"It can't be… You're a girl?"
"Yes."
The men in the room reacted with varying stages of intensity. Nagakura and Heisuke looked like they had just swallowed a whole a lemon and were gaping at Chizuru with their mouths as wide as a frog's. They were stunned – they hadn't the least bit of suspicion as to her actual gender. Oh the other hand, Harada laughed quietly, as if he had half-suspected it all along and chastised his two friends for not being true men since they failed to recognise a woman, even if she was wearing men's clothes.
Only Saitou had seemed largely unaffected by her confession, only regarding two of Shinsengumi's most immature captains coolly as they continued their antics. His face remained stoic and devoid of emotion, like a shogi master. Chizuru sighed dejectedly – he must have known all along that she was not male. Saitou Hajime did not look the type to let things – no matter how small – slip past him so easily. But was her disguise really so bad that so many had already picked up on her act beforehand? In her heart, Chizuru couldn't help but feel a little glum at the poorness of her disguise – after all that effort she had put into finding male clothing that could fit her too!
The left-handed swordsman turned to Chizuru, ignoring the commotion Nagakura and Heisuke were still making over the unexpected revelation. He regarded her thoughtfully for a while then said, "Perhaps you do have a point. We ought to at least hear you out."
"Man, I still can't believe she managed to dupe me and Shinpat-san just like that!" Heisuke whined. The men of the Shinsengumi's inner circle were still seated in the main hall. They had just decided to spare Chizuru, as they could hardly kill the child of a man they were tasked to find, and had sent Inoue to escort the girl to her room where she was now to stay. Heisuke and Nagakura were still unable to get over how they had been so easily tricked by her cross-dressing when almost everyone else had seemed at the very least vaguely clued in.
"Well, she was wearing pants and had a sword at her waist! What were we supposed to think?" grumbled Nagakura, crossing his arms indignantly.
Sannan smiled gently at them. "Her voice was hardly that of a man's, even a young one. And her bearing was much too poised to be one."
Hijikata nodded solemnly. "Also, her manner of speaking was too refined. She should be more careful if she really wants to pull off being a man convincingly."
"It was completely obvious. Her disguise was so thin, it was like rice paper. News of this better not get out, we don't want people to think the Shinsengumi is run by half-wits just because two of our captains couldn't recognise a girl when they saw one."
"Aa, that's tough, Souji. After all, I didn't realise it either." Kondou laughed meekly, scratching the back of his head.
"Oops, sorry Kondou-san; I didn't mean anything against you. But it's special in Nagakura's case since he should be our number one when it comes to women. After all, he's the one who pays regular visits to Shimabara-"
"Oi! Just lay off it, Souji! Sheesh, can't a man catch a break around here?"
"Come on come on, calm down Shinapachi. Souji didn't mean anything bad. We're all good sports here, aren't we?" said Harada as he clapped his hand on Nagakura's shoulder. The red-haired man looked up at Souji with mirth in his eyes. "Besides, I myself wasn't really sure until she admitted it herself. I mean, she has a pretty cute face but with those clothes, it really could have gone either way.."
Heisuke jumped up at this. "That's what I thought! She was wearing men's clothes! I didn't even think twice about it!" He shifted his gaze toward Saitou, who had been sitting silently beside Hijikata the whole while and had not said a word throughout the conversation. "But Saitou was amazing! He knew it all along – he didn't even react when she told us the truth!"
"Yeah Saitou! How did you do it? I mean, she looked like a man didn't she? She – she had a sword and all – didn't she?!" Nagakura said with an edge of desperation in his voice.
"A-Aa? U-um, I– "
"Now, now Shinachi. Are your skills with women so bad that you're actually seeking advice form Hajime-kun? The one who can't romance a girl properly even if it was an assigned mission?" teased Okita. The man's cat-like smirk grew wider when he got just the reaction he wanted.
"O-Oi! Just shut up, Souji! Are you looking for a fight or something?!"
The men continued to bicker like children, with Heisuke and Nagakura making the most noise, Okita cheerfully stoking the flames and Harada attempting to calm everyone down without laughing too much – which would have upset Nagakura even more and make his task even more difficult. Sannan merely smiled tolerantly and Kondou tried in vain to get a word in edgewise. Hijikata clicked his tongue irritably but the corners of his mouth were upturned slightly. Saitou continued to sit quietly like a sentinel, fingers fiddling with his white scarf. It was to this scene to which Inoue returned, his escort duty complete. The older man chuckled good-naturedly at everyone's antics before settling himself on the empty seat next to Saitou.
Noticing Saitou's uncharacteristic fidgeting, he smiled paternally at the much younger man and asked, "Are you all right, Hajime-kun? You look... troubled."
Saitou stopped bothering his scarf and looked up calmly at Inoue. "Yes, Inoue-san. I am fine, thank you for asking."
"Aa, that's all right then."
As the two turned back to watch Harada bodily restraining his two friends from pouncing on a howling Okita, Saitou returned to his tumultuous thoughts.
She was a girl. She was a girl. She was a girl all along. She is a girl. How could I not have noticed that? I apologise, Yukimura-kun – I really did think you were a boy. Maybe I apologise to her tomorrow. Everyone seems to think I saw though her act when I was completely fooled. This – this is embarrassing. I have failed as the third captain of the Shinsengumi. It is an inexcusable failure. I must not let anyone find out about this. I shall not speak of it. I will take this secret to my grave.
… She was really a girl. She was a girl.
A/N: Hey guys! My first fanfic after my exams and it's not any of the ones I had promised! D: But fret not - I am working on them! Additionally, there's 6996 KHR fanfic in the making as well. Gee, I hope I don't become one of those author who start lots and lots of different projects but complete none of them. But this one here'a one-shot so not to worry! :D
I actually just got the idea for this fic two hours ago when I was replaying Hakuouki and reached the scene where Chizuru reveals that she's actually not a man. I was going for Heisuke's route so at the time this happened they were in Chizuru's room (as some of you may know, the situation and dialogue changes depending on the choices you make in the game). And in this particular scene, Chizuru assumes that Saitou actually knew she was a girl the whole while because he barely reacted at all. But then I thought 'What if he really was taken by surprise but just wasn't showing it?' xD Since it was a one-shot, I thought I would just quickly type it up.
A note: Shogi is actually Japanese chess. You probably know it from Naruto - it's Shikamaru's favourite game. And probably the only one he plays seriously, considering how lazy he is. xD
Anyway, it's late and I gotta go. Hope you enjoyed this little whimsical thing! Please stay tuned for my updates on other stories - which I hope I can get to soon. Adios!
-Kasumi