Being a samurai is not begrudging even your life if it is for the sake of the country. It is not having skill in archery, equitation, fencing, spears, artillery, and firearms. As long as you do not begrudge even your life for the sake of the country, even without any of those skills, you are a samurai.- Yoshida Shoin
Chapter Eleven: You Can't Keep A Good Cosplayer Down
1867 – Edo:
It was nearly two in the afternoon when Nishiko finally woke up. Bansai had already set off for Kyoto with her patient, Matako informed her, so all that was left for them to do was enjoy a late 'breakfast'. Once again, she was pleasantly surprised by Matako's ability: this time by her cooking skills. She complimented Matako on her miso soup, and Matako blushed with happiness.
"If it was up to the men, we'd live most of the time on instant ramen," Matako explained. "They only cook properly when Shinsuke-sama's there."
Yes, of course. Nishiko couldn't imagine Shinsuke putting up with Cup Noodles.
"Did you ever have to cook during the war, Nishiko-chan?" Matako asked curiously.
Nishiko shook her head. "Not for the Kiheitai. I never wanted to give them the impression I was there to do the housekeeping."
Matako laughed. "That was my problem when I first joined the Kiheitai. Some of my senpais thought I'd been recruited for housekeeping duty, no matter what Shinsuke-sama told them."
"You straightened them out, I hope?"
Matako grinned. "With my pistol."
1861 – Osaka:
Nishiko was beginning to rather enjoy being an invalid.
It would have been different if she'd felt she was missing out on the world outside the Kiheitai's temporary headquarters. But she had no desire to venture out into the unruly Osaka streets. Apparently, the Kiheitai was now patrolling a large area of central Osaka, and had restored some measure of peace, but more than a day on from the capture of the city, they were still removing corpses from alleys and burnt-out buildings. The hunt for Amanto who hadn't fled the city fast enough continued in full swing, aided by vengeful citizens who'd been kept in the city as forced-labour to support commerce with the Amanto.
Under these circumstances, it was much more pleasant to stay inside, spending most of her time on the comfortable sofa in the Amanto-style reception room that now served as her bedroom. The only real sleeping quarters in the building were guard barracks in the basement, and those were obviously not suitable for a lone woman.
A doctor had been called in shortly after Gintoki's and Katsura's visit, and he'd confirmed that yes, she had suffered a concussion, and yes, the only remedy was rest. But after one good long stretch of sleep, she was quite happy to receive visitors, who brought updates on the excitement that surrounded them.
Takasugi wasn't one of these visitors. According to his aide, Inoue, he'd set up his office just down the hall from her room, and she could hear people coming and going constantly. But if he'd looked in since his confrontation with Katsura, it could only have been while she was asleep.
The guests she did have were much more agreeable than he would have been, anyway. Several of the Kiheitai officers had taken the opportunity of inquiring after her health as an excuse to linger by her sofa and tell their heroic deeds to a sympathetic listener. And for a wonder, their stories were actually interesting. While Takasugi's small strike force had seized the Command Centre, the larger part of the Kiheitai had been at the forefront of the assault on the city. They'd taken heavy casualties, but they'd reached their objectives faster than anyone had thought possible, and were justifiably proud of their successes.
The first note of discord came with a visit from Kimura: the shuttle's pilot. He greeted Nishiko cheerfully and expressed his relief that she was all right. But then, glancing out into the hall to see that no one was by, he quietly asked her if she knew what on earth her boss was doing: getting into a stand-off with his own superiors.
"I don't know what's going on outside," Nishiko told him. More truthfully, she could have told him Takasugi didn't want the Choshu domain officials to control the Kiheitai, but she had a feeling Takasugi would prefer her not to divulge that to outsiders.
Kimura sighed. "Choshu picked this building for their headquarters, but your boss wouldn't let them in. Meanwhile, the rumour's going around he's not involved in the Joint Command's deliberations, while Katsura-san is."
Nishiko denied knowing anything about this.
"I hoped I could find Shiroyasha-sama here," Kimura continued. "To be honest, I'm at a complete loss what to do now. The last orders I got from Okayama were to fly this mission. Nothing since then."
"Do you think you'll go back to Okayama then?" asked Nishiko.
Kimura shrugged. "They haven't much stomach for the war back home," he admitted. "They mostly lent me to your boss because they were afraid of him. But I believe in this fight. I want to go on to Kyoto with you all."
"Is the Shogun's shuttle still in one piece?" she asked him.
"It is! It took a bit of damage up there on the roof, but I'm told it's in working shape. Your people won't let me go up there to see it, though. I guess they're afraid I might fly off in it. That's why I need to see Shiroyasha-sama. I want him to know I'm on your side."
"I haven't seen Gintoki since yesterday. But I hear he's been in and out," Nishiko answered. "You could stay around and see if he shows up."
"I've got nothing better to do," Kimura agreed. "Did you hear the news from Kyoto, by the way?"
"I heard there have been riots on the streets."
"They're not just riots. It's a full-scale rebellion. There's even a story going about that Joui sympathizers have spirited away the Emperor himself."
Nishiko gasped. "But how?" she asked. "Wouldn't the Bakufu have his Majesty under lock and key?"
"It's just a rumour," Kimura admitted. "But it wouldn't surprise me if we have more friends at Court than we knew about."
Nishiko was trembling with excitement. "So we can march right into Kyoto now?" she asked. "We might not even have to fight for it?"
Kimura didn't answer immediately, and in the pause, Nishiko's hopes plummeted. "That's one reason I want to talk to Shiroyasha-sama," he finally said. "I want to know if he's planning to push on to Kyoto. The Satsuma forces want to sit around and wait till they dig out that weapons cache. Your domain's officials have agreed to wait too. But if Shiroyasha-sama is going . . ." He trailed off. "I'd have talked to Takasugi-san if he'd agreed to see me."
"I haven't seen Takasugi-san since yesterday," Nishiko told him. "He's very busy, I'm sure." But she wasn't sure at all. If Takasugi was planning an early exit from Osaka, would he trust an outsider like Kimura with the information? Probably not.
"Yes, I'm sure he is busy," agreed Kimura, doubt obvious in his voice.
"Oi, I hear you've been looking for me, Kimura-san!" Gintoki was at the door.
"Shiroyasha-sama!" Kimura, who'd been sitting in one of the armchairs, leapt to his feet and bowed slightly.
Gintoki groaned. "You aren't here for my autograph, are you? Because I'm not giving out any more of those today. Just sign it yourself and say it's from me."
Kimura stared at him.
"Gintoki, don't tease him like that," Nishiko cut in.
"Ah, sorry, Kimura-san, but you see, Shiroyasha-sama, this. Shiroyasha-sama, that. It's getting embarrassing." He smiled ruefully.
"I'm sorry, Shiro – errr – Sakata-san."
"And I'm not joking about the autographs," said Gintoki, dropping onto the floor beside Nishiko. "Zura is doing calligraphy for every other person he meets. It's disgusting. Everyone wants a memento of the famous Katsura Kotarou."
"And the famous Sakata Gintoki?" Nishiko pressed him.
Gintoki scratched his nose. "I told them I'm illiterate."
Nishiko burst out laughing. Even the ever-serious Kimura grinned.
"What did you want to see me about, Kimura-san?" Gintoki asked.
"Sakata-san, are you going on to Kyoto soon?"
Gintoki frowned. "Soon enough, I hope."
"Let me come with you when you do. Please."
Gintoki stared at the ceiling. "I'm not Takasugi. I don't have my personal army."
"I understand that, Sakata-san" replied Kimura. "And if you tell me to join the Kiheitai, I'll do that."
"No, don't do that," said Gintoki. His expression had turned serious. "He's already got too many people to boss around. If you want to go to Kyoto when we do, come as a comrade."
"There's nothing wrong with joining the Kiheitai," Nishiko objected.
"Is that Shinsuke's new recruitment slogan?" asked Gintoki.
Nishiko laughed, but shook her head. "Gintoki, you're making it sound as though you and Takasugi-san are enemies. Kimura-san hasn't known you two as long as I have."
"All right. Listen up, Kimura-san. At the moment, Takasugi Shinsuke and I are on the same page. We want to get out of Osaka as soon as possible, while everyone else wants to hold us back. But don't get used to it. Most of the time we can't stand each other's guts."
"Gintoki and Takasugi-san have been friends since they were children," Nishiko explained to Kimura
Gintoki snorted. "Friends? You think knowing Shinsuke for thirteen years has been an enjoyable experience?"
"Have it your way, Gintoki. As long as you're working together, I can't complain."
"Glad to hear that." Gintoki stood up.
"What are you going to do now?" Nishiko asked him.
"I'm going to have a drink. Kimura-san, you coming along?"
Kimura looked uneasy, but nodded.
"Don't worry, Kimura-san. We'll get down to business soon enough. Nishiko, how long are you planning to laze around in here?"
"The doctor ordered me to rest, Gintoki."
"A true samurai doesn't follow doctor's orders," Gintoki intoned, in what she assumed was meant to be an imitation of Katsura's voice. Gintoki wasn't much of a mimic.
"I hope Katsura-san isn't pushing himself too hard," she replied.
Gintoki shrugged. "It's all soft chairs and blah, blah, blah for him."
"And calligraphy with a wounded arm," she reminded him.
Gintoki snorted. "I wouldn't worry. There's a special luck for idiots, and Zura's got loads of it."
Nishiko had to laugh.
About an hour after Gintoki's visit, Takasugi finally made his appearance. His timing was perfect. She was sitting up on the sofa, looking at a map of Osaka that his aide Inoue had lent her, and beginning to weary of her confinement to this room.
"You look well enough to go out," Takasugi greeted her.
"Yes, I feel fine, Takasugi-san. Do you need me?" She still had a head-ache, but she wouldn't let that hold her back.
He nodded. "Our domain officials would like to see you. They asked for you by name. So, get yourself ready to take a trip across town."
"They asked for me? Do you know why?"
"I might be able to guess," he said darkly. "I'll fill you in on the way over."
About fifteen minutes later, they left the Kiheitai's building by a side door and walked briskly to a small scuffed-up car parked down the street.
"The streets have settled down," Takasugi explained as he settled into the driver's seat. "But I won't be advertising myself as a target with one of those luxury government vehicles."
"Shouldn't that be common sense?" asked Nishiko.
"We're leaving the world of common sense behind us now," he commented sourly, as he started up the car. She had never seen him drive before, and it was strange to see him now behind the wheel of an Amanto vehicle. But he seemed to know what he was doing. There were hardly any motor vehicles back home in Choshu, but the war had taught men all sorts of unlikely skills.
"Takasugi-san, you said you could guess why they wanted to see me . . ." she reminded him, once she was sure he had the business of driving under control.
"Your father did serve as Choshu's Kyoto representative for years," Takasugi said. "It's only decent if his colleagues check on your welfare. But, I'm not so trusting these days. Has any official ever taken an interest in you before?"
"No, but why else should they want to see me?"
Takasugi didn't answer her directly. "There was something odd about the request. They asked for you and Ichiro. Whoever asked for you didn't even bother to check my casualty reports. I was still sending them back home regularly when he died."
"You aren't anymore?"
"No. Someone was forwarding them to the Bakufu."
"I see." Nishiko wasn't surprised at that. She knew the Bakufu must have spies among the Jouishishi, and no doubt the people in Hagi were much more careless about security than Takasugi. Still, she couldn't see why anyone should want to see her and Ichiro, and told Takasugi so.
"Probably hoping to find a wedge they could drive into the Kiheitai. Over the last twenty-four hours, no fewer than three of my captains have been approached with offers to leave me and form a new unit, directly under the domain's control."
"Your men would never desert you, Takasugi-san."
A thin smile appeared on Takasugi's face. "You can tell that to our superiors."
As they drove on through the city, they came to areas where buildings had been gutted by fire. Several times, Takasugi had to pull around piles of debris on the road. Yet, the streets were mostly empty, save for patrolling soldiers and a few work crews clearing away rubble. She asked Takasugi what had happened to the mobs of the previous day, and he explained that the city was under martial law.
"Anyone who ventures out on the street without official business can be shot. The crowds were completely out of control."
That reminded her of the rumours of unrest in Kyoto. She asked Takasugi if it was really true that Kyoto had risen up against the Bakufu.
"Completely true," he replied bitterly. "The moment the Kyoto Joui heard we'd taken Osaka, they seized every major military installation in the city. They may even have spirited the Emperor into hiding, if our intelligence is to be trusted."
"Then why aren't we going to relieve them? They can't have enough supplies to defend themselves."
"You can ask Zura that question. He's completely bought into our allies' line: We need to wait to dig out those weapons, then we go to Kyoto."
"But won't it be too late by then?"
"Maybe not. It'll be touch and go. We've got a few things working in our favour. The Bakufu's completely shut down traffic in and out of Edo while they figure out what went wrong here with the space terminal. They don't want to risk a repeat in Edo. So we've put them on the defensive for the first time since we entered the war. And if it's true that they've lost the Emperor, they'll proceed very carefully to get him back. They'd have a propaganda nightmare on their hands if they killed him in a bombing run on Kyoto."
At last, they pulled up in front of an imposing building with a sign in big gold lettering that declared it to be the Osaka branch of the First Interstellar Bank, and a much smaller wooden placard showing that it was now the Choshu Domain Headquarters. The guards outside the building immediately recognized Takasugi and saluted him. Their official masters might frown at Takasugi's insolence, but he was probably as popular as ever with the ordinary soldiers.
Inside, they were escorted into the presence of an official whom Nishiko recognized as an occasional visitor to the Choshu compound in Kyoto where she'd grown up. Nakamura Masahiro was his name. He greeted Takasugi so warmly that if Nishiko hadn't already known of the discord between the officials and Takasugi, she would have imagined they were great friends.
"And is this young lady really Nishiko-chan?" he asked jovially. "I could swear it was just the other day you were peeping out from behind your nursemaid's skirt."
"I'm honoured that you remember me, Nakamura-dono," Nishiko answered politely. She could feel her cheeks reddening. Meeting someone from her old, respectable life in Kyoto, she was keenly aware of her current trousers and boy's ponytail. She could only imagine what Nakamura really thought of her.
"But you didn't bring Ichiro-kun," said Nakamura, turning towards Takasugi.
"I'm sorry to inform you that Tanaka Ichiro is dead. He died at Kitakyushu in February."
Nakamura was clearly taken aback by the news. "My apologies. I was not informed of this. Nishiko-san, please accept my heart-felt condolences."
Nishiko thanked him, trying to ignore the lump that was building up in her throat at all the mention of Ichiro's death.
"But Nishiko-san, you've been all alone since then?" Nakamura asked.
"I've served as a medic for the Kiheitai for the past few months."
"I heard that. But I assumed you were with your brother." Nakamura was frowning. "Takasugi-san, do you really believe this arrangement is in Nishiko-san's best interests?"
"It's in the Kiheitai's best interests," replied Takasugi bluntly. "We needed a medic and Nishiko-san's a highly competent one."
"Nakamura-dono, I've chosen to serve in the Kiheitai," Nishiko added.
Nakamura sighed. "I see. I can only admire your sense of duty. I suppose that we must tolerate a certain amount of irregularity in these trying days."
By which, Nishiko imagined, he meant that he thought her position completely scandalous but couldn't do anything about it.
"Takasugi-san," Nakamura continued. "The councillors would like to speak to you privately. I'll take care of Nishiko-san while you meet with them."
Takasugi shook his head. "Nishiko stays by my side," he told Nakamura.
"But these are highly sensitive matters," objected Nakamura. "For your ears only."
"Then I will return Nishiko to my headquarters before meeting with them, Nakamura-dono."
Nakamura laughed. "I'm an old friend of Nishiko-san's father, Takasugi-san. You can trust her with me."
"That might be so, Nakamura-dono," said Takasugi evenly. "But I don't trust everyone in this building."
"Whom exactly do you mistrust, Takasugi-san?" asked Nakamura in a strained voice.
"That's a matter I should take up with the council. But not if I have to leave Nishiko here."
Nakamura took a deep breath. "If you'll excuse me, I'll consult with our colleagues. Perhaps we can work out a compromise."
Takasugi nodded. "That sounds like a reasonable course of action. We'll wait here."
"Is Nakamura really a dear old friend of your father's?" asked Takasugi, as soon as Nakamura had left.
"He may have been," said Nishiko uncertainly. She really knew very little about her father, despite having lived in the same house with him for sixteen years. "He certainly was a colleague of his. Would it really be such a problem to leave me with him while you're in that meeting?"
"I don't know yet. And as long as I don't know the answer, I can't risk it."
They were interrupted by the door re-opening: this time admitting the official who had called at the Kiheitai Headquarters earlier: Maeda, Nishiko thought his name was.
"Is there any end to the problems you're causing us, Takasugi-san?" Maeda greeted him, but he was smiling as he said it. "I'm delighted to see you back on your feet, Tanaka-san," he added to Nishiko before Takasugi could answer.
Nishiko politely thanked him for his concern.
"Takasugi-san," Maeda continued. "You should be happy to hear that I've convinced my colleagues that they should overlook your lack of diplomacy. The only thing Choshu requires of you is that you be a good soldier."
"But?" asked Takasugi, smiling thinly.
"But I have some very odd business to take up with you. You took a prisoner aboard the sub-orbital station: a certain Hayashi Shoji, do you recall him?"
"He's Katsura's prisoner," Takasugi corrected Maeda. "I've never set eyes on him."
"I see. Well, we are keeping this Hayashi here at the moment. He's informed us that Tanaka-san and her brother are being sought out by their mother's family: a family with important ties to the Bakufu."
Takasugi raised his eyebrow. "How does that concern us? You wouldn't hand Nishiko over to the Bakufu, would you?"
Maeda waved away the suggestion. "Certainly not. But it's worth knowing that we hold a person of value to the other side. At the moment we are satisfied that she's safe in your care and should remain there. But if you continue your obstructionism . . ." He let the sentence trail off.
"If I don't bow to you, you'll take her from me?" asked Takasugi.
"You're becoming very paranoid," replied Maeda. "Let me be blunt, Takasugi-san. I am not your enemy. There is no one here who has backed your cause nearly as much as I have. But you need to work within the bounds of government. It does you no good to make enemies of the men whose support you need."
"I see," said Takasugi. "Is Katsura here?"
"Do you want to speak to him?"asked Maeda.
"Yes, I do."
Maeda seemed relieved. Obviously, Katsura stood a lot higher in the domain's books than Takasugi did, and he must have taken Takasugi's request to see Katsura as a positive development. "I'll send Katsura-san in right away."
As soon as Maeda left the room, Takasugi dissolved into his high-pitched gasping laughter. "Do they intend to let you go at all, do you think?" he asked Nishiko.
"What do you mean, Takasugi-san?"
"They have us nicely trapped. Or so they think." He let out another uncanny laugh. "I'll draw my sword on them before I hand you over."
"You don't really think it'll come to that?" asked Nishiko in alarm.
"Why shouldn't it? Someone's found out you're far too valuable to leave with the Kiheitai."
He laughed again a couple of minutes later when Katsura entered the room. "That was quick, Zura. Did they have you stationed outside in the hallway?"
Katsura stared at Takasugi. "Shinsuke, are you drunk?"
Takasugi wiped his eyes. "Unfortunately not, Zura. "
"It's not Zura. It's Katsura, you idiot! Here, look at this!" Katsura shoved a piece of paper into Takasugi's hand.
Takasugi glanceddown at it for a second. "I've already seen this," he replied.
"And what do you think of it?" demanded Katsura.
"It's only what we expected." Takasugi crunched the sheet into a ball. He turned to Nishiko. "You don't have to worry anymore about keeping our daimyo's betrayal a secret. An Amanto ship dropped flyers over the city last night: a proclamation from Lord Mori, naming us as traitors."
"It's not the names on the list that matter," said Katsura. "It's the names that aren't there. Take another look, Shinsuke."
"You mean that most of the officials back home aren't named as traitors?" asked Takasugi. "How is that unexpected, Zura? I'm just surprised it took the Bakufu so long to try this tactic."
"May I see the paper, Takasugi-san?" Nishiko asked.
"Suit yourself." He handed the crumpled ball to Nishiko, who carefully unwrapped it.
"It has the nerve to accuse us of holding the domain hostage," Katsura continued to rant. "How can they even dare say that?"
"Because it's true," Takasugi replied calmly. "You know well enough that those cowardly bureaucrats would never have risen against the Bakufu on their own. The real reason they went along with us was because they were afraid of our forces."
While Katsura and Takasugi were talking, Nishiko examined the document. Katsura was right. The upper ranks of the Choshu administration were conspicuously absent from the list of proscribed traitors. Instead, the list largely focused on the young Joui fighters, along with the officials who had accompanied them to Osaka. Both Katsura and Takasugi were near the top of the list. And right beside Katsura's name was the man known as Shiroyasha. She had to smile at that. The document's authors didn't know Gintoki's name, just his famous nickname.
"They're not all like that," Katsura insisted, defending the domain officials from Takasugi's attacks.
"There are too many like that. And now they've been alerted that they can be pardoned and welcomed back into the fold if they ditch us. What do you think they'll do?"
"I still believe in the honour of my fellow samurai," said Katsura stiffly.
Takasugi snorted. "No you don't. Not even you could be that stupid. There isn't any honour in happening to be born into the right family. That's all most of our fellow samurai have going for them. And if you aren't born into the right family . . . well, look at Gintoki."
"We don't know who Gintoki's family was," said Katsura quickly. "He could even be of noble blood, for all we know."
"You still believe that?"sneered Takasugi.
"Pardon me, what are you talking about?" Nishiko interrupted.
"We shouldn't be talking about this," said Katsura pleadingly.
"There's not much to it," Takasugi answered, ignoring Katsura. "When we were schoolboys, Zura had a fantasy that Gintoki would turn out to be the missing heir to a great lord. Whereas it's much more likely Gintoki's family were peasants."
"Gintoki's never told you about his family?" asked Nishiko, surprised. She had heard plenty of gossip in Hagi about Gintoki's mysterious past. She knew he was an orphan that Yoshida had brought back from his travels. But she hadn't imagined that his closest friends knew nothing more of his background than the outside world.
"Please don't mention this to Gintoki, Nishiko-dono," Katsura begged her. "He never talks about the time before Shouyou-sensei found him."
"No, of course, I won't," said Nishiko quickly.
"My only point is that Gintoki's a samurai through and through, no matter who his parents were," Takasugi continued. "And in contrast, these honourable officials aren't worthy of the name."
Katsura didn't reply. Katsura's silences – she had come to realize – usually meant he'd recognized some truth in what the other person was saying and was trying to process it. Takasugi's impromptu lesson on the true meaning of samurai honour must have touched him.
"Right now, at least some of these officials want to keep Nishiko as a bargaining chip to deal with the Bakufu," Takasugi continued.
Katsura's eyes widened. "You got that impression too?"
"Zura, you knew?"
"I was going to tell you!" replied Katsura quickly. "A clerk asked me today how much I thought the Bakufu would pay for the Tanaka siblings. I told him he should be ashamed of himself for even thinking about it."
Nishiko's heart plummeted. "So it is true," she said weakly.
"No, I can't believe it," Katsura continued. "I admit there's been gossip, but it's more likely they want to keep Nishiko-dono here as leverage against you, Shinsuke."
"Either way, they won't let her go easily, will they?" Takasugi asked Katsura.
Katsura frowned. "You're right. We need an escape plan." His eyes suddenly sparkled. "I have it! All we need is a garbage truck. Once we have the truck, I'll disguise myself as a garbage collector, and then when I go to pick up the garbage from this building, Nishiko-dono will be waiting in one of the trash cans, and . . ."
"How do I get in the trash can in the first place?" asked Nishiko.
"Why are you even humouring his nonsense?" Takasugi snapped at her. "It's obvious he won't have a useful plan"
"Or you could leave her with me while you go meet with the council," Katsura offered. "We'll tell the guards we're going to relax and play a game of UNO. Then, the moment we're alone, we'll sneak out of the building and make our way back to the Kiheitai headquarters."
Takasugi stared at Katsura. "That could work," he said.
"I'll need some garbage collector uniforms for throwing off the pursuit while we make our way across town," Katsura mused.
"Forget the garbage men bit. The rest of the plan's good."
"It's not garbage men. It's garbage collectors."
The door opened again, admitting Maeda and Nakamura together. "Takasugi-san, have you reached a decision?" Maeda asked him.
Takasugi bowed. "Yes, I was too hasty in my reactions. Please forgive me."
Nakamura looked astonished. Maeda smiled.
"I am going to get some tea for Nishiko-dono," said Katsura. "And then we need to play a game of UNO. We've got so much to catch up on."
"Katsura-san, you can't monopolize Nishiko-san," Nakamura objected. "I would like to talk to her myself."
"Can you spare us a half hour?" Katsura asked. "It's been so long since we were together."
"Weren't you with each other just yesterday?" asked Maeda drily.
"A day feels like a lifetime when we're apart," said Katsura, giving Nishiko a longing look. "We have so few of these precious moments together. Alone." He sighed deeply.
Takasugi's right eye was twitching, and Nishiko was trying to suppress the laughter that was building up inside her. Katsura's impression of an ardent young lover seemed to move Nakamura, however.
"Uh.. of course, Katsura-san," he said. "Half an hour is no trouble at all."
Nishiko decided to join in. "I can't tell you how grateful I am for this, Nakamura-dono!"
Takasugi coughed. "I see I'm an unwelcome interloper here, Katsura. I'll leave you two together. Maeda-dono, will you show me to the meeting room?"
Katsura reached out and took Nishiko's hand, and within seconds, the room was cleared.
"You were fantastic!" Nishiko told him, as he let go of her hand.
"You played along perfectly, Nishiko-dono. I don't think we should leave by the front door. We could climb out one of the side windows. I don't suppose there really would be a garbage truck parked near here . . . "
"Let's go!" ordered Nishiko.
Author's Notes: Next chapter: actually I'm a bit afraid to say what'll happen next chapter, since it never does seem to happen on schedule. I mean, this chapter was supposed to have Gintoki setting off for ice-cream. So um... next chapter, Gintoki sets off looking for ice-cream. And all this political stuff will be settled. It actually is leading somewhere other than Takasugi having a mental break-down.
This chapter took a horribly long time to get done. My laptop was out of action for a while, my real life was insanely busy, and then I got sick. I seem to be back in the flow of writing, so I'm crossing my fingers that next chapter will come much more quickly.
Please review if you've read this far, if only to drop a note that you're reading.
Murayama-Tsuru: Don't worry. Maeda isn't a historical character, though there were definitely Choshu officials with that surname. When I need to name an OC, I use very common surnames, making sure they're regionally appropriate.
The Denshi Jisho dictionary site, which is a Godsend for me because I don't know any Japanese at all and yet love playing about with languages, lists Tanaka as most commonly 田中. Nishiko, as in a girl's name, is listed as 錦子 or 仁志子 , and Nishiko, as in a surname, as 西子. I studied French, Spanish, and Latin in school, and those were hard enough. Anyone learning Japanese has my huge respect.
FlamingLexus: Thanks so much. I've had a fun time working out details, and my Google search history is probably pretty weird, particularly stuff that has to do with Nishiko's medical work. I worked out the plot pretty thoroughly before I started posting, and there's lots I look forward to writing.
ScotSniper: Katsura's definitely still carrying his deck of UNO cards around, though he didn't get to play them in this chapter. At least he got to enjoy himself acting out a dramatic part, and contemplating garbage collector cosplay.
It can be either Jōi or Joui. It's a transliteration issue, where the same 'long o' sound has variously been transcribed as "ō" or "ou". Since "ō" isn't terribly easy to type, it becomes an ordinary "o" in a lot of people's typing, hence 'Joi'. Gintama fandom is fairly inconsistent in which way it's written. I use 'ou's more often just because that's how I first saw the Shinsengumi names written in Hakuouki fandom, and I got used to them that way.
Xsayuriuchiha: The Joui trio are getting along worse and worse as they go along, I'm afraid. Next chapter is going to be pretty brutal on the Katsura-Takasugi front.
The quote from Yoshida Shoin at the beginning of this chapter can be found at yoshidashoin dot wordpress dot com /2012 /04/ 09/ a-samurai (this site doesn't allow me to type the address properly)