I OWN NOTHING BUT THE PLOTLINE AND THE OCS.

Chapter Ten

Advice

"What's your problem?"

Heisuke gave a groan from his position. Currently his face was smashed against the small table in Daiki's kitchen. It had been a month since Heisuke had told Ryoko everything about the Ochimizu, a month since Ryoko told him her secret. A month since the young woman had even said a word to him outside of the rounds they made together. He tried to get her to talk to him but it was short answers and stone faces. He could get a smile every now and then depending on the situation but it was always gone fast. He was never able to find her on the grounds, either. He would call out to her but the moment he turned a corner after her she was gone. He knew that she was avoiding him, and he knew why, but that didn't mean he liked it; he couldn't accept it. He swore to himself that he was going to help Ryoko get over what had happened to her but it was turning out to be harder than he thought. He needed help but Katsumi, the one that Ryoko trusted the most, still had yet to return with Saito and his men from Edo.

"Ito keeps avoiding me; she won't even eat the dango I make for her any more. She just leaves them outside of her room or leaves them untouched at dinner."

"I wouldn't eat them either," Daiki teased but realized that the younger man wasn't in the mood for joking. He gave a sigh, pausing in what he was currently doing. "Did something happen between the two of you?"

"Sort of...I guess. Ryoko...she's trying to shut us all out...me out...and it..."

"It hurts, right?" The man took a seat beside the other. "Who'd have thought that little Toudou would crush on a girl."

Heisuke shot him a look. "What's that supposed to me?" He then frowned. "and it's not a crush. I'm just worried about her; as a friend."

"Of course you are." Daiki smiled. He then sighed again. "I don't know much about women, the only ones I've ever interacted with are Geisha and my family. Even I don't know what to do half the time I'm around these women. If anyone should know, it's Sanosuke. I'd say Shinpachi as well, but seeming as how he and Tsukiko hate eachother...it might not be a good idea to ask him for any advice."

'Yeah, I know," Heisuke closed his eyes. "It seems like they're the only ones that I can really talk to about this. They've been teasing me for acting funny lately, though."

"Well, it's not like you to be depressed, Heisuke. It really brings the place down, you know? You're normally the life of the party, not Hijikata's mini-me."

"Hey now," The younger man shoved at the other. "That's taking it a bit far, don't you think?"

"Not in the least; at least, not yet. If you keep acting like this then I'm going to pass your new nickname around the base, understand? So get back to normal, Toudou. You and your little girlfriend will be able to makeup soon enough."

"She's not my girlfriend!" Heisuke roared, jumping from the table, cheeks red. "Stop calling her that."

Daiki smiled. "Run along now, Toudou. I'm sure you'll be able to find Sanosuke and Shinpachi before they head out for the night. Then again, they did come clear out all the sake I had stocked up so they might be staying in tonight to drink; you never know with the two of them."

They weren't exactly hard to find. They were in Shinpachi's room, laughing and drinking loudly with eachother.

"Hey, there he is!" Shinpachi wasted no time in greeting the smaller man. "I wondered what hole you were hiding in today!"

"I wasn't in hiding, I just didn't feel like drinking, that's all."

"That's like saying you don't want to be a man," Shinpachi laughed loudly, taking another drink.

Sanosuke gave a smooth smile. "Are you feeling better?"

Heisuke opened his mouth to deny feeling bad but he knew that the red-haired man would see right through him. "Not really. That's...that's why I wanted to talk to you guys. I...I need help with Ito. I can't get her to talk to me like she used to."

"Still on about that?" Shinpachi dropped an arm around his shoulders. "You must have really pissed her off, Heisuke."

Sanosuke watched as the younger man stared at the hands he had curled into fists on his knees. "This is really bothering you, isn't it?"

"Of course it is!" He replied. "These women...they're under our protection."

"I think they can hold their own pretty good by themselves," Sanosuke replied.

"That's not the point," He wouldn't tell them Ryoko's secret; he couldn't do that. She had trusted him enough to tell him that, whether or not she was avoiding him now. He refused to break that. "I...I need your help in fixing it."

"Oh, is the little boy in love?"

At the voice behind them, they all turned to watch as Okita slipped in, taking a seat beside Sanosuke.

"Why do you all think that?" Heisuke shook his head.

"It's all over your face, that's why," The man grinned, his green eyes flashing in laughter. "And then if we can't tell by that, we can tell by your actions. You've been chasing after her for a month now, Toudou. I'm about to change your statues from lovesick to stalker."

Heisuke felt his cheeks redden. "Think what you want! I just don't like her avoiding me."

Sanosuke gave him a soft smile. "I wish I knew what to tell you but I don't. None of us here know Ryoko that well. Your best chance of getting through to her is to talk to the other women."

"But Katsumi isn't back with Saito just yet. I know she's the one that Ryoko's closest too."

"What about Asami? She might be able to help you." Okita offered.

"I'd let her help me any day," Shinpachi grinned, finishing off another bottle.

Shaking his head, Sanosuke looked at Heisuke again. "As I said, your best bet is to talk to the other women. I know how to deal with women but these we have here now...they're a bit different."

Shinpachi gave a snort. "That's an understatement; they're all weirdos."

"Then you should feel right at home," Okita grinned, taking a drink of his own.

"You guys are no help at all."

"We gave you a choice," Okita replied. "You can either go see the other women or you can forget all about it and move on."

"I-I can't do that!"

"Then Asami and the others are in the courtyard," The man waved a hand, dismissing the other. "Scurry on before they move."

Heisuke jumped up instantly and took from the room without another word. Shinpachi looked at the other man.

"How do you always know where they are? You even know which ones are out in town all the time."

"These women were brought to us and several of them know the secret of the Ochimizu. It would be foolish to let them wander without keeping an eye on them. Saito was helping me; at least until he was dragged away. The two of you should lend a hand as well."

"No thanks. I'd rather not be anywhere near that woman unless I have to be," Shinpachi grumbled. "How you can even talk to her is a mystery to me."

"To us both," Sanosuke agreed, sipping from his own cup.

Heisuke hurried to the courtyard and found the Okami Pack all sitting in the courtyard. They had cleared the snow from the ground and each held hot cups of tea as they quietly talked. Fuyu was currently brushing her aunt's hair as Yumi rested her head on Chika's shoulder as Tsukiko sipped her tea quietly. He felt a frown forming on his face. He had been hoping to see Ryoko out here with the others but he had struck out again.

"Heisuke, is something the matter?" Asami's cool was called to him, making the women turn to look at him.

"N-no, it's just...I need some advice and I don't have anyone else to turn to." He kicked the snow at his feet. "Do you mind if I join you?"

"Not at all," Yumi smiled, lifting her head from her friend's shoulder. She patted a spot beside her and he moved forward to take it.

"Are you guys not cold out here like this? Especially you, Asami?" He found himself asking. The eldest woman then didn't even bother to wear a jacket or something of the sort out here, just dressed in her normal clothes.

"I've always been hot-blooded," Asami smiled happily as Fuyu continued to brush her hair. "Besides, the winter weather here is nothing compared to the weather we would get up north."

"Up North?" Heisuke repeated. "Just how far did you come?"

"A long way."

"You said you needed some advice," Chika decided to comment. "Has something happened?"

"Not...really. I mean...well...Ryoko's still avoiding me," He tried to ignore the smile that spread across Yumi's face. "It's been over a month now. I tried talking to Sanosuke and the others but no one seems to know what to do so...maybe you guys could help me."

"Ryoko has never been fond of men," Chika replied. "It's not strange for her to avoid them again."

"I...I know that," He was greeted with silence. These women knew everything about Ryoko; hell, they had been the ones to save her. "I...She told me what happened," Heisuke told the older women. "About how you guys saved her."

Tsukiko gave a frown. "Did she...?" She wasn't the only one to look surprised.

"That's unusual," Fuyu paused in her brushing for a moment. "You didn't force it out of her, did you?"

"No! No, she told me willingly. It was...it was the night that she left the town. The night she shoved Souji away and ran off. I went after her and-" He stopped there. He couldn't tell them about the Ochimizu. Yumi, Chika, and Asami knew what it was, yes, but he wasn't sure in Fuyu and Tsukiko knew since they both refused their answers in the beginning so he couldn't just blab about him saving Ryoko from the Rasetsu.

"Yes, I remember." Yumi nodded. "Ryoko...it was a big leap for her to tell you anything about that night at all. She would never have told you anything if you didn't feel like she could trust you. Her feelings are...flying, so to speak."

Heisuke raised a brow. "Flying?"

"The child doesn't know what to do, what she's feeling," Asami explained. "And so her first instinct is to push you away. She doesn't trust men; I'm surprised she took to you at all."

"That's because Heisuke here is still a boy," Tsukiko said bluntly.

Heisuke pulled a face. "You're starting to sound like Nagakura there, Hayashi."

Tsukiko pulled a disgusted face before chugging down her tea as the others laughed.

"Ryoko is still young," Asami continued. "She was placed in a circumstance that has made her fear anything outside of...well...us, and so when she opened up to you she felt threatened and pulled back. Your following her everywhere and trying to talk to her still is making her pull back further and further."

"Then...I should stop?" He asked. He didn't understand why, but he felt sad at the thought of that.

"Oh, I didn't say that." Asami smiled.

"What she's saying," Tsukiko spoke again. "Is to keep trying. Ryoko will sort out her own feelings in time and she can either accept you or reject you. In the end it is her choice."

"I definitely don't want her rejecting me, that's for sure," Heisuke sighed.

"It'll be fine," Yumi assured him. "She'll break soon, I know it. Ahh, I can hear the wedding music now."

Heisuke flushed a dark red as the women all laughed. "How many times do I have to tell you people that I'm not in love with her!?"

"Stop teasing him," Chika scolded the other woman. "He's far too young to be thinking about things like that, anyway."

"I'm eighteen." He reminded her, trying not to grind his teeth.

"Are you sure? You seem to be fifteen to me."

"Can a fifteen-year-old be a Captain of the Shinsengumi?!"

"From what I've seen your men do? Yes."

Asami shook her head as the duo shot back and forth at eachother. Heisuke couldn't help but laugh in his head as they continued to banter. He felt better now after talking to the women. He wasn't going to stop talking to Ryoko. If she just stood there during patrols and ignored him his voice would still continue on. Who knew? Maybe she'd reply to him tomorrow.

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