Aid
(Yo and Ruby – Same Night)
"Ow!" Yo yelped.
"Sorry." Ruby said as she wrapped Yo's injured leg that was bleeding again.
"It's ok, that plan wasn't my brightest idea." Yo groaned.
"Why did you do that?"
"Dia would haunt me if I let anything happen to you." The ashen girl groaned.
"I don't think she'd want you dead or crippled." Ruby sighed "She really did go all out on you."
"I'm not sure about that," Yo groaned "I think it was more light stress relief."
"Well hopefully she doesn't need to do it again, I'm not sure about your leg." Ruby said with a tiny choke at the end.
"How bad does it look?"
Yo heard the redhead let out a long-resigned sigh "I'm not sure," Ruby admitted "You are not in danger of losing it, but you might have a permanent limp."
"Not the worst news." Yo sighed, with a small sense of relief.
"I just hope they come soon."
"Hey, they will." Yo smiled "Riko is with Yoshiko and Hanamaru, if anyone's going to get us out of here it's them."
"You really have faith in her, don't you?"
"Huh?"
"Riko, you have a lot of faith in her."
"Yeah, I'm guilty of that." Yo smiled with a tiny increase of heat in her cheek's.
"When did it start, these feelings?"
"I'm not sure to be honest, I just realized one day that my eyes and heart were captivated by her and whatever she was doing and that was it, I was in love." Yo smiled at the final word.
"I kind of envy you."
"How?"
"You have some like this in your life."
"What about Hanamaru?"
"She's a dear friend, but nothing more."
Out the corner of Yo's eye she could see the redhead frown slightly "Somehow I sense that's not all your telling me."
"It's nothing."
"Come on Ruby."
"I wouldn't call it love." Ruby sighed "It just being here has made me realize how much I value people around me and how much time I didn't spend with them."
"You'll get your chance to."
"Thanks." Ruby smiled "And I'm sure you'll get your chance with Riko."
"Thanks." Yo smiled before she closed her eyes.
"Yo." Riko said with a smile.
"Riko?" Yo said as she watched the redhead lean in closer to the ashen girl before capturing Yo's lips with her own.
"I love you." Riko said brushing a stray piece of hair behind her ear.
"I love you to." Yo whispered before the pair kissed again.
Ruby heard a small giggle come from her side as she watched the moon, glancing to the side she could see Yo smiling in her sleep.
"Sweet dreams Yo." Ruby Smiled before giving the moon another quick "I wish you were here Dia." Ruby thought internally before she laid down on her futon, clutching her sisters mask to her chest.
(Umi – Next day night-time)
"It's tomorrow, you'll need to decide by then." The mystery voice said.
'And I still don't know the answer.' Umi said pinching her nose as she tried to supress the two voices before they began an argument in her head for another time that day.
Thankfully the blunette was distracted from the argument by the sound of Kotori shifting in her sleep slightly "It's ok I'm right here." Umi whispered to the ashen girl.
"You're getting awfully familiar with…"
'Stop it!' Umi shouted internally 'I've had enough out the pair of you!'
"Miss Umi?" The blunette spun around to see Kanan standing in the doorway with a smile on her face "May we talk?"
Umi stood up picking up her Naginata "That depends." The ronin said before pointing the polearm at the handmaiden.
"There is no need to be hostile, I mean you no harm."
"I would be more inclined to believe that if the person talking to me wasn't concealing a Tanto in her sleeve."
"How did…?"
"I could see a glimpse of the pommel."
"I see." Kanan sighed before pulling out the Tanto out her sleeve "If I leave it here and we go to the garden will you talk to me then."
"If you leave the other one you have."
"Erm…"
"At your waist."
"How…"
"You're not as skilled at concealing your weapons as Nico is, miss Kanan."
"I see, clearly I should ask Nico for some tips." Kanan smiled as she pulled the other concealed Tanto from her waist and placed it next to the other "How about now?"
"Yes." Umi said dropping her Naginata to her side "I'll be right back." Umi whispered to Saki and Kotori before following Kanan out the garden, as she passed the door the ronin caught a glimpse of the Tanto's on the ground, the one Kanan had pulled from her waist had the Ohara's symbol on the sheave.
"What is it you wished to talk about?" Umi said as she stood in the garden resting her Naginata on the ground.
"Lady Ohara asked to make sure you were all doing alright." Kanan smiled.
"Bit of an odd time to do it."
"Well I think Lady Ohara ordered it to spite me."
"Why would she do that?" Umi asked confused.
"What do you know of my…drop in stature?" Kanan said with a said smile.
"Not much, only that your family were planning to rebel against the Ohara's, though I felt that wasn't the full story."
"Quite right." Kanan sighed "It is true my family wished to rebel against the Ohara's, she was causing a huge amount of strife for us, Lady Ohara always hated how close me and Mari were, so she decided to punish my family as a result eventually they could take no more."
"And you lost?"
"Not quite, I admit I was tempted to go along with the rebellion, but I decided against it and so I informed on them."
"Why?" Umi said surprised at both the revelation Kanan was willing to commit treason and that she had betrayed her family.
"Mari, my family said they couldn't trust her to take over so she would have to go to," Kanan said with a sad smile "I could go against my daimyo, but I could never go against Mari, she is to me what Kotori is for you, everything."
"If you sided with Lady Ohara then why did she stripe you of your title and lands?" Umi said, ignoring the tiny flutter of her heart at Kanan's words "I would have thought she'd show you mercy."
"She did of a sort." Kanan sighed "She knew how I felt about Mari and she hated it, so my reward was also my punishment, she spared me, but she made it clear she would never accept us being together, I was stripped of my title and to forever remain Mari's handmaiden, destined to watch the woman I love be married off to someone else."
"I'm sorry." Umi said the other girl's words bringing her own dilemma back to the front of her mind.
"Don't be," Kanan then let out a small laugh "In all honesty her plan actually brought the two of us together, in secret obviously, if she found out she would have my head."
"Are you ok with that?" Umi asked.
"All I wanted was to be by Mari's side, it might not be how I expected or wanted, but its where I am and I'm happy with that and so is she."
"I see." Umi sighed as she thought about her own predicament, the thought of Kotori being married off made her heartache like it had many years ago when Umi thought the same before the two had become lovers.
'Do you really want that?' the mystery voice said.
'She doesn't deserve it?' her honour countered.
'It's not only her who doesn't want this.'
"Umi, what's wrong?" Kanan's voice interrupting the two bickering voices.
"It's nothing."
"I saw it earlier when I entered your chamber, you seemed to be troubled by something." Kanan gave the ronin a smile "You can trust me Umi."
"I'm trying to decide on something?" Umi said before either voice could say anything.
"What is it?"
"A request from Lady Tojo," Umi sighed "She's asked that I announce an engagement with Kotori again."
"Really, for what purpose?"
"I suspect you know."
"I see, Mari talked to Nozomi then."
"Yes."
"Well knowing your feelings for her, I would have thought the answer was obvious."
"It's not that simple." Umi mumbled.
"Why?"
"I betrayed her."
"Betrayed her?" Kanan said with her confusion clearly written on her face "I'm not sure I follow."
"I wasn't there to protect her when Kira attacked her," Umi growled in frustration "I failed to live up to my promise to Kotori, I betrayed her." Umi muttered noticing the single tear rolling down her cheek.
"Where you not sent away at the time?"
"Yes, but that's…"
"That's not betraying her," Kanan interrupted "You were taken unawares, that's not betraying her Umi, take it from a traitor."
"But you're not a traitor."
"But I am though." Kanan said with a sad smile before continuing "If I had sided with my family, I would be a traitor to the Ohara's, by siding with Mari, I'm a traitor to my family and to Lady Ohara as well to an extent, I'm a traitor either way, you didn't betray anyone Umi."
"Still…I'm not sure if I should…"
"It seems to me the solution to your problem, is what would Kotori want, if you do that, I see no reason why your honour should be an issue."
"What would Kotori want." Umi repeated in a mumble.
"It's getting late Umi, I recommend you sleep on your question." Kanan bowed before walking to the entrance of the chamber to retrieve her tanto's with the ronin quietly following behind.
"Goodnight Umi." Kanan bowed before walking away.
"Kanan?"
"If it's about Dia, we know, Nozomi told us in a letter about what happened, I'm sorry you were put in that situation."
"I'm sorry too, I wish things could have gone different."
"As do we, but she's gone, all we can do now is avenge her." Kanan sighed "Goodnight Umi."
"Night miss Kanan."
(Honoka)
"How did it go?" Honoka asked once she Kanan had reached her.
"You weren't listening?"
"No, I thought you might be saying something private." Honoka sighed "So how is she?"
"As you thought, she's conflicted and seems troubled by something, but I think she's going the way everyone wants."
"What makes you say that?"
"Look for yourself."
Honoka leaned around the corner to see Umi kneeling next to Kotori, for a moment the ginger was unsure what Kanan was talking about till she saw Umi holding onto Kotori's hand, before laying down the blunette keeping hold of the ashen girl's hand as she did so.
(Umi)
"What Kotori would want?" Umi sighed as she knelt next to Kotori.
"You know the answer to that and you want it to as well, so does her mother, what's the issue?" The mystery voice said.
"Maybe she does but she still failed to protect her."
"She was taken unaware."
"She still didn't protect her and she's still shamed, she doesn't deserve to be next to her."
"Enough!" Umi shouted in her head desperate for the pair to stop, though the two were getting ready for another round of arguing making Umi's head hurt.
"I said enough!" Umi shouted again as she leaned forward and grabbed the side of her head, much to her surprise the voices didn't say anything, looking up slightly the ronin could see she had subconsciously grabbed the ashen girl's hand.
Umi could faintly hear her honour demanding for the blunette to let go, but felt herself unable and unwilling to do so, the long-missed act brought a sense of calm and nostalgia to her.
The blunette could hear her honour get ready to speak again only to feel a slight squeeze from the ashen girl and her honours words were carried off unheard like a leaf on the wind.
Umi let out a sigh before laying down exhausted, while still holding the ashen girl's hand 'One night won't hurt.' Umi thought as she closed her eyes and felt sleep quickly overtake her.