Chapter 4

The Cramp

Afternoon

"Kondo san, I don't know what you were thinking but you still have a chance to stop this now," Hijikata said in dismay as the whole Shinsengumi sat around the Shinsengumi yard.

Kondo shook his head. "No can do Toshi, I already told her and got her an opponent," he said. "But don't worry, it's Yamazaki and he is going to go gentle on her. We can't let a young girl join. What if she gets hurt? The whole media is going to bite us on our backs,"

Hijikata sighed. He looked at Sougo who was sending death glares at Yamazaki. Yamazaki shuddered as Sougo's sadistic eyes stared down at him. "O-Okita taichou, don't worry, I won't hurt her," he stammered.

"If you touch her I'll kill you Yamazaki," Okita's eyes said.

Yamazaki wished that he had never accepted the promotion offer from Kondo that turned into his funeral. If he lost, he would have to scrub the bathroom for the rest of his life but if he won, Sougo would have him scrub the bathroom with his toothbrush for the rest of his life. It was a no-win situation he was in.

Yamazaki looked at his opponent. Saya was wearing her kimono and held the kendo sword firmly in her hands. What should he do? Should he attack her or let her kill him? He was crying on the inside. All he wanted to do was play tennis but somehow he ended up in the crazy world of Shinsengumi.

"Here I go Yamazaki san," Saya said. She held the kendo sword and coughed. Damn allergies must be getting to her.

As she took her first step, Yamazaki suddenly screamed. She stopped and stared at him. Everyone stared at Yamazaki. Yamazaki dropped his kendo sword and turned to Kondo. "I think we should just send her to a mission on her own and see how she does!" he shouted.

Hijikata chuckled as Kondo sighed. Yamazaki felt as Sougo's eyes stopped staring at his soul. "I can't do that," Kondo said shaking his head. "Saya chan might get hurt in the process,"

Sougo's eyes went back to staring at Yamazaki's poor soul once again. "T-then how about we use one of the inmates we have right now?" he screamed.

"Stop screaming you badminton bastard," Sougo said. "I say we use Hijikata san. He's going to die one day anyways,"

Hijikata shot a glare at Sougo. "Why are you glaring at me like that Hijikata san? We both know it's true. You're always smoking and my sword and bazooka are always attracted to you," Sougo said.

"Yamazaki's idea of using an inmate does sound pretty good," Kondo said. "Alright, bring one out Sougo,"

Sougo nodded and went inside and came back out with the toughest inmate he could find. "He is the only one there," he lied.

Saya smirked. Kondo looked at the inmate. "Wait a minute Sougo! He's too tough for her!"

"It's already too late Kondo san, I told him that if he beats her, we would set him free," Sougo said.

"What?" Kondo shouted.

The inmate charged at Saya at full speed. She crouched down a bit and held her kendo sword tightly in her hands. As soon as he was close enough, she shot her kendo sword straight at the inmate's face, knocking him unconscious with one shot. He fell on the ground heavily. Saya coughed at the dust that formed around the inmate.

"Oh and I let a bunch of other out too," Sougo said pointing at a large group of inmates.

Kondo shrieked as they all charged at Saya. Saya stood up straight and loosened her kimono. As the first inmate tried to punch her, Saya quickly dodged and kicked him in the stomach. He fell backwards, coughing. The second inmate rushed at her, making it for her kendo sword. She quickly brought her free hand to his face, breaking his nose during the process. He stumbled a little and lunged at her again, with another inmate. The first inmate that fell grabbed her kimono, pulling it down. She fell on the ground, actually missing the two inmates attack. She then stomped on the first inmate as her way of saying thanks and used him as a ramp to add more power to her air kick. Her feet made contact with one of the inmate, sending a couple of his teeth flying. She then brought her kendo and stabbed the inmate that was behind her. He coughed with blood and attempted to attack again.

Her eyes widened.

She flung the kendo to the inmate's head, killing him. The other inmates that did not attack retreated back into their cells with horror.

The Shinsengumi was shocked.

The inmate that was on the ground stood up and tried to punch her. She avoided the sad attempt and swung her kendo sword at him, fracturing his skull. The inmate fell on the ground, screaming in pain.

The other inmate that was left, lunged at her again, and punched her in her face. She didn't flinch and stared at him. He withdrew his fist in horror. Blood fell from Saya's nose. Saya held her kendo sword and smashed it down on the inmate's head, killing him and breaking the sword in the process. The inmate fell besides the other inmates. She dropped the kendo and looked at Kondo.

She coughed. "Oops"

Saya looked at her new uniform. She was now a part of the Shinsengumi. She smirked at the match. She did not expect Kondo to laugh. Apparently Sougo was just like her.

She smirked again. She tried on her new uniform, failing at the scarf part. She rolled it into a ball, and tucked it in. As she looked at herself in the mirror, she heard a chuckle.

She turned around to see Hijikata looking at her from her doorstep. "You got the scarf wrong," he said.

She smirked. "Can you do it for me?"

She walked over to him. Hijikata pulled out the scarf and tied it into the right shape and tucked it in. "Don't expect me to do it again for you," he said.

She nodded and looked at herself in the mirror. "Was I frightening at the match Hijikata san?"

He looked at her. "You reminded me of Sougo,"

She laughed a little. "That's what Kondo sama said,"

He smirked. He turned and left, feeling a strange feeling in his stomach.

'I must be hungry'

He walked to his room and brought out his mayo from his secret stash.

"Eating dog food again Hijikata san?" Sougo said from behind.

Hijikata turned back and saw Sougo leaning against his doorstep. "Sougo, you bastard, you need to learn to enjoy fine cuisine,"

"You should know that dog food is very unhealthy for you, and I would hate it if something happened to you," Sougo said as he smirked and left.

Hijikata watched as Sougo disappeared.

The feeling in his stomach grew.

Suddenly Yamazaki appeared.

"Ah, Hijikata san. You have a night shift with Okita taichou," he said.

Ah…the painful feeling in his stomach couldn't get any worse.