Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Life the Saitoh Fujita Way ❯ Tales in Tonami - A Cruel Turn of Events ( Chapter 18 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

By: anreg

30 Romances Theme: Diabolical

Saitoh Hajime tells Takagi Tokio that he will marry another woman.

"In the matter of the heart, there is no hope today."

Tales in Tonami - A Cruel Turn of Events

Now that the talk is over and the decision made, someone needs to tell her about Yaso before the planning starts in earnest. I want her to hear it from me. It won't be any easier for her, but I think it is the best way.

I need to tell her away from the house, when no one else is around, someplace where she can come to terms with her feelings. When I see her leave the building, heading across the yard and out to the vegetable patch, basket in hand, I make my move, catching up to her quickly. “Takagi-san, may I have a word with you?”

I stop in my tracks when I hear his voice. Takagi-san? The way he addresses me causes my chest to clench. I thought we were past that. He has called me Tokio-san for months. Turning in the direction of his voice I reply hesitantly, “Yes, Hajime-san, what is it?”

I want to touch her, to hold her in an embrace to try to cushion the impact that I expect my words to have. Only a blind man would not have seen that this woman has at least some feeling for me. I have been very careful not to let her know that the feeling is mutual. I couldn't. It would only make what I am going to have to do that much harder, and it is hard enough already. Let her think that her affections are one sided. That will be less painful for her.

Almost as soon as I arrived in Tonami to live in the Kurasawa household, Hiejieumon-san started to hint about Yaso's situation, and how he wished to help his adoptive parents insure a secure future for their charge. At the time I had the sinking feeling he shared this with me because I figured in his plans. He knew I owed him. My instinct was right; I did figure in his plans in a major way.

“You have heard the talk,” I begin, “About Shinoda Yaso and myself.” Tokio's body tenses as the words slip from my mouth. Yaso's inheritance will not be secure unless she marries and stays married for almost three years. I was the only suitable prospect.

I owe my life to Kurasawa Hiejieumon. As a member of the losing side in the Boshin War, I was incarcerated and scheduled to be among those chosen for a token execution. Punish some of the bastards as an example; that is what they wanted to do. Show anyone else who might dare, what the new government will do to those who defy it.

The only reason I found myself transferred to the group being sent to exile, was the intervention of Kurasawa-san. He had influence with the local officials, and he exercised it as a favor to an old friend of his, who was also an old friend of mine, Matsudaira Katamori.

That is how I found myself living in the Kurasawa household in Tonami, working at any job I was assigned, and being totally in his debt for my life. How could I refuse any request that he might make, if it didn't conflict with my personal code of honor?

That is how I came to be in this garden, trying to tell the woman I have come to love, that I am a match for someone else, namely Shinoda-san.

“The decision has been made,” I tell her. “Yaso and I will be married in August.”

As soon as I hear his words, I turn away. I cannot face him. I do not want him to see the tears that I am fighting to control. They would make him wonder. I doubt he knows of my feelings toward him. “I understand,” I say softly. But I do not really understand. If he is going to marry, why can't it be to me? I have heard of Shinoda-san's unfortunate situation. Why does he have to be the one to solve her problems?

She turns from me and I reach toward her to touch her arm, only to have her flinch away from me. That is to be expected, considering what I just told her. My hand drops back to my side, and I slowly take my leave. She will stay here alone with her thoughts, harvesting what she needs for the next meal, trying to make some sense out of her life.

In turn, I will try to make some sense out of my life, and perhaps begin to plan for a future after my marriage to Yaso has ended. Because it will end.