Higanbana Samurai: Requiem

Chapter Five - Hanbei

Awakening

When Hanbei awoke the next morning, as he had expected, Yura was nowhere to be seen. The events of the previous night seemed like nothing more than an unpleasant dream but the blood staining his yukata and the bucket of water that sat by his bedside served as proof that it was all real. He had collapsed and been carried to his room by a princess who, thanks to his selfish curiosity, had to relive painful memories. Rising from his futon with a sigh, he noticed a clean grey yukata hanging up. There was a note pinned to it.

Yura's neat writing adorned the page, the note reading: "Hanbei-san, I hope you are feeling better this morning. I left you a clean yukata to wear, apologies if it is not your style but I do not have many clothes suitable for men, and breakfast is waiting for you in the kitchen. Hopefully, it is still warm. I suggest you avoid pushing yourself today. If you need anything, I will either be in the garden or in the building on the other side of the yard. As we have agreed to be truthful with one another, I felt I should tell you that you have free reign to go anywhere in the manor but you should be careful if you go to the wing where I found you last night. There are some holes in the floor from the last attack that I have yet to get repaired. It would be regrettable if you fell and hurt yourself."

A chuckle escaped him as he set the note down and studied the yukata. It was a stone grey with thin darker grey stripes. The obi was black. Not necessarily something he would ever buy but it wasn't bad. Taking it with him, he found his way to the bath and warmed the coals. He let the coals warm the water as he sat atop a wooden stool and scrubbed the blood from his skin. He felt significantly better than he had the night before, albeit still not great, so he was determined to make the day productive even if he was supposed to be taking it easy. Slipping into now warmed water, Hanbei closed his eyes and made a small noise of satisfaction as he felt some of the fatigue melting away. And yet... what Yura said last night was bothering him. If he died before finding happiness, he would become a monstrous spirit that would then attack and kill the other people in Requiem? While he wasn't all that concerned about living, as if he couldn't reunite with Hideyoshi... at least as one of those twisted beings he probably wouldn't feel anything... he wasn't so awful that he wanted to hurt any of the people who were just trying to be content. She had been reunited with her husband, given a chance to live the life with him that they never could have had otherwise, and it was stolen away from her. Glancing at the yukata... a few details fell into place. Eyes wide and his face red from the shame of taking so long to realize it, Hanbei groaned quietly. Yura was a woman. There was no reason for her to have men's yukata unless the clothes she had given him, including the one he had stained with his blood, had belonged to her husband.

He felt incredibly foolish for not realizing sooner and somewhat guilty as it was probably hard for her to see someone else in the clothes of a deceased loved one. Normally it wouldn't be such a concern but considering how much she was doing for him - providing him a room, food, clothes, and taking care of him (even if it was against his will) - the least he could do was try and show a little appreciation and maybe some more sensitivity toward how she felt about the situation. A bit of a daunting task, if he was to be honest, but it felt right. Drying off, he put the clean yukata on and neatly folded up the bloodied one. He returned it to his room before going off to get some breakfast before it got too cold. The bath was worth delaying his meal, however, as being covered in his own blood wasn't really his ideal morning. He ate, dug around for some tasuki to tie back his sleeves with, and then got to work. He washed all the dishes then found what he needed to do laundry. Setting outside his room, in the yard, Hanbei got to work cleaning the blood from his yukata, futon, and blankets. As he knelt down and scrubbed it out to the best of his ability, his gaze settled upon the building across the yard. The one where Yura said she would be if she wasn't in the garden. The doors were open and he could see her, wearing a part of dark blue hakama and other clothes suitable for kendo. In her hand was a bamboo sword. Hair tied up so it wouldn't get in the way, she was practicing drills as diligently as a soldier in the Toyotomi Army would have when Hanbei was breathing down their neck.