Important information: This is a personalized story, meaning (like the game), Chizuru's name is in here as a placeholder. It is not actually about Chizuru herself. So if you want, feel free to download the story and replace Yukimura with a last name of your choice and Chizuru with whatever first name you want. The Protagonist has a basic personality and is never physically described, specifically for that purpose.

[Okita x Protagonist – Modern day AU. A new home, a new family, a new country—and who said anything about learning Japanese?]

TK: Just throwing this out there now… despite my word count per chapter, I don't actually write long stories. Most of them are in the 50k word range, so they're more like… novellas. However, they do at least always get finished in a timely manner. I hope you still enjoy, even if this story doesn't end up being very long.

Also, my stupendous reviewer Handara has informed me we can still use copy/paste in the mobile version! So in the url bar where it gives you the link of this story, just replace the "www" with "m" for mobile. You can copy/paste there, and that'll let you save the story and input whatever name you want for the Protagonist. Thanks, Handara!


Sweet Silver Lining

TK Grimm


Chapter Three:

Back Alley Brawling


We lived in a less-packed section of Mibu, a nice area on the outskirts of Kyoto that wasn't as completely crowded as the rest of the city. It was more normal-looking, with both busy sections and smaller shops with some space in between. There were trees, some grassy lawns, and a very large shrine on a hilltop. Most of the buildings near the shrine, including Shiei Hall, were built in the more traditional styles of Japan.

Modern clothes appeared to be the norm. Most people wore t-shirts and blue jeans, just like anywhere else. Elderly people tended to stick to the kimonos and such, but it seemed young people only wore them when they had to. Or, for example, the old-fashioned uniforms of Dad's dojo.

My father spent the whole day driving me around Mibu and showing me various things. It was a very beautiful area. It was nice to spend the day just the two of us, without any of the guys back home. I was still overwhelmed by the presence of so many new, strange people in my life. One-on-one time with my dad both helped me cope with that and helped the two of us get to know each other and bond.

He even took me out for ice cream.

As I licked my chocolate-vanilla swirl ice cream cone, my father presented me with a gift. Well, it was actually two gifts. The first was a cellular phone. "I put your phone number on the welcome screen until you get it memorized. You're set up on my data plan, along with everyone else in the house. I also put everyone's phone numbers in there, in case you ever need to reach any of us."

I scrolled through the contacts list, but to my horror, they were all written in kanji. "Um… Dad, I can't read any of these."

He furrowed his brow for a moment, looking confused, before his face lit up in realization. "Oh! You'll probably want to put them in romaji then. Here, let me help you… this one here is me. So type in otou-san!"

Otou-san, I learned, was a common and respectful way of addressing one's father. Sometimes, it was shortened to just tou-san. I decided to keep the kanji words there, so I could get used to seeing them, but I put Otou-san in the line above for my reference.

"Yes, good, now that one is Toshi, so put Hijikata Toshizo… then Shinpachi is after him… Very good, Chizu-chan."

Putting someone's family name before their first name was strange to me. America did it the opposite way, with the given name first and the last name second. That's why we said first and last name. But apparently, in Japan, given names were usually only used between family and close friends, with a few exceptions here and there. Some people gave out their given name and requested to be addressed by it, such as Heisuke-kun.

After I updated the names in my contacts list, I added a couple more friends from back home. My best friends and bandmates—a girl and two boys I'd known for years—were the only phone numbers I had memorized.

"Do we have international texting?" I asked, looking at my father when I spoke.

Dad furrowed his brow and brought his hand to his chin. "I'm not sure. I'll find out."

"Arigato."

"Your Japanese is coming along well," he commented. "Every time I come up to your room, you're working on it. I didn't know you were so dedicated! I'm very proud."

Most of that dedication came from having nothing else to do, but I took the compliment anyway. "I appreciate that, Dad. I'm trying really hard to learn the language here."

He patted my shoulder. "You'll learn it quickly enough. Toshi wants us to stop speaking to you in English so you learn it even faster. I told him we had to be gradual about it."

My dad must've known Hijikata-san for a long time if he was familiar enough to call him by a nickname—and without any honorifics at that. I knew he was the assistant master, but I hadn't had any one-on-one contact with him yet. It was surprising that he bought me the materials to learn Japanese, but when I thanked him, he gave a polite nod but acted as if it was just so he wouldn't have to speak in English. He seemed like he had high expectations, but was secretly reasonable.

Hijikata-san was an interesting man.

"Actually," I said, having considered it for a while. "I would prefer everyone speak in Japanese to me. I'll learn faster if I have to constantly hear it spoken by native speakers. So unless I ask for clarification… maybe Hijikata-san is right."

Dad looked surprised, but he smiled, pleased anyway. "I understand. I have one more gift for you, Chizu-chan."

"You do?" I asked.

He nodded and handed the other parcel he was carrying. It was a book, much like the photo album he'd given me last night with our family photos. This one, however, was empty.

"Your cell phone has a really nice camera built in," he said, as if phones with cameras was something novel. Maybe for an older guy like my dad. "Souji and Heisuke use theirs all the time."

I had a hard time picturing Okita-san whipping out his cell phone and taking a quick snapshot of something, but Heisuke seemed a bit more likely. "Ah… so this is for new photos?"

"Hai," said my father. "This is your home now, so you will be making new memories from here on out. You can store them in this book. What do you think? Do you like it?"

"I do," I admitted. Looking through the old photo album last night made me nostalgic. I wished I had more. But… none of these new pictures would have my mom in them. My smile faded.

Probably sensing my change of mood, my father's smile faded a little. I felt bad. Here he was trying his hardest to bond with me and give me a present, and I was bringing him down. I forced a smile to my face as I buried my feelings of hurt and loneliness further down.

"This is a really great gift, Otou-san," I said, maintaining my smile. "Arigato gozaimasu."


【新選組】


On Monday, Heisuke-kun returned to school. He was a third year high school student, which put him at the American equivalent of a senior in high school. Apparently, the Japanese educational system was based off of the American one after their defeat during World War II. That was why there were so many similarities, from the school year dates to the hours of the day.

Heisuke-kun wasn't the only one in school. Technically, Saito-san was a first year student at a local university. He was already nineteen and working on a general degree.

Okita-san was twenty, having graduated high school two years before, but he wasn't enrolled in university. Of everyone who lived at the dojo, he was the only one who was around most of the time. I wondered if he lacked ambition to do anything with his life.

The biggest surprise, however, came when Harada-kun told me that he and Nagakura-san were actually police officers. My shock must have shown on my face, for he laughed and said, "Yes, it's true! You don't have to worry, though—that doesn't make us uptight or anything."

Because of the time Harada-kun spent in America, he was easiest person at Shiei Hall to communicate with, even more than my father. He even knew some of my slang. Plus, he had such an easy-going personality, that I found I was actually able to relax a little around him. It was nice.

"Shinpachi and I go out for drinks in Shimabara all the time," he went on. "When we're off-duty of course."

His smile was contagious. "Of course," I said. I was quickly coming to the understanding that Harada-kun and Nagakura-san were the biggest partiers of the guys at Shiei Hall. The fact that they were police officers during the day just made it all the more ironic. Still, I felt a hell of a lot safer knowing I had two cops living in the same house as me.

I just hoped they wouldn't catch me doing anything illegal.

Turns out, those fears were completely unfounded. Nagakura-san and Harada-kun were awesome. I ended up spending a lot of time hanging out with them outside and playing guitar. Nagakura-san knew a little, and Harada-kun had a pretty decent singing voice. I couldn't understand them most of the time, but they knew a few popular English songs.

I heard some coughing and turned in time to see Okita-san walking toward us. My instinct was to tense up, dreading his reaction, but he merely looked curious. "I could hear you playing from the dojo."

Okita-san was wearing his kendo uniform with a blue haori resting over his shoulders. It was a long-sleeved jacket with a white triangle pattern on the ends of the sleeves. With part of his hair pulled up in that tie and the two swords at his side, he looked like a young samurai.

"Still cooped up in the house, Souji?" Nagakura-kun asked.

"Are you kidding?" Okita-san drawled. "You really think Hijikata-san would let me leave?" He leaned his back against the wall and folded his arms across his chest. His green eyes locked onto mine, and I was once again surprised by just how vivid emerald they were. His lips twisted into a knowing smirk while his eyebrows rose ever so slightly. "Although I admit, I didn't expect to see Kondou-san's daughter out here with Shinpachi-san and Sano-san."

I shrugged a little. "Music is the language the whole world speaks."

"Ohh~?" His smirk widened a bit. "I see."

Okita joined us for a while, apparently intrigued, while I strummed a bit on the guitar. I gave the side a gentle taping for a bit of percussion and played whatever came to mind, mostly just for background while Nagakura-san, Harada-kun, and Okita-san spoke in Japanese. I was able to catch a couple bits and pieces here, but most of it went over my head.

Playing music was truly uplifting. Suddenly, my depression was gone, and I couldn't really understand why I'd been depressed in the first place. The world was beautiful, and I had an opportunity to explore a new country and get to know a house full of new people.

"What are you smiling about?" Okita-san asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

I didn't feel my usual revulsion toward him. I just continued playing the guitar softly and looked up at him with the same goober smile. "I'm just feeling happy."

Okita-san's eyebrows rose even higher before his face settled into a smirk. "Oh?" It sounded like a question, but he didn't seem to want a response. I noticed the Japanese language had a lot of… filler words. Sounds they made and dragged out a bit to fill the space in between.

When Okita-san pushed off the wall and stood up straight, Harada-kun asked, "Leaving, Souji?"

Okita-san folded his hands together in front of him so the sleeves of his haori met in the middle and covered his hands from view. "Ah," he said, a confirmation sound. "I don't need Hijikata-san finding me out here and turning into a mother hen again."

Nagakura-san made a weak chuckle as he scratched the back of his head a little sheepishly. "He's just looking out for you."

"I never asked him to do that. Ja ne, Shinpachi. Chizuru-chan." It was the first time he'd called me by name. It didn't sound overly friendly, but at least it wasn't spiteful.

"Later, Souji," Nagakura-san said with a casual wave.

"See you," Harada-kun said.

"Bye-bye, Okita-san," I said politely.

Okita-san continued walking away from us, but he briefly raised his right hand over his head as a gesture of goodbye. "If Chizuru-chan tells Hijikata-san I hung out outside, I'll have to kill her." Then he folded it back in front of him, covered by the light blue sleeve of his haori and disappeared from view.

"He's joking right?" I asked.

Nagakura-san only laughed.

I felt like I'd bonded a little with them both today, so maybe I could ask them. "Does Okita-san hate me?"

Harada-kun gave me a reassuring smile. "No, he doesn't. You're Kondou-san's daughter. Souji just gets like that sometimes. Daijobu, Chizuru-chan."

We had our own private little musical corner in the back of the dojo, small and away from prying eyes. It was awesome. I played guitar and talked with Harada-kun and Nagakura-san about various things. While I played guitar, we all sang various popular songs that anyone who's ever picked up a guitar before knew how to play. Harada-kun had a surprisingly nice singing voice.

That continued until we heard a few loud voices from around the dojo walls. They sounded like a group of boys.

"Sounds like the kids are out of school," Harada-kun said with a faint smile.

"Kids come here after school?" I asked.

"Well, yeah, they have to practice six days a week," said Nagakura-san. "Kondou-san's dojo is open every day."

I gave a thoughtful nod. "Is it an actual class or just a practice session?"

Nagakura-san looked confused, but Harada-kun understood what I was asking. "There isn't really distinction here. If there is instruction or practice, it still follows the schedule. The students are expected to attend."

"Sou desu ka," I said.

Harada-kun chuckled and reached over to ruffle my hair. Nagakura-san gave me an approving grin. I guess I'd officially won them both over.

The rest of my possessions arrived in a truck later that week. As promised, Heisuke-kun helped me unpack most of it. I had several books that I organized on my bookshelf. With the remaining space, I set up my DVDs and video games.

I didn't have a TV, but I was able to get my PC set up on my desk with a special outlet adapter on a power strip my father gave me. Like most surfaces and tables in Japan, the desk was already lower than a typical American one, so I set up my gamer chair in front of it and propped the other one against the wall.

My electric guitar was there, too, so I set it up on a stand next to my acoustic one. Heisuke-kun was very impressed and confessed that he always wanted to learn. I told him I'd teach him sometime, and that seemed to make him happy.

We unpacked several decorations as well. I pulled out a wheel of rainbow-colored Christmas lights. No matter where I lived, I hung holiday lights around my room all year round. I looked up at Heisuke-kun and asked, "Do you think my dad will mind if we hang these up?"

"Lights?" he asked, confused. "What for? That's kind of weird, don't you think?"

Heisuke-kun didn't have much of a filter between his brain and his mouth (much like Nagakura-san), and didn't seem to notice when certain things could come across as rude. Still, I figured out early on that he never intended it to sound that way.

"Or is this an American thing?"

I shook my head. "No, it's weird in America, too. I just like them. I think they're pretty."

He shrugged, accepting that answer. "I don't think he'll mind. I'll go ask him, and I'll bring up some tacks to hang them with."

"Arigato, Heisuke-kun!"

"Hai!"

They weren't like regular Christmas lights, in that they only came in red and green (and maybe blue). These ones also had orange, pink, and teal, so they looked less Christmassy. By the time I had both wheels of lights out, Heisuke-kun was back, and he'd brought my father with him.

"Ohh!" Dad said curiously. He wasn't wearing normal, modern clothes, but aside from the day he picked me up at the airport, he hadn't worn them since. Today, he wore a pair of pale gray hakama pants with a faded yellow kimono shirt tucked into them. A black haori was over that, tied together with a white string in the front. "You want to hang lights, Chizu-chan?"

I nodded. "I like to decorate my room with them. Is that okay?"

I was quickly learning that my father was the spoiling type, for he never said 'no' to me. Instead, he nodded happily and actually helped Heisuke-kun and I hang them up. When we finished, I had beautiful, multi-colored lights going all along the edge of my ceiling. Once they were plugged in and on, I turned my main ceiling light off and let the room be illuminated with just the rainbow lights.

I heard Heisuke-kun make a noise of surprise, and even my father's breath caught in his throat. I smiled while they looked around at my room in awe and delight. My idea, while unorthodox, had impressed them.

"This is very cool, Chizuru-chan," Heisuke-kun complimented.

I bowed, smiling. "Arigato."

My father turned his attention do me. "Do you need any more shelves to put things on?"

I shook my head. "I think I have enough. I only have a few more things."

"You will get more things though," he told me. "I think I should get you more shelves…"

I chuckled. "Okay, thanks."

My father was absolutely delighted when he saw a few pictures and ornaments that he had sent me over the years. Even though we rarely spoke, he never once forgot my birthday. Every time it rolled around in May, he would send me a neat gift from Japan that I could decorate with. I always thought they were cool, so I kept them.

"You kept them all?" he asked.

"Of course," I said. "I loved them all."

Dad gave me a watery-eyed smile, then, and when he spoke, his voice was thick. "Sou desu ka…"

Physical contact was less common in Japan than it was in America, and it would probably be a long time before I figured out just what the exact boundaries were, but at that moment, I didn't care. I walked over to my father and wrapped my arms around him. "Arigato, Otou-san."

He hugged me back, and I felt him rest his chin on the top of my head. We stayed like that for a brief moment before he released me, and I took it as my sign to step back. He was still smiling, and warmth bloomed in my stomach at the sight of it.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but that wore me out," I announced. "Thanks so much for helping me though, Otou-san. Heisuke-kun."

"Mah~ daijobu desu," Heisuke-kun said. "I don't mind."

"Yosh," Dad said. "I'm going to go downstairs and tell them to start on dinner."

"Okay," Heisuke-kun replied.

For the next few minutes, I showed Heisuke-kun a few of the games I had on my computer. He seemed very impressed that I played so many video games, and I found out we actually had a few common interests in that regard.

"You like Resident Evil, too?" I asked, shocked. "Do you want to play?"

"Really?" he asked, just as surprised as I was. "Yeah!"

I set up two controllers and loaded the game up on my computer. Thanks to various emulators and Steam, you could get pretty much any console game on a PC. I set up Resident Evil in co-op mode and actually had Heisuke-kun sit in the comfy gamer chair.

"Just trust me," I said. "This is the proper way to play video games in America. I will try things your way, but you have to give my way a shot."

"Hai, hai," he laughed. Heisuke-kun sat down in my chair and grinned at how squishy and comfortable it was. I decided I was going to have to order another one online. Since Heisuke-kun lived here, and was actually in a room next to mine, I had a feeling the two of us would be playing video games together pretty often, so it made sense I should get a chair for him.

Once everything was set up, the two of us took off on a zombie-killing hunt with guns and co-operative tactics. Heisuke-kun was good at the game, so he must've been playing it for a long time. Once he got over the fact that he was playing a shooting game with a girl, he relaxed and got settled into it pretty well.

This went on until Saito-san came upstairs to tell us that dinner was ready. I knew it was him because I heard him outside the door. "Chizuru-san?"

"You can come in, Saito-san," I replied without pausing. Heisuke-kun's eyes were focused on my large monitor. He was in such a zone, I wonder if he even noticed Saito-san's presence.

Saito-san was the quietest of all the men living at Shiei Hall. He was very polite, though, and he was never rude to me. In fact, he was surprisingly helpful with my Japanese, even going so far as to show me a rare, small smile when I said something correctly.

"Dinner is ready," he said softly. "Will you two come down?"

As if 'dinner' was the magic word, Heisuke-kun paused the game with his controller. "Yosh!" he exclaimed, hopping up out of the chair. He grinned at me. "Sugoi! Chizuru-chan is amazing! Can we play after dinner, too?"

I nodded enthusiastically. I'd spent almost an entire week with nothing to do but play guitar and study Japanese. I was definitely eager for other means of entertainment. I looked over at Saito-san and asked, "Do you like to play any video games, Saito-san?"

His eyes widened, as if he hadn't expected me to ask him that. He hesitated a moment and then looked away, and I'm not totally sure, but I think he was blushing. "A little."

Ah… that explained it. He was shy. I usually found shyness to be a silly and inconsequential trait, but for some reason, with Saito-san… I found it strangely endearing. I smiled at him and asked, "Would you like to play with us after dinner?"

He looked hesitant. "…I need to practice kendo."

Heisuke-kun groaned. "You always practice kendo! Why don't you come play video games with us after the meal? Chizuru-chan is going to think you're stuck up!"

I quickly raised my hands in a placating gesture with a small smile. "No, no, I won't think that. It's okay. You can do whatever you want, Saito-san. You don't have to join us if you don't want to, but I would like it if you did."

Saito-san debated it for another moment before he finally nodded. "I will… for a little while."


【新選組】


At dinner, everyone was speaking Japanese. I know I'd asked for it, but I wish I'd waited until I'd been studying Japanese for more than a week before I went along with Hijikata-san's plan for total immersion into the language. Still, practice makes perfect, and listening to the guys talk like this was nothing if not lots of practice.

I never tried to take Okita-san's seat by my father. Instead, I always sat by Heisuke-kun and Nagakura-san instead. Okita-san never mentioned it, and thankfully, neither did my father. I had enough to worry about without disturbing the routine of this house even further.

Heisuke-kun was quickly becoming my new best friend in this place. I was really grateful he helped me unpack today. There were a few times where I found something that reminded me of my mom, and it was hard to push my feelings down. Being around Heisuke-kun's smiling face helped me get through those moments.

Harada-kun addressed me in English. "I heard from Kondou-san that you finished unpacking your stuff and your room is all set up now, Chizuru-chan?"

I nodded with a smile. "Yeah. Do you want to see it later?"

"I'd love to," he replied. He was a very friendly guy.

Hijikata-san spoke up, his face set in a disapproving stare toward Harada-kun. "Harada-san, you should speak in Japanese to her. She won't learn if you use English all the time." He actually said this in Japanese, but I was able to understand enough of it that I figured out what he said.

Harada-kun replied to him in Japanese as well. "Chizuru-chan has barely been here a week, Hijikata-san. You should go easy on her."

I attempted to respond in Japanese. "Please don't worry about me. Hearing Japanese will help me learn the language." I completed my sentence with a polite, respectful bow toward Harada-kun and Hijikata-san. "Daijobu desu."

Harada-kun looked very impressed, and for a brief moment, just a second, Hijikata-san did, too, but he then covered it with his usual stern expression that I'd come to label as his normal face. "Don't forget the emphasis on kudasatte, or your tone is slightly off."

I tried to keep my blushing to a minimum. "Hai."

"Chizuru-chan will be speaking Japanese in no time at all," Heisuke-kun praised.

I doubted it, but it was a nice thought. Now that I had my computer set up, I had to make sure I still put in studying time for the language. I could also download a few additional programs and guides and watch some instructional videos on Youtube. Plus, I was technically living with seven native speakers, so it was an ideal learning situation.

Saito-san was kind and always willing to give me a simple answer to any of my questions concerning learning the language of this country. Unlike Heisuke-kun, he didn't go out much and spent most of his time at the dojo when he wasn't at university, so if I ever had a question and needed a quick answer, I could almost always go to him.

Ironically, the person who was the most helpful was the one who seemed like he had a million better things to do than to help me. Hijikata-san was a very busy man, and at first glance, I actually thought he seemed a bit cold. But he had this roundabout way of helping someone without them figuring out that he's helping them, and after a few subtle hints, I finally figured him out.

Hijikata-san acted like a cold leader, but he was a generous sap on the inside.

Granted, he still refused to speak to me in English (another example of his roundabout way of being helpful), but I could always go to him when I needed to challenge myself in learning the language. In fact, over time, I started getting so good at it, Hijikata-san started testing me at random.

"Shiei Hall is an old estate estimated to have been built around two to three hundred years ago," he said, entirely in Japanese. "Do you remember what it was called before it was Shiei Hall?"

He'd been teaching me the history of my father's dojo, all in Japanese, and suddenly I felt like I was back in school again. The hardest part wasn't understanding him, though, because I was definitely learning history. It just took me a long time to figure out how to reply in Japanese.

"Uh… It was the Yagi House, because it belonged to the Yagi samurai family," I said.

Hijikata-san didn't offer words of praise, but he gave me a nod of acknowledgement. "That's right. When the Yagi family allowed the Shinsengumi to stay here, they eventually made it their first headquarters."

There was a pause, so I figured Hijikata-san wanted me to say something to confirm I'd understood him. "That was in 1863," I said.

His lips turned into a small smirk, and he nodded. "Very good."


【新選組】


"Souji!" I heard my father say from down the hall. "How are you feeling today?"

I leaned around the corner to look at them just in time to see a particularly strained smile on Okita-san's face. It was the sort of smile one gave when one didn't want to get mad at someone else. Something told me if it had been anyone other than Isami Kondou asking if Okita-san was feeling well, they'd have gotten a snarky remark.

"I'm alright, Kondou-san," Okita-san assured him. "There's nothing to worry about."

My father gave Okita-san his usual megawatt smile and reached over to ruffle his hair. Okita-san's smile turned much more genuine. In fact, I'm pretty sure Okita-san only ever showed that smile to my father.

He must really admire him for some reason, I thought.

"That's good to hear," said Father. I decided to stop eavesdropping and just walk toward them, curious about this secret nice side of Okita-san. "Then I wonder if you might do a small favor for me?"

My father's back was to me, so Okita-san could see me, and I saw his smile slip into a frown. He switched his gaze back up to my dad and said, "Sure, what is it?"

"Heisuke had to stay after school today, but I have the younger class right now and can't drive to him," Father explained. "But only if you're feeling better…" I wondered if Okita-san was sick, what with the way Father said that.

"Can I go, too?" I asked, bringing myself into the conversation. Dad turned around and gave me a happy smile, which I returned. His joy was contagious. "I'd like to see where Heisuke-kun goes to school."

"I think that's a good idea," said another voice behind me. I jumped and turned around to see Hijikata-san coming up to us as well. When he reached us, he folded his arms across his chest with his usual serious expression. "It would further immerse her into the language and help her learn more Japanese."

"Hasn't she learned enough?" Okita-san drawled. "She can communicate with us right now."

"Her pronunciation and grammar could still use some work," said Hijikata-san.

Father beamed at the idea. "That's great thinking, Toshi! I'm sure Heisuke will be happy that his friends have come to pick him up from school, too. Is that alright with you, Souji?"

Okita-san made his little half-smirk and said, "Fine by me, but if she gets lost and left behind it's her own fault. I'm not looking for her."

Hijikata-san made a low, irritated sounding growl. "That is not okay, Souji."

"It was a joke," Okita-san insisted.

"Try making a joke that actually sounds like one," said Hijikata-san.

I decided to intervene before the little spat could advance into a full-on argument. "It's okay," I said quickly. "I won't get lost. I just want to see Heisuke-kun's school. I'll stay by Okita-san's side the whole time. I promise."

Okita-san raised an eyebrow. "You promise, huh?"

I nodded, my face completely serious. "I always keep my promises."

"It's decided then," Father said happily. "I'll see you when you get back."

It was my first time out of Shiei Hall without my father, and any time he took me out, we always took his car. Apparently, the high school that Okita-san, Saito-san, and Heisuke-kun all went to was within walking distance. Okita-san and I kept to the sidewalk and made our way toward it.

Okita-san was wearing modern clothes for once, now that he was out of the dojo. I hadn't seen him leave Shiei Hall once. I wondered if he ever felt confined to that place. I wondered why he never left. He usually wore the dojo's uniform since he was there all the time—that blue haori jacket with the white triangle pattern on the sleeves in particular.

Now, he was wearing a pair of faded stonewash jeans and a shirt from some Japanese rock band that I wasn't familiar with. At least, it looked like a rock band, but without hearing the music, I couldn't tell. His reddish-brown hair was still tied up in the usual way, with part of the back twisted up in a knot by a white hairband.

I wasn't going to let whatever attitude he might have today bring me down. Instead, I looked around at all the interesting sights as we walked. There was a festival coming up, apparently. Japan was pretty famous for those, but I never imagined actually seeing one, much less going to one. A lot of paper lanterns with symbols painted on them were being set up around Kyoto, and I was so excited, I practically had a skip to my step.

I heard Okita-san's amused chuckle behind me. "Don't get too carried away. We're just going to a school."

"Sorry," I said, looking around with a wide smile. "I've just never seen anything like this. I wonder what it'll look like when all the decorations are set up."

Okita-san looked around, too. "It's for the Gion Festival in a week. Maybe Kondou-san can take you one of the nights so you can see what it's like."

"You think he'd have the time?" I asked him. "It would be really cool if he did."

"I'm sure he'd make the time for you."

I couldn't tell if it was just a plain, honest statement or if there was a little of his spiteful undertones in there. It was hard to say, so I couldn't really think of a response.

We'd almost reached the high school when there was a sudden crash in an alleyway just ahead. I could hear the sounds of a fight around the corner and in the actual alleyway. In an instant, Okita-san was standing in front of me, looking down at me with a serious expression.

"Stay here," he said.

"What? But—"

"If you get in the way, I'll kill you," Okita threatened. "Stay."

His tone booked no room for argument. I watched as he disappeared around the corner. I couldn't just stand there, though, so I pressed myself up against the brick wall of whatever the hell this building was and snuck a peek around the edge.

I gasped. Heisuke-kun was stuck in a fight against seven other guys. They were all wearing a different colored school uniform than Heisuke-kun was. Their jumpsuit-style uniforms were dark blue, and Heisuke-kun's school uniform was a medium gray.

Before I even knew what was happening, Okita-san dove into the fight. He strode up behind one of the guys closing in on Heisuke-kun and delivered a heavy punch right into his jaw that made the kid stagger backward and clutch the area in pain. Heisuke-kun used the opportunity to jump up and kick the guy in the head, which sent him crashing into the ground against a turned-over crate which broke on impact. Needless to say, that guy didn't get back up right away.

Heisuke-kun's voice was playful despite the odds being against them. "Just like old times, huh, Souji?"

"They could at least give us a challenge," Okita-san replied. He was grinning as if he were having the time of his life. I had a feeling he was violent with how well he did in swordsmanship, but I never expected that to translate into an actual fight.

America was by no means a peaceful country, but the town I grew up in didn't have fights regularly, and certainly not in back alleys like this. I would have wondered how normal of an occurrence this was if I wasn't so wide-eyed and terrified by what I was seeing.

The remaining bullies took the fight a lot more seriously after that and began to use their numbers to their advantage. They rounded on Heisuke-kun and Okita-san with a vengeance, three on each of them. They held their own for a while, but as soon as I saw Heisuke-kun take a punch near his eye, I felt my voice get caught in my throat as I forced myself not to scream.

I had to do something. I looked around, but there were no adults within sight. I couldn't believe we were right next to a school, and there was no one around to stop this fight. I switched my gaze back to the fight itself in time to see Okita-san being forced into a defensive stance. With three guys ganging up on him at once, all he could do was block.

It was then that I noticed a tin trash can nearby. Without really thinking about what I was doing, I reached for the lid. It was nearly a perfect circle, just a little warped with age, but I was pretty good at Frisbee back in gym class back home. I held it to the side and flung it as hard as I could.

It hit one of the guys ganging up on Okita-san right in the head and then ricocheted into another guy's back. Okita-san used the opportunity of surprise that I'd given him to deliver a swift uppercut to that boy's jaw. He ducked to avoid a punch and then twisted to elbow the other guy in the nose. Blood spurted out, and he staggered backward.

Okita-san quickly moved so he was standing in the space between me and the other attackers. He didn't look at me, but I heard his voice, and I knew he was speaking to me.

"Good work, Chizuru-chan."

His words made my heart leap in my chest at a quickened pace. I'd never felt such a reaction to a boy's words before. One short, simple sentence, and Okita-san had me hanging on every word.

But the fight wasn't over yet, and I had now made myself a target. Completely forgetting about Heisuke-kun, all of the remaining boys from the rival school came after me, and with only Okita-san in the way, he was eventually overwhelmed. One of them managed to get in a very heavy-sounding kick to Okita-san's chest, and the crack that came after that scared me to death.

The scariest part was when the force of it made Okita-san choke on his own blood.

"Okita-san!"

I hardly recognized my own voice. I'd never been so terrified before. My body moved on its own, and I threw myself into the fray. I was at Okita-san's side in a fraction of a second, my hand on his back while I stared in horror at the blood dripping down his chin. He didn't seem to notice me as he glared furiously at the boys closing in on us.

"Do you want to die, girl?" one of them asked me. "We'll take care of you next."

Despite being completely terrified, I found myself standing up against them, my body in front of Okita-san's as if I could somehow shield him with my meager, untrained form. "Just try it!" I snapped.

I heard a disbelieving scoff behind me. Suddenly, Okita-san was standing up again, and he pushed me behind him. He raised one hand to wipe the blood from his chin, his green eyes piercing straight through his enemies. "Leave her out of this."

There was a loud scream of pain from the back. Heisuke-kun had managed to find a lead pipe, and he'd hit one of the other kids in the back with it. Without giving the others time to react, he used the pipe to knock one of them in the knees, which made him fall to the ground in tears.

"Shit," cursed one of the boys. All seven of them were at least sporting one injury by this point, but some looked like they were in really bad shape. "This isn't over, Toudou!"

They made their retreat, some sprinting, others limping, but at least they were gone.

My relief was short-lived. As the adrenaline faded, I watched as Okita-san fell into a heavy coughing fit. He collapsed to his knees on the ground. His hand covered his mouth while painful, wet coughs tore their way out of his throat.

I rushed over to him, but he held out his other hand to make me stop. Despite his wheezing and hacking, he managed to glare at me between strands of reddish-brown hair.

"Stay back," he said. He coughed a little more. "I'm fine."

"You're not fine," I protested. "Did that guy break a rib? It might have punctured your lung! If we don't get you to a hospital, you're going to be breathing blood."

"Nothing's broken," said Okita-san. He seemed to be getting his coughing under control, but his face was still tight with pain. "I'm fine. Now why the hell didn't you stay put like I asked you to?"

I gaped at him. He was bringing that up now? "I couldn't! You and Heisuke-kun were outnumbered! I had to try to help!"

"Have you ever been in a fight before?" Okita-san snapped. He pulled himself up to stand, but with the way his hand was pressed over his ribs, I knew he was still in pain.

"Well, no…"

"You could have got yourself killed. What do you think Kondou-san would say if we brought your dead body back home?"

I'd been dealing with Okita-san's passive-aggressive nature for weeks now, but I'd never been on the receiving end of his anger. His words cut me to the bone, making me feel more small and insignificant than I'd ever felt before. I felt tears well up in my eyes. Embarrassed and flustered, I wiped them away before they could fall.

"She was just trying to help, Souji," Heisuke-kun said. He sounded disapproving. I looked over and saw that his right eye was already beginning to swell up from when he was punched pretty hard.

Okita-san was looking at me, his face set in a small frown. Finally, he sighed and said, "Let's just go home."

I nodded, eager to get away from that place. "Are you sure you don't want to go to the hospital?" I asked. I didn't expect my voice to come out so timid and scared of Okita-san.

I don't think he expected it, either. For once, he actually looked away from me to reply. "It's fine."

That reaction emboldened me, just a little. "It's not fine. You got hurt because you were protecting me. Why would you do something like that?"

Okita-san shifted his green eyes back to me, looking surprised, as if my words had only just registered. Finally, his face settled into a slight smirk as he brought his hand up to his forehead in a slight sigh. "Heh… why did I do that?"

So he didn't know, either. He was always teasing me or telling me he'd kill me—things which would have been borderline psychopathic in normal people. And yet… he'd protected me, stood between a bunch of thugs and me, and he was hurt

"Are you okay, Chizuru-chan?" Heisuke-kun asked. His teal blue eyes looked me over, apparently examining me for injuries. "You're not hurt anywhere, are you?"

"No, I'm okay," I told him. I tried to smile for his sake. "No injuries here. But I think we should get you some ice for that black eye."

The walk back was not as light-hearted and jovial as the walk to the school had been. I asked Heisuke-kun who those guys were, and he told me that they were from a rival high school in another part of Kyoto. Apparently, it wasn't unheard of for fights to break out between boys from two different schools, especially if those schools were athletically competitive. Heisuke-kun was not only a live-in student at Shiei Hall, but he was also captain of his school's kendo team, a title which belonged to Saito-san before him and Okita-san before him.

Apparently, because the students who went to that high school typically all studied at Shiei Hall, they were the best in Kyoto, and they got to go to all kinds of competitions throughout the school year. It was a prestigious honor that a lot of rival schools were envious of.

When we made it back to Shiei Hall, I immediately asked Heisuke-kun where the first aid kit was. Surely a dojo had one, after all. He showed me where it was, but Okita-san stalked off before I could offer him any help.

Instead, I made an ice pack for Heisuke-kun's eye. While he held it over his eye, I used a disinfectant on a couple of his scrapes and then applied a soothing, clear-colored ointment that would help with the pain. After that, I applied a few bandages to cover them. They were small injuries, but I still wanted to help.

Heisuke-kun didn't seem to mind. He beamed at me and said, "Thank you, Chizuru-chan."

"Let me know if I wrap this too tight," I told him as I wrapped a white linen bandage around his left hand.

"You're very gentle," Heisuke-kun commented. He was smiling kindly at me, and I found myself returning it, feeling a little better.

"Don't keep the ice pack on too long," I told him. "Just take it easy for the rest of the day, okay?"

He laughed. "No can do. I've got practice tonight."

I frowned. "I'm sure my father would understand. I think you and Okita-san should take a break for tonight."

The smile slipped from Heisuke-kun's face. "Well… Souji should. But good luck making him. He'll only sit out of Hijikata-san forces him to. And then he'll be in a bad mood for the rest of the day."

"Is Okita-san ever in a good mood?"

Heisuke-kun looked adorably confused. "Yeah, all the time, why?"

I tried not to grimace. "No reason." I changed the subject. "Are you going to tell my father what happened?"

"No," Heisuke-kun said, which surprised me. "Kondou-san doesn't want us getting into fights like that. He'd be disappointed that I didn't just walk away. Besides, if we told him every time we got into a fight, he'd never let us out of the house."

I didn't like it, but I didn't want to go against Heisuke-kun's wishes, either. "I won't say anything, but please be more careful, okay? I don't want you getting needlessly hurt, Heisuke-kun."

Heisuke-kun looked away with a small smile, his cheeks tinged a little pink. "Don't worry, Chizuru-chan. I'll be okay."

After I finished helping Heisuke-kun, I took the first aid kid and went upstairs. My room was at the very end of the hallway. The two rooms before it were Heisuke-kun's on the left and Okita-san's on the right.

It was a bit of a strange concept to not knock on doors to ask for entry, like we do in America. Instead, I stood outside Okita-san's door and spoke clearly so he could hear me. "Okita-san? Can I come in?"

Rather than answer me, I heard a faint shuffling about inside the room. The door slid open, and Okita-san stood on the other side. He looked down at me with a wry grin. "Making house calls to my bedroom already? I didn't think you were that kind of girl, Chizuru-chan."

I felt my face heat up in a blush, and I found I couldn't maintain eye-contact. I held up the first aid kit and said, "Do you have any scrapes or bruises or anything? It looked like you got hurt pretty bad, so I wanted to help…"

The smile slipped from his face, and he looked decidedly less pleasant now. "Why?" he asked. "Because I protected you? Don't look too much into that. You're Kondou-san's daughter. That's the only reason."

Well… that hurt. More than I thought it would. I shouldn't have expected otherwise, not from Okita-san, but still…

"You really admire my father, don't you?" I murmured quietly. "Why is that?"

Okita-san's eyes narrowed. "Asking that question just proves you don't know the first thing about Kondou-san. And you don't, do you? You just moved in here because you had nowhere else to go. You don't know any of us, and you don't know Kondou-san. He's your father, but you never had anything to do with him before you needed him."

His words were like a slap in the face. I stared up at Okita-san in shock. "I… what?"

My confusion only seemed to make Okita-san even more irate. "You call him 'Father', and you don't know the first thing about him. If your mom hadn't died, you wouldn't even be here. You don't care about him—you're just here out of necessity."

"Is that what you think?" I asked.

"That's what I see."

My eyes were stinging with unshed tears. I wasn't a crier, not usually, but somehow, Okita-san's words cut more sharply than any knife. He managed to make me feel like a small, worthless piece of shit in just a few sentences.

"I see," I said quietly. My voice was thick. I didn't trust myself to stay in his presence any longer. The last thing I wanted was for Okita-san to see me cry. I all but shoved the first aid kit into his hands and turned toward my room. I walked at a fast pace, entered my room, and closed the door behind me.

Only when I was finally alone did I allow myself to curl up in bed and cry. I wrapped my arms around a cat plushie my mother bought for me years ago while I silently wallowed in my misery.

The worst part wasn't the well-placed stab of Okita-san's words. It was the feeling of fear and self-loathing I felt that he'd been right on the money when he said them.


【新選組】


TK: So is Sweet School Life actually playable? We have a mini version of it in Stories of the Shinsengumi, but I've seen more artwork from it that implies it has its own game. If so, is there an English release or an English patch? Or even just an English translation that I can read, even if I can't play it. I have many skills, but reading Japanese is not one of them.

Discussion time is more of a suggestion this time around.

Today's topic: NHK's Shinsengumi! J-Drama

Okay, so I admit to going a little overboard after Hakuoki and like, finding every fictional work on the Shinsengumi I can get my hands on. (Two words: Kaze. Hikaru. That is all.)

Anyway, Shinsengumi! is live-action, and you can find the episodes with Eng sub on Youtube. They're about 45mins each. And they're freakin' awesome. I mean, yeah, Okita is nothing like how he is in Hakuoki, but in spite of that, I really enjoyed the live action series.

It kinda reminds me of like, MASH but with samurai. Ya feel me?

And to anyone who has seen it, doesn't Kondou have like, the most amazing smile you've ever seen? XD I swear it's like, contagious or something.