The sunlight began to creep through Sakura's window. Slowly opening her green eyes to the morning light, she muttered to herself, "It's too early to go out shopping…" while hiding her head under her blanket and closing her eyes, falling back to sleep.
It was an early spring day in Kyoto; a young maiden was walking down the crowded street trying her hardest to keep her groceries from falling to the ground. The vegetables on the top of her bundle began to teeter back and forth. "Oh no!" she cried, trying her best to keep them from falling and causing herself to lose her balance. Feeling a hand on her back she looked behind herself to see that a young man had kept her from falling.
Smiling at her, he said, "Would you like some help with your groceries, Miss?"
"Yeah, any help would be appreciated." The young man began to take some of the wares from her. "Follow me, my house isn't that far away," she said, speaking confidently to the stranger as she started walking in the direction of her home. "My name is Kouki Sakura."
The young man thought to himself, Kouki Sakura… that is a very pretty name. "It is very nice to meet you Kouki-san, I am called Hitegawa Seiji."
"Your accent…You're not from Kyoto are you?"
"No, I'm not; I just arrived in town today."
Looking Seiji up and down, Sakura grinned to herself. He's kind of cute… Noticing the swords in his obi, she bluntly asked, "Are you a Samurai?"
Seiji stopped to think about that for a second. "I guess I am...I'm currently a ronin."
Walking up to the gate to her house, she replied, "It is nice to meet a ronin that still has his honor…Thank you for your help Hitegawa-san," while opening the gate as best she could.
"Do you live here by yourself?" Seiji asked, glancing around the courtyard.
"Of course not, I live here with my family," she answered, putting down her items carefully on a bench in the courtyard and taking the rest of the items from Seiji. "How long will you be staying in Kyoto, Hitegawa-san?"
Seiji grinned thinking to himself, I'll stay here for an eternity just to see you again. "It has yet to be seen how long I will be staying in Kyoto for."
Sakura smiled sweetly. "I hope it is long enough for you to help me carry my shopping home again."
Seiji couldn't help but smile back. "I hope so too Kouki-san."
"Call me Sakura… Kouki is what everyone calls my father." Seiji nodded in understanding. As he turned to leave the courtyard, Sakura called out, "Thank you again and I hope to see you again soon."
Seiji left the courtyard without another word closing the gate behind him thinking about the odd girl he had just met. He had never met a young woman with such confidence before. I need to find the Shinsengumi's headquarters before it gets too late, he thought while walking down the busy Kyoto street.
Sakura was busy swearing to herself as she put away her shopping, Why didn't I invite him in for some tea or something…I'll most likely never see him again, he did say he was a ronin.
It was late in the afternoon by the time Seiji found the Shinsengumi headquarters. Stopping in front of the gate, he asked the guards, "Where might I find Kondo-sama?"
One of the guards raised an eyebrow and asked questioningly, "What business do you have with Kondo-sama?"
Seiji replied in an irritated tone, "I was summoned here by Kondo-sama himself. It is very important business." The guards just gave each other a look and nodded.
"We will have to go ask Kondo-sama if he is expecting you. What did you say your name was?"
Flatly Seiji responded, "I didn't tell you my name but if it will get me to see Kondo-sama… My name is Katsumori Seiji." One of the guards turned and summoned an irritated looking page over to the gate.
"Boy, go ask Kondo-sama if he is expecting anyone by the name Katsumori Seiji." The page returned a few minutes later looking even more irritated then before.
"Kondo-sama says you should let the guy in; he's already late for his meeting with him." The guards bowed to Seiji, apologizing to him for making him late to his meeting. The young but still irritated page led Seiji to Kondo's office. Seiji opened the door to find an older looking gentleman with a brush in his hand practicing calligraphy. Could this really be the leader of the legendary Shinsengumi? Seiji thought, unsure of what to do.
"Kondo-sama?" The man looked up from his paper and put his brush down.
"Ah Katsumori-san. I'm glad you could make it. We have a lot to talk about."
Across town Sakura was busy preparing dinner for her family, muttering to herself. "Where did I put the soy sauce?" Carefully stirring the miso soup, she knocked over a bowl of rice. I hate cooking! After cleaning the rice off the ground as quickly as possible, she brought the rest of the food out to the dining room. "Hello Father, how was you day?" she asked cheerfully as she served the food.
"My day was fine…" he answered. "You're very cheerful today…you're never cheerful when you have to cook…did something happen today?" her father asked in a curious manner.
Sakura replied, still smiling, "No father, nothing out of the ordinary happened today. I went out shopping then came home and started to prepare dinner." And a very handsome ronin helped me out today, but I'm not going to tell you that part.
"In short, Katsumori-san, I would like you to join the Shinsengumi as the leader of the new 11th unit; but first you will need to prove to the vice commanders that you can handle the job."
Seiji sat stunned by what he had just heard. They want me as a captain…