After his meeting with Asuka, Okita was feeling a little brighter about the day. Although little could make up for the sudden losses and his incident last night, being recognized as the new leader and recruiting another person for certain had been a bit of a boost. His fingers didn't ache as badly either, although he couldn't see them beneath the bandages the nurses had wrapped around them. It looked like he'd burnt himself. He suppose he had in a way.
Taking the fever medications his nurse pressed on him with a glass of water, Okita swallowed them and moved into the Sun Room. He had need to meet with Kenshin since he had asked yesterday, made all the more pressing due to the events of the previous evening. Thoughts of that vanished momentarily, however, when he saw who else was in the room and just what she was doing.
Yuffie was bothering her nurse in a most amusing manner and Okita couldn't help but stop and watch, allowing the momentary reprieve to alleviate his worries. She was so acrobatic, walking around on her hands and snubbing her nurse's chiding with practiced, if not somewhat childish, ease. He admired her for that. Her ability to push on. He needed to do the same, really, but it was becoming so much harder than he'd first expected.
Still, no use dwelling. He took a breath, eased into a smile and found his way over to a sofa. Okita pulled his legs up onto the cushions and tucked himself into a corner, watching the door for his next appointment.
That wasn't good. Okita had seen that look before and it was a chilling thing to see it on Kenshin's face. While there was no love lost between himself and the former hitokiri, Okita had been forced to set aside his differences for the sake of Homura's group. They were the last of the original members and if one of them broke, the entire group was at peril.
"Of course," Okita replied, motioning to the couch when Kenshin addressed him. He took the opportunity to look the man over closer, noting the weariness around the eyes, the stiffness in his jaw and his movements. Something terrible had happened either last night or this morning. Okita hadn't picked up on anything this severe during the bulletin conversation - although hiding emotion in writing was usually much easier than face-to-face interactions. "...We have many things to discuss, but first - what happened to you?"
His late wife? Okita was just as shocked to hear that Kenshin had ever been married as to hear that his wife had both died and reappeared here of all places. Unable to contain his surprise, the captain simply stared at the rurouni for a moment. There was something incredibly tense about the way Kenshin spoke about his wife, something that spoke volumes about their relationship or at least how Kenshin felt toward the woman. Duty and responsibility, but what of affection? Of the way he spoke about someone like Kaoru?
There was no room for discussion, however, so Okita simply nodded once, shifting in his seat as he brought a hand up to cover his mouth as he coughed lightly. "I understand. If she requires an escort, I will assign either you or someone of your choosing to act as guard."
Now to business. The most unpleasant of all. "You and I are the only ones remaining of the original group, Himura-san. Homura-san and Nataku-san were released yesterday. Kenren-san has gone missing. In their absence, you and I are the only ones who have rank enough to lead those under us." He turned his head away, coughing again. He wouldn't talk about that. Not yet. It was too soon. Instead, when he looked back at Kenshin, he smiled, somewhat embarrassed. "It seems I'm being forced to put aside my grudge once and for all for the sake of the group. You and yours are safe from me. It is a promise on my honor as a man and a samurai."
As much as he hated to admit it.
"But that means I need you to understand a few things about what the group has done so far. You are smart, Himura-san. I'm sure you've figured some of it out. There are things Homura-san did not tell you out of respect for your vow, but I offer you a choice. Do you wish to know them, or keep safe in your ignorance of the less...noble of our pursuits?"
"Just inform me of your intent so I know whether or not to give you a different assignment. Or if I should count on the two of you together to show up." Which is what he hoped for. Losing Kenshin every night to babysitting duties for his wife would be as bad as losing a member. Junior had done that very same thing; taking off to be with his brothers once he had a weapon. It was for that reason that Okita was now wary of just handing out the spoils of their missions. People bled for those things and he expected them to stay with the group for their efforts.
Speaking of efforts, Kenshin had apparently picked up on Okita's own in regards to his promise of safety for Kenshin's people. It was rare that the rurouni would be so blatantly honest with him, showing his genuine emotion like that. It was just as rare for Okita to do the same to Kenshin, and the truth of it was, as much as it irked him to have to expand the truce and swear to it, he knew he had to do it. He knew he had to in order for the group to survive. If the two heads of the organization spent their entire time trying to kill each other, nothing would get done. All the work that Homura had done would be for naught, and should the man ever return, Okita wanted to show him that he hadn't put his faith and his trust in the wrong person.
Okita only looked away with a single nod of his head when Kenshin thanked him, moving on to other details for the moment. There wasn't more he wanted to say on the topic of the truce, and the less he said the better. "Then you know we cannot stop doing it. You were once a man like I am now. Unlike you, I cannot give up what I do and move on to a world of peace. Understand that I cannot allow you to interfere in this, Himura-san. It would be detrimental to the group's goals."
"Understood." He didn't feel like he needed to say more on the matter. A person's first night was always the most dangerous here. The first night, people didn't believe the rumors and the warnings. They thought there was no way they could remain trapped here as long as everyone else. They thought they could escape and tried any manner of insane things to get over the walls or break into different areas. The problems came when they realized they were unarmed, outmatched, and without allies and came up against the worst the Institute had to offer. Seeing how this woman was Himura's former wife and it wasn't as if Himura seemed to be the sort of just...leave someone behind at home and disappear off to wander about and fall in love somewhere else, that only meant one thing: she was long gone and out of the picture. Until now.
At least Himura wasn't looking to get out of club activities entirely. As long as this Tomoe could go with him, or they could find a keeper, Himura was readily available for assignments. Okita noted that down in his mind and moved on to the more difficult of topics.
"Then you will have no part in it. I did not intend to include you in those missions anyway as I know it is against what you stand for. The only thing I ask of you is that you do not do anything to sabotage the other missions. You will be given control of the other half of our group, the one less inclined to become demons in order to achieve." The stronger half. The half Okita wished he could become, but knew well enough he could never be. "I offer to tell you because honesty between the leadership is important. That is all."
"I thought you'd be difficult about it," Okita sighed, tilting his head away. This was probably why Homura hadn't said anything at all to him. Certainly it had avoided problems like these, but it also meant Himura had been left out of the loop for quite a lot of the missions and about the direction of the club. It meant possibly losing an ally, and as much as Okita hated to admit it, Kenshin was an ally now.
"You're far too serious, Himura-san," the captain teased, sitting back against the sofa. His eyes turned away and as they did, his mood shifted. He might tease Himura of being serious, but now it was his turn. "But fair enough. You don't have to allow it, just know that I'm not going to stop the progress we have just to satisfy your morals. Maybe you've changed and decided to leave your past behind you, but the rest of us are still demons inside." Some of them would never be anything but demons. "Someone has to do the work no one else wants to do in order to achieve."
"Watch the new recruits, send those you can't use to me. I'll do the same with you. There are several people who are less inclined to become what I am in order to accomplish their goals. I think they'd work much better with you."
Taking the fever medications his nurse pressed on him with a glass of water, Okita swallowed them and moved into the Sun Room. He had need to meet with Kenshin since he had asked yesterday, made all the more pressing due to the events of the previous evening. Thoughts of that vanished momentarily, however, when he saw who else was in the room and just what she was doing.
Yuffie was bothering her nurse in a most amusing manner and Okita couldn't help but stop and watch, allowing the momentary reprieve to alleviate his worries. She was so acrobatic, walking around on her hands and snubbing her nurse's chiding with practiced, if not somewhat childish, ease. He admired her for that. Her ability to push on. He needed to do the same, really, but it was becoming so much harder than he'd first expected.
Still, no use dwelling. He took a breath, eased into a smile and found his way over to a sofa. Okita pulled his legs up onto the cushions and tucked himself into a corner, watching the door for his next appointment.
[Kenshin]
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"Of course," Okita replied, motioning to the couch when Kenshin addressed him. He took the opportunity to look the man over closer, noting the weariness around the eyes, the stiffness in his jaw and his movements. Something terrible had happened either last night or this morning. Okita hadn't picked up on anything this severe during the bulletin conversation - although hiding emotion in writing was usually much easier than face-to-face interactions. "...We have many things to discuss, but first - what happened to you?"
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There was no room for discussion, however, so Okita simply nodded once, shifting in his seat as he brought a hand up to cover his mouth as he coughed lightly. "I understand. If she requires an escort, I will assign either you or someone of your choosing to act as guard."
Now to business. The most unpleasant of all. "You and I are the only ones remaining of the original group, Himura-san. Homura-san and Nataku-san were released yesterday. Kenren-san has gone missing. In their absence, you and I are the only ones who have rank enough to lead those under us." He turned his head away, coughing again. He wouldn't talk about that. Not yet. It was too soon. Instead, when he looked back at Kenshin, he smiled, somewhat embarrassed. "It seems I'm being forced to put aside my grudge once and for all for the sake of the group. You and yours are safe from me. It is a promise on my honor as a man and a samurai."
As much as he hated to admit it.
"But that means I need you to understand a few things about what the group has done so far. You are smart, Himura-san. I'm sure you've figured some of it out. There are things Homura-san did not tell you out of respect for your vow, but I offer you a choice. Do you wish to know them, or keep safe in your ignorance of the less...noble of our pursuits?"
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Speaking of efforts, Kenshin had apparently picked up on Okita's own in regards to his promise of safety for Kenshin's people. It was rare that the rurouni would be so blatantly honest with him, showing his genuine emotion like that. It was just as rare for Okita to do the same to Kenshin, and the truth of it was, as much as it irked him to have to expand the truce and swear to it, he knew he had to do it. He knew he had to in order for the group to survive. If the two heads of the organization spent their entire time trying to kill each other, nothing would get done. All the work that Homura had done would be for naught, and should the man ever return, Okita wanted to show him that he hadn't put his faith and his trust in the wrong person.
Okita only looked away with a single nod of his head when Kenshin thanked him, moving on to other details for the moment. There wasn't more he wanted to say on the topic of the truce, and the less he said the better. "Then you know we cannot stop doing it. You were once a man like I am now. Unlike you, I cannot give up what I do and move on to a world of peace. Understand that I cannot allow you to interfere in this, Himura-san. It would be detrimental to the group's goals."
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At least Himura wasn't looking to get out of club activities entirely. As long as this Tomoe could go with him, or they could find a keeper, Himura was readily available for assignments. Okita noted that down in his mind and moved on to the more difficult of topics.
"Then you will have no part in it. I did not intend to include you in those missions anyway as I know it is against what you stand for. The only thing I ask of you is that you do not do anything to sabotage the other missions. You will be given control of the other half of our group, the one less inclined to become demons in order to achieve." The stronger half. The half Okita wished he could become, but knew well enough he could never be. "I offer to tell you because honesty between the leadership is important. That is all."
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"You're far too serious, Himura-san," the captain teased, sitting back against the sofa. His eyes turned away and as they did, his mood shifted. He might tease Himura of being serious, but now it was his turn. "But fair enough. You don't have to allow it, just know that I'm not going to stop the progress we have just to satisfy your morals. Maybe you've changed and decided to leave your past behind you, but the rest of us are still demons inside." Some of them would never be anything but demons. "Someone has to do the work no one else wants to do in order to achieve."
"Watch the new recruits, send those you can't use to me. I'll do the same with you. There are several people who are less inclined to become what I am in order to accomplish their goals. I think they'd work much better with you."
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