Hero in the Making (Open)

[Shinomori Katsumi]

Katsumi nodded a couple of times, answering Hidenori, "There is no question in my mind. No doubt... whatsoever."

Hands and arms slipping into the sleeves of the black kimono and crossing over her chest, Katsumi followed after the tall man. "Alright, Hidenori."

She was at his side, every so often glancing up at him. Katsumi searched for similar facial features between Hidenori and Haji, curious to find any. The hair and eyes were different, and so it made it not so obvious that the two were siblings, but... Katsumi saw very small similarities, Haji's face memorized within her mind. It both entertained and pleased her to search Hidenori for traces of Haji, and, instead of feeling nervous, Katsumi felt rather warm around him, a brother of her lover. Family.

Was... he kind of like her family too now? All Kat ever had was Father before, with her mother dying when she was born. She was with Haji and Hidenori was his brother, so... was there any relation there at all? The woman recalled hearing about in-laws with marriage. While not really knowing exactly what in-laws were, she had the most vague idea. Was that relevant to her? Katsumi blinked and pondered over this, not really sure how it all worked, and her plump lips pursed.

How curious, it was.

[Morei Hidenori]

Hidenori smiled. The idea of Haji accepting him seemed far too good to be true, but it was certainly a reunion he'd look forward to. He could see his baby brother again. And maybe they could make up for all the lost time that they never had. Maybe they could actually be a family. The opportunity was stolen from them in the past, but it now seemed that a future like that was possible. And it was all thanks to Katsumi.

Hidenori glanced over at her as they walked, noticing her staring at him. The tall man blushed a little, and started to feel self-conscious.

"Um, is... is there something on my face?"

He brought his hands to his face, feeling around and attempting to wipe away whatever it was. Maybe there was still candle wax on his cheek or something from when it was thrown at him. Did that mean he had been walking around with it on his face this whole time? So all of these serious, emotional moments, he actually looked like a fool?! The horror!

"Oh no, maybe that's why so many people have been staring at me!"

[Shinomori Katsumi]

Hidenori caught Katsumi staring at him, but she didn't really notice until after he spoke, the girl being snapped out of focus. His hand seemed to search his face and the man grew panicked, and Katsumi blinked and sweatdropped, proceeding to blush at realizing that she had been staring at him and that that was probably pretty awkward.

"Uh... ah... n-no! Not at all!" exclaimed the woman. She coughed and glanced away, brown hues evading his. Her blush only grew more heated. "I... I was just... looking for similar features you share with Haji-kun... S-Sorry..."

Wanting to really avoid a super awkward pause, Katsumi glanced up and caught sight of a carriage. She pointed it out and hurriedly added, "O-Oh look. A c-carriage! We... We should probably t-track it down to get that r-ride, right? Ahem."

[Morei Hidenori]

"Similar features?"

Hidenori blinked, looking at her. She was trying to see if he looked similar to Haji? Hidenori would have no idea how similar he looked, seeing as he hadn't seen his brother since he was two years old. All he knew about Haji was the white hair and the blue eyes.

"Well, if Haji is anything like myself, he's bound to be devilishly handsome! Hahahaha!"

He continued to walk with a hearty laugh. While Haji was more reserved and not so vain, Hidenori was aware of how handsome he was and he constantly flaunted it. His looks made up for his lack of brains, though he considered himself to be quite intelligent too. (Shhh. Let's not reveal the truth to him.)

"Huh? A carriage? HEY! WE NEED A RIDE!"

Hidenori shouted out at the carriage, but the guy didn't seem to stop at all. Angry with how rude this guy was, Hidenori lifted his zanbato off of his back, chucking it forward as hard as it could. It would go flying, landing directly in front of the carriage and the horse, and they would come to an abrupt stop, the guy looking at Hidenori with wide eyes. "THE HELL?"

"I TOLD YOU TO STOP, YOU RUDE JERK!"

Hidenori ran up, shaking his fist as he went to collect his weapon, resheathing it. He wasn't aware of how much of a scene he was causing, flinging that weapon every direction he could.

[Shinomori Katsumi]

She nodded in embarrassment, ducking her head. And when Hidenori made that comment, a blush coloured her cheeks and, again, the woman glanced away, hugging her chest more tightly. She wasn't used to such forwardness, and Kat had no idea how to take it. So her response was signs of embarrassment. The archer's flush only increased at Hidenori's brashness with the carriage.

"S-Should you really be d-doing that, Hide-?!" began to exclaim the woman, until she winced at the shouting and commotion.

Katsumi sweatdropped at the scene unfolding and quickly scurried over to Hidenori, jumping up and grabbing his arm waving around with the sword, hanging there. She was tiny, but Katsumi was hoping he'd at least notice she was there.

"C-Calm down, Hidenori!" she would say in her false-tenor quickly before bowing her head while hanging from his arm. "We are sorry for startling your horse, sir. May... we please have a ride?" And at that she would pull out a bag filled with coins and shake it, hoping the man would calm down and accept the offer.

[Morei Hidenori]

Hidenori was continuing to rave on, stopping only when Katsumi grabbed onto him. Realizing how much of a scene he was causing, the tall man took a deep breath, relaxing a bit.

"I... sorry, Katsu-neechan."

He grinned smugly. He wondered how she would react to that. Seeing as she and Haji were close, just maybe calling her sister like that wasn't out of the question. Of course, he wasn't completely sure they were together, but it was his gut feeling they had something special.

The driver of the carriage was angry, but calmed down upon seeing coin. Even a guy like Hidenori was worth dealing with if he got paid. He took Katsumi's offer, shrugging and motioning for them to hop in. "Where to?"

Hidenori climbed into the carriage happily, assuming Katsumi would to.

"We'd like to go to the Uesugi camp, if that's alright with you, pal."

The guy gave Hidenori a weird look, but obliged. If Katsumi got in too, the carriage would begin to move and they'd be on their way.

[Shinomori Katsumi]

Her tiny frame was hanging from the tall man, and at hearing his name for her, the woman's eyes widened sharply and, at wincing and blushing deeply from the overly familiar name, she dropped to the ground.

Brows furrowing, she peered up at him and murmured lowly, obviously nervous and uncomfortable, "Hidenori..."

She sighed heavily, unable to really do anything about it. So she would just climb into the carriage behind him and sat across from the tall man, glancing away from him and looking out of the window.

[Morei Hidenori]

Hidenori blinked, confused by her reaction, and tilted his head as he spoke.

"Did... Did I do something wrong?"

He was dense, not realizing how his statement could've made her uncomfortable in the least. If Haji and her were a thing, and if he was Haji's brother, that made Katsumi his sister-in-law in a way? Right?

Deciding not to press the matter further, he would look away on the other side of the carriage, wondering what Kenshin would do if he brought a stranger into their camp.

[Shinomori Katsumi]

After they were in the carriage, she glanced back over to Hidenori and murmured, "I... keep my name a secret for a purpose, and... neechan is so..."

She didn't really know what to say or how to feel, and the woman fell silent, a blush colouring her cheeks. A sigh escaped her lips and she closed her eyes.

"I'm just... not used... to people being so familiar... and nice," said she, and then Kat looked up at Haji's older brother. While she was happy with Haji and had friends, it was clear within her eyes that she had lived a rough life and that she was broken, and would take time to piece together. There was happiness there, but it was overwhelmed with disheartening experiences. "Your brother was the first person who... who was ever kind to me. We met.... a.... few months ago. Since then... I've met others, but... well... it's... really nice, but... I don't... really know how to deal with it sometimes. I'm not... used to really... being around people, unless... it is to kill or train. And now... that's changing, and it's kind of.... baffling. I don't know what to do half the time, if at all."

[Morei Hidenori]

Hidenori listened to Katsumi intently, staying quiet all the while. Not used to being around people, unless it was to kill or train... in a way, he understood her position, but couldn't quite relate at the same time.

"I spent my entire life seeking revenge... training myself in order to kill a certain someone, a certain group." He spoke sometime after she finished, not looking at her at the moment. "But overtime, Kenshin allowed me to put those feelings aside... somewhat... and I could focus on living my life more happily, not just driven by hate... the point is, if a guy like me could come back from the brink of sanity and learn to get along with people... I think you can too. It just takes time... and I'm sure that Haji will show you the way."

With that, he looked at Katsumi, giving a kind smile.

[Shinomori Katsumi]

Her gaze slid over to his face, moving back and forth from her lap to him. She was tentative but listened carefully. Her small hands curled up into tiny balls on her lap. He spoke a little of his past, how he lived, and what he lived for, and Kat knew it had to be hard. And so she said nothing, allowing him to talk.

After he finished and gave her a soft smile, a faint blush coloured her cheeks and her dark eyes fell to her lap. Her fingers tugged at her charcoal hakama. "Time... yes... I hope... that is true, Hidenori. I want... to do so... if not for me, than... for Haji-kun. T... Thank you."

She looked up at him, staring into his eyes. Her expression was soft, understanding... gracious. Katsumi then continued, "For... For sharing. I know... how hard it is. To open up... To... trust."

[Morei Hidenori]

For Haji... now that Hidenori was alive, he realized he too had to live, all for the sake of seeing his little brother again. He couldn't simply charge in angrily through the Oda camp hoping to take out Nobunaga. He spent the last fifteen years training, but now he knew he had so much more waiting for him out there. If Haji was alive, that must mean that Hideyasu too was among the living.

"Haji... he's a lucky guy, not gonna lie." The Uesugi soldier smiled again. "I wonder if he realizes that."

He looked outside of the carriage again, pondering on Katsumi's words she spoke last. "How hard it is to trust, huh... I guess you're right. I don't really open up to anyone but Kenshin, now that I think about it... I'd say you're the first. It's... pretty nice."

[Shinomori Katsumi]

Katsumi pursed her lips, before they went back into a straight line. "Mm. I would say... I am the luckier. We both... are quite lucky."

The archer listened to the man carefully, curious about a few things, and surprised by his words. Was she really among the first for him? Was Katsumi not the only one who clammed herself up to the world so severely?

"Am I... really... the second?" inquired the girl softly. Her gaze rested upon the man and after a few moments, Katsumi closed her eyes and bowed her head to show her respect. Maybe to others this wasn't a big deal, but it was huge for the girl. "I... am honored, Hidenori. Thank you... for trusting me with something so... important."

She would quiet and small hands would rest on her lap, tugging at her charcoal hakama. The young woman pondered over the lord of this land and what Hidenori had said. Haji's brother seemed to really look up to the man and after a minute or so, Katsumi would ask, "Kenshin-sama... what... is he like?"

She had heard the title God of War thrown around some, but besides that she didn't really know a whole lot. The reason why she came here in the first place was just to look for work. It was someplace new for her, so Katsumi figured there was likely job opportunities here.