The Shinsengumi welcomes once again a woman within its headquarters. Now persuaded of her collaboration, they try to find her a place where she would be neither a hindrance or simply useless...
After a long discussion to find tasks and ideas for Keiko, the men, reunited in an informal reunion, sighted heavily in face of Yamazaki ad Saito, who turned down everything they said. They refused to let her handle the kitchen, because she was a very terrible cook. She could burn steamed rice if left unsupervised! They refuted the idea of putting her in charge of the grocery for the same reason. Every activity involving being outside the headquarters was declined because of her atypical features that would draw attention, and they had to brush aside the accounting, since she could not read.
"She's from a poor family after all, and she used to live in a rural area, too…" reminded Shinpachi while thinking about something else.
"And the usual chores are already done perfectly by Chizuru, and she's still uneasy around Keiko" added Heisuke, handholding his head in boredom.
The only thing that missed in the organization was troops; soldiers with experience. But a woman was not allowed to join in their forces, was she disguised or not. Plus, with her blond hair and physical characteristics, Keiko was much harder to conceal than Chizuru, being older and, well, more feminine.
They stared blankly around for a while, completely out of ideas. It lasted until they heard light footsteps on the veranda and saw a distinguished individual pass in front of them, the wall being opened to benefit of the great temperature outside. His costume was not adjusted to his size and floated around as he walked.
"Hoy, who are you and what is your business with the Shinsengumi?" asked Souji quite rudely, giving a mean look to the intruder.
"Ah! Here you are. Can someone please help me tie these clothes accordingly? I've never seen anyone geared like that so…"
The person shook the sleeves of the outfit to show them how much they were unadjusted and the guys finally understood.
"K-Keiko-san?" stuttered Heisuke with incredulity. "Why the hell are you dressed like an official?"
Shinpachi punched him soundly on the head for his bad mouth as the others waited for someone to react. It was now agreed that she could roam around the premises with a male outfit, but they didn't think she would do it se freely from the first day. Finally, Saitou rose from the tatami and joined the young woman outside to gear her correctly. At the same time, the others observed her transformation and Inoue asked with curiosity:
"How did you dye your hair black, Nakamura-chan?"
Effectively, her golden mane that was not concealed in her hat was the color of the ink. She freed one of her hand from her desperately long sleeves and touched her head to show her stained fingers to him.
"Charcoal. It stains, but it works great if I don't continually touch it."
Saitou was almost done with her costume; she had to raise her hands for him to tie the textile belt around her waist, leaving it loose to give her some volume. Once all set, she asked for their opinion:
"So… what do you think? Do I look like a man yet?"
She turned around to show them, really questioning out of concern. Hijikata rushed in before anyone could say any comment.
"Are you ready yet? He's with Kondo-san already!" he said with his usual pressing orders.
They all nodded and he pulled her toward the reception room, not explaining anything to the others, who were left quite astounded by the last five minutes. Still before any of the guys spoke, Sannan-san joined them and sat with them, like before his accident.
He explained quite simply: "A westerner was sent by the shogunate as an ally and precious collaborator. As you already know, none of us speaks fluent English, in opposite to Nakamura-san, who has mastered this language since her childhood."
They stared in awe.
"So… Hijikata-san found her a use before we did? How frustrating!" blasted Heisuke with humor as the others relaxed.
They all agreed that the costume was great. Keiko's tinted hair and eyebrows were barely noticeable, and the floppy clothes were hiding everything she had to conceal. And her voice, not too high pitched, wouldn't drag any attention either. Contented, they occupied themselves at something else; Souji, Inoue and Sannan discussing on the veranda, Saitou and Harada training, Shinpachi and Heisuke going on an errand, and Inoue going for his patrol along with Yamazaki. Around diner time, they all gathered back together to take their meal and were surprised to see hijikata pushing insistently in Keiko's back for her to get in the dinning room and sit with them. She was still wearing her male's clothes, but she had removed the hat because it itched. The oni-captain commented:
"Her fingers were marked so much from her constant scratching that she was ashamed of even showing them. You should have seen the water when she rinsed them."
She finally sat between Shinpachi and Heisuke, but Harada quickly saved her by discreetly pointing another place. Suspicious, she agreed and went by Souji and Saitou, a much better choice by far. Everyone asked how if the negociation went smoothly, but she refused to answer in stead of Hijikata. He replied objectively:
"It was a good choice to bring her along."
They cheered, and he added with a thin smirk:
"His Japanese was terrible."
All of them laughed soundly just as Chizuru was coming in with the plates, with the help of Kondou, who was also done with all the official affairs for the evening. The young girl noticed Keiko within the ranks and asked politely:
"I was not yet introduced to our guest, who is it?"
Heisuke smiled widely and answered with energy that it was her female homologue, and she stared at her with surprise.
"Eh! You are so changed with these clothes and your hair Nakamura-san!"
The exuberant two explained to their friend what happened earlier while she was servicing everyone. Finally, they were happy to see her smile to Keiko and sit down with them. Once done eating, Shinpachi and Heisuke having proved why no one sat between them once more by fighting over food, they both suggested a night of moon viewing and drinking to celebrate.
"Come on! Chizuru-chan, Keiko-san, come along too!" begged the youngest when joined his hands. "It won't be fun if they only pick on me for being drunk before them!"
To his great surprised, Keiko responded right away:
"Why not, I don't mind a little cup of sake from time to time."
She then noticed their astonished looks and immediately apologized frantically while bowing to the ground.
"Sorry! I was intruding without your permission!" she said in a hurry, just as that time when she arrived at the headquarters.
She peeked at Hijikata's frown and waited for him to say anything. He made the suspense last for a second, and then said coldly:
"Sometimes, you make me think you might have a chestnut instead of brains. He invited you, didn't he? It counts as permission as much as any agreement you may have with any of the captains of the Shinsengumi."
"Hey, hey, hey, Hijikata-san! Did you forget that it's a woman you are talking to?" reproached Shinpachi with a witty smirk.
The oni-captain blushed very lightly, but he was saved by the profusion of gratitude spilled by Keiko, her face as red as Harada's bindings.
Hi again to all of you!
Two weeks have passed, nine chapters have been uploaded. If you haven't emitted any reviews or comments yet, I would greatly appreciate your effort and, as I said in my previous note, I will also review your work if you do the same for me.
The comments I am the most looking for are:
-The quality of my English (Do I make repetitive mistakes, did I use the wrong word somewhere, etc.)
-The depth of my characters (Are they like the originals, or are they too shallow? Why?)
-The quality of the plot (Is it going somewhere? Are you interested to read the rest of the story? Why?)
-What do you think about my OC (Nakamura Keiko)?
You can also just leave a little comment to make me smile.
Thank you so much for reading my story until now! It makes me proud and very thankful for your support.
Have a great day! Sincerely,
M.A.
