Morning, and what a beautiful morning it was. The clear autumn sky was blue and cloudless, while the ground looked as if it had been paved with gold from the leaves that had fallen from their respective boughs. Although it meant more sweeping for her, she did not mind one bit. It was good to be outdoors that day, when the wind was calm and the sun was more forgiving. It was a beautiful day indeed, but she knew that there was more to that day than what could be seen on the surface. Through her days with the Shinsen-Gumi, Yukimura Chizuru knew that there was always something happening in the shadows, where the guardians of the Bakufu would sniff out, and lay them in the open.
That afternoon itself, during lunchtime, Saito had returned from his patrolling rounds with grim news. Chizuru could not remember the name of that man, or what his position was, but she remembered clearly that Saito stated that the deceased official had died by being cut vertically into half until the waist; it was a morbid, uncivilized way to die.
"What kind of man would do such a thing?" Chizuru asked aloud, and immediately a heavy silence fell across the room. It was not that she had said anything out of place, the men in the Shinsen-Gumi had never used their position to stifle her, but her words gave them something to ponder over, a rising enemy that posed great dangers to them.
Hijikata was the first one who answered her. "A monster," he said bluntly. "Reports have come in stating eyewitness accounts that he kills just in one stroke, the very moment after his katana exits its saya."
"Battoujutsu?" Heisuke asked Hijikata, noting that little-known and little-practiced style of kenjutsu. It was different than other techniques based upon the katana, and was one that required not only speed, but quick wit and strategic planning. In short, whoever could use this technique was a total master in kenjutsu, unbeaten in the field of battle.
Kondou scratched the underside of his chin. "In any case, we should all be careful," he told his fellow subordinates. "We don't know who this person is, but we know what he's up to, since he's been killing the right people at the right time. There's hard guesses as to where his allegiances lie."
"A Satcho dog on the loose, eh?" Harada concluded. "I'd say let him come, I'll show him the taste of my spear any time of the day."
"Really?" Shinpachi asked Harada. "Aren't you scared that you're slashed into half right down in the middle, or maybe he'd do it horizontally instead?"
Chizuru grimaced. If Shinpachi would continue further, she was not sure if she could keep what she had eaten so far down. She knew that war was a grizzly business, that gore and carnage was common, she had seen people die herself with her own eyes, but this amount of detail was just too much. However, as always, she cast down her eyes towards the tatami flooring, wondering if whether or not she should say anything at all to stop the overflow of detail.
Thankfully, for her, help came in the form of Hijikata, who cleared his throat. "That's enough," he told the bickering duo. "Can't you see that you're making Chizuru feel unwell?" The two of them stopped immediately and quickly offered Chizuru their apologies. "As penance, the two of you are to take over Chizuru's chores for today, no excuses."
"Hijikata-san, that's not really necessary," Chizuru protested, but was stopped by Kondou.
"That's alright, Chizuru," the commander of the Shinsen-Gumi said. "You deserve a break. In fact, Toshi knows just the place where you can relax and have some fun." There was a mischievous grin upon Kondou's face, one that Chizuru knew often appeared when he was teasing his subordinates, and however, there was something about the notion of getting out of the headquarters just for the sake of it lifted the girl's mood. She really had been cooped up in there for far too long.
Okita crossed his arms before his chest and chuckled. "It seems that Hijikata-san has already planned this special outing very early on," he teased Chizuru. "It must be your lucky day, Chizuru-chan."
There was no need to tell that Chizuru started to blush immediately. "Let's go," Hijikata said to her, rising from his seated position. The two of them bowed and left the room promptly, not realizing that the rest of them were eyeing them very, very curiously.
"I'm going to bet three ryo that Hijikata will confess his great love to Chizuru in a month," Shinpachi proclaimed once he was sure that the pair was out of earshot.
"Only three?" Heisuke asked excitedly. "I'm going to bet four!"
"Five," Saito said in his usual tone of voice, which was an unusual change because he rarely engaged in the frivolities of his comrades.
Kondou clicked his tongue. "You boys are putting an extremely huge amount of pressure on Toshi, you should be ashamed of yourselves," he chided them. "But, I might as well join in with the fun. I'll part with twenty ryo if Toshi marries her by winter."
HAN: Hello everyone! Welcome to the prologue of my first Hakuouki fanfic! ^.^ I've just finished the series a few days ago, and I have to say this: I love it! I'll keep this fic short and sweet, and expect a cameo from a very familiar anime character from another fandom! ^.^ Hijikata shaped cookies for you if you can guess who it is, heh heh heh.