they reached a large city to find the right materials so patches would do for now. Without really thinking, she removed and put it on the wooden stand. She wore her underarmour clothes naturally, but it appeared men of the East were not used to them and certainly not on women because when Hyousuke, the young man who served as a temporary armourer, walked into the tent as she was still working, he changed ten colours, looked away, stuttered about ten apologies and left.

It was alright, really; every single part of her body was covered by red and black cloth. A red turtleneck blouse with long sleeves underneath a padded black vest. Fine, red pants on her legs, covered by black knee pads made of the same padded material as the vest that started around the thigh and reached midway to her shins. She even still wore her gloves, for god's sake! They were form-fitting, but other than that, she was really, really covered...shaking her head, she decided to call it a day, take it and go back to her tent.

She took a quick shower hidden behind the trees, dousing herself with water she made, not in the mood to walk to the close by river, and put on a new set of clothes, albeit identical to her previous underarmour, and then reequipped her magnificent, but really difficult to wear armour. She really wanted to don a pretty kimono, but after today's events, she felt safer in her black cocoon. By the time she was finished, the time to depart had arrived, so she decided to head to the pen...only to stare as another man, Reiji, had already prepared her horse for her and waited together with it. Thankful, she nodded and mounted. The man didn't help her on, but respectfully bowed and went his way after she was secure. More confused than ever, she reached the gates.

Everyone had gathered there. Every single man of the unit was up on a horse, simple soldiers sharing their saddle with a comrade, same thing as the two healers always did; as she approached, the men parted and allowed her to reach the captain's huddle. Saitou looked at her for a long time, as if trying to understand something about her, but giving up.

"Let's go!" And just like that, they were all riding towards a night filled with promises of fun, women and alcohol.

.

.

When Tokio walked into the pub, the delicious smell of stew hit her nose, brewing in the cauldron over the fire; it mingled with that of alcohol, the almost acidic stench of puke and the by now familiar musk of many men in one place. She took a quick look around to see this pub was favoured by the six captains and barely two men of every unit. The rest had chosen one or both of the other two bars. It was a relatively big village, but to think it had so many recreational establishments. The only reason she was late to the party was the fact her horse had been difficult back at the stables anway and needed a lot of coddling before she finally parted with it. Then she went ahead and got herself a little lost. Alas, she found the right place and walked inside, head lowered and sights focused on her usual place: right at the very end of the bar, almost at the farthermost corner.

She spied the six captains drinking together, chatting and joking away; the surrounding tables were occupied by their men, who purposefully didn't stray too far away. There were women all around them, too some were even bold enough to sit in their laps. Barmaids brought them more spirits while villagers would lend an ear to theis stories and merrymaking.

Once more, she felt like an outsider. Trying to look nearly as defeated as she felt, she turned to the bartender who was waiting for her order. She took off her gloves. Sake or mead? She couldn't decide. The former was stronger but the latter came in a much bigger container. Wine could be a decent choice, too—it'd been a while since she had it. Wow, amazing; she could hear herself think, what a novelty.

But that was all because, although she hadn't noticed, the buzzing all around her had stopped entirely. She hadn't looked up, too busy poring over her choices, so she missed Saitou approaching her, slow but steady. Then he grabbed a glove out of her hands and it alarmed her enough to look at him. He smirked.

"Can't be picky, priestess; some are very expensive."

"S, so?"

"We are poor men, your eclecticness; and everyone's itching to by you a drink." Her heart stopped as he turned to their men. "So, will someone decide to buy this woman a drink already? Otherwise she'll never make up her mind."

Cheers were heard everywhere around her; just as she thought she would literally die of giddiness, her heart started beating fast and she started to worry about hyperventilating. As if reading her state of mind, he chuckled; it had to do with those increasingly red cheeks of her, but she didn't seem to register her own colour. "Come on, priestess; about time you joined us, lesser folk."

He didn't wait for her to stand from her stool, so she had to hurry to catch up to him. "Wh, what are you talking about?"

"You've been a a regular snob these past two months."

She gaped at him; another second passed with his seriousness never dissolving, so she struck out! "What are you talking about? I couldn't just come over there! You barely put up with me on regular basis, if I just invaded your little company you'd sneer at me the entire time."

"Oh please...! You had no problem ordering us around before."

"Which is why I thought you wouldn't want me there..." she muttered quickly. "And I don't order people around."

"Sure," he drawled, trying to put an end to the argument just before they sat. If Okita heard her, he knew he'd take her side and it wasn't to his best interest—the short man had asked him to invite her over about a hundred times, but Saitou was the one who always refused it. Honestly, he had no idea why; after the first two weeks, it was just stubbornness, not that he'd ever admit it.

"So, what are you drinking after all, Tokio-chan?"

"She still didn't order," Saitou informed them, shaking his head. He called the nearest barmaid and "a beer." The woman winked and went her way.

"Make it two," Toudou called after her and she nodded to show she heard him. "She's so sexy...!" he commented offhandedly but instantly scolded himself.

"Yeah, feel bad, you lecherous man;" Harada admonished "we have a lady in our company now."

She laughed. "Ah, please, don't hold back on my account; I have been in far too many of these situations to mind now."

"Tokio-sama is full of surprises," Takeda commented in a silky voice.

"Not really; people are people. Can't hold their desires against them—all within limits of course."

Just then, Toudou's sexy barmaid came back, carrying their two tankards. Her smile was wide and promising. "Here are your orders, masters."

Toudou smirked at her and she returned it but other than that said nothing. Tokio almost shook her head at him. She took the floor. "Thank you dear! What's your name? I hate calling people hey you."

The woman laughed. "It's Umeko," she inclined her head "but everyone just calls me Umi-chan."

"Perfect; thank you Umi-chan." Once she left, Tokio clicked her tongue. "How are you going to go anywhere with her if you don't even know her name?"

"Look at Tokio-chan, all flirty and stuff."

She was displeased. "It's my fault for helping. Fine, I won't do it again."

"No," Nagakura and Harada desperately pleaded, "no, don't listen to him."

"Let's drink, idiots," Saitou brought them back to the table. He raised his mug. "To powerful enemies and even more powerful allies."

They all raised their mugs with him...and drank until there was nothing left, Tokio included. He raised an eyebrow in her general direction. "I never said bottoms up, you know."

"It's just beer," she excused herself as if he was daft for making this a thing. Raising her hand in the air and shaking the empty container, she flagged down their waitress. "A round for everyone, Umi-chan, please."

"Right away."

"And your address for him, if you could." Harada pointed at Toudou; Toudou smacked his hand down as Umeko clicked her tongue in distaste. She left shaking her head and Tokio nearly put her hand in her forehead.

"So uncouth...you're hopeless."

When Umeko returned with their drinks, another barmaid helping her with so many orders, Tokio cleared her throat to attract her attention. "Forgive my friend, Umi-chan; it's just that Toudou" she gestured at the blushing man "was just telling us how pleasing he thinks your shoulders look with your hair like that and Harada had to be an immature manchild about it."

"O, oh, that's...um, thank you, Toudou-san."

Obviously happier with this explanation, Umeko turned and left with a smile; Tokio gave Harada a look. "This is how you help a friend."

He looked affronted "is this a competition?"

"If it is, you've lost already; I am a woman, in case you have forgotten. I know what women like to hear." She shrugged in a very challenging way. "And I can, faster than any other person in this entire establishment, fix people up. It's like a special talent."

"Who cares," Saitou drawled in annoyance "let's just drink."

There were dirty looks thrown at him from all parties involved, but they raised their spirits again, saluting one another before drinking; and just like last time, they drank the beer in its entirety at only one go. They put them down with a smile and slapped the table.

"You should really watch how much you drink," Saitou scolded her again "you've barely been here five minutes."

"Pfff, I can drink you all under the table."

Saitou was having none of that. "No, you can't; and why should you?"

"Are you her father, Saitou?" Harada mocked. "Let the woman drink, if she so desires."

"Look, no matter how much she drinks, she'll never drink enough to find you attractive," Saitou shot him down immediately "so stop trying to flag down Toudou's potential bed-warmer."

"Ah!" Harada and Tokio exclaimed at the same time.

"Don't call Umi-chan that!"

"And don't say ridiculous things like that," Harada tried to salvage the situation as much as he could. "I, I don't want to get Tokio-san drank."

"Not anymore you don't," Nagakura dragged it on "now that you know she wouldn't fall for you anyhow."

"Stop teasing him," Tokio commanded "or soon enough I'll have to perform a spell on him."

That diffused the tension enough, making them all laugh; just then, Umi came back with two more waitresses, all carrying tankards for the people at the table. "These are on the house," she informed when they all looked between themselves, trying to discern who ordered "for all you did today..." She gave a small bow. "We all saw you and are very thankful."

"Aw, so nice of you," Tokio said, truly touched "thank you, Umi-chan." She looked around to make sure these three barmaids were all the barmaids of the pub. "Why don't you sit and drink with us this round?"

The women looked around surprised, thankful and trying to detect anyone who'd disagree; when none such parties were found, they shamelessly sat in men's laps and took a mug in their hands. Umi-chan made it a point to sit in Toudou's and he mouthed a "you're the best" to Tokio, who only giggled.

"Bottoms up!" Okita announced and they all drank greedily. "That's good alcohol," he exclaimed, wiping his lips from the excess froth. The shortest barmaid, who had sat in his lap, kissed his cheek in a tizzy and ran away to the rest of her orders.

Umi-chan laughed but was cut short when Toudou gave her a quick peck on the shoulder, the same one he had supposedly complimented and the woman flushed a deep red, but did not seem to mind. "I, I'll go now, go help the rest...I'll bring you three more drinks, to replace the ones we had," she informed and followed the second waitress.

"Better kiss me, you know," Nagakura's voice cut in as he watched the last waitress struggle with what she wanted to do "coz if you kiss him, he'll probably throw you away."

Him, referred to Saitou who said nothing when the woman had chosen him but made it clear in his expression he wanted nothing to do with his friends' tomfoolery. "I wouldn't throw you but...yeah," he defended himself and when all the people present laughed, the woman felt a little better. Without thinking, she stood and planted a fleeting kiss on Nagakura's cheek.

"It'd be bad luck if I didn't kiss someone, too." She winked at the bespectacled man and left.

"See?" Tokio was triumphant. "Best matchmaker in town...!" Although, she wouldn't lie; when that woman chose to sit in Saitou's lap something inside her kicked. Maybe it was instinct: no woman should have to contend with him, especially unknowing of the danger that lay with this man.

"What a manipulator..." Saitou provoked her.

"You're just mean because you haven't had enough to drink yet," Okita coaxed "but worry not; drinks are on their way."

"Hopefully."

Umi brought the supplementary mugs and the three men took them in their hands. "Let's see who's the fastest—bottoms up people!"

In this game of speed, Saitou was the victor; Okita came a close second. "Damn," Tokio lamented, being the third to hit her mug on the table "I really wanted to win!"

"Maybe you win next round, Tokio-chan!"

"Stop trying to get her drunk," Saitou protested "that's two of you so far."

"Oh please, they wish."

"Is that a challenge, Tokio-san?" Harada's tone was full of promise.

"That is a fact," she retorted.

"That's irresponsible," Saitou tried to reason with them.

"Boo, spoilsport!" Okita threw some of the food on their table at his face. "Let us have a drinking competition!"

"No way," Tokio refused "I'm not wasting my spells on your puking asses."

"We won't be puking your highness...!" Nagakura goaded.

"Yes, but this isn't viable with so many people; I can't compete with all of you—that's six drinks for one!"

"What if we take turns?"

Everyone looked at Harada the same way. "Then it's the same, only reverse; if more than one person drink, then we'll never get drunk," Toudou explained.

"Idiot," Saitou had to insult him – "Hey!" he feigned offense but none paid attention to him –.

"We just have to find one person; the heaviest drinker among us."

Saitou snorted. "That's impossible; that's me but I refuse."

"Oh? Is that it?" Okita elbowed Nagakura. "Are you maybe afraid of a little competition, then?" Saitou was not impressed. "Or are you scared of losing your title to a woman?"

"Of course not."

He snubbed; Tokio laughed. They touched a nerve, she could see his defenses waning. "I have no issue, whoever it is," she coaxed.

"See? She's up for it." Harada played his part.

"Why should my decision be affected by a third party?"

"Because she's cute?" Okita wondered innocently; Tokio forced a toothy smile; they all roared with laughter. "And she talked way too big of a game before, I want to see her limits."

"Not in a million years, my friend."

"Alright, now it does start getting annoying. I have a very high tolerance to alcohol," Saitou kindly let her know "and many years of practice."

"Right back at you."

He glared, but it was less pointed and more calculative. "Fine, you little shadow mastermind," he ignored the way she laughed "I will do this; for my captain's honour. But don't expect me to hold your hair back at the end of the night...!"

Shrewd looks were exchanged between the rest; they immediately called for Umi-chan, informing her of the upcoming battle. "I'll keep the drinks coming, then," she assured, determined to watch this to the end herself "and once you're finished, I'm going home for the night." A wink towards Toudou's direction; hook, bait and sinker. He winked back and, much like everyone else, waited for the upcoming, exciting fight.

.

.

"Just let it all out," Tokio's smooth voice instructed "all out; you'll feel better."

Her one hand was gently rubbing the back of the most stubborn man in the face of the universe, while the other held his long hair back; the irony of the moment wasn't lost whatsoever. It was very late and very embarrassing; the moment he admitted defeat, the entire pub roared with laughter or cheered for the woman's victory. Not one of the soldiers held back or even stayed back to help. The captains were all but gone, too, save Okita, who stuck around to laugh at him a little longer than necessary. Toudou had left with Umi-chan, Nagakura escorted the frilly Rei back home while Harada headed right back to camp; Takeda had, too though long before the contest was over.

Thus, only victor and loser remained back, kneeling in front of a drain next to the stables, close to their horses. She was putting in quite an effort not to laugh too much lest he realises by her shaking or her shadow. After another impressive show of internal bowels movement, he groaned miserably. "I have never gotten...like this before..."

She was so proud when she didn't end up dying of laughter right then and there. "Then have you ever really drank before?"

"Sh...shut up..." he resisted the urge to vomit "you manipulative priestess."

She did giggle this once. "Don't hold it in, we'll be here forever," especially since he wouldn't let her magic his problem away solely on principal—and pride.

"This is so demeaning..."

"Could be worse; could be Takeda in your place."

"That's better."

"Not for me, it isn't."

He found it in him to chuckle; but that somehow triggered his gag reflex and once more emptied some of his stomach contents in the drain in front of them. "I'm never drinking with you again..."

"Aw, don't say that; I had a lovely time."

"You're not the one puking that's why...hell, you are barely...lightheaded. What's...up with that?"

She shrugged innocently. "Told you."

"So...lemme get this straight: alcohol doesn't affect you as much as it affects me, the heaviest drinker of the squad, fires from a fabled beast's eye sockets don't burn you quite as much as everyone else and you effortlessly heal deadly injuries...you managed to fight off and scare a...mythical dragon that almost killed us all and could fight better with a sword than any ovus...then you...killed the damn thing for good measure, after what felt like...you came back from...the dead." A pause, to collect his addled mind. "Tokio."

He looked back at her just for a second, as long as he could stay focused; then he turned around, lurched and puked for the umpteenth time. "What in earth...are you? Why...did the Empress send you with us?"

He heard her sigh and he almost patted himself in the back for it. "I am just more experienced than you; and in no way am I more skilled with the blade than you, it's just, I had a vorpal sword with me. It happened."

"How...?"

"Like I said, I'm just more experienced. And that's what clerics do, you know; effortlessly heal others. When you get to my level, you can even bring people back from the dead, if their soul hasn't passed on anyhow. And, well, there are restrictions of course, but, ugh, I'm veering way off track." She shook her head. "Just know that this is what healers do."

He snorted. "Even bring themselves back from the dead?"

What was he saying? Why was he vomiting words as well as food? He didn't mean to broach this subject like this, he wanted to be sober and very aware; but now he was babbling and being pathetic and he had shamed himself too much for one night, there was no need to add insult to injury. But there he was! He knew this weighed on him, but this much?

"Okay, you got me there; that's a rather rare skill. In fact, I haven't met anyone else who can do it but I know of others, you know? And I didn't really bring myself from the back, let it be known; this is an ability I acquired through a lot of training and life threatening situations: every time I am about to pass out due to excessive damage, this triggers and heals some. It's a fail-safe and only buys me, what, a minute, at best; if I don't make my next move count, I'm not coming back...!"

A chill still passed right through him, like electricity. Did she just admit she was about to die? Who says things like that with such a cheery tone, too? His eyes snapped to her, disbelieving and she bit her lip guiltily; damn her and her big mouth. She didn't mean to admit it to anyone, it just slipped because the drink had started getting to her and, and she didn't think he'd pick up on it, too, so wasted that he was. But shit, he was always so sharp, it was very unaccommodating.

He reached a hand out, leaving it to rest on her cheek. He had no idea if he was secretly trying to keep himself upright – he swayed a little too much for his liking – but he was proud to observe she did not look alarmed at his motion. He struggled to look at her for some time, headache too strong; and why did everything have to move when he was perfectly still? But then he focused on her nose and lips, because her eyes were too bright for him that moment.

"Why would you...go so far...to risk your life for us...?" He watched her nose twitch, lips parting in slight confusion. Or maybe hesitation, he couldn't be sure. "Why, when...we've been...and I'm..."

"Hajime," she grabbed his hand with hers, trying to calm him down "relax, try to breathe. This isn't the best time to discuss this."

"I know, but...why are you...always so kind? It...isn't fair. I can't be mean to you."

Her laughter sounded so light and...gentle, how could it sound gentle? How much did he have to drink? "Mmm, it's a mystery, indeed...!" His hand fell in her lap and he nearly keeled over. "Oh dear...!" She had to put her own body as a shield to the cold, dirty ground.

"I'm so pathetic...!" he mumbled as he tried to push off of her, but failed.

"No, you're drunk." She patted his back. "You'll be back to form by tomorrow, don't worry about it. Can you walk?" He tried to push off again, but it didn't work. She sighed. "Hajime, you and I are going to take a little trip together now, yes?" Her hand found its way underneath his shoulder. "I will put you on my horse and we're going to go back to camp."

"I'm dead weight; I'm useless...!"

"You're fine," she encouraged as she pushed off the ground.

"Why couldn't you have gotten drunk, huh? W...women are cute when they are stumbling all over you with pink cheeks...but it's just sad when it's a man. I detest this."

"You have surprisingly good articulation for a man so out of it, way to go."

"Sh...ut up, priestess. Flattery...will get you...nowhere..."

She propped him up against her faithful stallion; with a little bit help from the animal, she managed to get him on top of the horse, lying on his stomach like a trophy. The image was quite amusing, as she stood from a distance. Then, she grabbed the reigns of his horse and with a small nudge, she led both horses away and towards their encampment.

It took three times as long to get there, but oh well, they finally did, without incident. Then, she had to ride all the way to his tent, after leaving his horse to the pen, get him off and drag him to his bed. Knowing her way around by now, being in there twice already, she easily found it, depositing him in it. He groaned and moaned and protested but, in the end, he allowed her to take off his sandals, remove the hitatare and cover him with a blanket. When she was done, she looked over her work. His ponytail came undone from all the tussling and turning; his lips were slightly parted as he already snored loudly, nothing but a head visible.

There may have been red cheeks there, too; how cute.

---

A/N: I know, right? Huge! But, I did include a hell of a lot of plot points.

Also, Tokio is such a badass in this story, I adore her. Just so you know my dedication to this story and being authentic all abilities shown in this piece of literature correspond perfectly with the actual table top game pathfinder, in which Tokio is an 18 lvl Cleric with 4 Mythic Tiers. Hajime and the rest of the gang are 15, 16 level samurai, also a legit class. And the Jabberwock exists, too and it's hella strong. I even threw dice and everything (but, to further the purposes of the story I may have doctored Saitou's dice a little).

Anywho, thank you for stopping by, I love you. Please leave a review on your way out to tell me what you thought about it! I rarely write about things like these and feedback is important.

Love, hugs and kisses,
FAI~!