The blinding morning sun shone brightly through the window of the second-floor room of the dilapidated inn. As the Kyoto streets below began to busy with the sounds of shop owners greeting customers and the smell of freshly caught fish, Yoshida Hitomi slowly opened her emerald green eyes. She had never managed to fall asleep, but the sounds of the bustling streets beneath her meant that it was time to give up. She sighed and stared at the run-down ceiling for a moment before yawning and closing her eyes again. After yet another sleepless night, they felt dry and painful. She shivered as she removed the thin blanket from her body. The cold winters in Kyoto were something she had yet to become accustomed to.
"Fuck it," she said, as she pulled the blanket back over her. She welcomed the little warmth it gave her as she scooted herself and her futon closer to the brazier. She awoke with a start roughly two hours later face down, having rolled off of the futon and onto her wakizashi, its tsuba digging into her rib. Strands of her long dirty blonde hair had found their way into her mouth. She shook her head as she sat up as if she could physically shake the memories of her nightmare from her mind. Braving the cold of her room, she got up from her futon and put on a light blue floral kimono and pink embroidered hakama. She packed up all of her belongings from her small room and placed them in her trunk. She had stayed in this part of Kyoto for too long with no results. She would check out today. She picked up her wakizashi, carefully tracing the delicate gold details on the saya before strapping it securely to her waist.
The old wooden stairs creaked beneath her feet as she descended them. The inn wasn't in the best shape, but the family who owned it was kind to her and the clientele was mostly docile. Besides, she couldn't afford anything nicer. As she reached the main floor she was greeted by a member of the staff.
"Good morning, miss," he said. "Shall I prepare your breakfast?"
Hitomi politely declined. Three months in Kyoto had taken a toll on her finances. She would need to find a job soon if she wanted to stay longer and she had to be careful not to spend so much money that she wouldn't be able to make the trip back home to Edo. This meant that she was beginning to have to skip a few meals.
She made her way to the front desk and bowed to the manager. "Thank you for your hospitality. I'll be checking out today."
"I see," the manager replied, smiling warmly. "No luck?"
"No," Hitomi sighed, "no sign of him here." She smiled kindly back at him. "I'll have to look elsewhere."
"Good luck," the manager replied. "And be careful."
Before the girl could strap her trunk to her back, she heard a young girl's scream from across the street. She ran out of the inn and to where the commotion was coming from. The street was empty, as terrified onlookers had fled to watch the scene unfold from inside the surrounding shops. Hitomi reached for the hilt of her sword as she approached the two men surrounding the terrified young girl. Having seemingly not noticed her presence, the man closest to the young girl wrapped his snake-like fingers around her small wrist. Another man pointed his sword at her throat.
Before Hitomi could draw her own wakizashi, a man called out loudly from the ink shop behind her. "Get away from there, miss!"
Hitomi sighed. Now that her presence was known, the man whose sword was pointed at the child's throat turned around and raised it in front of Hitomi. She barely managed to block his blow with the edge of her half-drawn wakizashi. As she leapt backward, she raised her blade horizontally above her head to deflect the man's second arcing overhead strike. As his sword slid off of hers, she flipped the blade to the dull side before striking him in the neck in his off-balance state. He dropped to the ground, unconscious. Now free, the young girl they had been threatening ran. Hitomi met the second man's diagonal strike just in time. However, with the angle their swords had met and the late timing, there was no time to extend to him the same courtesy as she had with the first man. She would have to kill him. As she began to thrust the tip of her sword towards his throat, another man approached with incredible speed and pulled Hitomi's attacker back by the neck and twisted his wrists, forcing the man to drop his katana and crumple to the ground in pain.
The first thing that caught Hitomi's eye about this interloper was what he was wearing. He wore a light blue haori that billowed vigorously in the relentless winter winds. Also affected by the strong gusts was his long brown hair, tied up in a neat ponytail. His face was innocent, and he looked far too young to be a part of the infamous Shinsengumi. Behind him was a large group of fellow Shinsengumi, standing in formation. One of the men ran up to the ronin on the ground and began binding his now broken wrists.
Hitomi quickly sheathed her wakizashi and bowed to the young Shinsengumi member in front of her. "Thank you," she said, the hair she hadn't bothered to put up falling in front of her face.
She stood up. "My name is Yoshida Hitomi."
"I'm Toudou Heisuke," he replied. "I'm not sure I've ever seen someone take on a katana with a wakizashi like that before."
Before the young man could reply, another voice called out from behind her.
"So, Heisuke," the man behind her said, seemingly annoyed, "what was the point of saving the sweaty guy? She clearly had the upper hand."
"I didn't really feel like watching a girl like her kill someone."
"And I appreciate it very much," Hitomi said, bowing again to Toudou.
"Though I feel like this wouldn't have been her first time, am I right?"
Ignoring his provocation, Hitomi turned and met the eyes of the strange man. His eyes were green like her own, yet they swirled with emotions she couldn't quite place. His eyes peered into hers, the beginning of a sarcastic smile pulling at one corner of his mouth. He was taller than the other. His chestnut brown hair was pulled up in the back, yet still leaving his long bangs to fall in front of his face. He, too, wore a Shinsengumi haori, and was also followed by around ten men.
Hitomi was not at all unfamiliar to the Shinsengumi. Countless rumors circled about them in Edo. They protected the peace in Kyoto and defended the Shogun, yet their methods were often deemed… brutal. What had interested Hitomi the most about this group of men was that, unlike the newly formed Mimawarigumi, the Shinsengumi was not made up of government officials. They consisted mostly of ronin and even farmers. She had heard that even the Kyokuchou and Fukuchou had been farmers. She had heard that this mismatched group of warriors was famous for being bloodthirsty and violent; however, excluding the comments made by the taller one, they seemed to be simply carrying out their regular duties with efficiency and as peacefully as possible. Toudou could have killed the man, yet he was still quite alive, swearing at the men restraining him. Perhaps this wasn't always the case, and perhaps they weren't always given the chance to end things peacefully. However, Hitomi came into Kyoto knowing fully well that the majority of the people living there were biased against the Shogun and all who defended him. All of Japan seemed to be split on whether the emperor or the Shogun would be the one to expel the foreigners, and subsequently who should be ruling the country. Hitomi didn't agree with the actions of the clans who supported the emperor, but she also could see many issues with the current government. She was hoping she'd be able to form a more solid opinion after visiting Kyoto, but this wasn't her only goal.
"Excuse me," she said, turning once again to Toudou, "I'm looking for someone. I'm wondering if you've seen him. His name is Yukimura Koudou."
His eyes widened at the name and the taller man moved closer.
"He's a relative of mine," Hitomi continued. "He's trained in western medicine, but I'm afraid he's been conducting unethical experiments."
"What kind of experiments?" the taller one asked, his emerald eyes peering into hers as though he were searching for something.
"Orders from the Shogunate. I'm not sure you'd believe me if I told you."
Suddenly he reached for the hilt of his sword. "Heisuke," he said, his voice like steel, "we're taking her back."
"Alright," Heisuke said, taking her wakizashi and binding her wrists. "I'm sorry," he muttered as he tied the last knot. Hitomi felt a pain in her chest seeing the other man holding her sword, her mother's final gift to her.
"What's happening?" Hitomi asked. "Do you know him?"
The man with the green eyes drew his katana and pointed it at the girl's throat. His eyes met hers with a cold, merciless glare. "Another word and I kill you." Hitomi simply nodded as the two captains and their units led her back to their headquarters.