|COMPLETED| The Emotion Love - Heisuke x OC

Chapter 27 ~ The Past Is The Past

~ Tsukino ~

I took a sip from the bottle of sake I had taken without being caught, gazing up at the sky. The place was buzzing with laughter and voices from where I was, sprawled on one of the roofs of the city. I faced the sky, the stars glowing and the moon out.

Sighing, I brought down the bottle of sake. I had not had any choice, I could not stay with the Shinsengumi any longer. Kazama had known where I was staying, he had known my location. I could not let him know, or else he would come back for me for he knew who I was.

I could trust the Shinsengumi to look after Chizuru. I had to. They were all skilled with their swords, I was not the only person in the world who was skilled. Hajime would have been as good as me, but I had won our small fight because I had also been using hand to hand combat. Something I think Hajime didn't use often.

Today had been a bit much. At the current moment, I just wanted to relax. Writing that letter to Heisuke...It had surprised me, the emotion I felt. I didn't think I would feel it, like my heart was tightening in my chest. Air hard to draw as my throat closed up. But why? Why did I feel that way when I sealed the letter and left?

I sighed once again. Maybe one day I would figure it out. Maybe it was that emotion Chizuru was talking about, love... No, it could not have been. I did not know what that emotion meant or felt, so how was I meant to know it was this love emotion?

I took another sip of the sake. Maybe I would go see Chizuru sometime in the future. A visit. I could go at nightfall, under the cover of darkness. I let out a huff of air, a laugh. I was known as the Assassins Shadow, I would have no problem with it.

~ Third P.O.V ~

It had been a few days since Tsukino had left the Shinsengumi. It had been a shock to everyone, although none showed it. Chizuru had been devastated, missing her dearly already. Heisuke, Shinpachi and Sanosuke felt the same, but they moved on. Even if they found it hard.

Heisuke was doing patrols with Souji, Chizuru accompanying him. She was still trying to find out her father's whereabouts. She did not believe what Kazama had said about her father betraying the Bakufu. Of course, Chizuru would keep trying.

Heisuke, although patrolling the place, was looking for Tsukino. But, he was having no luck. Every now and then, he'd see Chizuru looking around too, looking for Tsukino as well. They had no idea where to start.

Tsukino, on the other hand, was wandering the city. She was in that black cloak, sticking to the shadows as she watched from them, the civilians. Keeping an eye out for anyone who seemed suspicious, like Kazama. Tsukino did not want to see him anytime soon.

Tsukino was struggling, even though she did not show it. Having nobody around...it made her feel lonely. That loneliness she felt that day when everything was taken from her. She never wanted to feel it again, so she had put up a wall against wall against wall of concrete, blocking -no, sealing- her emotions away. So she would never feel that way again.

She should have never opened up to them. The only thought on her mind. She shouldn't have stayed with them, interacted with them. Become friends with them. Stayed with Sen. Be alive. She should have died.

Tsukino's hand balled into a loose fist. Sighing, she flexed her fingers as she looked from her position with narrowed eyes. She couldn't change it now, it had already happened. Tsukino knew she couldn't change what was in the past, although it sounded very...catchy. Interesting. Like an offer, you couldn't refuse.

She would live with it though. It was obvious the wound should have killed her, and yet, she was two years into her life. Her new life. Where Tsukino was no longer tied to Kazama, tied to no one but herself. A fresh start.

A small smile slowly made its way to Tsukino's face. A small girl squealed, happily, as she tried to get out of her mother's hug. The mother laughed, tickling her child as her squealing got louder. Some looked on, looking away quickly or smiling at the sight.

The smile Tsukino had turned down. She felt...jealous. She envied the two. She wanted to know what that emotion was, what it would bring to her. She couldn't remember many emotions when she was with Kazama. She felt the normal ones like happiness, sadness, anger, but that was it. She didn't feel love, like the love of a parent. She didn't feel jealousy, she had never asked for much. She had been happy with what she had.

Her frown deepened even more. Why did she feel like this, why now? Closing her eyes and shaking her head, Tsukino rid the thought from her mind. It didn't matter to her, she had been doing fine this past couple of years. She studio with Sen and Kimigiku, but that was it. She did not interact with them the way she had been with the Shinsengumi.

A puff of air escaped from her mouth. Pulling the hood over her head, she stepped back into the shadows, hiding. Hiding her existence. Something Tsukino was very good at, as she had done it for two years. Two years, she lived under Kazama's nose without him noticing.

Chizuru and Heisuke continued to walk around, patrolling and asking questions. Little did both know that as they passed a certain dark ally, a cloaked figure in the darkness smiled grimly. A look of guilt shone in her eyes as she saw Chizuru, the girl looking down at the ground and walking both silently and slowly.

"I'm sorry," Tsukino whispered. Closing her eyes, she vanished from her spot as soon as Chizuru looked over to the dark alley.

A/N - Hello dear readers. I would like to thank everyone who is reading right now. Thank you sooo much for the 1k reads. I am so, sooo happy. Because of this, I will post an extra chapter, even though I'm struggling with writing chapters. But, that's not gonna be it. I have something else planned that I might do. Bai~