How she got into the Shinsengumi… It was still a mystery. Sannan simply told her to stay over, seeing that she was homeless. She had claimed that she came from another world, possibly the future, and many of them thought that she was insane, except for Sannan. Who knows what he's planning, but Kondou has no objections, therefore Hijikata did not further voice out his opinions. And when Hijikata does not object to it, Saitou doesn't either.

The girl was quite a handful to take care of. It was unintentional, as she had problems adapting to this 'ancient lifestyle', she says. Furthermore, she doesn't know how to cook, or wash the clothes, and even when tidying the residence she ended up making it messier. She felt useless as she hung the laundry. She felt useless being a woman, doing nothing but household chores, and still being terrible at it. Saitou and Sano returned from a mission and stepped into the residence, only to find her kicking stones on the ground.

"What, (name)-chan, are you skiving?" Sano teased, walking over to her and seeing the basket of laundry. She regained her composure and smiled nervously.

"N-No! This stone was in my way, so I was… trying to remove it!" Saitou stared at her, he was the silent type that never says anything, but truth is he was socially awkward. Sure, he found her pretty, but he wasn't the type that will fall for a pretty girl.

"U-Uh… Welcome back, Sanosuke-san and Saitou-san!" She bowed as she greeted the two samurais.

"Thanks…" He said quietly, while Sano placed a hand on her shoulder, encouraging her in her work. He wasn't sure if she heard it, so he left quietly to his room, since he was feeling tired. She saw him leaving, then politely excusing herself from Sano. She decided to bring him some tea and snacks to his room. While walking, she was just thinking of him. His quiet nature, his beauty, his excellence with the sword, everything about him seemed so perfect…

She accidentally slide open the door, only to find Saitou topless as he was changing. They were both stunned and wide-eyed.

"I-I'm sorry! I brought you some tea and snacks, I…" She stammered, then looking around in the room. "I will leave them there!" Saitou was about to reach out and take the tray, but he unintentionally touched her hand, to which he responded quickly by hiding his hands behind his back and made way for her. She didn't seem to realize that he had just touched her hand, and so she walked quickly to the other side of the room and placing it on the small table, before heading for the exit. Just so it happened that she stumbled over her feet due to the long skirt she was wearing and Saitou caught her in his strong arms. Her head pressed against his chest, feeling the pain at her ankles. She didn't realize that she was holding on to him, until she saw that purple low ponytail, and felt the rising of his chest when he breathed.

She was flustered as she moved away from him, putting a hand to her mouth then bowing and left quickly. Saitou himself felt the heat rising in his face, as his fingers trailed to feel his chest where his heart was. It was beating rather fast, was it because of that embrace? He had never held a woman this close, and while he was half-naked, at that. Despite all that, he don't know why but, secretly he feels some sort of happiness within him. It felt like an idiot who finally found love.

It was awkward, when they happened to meet while walking around in the residence. Many times whenever she saw him walking round the corner, she would pretend she didn't see him at all, and sometimes she tried to avoid him by going alternative routes.

He wondered why he saw her less now, and every now and then his heart beat wildly when he thought he was going to see her. He always looked calm, but sometimes he felt disappointed when he could tell she was deliberately not wanting to see him. It was awkward, he was never the one to strike a conversation, especially with a girl, and with the girl that had felt his naked chest. He then wondered if she thought his chest didn't seem as muscular as Harada's, then blushing as he thought. He felt just a little inferior, he used to keep feeling that way. People would insult him, and he would swallow each and every word, and would not utter a single word of complaint or contempt. Once, he felt a surge to just talk to her and apologize, although he did not know what he did wrong. He felt that it was all his fault that she was behaving this way. When he made that decision and tried to find her, he saw her talking to Heisuke happily, making him feel discouraged and he went back to his room sighing sadly.

Maybe she likes Heisuke instead? He thought to himself as he was polishing his sword. He shook his head. This was no time to be worrying and thinking about women. He was going to have to go on a mission the next day, he must be ready to kill.

Except… His mind is just full of her that night.

He came back from the mission, with Shinpachi. It was an intense battle, but they managed to win against their equally powerful enemies. He was injured, and Shinpachi helped him to his room. Shinpachi called for her to attend to Saitou's wounds, because he needed to tend to his men. At first she hesitated, but she entered anyway. He was already trying to bandage his hand, and she saw him grimaced at the pain.

"Let me help," She says, kneeling next to him. He saw her, and a pale shade of red surfaced on his cheeks. He trembled a little as she examined his arm gently, and applying ointment on the wounds. "Does it hurt? I will be gentler." She says meekly. Strange, she didn't feel too shy around him now, she was more focused on healing him than concentrating on that incident.

He shook his head, then wincing as she had accidentally used too much force. She panicked and apologized, her eyes full of fear. Truth is, she was afraid of blood and seeing these gory wounds. But for him, she mustered all the courage she had. Halfway bandaging his arm, she got lost in her thoughts.

Hajime-kun… He got injured because of his dangerous work… She can't help but worry for him. And yet I can't do anything to help him at all. I was being so mean to him all this while. Her eyes were hot and she kept blinking to keep her tears away. He saw this, and he didn't know what to do. She covered her face and wiped her tears with her sleeve.

"Sorry," She sputtered. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cry." His heart softened as he gazed at her under the candlelit room. "I'm useless, I can't do anything except to create trouble. I'm really sorry."

Without a word, he pulled her gently into an embrace. He was a man of few words, and he always believed that actions spoke louder than words. "It's not your fault," He said softly. "I'm sorry for making you go through all this."

She lifted her head, and now their faces were an inch apart. So close, but none of them were bothered by it. "It's not your fault! Don't say sorry! I'm the one to be blamed! I… I…"

He caressed her cheek, and he had with him a peaceful and tender smile. It was so charming, she was starting to heat up. Did she liked him? She did, didn't she? Saitou Hajime was very handsome, she knew she did right from the start. Did he like her then? She lowered her head, biting her lower lip. He realized what he was doing, and removed his hand from her face, embarrassed by what he did.

"I-I should be going." She muttered, and turned to leave, but he grabbed her by the hand.

"Wait- ah!" She turned to look at him, then gasped as he released his hand from the grip and put that hand on his injured, bandaged arm. It hurt, when he was pulling her, stopping her.

"Your wounds are not healed yet! Don't do any unnecessary actions!" She said, almost like a mother chiding her son. She moved closer to look at the arm. The bandage is still tight, that's good, she noted to herself. All the while, he was thinking to himself how lovely she had looked, and wondered if he could ever have the honour of making her his wife. She would be a great mother, and he'd try to be a good father, he promised.

"Please stay here with me for the night." He says as she felt his forehead and neck for a temperature.

"You're heating up!" She exclaims, not hearing what he had just said. "I'm going to get some medicine-" She rose again to leave, but he hugged her tightly, refusing to let her go.

"With you, I will be alright." He whispered, feeling fatigue due to his fever. This was all a dream, right? He was going to say what he had thought of her, since this was a dream. He'd be so happy to be able to meet her in his dreams.

"What are you saying? You need the medicine-"

"I love you, (name)." He mumbles, eyes closing. "I want to make you my wife…" She felt his weight on her, and he was out cold. She laid him gently on his bed, pulling the blanket up to his chest. She went to his room many times to check on him, and tried to lower his body temperature by constantly changing the piece of wet cloth on his forehead. You idiot, she thought to herself, gently caressing his face. Don't say words you don't mean… Then she went closer and gave him a kiss on the cheeks. He stirred, but he didn't wake up. She didn't managed to sleep well that night, but the next morning he was feeling better, so she went to her room.

He leapt out of his bed, after having a bad dream. He then felt his forehead and stared at his bandaged arm. It couldn't be a dream right, last night? He felt someone kissed him on the cheek, could it be her? He kind of remembered that he did confess to her… He didn't want to jump to conclusions. He got dressed and went over to the hall, hoping to see her reaction.

Instead, she wasn't there for breakfast. He was disheartened and ate his food absent-mindedly. Harada and Heisuke teased him, and he got bashful. He was the first to finish eating and also the first to leave. Hijikata told him that (name) was resting in her room after taking care of him the whole night, so he wanted to thank her. When he was just outside of her room, he felt like leaving as he didn't want to disturb her. While he was hesitating, her door slid open and she came out, surprised by his presence. He was unnerved, but he spoke to her at last.

"Um… Thank you for taking care of me when I was unwell." He said this shyly, not looking at her.

She blinked. "A-Ah…! It was nothing! It was the least I can do!" She said with a nervous laugh.

"And…" He continued. "I'm sorry if I had said anything… To you…"

She knew it. She knew that he wasn't saying what he meant last night. She breathed out slowly.

"Ah… You didn't say anything. Don't worry about it!" She looked down, biting her lips and twiddled her thumbs. "If there's nothing else, I'll be going first." She faked a smile and walked past him quickly, the wind blowing at them that her hair was also blown gently. He saw the look on her face, he interpreted it as she's feeling upset about something. Maybe he had said something… Wrong… To her… His poor, handsome face looked worried.

It was nightfall, she went out of her room. It was freezing, but it didn't bother her. Sighing softly, she sat down. She wondered if she will ever return to her world? Will she want to, if she had the chance? Did she not miss everyone back in her world? Maybe if she went back she wouldn't be feeling so useless here.

She did not hear someone walking towards her. He was careful to be quiet. His heart fluttered as he observed her, nearer and closer each step he took. He kneeled down before her and took her hand lightly and gazed into her eyes, surprising her.

"A-Ah… Hajime-kun一I mean, Saitou-san! What are you doing?" She asks, shakily, as he puts her hand to his lips. He let out a chuckle, and his lips forming into a gentle smile, that smile that fits his pretty face completely. He looked like an angel. He closed his eyes and kissed the back of her hand, and she peered closer to see what he was doing. Unknowingly, she went too close that when he looks up, their lips met.

Everything was still and in a second, he reached out and kissed her fully. This was his chance to express his love for her, he knew because she didn't react. He pulled away, then staring lovingly into her eyes.

"I really love you, (name). I'm not sure if you heard it last night, but I want to say it to you again." He swallowed. "Will you marry me, after all of this is over?"

She bit her lips, eyes avoiding his. What should she say? Quit it, you tsundere, and accept his proposal, because you know you love him too!

She turned to look at him, staring bravely into his eyes.

"You idiot!" She pounced on him as she hugged him tightly.