Aaaaaaaand! Here's the second part! Hahahah. Our love heroes make their entrance.
~~~~~
Previosly...
Heisuke nodded. A tear fell from his cheek. "I'm really sorry (y/n)."
"No you're not. If you were, you wouldn't have taken this long to tell me." You sighed, stood up, and headed through the door. "Goodbye, Heisuke."
You swiftly made your exit to the inner garden.
'Is this the last time I can sit on this bench?' You asked yourself, but who were you kidding? You knew the answer.
"Yes. It is."
This thought alone left you broken hearted.
~*~*~
After packing your belongings, you headed for the door. It was only right to return to where you came from, Shiei Hall.
That's right, Kondou's dojo. That's where you met everyone and that how you were introduced to Heisuke.
You were best friends with Shinpachi and Sanosuke, and it just so happened that Heisuke was around your age. You hit it off right away.
"Hey, you need some help there?" Shinpachi interrupted your thoughts and picked up a couple of your bags and placed them onto the cart.
"No, no, no." You waved your hands in protest. "I couldn't possibly-"
"Let me help you load it at least." The strong Shinpachi Nagakura flexed his biceps. "I gotta find some way to use these."
You giggled a bit. He's still the same Shinpachi you grew up with.
"Stop flirting with her." Sanosuke sighed. "She's newly available, but she's also in the process of getting over a heart break."
"So blunt, Sano! You're gonna make her cry." Shinpachi stood between you and Sanosuke, in a defensive stance.
"Yeah? Well if you keep being nice to her, she's going to misread your intentions. Isn't that more hurtful?" The auburn haired male looked to you for confirmation.
You averted your eyes at the statement. It was true.
"That's fine." Shinpachi blurted.
"Eh?" You covered your face with your hands at his words.
"What?" Sanosuke was left dumbfounded.
"I said 'that's fine'" He restated. "I liked her before Heisuke, anyway. I don't care if she uses me or whatnot. I've liked her ever since she first came to Shiei Hall."
"Shinpachi..." You uttered his name. "But-"
Sanosuke cut you off. "Tough luck there. I've liked her since Shiei Hall. Find another girl, muscles-for-brains."
"Eh?" You took a step backward and stared at the two men in disbelief.
"Oh yeah? Well, I'm escorting her back!" Shinpachi blurted, but it wasn't true.
"You're lying. Like Hijikata would let you go." Sanosuke laughed at his bluff.
They began a staring contest and then turned to face you.
"Say, why don't you just choose one of us, (y/n)." Shinpachi was dead serious about this.
"Yeah, you can-" Sanosuke was stopped from finishing his sentence.
"That's enough." A familiar voice interrupted. "Can't you see that you're making her uncomfortable?"
It was Toshizo Hijikata.
'My savoir!' You thought, eyes sparkling and everything.
"If you want to do something nice for her, take her out. There's a festival going on, right?" He suggested. "But if you two don't want to take her, I will."
You blushed at his straight-forward words.
"No, we will take her." Both men replied in unison.
Hijikata sighed and made his way toward you. He reached out a hand to you and you responded by sticking out your own hand. He slipped some money in there and kissed your forehead.
"You're like a little sister to me. Don't be sad. What Heisuke did was wrong, but take your mind off of it and have fun at the festival." He whispered, and then began to walk away.
"Thank you for letting me stay here for so long." You bowed to his back.
You felt one of his rough hands rest on your head. "Anytime, kid."
As soon as you raised your head, Shinpachi and Sanosuke held their hands out to you.
"Let's go, shall we?" They said in unison, which caused for you to blush.
You tucked the money into your pouch and grabbed their most readily available arms, hugging them close to you.
"You two are the best." You smiled. "My best friends."
"Don't say that." Shinpachi acted like he was hurt.
"You've wounded my pride." Sanosuke also feigned pain.
You laughed at them as they overreacted and doubled over onto the ground.
"Your clothes will get dirty! Stand up!" You playfully hit their shoulders.
"Ow!" Both men winced at your blow.
"Oh! Sorry. Sometimes I can't control mysel-"
"Just kidding!" Shinpachi stood right back up and petted your head.
"You're way too nice." Sanosuke smiled at you.
The three of you kept walking until you reached the festival.
You were amazed by all of the overwhelming smells.
Food was the perfect cure to your heart ache.
The two men noticed that you were eyeing all of the food stands and laughed.
"What's so funny?" You thought, frowning.
"Nothing." Shinpachi petted your head gently.
"Let's go eat our fill!" Sanosuke grabbed your hand and led you away from Shinpachi.
"Heyyyy!" The muscular male yelled.
The two of them are most definitely your best friends.
~~~~~
Yeyeyeyeye! Awwwe. They can be my best friends any day. Hope you like it!
