Yamazaki's work has been troubling for the past few days. There has been an increase of secret activity outside and it was his job to go undercover and investigate. At day, he wrote and organized reports of recent news, as well as tending to the ill and wounded using his medical knowledge. But at night, he would go out to investigate matters of importance or suspicion of valuable information. A doctor and a spy, Yamazaki had lived separate lives by the dawn and dusk. But as work increases, it seems that this double life is taking its toll on him…
It was just another day at the Shinsengumi. Everyone was quite joyful and laidback today.
"Sure is nice to relax once in a while." Sano said, stretching his arms as he walked towards the dining room.
"Hey Sano, wait up!" Heisuke cried from behind, trying to catch up with him. Panting, he rested on Sano's shoulder, catching his breath.
"By the way, have you seen Shinpachi?" Sano asked.
"Yeah, he said he needed to do something else before breakfast." Heisuke said.
The twosome continued walking to the dining room and then headed inside.
Mainly everyone was already there, and Chizuru was just serving the green tea.
"Oh, Sano, Heisuke, good morning! You're in time for breakfast!" Chizuru said.
But she noticed someone was missing from their group.
Um, do you know where Shinpachi is?" She asked as they sat down.
"He needed to-" Heisuke said when he was cut off by a deep voice from the opposite side of the room.
"He'll be back in a moment." Hijikata answered, sipping his tea. All eyes were on him.
"What do you mean Hijikata?" Okita asked with that play voice in his tone.
"I've sent him to go to Yamazaki's room." Hijikata replied, slightly annoyed.
"Eh? Why so?" Kondou wondered, as he finished his cup of tea.
"Have you all noticed that there has been a dropdown in the amount of work lately?" Hijikata asked everyone.
Sano almost choked on his drink from the question.
"There have been fewer issues, none that need immediate action." Saito suggested quietly.
"True on that Saito." Sano said, still coughing.
"Well, I thought that maybe, just for once, we could have a bit of a day off. To just relax. Perhaps I was hoping on organizing a trip somewhere. Like a bathhouse-" Hijikata was saying when the door slid open.
"A bathhouse!? Count me in!" Shinpachi yelled with enthusiasm. Everyone was surprised of the sudden entrance.
"Shinpachi!" Heisuke exclaims as he sat down.
"Seriously, a bath house is the perfect place to go! You can relax there when you're tired and also accommodation! There's one not too far from here as well!" Shinpachi said.
"Well, I guess that's settled. But that hasn't answered why you went to Yamazaki's room." Okita said.
"Oh that? Hijikata thought that perhaps Yamazaki could have breakfast with us for once, you know, since he's always on missions and all, so he told me to get him." Shinpachi explained.
"That's right, Yamazaki's never joined us at all. The fact that he was always busy with investigations and all that paperwork must be tiring, huh? I guess that would be nice." Okita thought.
"So how come he's not with you?" Chizuru asked, now handing out the meals to everyone.
"He wasn't in there." Shinpachi answered.
"WHAT!?" Everyone yelled. The building shook from the noise.
"How come?" Saito asked.
Shinpachi reached into his pocket and took out a folded piece of paper.
"He left behind a note. Read it out Hijikata." He said, handing it to the vice commander. He took it and unfolded it and started reading.
-It is likely that I will not be here by the time you find this letter. Unfortunately, I will be absent for a short while. There is something I have to attend to and have left at 4am to investigate. I apologize for not being able to join you today, but maybe another time. I look forward to that day until then.-
-From Yamazaki-
"So something urgent came up and he had to go." Kondou summed up.
"Man it had to come up now of all times." Okita complained as he ate.
"But it's strange." Saito said.
"What do you mean by that?"
The samurai continued to silently drink, before placing the cup down.
"He says that he left at 4am, and right now it is past 8am. Shouldn't he be back by now?" He suggested.
"Do you think something happened to him?" Chizuru asked regrettingly.
Hijikata was puzzled and thought long and hard.
"Maybe we should stay put just in case. If he doesn't come back afterwards, we'll send out search parties." Hijikata said.
The group continued their breakfast in utter thought and silence, wandering about Yamazaki's safety.
I hope he's okay.
Will he be alright out there? I mean come on, it's be 4 hours.
Could he have got into a fight?
The thoughts were endless as the few minutes went by.
But then, Sano held a suspicious look.
"Sano, what's wrong?" Heisuke asked.
"Hopefully I'm wrong, but does anyone else smell blood?" Sano asked.
The whole room froze in concern. To think there would be bloodshed at this time.
"But that can't be. Wouldn't we like, hear a scream or a fight going on? It's been dead quiet around here." Shinpachi said.
"Well, it would have been nice if it was a fight." Okita sighed in disappointment. Heisuke stared at him in disbelief.
"Are you serio-"Heisuke was quickly cut off by the vice commander.
"Shut up and get back in, somebody's coming." Hijikata hushed everyone back inwards and shut the door, leaving a small gap as an eye hole.
Everyone else heard the sound of somebody walking across the opposite side of the verandah.
But better yet, from Hijikata's perspective as he solely looked through the gap, limping would have been a better word to use.
"Is it an intruder, Hijikata?" Saito asked seriously, readying his sword at his right side. Everyone held their breaths as if to ready themselves for battle.
They waited for the vice commander's answer. He maintained a focused look, until he let a short gasp escape.
"It's Yamazaki."
The tension in the room seemed to vanish into thin air, as everyone relaxed.
"So it was just Yamazaki? Thought it was another spy." Sano said, relieved.
"So he's not hurt, right?" Chizuru asked. But there was no response.
It seems the tension had not disappeared from the room just yet. In fact, it rose in the mind of the vice commander.
"No. He's injured. Really injured." Hijikata finally spoke.
He stepped back from the door, allowing everyone access to the gap hole. They opened it a little wider for everyone to see. But what they saw wasn't to be expected.
Using the walls as a support, a shadowed person walked towards the other side. He was panting, deep short breaths coming out.
He was wearing black garments, and had a black scarf around his neck.
True, it was Yamazaki, but he wore another color, deepening itself into his skin and leaked on his clothes, staining it into a darkened hue.
Yamazaki had several cuts on his body. One slit into his cheek, several on his legs and arms. But the most noticeable was he, using his free hand, was clutching on his side. The vice commander finally understood why…
…as several drops of slaughtered blood dripped from his gripped hand onto the wooden floor.
"He's hurt. Really badly too." Chizuru whispered, frightened by the sight.
But the quiet tremor wasn't to last, as the investigator, exhausted from his wounds, collapsed where he was, falling into quiet darkness.
Everyone remained silent, unable to react properly to the sight. It wasn't long before they finally regained their senses and could think about what they saw.
"Yamazaki!"