It was a hot afternoon. It was the kind of afternoon that makes a person want to curl up beneath a shaded tree and sleep the day away. But that certainly wouldn't do, Chizuru thought to herself. I can't just take a nap when everyone else is busy.

So the young woman stood up from beneath the tree and wiped the dirt off her hakama. But what can I do? she wondered. She had already helped clean the headquarters and brought tea to everyone. While she knew those were minor tasks, she took some comfort in that those were things she could do. Perhaps someone might need me to run an errand? she thought. And yet, wouldn't they ask her if they needed her for that? Perhaps someone needs help with supper? It is certainly worth looking into.

Within the main compound she wondered the corridors as she headed for the kitchen hoping to run into someone who might need help along the way. As she neared the kitchen her spirits lifted at the smell of dinner cooking. She had been afraid she might have arrived before preparations began and the smell of soy and fish told her otherwise; but when she entered it was the most curious thing. Rice was boiling over a fire, there was fish on a grill, and a radish lay half chopped on a cutting board, and yet, there was no one boiling the rice, grilling the fish, or cutting the radish. She stood alone in an empty kitchen.

"Um, excuse me. Is anyone here?" she called out. But no one answered. "Hello?" she called out again, this time poking her head out of the kitchen. That's odd, she thought, who would leave the kitchen unattended? She moved over to the neglected fish, checking to see how it was coming along. It had not been over the fire for very long. Surely whoever was cooking must have stepped out for just a moment? I'll just watch it until they come back. But by the time the fish and the rice were cooked whoever was supposed to be cooking had not returned.

"I should probably go look for someone," Chizuru stated, feeling somewhat unnerved from the quiet in the kitchen. "It seems unlikely that someone would forget they're cooking, but maybe something came up that prevented whoever was cooking from returning?" But as she began wondering the corridors the silence persisted. "I wonder where everyone is?" she peered into a room, hoping to see some sign of life. "If something happened there would have been more of a commotion." And even if there was something going on I should have run into someone by now. Down another hall and all was quiet. "Then again, I don't think I ran into anyone when I was on my way to the kitchen either." That thought disturbed her. Her head became flooded with unanswered questions. How long had she been left alone? Where had everyone gone? Why was no one left on reserve? She ran through the remaining halls, panicked, checking every room. No one was left, not the captains or the rank-and-file. Even the furies where missing.

"What's going on? I know they don't have to tell me where they're going but surely…" She shook her head. "No, something's not right. If something happened they would have left soldiers to guard the headquarters and if they had to leave they would have taken their things with them. But what could have happened?"

Chizuru leaned against the wall as though the wooden support might offer her some comfort. As she considered her next move, she heard the sound of hurried footsteps from around the corner.

Someone is here! she thought, quite elated. She sped across the hall, eager to see a familiar face. I wonder… "Oof!" she exclaimed, as she ran into the form that was hurrying around the corner. Steady hands grabbed her, catching her before she fell. "I'm sor…!" she began, trailing off when she caught sight of the one who held her steady. "Sai…to?" The man before her looked very much like Saito, with his familiar dark hair and blue eyes, yet there was something distinctly different about him. His clothes were not different, not really. While he still wore his white scarf and donned the Shinsengumi blue, his clothing did seem more refined. And there was one thing that was more peculiar still. Atop his head were two floppy ears that very much resembled that of a snow rabbit.

The man looked at her, betraying no emotion. "Excuse me," he stated, letting her go and walking past her.

"Um, Saito?" Chizuru repeated.

He turned to look at her, "Is there something you needed miss?"

"Miss? Saito, what's going on? Where is everyone? And… and you're ears…"

"I am sorry miss, but I do not have the time to answer your questions." He stated, turning to leave.

"Please wait! Something's not right, it's like everyone has disappeared!"

"I have not seen anyone else here. I do not seen how anyone could have disappeared if they were not here to being with."

"Huh? Saito are you okay? This is the headquarters of the Shinsengumi. There should be people here."

"Shinsengumi? Not here."

"But-"

"I must be going," he stated, with only the slightest hint of agitation."

"Are you late for something?" Chizuru asked, wondering if Saito's reason for acting so strangely was because there was something else on his mind.

"I am never late. Punctuality is very important, but I must be going." He turned to leave. "If it is the Shinsengumi you seek, I suggest you follow me, but you must keep up. I will not slow for you," he added, almost as an afterthought.

Chizuru nodded and followed the man through the halls of the Shinsingumi headquarters. So quick was he that several times she thought she lost him only for him to reappear as she turned another corner. Round and round they went. Chizuru lost count of the halls they ran through. With each new corridor Saito seemed to increase his speed. It was not until her breathing became heavy that she realized she was quite lost. This struck her as odd, seeing as she had lived in this building for quite some time now. The headquarters had never seemed quite so much like a labyrinth before.

By now she had to sprint just to keep Saito in sight. I wonder how much longer until we find the Shinsengumi? she thought as she realized she could not keep up this brisk pace for much longer.

But before she could ask her question she realized she had lost track of Saito.

"Oh!" she cried when she concluded that Saito was truly gone. "But he really was in a hurry, so I guess I can't complain…" she trailed, not sure what to do now that the only person she could find was gone. But he wasn't quite right, she noted. He had spoken to her as though they had never met and this revelation struck her as quite odd. He also seemed quite unconcerned that everyone had disappeared. This was very un-Saito-like. "And then there was his ears," she mumbled. "I'm certain he never had those before."

Chizuru slumped against a while, quite unsure as to what to do now. Catching her breath, she tried to get a sense of where she was within the headquarters. While Saito may have left her, she was pretty sure she was close to the exit. That is, if the exit was still where it used to be. At this point, she would not be surprised if it wasn't.

As she arrived at the end of the hallway she found herself back in the kitchen rather than the exit. A cup of tea might do me some good, she thought, preparing water to boil. When the water was comfortably set she proceeded to search for a clean cup. She found one to her liking and placed it on the counter. She then noticed that the kitchen was not quite as she left it. Atop the counter was a single cube of tofu on a plate with a piece of parchment underneath with the words "Eat Me" written on it. Next to the tofu was a steaming cup of tea and a piece of parchment with the words "Drink Me."

How bizarre, she thought. Who would go through the trouble to make such a display? While she was certain quite thirsty she figured drinking the tea would be impolite as she doubted the tea was meant for her. The cube of tofu looked particularly odd to her. It seemed almost to be heaving up and down in the middle as thought it was breathing. Somewhat unnerved by the idea of a moving cube of tofu, she picked up a chopstick and proceeded to poke it. The tofu did not seem to appreciate that.

"Don't you know," said the cube of tofu, "It's rather impolite to play with your food."

"What!" Chizuru exclaimed, dropping the chopstick. "It talks!"

"Of course it talks," said the tofu, rather irritated. "You don't see me making a fuss about you talking now, do you?"

"But-"

"No buts, it's really not that big of a deal. Now are you going to eat me or not?"

"I- I can't just eat you!"

"Well fine," said the tofu, somewhat hurt. "You weren't worth my time anyway." The cube of tofu proceeded to pop four legs out of its sides and walked towards the exit. "Are you coming?"

"Me?" Chizuru pointed to herself.

"No, not you, tea."

"I'm coming!" came a rather chipper reply from the counter. Chizuru looked at the table and saw the tea cup grow a pair of legs and waddle off the counter, tea splashing out as it moved.

It took Chizuru a moment to process what she had seen. It wasn't everyday one encountered food that has a mind of its own. Once she felt a bit calmer she found that she no longer had a desire for tea and removed the water from the fire. When this was done she decided to continue her search for the exit.

Chizuru was not entirely sure how to find an exit that was seemingly lost. She considered her options, and decided to follow the tea trail that had spilt from the talking tea cup. The trail itself lasted quite awhile, much longer then she would have expected considering the size of the cup and the amount of tea that should have been in it. When the trail ended, she found herself in front of a door that looked remarkably like the exit. But as she opened the door, she found that what was on the other side was not as it should.

What Chizuru saw was not the streets of Kyoto, but a forest of wonders. There were trees to be sure, but they were not like any trees she had seen before. The trees reached high above her with wood as smooth as bamboo and leaves that bloomed out like grassy parasols. She could see a river in the distance, but it looked as though it had a slow, viscous quality about it. It seemed to slosh about rather then run in any particular direction. She could hear the buzzing of flies and chirping of birds, but within the sounds of familiarity were animal cries she had never heard before.

I must be dreaming, she thought. "This certainly can't be real.

"Are you sure about that?" asked another.

Chizuru spun around. "Okita?" she asked. While she could not seen him, that voice was unmistakably his.

I've never been called that before," said the voice.

Chizuru spun around again, searching for the voice. "Where are you?"

"I'm right here, of course," he said.

"I don't see you."

"Perhaps you aren't truly looking?" he replied.

It was an odd thing, which happened next. He tapped her on the shoulder, but when she turned around to see him, he still was not there. "I still don't see you," she said, almost pleading.

"Or maybe you are trying to hard?"

Absurd, Chizuru thought. But what did she have to lose? She sat down on the grassy floor and waited for him to decide to show himself. No more than a minute passed before he seemed to appear from behind her.

"I thought that might be the case," he said. What she saw next certainly looked like Okita, but like the forest before her, there was something about him that wasn't quite right. He stood before her dressed as she would have expected, but his haori was colored in stripes of white and Shinsengumi blue. Atop his head were ears that resembled a cat. Behind him swished a rather long tail that matched the ears remarkably. "I've always found it easier to see myself when I don't try too hard." The smile he gave her was rather eerie.

Chizuru sprang to her feet. "Okita, everything's wrong! The Shinsengumi are missing, the headquarters are a labyrinth, Saito doesn't seem to remember anything, there's talking tofu, and there's a forest here instead of Kyoto!" she huffed all at once.

"That's the second time, you called me that. Do you like the name Okita? Do you find it fascinating? I certainly do."

"What- Okita no- I mean…, it's just… that's your name."

"I'm rather glad you told me then, I hadn't a clue."

Chizuru looked at him, not sure if she should be taking him seriously. His smiling face betrayed nothing. "Um, Okita, what's going on?"

"Going on," he stated, almost as though he was trying to see how to words fit. "Going on, going down, going south, going under, going-"

"Okita!"

"Yes?"

"I'm very confused."

"Very Confused? What an odd choice for a name."

"What are you talking about, I'm Chizuru?"

"Chizuru? Very Confused? Well, which one is it?"

"Both."

"So you have two names as well. Well, Very Confused Chizuru, I'm the Cheshire Cat. At least, I thought I was the Cheshire Cat until you called me Okita." The man smiled, his tail swaying back and forth.

"Huh?" Chizuru said, unsure of what to make of the man's words. He certainly looked like Okita, but with the missing Shinsengumi, Saito's strange behavior (and ears!), and the strange forest that used to be Kyoto how could she really be sure of anything. Perhaps nothing was as it seems?

"You've… really never seen me before, have you?" she asked.

"It's hard to say, really," he stated. As he stared off to the side Chizuru realized that he never seemed to stop smiling. "I undoubtedly do not remember seeing you before, but that surely does not mean that I haven't seen you before."

Chizuru felt her stomach drop. This isn't right. But then again, she had indisputably seen many strange things since she had begun staying with the Shinsengumi, but surely this was the most bizarre. She did not know whether or not this was the Okita she knew, but he did not seem to think he was.

"I don't know what to do," she stated.

"Then maybe you shouldn't do anything," Not-Okita suggested.

"I must do something."

"Why?"

"I- I just can't sit here and hope everything will be okay. The Shinsengumi have done a lot for me. I don't really know what I can do to help them, but if there's something I can do, I want to do it."

"Then what will you do?"

Chizuru took a deep breath. "I need to find the Shinsengumi," she decided.

"The Shinsengumi? Then I suggest you speak with the queen?"

"The queen?"

"Yes, the Queen of Hearts. Though I would be careful. They say the queen's a demon who forces the insolent to choose between seppuku and being experimented on. And I'd also warn you, the queen finds many to be of an insolent nature."

"Thank you!" Chizuru said, bowing slightly.

"Yes, I'll be sure to watch if you decide to commit seppuku," he beamed, with a little too much enthusiasm.

Chizuru gulped. "Do you know where I can find the queen?" she asked, though she honestly was not sure she wanted to find this queen.

"Well, I usually go right. I find that if I go right, I can't possibly go wrong." Not-Okita took his hand, and used it like a cat's paw to clean his face. "Then again, I suppose it doesn't really matter. All roads lead to your destination."

Before Chizuru could ask him what he meant, Not-Okita walked behind her. When Chizuru turned to look at him, he had seemingly vanished.

Chizuru felt very alone. The Okita who fashioned himself as the Cheshire Cat may not have been the man she knew, but his presence was still reassuring. She wondered if the Saito she saw was a different Saito as well. I really wish I knew what to do, she thought. But she knew worrying about things she didn't understand wouldn't solve anything. The only thing she could do was try to find the real Shinsengumi. "But what if the Shinsengumi Okita mentioned isn't the real Shinsengumi?" No. That was another useless thing to think about. She had to reach the queen and see for herself.