Samurai's Blossom - A Hakuouki Fanfic [HAITUS]

Chapter 7 - Second Oni

Sara pov:

"Ow ow ow!!! Sara san! That burns like crazy!" yelled Nagakura san while I applied antiseptic salve on a wound he had on his forearm.

"I'm sorry, Nagakura san, but just bear with the stinging for a little longer," I said with an apologetic smile.

"Stop acting like a baby, Shinpachi!" Harada san responded with a laugh. "You're making yourself look weak in front of her! And women don't like weak guys!"

"Like you're any better..." muttered Heisuke, giving a hard slap on Harada san's back. He flinched at that and then yelped loudly in pain. Holding his badly bruised side, he turned to glare at Heisuke with tears gathered at the corner of his eyes from the pain.

"Oi Heisuke!" he hollered. "What the heck was that for?!"

"Just to show Sara san that you're not so tough either," he replied smugly and earned a line of cussing.

"You brat!" Harada san yelled. He tugged at Heisuke's sprained leg, making the bickering rise an octave higher.

"C-c'mon, you all...don't fight," Chizuru requested feebly while tending to Saito san's wounds. She looked between Harada san and Heisuke while Hijikata san sighed deeply.

"Chizuru is right, you know? You'll only make your injuries worse if you continue your wrestling," I added with an amused laugh. Grimacing slightly, the two of them fell silent but looked away from each other with childish frowns.

The Shinsengumi had just returned after a full blown battle with some men of the Choushu who were gathering in a safe house prior to their attempt to ambush the Shinsengumi's headquarters. They were strong and skilled samurai and many of the members had sustained minor injuries while six had, unfortunately, lost their lives. Upon returning to the headquarters, the injured had come to the infirmary for treatment. Right now, Chizuru and I were surrounded by shirtless guys with bloody wounds and bruises on different parts of their bodies.

"It's great to see all of you are so energetic despite your injuries," Kondo san said with a cheerful smile.

"C'mon, Kondo san, you give everyone too less credit. We're all tough," said Okita san. He was seated a little away from us while leaning against the wall. On my request and Kondo san's orders, he had to remain in the headquarters resting until his coughing reduced and I thought that he was well enough to get back to captain duties.

As promised, I hadn't told anyone the seriousness of his illness and I had begun his treatment with the medicine I had prepared using a wide variety of herbs I could get my hands on. I had spent several days researching on the different combinations that could help Okita san get better. To test the effectiveness of the medicine I prepared, I had taken his blood sample to mix it with the medicines to see the reactions. Most of the medicines didn't seem to help but two of them did show some amount of positive reaction. I further researched the effects of the two on his illness, tweaking them until I saw a reaction that gave me hope to heal him.

After making the medicine in larger quantity, I began the treatment. While ensuring that he took the medicine four times a day, I was also very strict when it came to his diet. Chizuru knowing about his illness was loads of help in both taking care of Okita san and persuading him to listen to my every word as his doctor doing her best to cure him. He didn't seem to have too much faith in the beginning but after feeling noticeable improvement in his health since the past two days, he'd became a lot more obedient to all that I asked him to do.

He was impressed by me for having come up with a cure for his illness when no one else would even hope to get better. That being said, he had begun to trust me now. He no longer saw me as a threat to the Shinsengumi and treated me almost as jovially as the others did...well, others besides Hijikata san, Saito san and Sannan san who were always so serious. I think they were just invariably stoic people.