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It was about three months after Suzuki-san's visit, and during this time my hopes were beginning to dwindle. For the past few weeks I had kept a constant watch over the guests that arrived, even going as far to ask Ayame about the guests that she had to serve. At night, I would practice drawing out the katana straight into a forward thrust when no one was around. But as the time began to pass, I started to feel more and more discouraged. Perhaps the bald man had been wrong and the Shinsengumi really would not come to this ochaya, where it was much too risky to be identified correctly.

But I was still a geiko, and I was still expected to work. And since Ayame had recently been asked to train a group of newcomer maiko, work had gotten much more tedious without seeing her around as often. I forced the negative thoughts out of my head as my vision focused on the inner set of doors to the guest room. If the Shinsengumi did not come here, all I had to do then was to save up enough money and go looking for them myself.

I took a breath, my hand subconsciously reaching for the katana hidden inside my kimono. Thank Kami-sama that I was able to switch to a slightly larger size otherwise I would have to find an alternate way to hide the sword. I quickly adjusted my obi before it became too obvious what I was trying to hide and slid open the doors.

"Greetings," I recited. "I will be accompanying you gentlemen tonight." I dipped my head before adding, "My name is Misora," like Masaki-san had told me to. I lifted my head and surveyed the guests in front of me.

To my surprise, they were all younger men, all quite good looking, each one distinguished. They didn't seem to have swords with them and there were six of them in total but the one that caught my attention was the man sitting at the end as if overlooking everyone else. He had long, jet black hair swept back into a ponytail. His handsome face was framed by a fringe at either side, and his purple kimono brought out his striking violet eyes perfectly. I forced my eyes away from him and hoped that the meals would arrive quickly.

Their lively conversation began, and I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding.

"I'll bet that you'll get drunk way before I do!" A younger male with brown hair tied in a high ponytail smacked his hand down on the tatami mat.

"Then you'd better be prepared to lose, Heisuke!" replied a man with a green headband and spiky brown hair.

"Don't be cocky now," the man sitting beside Heisuke laughed. He was rather handsome with warm amber eyes and long auburn hair. He reached over and ruffled Heisuke's fringe like an older brother.

Heisuke huffed. "W-what, you don't believe me?"

"Harada," the green headband guy addressed the golden-eyed one. "What say we have a bet?"

"You're on!" Heisuke grinned.

"Go easy on him, Shinpachi," Harada replied with a smirk. "He doesn't know his own weaknesses."

Heisuke ignored him. "First person to get drunk pays the next time we go out to drink!"

"You're on," Shinpachi replied. To my surprise, he then turned to me with glittering blue eyes. "Hey Misora-san, mind being the referee?"

"Me?" I asked incredulously.

"Hey, that's a good idea!" Heisuke piped up. His turquoise eyes were bright when he looked at me. "Make sure those two don't cheat okay?"

"I'll try..." I managed.

"That might not be a good idea," the man with green eyes and short brown hair sighed. He sounded bemused. "You really don't want to be caught up in their bickering, right Hajime-kun?" He turned to look at the man sitting beside him, who looked like he couldn't be bothered to answer. He had dark hair that bordered on indigo and a pair of elusive blue eyes that seemed to be focused on something else entirely.

I honestly didn't like being involved, but I was the one who was supposed to be entertaining them after all.

"Maybe it will be fun," I replied with slightly forced enthusiasm.

The green-eyed man shrugged his shoulders with a smirk.

"Shitsurei shimasu," came an unfamiliar voice from the other side of the room. It belonged to a younger woman, perhaps a maiko, with trays of food and sake. She bowed once and entered the room, and I immediately rose to help gather and distribute them.

"Great, thanks!" Heisuke exclaimed as I set down his tray in front of him. Almost immediately, Shinpachi tried to steal the food on his plate to which Heisuke retaliated aggressively.

As soon as everyone began to enjoy their meal, the maiko excused herself softly and I got straight to the sake-pouring. I started with the quiet, indigo-haired man. He tilted his cup slightly so that I could pour with less difficulty, but said nothing when I was done. I worked my way around to Heisuke, Harada, and Shinpachi, who each thanked me rather loudly. When I reached the man with the violet eyes, I felt my heartbeat start to pick up. He offered me a quick glance, but nothing else. I willed myself not to spill the wine.

"Do geiko usually walk around pouring sake like that?" Heisuke asked when I returned to sit by my set of doors.

His tone was curious, not mocking, but it didn't stop my cheeks from heating up. I hoped that the white powder was enough to conceal it. Truthfully, I had no idea if I was just supposed to sit and pour sake for only one person like I've seen Ayame do, but it hardly felt fair to me.

"Heisuke." The voice came from the man with violet eyes. "You don't work here. It's not your place to question what she does," he reprimanded in a commanding voice.

"But Hijikata-san –"

I froze.

Hijikata-san.

Alright, calm, I ordered myself. Perhaps this is another man with the same name. It does not mean that they are the Shinsengumi.

My hand twitched towards the katana, which I could feel pressing against the left side of my body. There was no solid evidence to prove that they were the Shinsengumi yet, and I probably only had one chance to take someone's life before I was condemned myself. And it didn't quite seem to make sense. Surely the Shinsengumi had too much of a bad reputation to be visiting Shimabara? So I willed myself to keep quiet and continue pouring sake.

By the time the candles began to flicker in the room, the arguments in between Heisuke, and Harada and Shinpachi had become impassioned.

"You're more drunk than me!" slurred Heisuke.

"As if!" laughed Shinpachi. "Misora-san, who do you think is more drunk?"

"Uh...I..." I had temporarily forgotten that I was still a part of their drinking contest.

"Come on now," said the man with the green eyes.

"Souji is right." The dark haired man called Hajime-kun spoke for the first time in a quiet, solemn tone. "There are enough rumours going around about us as it is."

Rumours.

Hijikata sighed. "This is what I get for giving them a break," he muttered mostly to himself.

"Don't worry, Hijikata-san," the green-eyed man named Souji grinned. He seemed to enjoy the slight aura of annoyance that hovered. "I'm sure that they'll be fully up for the mission...within a few days."

Missions.

"Speaking of missions." Harada sobered almost instantly. "Were you able to catch those rogue samurai, Saito?" He turned to the man with the dark indigo hair.

Rogue samurai.

"Yes," Saito replied blandly.

"It was quite fun." Souji's eyes glittered as he turned to look at Saito as well. "Wouldn't you say, Hajime-kun?"

"Souji," Saito said.

"You don't have to worry about it, Sano-san," Souji said. There was something cold about his voice. "I killed them." He smirked. "Like I was ordered to, of course."

Kill.

The word reverberated in my eardrums. I didn't need any more proof. And as if Toshizo Hijikata's name wasn't enough proof already. The handsome man with the striking eyes was the one responsible for the death of my family. He was the reason I was here in this ridiculous outfit, working to please drunkards.

Quick, I thought to myself. It was really now or I would have to wait for god knows how long until they came here again or until I saved enough money to leave. My eyes narrowed. There really wasn't another option.

I slowly moved over towards Hijikata with the sake bottle in my hand. I knelt down beside him and poured some wine into his glass. He bent his head to take a sip as I reached delicately inside my kimono and wrapped my fingers around the hilt.

Now.

In one blindingly quick movement, I drew it out and thrust it straight for his neck.

The only sound I could hear was the sound of a sake cup shattering. I extended my sword as fast as I could to see if I could reach him, but he had already dodged out of the way. Incredible reflexes, I thought dully from the back of my mind.

The entire room was silent, probably from shock.

"Who are you," Toshizo Hijikata growled, his violet eyes flashing.

I didn't reply, well aware that his question was a decoy and that someone was already in motion behind me. I turned my head slightly just enough to see a figure rapidly moving towards me from behind, and I instantly ducked my head to avoid the incoming grab and kicked my right leg out. A loud ripping noise erupted as a result from the harsh movement, but I had no time to look. Saito was already getting back onto his feet and running towards me again.

I swiped my katana in his direction but caught nothing.

"W-what's going on?" Harada's confused voice broke the hazy, half-drunk atmosphere.

"No more playing around," Souji's voice said lazily. I saw him get to his feet.

"Be careful, Souji," Saito warned him.

I could already hear footsteps running towards me, probably from Hijikata. I sidestepped from his lunge and lashed out at him, catching something in the process. He had already moved out of the way, but there was a gash in his kimono sleeve and judging by the way his brows furrowed, I had probably managed to cut him.

"I see you've hurt Hijikata-san," Souji said with a smile. His green eyes glittered dangerously. "Now, I will have to kill you."

As if moving on cue, both Souji and Saito charged for me, knocking over some trays in the process. I almost danced out of their way. Their movements were very quick but were also somewhat inflexible and linear. I braced myself on the tatami mat with one leg thrust out, the other bent with support from my hand. It was a defensive pose that my father had taught me to use whenever faced with multiple opponents, perfect for fast dodging. As I had expected, they changed directions and I pushed off from my bent leg, instantly swivelling around and thrusting the katana towards them.

There was a loud clash as my blade connected with someone else's.

"You think you're the only one who can hide a sword?" Souji mocked. The pressure he was putting on my blade was immense, and I knew that I had no chance winning against him in a battle of raw strength. I quickly pushed off his blade and moved out of the way – and straight into someone. Arms instantly wrapped around my waist.

With a cry of dismay, I pushed against my capturer while trying to reposition my blade but Saito quickly grabbed my wrist. The katana fell from my grasp as my hand went limp. Their figures looming above me was the last thing I saw until something cold came down hard on my head and everything went dark.


"What do we do now?"

Toshizo Hijikata sighed as he released the woman he was holding in his arms, slowly setting her limp body down on the tatami. Her hair had come loose in their scuffle and it came cascading down to her waist in a curtain of almost pure black. She was quite beautiful, even he had to admit. But she had also ruined the peaceful evening he had hoped to enjoy with everyone.

The room was in shambles. The tatami was ruined from all the spilled food and sake, and there was the shattered sake cup at his seat. The zabuton were scattered haphazardly all over the place.

"Saito, keep guard outside," Hijikata ordered. "Make sure no one gets in."

"Hai," Saito replied instantly.

"Souji, we're taking the woman."

"Are you sure?" Souji asked. "She looked like she was quite skilled at combat. She could be an assassin."

"We can't leave her here," Hijikata said tiredly. The gash on his arm was really starting to bother him and he tried his best not to let that show. "The other geiko will find her and cause more trouble. With all the rumours flying around, it would hardly help us. And if she does happen to be an assassin, she would probably report back to her patron the minute she wakes, thus giving away our location." He turned to look at Souji. "We can't afford to let that happen."

"But if we took her with us, the ochaya would still be angry," Harada pointed out. The red flush was still visible on his face from the drinking, but he was sober enough to point out the facts, Hijikata thought. Harada should have won the drinking contest.

"We'll have to make do with just that. Hopefully we could make it look like she ran away."

"And what do we do once we take her to headquarters?" Souji asked.

"We'll have to confine her," Hijikata replied. Damn, the wound was really throbbing. "Let's go. Quickly."

Souji and Harada got to work at once, Harada picking up the woman and slinging her over his shoulder, while Souji roused Heisuke and Shinpachi and got them up on their feet.

"Are we walking again?" Heisuke slurred sleepily.

"Baka," Souji sighed.

Hijikata slowly opened the front door and beckoned to Saito, who was dutifully standing outside. "We should hurry and clean this room before anyone comes in."

"Leave it to me," Saito said immediately. Hijikata started to protest, but Saito cut him off. "With all due respect, fukuchou, you are injured. You should return to headquarters and have Yamazaki treat the wound as soon as possible."

The vice commander let out a half-sigh, half-chuckle. "Very well then. But please be careful."

"Hai."