Hakuouki drabble collections

Saito x Chizuru

The room felt chiller than usual, Saito found himself quite comfortable where he was sleeping and if it wasn't for the responsibilities that awaited him later, he'd for once, quite liked the idea of staying warm and cosy inside his blankets. However, work was work. It needed to be done and so with a slight shiver as he did so, he threw his blankets off of him and started to get himself ready for the day.

As he opened the door to the outside of his room, the cool wind gushed into his room letting the warm air out. The icy air hit his face and as he gazed out onto the grounds of the the Shinsengumi quarters, it was covered with an unfamiliar colour of white. It did seem cold enough for it to snow, but he didn't think that it was due to snow for some time yet.

"Saito-san?" A familiar voice called, his gaze shifted from snowy scenery to the pretty figure of someone who he didn't mind being interrupted by. "It's a beautiful day, isn't it?"

"Yukimura, what brings you here?" Saito questioned, looking down to the girl who looked like she had something to say.

"Ah! I have just asked Hijikata-san if I might go out with someone to fetch ingredients for a soup for lunch. I think this cold weather needs something to warm us up with, right? Mmm, so I need someone to come with me..."

"And you want me to go with you?" Saito finished, interrupting her.

"Ah! It's fine if you don't want to...I don't have to go...I could ask someone else to come with me...." Yukimura trails off.

Saito guessed that her silence must be that she was now worried that he would be troubled and be busy, which normally, he would rather decline her invitation because he did indeed have many tasks which needed to be done and get her to go out with someone who would enjoy going with her more, like Heisuke, for example.

"Actually, I have some errands I need to run in town as well so I don't mind accompanying you." Saito finally responded.

"Thank you, Saito-san." Yukimura smiled back to Saito. It was clear that she was relived that he had accepted her request to come into town.

"No, it only makes sense that we both go in together since we both need to go there." Saito paused for a few moments before continuing speaking. "Are you ready to leave now? I would prefer for us to go out sooner rather than later."

"Yes, I am!" Yukimura cheerfully replied. Saito didn't really understand why she had become suddenly bright, but it was nice to see a smile on her face.

It wasn't long that soon after they had trodden down the snowy paths, that they found themselves in the centre of the market. Saito watched as Yukimura looked through vegetables options for the soup and different foods which could serve as side dishes. He was unsure whether to provide his assistance or not in the purchasing of the goods, but it seemed like Yukimura was having no trouble with the task in hand. While he was waiting, he adjusted his scarf to protect himself better from the chilly wind which was picking up.

"Would you like some help in carrying the food?" Saito asked, seeing that Yukimura was carrying a handful of various veg.

"No, I'm fine. Thank you, Saito-san." She replied, still not wanting to trouble him. "Besides, you want to get something yourself right?"

"It is only some clean cloths for my sword and some polish. It would be better for you to carry those items and let me carry the heavier bag." If Yukimura didn't accept his offer this time, he would have to give in and let her do what she wanted. "It's natural as well for the man to carry the bag for the women anyway."

"Ah, okay. If you insist." Yukimura blushed slightly, eyes to the ground and then looked up to hand over bag of vegetables to Saito. "Thank you, Saito-san."

"It's only natural that I'm prepared to do this." It was the polite thing to do and it made no difference to him whether he carried it or not. It was no bother to him.

"Let's go." Saito then turned to walk to shop which stores his desired items, thankfully it wasn't far and it didn't take long to reach the shop, buy the goods and complete the errand he had in the town. If he was honest with himself, this could've been done on another day, but something inside him told him to accept Yukimura's offer to come into town and complete his task with her. He just wanted to enjoy her company for awhile and this was an good chance to do it.

"Saito-san, are we going to go back now?"

"Ah, yes. You'll want to start the food preparations as soon as possible I suppose." Saito answered, her question breaking him off from his train of thought.

"It's getting quite chilly right? We should get back so then we'll be able to warm up."

Saito picked up his walking speed, eyeing Yukimura to his side who was smiling as she spoke. He felt that he, himself, also was giving her a small smile in reply. On noticing that he was doing this, he immediately recomposed himself and cleared his throat with a cough. "Yes, you must be getting cold by now."

"Don't worry, I'm fine." She assures the other so that he does not worry, although she would be glad to get back into the warm indoors.

Saito turned his head and focused on the path they were walking on, not carrying on conversation until they had arrived back at the Shinsengumi and they come to a point where there paths parted and they exchanged their loads they were carrying for each other's. Yukimura now holding the food, and Saito had his bought items from the town.

"Right, I'll be leaving you here then. I'll be looking forward to the meal later." He had enjoyed their venture, but now it was time to part and for him to carry on with his duties that he had yet to do in the day.

"Yes, thank you for accompanying me." Yukimura bowed. "See you later, Saito-san."

Saito nodded and was about to turn away when he felt a cold touch on his face, which surprised him a little. He didn't expect that it would continue after its burst from the earlier night. "Snow?"

Yukimura giggled, for a reason which Saito was unsure of. "What?"

"Ah, only that you hadn't noticed it starting just now until a snowflake fell onto your face." She grinned up to him. She really did catch him by surprise sometimes and he found himself slightly unsure of how to respond and confused as to why she should be amused by such a thing.

"I'm leaving now." Saito closed his eyes for a moment, letting the snow fall on him some more, before heading for cover. He heard Yukimura behind him telling him to get warm before doing more tasks outside again. He really didn't understand her, but she was someone who he didn't regret meeting. She was an important person to the Shinsengumi and as long as she didn't get in their way in the important matters, he wanted her to stay as she was a help in other areas and he was now used to her presence. He hoped that that would be able to enjoy some more time together in the future. He looked forward to that thought coming true.

End