Misaki stood there, holding her ground. She put her sais away, but remained on guard. "You must be the Oni Vice-commander that everyone is talking about, Hijikata-san."
Hijikata's facial expression remained hard and he raised his sword up, "And what is the meaning of this?"
"Relax, I wasn't going to kill them, I was just trying to scare them a bit. Put the sword down or else I'll have to do something I really don't want to do."
"Is that a threat?" Hijikata growled, pointing his sword at her. "I'm not afraid to kill a female if you are interfering with our goals."
"Hey, Hijikata! Don't be so mean to Misaki! I warned her that Shinpatsu-san and Harada-san would try to do something stupid. If you want to blame someone, you should blame those two," Heisuke came in and put some distance between Hijikata and Misaki.
"Is this true?" Hijikata asked the two, not allowing his eyes to leave Misaki.
"Well, you see Hijikata-san, we thought that you got us that geiko, but I can see that we were wrong," Nagakura replied.
Hijikata sighed and sheathed his sword. "I apologize for his idiocy. He is obviously the last person I wanted you to meet upon your arrival. Harada-san! What is your excuse?"
"I listened to this idiot," Harada-san huffed.
"Do I look like a geiko to you? You obviously shouldn't make assumptions or try to break into someone's room like that! Next time Hijikata, won't be there to stop me if you step out of line again," Misaki scolded.
"You tried to break into her room? Saito informed me that she was sharing a room with Chizuru. Why would you do something so careless and stupid. You know the consequences of straying from the path of the warrior. Why you do such a stupid thing?" Hijikata yelled.
"I wanted to see the new girl."
"And I let him do whatever he wanted." Misaki noticed that Harada-san was not the one at fault here so she unpinned him and put the shuriken away. "Thank you. I am very sorry. That is the last time I let him do whatever. He really meant no disrespect."
"Now, your punishment Nagakura. You will follow Chizuru's and Misaki's orders until I feel that you have learned your lesson. Misaki, I would to speak to you privately. Harada-san, you can get Nagakura down from there. And make sure he doesn't drink any sake tonight. The last thing I need to deal with is this man running around like a drunk idiot." Hijikata left the room with Misaki following closely behind him. They went to the discussion room and sat down. "I think that could one of the worst introductions possible. I truly am sorry for their stupidity and bluntness." Hijikata rubbed his eyes in frustration and exhaustion. "First off, I would like to know why you have come here."
"I came here because Okita-san and Saito-san insisted that I meet you and stay here because there is currently a bounty over my head. I have been travelling from place to place for as long as I can remember and if it is okay for you, I would like to stay here for some time, just to get some rest and relax for a bit."
"Why are there people out to kill you?"
"I honestly don't know why. It may have to do with my parents' death. They died when I was young, but then I went to stay with my grandfather until he was killed while I was out. I have no remaining family members so I have been on my own for a long time."
Hijikata looked at Misaki with hard eyes. He was full of questions, but he knew better not to pry because time would reveal those answers in time. Still, there was something different about her. He closed his eyes, deep in thought. "Excuse me, Hijikata, if you would excuse my behavior for a moment." Hijikata opened his eyes and saw Misaki open the door and look into the shadows. "Saito! If you want to listen in, you should do it where Hijikata can see you! It's rude to eavesdrop." Hijikata's eyes widened, surprised that Misaki was able to notice Saito. He could have sworn that he saw a faint blush in Saito's cheeks, however it was difficult to tell because it was so dark out. Saito walked closer and looked to Hijikata. Hijikata nodded in acknowledgment and Saito took a seat next to Misaki and closed the door behind him.
Saito sat in silence until Hijikata questioned him, "Saito-san. Please explain why you are here."
"Excuse me. Hijikata-san, I think that it would be helpful and considerate to allow Misaki to stay here. She can fight so she is more than capable of defending herself. She can also assist Chizuru in cooking if needed," Saito explained.
Hijikata stared at Saito. He was surprised that Saito was going through so much trouble to keep her here. When Chizuru had come to stay, Saito was ready to kill her. Hijikata felt a newfound respect for Saito and agreed to his reasoning. "Alright. If Misaki would agree, I would like her to help us with patrolling and train with some of our unit captains when needed. I think that we could learn a lot from her fighting style. In exchange, you can stay here for as long as you need. For now, Misaki, why don't you go eat dinner with Chizuru. Tomorrow morning, I will introduce you to the unit captains and other important people you should know. You will also train with the unit captains so we can get a better sense of where your strength lies."
Misaki bowed her head and said, "Thank you very much. I will see you in the morning." Misaki left the room and closed the door behind her and headed to the kitchen to help Chizuru prepare the dinner trays. As soon as they were sure she was gone, Hijikata looked at Saito and locked eyes with him. "I would to find out more about her parents and these bounty hunters. I don't want them coming in here and setting off our Rasetsu Unit. It's in its delicate experimental phases so I think it would be extremely important if we found the person responsible for creating this bounty. Do not tell Misaki until we have all of the facts. I don't want any of our men learning of this either. This must stay between us. Understood?"
"Understood."
Thank you coyote-holy for the review and favorite! I tried to make this chapter long because you brought a smile to my face^-^! Please keep it up with the reviews, as they encourage me to continue this story!
~OtakuMisaki
