CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Natsume’s prissy voice rang out again all too soon. “Harada-kuunnnn!” he sang. Tetsuya rolled his eyes and let out a filthy string of curses under his breath, certain the bastard knew it made him cringe and did this stuff on purpose to torment him.
Thalia was trying without success to stifle her giggles.
Tetsuya heaved the great sigh of the unjustly persecuted. “Fine, you get to meet him after all. I hope you enjoy yourself this much the whole time,” he said to his fiancée grimly, though something in him always smiled when she laughed.
They turned to face the oncoming horde.
“Ah, good, you did hear me,” Natsume Ishida said, smiling urbanely. “For a moment, I was afraid you might actually be trying to avoid me, Harada-kun,” he added with a false laugh.
“What on earth would make you think such a thing, Natsume-chan?” Tetsuya asked sarcastically, lighting a cigarette for the express purpose of blowing plumes of smoke into Ishida’s foolish face.
The Mimawarigumi Chief coughed delicately, waving the smoke away. “Oh, of course it was a silly thought. How painfully insecure of me, eh? Another thing that makes me painfully insecure is knowing I’m remiss in offering congratulations when they are due. An associate finally told me just this morning that you have won the hand of Edo’s new Darling. I presume this beauty is she?” he said, giving her a cold smile and bowing in her direction.
“Lieutenant Cairde, Natsume Ishida, Mimawarigumi Chief,” Harada said tersely. “You heard correctly, Commander Natsume; the Lieutenant has granted me the great joy and honor of agreeing to be my wife.” His tone was so irritated it made Thalia laugh outright.
“Yes, we can all hear in your voice how overjoyed you are, my love,” she teased, taking his arm and batting her eyelashes at him. He tried unsuccessfully to suppress her mirth with a thunderous frown, but a twitch in the corner of his mouth gave him away. He knew when a battle was lost, and gave her a crooked half-smile despite himself.
Thalia bowed toward Natsume, who extended his hand for hers, knowing of course that Harada would hate him touching her. She reached out graciously and put her hand in his, smiling politely.
“It’s an honor to meet you, Commander,” she said.
“Quite the contrary, I assure you – the honor is all mine,” he replied, his cold, calculating eyes giving the lie to his words. “The Demon Vice-Chief has outdone himself, landing Edo’s new Princess of the People in record time and cloistering her in the midst of an all-male headquarters. Brilliant strategy on his part, as always.”
“But of course,” Thalia replied, not even blinking at the insult. “Would you expect less than brilliance of Harada Tetsuya?”
“Only in my more foolish moments, perhaps, when I forget that he is unlike other men,” Natsume Ishida replied.
“A thing I never forget,” Thalia said, her mouth simpering while her eyes assessed this pompous but dangerous man.
Harada was only half-hearing this in his effort not to reach out and plant his fist in the monocle Natsume affected over one eye. ‘Princess of the People’ and ‘Edo’s new Darling’; he didn’t mind the endless stream of subtle insults directed at himself half so much as he would
mind even one more directed at Thalia. One more and all bets were off.
It did occur to him, however, that Natsume appeared not to have heard the many rumors flying around ascribing superhuman and often infernal attributes to Thalia. None of these rumors dampened the enthusiasm of the press – at least not yet; for now, the nicknames Natsume gave her actually did fit.
For instance, here were more cameras, alerted to the meeting between Edo’s current most celebrated couple with a troop of the elite Mimawarigumi led by their Commander, right in the midst of a Kabukicho thorofare.
Harada had to remind himself this would not last forever. It was to be expected that the press ate up the story of their confrontation with Hellfire Rising, their resulting injuries, and then Harada’s miraculous recovery followed by the announcement of their upcoming wedding; it was drama and romance at its finest, and it was real – of course they loved it.
Chief Kato was thrilled by the huge boost the Shinsengumi’s public image was enjoying because of them, and had nearly burst with pride when they allowed him to announce their engagement at a recent press conference.
There was almost no point in either of them trying to do real police work while riding this ridiculous wave of popularity, but their presence did inhibit criminal behavior if for no other reason than the sheer proportion of cameras often recording everything near them.
Chief Natsume made sure to bend over Thalia’s hand again and smile up at her long enough for several shots to be taken for the papers. Immediately after this he took his leave.
“I wanted to be sure I saw you in person at least once during these fleeting happy few moments, Vice-Commander,” he said to Tetsuya. “I can now rest assured that the memory of your joy will always be mine to look back upon. Again, my congratulations on your conquest of the People’s Princess.”
Harada did not miss the implicit threat in these words; it made his scalp tingle. Natsume bowed in Thalia’s direction once more, ever the perfectly proper gentleman, and bade her farewell – “until we meet again – and may that day come soon,” he said.
When he had departed with his troops, most of the cameras soon disappeared as well, once they realized the couple was doing nothing more exciting than wandering around in search of a place to eat their lunch.
Thalia looked up at Tetsuya thoughtfully. “Was it just me, or did his parting words sound ominous?” she asked.
“It wasn’t just you,” Tetsuya confirmed. “That guy is a creep. He’s always making vague threats that may or may not come to anything; it creates an aura of fear and uncertainty that he very much enjoys. Prissy self-important bastard.”
She led him up a grassy hill in a park they both liked, and they chose a spot near the water beneath a semi-secluded red maple.
He asked her to tell him more about her family, and while she was describing a galactically stupid but hilarious stunt her brother had once pulled involving a refrigerator, a bicycle, and a long flight of steps, he discovered a long feather stuck in her hair. He knew it was hers; he gently disengaged it and sat holding it.
He knew she had noticed when she got very quiet.
“How are you really doing with this, Thalia?” he asked. “No bullshit, no sparing my feelings, just how are you really?”
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She took a deep breath, then paused for thought. “I’m not really doing well with it,” she admitted, looking down at the grass as if suddenly finding each blade somehow fascinating. “Obviously I’m not paying much attention to details, if you’re still finding feathers in my hair. I tried again last night; I couldn’t help it. Nothing had changed, of course, but something in me kept hoping that somehow, magically, everything would be back to normal.”
“The wild part of you doesn’t accept the medical explanation of why it won’t go back to normal. I don’t blame it,” Tetsuya said, running his fingers through her hair and coming up with two smaller feathers.
“The fact that you’re so patient and understanding about it makes it easier for me to cope,” she said, smiling tenderly at him. “Let’s talk about something less depressing.”
“Sure. Throw me a topic,” he said, shifting her onto his lap. She was startled for a moment; he was not normally so demonstrative in public.
“So, are we just playing Celebrities until this blows over, or do we get to actually do some follow-up on the arms dealers who were in with Hellfire Rising?” she asked, nestling closer like a contented songbird.
“I don’t think either of us is willing to do nothing but pose for pictures for the next several weeks, and Heisuke did find a solid lead while we were still recovering. I think we should look into it this week – probably tomorrow night. I want to meet with Yamamoto and Heisuke to discuss it all first, and we’ll figure out how to approach this.”
“Excellent!” Thalia said. “The loose ends dangling in the breeze have been irritating me.”
Harada admired the diamond points of sunlight reflected on the surface of the lake, idly playing with a strand of her hair. Once again, he found himself caught between affection and wonder. She was so much like him in all the right ways, but so completely different in the right ways too. “You’re a scary woman. So perfect for me,” he said, half-smiling.
“Does it feel surreal when you think we’ll be married soon?” she asked as she leaned back to look into his face. “I’ll be Harada Thalia.”
“It’s the most beautiful name I know,” he replied, pulling her closer again. “But I’m just as thrilled about the fact that starting tonight we’ll officially share the same quarters.”
“You’re really all right about moving in with me?” Thalia asked. “I wasn’t sure you’d want to move out of your quarters to mine. Yours are bigger and more convenient.”
“What, you think I’m going to move you into the main building with all those other sex-crazed men? Of course I want to move in with you. I don’t think I could sleep without you anymore.” He looked ridiculously like a little boy when he said this, which made Thalia melt. It was true; since leaving the hospital they had only spent one night apart, and that had been due to Harada’s night shift.
“That’s mutual,” she murmured, snuggling closer. “Do you think you would mind, someday going back to meet my family and have a ceremony there? I’d love two weddings, and I owe it to the little girl I was, who spent so much time dreaming of my handfasting – our term for wedding – to do those dreams justice.”
He smiled into her hair. He had not yet heard back from anyone on the other side, but the synchronicity of his thinking with hers often pleased him. It had been a vast relief when she asked him, blushing, to keep tradition and be the one to announce the wedding and ask her parents’ blessing; he hadn’t had to mention the letter he had already written them. Now she was answering yet another unspoken set of questions.
“Mind? I was hoping you’d want to take me. I’m quite curious about your world and your family,” he said.
“All my friends and family are curious about you too,” she replied, smiling up at him again. “They’re very nosy, asking vast numbers of questions in every message.”
He let himself fall into her eyes, knowing as her expression became serious that she was equally lost in his. It was so easy to do this; so natural to sit in the grass, back against a tree, holding her.
“Why are we ever parted?” he wondered aloud. “I can’t imagine I would ever choose to spend an entire lifetime without you. A few hours, definitely; you can be noisy and irritating. But not a lifetime.”
She laughed and elbowed him where he was most ticklish, making him squirm.
“That’s mutual, you moody bastard! We’ve both chosen that, though, if it was going to be a punitive lifetime. You didn’t want me to suffer your punishment any more than I wanted you to suffer mine. I think what we’re finally figuring out is there’s no way to avoid that. If the higher gods want to punish one of us, the reality is we’ll both suffer. And suffering apart is far worse for us than suffering together.”
“We should try to remember that. Somehow I have the feeling we’re both the type that gets into a lot of trouble,” he said wryly. “Yet here I am, a living symbol of the government’s keepers of the peace. Tch.”
“You have no problem following principles, as long as they’re yours,” she said, laughing at him. “Joking aside, though, it doesn’t surprise me you’re the one who instituted the official code for samurai conduct, or that so many others live by it – even those who can’t stand you personally.”
Tetsuya snorted. “Natsume being a prime example.”
“Exactly! As for the rest, I’m partly to blame for your propensity to get into trouble, and you’re partly to blame for mine,” she said mischievously. “You’ve always been more serious than I am, but not even the higher gods can tell you you’re wrong if you’re truly determined. The first time I was punished and the gods wouldn’t let you share it, wow. Your defiance of whoever stood in your way was not expected. Your willpower is terrifying.”
“You have no trouble withstanding it,” he remarked, raising an eyebrow. “Don’t make wide eyes at me, you know your power. All that iron will I’ve got melts like wax when it comes to you. That still scares me sometimes, you know. You have more power over me than I would willingly give anyone.”
“I could say the same to you,” she replied. “And once you decide something is best for me, nothing I do or say can sway you. I live in terror of what you might decide is best for me next!”
“Yes, I stand immovable while you find ways around, under, over, or through me,” he said drily, though he was grinning. “I’m not sure which of us should win the Stubborn Prize, honestly. You look more biddable, but when you stop arguing with me, that’s when I know you’re going to get past me somehow.”
“We really are the only ones who can survive each other,” she said with a laugh.
“Demons, both of us,” he agreed, and kissed her.
***
Wataru Aoi stood behind a nearby tree trunk, back turned to them. He ought to know better than this, he thought; he was always hovering near the soul-songs that fascinated him most, despite the fact that those who were playing those songs were often the most dangerous enemies he had.
Still, he found it worthwhile. He had never heard anything like the song that manifested when Thalia Cairde’s symphonic metal met Harada Tetsuya’s complex hard rock. These two songs were unique, complete in themselves, yet when combined they produced a new magnificence that spanned cadences and melodies that should have sounded discordant together. Somehow, though, they made something gorgeous and thrilling.
He had come in part to assess whether it would be wiser to try again to kill the Demon Vice-Commander now, thus avoiding the inevitable chase once Sekiguchi took the Lieutenant from him. The last confrontation of that sort had gone very badly for Hellfire Rising, after all.
Oh, it would certainly be wiser, he thought; but no way was he going to do that now. He could not bear to stop this song permanently; he felt it was a shame even to break it apart, but that would be preferable to killing it altogether. He had fallen in love with their love song.
***
The next night at about 7:30, Thalia was arguing strenuously with Kato about the advisability of keeping first-aid supplies better stocked.
“How can you think it’s possible to have too many bandages around this place?” she demanded, indicating the entire compound with a wave of her hand. “I’m not saying hoard them, but we should at least have one shelf full in case of unforeseen injuries en masse – like the next time Seizo or Tetsu loses his temper with the new recruits during a training session, for instance.”
“Is there some reason you need to bring that up as if it happens every day?” Kato protested. “I prefer to be an optimist, Lieutenant, and hope for the best.”
Thalia snorted, which Tetsuya never failed to find adorable, although he was sure it would one day become as irritating as she meant it to be. “Yes, which is why we had to tear up a perfectly good linen bedsheet last week when we ran out of bandages,” she retorted.
Harada sighed; he had been trying to pry her away for twenty minutes so they could go and have dessert in their quarters. Alone. He really couldn’t have cared less about the number of bandages in the supply closet.
His phone rang; it was one of the officers just beginning his shift on guard duty outside Sekiguchi’s room.
Okada decided it was time to join the argument and put in a complaint about always being short of surgical tape as well.
“Seizo, if you didn’t constantly beat the living shit out of everyone, there would be less of a need,” Kato complained.
“Didn’t you just tell the Lieutenant not to exaggerate?” Okada retorted. “These guys are tough. They’re healthy, young, strong, and sometimes spoiled.”
“Who does that remind me of?” Kato wondered with a significant look at Okada, who chose to loftily ignore it.
Thalia was no longer paying attention; she had felt the sudden shift in Harada’s mood and was concerned. “What’s wrong?” she asked him, eyes wide. Her alarmed question got everyone’s attention. Tetsuya looked grim.
“The Mimawarigumi have taken Sekiguchi out of the hospital, claiming him as their prisoner by rights. They were apparently not overly polite about it, either,” he said. He lit a cigarette. He was trying to quit, but still succumbed in particularly stressful moments.
“Can they do that?” Thalia asked.
“Oh, yes,” Kato said, his face settling into grim lines. “They pretty much have the run of the place, being the elite force that serves the Bakufu directly. All they have to do is get the Shogun or a royal family member to sign off on it, and they can do as they please.”
Okada cursed vilely and kicked over a small table.
“So what do we do?” Thalia asked.
Tetsuya shrugged. “Nothing much we can do,” he said. “I don’t think this is the last we’ve heard of it, but apart from awaiting further developments, we’re pretty much at a standstill. Take me home, Thalia,” he said wearily.
So she took his hand and they left the hall in a far less festive mood than Harada had envisioned half an hour ago.
He did cheer up quite a bit over dessert, however. It was difficult to maintain a foul mood when licking chocolate and cream off various delicious portions of Thalia’s anatomy, then letting her lick it off his in turn. She was endlessly inventive in the bedroom, he had discovered.