There was a memory embedded deeply in the mind of the left-handed swordsman. A memory which had come to be nights before he had arrived at the capital and joined the Roshigumi, but which had been stirred after several months had passed and Chizuru had arrived at the Shinsengumi headquarters. It had revived in a dream, during a quiet night in which only the leaves swaying in the wind could be heard. His eyes had closed and almost instantly they had open to a scenery that wasn't the inside of his room.

He was walking down a deserted path that was heavily lined with trees and shrubbery. The moon shone above the trees brightly, having them form strange and twisted shadows down the path he walked, but it was nothing new. Saitou could see the path before him easily, could easily sense when there was someone ahead of him or behind, so he needn't worry about safety as he was a very capable swordsman. As he walked down the darkened road which would occasionally offer small strips of light, he came to a perfect place to sit and rest. Only for a minute or two, he thought to himself and made himself comfortable next to a large enough bush that would cover his form from any angle.

His eyes watched the moon above him as a slight breeze made the branches dance, the shrub beside him mimicking the motion, brushing some of its leaves on his cheek. The motion was expected as the wind picked up, but after the breeze had ended and the shrubbery was still trembling, it was a cause for alarm. He felt no presences whatsoever, no killer intent, no danger, but the shrub was moving as if someone or something were hiding in it. Could it be a poisonous animal? No. He would have sensed the danger and so that couldn't be what was hidden there.

Saitou reached forward, parting the shrub where the moonlight hit, but he still couldn't make out what was hidden. He saw a small, black cotton tail shaped an almost perfect sphere, attached to white hind legs whose body they belong to was obscured from view. He reached forward, his fingers gracing soft fur and making the legs twitch upward to hide behind the thicker leaves. The black cotton tail made a strange motion, a flicker or some kind of sideway swaying, but it was hard to tell. Saitou sought another way to see what was inside the shrubbery, thinking that is the creature had not run away then it had to be hurt. He moved further away from the road and knelt on one knee as he searched for the small creature.

It jumped from his sight the moment he reached for it, and again when he moved to a different side. Maybe it wasn't injured as much as he thought if it could jumped in such a way. Saitou would only see that little black tail and white legs diving into the darker parts of the shrub, yet it didn't run out of it. His thoughts on it being injured had not disappeared completely; he could be causing more damage by forcing it to use excess energy. Thinking this was the case, Saitou sat back down and ignored the urge to see if the small animal was safe and uninjured. He closed his eyes and was about to rest when he heard the rustling of leaves and from the corner of his eyes saw something come jumping out from the shadows.

Several hops it took towards a supposedly sleeping Saitou, although one eye was partially open and looking in the direction it came. It jumped onto his lap, its little tail twitching in a cute way, and stretched towards his face. He felt a small nose twitching against his own, the small paws resting on his chest so soft that he had to concentrate to feel their pressure on his body. It was larger than he had initially thought, but not by much, judging by the weight as he was yet to fully open his eyes. He felt he should let this curious little thing investigate and see that he was no threat before trying to help. Its nose touched his again, twitching like that of a rabbits, and he remembered the rounded tail. That's what this little creature was, a young rabbit, or so his thoughts had led him to believe.

"Meow."

Saitou's eyes snapped open and before him, looking into his eyes, was an animal he was not expecting to see. An odd-eyed cat with ears of a different color, its body mostly white with the exception of its mid-back and its black, cotton tail. It let out another meow, purring lovingly at him as it rubbed its head against his cheek. He didn't look hurt, which made Saitou think that the cat hiding was him showing interest in playing. The small fur-ball kept purring and snuggling into his neck until Saitou placed his hands under its front paws and lifted him into the air. There he saw his second mistake of the night; it wasn't a him it was a her.

The memory of that playful cat was something so irrelevant during these times, but Saitou hadn't been able to get it out of his mind. His subconscious brought it to his attention almost every other night, the meowing and purring, of her vibrating against his chest, her small nose touching his as a small sign of affection. He guessed he missed those days she had traveled with him, had walked him to the capital and then disappeared when he no longer needed company. But he missed her. Missed her enough to dream about her and feel that small bundle on his chest, his nose against his own, and to see those odd-eyes, one silver-blue and the other light pink-red, looking at him with endearment.

But it hadn't been his subconscious after all, opening his eyes the next morning to see the small bundle sleeping soundly on top of his chest. He hadn't even felt her presence, which was something unbecoming of him. With a sigh and small smile, Saitou reached up to pat his old friend who looked at him with odd-eyes and meowed happily.

"Good morning, Usagi."