Hakuouki: Change of Fate

Men Don't Make Excuses

Elena POV

The pleasant scent of earth, grass, and flowers tickled Elena's nose as she entered the local tea shop. The storefront had caught her eye many times on the way into town; today, she found her feet veering from their initial course and into the shop. She didn't fight the distraction or worry if anyone would come looking for her. Saito would probably be relieved if she got lost and didn't come back. It would solve one of his problems, that's for sure.
Inside, the store was split into two sections. On her left were small, low tables where patrons were served tea by well-groomed women. To her right were stacked shelves holding jars of the herbal blends for one to buy. Elena perused the various containers, studying their contents. One in particular caught her attention. Behind the counter manned by the store clerk was a jar labeled 'Coffee.' A handful of pitiful oily beans sat scattered at the bottom like strangers at a party.
"Do you have any more coffee?" Elena asked the clerk, practically vibrating with excitement.
The clerk's face scrunched up into a disgusted scowl as he looked down his nose at her. "No."
"Do you plan to receive another shipment?"
The man turned his back to her. "No, the only people who bought it were westerners like you. If you desire the good so badly, go back to your own country and get it."
Elena flinched. His harsh words knocked her off balance like a blow from behind. "I...beg your pardon, sir. I've lived here for three years now-"
"Good for you, now it's about time you left."
She sucked in a gulp of air and opened her mouth to reply, but nothing came out. The oxygen stayed in her lungs, suffocating her mind that was busy scrambling for the right words. There were none.
People like him were beyond reason. Elena didn't understand a lot about the political state of the nation. Still, she could piece together that there was unrest between foreigners and those who welcomed them and isolationists. In his mind, Elena threatened his very way of being. Swallowing her pride, Elena bowed, gave thanks, and turned to leave.
"Mr. Ogawa, is that any way to treat a paying customer?" Quipped a sultry, melodic voice from across the counter.
Standing next to the clerk was a lovely teenage girl dressed in a pastel pink kimono adorned with golden embroidery. Her sharp eyes dug into the clerk as her smile gleefully watched.
Mr. Ogawa bared his yellowing teeth at the girl. "Mind your business, Aina!"
The girl, Aina, raised a single delicate eyebrow as if to challenge his warning. "Very well, as I'm 'minding my business' perhaps I should speak with Kimigiku about this month's tea order for Sumí. I hear the Chiba family has acquired quite the reputation in the herbal trade."
"You'll be out of a job, girl," Ogawa snarled.
"You know, working here is nothing more than a second source of income for me. Besides, I'm sure the Chiba family will be hiring as soon as your largest account is transferred to them."
The bickering pair locked into a silent battle of wills. Ogawa glared down at the brazen woman standing before him. Aina's lips were turned upward in a victorious smile as she waited for her opponent to bow out. As her smile predicted, the clerk gave in.
"Fine, I'm sorry. Are you happy now?" Ogawa asked, his tone lacking all remorse.
"Not until you sell my friend here some coffee." Aina turned her bright smile on Elena.
Elena shook her head and took a half step back. What the hell was she even still doing in this damn shop anyway?
"I don't have any coffee."
"Fine then, how about dandelion root tea."
Elena wrinkled her nose. Tea made from roots? As in the dry, dirty, leggy part of the plant? Besides, weren't dandelions nothing more than a weed?
Before Elena could protest, the clerk spun on his heel and snatched the requested jar from the shelf. He measured out the product and wrapped it up for Elena to add to her basket.
Elena reached for the pouch of coins at her hip. Aina stopped her.
"I'm sure this will be enough for the tea, "She challenged, placing a few coins on the counter.
"We done here?" The clerk turned his back to both girls.
Aina came around the counter and linked her arm with Elena's. She announced that she would be taking a break and escorted Elena from the shop.
"I apologize for Mr. Ogawa's behavior," Aina said when they had made it back out on the streets.
"Thank you for your help in there." Elena bowed to show her gratitude.
"Anything for the Gem of Sumí."
Elena's head snapped up. She squinted at her newfound companion. Slowly, her brain connected the lovely face to recent memory. "We worked together a few weeks back!"
Aina nodded.
"I can barely recognize you without the hair and makeup."
"The difference is quite remarkable. How have you been since that night? You left quite the impression on the red light district."
"I'm so sorry, it was never my intention-"
"There's nothing to be sorry for. Thanks to your beau and his friends taking on that bouncer and whisking you away into the night, our reputation has gone up tremendously. Everyone wants to come see the lovely geisha and Maiko of Sumí."
"That's what you mean by the 'Gem of Sumi'...I hate to disappoint, but I wasn't whisked away by my lover. Harada is just a friend who helped me out of a tight spot."
"He could have fooled me. You two were embracing in the entrance like a real couple."
Elena felt the phantom touch of Harada's palm on her cheek as gentle fingers brushed away her tears. Her hand lifted to her face as if to meet his. Aina smiled.
"Stop looking at me like that; we could never work."
"I find that those who truly love each other can overcome any obstacle."
Elena shook her head. "You make it sound so easy...."
"Because it is, nothing about love is complicated. People can make it complicated, but they're only punishing themselves."
A young woman dressed in a similar kimono poked her head out of the tea shop and called for Aina. Aina motioned for the girl to give her a moment and turned back to Elena. 
"That Harada is stationed at the checkpoint just outside of the market. You should go to him."
Elena bowed again in thanks, and the two parted ways. Despite her reservations, Elena found her feet moving towards the checkpoint. Could she and Harada work past the time barrier? Was there any guarantee that time would end up being a barrier? She hadn't made any progress towards going home so far; what made her so sure she would succeed now?
Elena found Harada at the checkpoint where she had first left him. The tension was palpable before she even came within earshot of the soldiers. Harada was gripping his spear to the point that his knuckles turned white. Yuuto, His second in command, stood as rigid as stone scowling at the dirt. Elena caught Harada's eye, and she wiggled her fingers in a sheepish greeting. His eyes softened.
Harada murmured something to Yuuto and left the barricade surrounding the checkpoint. He nodded his head for her to follow, and the two walked over to the nearby bridge. Elena took a seat and dangled her feet over the water. They sat in content silence, looking out over the river. Harada appeared to have as much on his mind as Elena did hers; neither was in a hurry to speak first.
"I saw what happened earlier...." Elena finally blurted. "The Bakufu soldiers are pitiful bastards."
Harada closed his eyes. "I didn't stop them, so I'm not much better."
"What are you talking about?! You did everything in your power to stop them."
"Not everything..."
"Harada-"
He reached over, took her hand, and gave a gentle squeeze. "Let's talk about something else. I don't have long with you."
His amber eyes were hardened by the burden of hurt, turning their luminescent beauty dull like a weathered stone. He looked back out over the water as though he may lose himself in thought again. Elena covered her hand over the top of his and squeezed. She hoped that a little bit of contact was enough to ground him and keep Harada with her. Selfishly, she needed his presence to keep herself grounded as well...
"Arrest that fiend!" Came the grave voice of the Bakufu soldier.
Harada was on his feet before Elena even began scrambling up from her spot on the ledge. Back at the checkpoint, a loan traveler was cowering behind Yuuto. The traveler babbled a blurred string of pleas, begging the men to reconsider the arrest. The Bakufu responded with drawn swords.
"Anyone trying to leave Kyoto without their papers is considered an enemy of the Shogunate," said the soldier
"But I had my papers, I swear!" The traveler implored, scrambling a few paces back.
"What a pathetic excuse! You honestly expect us to believe that?"
"This is an old friend of mine," Yuuto explained. "I can vouch he had his papers this morning when I saw him."
The head soldier looked as though his eyes would pop out of his head. He turned his blade to Yuuto. "Are you siding with this infidel?"
"Don't do this, please!" The traveler begged. "I just want to go home and spend time with my mother. I received word that she has fallen ill and may not make it through the new year."
Harada stepped between Yuuto and the traveler and the Bakufu soldiers. "If my subordinate says this man had his papers this morning, then he had his papers. There is no reason to carry on like this."
"You're just making excuses for your colleague-"
"I don't believe in making excuses; I'm defending the justice of our citizens. I trust this man and my colleague."
"Captain..." Yuuto gasped. He turned to his friend. "Where did you last see your papers?"
"I had them with me just before I got to this checkpoint. I stopped to eat before getting on the road-"The traveler gasped. "There was a man. He was asking some of the travelers in the restaurant about their papers and how to get them. He bumped into me on my way out...."
"So you think he stole them?" Yuuto confirmed.
The traveler nodded.
"Go and find his papers, hurry," Harada ordered.
The pair turned and ran towards the market. The Bakufu leader called for their arrest, and his underlings began to Pursue. Harada blocked their path and jammed the shaft of his spear into the man's solar plexus, wounding him. Yuuto froze and watched the altercation in mute horror.
"You dare stand in our way?"
"I can't keep standing idly by as you harass innocent civilians in the name of 'protecting the peace.' Bastards like you are a disgrace to everything soldiers stand for!"
"Anyone traveling without papers or found to be suspicious will be put under fierce examination! We're doing our job!"
"You won't have to examine this man if you let him go find his papers."
"And who's to say he won't run off and sneak across the border elsewhere?"
"That won't happen if Yuuto is with him."
"And if it does?" The head soldier challenged. "Are you willing to take responsibility for your negligence?"
"I, Sanosuke Harada, captain of the Shinsengumi's tenth division here bye swear upon my life that this man and my second will return with the requested papers by sundown. If they fail, I will pay by slicing open my stomach."
"Harada!" Elena screeched, running for the barricade to stop him.  Yuuto caught up to her and restrained her. "He can't do that! He can't make that promise!"
"It's already been done," he murmured in her ear. "Come with me, help me find this man's papers."
Yuuto didn't give her a choice. For the second time that day, she was ushered away from the checkpoint and into the market square. Elena looked back at Harada, but he was still turned away from her and staring down the soldiers. That stupid chivalrous moron!
Per Yuuto's orders, their first stop was the cafe the traveler last saw his papers at. The suspect wasn't there anymore. Elena dug her nails into her palm in a futile attempt to keep her frustration at bay. He had the traveler's papers; he most likely walked through the checkpoint by now.
Yuuto wasn't so sure. He told Elena about groups of thieves who made money selling stolen papers. There was a chance that the thief and his companions were still in the city. The trick was finding them. Elena split off from the group and began questioning all the shop owners and patrons in hopes of finding a lead.
She had methodically made it down two rows of stalls with no luck. The sun began to inch towards the horizon, twisting her stomach into knots. Was she chasing the wrong lead? Should she have stayed with Harada and tried to talk down the Bakufu? Should she have run and gotten Hijikata? Questions swirled around in her head, sewing seeds of doubt that choked out her concentration. She nearly missed her first solid lead.
"I told the shop owner they were suspicious... That's the third report of papers being stolen this week."
Elena stopped and whirled around. "You saw someone's papers getting stolen?" she demanded.
The bystander looked shocked at first but answered, "Not exactly. Mr. Ishii's shop is a frequent stop for travelers. Lately, some shady characters have been hanging around asking questions about everyone's papers. Every time I see them in there, someone's papers go missing."
"Where is this shop?"
The bystander pointed out a storefront a few yards down the street. Just then, a greasy man in a red kimono fled from the shop with an irate traveler chasing behind him. The traveler was screaming for the man to return his papers.
Elena pulled her sword from its scabbard and took off after the man as well. The thief was skilled; Elena would give him that. He wove through the market, pushing through crowds and hopping over stands in an attempt to lose his pursuers. The man chasing him couldn't keep up. Thinking he was clear, the thief went down an alley cut through to get to the next street over. Elena turned down the previous side street and cut him off. She struck him across the temple with the dull side of her sword, and he fell motionless to the ground. Elena sheathed her sword and doubled over out of breath. 
A long, low whistle of appreciation brought Elena back to attention. She looked up and down the all but abandoned street and saw no one.
"That's one hell of a swing you got there, precious," called a voice from above.
Standing right above her on the rooftop ledge was a man. He was tall and lanky, yet muscular at the same time, as though someone crossed a bodybuilder with a ballerina. He had almond-shaped eyes that looked down to observe her like her mother observed specimen under a microscope. His smile was both maniacal and friendly at the same time.
The man leaped from the roof and landed between the thief and Elena. "I see now what Kazama was talking about. You are a fascinating woman."
Elena stepped out of his reach and moved her hand to her hilt.
"I'm not going to hurt you," he promised.
"I don't trust strangers I've just met. Especially ones who associate with the likes of Kazama."
"Our associations are strictly business. I have no reason to toy with you like Kazama does."
The man reached down and pulled the stack of stolen papers from the thief's kimono. The thief groaned in protest and raised a hand in a pitiful attempt to stop him. The man dug his heel into the thief's shoulder and held out the papers to Elena.
"Peace offering. You need these to save your spearmen, right?"
It didn't matter that Elena already had several previous run-ins with Kazama's men; she was still unnerved by their uncanny ability to know her business. She stared at the papers, wasting precious time out of fear of unknown repercussions from the strange man. Was there a cost to accepting his help? Could saving Harada really be this easy? As she wondered, Yuuto and the traveler found and caught up with Elena.
"My papers!" Cried the traveler, throwing his arms around the stranger. "Thank you for stopping that criminal and getting back my papers, mister...."
Elena opened her mouth to say that she had chased the criminal and pummeled him to the ground, but the stranger spoke up first.
"The name's Shiranui, and don't get the wrong idea. I don't give a damn about your papers; Elena here merely caught my eye, so I decided to get involved."
Yuuto and the traveler celebrated amongst themselves, leaving Elena to glare indignantly at Shiranui. He smiled back at her, unperturbed.
"That was my takedown, and you know it!" She hissed. "Where do you get off stealing credit for other people's work."
"Those simpleminded fools wouldn't believe you took that piece of human filth down even if it was you stepping on him with papers in your hand. You honestly expect them to give you credit when they found you cowering against the wall with your sword sheathed?" Shiranui laughed. "You're playing with the wrong crowd if you ever want to be recognized for your oni strength."
"Because you and your companions are so progressive?" Elena challenged. "That's one hell of a superiority complex you all seem to have when it comes to the human race.
Shiranui shrugged. "I guess you have to pick your poison then. What's more important to you, precious? Being recognized for the talented and powerful being, you are or everyone getting along?" He turned and walked away, throwing his hand up in a lazy wave goodbye. "Tell your spearman I'll be seeing him soon."
His words and the darkening shadows on the street reminded Elena of the mission she still needed to complete. Rounding up Yuuto and the traveler, the three ran all the way back to the checkpoint. They made it back just as the sun brushed the tips of the trees on the western mountain tops. Harada was on his knees, sword drawn and ready to fulfill his promise.
Elena barreled into him, knocking the sword from his grasp and knocking Harada flat on his back. She landed on top of him, her face inches from his. Harada stared up at her, his eyes mirroring her own panic.
The traveler presented his papers to the Bakufu soldiers, and everyone silently waited for their judgment. Finally, the leader gave a grunt of approval and demanded the traveler get out of his sight. Elena's fear and anxiety morphed into anger. She struck Harada in the chest with her fists, pounding into him over and over.
"You moron!" Elena screeched. "Don't you ever gamble with your life again! Ever," she hit him once more to emphasize her words.
Having been hit nearly a dozen times by now, Harada wrapped his hands around her wrists and sat up. "Okay, okay, Elena, calm down. I'm sorry I scared you."
"I won't calm down! I don't want to calm down! I want to fight with you!" She struggled against his ironclad hold.
Harada's eyebrows shot up under his head plate. "You...want to fight with me? Why in the hell would you-"
Elena pressed her lips to his, cutting off his question. She savored the warm heat of his lips, for they were proof that he was still alive and with her. 'He's safe... He's here... He's alive..." Her brain repeated over and over. Only when she was positive that the words were true did she end the kiss and look into the amber depths of his eyes.
"Because I love you, you idiot."
Harada nodded; still half dazed from Elena's sudden display of affection. He picked himself up off the ground and scooped Elena into his arms.
"Alright, Sweetheart, let's go home and fight."