Trying to Kill Each Other Doesn't Count as Flirting (or Does it?)

Chapter 17

"O...okita-san," she whispered, "(F/N)-chan...what was that?"

They exchanged a glance. Okita nodded, and crept towards the door, hand on the hilt of his sword. Footsteps could be heard outside, and moments later, several men burst through the door. (F/N) already held a handful of kunai, and watched carefully as Sougo cut down one man after another. Four got past him, and that's when (F/N) raised her hand, and took aim. Three kunai struck flesh, but the last man reacted just in time, deflecting it to the floor.

Shit.

The man swung his sword, but at the last moment, (F/N) ducked. Then, in one swift motion, she grabbed his hand, and twisted. The sword fell from his grasp, and in a split second, she sank a kunai into his throat. He fell to the ground dead.

(F/N) took a moment to survey the room. Seven bodies lay on the floor, she and Sougo were covered in blood, and Soyo, sitting behind (F/N), was shaking.

A part of her wanted to comfort the girl, but even as they stood there, she could hear more footsteps in the hall, so she just wiped her bloody hand off on her clothes, grabbed Soyo's hand, and ran.

The hallway was pure chaos. Everything smelled of blood, and it was hard to tell who to help and who to stab. (F/N) didn't know what exactly was going on, but her best guess was that enemy ninjas had snuck in disguised as allies. Why were there enemy ninjas? She had no idea. All she had to do was keep moving forward until they reached the escape vessels.

Sougo took the lead, clearing a path while (F/N) made sure no one could stab the Princess from behind. Soyo was still gripping (F/N)'s hand, squeezing so hard she thought her fingers might break, and Sougo wasn't helping.

"Princess," he said as he sliced open a man's stomach, "this is the liver. And that's a kidney, and here's a heart..."

"Eek!" Soyo screamed, burying her face in (F/N)'s back. "Stop it! Stop it!"

"Cut it out, Sougo-kun," (F/N) said, trying to pretend she wasn't holding back a laugh. The enemies had thinned out somewhat, and she was starting to relax. The same couldn't be said for Soyo. Even after Sougo stopped giving his disturbing anatomy lesson, she was still shaking, her face slightly green.

"Are you okay?" (F/N) asked, giving her hand a squeeze.

Soyo forced a smile. "Yeah, I'm going to be all right."

(F/N) frowned, stealing a glance ahead. The ship was large, and they still weren't anywhere near the deck, but there were no enemies in sight. That was good.

"Are you worried about your brother?" (F/N) asked, turning back to Soyo. Her voice echoed strangely in the empty space.

The Princess tensed, but shook her head.

"No, I'm sure he'll be fine. He's got Zenzou with him, after all."

(F/N) stopped in her tracks.

"Zenzou," she repeated, a chill overtaking her body. "Hattori Zenzou?"

"Well, yes." Soyo tilted her head to the side. "He's the leader of the Oniwaban. Do you know him, (F/N)-chan?"

"Yes, I do...but I had no idea he'd be here on the ship."

"Really? But we were all told about it during our briefings."

(F/N) bit her lip.

Everyone heard about it during their briefings...

But the one who did my briefing was...

(F/N) ran forwards, and grabbed Okita by the arm.

"Sougo," she growled, digging her fingers in deep enough to bruise, "why didn't you tell me Zenzou was on the ship?"

He pulled his arm out of her grip, and kept walking. (F/N) gritted her teeth. What was with him?

"Sougo!" she snapped. "Why didn't you tell me? You know how much I want to see him again! I told you myself! I need to know why he left, so why—"

"Stop it."

(F/N) froze, and Okita turned around slowly to meet her gaze.

"This isn't the time," he muttered. "Now come on. We need to get the Princess to safety."

He continued walking, and (F/N) followed after him, once again taking hold of Soyo's hand.

I don't get it. I know he's right, so why does it piss me off so much? And why on earth didn't he tell me Zenzou was here?

I swear to god, I'm going to kill him when all of this is over.

Author's Note: Hello! Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and if you did, please remember to vote. Thanks!

-Marguerite Partello