❖ Ｔｈｅ ｆａｔｅｄ ｏｎｅｓ ❖
As quickly as the serious expression on her face appeared, it soon vanished to replace a beaming smile. “Thank you!” She would make sure to finish this as quickly as possible so he could have something warm and delicious in his stomach. Haru had been lucky that she was able to mask her expression, or otherwise she would of turned flustered at the sight of a half-naked man. It didn’t make sense why she was feeling so shy at this moment - The brunette had healed all the other guardians before plenty of times, and most of them were men.
With a little wiggle, Haru had climbed onto the bed, shifting to face Hijikata’s back, inspecting the wound with critical eyes. A grimace appeared on her face as she rummaged through her first aid-kit. It looks pretty nasty..I wonder how he got it..Cotton ball in hand, Haru began to gently dab at the wound, cleaning it free from any extra dry blood that might of clung to his skin. Once she was finished with that, she began to look through her box again, letting out a small noise when she found what she was looking for. Clutching the antibiotic spray in her hands, the brunette cleared her throat; making sure that he could hear her properly.
“This might sting, but don’t worry! It will help to heal the wound and also relieve you of pain, okay?” Her small fingers gently pressed against an area of skin that wasn’t injured, as if comforting the other. With a small push from the bottle, a watery like substance covered the entirety of his wound, and pleased with it, she took out a fresh roll of bandages.
For Haru, it didn’t take that long for his back to be completely covered with the bandages, making sure to keep them firm, but not too tight that it caused discomfort. Leaning back, Haru inspected her work, sighing softly. “Okay, Haru is done!” With a small snap of her first aid-kit closing shut, she jumped off the bed, shuffling over to tug the cover from the food, giving the male another one of her bright smiles. “Take it easy and rest for a while. Hijikata-san should make sure to heal up.”
“Haru will regularly clean and re-bandage the wounds for you. Hahi! Please eat up, while you’re at it.” With a small sheepish tug of the plate, she placed it close nearby, Haru taking a quick seat on the smallish couch in her large room, having no shame in watching the other curiously. She wondered what to ask him - Many questions were swarming in her mind. Why was he unconscious? How did he get hurt? Where did he come from? She instead choose to make idle talk. “Haru is lucky she found you! While parts of these towns aren’t dangerous, it could be bad to just walk around like that injured.”
"Thank you, better said."
Hijikata rolled his eyes and let her do as she pleased. There was no point on complaining, anyway; she was pretty determined on helping him and trying to fight back wasn't going to work either. He was thankful for what she was doing, but he didn't want to be a bother for anybody. As an adult man, the vice-commander was prefectly able to solve his own problems by himself, but—something told him Haru wasn't going to listen to him now that he had accepted her medical help. So he just sat in bed and waited for the female to start healing his wound.
Why am I here, the man still wondered, as he felt some pain in his back. He didn't care at all—he has indeed received worse injuries and not once has he complained about them. But the fact he had arrived at such an unfamiliar place bothered him, somehow. Hijikata couldn't simply dissappear; not in his position. The Shinsengumi needed him, and he couldn't let it down. No matter how, the vice-commander always ended up thinking about it, and about his appreciated comrades. Without them, he was nothing but a man who had lost his most precious treasure. And he wanted it back. He always acted as if nothing happened to him, but deep inside, behind that shield of of strength and severity, he was empty. He needed the Shinsengumi. He needed to be by it's side.
“This might sting, but don’t worry! It will help to heal the wound and also relieve you of pain, okay?”
"Don't worry" Hijikata said proudly, a tiny, confident smile dressing his lips. Heh, Haru knew nothing about him. If she thought he was going to yell for something that trivial, she was so, so terribly wrong. "I'm way tougher than—"
But the swordsman couldn't avoid hissing when whatever-she-had-used reached his wound, biting his lower lip, doing his best not to curse loudly. What the fuck was that and why did it sting that badly? Chizuru had never made use of such an utensil when it came up to healing his wounds. Gritting his teeth, Hijikata closed his eyelids and waited (not so) patiently for Haru to finish, a sigh of relief coming out from his mouth once the burning pain was over. The smiling female stood up, offering him the plate of food after bandaging his wound.
"...You're pretty nice." he said before bowing his head to have a look at the teriyaki chicken and the rice, what made him swallow. Hijikata started eating a few seconds later, relishing it's flavor as if he hadn't eaten a single thing for years. The swordsman ate slowly, but with neediness. He was indeed lucky Haru had found him; who knows how he would have ended otherwise.
"May I ask where am I, Haru?" it may not be the most appropiate moment to ask, but still, he needed to know. He stopped eating and raised his gaze, violet hues surveying Haru's brown ones.