"Yes, I'm from the past. Is it so surprising? Considering some of us come from different planets, if not alternate realities?" The scissors snipped a final time and Okita sighed, thinking back to his conversation with Hijikata on the bulletin board. Things had gone so very wrong with the other Vice Commander and Okita feared there was no way to patch them up again. Setting the shears down, Okita reached out and touched one of the smallish yellow blooms. "We're all trapped, one way or another."
Standing up, Okita moved the plant to be by the other he finished and pulled a third one forward. The monotony of gardening was good for him now that he needed a distraction. It allowed him to think without looking like he was too preoccupied. He could pull weeds out of a pot rather automatically, having spent so much time in the gardens at Mibu. Back then, it hadn't been for gardening purposes so much as to amuse Saizou while the piglet chased after the little dirt clods the weeds had attached to them, but the principle was the same. And he needed this time to think of a proper response to Jaime. Threatening the boy to keep quiet wouldn't do much good, but he had to make sure that whoever could tell he was sick was sworn to secrecy.
Homura, Kenren, Himura and the late Sanosuke all knew his secret, but beyond that, he wanted to keep his disease silent. People would lose faith in him or they'd avoid him. He wouldn't be allowed to play or even speak with people anymore. The fear of the red death drove people apart and Okita wanted to stay with the friends he'd made here. "I understand, Jaime-san. I hope you also understand that whatever ability it is you have that let you see the truth, you'll keep what you've learned to yourself. It's a matter of honor, and a matter of life or death for me. You know more about me than I know of you, and while I may find that unfair, there isn't much I can do. Perhaps one day you'll trust me enough to let me know your secret, as I've already shared mine with you."
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Standing up, Okita moved the plant to be by the other he finished and pulled a third one forward. The monotony of gardening was good for him now that he needed a distraction. It allowed him to think without looking like he was too preoccupied. He could pull weeds out of a pot rather automatically, having spent so much time in the gardens at Mibu. Back then, it hadn't been for gardening purposes so much as to amuse Saizou while the piglet chased after the little dirt clods the weeds had attached to them, but the principle was the same. And he needed this time to think of a proper response to Jaime. Threatening the boy to keep quiet wouldn't do much good, but he had to make sure that whoever could tell he was sick was sworn to secrecy.
Homura, Kenren, Himura and the late Sanosuke all knew his secret, but beyond that, he wanted to keep his disease silent. People would lose faith in him or they'd avoid him. He wouldn't be allowed to play or even speak with people anymore. The fear of the red death drove people apart and Okita wanted to stay with the friends he'd made here. "I understand, Jaime-san. I hope you also understand that whatever ability it is you have that let you see the truth, you'll keep what you've learned to yourself. It's a matter of honor, and a matter of life or death for me. You know more about me than I know of you, and while I may find that unfair, there isn't much I can do. Perhaps one day you'll trust me enough to let me know your secret, as I've already shared mine with you."