Sun and Moon
It had been a long time since he could enjoy the sunrise.
He regretted having not enjoyed such a beautiful sight more often while he was a human. For all his feelings of annoyance during hot summer days, that paled in comparison to the pain the sunlight caused to his Fury body.
Since awakening a week ago, he noticed the sun did not affect him as much as it used to. He couldn’t say he wasn’t experiencing any discomfort at the moment, but it did not come close to the pain he’d grown accustomed to after consuming the Water of Life. Perhaps, he thought half-jokingly and half-hopefully, at least that symptom would vanish. Despite his seriously wounded state from being shot and his battle with Kazama before managing to kill the Demon, the bloodlust did not come. And on the few occasions when Chizuru pricked her finger while sewing or some other minor wound that made her bleed briefly before her skin healed itself, the smell of blood was so faint that he barely noticed. He felt no disgusting inclination to drink her blood either.
He refrained from sharing these discoveries with Chizuru, not wanting to get her hopes up if this turned out to be nothing. Seven days was hardly enough time to draw conclusions of this importance.
His injuries still required time to heal. That was another thing he noticed. If not for the medical care provided by Chizuru, he might not be awake yet, or even alive. Again, he dismissed these thoughts. For now he should focus on resting and recovering. The irony of that thought did not elude him; never could he forget the hell he’d given Souji for not taking his health seriously, all whilst Chizuru lectured him about overworking himself, particularly after Kazama almost killed him with his special sword.
“Hijikata-san, what are you doing up?!” That voice, followed by rapid footsteps, brought a small smile to his face as Chizuru rushed to him and sat on her knees beside him. Her eyes were wide and her lips were pressed into a thin line, making him chuckle. She narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms.
“You still have trouble sitting up and walking without a limp,” she said.“You should have stayed in bed or woken me up to help you.” She glanced in the direction of the sunrise.“I also don’t think it’s wise for you to be outside when the sun is out. You-”
“Chizuru,” he interrupted.“I’m fine. Don’t worry.”
She rolled her eyes.“Like you were fine after not sleeping at all once we returned to Edo? Like you were fine after Kazama nearly killed you? Like you were fine after being shot off your horse, so fine that you refused to drink my blood until I made it clear that I was not giving you a choice?” She raised an eyebrow.“And to think I once allowed you to scold me for passing out on one occasion. You truly are a hypocrite, Hijikata-san.” Sighing, she scooted closer to him and touched his arm.“But I suppose you’re my hypocrite.”
With another sigh, she lazily threw her arms around his neck and pressed her cheek to his chest. Hijikata ran his fingers up her spine and kissed the top of her head.
“We are going inside after this,” she said after a few moments of silence.“And you’re in no position to argue.” She tightened her embrace.
“Yes, ma'am,” he murmured as he gently rubbed her back.
Chizuru playfully poked his shoulder and cuddled further against him.
It was a good way to start the day.
-
Even before drinking the Water of Life, he did not sleep much at night. Becoming a Fury worsened that problem.
In all honesty, though, Hijikata had never been a morning or night person. He simply worked whenever he could, for as long as he could, before he collapsed from exhaustion or someone forced him to rest. Nighttime was simply the more common period when he was active. Hence, why he couldn’t, and didn’t want to, sleep tonight. In fact, he hadn’t slept much for the whole week since awakening from his coma.
Chizuru lay beside him, the moonlight from a window illuminating her peaceful face. The soft sound of her breathing and the occasional mumble had lulled him to sleep that night in Ezo, as well as the last several nights even with the minimal amount of sleep he’d gotten. That was not the not case this time.
He imagined she had not rested much while taking care of him while he was comatose, and was catching up on that now that he was awake and his life wasn’t at so great a risk. After everything she had endured, rest was the least she deserved. Knowing Chizuru, she would say the same about him.
With a sigh, Hijikata sat up in bed and carefully made his way off the mattress. It was harder to stealthily leave than it would have been from a futon, but Chizuru was too deep asleep to notice.
Hijikata walked to the window where the blinds were half-closed and sat down in front of it. Not for the first time, he thought about his fading Fury symptoms. Was he truly gradually returning to his normal human self? It could turn out to be nothing, which was why he kept this from Chizuru, but if this continued for several more weeks, he would tell her.
If his body was ridding itself of the symptoms of the Water of Life, then why? He had not done anything to cause this. He had not found and drank the water Sanan mentioned in his dying moments, had never taken the medicine. All he’d done…was drink Chizuru’s blood.
He closed his eyes. He hated letting that topic cross his mind for the smallets of seconds, so he dismissed it. Perhaps he should not think about what may be happening to his body at all and just see where it would lead, if anywhere. Yes, that was best. He didn’t need to trouble himself anymore. For now, he would focus on recovering and being with the woman he loved. Well, he would always be focusing on the latter…
“Hijikata-san?”
Hijikata twisted around in his seat and smiled when he saw a half-awake Chizuru looking at him from where she sat on their bed. With a sigh, she got out of bed and padded to him, sitting down next to him. The opening from the curtains that let in the moonlight illuminated her face even more now that she was closer to the window. It also allowed him to clearly see her annoyed expression that was very similar to the one she’d worn this morning.
“Hijikata-san,” she said sternly.“If you’re not back in bed by the time I am done counting to five, I will make you.” She lifted her hand with all five fingers up, then lowered one and uttered the first number.
“One.”
Scratch that, she was far more unhappy with him at this moment than she’d been in the morning.
“Two.”
Not wanting to find out what happened when an Edo woman was really angry, Hijikata put up his hands with a sheepish grin and grasped her wrist to wordlessly assure her that he would obey. Her expression did not change as she lowered a third finger.
“Three.”
Hijikata’s eyes widened, and he quickly jumped to his feet and hurried to the bed. He knew Chizuru didn’t lie, but he hadn’t thought she would go this far.
“Four.”
The sound of him getting back onto the mattress must have reached her ears, because she looked at him over her shoulder. She smiled brightly when she saw that he’d obeyed. She stood up and said,“Five,” in a very pleased tone of tone before making her way back as well.
She really was a scary girl.
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