An Individual's Choice Chapter 1
'thoughts'
"Words"
Chizuru's body was abuzz with anxiety. 'Why hasn't my father written back yet? Is he okay? Did something happen?' These were the sorts of questions racing through her head.
It had been a month since she had last heard from her father, Kodo Yukimura, a doctor studying western medicine. He had left three months prior for a job in Kyoto, leaving behind his eighteen year old daughter to look after their house in Edo. He had written to her every day for two months but one day, his letters suddenly stopped coming. At this point, Chizuru has had enough of her anxiety and decided that if her father wasn't coming back on his own, then she was going to find him and drag him back.
Chizuru had never been secretive about her personality, her likes and her dislikes, as well as her beliefs. She said the things she thought needed to be said and defended the things and people she believed in against anyone and everyone. She prided herself on her honesty even though it did get her into a bit of trouble sometimes but she would never overstep her boundaries. She had her personal space and if she wanted anyone to respect hers, she had to respect theirs. She was fairly well versed in medical procedures and standards, having learned a lot from her father. Lastly, she was fairly adequate with a short sword.
Even though had all this experience and knowledge in medicine and some fighting, she was rather inexperienced in life. That didn't mean she was blind though, she saw the way men looked at her as she walked down the street, they looked at her breasts, which weren't very big but they were the perfect size for her body at the moment, and she felt their lingering stares at her butt as she walked away. Most of all, she noticed them stare at her face for too long when she talked to them or stood near them. She had always been told that she was fairly beautiful and she appreciated their compliments but never thought much about them until just now, when she decided it would be in her best interest to travel to Kyoto dressed as a man.
That night, as she settled into her futon with a sigh, she decided that the next morning, she would be on her way.
