Hakuouki: The Masked Cherry Blossoms

Chapter 10

I begin to wake and as I start to sit up, Yamazaki pushes me back down. "You need to rest. I got your wound to stop bleeding but it'll take some time to heal."

"Is it so bad that you have to keep an eye on me?" I ask with a raised eyebrow.

"Depends but knowing you, you'll make it worse by trying to move around." He points out but he wasn't wrong.

"What about Hijikata-San? I tried to keep the sword from going past my body but-" I begin to ask, remembering what happened. What if after I blacked out, others came to ambush? What if I failed?

"Don't worry. You stopped the blade in time." He assures and I relax, smiling with relief. "You've proven your dedication to us and even saved two captains and risked your life for our vice commander. You have our thanks."

"Don't be so dramatic. Just go get that stupid vice commander over here." I say and he grins with a nod.

"Sure." He gets up leaving and I take the wet cloth he had on me head off. It seems the precautions worked enough to deceive them...

A few minuets later they come back but Yamazaki leaves so we can talk alone. "Idiot, why did you-" Hijikata starts to scold.

"I should call you an idiot for even coming in the first place. How did you know where to go?" I ask, partially confused.

"You probably forgot but you put it in your notes that there would be a meeting but you didn't know which of the two inns it was at. We split up and found out it was at Ikeyda. But why would you jump in front of me? You could have died. Only an idiot would-" I put a hand over his balled up fist, recognizing why he was so angry.

"It's my job as your protector to make sure I can do whatever I can to keep you from harm. That's why I didn't want you guys going." I say with a chuckle. "I was worried I didn't stop the sword in time. I'm just glad your okay, Hijikata-San."

His eyes widen and his expression soften as he smiles. "At least your okay. Thank you, Sakura. I'm sorry that I went against your advice."

"Whatever, it's okay. What else should I expect from my idiot vice commander." I wink playfully.

~~~

I sneak out of my room and go to where everyone should be eating dinner. "Sakura!" They call in surprise as I grin and I walk in. Souji nods to me with respect for what I did and I return it as I went to sit down.

"Yamazaki is basically keeping me prisoner, I had to escape." I explain before they can lecture me, leaning back against the wall.

"Idiot, you should be resting right now." Hijikata growls, glaring at me.

"It's been a week! I'm fine! I bet he's keeping me there to suffer. All that hurts is my back from carrying that heavy beast." I wink at Heisuke who quieted as soon as I came in. He grins happily as the others laugh.

"I can't believe you carried Heisuke and supported Souji all the way to us." Harada says, shaking his head with disbelief.

"They're heavier than they look." I point out, making everyone laugh.

"But I think you should be resting. I thank you for-" Isami starts but I shake my head with a disapproving click of my tongue.

"Stop it. I don't need any thanks for doing my job. Honestly, I feel bad that your stuck with such an idiot for a vice commander." I joke, everyone laughs and I use that distracted moment to wink at Hijikata to show my good intention. I look away before he can react.

We all talk and joke like normal. I keep in mind to be more careful next time. It was my fault for being so careless and stupid that they and their men got hurt. I could have kept them from fighting if I would've caught my mistake by leaving them with my notes. Next time...