Pushing past the bushes into the morning light, the pair emerged from the mountain forest. Before them opened naught but flat grassy fields as far as the eye carried. To the left of them, nothing.
But to the right of them?
In the distance, one could make out the ever distant walls of the outer city, the building tops glinting above in the morning sun. Maybe an hour’s walk, all things considered.
But after all they’d been through, an hour was nothing, really. A tiny drop in an ocean of inconveniences and hardships that the pair had been through. The swordsman and her apothecary princess.
“See, Bikki! We’re as good as home already, y’know~! ‘s right there, see?” asked the swordsman as she firmly spun and pointed the other toward the city glinting in the distance. For good measure, Musashi’s arm extended past Hibiki’s ear, standing behind the woman, finger pointed directly at their destination.
“H..huh. We really are, are we not?” her voice ripe with disbelief, confusion, longing. With just the tiniest hint of urgency, as the woman came to realize just how close her loved ones truly were now.
Just how close home was, now.
But, the good doctor was yanked out of her thoughts as her body was jerked into motion once more. The swordsman seemed to spare little concern for her reminiscing as she already pulled Hibiki along the grasslands.
Musashi held onto the woman’s hand tightly as she pulled them along, leading the way. All the while she observed the entire view before her, eyes unmoving. A technique she’d practiced for as long as she could remember. To watch nothing, but to watch everything at once.
It was something a duelist was required to master if they wished their intentions to remain unannounced. It was a common technique, following your opponent’s eyes to decipher their upcoming movements, to prevent and counter their uninitiated attacks.
Regardless, the swordsman eyed the gently swaying grass, the swooning tree branches and unmoving bushes all at once. There seemed to be no threat in sight, but the ronin couldn’t be certain. Something had brought the hideout down and as such Musashi remained ever wary, for now.
For all she knew, it could’ve been something as simple as a landslide. But without confirmation, this was but one of the many options she was forced to consider. As such, their chosen path remained near the forest cover.
While it gave their attackers a better chance of a successful ambush, it also did wonders for granting them cover from arrows, if push came to shove. As such Musashi chose to rather travel close to the trees, than out in the fields.
She knew better than well her own capability to protect herself from arrows and the like, but held no particular desire to place Hibiki in harm’s way. After all, it would’ve been maddening to lose the other now after they’d come so far together. Frankly, it was something the swordsman would’ve been forced to count as a loss. And she didn’t lose.
“Do you think it will take us long to reach the city, Musashi?” came from behind the swordsman, fishing her out of the bubbling sea of deep-buried frustrations. For her efforts, the good doctor was rewarded with a quick glance.
“I’d saaay an hour or so,” the ronin pondered, her free hand brought up to cup her chin akin to a pose you’d expect from someone far more sophisticated than herself. “Buuut that’s if you can keep walking, Bikki!”
“I will have you know, I walk the mountains a lot in search of herbs! You just watch that your leg does not give up!” the woman snapped back. Oof! Those retorts had grown quite the edge to them, perhaps even sharper than her swords! Fast as lightning too.
Perhaps all the teasing hadn’t gone to waste after all. Progress!
But, for now it was better to just keep walking.
------
The grasslands passed by with the occasional gust of wind, little of note happening. The greatest menace the pair came to face was a rather rambunctious squirrel. The rodent was evidently possessed by the vendetta of fallen bandits as it laid down a hailfire of nuts and acorns from the trees.
A trail of cleanly cut nuts left behind them as the swordsman sheathed her blade. They’d narrowly escaped the possessed beast’s fury and fervor, as they found themselves near outer city walls.
Shimosa.
“All in a day’s work!” smiled the swordsman as she sauntered forward with her left hand still holding onto Hibiki’s, with a grip as unfaltering as her blade. “See, Bikki, you should always find practice in everything,” the swordsman half-lectured as she rounded the corner of the wall into their final straights.
“Practice? You just wiggled your sword to deflect some nuts, you know,” scoffed the good doctor as her pace grew hastier with each step, the calling of her home beckoning sweetly.
“H-huah?! Wiggled my sword?! I’ll have you know I cut through each and every nut with perfect precision!” huffed the swordsman as their pace continued to accelerate, until the pair practically jogged toward the gates.
Judging from the sun reaching its apex and the scorching rays that came with it, it was somewhere around noon, perhaps a little before, judging by the slight offset. At this hour there was little traffic on the main road leading to Shimosa, barring the odd disembarking merchant that could be seen in the distance, as well as their freshy arriving counterparts.
It was a simple and ordinary day for most. But for the mountain-worn, bandit hewn pair it was the best of days, that arrived after the worst of days. And so as they bumbled past the city gates and its guards uneventfully, the emerging city noise, idle chatter, clatter of ladles and platters was oh so welcome.
Again. It was what one could call home, for one half of this triumphant pair at least.
For the other? It was merely something familiar. Something that would be left behind sooner or later, whether she wanted it or not. At some point, Musashi knew that the world would whisk her away from here, to wherever she went next. And from there, to the place after that.
Drifting from one world to another, without a place to call her own, such was her nature.
But today?
Today she’d get paid, first off. Aye. Paid. Money. Food. Compensation. Food.
Food.
Mostly food, really.
Udon.
“Udon, we’re going to the Shinsengumi first, so that I can get paid. Then we’ll get you home. Then I’ll eat some Bikki,” the swordsman explained, as she once more began to walk forward, even as a slight droplet of drool emerged from the corner of her mouth.
Oh she could smell it already, that heavy broth, the grilled meat, the fresh, thick udon noodles. Better than just the smell, she could easily imagine the heavenly taste upon her tongue. Ohhhh she could already feel that thick, long string gliding along her lips.
So good.
The soy marinated egg with a slightly runny center dancing its delicious juices across her tongue, just waiting for her teeth to dig in.
So tasty.
This was after all, about udon.
A heaven on earth, observable, obtainable in a bowl. And she would, most certainly, do so.
When she had money to pay for it, that was. She’d resorted to cleaning dishes in the past - working for her food was after all, invaluable education in its own way. But now, she was oh so close to money.
Oh so close to udon.
Right, what had she just said again?
“Why are you eating me in my home? Musashi? Please explain?” carried the wind into her ears. The tone of voice was slightly worried, uncertain even. As if Musashi had recently blurted out something particularly improper.
Oh well, whatever it’d been, it was still less important than the noodles. “I’m not eating you! I’m eating udon. And not at your house. In a teahouse, as soon as I can find one,” the ever-hungry swordsman blabbered even as they had made surprising progress through the main street.
“I mean. I’ve been to one here.” she noted. “Once, twice. Five times? I mean, when I still had money, that is,” the swordsman continued. “I mean, I used to have money y’know. But sake and udon, they’re just…”
“You’d have to try them to understand, Bikki!” Musashi bursted as they rounded the corner into the western district.
Honestly, their progress was probably only expedited by the fact that the ronin had discovered her appetite once more.
“I mea-”
“Y’know, Bikki! We’ll go to the izakaya right after this, I’ll treat you to some udon and sake! My treat!” Musashi continued unfazed, cutting the good doctor off before her sentence had ever had the chance to be aired.
“I… I appreciate the offer, but I want to see my family, truly,” the apothecary protested even as the Shinsengumi headquarters loomed before them.
“A-..ah… Right. Yes. Family,” the swordsman sputtered, her swallow’s wings cut off expertly with the nodachi that was Hibiki’s tongue. Her soaring dreams crashed into the dirt helplessly, as Musashi shook her head a little.
“I understand. Family. Yes. Uhm…. Right. Yes. Uh. Go? Go,” the swordsman’s gaze lingered on the open gates of the Shinsengumi’s lodging, before her legs finally budged.
And it was there as she passed by her once more slain dreams of company, the ever-cheerful swordsman grimaced. It was something she’d come to find time and time again. World after world, she would encounter others.
One after another, she would grow attached. Allow her emotions to run rampant as she developed feelings. Fell for one, fell for another.
But, much like she fell for them, she fell on her blades each and every time.
As they had years to come, whereas she only had however long the world granted her. However long, before another portal appeared and swallowed her once more.
With her feelings slain, the swordsman stepped into the Shinsengumi courtyard that once more presented her with little of interest, the odd guard aside.
“Halt!” echoed across the small courtyard.
Ah, yes. They’d not lost their enthusiasm over the weeks she’d been gone, that much was certain.
“State your business!” ...they really were predictable, weren’t they?
“Sword-for-hire, here for my reward for clearing the mountain bandit hideout. As well as Hibiki the Apothecary; saved from slavery, from said bandits,” noted the ronin with an exasperated sigh. She just wanted her money so that she could deliver Hibiki home and then proceed to drown out the past few weeks in whatever excess she could drown herself in.
Whether that was for her broken body or her broken heart, nobody knows. Except you, of course.
Tilting his head for a moment, Musashi could essentially see the gears starting to click and clack in the guard’s head as some tired mule began to pull forward. “W...wait you… You came by a f-few weeks ago, didn’t you? You’re alive?!” he gasped with visible confusion on his young face that for now remained unstruck by the sun.
“Mmmmm, Bikki. Am I a ghost?” inquired the swordsman, her eyes darting toward the other for a moment, before shifting back onto the guard.
“H-huh!? N-no? Nearly, but no?” the good apothecary blurted even as she was clearly bothered by the presence of the singular guard.
“Uhh… Right. Right. Rightright,” blabbered the guard even as he vigorously shook his head for a second. “uh… Do go to the reception, then!” he finally flapped his lips with what little composure he had managed to collect.
Sheesh. If the guards here were so flustered by simply someone coming back from that damn mountain, how many people had gone before her, only to never return?
“On we go then, Bikki,” noted the ronin as she turned toward the small office building she’d been to a few weeks prior. Of course she knew the demonic crone that waited within. Yes. That one. The one she’d met a few weeks back that had left her with naught but feelings of confusion and inadequateness.
This time? This time she just wanted her just payment. And honestly? She’d leverage further coin from Bikki, without feeling the slightest pang of remorse. After all, she had gloriously saved a highly trained apothecary and brought her back without so much as a bent hair.
Barely. But she had.
A chosen few steps later, the pair stood before the small outhouse and its sliding door that concealed behind it their final opponent. The accountant.
Knock knock.
Musashi rapped her knuckles against the doorframe even as the continually excited woman sighed softly. Many reasons to be satisfied, yet equally many stood to direct her toward dissatisfaction.
“Come in,” came from the inside, snapping the ronin out of her thoughts once more as she pushed open the door.
“After you, Princess,” she flashed a smile, standing aside to allow the good apothecary to pass inside. And pass Hibiki did, making her way into the cramped space before lowering herself into a seiza before the accountant.
Musashi followed suit, nimbly closing the door behind herself even as she slowly lowered herself to a similar knelt position onto the pillows set onto the floor. Before them, the very same desk and ledger that Musashi had witnessed before.
“Name and occupation?” fired the accountant, wasting no time with pointless pleasantries. Her ever-sharp eyes darting from one to another between the pair all the while the pages of the ledger flipped one after another.
“Miy-”
“..amoto Musashi. A ronin, yes? Sent weeks ago to deal with the bandit hideout in the mountains,” finished the accountant nonchalantly. “I assume the problem has been dealt with. She is your proof?” continued the verbal onslaught as her gaze shifted toward the good apothecary.
“H-hibiki, miss. Hibiki Tachibana. I run…” the woman paused for a second, considering her words for a moment. “...ran the Tachibana apothecary before I was captured by the bandits on one of my trips to gather medicinal herbs. I am certain my family has made reports of my disappearance,” explained Hibiki, applying what verbal medicine she could to the cold front quaking off of the accountant.
“...I was held captive by the bandits and forced to treat their wounds against my will. I… I was freed by Miss Miyamoto here. She was injured, so our return was delayed.” Ruffling through her robes, the apothecary sought for something, before a small scroll was produced from the confines of her cloth.
“Here. I kept a medical journal of Miss Miyamoto’s injuries, it should explain our delayed return,” continued the relentless professional. But of course, the woman wasn’t done. “I can confirm that she indeed slew the bandits.”
“And the hi-”
“As for the hideout, it collapsed tonight and we barely escaped with our lives,” slashed Hibiki’s tongue, countering. “As such, Miss Miyamoto has dealt with your bandit problem, the danger of the remaining encampment for future bandits, as well as rescued my life,” charged forth the ever valiant medic.
Musashi stared forward blankly, her eyes darting wildly between the pair; the freezing cold of the accountant clashing against Hibiki’s radiant heat, interlocked in a clash of words, not all that different from a clash of swords.
How exactly she’d ended up here the ronin hadn’t the foggiest idea - Hibiki’s capabilities in such a situation having completely caught her off guard and shocked her into confusion. What exactly was going on here?
“So surely, you intend to reward her appropriately? It would not do for the Shinsengumi to underpay their freelance employees exemplary work, now would it?” Slashed the apothecary turned lawwoman, her voice overflowing with a sense of demand.
“Ah. Yes. We do pay. Four thousand yen as agreed,” stated the calm voice, even as she pulled open a desk drawer containing slips of paper notes. Most likely, the slips would be used as additional documentation of the transactions between the Shinsengumi and their enlisted sellswords.
“Eight thousand,” snapped the lawgiver.
...whuh? Hibiki was demanding more pay for her? Musashi couldn’t help but eye the other woman in admiration as the apothecary leaned forward ever so offensively, clearly ready to defend her demand.
“U-uhah?!” staggering backward the accountant’s defeat was all but certain. Somewhere along the way the conversation had shifted from a negotiation to simply laying down what demands there were and expecting the other side to comply.
Musashi most certainly complied. By continuing to keep her mouth shut and her thoughts to herself. As hard as that was. Honestly she felt like cheering on her Apothecary Princess in her valiant, glorious battle. But there was a time and place for everything. And now was neither.
“Eight thousand. The bandits lay dead; that was the four thousand. She saved myself and the hideout lays in ruins. Most certainly that is worth a doublement of her reward, yes?” A solid explanation if any, most certainly.
“Mh… I don’t think that is appr-”
“It’s most appropriate. She went above and beyond your original request. She also made certain that my life was placed above her own. I haven’t suffered even a scratch thanks to Miss Miyamoto’s valiant protection. I demand her compensation be just and fair.”
The cold of winter attempted to resist the ever demanding summer heat, but it was obvious which side of the desk had the momentum this time.
And it wasn’t the accountant’s.
“Eight thousand. She will be compensated eight thousand yen,” conceded the accountant with a sigh as she took a slip from the drawer and dipped her brush in the inkwell. This time, it was her who was left in utter confusion about what had just transpired.
Musashi couldn’t help but feel a triumphant sense of victory, even as her eyes scanned the slip.
Swish. Swash. Swishswish.
“I will fetch your reward now, please wait here,” explained the woman as she stood up and offered a quick bow. With the slip in hand, the woman exited through a smaller side door behind the counter, closing the door as she went.
It was fairly obvious that they wouldn’t keep any substantial sums of money here at the front of the place and that the full wealth of the Shinsengumi was kept somewhere better protected. And the sum Musashi would be paid now? It was definitely one that would have to be fetched from the main vault.
“Thank you, Bikki,” exclaimed the swordsman as she turned toward the other. “I can’t say how much I love what you just...” Musashi offered with a pleased smile, barely managing to conceal her urgent desire to bounce in place.
Eight thousand?! That equaled more bowls of udon than she could count… Or maybe one gigantic bowl, to swim in?! How crazy would that be? The ever ravenous udonist’s imagination ran wild even as her stomach growled rebelliously, the small establishment echoing the roars of her neglected desires.
“It was nothing, truly. Consider it my payment for your services in saving my life. I truly do owe you my life. For that, a mere four thousand yen negotiated for your benefit?” she pondered for a moment, “Pay it no mind. You risked your life for every last coin,” giggled the good apothecary.
“I simply wish your next endeavors take you somewhere safer,” marked Hibiki quietly.
“Mh… I go wherever my swords take me!” laughed the swordswoman triumphantly.
Ah! Her swords! She would most certainly be able to afford to fix the broken katana now! The triumphant feeling inside the swordsman grew by the second, even as the two waited for the accountant to return.
“After I get my money, I’ll see you home. Where do you live, Bikki?” inquired the swordsman, determined to use what little time they had left together, in something else than silence. Anything else, really.
“Ah..! The apothecary is…” the apothecary grew silent for a second, as if searching for her answer for a moment. Of course, it couldn’t be. She’d lived here her whole life, so she most certainly knew where she lived. “It’s on the streets splitting off the main street. It is in the opposite district from here,” the woman specified after a moment.
“Then I’ll see you there safely,” beamed the swordsman, even as the side door opened once more, with the accountant emerging from the outside and closing the door behind her.
Thud.
“Eight thousand yen, as agreed,” A small sack slammed onto the desk, bearing a slight jiggle of coins behind the initial impact. “Most of the payment is in larger coins, we set five hundred or so as smaller change, for your convenience,” explained the accountant even as she lowered herself into a seated position once more.
“In addition to that, the Shinsengumi will consider you for more demanding tasks in the future. You have proved yourself capable, Ronin,” chided the account, offering the swordsman a cold as ever gaze as she did so. “As such, should you so desire, the Shinsengumi will hire you again in the future, should you find yourself lacking commission.”
Their intent was simple. In the Shinsengumi’s eyes, a lone ronin had survived a task that had claimed more mercenaries than one could count, either from losing their lives, or simply receiving a better offer from the bandits. And now?
A single swordsman had laid waste to all of them, all the whilst proceeding to survive and bringing back a most valuable of hostages. To the Shinsengumi that meant that they would rely on her in the future, should she accept.
After all, there were always tasks that would be too risky for their own forces to undertake, yet more than acceptable to be pawned off to disposable sellswords.
The ronin reached for her reward, jiggling the bag ever so slightly in her hand. Her judgement of the contents was based on a lifetime of trading her sword for such bags. As such she knew well enough that the contents more-or-less matched what she was promised.
Of course, that only made sense, given the accountant had just practically extended her a future job offer. The Shinsengumi would know better than to underpay someone they wished to hire again in the future.
The bag was swiftly tucked within the safety of her kimono-like clothing, concealed safely from immediate sight. It wouldn’t do to have her gold lifted from her so soon from actually striking it.
“Thank ye. I’ll keep it in mind,” the ronin noted, her legs already standing up. This time, she would leave on her own terms, without being ushered out. A minor moral victory, if any. But she’d happily take it.
“Let’s see you home, Bikki,” Musashi offered, her hand extended toward the other in an effort to provide what little support she still could. Mere moments from now the pair would be separated, so the swordsman would have herself depended on, with what little she still could in the small time they’d left.
The good apothecary accepted the offer graciously, grasping the swordsman’s outstretched hand and pulling herself up, aided by the irresistible pull of sword-honed muscles.
“Thanks again,” Musashi nodded toward the accountant whilst her yet free arm worked the door open, before pulling both herself and Hibiki out through the doorway. The noon sun bore down upon the pair as the air reverberated visibly in the distance. It would grow to be a hot day.
“Shall we then?” the ronin offered as her smile proceeded to promptly challenge the sun itself in a bout of brightess. Of course behind that smile her emotions burned just as brightly, just in a violently different shade. On one of her swords, weighed the desire to part as quickly as she could. Slay herself on the spot, as if that would aid her in healing faster.
On the other sword, the desire to prolong what little she could. A desire to discover an excuse that led to a detour. Or five. Something that would’ve allowed the conversation to flourish further. Something to offer a sense of normalcy and safety after what they’d experienced. An excuse, of course. But a credible one.
The reality was that both of those desires were horribly selfish, with little to no consultation paid to the good apothecary herself.
“Oh, yes. We should really get going. It should be supper soon!” Hibiki stated as her feet claimed the first step and stole the lead. “It should be down this road, across the main road and into the next district,” the fleet-footed and homebound apothecary frothed as the pair passed through the Shinsengumi gate and slipped into the midday traffic.