"Thank you for your hospitality, shogun-sama," a lavender haired girl bowed deeply before she straightened, eyes opening to reveal purple eyes several shades lighter than her hair.
"No, thank you very much," the shogun said warmly. "And how many times do we have to ask you to call us by name? We are friends, are we not?"
"Of course, Shige-kun," the girl smiled.
"Please return any time. You will always be welcome in our household."
"This one thanks you for your kindness," the girl said, rising elegantly before bowing once again.
"Matsudaira oji-san, will you please escort her home?" The shogun asked, turning to the man kneeling at the side.
"Hmrph. If you say so," Matsudaira grumped.
Politely, of course. Even he wouldn't be rude to the shogun, even if he had practically raised the boy. Without another word, he strode out of the throne room. It was an interesting contrast to watch his comfortably shoed feet make a ruckus on the red carpet while the geta on the girl's feet barely whispered across the surface.
Not to mention the girl was a lot easier on the eyes than the grumpy perverted old man.
Matsudaira eyed the teenaged girl suspiciously all the way into the limousine, and all throughout the drive. The car hummed under them, occasionally swerving roughly in the Edo traffic, but the girl sat serenely, perfectly still.
It only increased Matsudaira's dislike towards her.
Just because the shogun trusted her did not mean that he felt the same. No. It was because the Tendoushuu hired her that he did not trust her.
And Sho-chan shouldn't either.
He had introduced the young shogun to plenty of pretty young girls, right? Cabaret clubs, nightclubs, even Yoshiwara courtesans! So why, why did he accept this girl out of everyone?
Was it the unusual lavender hair? Lavender eyes? The young, pretty, innocent face?
But on the bright side, Sho-chan hadn't gotten hurt during her stay there, and she was leaving the palace. Finally.
He just hoped the girl didn't take the shogun's 'come back anytime' as an invitation.
"We've arrived, sir," the chauffeur said as the car inched to a stop.
"Good. Get out, girl," Matsudaira drawled.
"This is…" the girl said hesitantly, looking out the window.
Matsudaira noted with grim satisfaction that the perfectly poised expression faltered on her face. Hah. So the pretty little girl wasn't so perfect after all. Hah, Matsudaira added for good measure.
"The Shinsengumi Headquarters," Matsudaira said. "Now get out."
She opened the door herself, refraining from mentioning that a proper gentleman would not treat a lady with such a careless attitude, and stepped daintily out of the car.
Her kimono sleeve barely escaped getting caught in the car door as it slammed shut behind her. The car sped off in a cloud of dust.
The girl blinked at the tail lights. And in an uncharacteristic move more suited for a child than a proper lady, she blew a raspberry at it. She proceeded to take it back, because the car and its driver had done nothing wrong. She blew another raspberry, this one directed only at Matsudaira, the old stingy geezer that he was.
"Yes. I feel like doing that to him too, sometimes," a male voice said. "Except with poison instead of saliva, of course."
The voice had come out of nowhere, almost surprising her. But she wasn't that easily surprised, so she merely turned slowly. In front of the Shinsengumi Headquarter gates stood a boy—more like a teenager—with sandy hair and blood red eyes. She smiled politely and bowed, remaining perfectly balanced in the tall geta.
Okita Sougo scanned the girl from head to toe. Her kimono was short. It fell only to mid thigh, and thigh high socks covered the rest of her legs, save the absolute territory.
And if her obi was not tied at her back, he would have deduced that she was a courtesan or a red light district worker.
She could still be one, of course. One could easily hitch up the kimono by several inches, push down the shoulders…
Sougo shook his head, turning his thoughts away from that direction.
He was about to imagine how it would be to tie the girl up with her own kimono and make her cry and scream with pain. It wouldn't be good for a police to show a perfectly normal girl their sadistic face.
"So? What did the geezer drop you here for?" Sougo asked.
"I am… looking for someone." Her voice was soft, betraying her innocence.
Sougo couldn't say he was surprised, but that completely crossed out the chances of her being a prostitute. He had seen several, and none of them had that sort of innocence about them. No, their eyes were usually dead, or at the very least, tainted with a hatred of the world.
He never bought a woman, of course. They probably had diseases, and he wouldn't touch one with a ten foot pole. He would send the China girl to go near them instead, if he had to.
And why spend money on a woman when he could get one for free? And then he would have the additional pleasure of breaking them.
Sougo fought back the impatience and his urge. She was a submissive for sure, and it made his sadistic side rear its ugly-but-not-really-since-he-liked-his-sadism head.
"And?" Sougo asked.
"He was a samurai. Silver hair, natural perm?" She queried.
Sougo blinked. "Danna?"
"You know him?" A trace of eagerness found its way into her voice.
"Sakata Gintoki, was it?" Sougo asked.
"Yes!" She smiled brilliantly.
"Ah…" Sougo rubbed the back of his head. There went his nap.
He stared at her for a moment, wondering if he could still get out of this and hide somewhere and sleep before shitty Hijikata found him. He could probably shove her off to Yamazaki…
"Oi, Sougo! You're supposed to be on patrol, and I find you here playing around with a girl?!" A man fumed, storming out of the Shinsengumi Headquarters.
Or not. Sougo sighed. "Hijikata-san, there's a lost little girl here looking for danna."
Hijikata stopped in his tracks, confusion replacing the anger on his face. "Yorozuya?"
"Alright. You take care of this. I'm going to sleep," Sougo said, holding a hand up in farewell.
Hijikata blinked once, and his hand snatched out to grab the back of the boy's uniform. He bodily threw the younger male into the streets. "You go patrol!"
The girl stepped aside, just barely avoiding the body flying towards her. She stared as it crashed into the wall.
"Ah, sorry about him," Hijikata said, an image of polite professionalism the moment Okita was out of sight. "You said you were looking for Yorozuya, right? Come on. I'll drive you over."
"Thank you very much," the girl said, bowing slightly.
Hijikata stared blankly at her, cigarette almost falling out of his mouth. What the heck was a girl like this going to the Yorozuya for? They were an improper, rowdy bunch that contaminated everything they touched with their stupidity.
It was no place for a nice, proper, innocent young lady.
"Oi, are you sure you're looking for them?" Hijikata asked, eyeing her as he drove.
"Yes. Quite sure. Sakata Gintoki, correct?" The girl said softly, a gentle smile on her lips.
"A-ah," Hijikata stuttered.
Damn, he stuttered. He hadn't stuttered since he was three years old and learning to say hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia.
So he stopped trying to talk and turned into the mess called Kabukicho. It didn't even take five minutes for him to get fed up. The area was simply not made for cars. Pedestrians walked randomly over the roads without a care for the vehicles that could easily run them over.
Not to mention the complete lack of respect for police, Hijikata thought angrily as another person spat carelessly on the police car.
He had the sudden urge to pull a bazooka out of nowhere and scatter everyone.
Oh lord, he was starting to think like Sougo.
"MOVE, DAMN IT!" Hijikata screamed out the window.
A few people sent him dirty looks, but otherwise remained unfazed.
"Excuse me, Hijikata-san, was it? I can walk from here, if you point me in the right direction," the girl said quietly, looking at the man with pity.
"No. I took the job, I'll see it through," Hijikata growled, then muttered under his breath, "Even if I have to run over the whole bunch of them."
She supposed she shouldn't have heard the last part, so she politely remained silent. She also remained silent, albeit a little strained silence, when he punched the horn and left his hand there.
The road cleared, but not before choice words and poisonous glares were shot at Hijikata. He quickly rolled up the windows, glancing over at the girl. She hadn't heard the swearing, right?
Her expression was calm, and Hijikata breathed a small sigh of relief. He didn't want to be known as the man who tainted a virtuous girl's mind.
And before the people of unknown and most likely distasteful origins could clog up the roads again, he slammed the pedal to the floor, and the car jerked forward at speeds he could get arrested for, if he was not a policeman himself.
It was with a lot of relief that he stopped in front of the Yorozuya.
The girl stepped out of the car, smiled, and bowed. "Thank you very much, Hijikata-san. You are a good person."
"Ah. Be careful."
And with that, he left the girl to the Yorozuya.
Or better known as what he knew was her doom.