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sengoku collection: kondou isami

Tea and Dango

WHO: Kondou Isami, and possibly you as well~♥
WHAT: Isami is new hereabouts and is just taking tea. Wanna chat her up?
WHERE: Somewhere around the main camp.
WHEN: Early afternoon.
WARNING(S): Just the confusion, hilarity, or possible angst that might ensue.

[Isami not feeling boisterous for the time being, and after being told how it is that she ended up in this world after being in the modern era with modern appliances, she decided that she'd get to it whenever she'd get to it. If there was a battle to be waged, she'd fight and do her part to survive and help out this main camp.

Otherwise, she was now occupying herself with a nice, hot cup of tea and some sweets. Dango to be exact. She has a good pile of it on a large enough dish, and was happily enough munching on some after she had taken a sip of tea.]

Ah~ That sure does taste good~♥

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What did you do with those?

[Oh no, he can't stand such a long from someone who is even supposed to be Kondou. He doesn't want Kondou to be angry with him. And her words spoke a detailed truth. And now that he thought closer about it - he did meet a version of himself here, but not.. a woman. Huh.]

If you are truly Kondou-san... then when was I given to your dojo?

[Automatically, and with a smile:]

When Souji was nine.

Then you are truly... Kondou-san.

[He is not sure how he feels about that yet, but he picks up the skewer that had fallen down and looks a little sheepishly on the ground.]

Sorry for not believing you earlier.

[Oh, now he believes her. Well, if he says he's Souji, and if he says he believes who she is, then she finds no problem with that at all.

Stranger things have happened, and in the world she had come from, everyone said that historically speaking, they were male. Perhaps this was something like that?

Whatever, she was going to give this Souji one of her best smiles.]

As long as you understand that I am who I am, I won't have a problem with you at all, Souji~♥

[With this, she gives him a reassuring pat on his shoulder.]

[For some reason her smile and her gesture made him feel all warm. It was really almost as if his Kondou was here. His expression turns into a smile of his own.]

Yes? Then I'm glad.

[That meant he got to eat dango together with Kondou all alone. Without Hijikata butting in for once - hopefully.]

It has been a while since I spent time with Kondou-san like this.

[It hadn't been all too long for her. But then again, this Souji might've been here all alone without anyone to give any sort of thought to the boy.

Mm, whether her Souji or not, Souji had been entrusted to her by Mitsu-san, and even though not related by blood, they were still related. That, and no matter what, she thinks she can get along with this young man as well as she had her own Souji. It's settled, then.]

Then I think you can spend a whole lot more time with me like this if you want~ Between fighting in this war we seem to both be into, that is.

Really?

[Souji perked up a little more, just like from an energetic little puppy. Even if Kondou was around, he was usually too busy to spend a few quiet moments with him. The opportunity to change that sounded nice.]

Is it alright if I am by your side then? I will do my best to protect you, even during the battles.

Yes~ Really~♥

[He seemed to have completely changed his tune, even more so than her own Souji who would like nothing better than to have some peace and quiet when she was sick. She didn't know about this young man's propensity for illness, but she was just going to tread carefully with him about that regardless.

But that's for later.]

I think that if we are to fight such things as "demons" here, then I think it would be better for us to protect each other rather than you laying down your life for me.

I'm responsible for you, remember?

[Yes, only Kondou got that kind of special treatment from Souji. And it is probably better not to bring the illness up just yet, he's trying his best to fight it down for now.]

Each other... but I want to repay Kondou-san. [Since Kondou had done so much for him when he was a child. Still, it wasn't as if her words didn't make him happy, because they did. Being cared for was always... such a strange but nice feeling.]

You are the leader of the shinsengumi, right? We can't allow to let you fall.

Hm~ I could say the same thing and say, "Souji, you're my First Division Captain, I can't allow you to let you fall either." In battle, nothing is assured you know. The best we can do is help protect one another. As the modern saying would say, "I'll have your back, and you'll have mine."

Besides, my sword skills haven't dulled one bit. Or what, do you doubt them, Souji~?

[She inferred that this Souji had to have the same abilities, and prowess with the sword as the one she knew. As for the modern sayings, it was a bit difficult to explain, being thrown into a different world and into the "modern era." She's been there for quite a while now and got used to things.]

[Alright, that really sounded like Kondou, kind of. He gives her nod.]

If that is what Kondou-san wish... then we will fight and protect each other.

[He actually hesitates a bit at the question. Kondou had been shot in the shoulder from what he remembered so he wasn't anymore able to hold a sword or fight properly.]

That's not it - [Not at all, Kondou was the best swordsman around, after all] - but... is your body alright?

[She gave him a bright smile as she heard his words. Yes, he's a good kid for listening to her~♥

Only when he asked about her health, her smile faded a little.]

Yes, I'm completely fine and in top shape. Why do you ask?

[And with the way she's dressed, he could probably see that her skin around her shoulder is nice, clean, and smooth. She prided herself in maintaining her hygiene exceptionally well.]

[He's always listening to Kondou. Well, almost always. The exceptions are when the wishes clash to hard against each other.]

Since...

[He hesitates a little, thinking if he should tell her the truth, but he disliked lying to Kondou, so...]

Since the Kondou-san of my world was wounded here.

[He points at his right shoulder, and let his gaze drift over hers. It did seem fine, no scar, nothing.]

[She looks at her right shoulder, just where he's pointing at. That she would get injured wasn't unthinkable, but it could be possible if she weren't careful enough. That's a truth, and that's not something that she would shy away from.

Injuries sucked, but one had to live with them. But in this case, her other self had somehow gotten injured. She didn't know the -- oh.

Circumstances. It all boils down to that, doesn't it? One action taken, one action not taken. She could have done something differently and she would have gotten injured just like this Souji's.]

I don't know what circumstances led your version of me to have an injury here, but I might have taken a different step somewhere along the line to allow me to stay unscathed.

Your Kondou is a man, yes? Difficult as it is for me to believe, but if there is a slight difference such as being a man or a woman, there might have been some small differences as to how we led our lives.

[But apparently not enough changes to make them completely different. She, and her male counterpart, were leaders of the Shinsengumi. She, and her male counterpart, had apparently done much of the same, and was even leader of the Shieikan when Souji first arrived.]

I wonder what happened that made my other self get injured...

[She blurted this last part out in idle thought.]

Edited 2012-11-18 08:02 (UTC)

Yes, perhaps you would have been more careful. Perhaps the Hijikata-san of your world might have cared to put up better protection for you.

[But he had heard it himself - or that was what Hijikata had claimed - Kondou didn't want to take too many men with him that day since they had been kind of short on them anyways.]

That... it was a trap. Some people wanted to get revenge and they shot him on his way back to our headquarters from the woods. It was good he did not fall from the horse or else...

[Or else Kondou would have been done for. Though Kondou wouldn't be Kondou if he wasn't so stubborn and pulled of the stunt to ride all the way back home on the horse nevertheless. His life had been on the line that entire night.]

[Evidently this was weighing much on Souji. She couldn't help but want to give him a hug and give him reassuring pats on the back.

Which she did.]

I'm sorry that this happened to him, Souji...

[And with that tone of voice that he used:]

It must have been hard on you when news reached you, didn't it? I'm sorry.

[She soothingly strokes his back as she does this, because really, she wouldn't know how she'd react if she'd known any of her close friends, the closest subordinates, were to have been shot. She'd probably even be on vigil to take care of them if need be. She wondered if Souji here had probably done the same for him.

She couldn't offer any sort of consolation aside from this, and she only hoped he could accept it.]

Ah...

[He didn't really expect a hug right now - in fact, it had been some time since he had been hugged last, but it wasn't unwelcomed. It felt almost like the first time when the Kondou of his world had hugged him.

He hesitantly reaches up so that his hands could rest on the back of her shoulders.]

Yes.

[In fact, he went on a rampage afterwards and killed a lot of people he thought were responsible for this, but he is not going to tell her that. He didn't know what she would think of him if she learned that particular fact.]

I'm sorry.

[So he was accepting the hug, and was hugging back. Mm, this is indeed a good thing, or else it would have felt a little awkward if he'd just tense up at it, so she was glad.

She shakes her head slightly.]

Why would you be sorry, Souji? You shouldn't be.

[Not letting go for the time being. She will in due time, but she'd still like to hold on for a couple of seconds longer if she can.]

[If he hadn't fallen sick, he could have accompanied Kondou and might have been able to protect him (though protecting someone from a gunshot like that was hard). Instead, he was lying in bed with that stupid incurable disease. Plus...]

You were having a good time here, right? I shouldn't have talked about this...

[It was like he destroyed the mood, though she didn't seem mad at him for that. He closes his eyes and rests his chin slightly on her shoulder.]

[To already feel his affection like this was very touching, and even more so knowing that he felt bad for whatever it is that he felt bad for, enough to be apologizing for this.

She knew that whatever it was, wasn't Souji's fault at all.]

Shh... don't worry, Souji. I'm sorry to have brought back memories that have affected you like this. If anyone should apologize, it should be me for probably being thoughtless about it.

[She knew she couldn't read people's minds or know of people's pasts, but she still felt some of that burden. As a leader, she's the one that should shoulder much of the responsibilities, not her most trusted people.

She gave him another pat on his back.]

So don't feel like you've done anything wrong, or talked about something wrong, because you didn't. It happened to you in your life, and there's nothing wrong with that at all.

No, please don't. It is not Kondou-san's fault.

[If he had spent a little more attention he wouldn't have had to ask that question in the first place. Still, he was grateful for her kindness and her understanding. It gave him really a warming feeling.]

Thank you very much.

[Her words were reassuring and forgiving. Perhaps that was what he had searched for, unconsciously.]

Perhaps... do you want to tell me a bit about your world?

[She pulled back from the hug, and gave him a smile.]

You're a real good man aren't you, Sou~ji~?

[Yes, she likes saying his name in a slightly sing-song sort of way. Especially now that he seems to want to change topics, best to start off in a positive way, yes?]

Let's see, about my world...

[She's pensive for a moment.]

I think it might be more or less the same as yours, only that obviously women are the ones that use swords and fight wars. We also had the political obstacles that we had to overcome and achieve a name for ourselves after everything.

Though one thing that always stood out from that other place that I was... and this place too, is the architecture - it's all different. The older castles are more like large, tall spires that rose up to the sky. They were all different colors too.

Oda Nobunaga's castle in Owari used to be this one large, red structure that would pierce enemies with a pang of fear, or so they said. Everything in the new Japan I encountered was completely different, with big buildings, and while they reached the sky as well, it just wasn't the same.

Doesn't mean it wasn't an interesting place, though!

[She didn't have the heart to tell him about her decision along with Toshi and her Souji, but it was different.]

[He loosened his hold a little as well, though he let one hand rest on her back.]

A good man...

[That was what the Kondou of his world believed as well. He couldn't bring himself to deny it or tell her the truth, just like with his own Kondou. He didn't want to disappoint either of them.]

I am trying to abide to Kondou-san's teachings.

[That wasn't entirely a lie, was it?

He listens to her story, though. He always liked listening to his own Kondou's stories, and this was somehow no different. Though a world were women fought the wars seemed a little strange. Not that Souji had ever thought too much about genders and he would kill a woman that was an enemy to the shinsengumi without much of a second thought, but...]

The buildings are like tall spires? Is there enough place for everyone in there?

[He started to try and imagine the buildings, which was.. unusual, perhaps even stranger than the ones from storybooks.]

Don't you have problems with the new Japan?

Yes, that's what I think you are. And coming from the one that attained the Menkyou Kaiden from our school at that young age, I sure would hope you're abiding by the teachings we've set for you.

[And by "we," she's saying both his Kondou and herself. If her counterpart was anything like him, he'd also have all the precepts of the school written in their heart of hearts, never once to stray from it, or the self-imposed rules that they've made each other go through for all of the members of the Shinsengumi. Herself included, even as their leader. No... especially her because she was the leader.]

Oh yes, the bases of the spires are massive, and only taper off after it's gone on really high. Lots of space, and really difficult to scale, especially if you put something like spikes on them.

[She paused.]

The New Japan I encountered was not something that was problematic, aside from funding. Once we gained enough to get by, all we had to do was learn how to live among the rest of the people. There wasn't any need for samurai like us, even though we, and other historical figures from the Sengoku era showed up at nearly the same time.

Hijikata was first afraid of these things they have called "appliances," and after a while she knew to heat food with this one box called a "microwave oven" with different wattages at different specified times.

[Yep. She went to the 21st Century. Along with everyone else.]

If anything, the New Japan was a peaceful place. No fighting, no problems with the Choushuu, any ronin, nothing.

[The complacency was nice in a way, but she got bored at times. It's probably why she caused a couple of problems herself, but never any major things to get her in trouble with the law that existed in this New Japan.]

Yes...

[Souji forces himself to sound cheerful and smiles. Though the truth was all he could do was pretend to understand those teachings. He had a rough idea what Kondou was expecting from him and he would do what he can to appear like he understood it. At least the rules of the shinsengumi were easy to abide - if people let him, that is.]

That sounds rather hard to imagine. Just how high are those buildings?

[He's a bit surprised to hear those words, though.]

No need for samurai? Isn't that a little... [A little depressing? It was always Kondou's and Hijikata's dream to become samurai.] Though even people from the Sengoku era? Kondou-san must have been really excited then. [Kondou's obsession with great historical figures wasn't exactly a secret to him.]

Hijikata-san afraid? I would have loved to see that. Does that mean cooking is less effort now?

[That would probably be easier to handle for him then, even if he liked experimenting around while he cooked.]

Nothing at all, huh? The time really sounds so different from ours.

[Though at least children could live in peace from the sounds of it. As much as Souji enjoyed cutting down a ronin, he had thought that the children in their neighboorhood deserved some peace.]

When tags start becoming mini-novels. OTL

golden_peony - 2012-11-20 21:39 (UTC) - Expand

sorry it took so long and that's completely okay!

sadistsword - 2012-11-24 21:07 (UTC) - Expand

:3b We're good!

golden_peony - 2012-11-25 03:01 (UTC) - Expand

<333!

sadistsword - 2012-11-26 22:42 (UTC) - Expand

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