Chizuru had heard the news only a week ago, but still couldn’t bring herself to move from her room. Between fits of tears and anger, she wasn’t prepared to go back to her daily duties like nothing was wrong. She couldn’t stay like this though, right? Even with the overbearing weight of the news, she couldn’t abandon those who had helped her this whole time, saved her countless times, and were nothing but kind to her after they invited her to stay. Though… she supposed the reason that she was there in the first place was gone now. Would they even let her stay? They hadn’t bothered her the whole time she had locked herself in her room. There had been knocks, requests to come in, to check on her, but it wasn’t as if she even remembered who all had done that or if it had even happened at all.
She needed to get up, to try and get better. Maybe seeing the captains… maybe being around them would help somehow. With quivering legs, she stood on her feet. How long had it been since she had done that? She walked over to the door and slid it open, looking both ways. It was clear, not a soul in sight. She let out a shaky sigh and wandered over to the kitchen. Maybe making some tea would calm her down… maybe she should make some for the captains too.
Considering his night patrols, Chizuru made the decision to visit Tani first. After all, he would be leaving sooner than the others who were mostly done with their patrols that day. Taking her time with each step, Chizuru stopped just short of his doorway. The more she thought about confronting Tani, the more she began to tear up. What if he had tried to check on her earlier? Had she been unkind to him in not letting him in? She wasn’t even sure if she responded to the knocks or not. Before she realized it, the tray seemed to slip from her hands and went crashing into the ground. Between the event and her realization, she too fell to her knees, looking at the pieces of broken glass and tea that had all scattered in front of Tani’s door. Placing her head in her hands, Chizuru felt her face heat up as tears began freely flowing from her eyes.
Father… father… why… why did you have to die?
[谷] - The Shinsengumi finally closed in on Kodo’s location after they chased lead after lead. Tani had hoped to bring good news back to Chizuru about the mission, but once they entered the secluded mansion he knew it was a lost cause. The structure seemed abandoned for days, and overrun with rasetsu. Kodo had fallen victim to his own creations. The search and rescue mission had taken a grim turn, the objective now changed to a body retrieval and recovery. He had no doubt that the woman would be shocked and devastated, but there was not much the Shinsengumi could do about it. They had been too late to save Kodo from himself, from his creations.
When they returned to the compound he watched from afar as the vice commander gave the news to Chizuru. He is certain that Hijikata had spared her the gory details. From then she had shut herself in her room. Tani had stopped by to see how she was faring, but his knocks on her door always remained unanswered. She needs time. He understood that much. Despite being alienated from his own family for years he knows how important her father is to her. Even if he was able to see her face to face he doubted his words would offer any kind of comfort as any of the other captains’ would. Perhaps someone like Sanosuke or Okita would fare better at saying something that would comfort her.
Having worked the evening patrols for a week straight it was refreshing to have an evening off. The tender glow of the lantern’s light casted his face in shadow as he sat at his desk and read book. Slender fingers glided across the inked pages, violet hues evenly gazed over the scripted words. He paused for a beat upon hearing footsteps stopped outside his door. Suddenly a clatter of tableware crashed outside. Rising to his feet, Tani crossed the room and opened the shoji, only to find the page on her knees outside his room.
“Chizuru!” Tani exclaimed, surprised.
Crouching down beside her he noticed her flushed tear stained cheeks. Lips curved into a frown, he resisted the instinct to pull her into an embrace as he would have done for his younger sister as he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. Concerned violet eyes searched her expression, mirroring the unease that stirred within his chest. He’s not used to seeing her this way; without the optimistic smile on her face. “Sit. I’ll clean this up.”
A soft sigh tumbled from his lips as his hands moved to pick up the broken cups and tea set. “You shouldn’t push yourself.”
