Author's Note:
As promised, here's the next part! Enjoy! And again if I like your comment, it might be the influence of the next chapter!
- Zee
Chizuru woke up in her bed and groggily rubbed her eyes. Was last night just a dream or had it actually happened? She slowly sat up and her hand brushed something next to her futon. It was a folded piece of paper. Picking up the letter, Chizuru looked at the parchment curiously. She didn't remember anyone coming into her room and leaving this. Regardless, if it was left in her room it was most for her, but from who?
'I apologize for my roughness the night before. If I had realized you were a female earlier, I would have been much gentler with you. Please refrain yourself from telling anyone about me. I'll be seeing you again very soon.'
Chizuru's hands trembled as she read the letter. So last night hadn't been a dream and now she was caught up in this mess just because she had been curious. Why hadn't she just stayed in her room last night? Why hadn't she just listened?
Her first instinct was to immediately go find someone, maybe Harada or Shinpachi, even Heisuke would have been enough, but the letter had stated clear as day not to do that. She would have to deal with this alone.
Chizuru spent her day doing what she usually did ever since arriving at the Shinsengumi headquarters – chores and staying out of sight. Doing chores was the easy part; at least she had something to focus on and keep her mind off of the letter, but it was staying out of sight that really pushed her self-control. Luckily, she was in charge of preparing dinner for the captains and was able to push her worries back a little while longer. But as dinner came to an end and she was forced to retire to her room for the night, Chizuru's mind kept wandering back to what the letter had said.
'I'll be seeing you again very soon."
Did that mean the woman would be coming again tonight or did she have time to prepare herself and maybe tell one of the captains about what had happened? However, her questions were answered much sooner than she could have wanted.
"I see you didn't tell anyone about me." Chizuru whirled around when she heard the familiar elegant voice from last night coming from behind her. How had she not heard her coming in? The woman once again had a cowl hiding most of her face, leaving only her eyes exposed, but thanks to the light from the candle Chizuru could see the woman's features much more clearly.
However, that light lasted for only a second before the room was plunged into darkness when the woman made a quick motion with her hand and extinguished the flame. The moonlight was just bright enough to light the dimly light the room, but it was still dark enough to make Chizuru nervous. The woman was clearly very capable and considering her own skill, there was no way she could get away. If she did, there was no doubt it would end like the night before. Or even worse.
"W-what do you want with me?" Chizuru's voice still shook even though she tried to keep it as steady as possible. There was no way she could keep her composure with the prospect of dying at any moment .
"Nothing. I came back to see if you were okay."
"Huh?" She had expected all sorts of threats to keep her quiet, but this was not what she was expecting to hear at all. Not even close.
"Did you think I would hurt you?"
"Y-yes…" Why was the woman worried about her? She had gotten in her way the other night and here she was, back again to check up on her. Perhaps Okita-san was rubbing off on her too much with his deadly jokes.
"I told you last night, I would never hurt a girl." That was right – she had said that, but she thought the woman was just saying that to get away. Chizuru had no retort. She honestly expected to be dead instead of having a casual conversation with the person who had threatened her last night.
"I'm glad you're okay. However, this is as long as I can stay tonight." The woman walked closer to Chizuru and placed her hands on the girl's slender shoulders, slowly turning her around to face the wall. Chizuru could feel herself being pushed toward the back of the room and tried to stop herself, but a soft pressure against her back urged her to obey. It wasn't long before she came face to face with the wall when a kind voice whispered into her ear.
"Don't worry, we'll meet again."
"Wait, but-" Chizuru spun around, but the woman was gone. All that was left to show she had been there was a slight breeze and the open door. Chizuru rushed outside and looked around for the woman, but she was nowhere to be found. She had disappeared in a moment's notice – like a shadow in the night.
"She's gone." Chizuru's whisper was swallowed by the vast silence of night as she slowly made her way back inside her room and relit the candle. Now that her room was lit up, the girl sighed and flopped onto her futon. Who was this woman? What was she doing in the compound? And most importantly why did she care about her wellbeing so much? A light blush dusted her cheeks as Chizuru remembered the woman's elegant features and she turned over, embarrassed with her thoughts. As she moved, the sound of parchment crinkling reached her ears and she sat up to look for the source. Unlike the letter from this morning, there was nothing on her futon, but the quiet sounds persisted.
Chizuru looked all around her with little luck, but it wasn't until she looked over her shoulder did she find a paper tucked into her hakama. Her cheeks flushed even brighter as her mind replayed the memory of when the woman gently pushed her and she could almost feel the soft pressure of where the woman's hand had touched.
"Huh? When did she give me this?" Unfolding the letter, Chizuru began to read the message and her cheeks only burned brighter as she finished.
'It was lovely seeing you again Chizuru. I'll be seeing you very soon and maybe this time I'll tell you my name.'
Notes: Thanks for reading! If you liked it, leave ideas of what should happen next in the route in the comments! Cause who knows, maybe your comment will be the influence of Chizuru's next encounter!
