Important things to note about this story:
*I know this plotline is not very plausible for 1864 Japan, but the idea would not leave my head and I decided that because the writers of the show, movies, games, etc. obviously took some liberties that I could take some as well.
*That being said, I will try my best to have factual information in this. If you catch something that isn't factual, I wouldn't mind it being pointed out to me, but if it's something that already knew was wrong and changed on purpose I will let you know. Any facts I use, if you would like to see the links of where I got this information for whatever reason you may want them, I'd be happy to provide them for you. (:
*Even though I am an anthropologist, Japan is not my main study, I apologize now for any mistakes in culture, language, etc. and I would be happy to fix it if you let me know!
*A lot of the info I'm getting for the main plotline is from reading other people's stories, I apologize profusely now if I accidentally write something that was not from the franchise plotline and is something original to the author. If you find something like this I would be happy to fix it or give credit where credit is due. Thank you!
Important info for this chapter:
*All of Nakoma's weapons mentioned are weapons used by Native Americans, however the weapon mentioned that is called a macahuitl, the way I describe it is not how it actually looks.
Thanks for reading!
Part 1
December 1863
The three young woman ran through the dark of the night. Nakoma ran behind the Yukimaru sisters as she urged them to run faster from the Ronin that were chasing them. She considered fighting them off while Ayana and Chizuru ran away, but she feared there may be others hiding in the shadows.
"Into that alley!" Nakoma called out to them and they both nodded before turning sharply, Nakoma not far behind. She ushered them to hide under a wooden plank hidden behind some barrels. "Do not move and do not make any noise." She said and stared pointedly at Chizuru who was the more squeamish of the two to say the least.
"Those rats are fast!" Nakoma heard one of the Ronin puff out. She figured if they had any sort of knowledge they would have followed their footprints. She silently drew her dagger out of its place on her belt, the obsidian blade shined black in the moonlight as she gripped the handle, carved with the symbols of her people, tightly.
"There's one, I bet the others aren't far behind!" She heard one of the Ronin call out, he was not too far in front of her now. She silently prayed to the spirits for guidance before opening her eyes.
"It is quite dishonorable to chase after children in the dark." She said calmly and the Ronin glared at her.
"Dishonorable?! I am a patriot of Kyoto! I protect these people; you better show some respect!" The man growled out and Nakoma refrained from laughing.
"I have not been in this place for long, but somehow I highly doubt that." She said, not a muscle on her face twitching as she stared the man down. "Now please, desist in your chasing of my charges and I will let you go."
The other two Ronin had caught up to their companion by now and they all stared at her for a moment before they began to laugh rather loudly.
"A woman? Against the three of us?!" They continued to laugh loudly and Nakoma remained where she was, unmoving and patiently waiting for them to finish. She wished she could bash their heads in at that very moment but she did not know who they were and did not want to create more trouble for her and the girls if it could be avoided.
Suddenly a blur of blue behind the Ronin flashed past. Nakoma took a step back in surprise, but quickly positioned herself in a fighting stance as one of the Ronin screamed in pain, a katana sticking out of his chest. It quickly disappeared and he fell to the ground dead.
The other two quieted down and began to look around them as Nakoma quickly exchanged her dagger for her macahuitl. Shrill, high-pitched laughter began to echo in the alley and Nakoma narrowed her eyes as she tried to find the source.
Suddenly two samurai appeared behind the two Ronin, but something was different, wrong, about them. They had snow white hair and a crazed emotion on their faces as their glowing eyes stared at the two Ronin in hunger. Nakoma watched as the two Ronin were taken down with ease, any injury the samurai sustained seemed to have no effect on them. They continued to laugh in glee as they began to stab the bodies of the Ronin over and over again. She looked on in shock as one licked the blood on his hand, but suddenly he stopped and turned to look at her. She glared as the manic samurai slowly stood, his smile widening.
"Blood, I want more blood!" He cried out before charging at her. She gripped her macahuitl tighter as the samurai raised his sword. As soon as he was close enough, she dropped to the ground and kicked out her leg, knocking the samurai down to the ground. Nakoma stabbed him in the heart and then quickly in the head just to be sure.
She heard the other move behind her so she left her sword in the dead samurai as she quickly stood and pulled out her tomahawk. She did not need more than a second to aim as she threw hard and let out a puff of air as she watched it whistle through the air. Just as she threw her tomahawk, a katana suddenly appeared in the samurai's chest and her eyes widen slightly as the man behind the crazed samurai jerked to the right.
There was complete silence besides the loud thunk of her tomahawk landing in the wood of the wall behind him and the now dead samurai sliding off the man's katana. The two stared at each momentarily, each surprised by the appearance of the other, but Nakoma was quick to notice the Hori that the man was wearing was the same as the dead samurai's that now lay before them.
Nakoma quickly grabbed her sword from the samurai's head and prepared herself for another fight, glaring at the man in front of her.
"Nakoma-san!" She heard Chizuru cry out and she glanced behind her to see Ayana and Chizuru were now standing behind her.
"What did I tell you two?!" She growled out to them and they both blushed slightly as they huddled together.
"You were fast this time Saito-kun." Nakoma heard and she turned her attention back to the mysterious man as another man came out from the shadows and started to inspect her tomahawk embedded in the wood.
"I only did as my duty required." The first man said quietly as he flicked the blood off his sword and replaced it in the sheath at his waist. The second man smirked and turned to face Saito. He glanced at Nakoma and she remained as she was, emotionless and still. She was not sure how to treat these newcomers, but she would not let harm come to the girls.
"Nakoma!" She heard Ayana cry out and suddenly she felt a presence next to her. Nakoma glanced over to see yet another man in a blue haori holding his katana towards her neck.
"Listen," he began calmly. "Don't try to escape, if any of you tries to run, I will kill you." The moon reflected brightly against his pitch black hair and his violet eyes made her simple brown ones feel more plain than ever before.
"I did not plan on it." She stated calmly as her mind raced with possibilities on how to get the girls away from these men. She did not think she could get away with trying the fight all three, there were too many, one could simply grab Ayana or Chizuru and kill them. Perhaps she could barter their escape. "But I will go with you freely for whatever reason you may want with me if you let the boys go."
Surprise flashed in the man's eyes that stood beside her, but his face quickly became blank again as he held the hilt of his katana tighter. Nakoma simply dropped her macahuitl to the snowy ground and stared at the man called Saito in front of her.
"Nakoma!" Chizuru gasped out and held her sister tighter. Suddenly there was a loud thump behind her and Nakoma quickly turned her head to see Chizuru passed out on the ground with Ayana hovering above her.
"Chizuru, this is not the time to pass out!" Ayana called out in irritation and slapped her younger sister's face lightly. Nakoma sighed and closed her eyes briefly before turning her face back around to face the three men.
"My, my! Did she faint because you scared her, Hijikata-san?" The man with brown hair called out with a laugh and Nakoma glared at him. He winked mischievously at her and she only returned her eyes to Saito.
"Vice-captain, what do we do with the bodies?" Saito asked calmly and the man named Hijikata looked at him. He sighed and put his sword away.
"Just remove their coats and let the inspectors handle the rest." He said while the man with brown hair walked up to her tomahawk and began to try and pull it out of the wood. Nakoma could not help the smirk that reached her lips as she watched the man grunt while it took him a few tries before he finally managed to pull it out. Hijikata rolled his eyes as the man began to mess with her tomahawk.
"You break that and I will kill you, I do not fancy making another." Nakoma said and watched as her tomahawk bounced up and down in the air. She narrowed her eyes as the man nearly missed catching it, but she knew he was teasing her as he began to chuckle.
"That's usually my line." He murmured before returning to his task of taking weapons off of them. Hijikata stepped up to Nakoma and carefully picked up her macahuitl, he glanced momentarily at the strange weapon that was clearly entirely made of wood except for two strips of obsidian, one on each side, glittering in the moon.
"Be careful, it's sharper than it looks." Nakoma said quietly, hoping to get at least a bit of a rise from the man who was beginning to irritate her, along with his friends. He simply returned his gaze back to her and waited silently. She sighed quietly as she removed her dagger and then her war club. She handed them to Hijikata before beginning to remove her bow and her quiver.
"I will take those." Saito said quietly and she turned to him. He saw as she held the bow in her hand gently and could see her displeasure in parting with it. "I will hold on to them with great care." He said as he grasped the wood of the bow gently and then the strap of the quiver. The bow was clearly hand made and he inspected the symbols etched into the wood curiously as he had not seen such symbols before. But, then again, he had never seen someone quite like her either.
She was as foreign as her weapons themselves. He glanced at her tanned skin with markings peeking out on the space of skin that showed between the end of her sleeve and the beginning of her hand wrap. Her long hair, that was as black as Hijikata's, went down her back in one long braid, a type that he hadn't seen before. Some of her hair framed her face, preventing him from seeing some of it, but he could see the long straight bridge of her nose that rounded softly at the end and her high cheek bones. She glanced at him and nodded thanks for his vow to take care of her weapons, an understanding passed between one warrior to another.
"What do we do with these two?" The man she hadn't learned the name of yet asked Hijikata.
"We'll take them back to headquarters," he said after a moment of silence. The man looked at him in shock and then glanced at the woman and the two boys behind her.
"Eh? Is it safe not to kill them?" He asked in disbelief and Nakoma tensed up as soon as she heard the words leave him mouth. "At the very least her! They saw what happened." He said while looking at the woman, she was clearly ready for a fight. Hijikata gave him a look of warning before turning and walking away.
"We'll decide what to do with them after we return." He said and Nakoma quickly turned as she saw Saito bent over, getting ready to carry Chizuru.
"I'll carry him!" She said quickly and took a step towards them. He glanced up at her and studied her for a moment. "Besides, it will be easier for you to watch me, correct? I cannot attack you if I am carrying around an unconscious boy." He may have been nice in reassuring her he would not hurt her bow, but she still only trusted him about as far as she could throw him.
"Fine," he said shortly and stepped back as she gently picked up Chizuru. She softly pushed some hair out of her face and glanced down at Ayana.
"You remain next to me unless they force you otherwise, do you understand?" She asked her sharply, but Saito could see the concern in her eyes.
"Yes!" Ayana said quickly and sidled up next to her.
Nakoma kneeled quietly in the room, her hands were tied to her ankles and blackness surrounded her from the moment they placed the blindfold over her eyes. She figured they feared her finding a way to escape if she had view of the room which was untrue, but she didn't protest. The less they fought the more likely they could make escape or they would be released. At the very least she would make her offer once more in hopes that Ayana and Chizuru would be released. She could not help but feel thankful though that the man named Saito insured that she saw that Ayana and Chizuru were covered with a blanket before she was blindfolded.
Her head twitched as she began to hear rustling in the bed. Soon she heard a muffled cry and louder rustling in the bed.
"Quiet you two, you will only hurt yourselves if your ties are anything like mine." She said calmly and soon the noises began to quiet, all that could be heard in the room was nervous breathing. They waited in silence for a while longer before Nakoma heard the soft sound of the sliding door.
"Are you awake?" She heard a gentle voice ask and she began to wonder who it was; the voice was new. "I'm sorry you were treated like this." She felt gentle hands at the back of her head and immediately slammed her eyes shut. As she felt the sun shine through her eyelids she began to open them slowly. Once the spots had left her eyes, she could see a man standing before her. He was older than the others and had a kind face. The medicine man of her tribe flashed before her eyes and she had to look away. He too once had a kind face like this man before he was gone. "I'll untie the ropes, please wait a moment." The man said after studying the young woman in front of him, Hijikata was certainly not lying when he said he had never seen a woman like her before.
"Ah that Souji Okita," he murmured as he untied her hands from her feet but left them tied. "Being tied so tightly, it must have been rough." So the man from last night, his name was Okita? She was glad to finally be able to put a name to the face since he failed to give her one as he tightened the ropes harshly. He quickly untied the girls as well and helped them all to stand up.
"My name is Inoue Genzaburou." Inoue said with a polite smile and Nakoma nodded.
"I am Nakoma and these are my charges." She said quietly and Inoue nodded before holding up the ropes in his hand, one attached to each set of wrists.
"Where are we?" Nakoma heard Chizuru ask timidly followed by Ayana trying to quickly shush her.
"The Shinsengumi Headquarters of course." Inoue said and Chizuru gasped rather loudly. "You don't need to be afraid, can you come with me a moment?" He gave them a kind smile and Nakoma shook away the images of her tribe from her mind, she could not let them cloud her thoughts at the moment. Nakoma gave Inoue a quick nod before he smiled once more and led them to a different room.
Inoue paused to open a door before gesturing to Nakoma to enter first. She nodded to him before slowly walking in, keeping her focus on the three men at the front of the room. As soon as she entered the room she heard many whispers, but they did not bother her. She had been in Japan for quite some time now and was quite used to the bewildered stares and whispers of disgust by now.
She studied the three men in the front as they studied her. She recognized Hijikata from the night before, but the other two were new. One looked nervous while the other man, with glasses, looked at her with curiosity.
"Good morning," She heard the voice of who she now knew to be Okita come from behind her. "Did you sleep well? It looks like that one did." He said teasingly and Nakoma sighed, she truly began to hope that she didn't have stay here solely because of that brat. She quickly tuned out the rest of his teasing of Ayana and Chizuru to glance at Saito instead as he walked past her, she assumed he was going over there to reel in that Okita.
"That's enough." She heard Hijikata snap and she turned her attention back to him. "Cut the idle chat."
"Hai." Okita said quietly and sighed, Nakoma was just relieved she didn't have to hear him speak any longer.
"Are those the witnesses?" She heard a new voice and she quickly turned her head towards it. Her piece of hair with beads woven into it slapped her face gently. She saw a group of three men, well two men and a boy really. The youngest one was staring straight at Ayana and Chizuru, scrutinizing them, as was the man with the red hair. She was startled slightly though when she looked to the other man, with the green headband tied around his head, and he was staring right at her. His eyes shined a beautiful shade of turquoise that she had found in only some of the finest beads from her homeland.
"So thin and small, are you still kids?" The boy asked and Nakoma had to refrain a laugh, he sounded much like the little warriors to be at home. She could not help the soft smile that pulled the corners of her lips up a bit, but she quickly looked away and pushed the smile off her face.
"You can't say 'kid' to anyone Heisuke!" The man with the turquoise eyes said with a laugh and proceeded to quickly lean down and rub the kid's hair.
"From all the saints' and sages' point of views, you're both similar." The man with the red hair said with a smirk and the boy glared at him.
"The old men should shut up!" He cried out indignantly and pushed the other man's hand away.
"What did you say, bochama?" The man with the green headband asked in mock irritation, pushing down on Heisuke's head.
"I don't think I'm old enough to be called an old man by you. I can't speak for Shinpachi, but I'm not!" The other man said, the smirk still strong on his face. Well don't they just make a trio? Nakoma thought amusedly to herself.
"Hey, are you betraying me, Sano?!" Shinpachi asked with even more mock irritation. Shinpachi's a nice name, Nakoma thought and immediately berated herself for letting her thoughts stray. She quickly turned herself fully around to the front of the room so she would not get distracted by the three again.
"Will the three of you cut it out already?" The man who looked slightly nervous earlier asked, now with a stern look coming over his face.
"I apologize for all the gossip." The man with glasses said politely and looked at Ayana and Chizuru. "Please don't be afraid, close that and sit down." He said and Nakoma slowly got down in a kneeling position, careful not to fall over since her hands weren't exactly of any use to her at the moment. Chizuru quickly shut the door, she and Ayana quickly knelt down next to Nakoma. Ayana tried to hide her nerves by sitting like Nakoma, back straight with a look of pride on her face. Ayana didn't think she had ever once saw the look of fear on Nakoma's face, except perhaps on the night her father found Nakoma and took her in.
"I am the leader of the Shinsengumi, Kondo Isami." Kondo started, glancing at the three that kneeled before him. He could see that the two boys clearly looked up to the woman next to them as they tried to kneel just like her, albeit they were failing miserably, but they were still trying. "This is Captain San'nan, and this person is Toshi—I mean, Hijikata Toshizo, the vice-captain—"
"Kondo-san!" Hijikata called out in irritation, his glare turned towards Kondo. "Why are you telling them all of this?!"
"I-Is that bad?" Kondo asked in confusion.
"You don't have to introduce yourself to people you are going to interrogate." Shinpachi said and Nakoma sighed softly, she wished they could just get this over with already.
"Well, that over-formality is just like Kondo-San." She heard the man named Sano say behind her, she could hear the light affection and respect in his voice for Kondo.
"Well," Kondo said with a sigh, looking down a bit to try and hide his embarrassed face. "Let's discuss the main topic. First, let me hear about what happened last night, Saito-kun."
"Last night, failed warriors encountered some rebels in the city." Saito said, short and to the point, just like Nakoma liked it. Though she had to admit to herself that she was at least a bit curious what he meant by failed warriors. Is that what those crazed samurai were, to her a failed warrior was usually one who was dead.
"It ended in a fight, but we dealt with them. These people witnessed that fight." He said shortly once again.
"I didn't see anything!" Chizuru cried out, her nerves finally taking over and Nakoma sent her a sharp look that clearly told her to shut her mouth.
"Really?" Heisuke asked skeptically.
"They did not see anything." Nakoma said quietly and the room went silent. None could deny their curiosity for the foreign woman sitting in the middle of their meeting room. "They are my charges; I was trying to protect them from those Ronin. Then those samurai came, your samurai came, and killed them. One then came for me and I had to kill him, the man named Saito killed the other before I could myself. I was the only one who saw the fight." She finished with confidence and stared straight into the eyes of Kondo.
"Yeah and nearly chopped his face off while he was at it." She heard Okita mumble off to the side.
"I apologize." Nakoma said and looked at Saito. "I did not know you were there, I only heard shuffling behind me and assumed it was the other coming to try and kill me as well. I didn't think I had much time and acted on instinct." Saito glanced at her and nodded before looking away again.
"Is this true Saito-kun?" Kondo asked.
"But according to what Souji said, the boys helped the soldiers as well?" Shinpachi asked.
"That's not true!" Ayana and Chizuru both cried out and Nakoma sighed, wishing she could slap her own forehead with her hand at the moment. No, perhaps it would be more effective if she slapped theirs.
"Hush you two!" She reprimanded and they both fell silent. Nakoma bit her lip for a moment, she didn't think they saw anything, but it would be just like Ayana and Chizuru to be peeking. She closed her eyes for a moment and sighed before turning back to the three men in front of her.
"Nakoma killed one and then the Shinsengumi killed the other! We took no part!" Chizuru blurted out and Nakoma nearly growled, she loved that girl to death but sometimes...
"What did I just say?!" She asked and glared at her. Chizuru gave her a look of apology and blushed. Nakoma softened her expression a bit and shook her head, telling her it was alright.
"Then you saw very well when the warriors killed the rebels, didn't you?" Shinpachi asked and Nakoma resisted the urge to glare at him. They were just kids! Why couldn't they just deal with only her instead?
"You are really honest." Sano said. "That isn't bad, but..."
"Come on, let's just kill them!" Okita said with a tone of amusement. "It's the best way to silence them."
Before anyone could barely blink, Nakoma quickly rolled so that she put herself in between Okita and the two girls. She glared fiercely at him and behind her Ayana smirked slightly, knowing exactly what look Nakoma was giving him. It had quite a few delinquents back at home running.
"Don't say outrageous things." Kondo scolded him quickly, hoping to ease the tension that now suffocated the room. He didn't know what look the woman was giving Okita, but it couldn't be good, if the mood of the room was anything to go by. "The authorities of the country can't kill innocent people like that!"
"Don't make that face, it was just a joke." Okita said, but Nakoma didn't waver. She was practically begging for a reason to kick this man's ass, but she wouldn't let that show.
"Only say jokes that sound like jokes." Saito said quietly, he glanced at the woman as she balanced on the balls of her feet. Her muscles were tight and she was poised to jump at any moment. He wasn't sure what exactly she would do, but it couldn't be anything good. She certainly surprised him already with that axe like weapon last night.
"Please," Chizuru cried out to the men in front of her, now afraid for Nakoma's life. Chizuru knew Nakoma would gladly give her life protecting theirs and she didn't want that. "We won't say anything to anybody!" She said desperately.
"That's enough, take them away." Hijikata said calmly and soon Ayana and Chizuru were being grabbed by the arm by Saito and Inoue. Nakoma quickly stood, ready to chase after them when she felt a hand grab her own arm. She glanced up to see it was the man with the pretty eyes, Shinpachi. She quickly looked away from him and towards Hijikata. He nodded towards the floor in front of him. Nakoma wasn't quite sure what to do, she was worried about Ayana and Chizuru. She quickly glanced at the open doorway before sighing and nodding.
Shinpachi released her arm gently before quickly untying her hands and she quietly kneeled before Hijikata once more, rubbing her sore wrists. "You risk your life to protect them, why?" Hijikata asked, getting quickly to the point.
"They are my charges, I promised their father I would not allow harm to come to them." She glanced at Kondo and San'nan before returning her eyes to Hijikata. "As you can clearly see, I'm not a native to Japan. Though I did not come here voluntarily, their father found me almost dead and took me in. I owe him my life and I love those two like they are my own. I would protect them regardless of what their father has done for me." She told him in earnest and he regarded her for a moment.
"Why are you here?" He asked, not responding to her story.
"We are from Edo; their father is a doctor with knowledge of Western medicine along with some knowledge of the medicinal practices of my own people. He left six months ago and we haven't heard from him in a month. They wished to look for their father and I agreed to go with them." Though now I'm starting to regret letting them convince me to do so.
"I see, they just wanted to find their father." Kondo said sympathetically.
"And you made them dress as boys as you would be less likely to be attacked on your journey." Saito murmured and Nakoma nodded at him with a sigh.
"I see..." Kondo murmured thoughtfully and Nakoma smirked when his eyes flew open in shock. "Wait, hold on, they're girls?!"
"Yes, I know, though I'm surprised they even managed to pass off as boys. Chizuru is much too squeamish." Nakoma said calmly and Hijikata chuckled slightly. "They're names are Yukimura Chizuru and Yukimura Ayana."
"They're girls?" Clearly Shinpachi had not been able to get past that point yet as she turned her head towards him. Nakoma had to hold back a chuckle at the look of shock on his face, his eyes were wide and jaw was slightly dropped.
"It can't be!" Heisuke cried out and Nakoma simply shrugged, she couldn't do much else to convince them.
"I thought it was obvious." Okita said and Nakoma nearly rolled her eyes.
"Well you did see Chizuru pass out and the both of them cower like women behind me. I would say you had more of a chance to figure it out than those three." She said with a slight jerk of her head towards Sano, Shinpachi, and Heisuke.
"Yeah, but...you don't have any proof of this." Shinpachi said unsurely and she turn towards the trio.
"And what proof would you require?" She asked, staring straight into his eyes. He blushed slightly and let out a small chuckle, scratching the back of his head with a shrug.
"Well how about we have them strip?" Sano asked and Nakoma immediately sent a deathly glare his way, her hand flying to her waist.
"Excuse me?" She asked hotly and clenched her hand shut when she remembered that she did not have her weapons on her at the moment.
"I will not allow it!" Kondo cried indignantly and earnestly, Nakoma wanted to sigh in relief, but she continued to keep her eyes on the red haired man behind her, unsure if she should trust him. "That is absolutely forbidden!"
"Calm down please," San'nan requested calmly and she slowly turned back to the three in the front with a nod.
"Thank you Commander Kondo," Nakoma said calmly and bowed her head to him.
"Is their father perhaps Yukimura Koudou, practitioner of Western Medicine?" San'nan asked and Nakoma narrowed her eyes, what was his game?
"Perhaps," she said carefully while she watched him, looking for any sign of ill intent. Hijikata sighed and stood up.
"I will go and bring the girls back." He murmured, but neither San'nan nor Nakoma moved, each staring the other down. They waited for a few moments before the door slid open again. Ayana and Chizuru ran towards Nakoma as soon as they saw her.
