Searching for Paradise

Act Eleven

Getting away from Soujiro was easy. She waited until he was explaining something to her to take the liberty of leaving. He shouldn't mind, it wasn't like she was actually interested in anything he had to share with her! She wasn't here to learn a lesson in history; she was here to win over her one true love. The person that meant more to her than anyone ever had.

Hitomi, through the directions of fellow Shinsengumi members, learned his room was once a closet. It was easy to find, task one complete. Hiromi entered the darkened room with ease and quietly shut the door behind herself. She peered into the room while her eyes adjusted to the darkness.

The closet was small, too small for any man to be sleeping in. How did he do it? He was more perfect than she originally thought! She could just squeal with girlish delight if she allowed her mind to wander any further.

As her eyes adjusted, Hitomi saw a strange square object on the ground. It was a tiny wooden box. This aroused her child-like curiosity and she approached it without second thought. Once close enough, she bent down to her knees and wrapped her hands around the box.

"What is it?" She asked herself.

Without any hesitation, she pulled open the lid on the small box. A small pop sound let her know she was successful and with that done, she placed the lid on the floor. A musty sent filled her nostrils seconds after opening the box, it seemed that this box was older than it appeared. Hitomi continued in any event, she peered down into the box to see a single object at the bottom.

It was a beautiful white hair comb. A small painting of a cherry blossom added to the elegance of the comb and made Hitomi gush. She stuck out her fingers and reached down into the box to get the comb. Her fingers touched the cool surface of the comb and she shivered.

"What a stunning comb." Hitomi whispered to herself as she pulled the object from the box. "It must belong to a beautiful woman."

She didn't think twice about lifting the comb to her head. She gently pushed the teeth of the comb into her red hair. With a single stroke, she pulled the comb through her strands of crimson hair. Ah, it was enough to make her blush! What a treasure!

Just after placing the comb in her hair, the sound of a slamming door made her jump. She flinched and let out a small squeal before turning her chin over her shoulder. She looked up to see the figure of a man standing before her. She gasped as the figure came closer to her.

"What are you doing in my room?" The voice shouted out, causing her to flinch once again. "And what are you doing with my comb?"

Hitomi felt the sensation of fear spread throughout her body. She was frozen with fear. But then as the light from the hall entered the closet, Hitomi felt her fear beginning to fade away. This man, it was not just a man, he was thee man she had been longing for. The reason she had come to the Shinsengumi in the first place.

"Katsuke!" She burst into tears as she flew into Katsuke's arms.

"Who the hell are you!" Katsuke shouted in reply.

"Katsuke! You're here, right before my eyes!" She felt more tears fly from her eyes as she nuzzled her face deeper into his chest.

"You're crazy!" Katsuke barked as he placed his hands on her shoulders and proceeded to push her away.

Hitomi felt her grip on her love give way. Her fingers released the fabric of Katsuke's clothes and she felt her body depart from his. She next felt the sensation of weight on her backside. She had fallen backward onto the floor but she refused to let her feelings stray. After all, she was in the presence of her true love.

"Give me back my comb, you hag!"

The male then lunged at Hitomi. He wrapped his fingers around the delicate, white comb that laid in her red hair. With one swift tug, he ripped the comb from her scalp and pressed the comb into his own chest.

"Don't EVER touch my stuff again!" He snapped. "Keep your ugly crimson hair away from my comb!"

"Katsuke," She pleaded, "Forgive me."

"And how did you know which room was mine?" Katsuke curled his nose in disgust.

"Three young men directed me here," Hitomi answered in the sweetest voice she could produce. "A tall one, a scrawny one and a short one."

"I should have guessed." He let out a loud groan. "Figures." He spoke again, now his voice more subdued and calm. "What do you want?"

"Katsuke it's me!" More tears flew from Hitomi's eyes. "The woman from Shimabara!"

"I think I remember you." Katsuke lifted his index finger to his lip.

"Oh, Katsuke!" Hitomi jumped to her feet and launched herself into the boy's chest. "I love you!"

"What?" He let out a loud scream.

"Katsuke," She said as she drove her nose deeper into her beloved's chest. "I want to spend the rest of my life with you!"

XoXoX

"She's gone?"

Yamanami flinched to the sound of Hijikata's shouting voice. Ah, it wasn't everyday something made the demon commander this flustered. Then again, losing the female housemaid applicant wasn't something that happened everyday. It still made him scared for Souji, nonetheless.

"She was here one minute, then POOF!" Souji waved his arms in the air. "She was gone!"

"Great." Hijikata grunted before slapping his right cheek with his open palm.

"What's to worry about, Toshi?" Kondo asked with a wide smile. "Its just a young girl, what harm could she cause?"

"She could cause a lot of problems, if she's a spy." The vice commander removed his hand from his face before shooting a glare at his older friend.

"She doesn't seem suspicious," Yamanami was quick to jump into the conversation with his thoughts on the matter. "She says she wants to quit her job at Shimabara."

"That makes her even more odd," Hijikata turned his glare over to him. "Why would a good-looking female quit her high-paying job at Shimabara to work here as a maid?"

Yamanami felt his heart stop. That was true. He hadn't put much thought into why Hitomi had wanted to quit her job at Shimabara, he only was lead on her word that she wanted to quit. It did sound a bit off, now that Hijikata had explained himself.

"She must have another reason." He said in a low voice.

"Well, I'm willing to hear it," Hijikata cleared his throat mid sentence, "I want to evaluate her for myself."

"Sounds like a good plan." Kondo nodded. "After all, if she comes out clean, we could really use the help around here."

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Kondo." The demon snipped.

"Toshi," Kondo's eyebrows lowered over his eyes and he pouted his lower lip. "You know we're going to need more help around here, now that Ayumu is going out on more missions. What if something were to happen to her? We need someone to cover for her."

It seemed as if someone was reading his mind, "Can't argue with that." Yamanami added.

"Ugh." Hijikata shook his head from side to side. "Souji," He then let his eyes dart upward toward the youngest male. "Go find her and bring her back."

"Yes sir." The legendary swordsman said with a quick bow.

Why did this feel all wrong?

XoXoX

Oh why did her true love have to throw her out of his room like that? Wasn't she worthy of his love and attention? She had tried her best to look good for him on this day and made his job easier by appearing in his room for him, so why did he reject her? Ah, it only added to the mystery of her true love! It was just too romantic!

Hitomi let her feet drag on the wooden floor of the dojo. She lifted her chin into the air and stared at the ceiling above her. Ah, she wondered how many fights her beloved had fought in this very room. Oh how she adored him, he was her perfect dream husband. If only they could spend more time together! She had to get this job! It was the only way they could be together forever…

"Are you all right?"

Hitomi jumped. That voice, where was it coming from? Hitomi jerked her head over her shoulder and looked left, then right. After seeing no one by her side, she allowed her eyes to dart downward. There stood a small redheaded boy. His puffy cheeks and wide eyes were just too cute, what was a young lad like this doing here?

"Oh, hello." She shut her eyes and let a warm smile spread across her cheeks. "What's your name, little boy?" She asked as turned around to fully face him. "My name is Hitomi."

"Little?" The redhead twitched.

"Go on," Hitomi released a girlish giggle. "What's your name? Can't you talk?"

"Of course I can!" The boy shouted at Hitomi. "My name is Tetsunosuke!"

"Ah," She allowed her eyes to flutter open. "What a cute little guy."

"Quit callin' me that!" Tetsunosuke snarled as he lifted his balled fist into the air.

"How adorable." She gushed. "Where's your Mama and Papa?"

"Ugh!" The boy threw his arms into the air before groaning. "What are you doing here anyway? Don't you work at Shimabara?"

Hitomi froze. Wait, how did he know that? She batted her lashes and cocked a single brow in confusion. There was no way this youngster was a costumer of Shimabara, he was hardly old enough to be staying in the Shinsengumi!

"How did you…"

"I've seen you there before." Tetsunosuke took the liberty of answering her question before she had finished asking.

"Ah." She wasn't going to argue with him. "Hey kid," It was time for a quick subject change. "Do you know anyone by the name of Nakamura?"

"Nakamura?" He repeated. "You mean Katsuke?"

Hitomi felt her heart jump. Ah! This was exactly what she needed to hear! This kid, this boy, must know the great Katsuke Nakamura and soon, he would lead her to her beloved! Then they could begin their romance. Perhaps they would run away together? Start a family of their very own? Ah! It gave her goosebumps just thinking about it!

"Katsuke? Of course we know him!"

That voice, it didn't belong to Tetsunosuke. Hitomi felt her back arch as her ears followed the sound of an older man's voice. As she turned three familiar faces came into view. Ah, these were the three men that had helped her before when finding Katsuke's room. Hitomi watched as the tallest and largest man approached Tetsunosuke and began to pat him on the head.

"Hey there, pup."

"Sanosuke, don't call me that!" Tetsunosuke was quick to bark back.

"Its hard no to, when you're so cute! Just like a puppy-dog!" The scrawny man approached next and jumped in quickly to tease the redhead.

"He even growls like one!" The shortest male added.

"Heisuke, Shinpachi!" Tetsunosuke began to grind his teeth in an effort to contain his anger. "What do you three want?"

"Well," Sanosuke released his hand from Tetsunosuke's head. "We were just passin' by and we happened to hear Katsuke's name."

"Yeah," Shinpachi chimed in. "We wanted to see if he was in more trouble than usual!"

Hitomi felt her own anger beginning to build. Were they just going to completely ignore her? How rude! After all, she was the only lady in the room! She wrapped her arms over her bust and pouted her bottom lip; there was no way she was going to let these men get away with being rude. She was here for a reason, for her mission, and she was not going home empty handed.

"Excuse me!"

She spoke loud enough to grab the men's attention. They all turned to face her with odd looks on their faces. Ah, it was just the reaction she wanted.

"I was asking the kid a question, if you don't mind." Hitomi continued. "Now, who here knows Katsuke Nakamura?"

"Of course we do." Heisuke managed to crack a smile in the midst of the awkward moment.

"Good," Hitomi gave a quick head nod. "Now, is he single?"

She felt the room go into an eerie silence. She had asked a simple question, right? So what was with the sudden silence? Hitomi looked into the men's four blank faces and arched her right brow. She parted her lips to speak only to have the sound of the four men breaking out into a loud laugh cut her off. She felt her frustration level rise to a new level as the three older men began to slap their knees and tear up from their laughing fit.

"What's so funny about that?" A deep blush rose to her cheeks.

"It's just…" Shinpachi managed to speak between snorts. "HIM! He's such a loser!"

"Yeah!" Sanosuke brought his index finger to his eye and wiped away any moisture budding in the corner of his eye. "You could have almost anyone you want! Why him?"

"He's a bit odd, isn't he?" Heisuke panted after his laughs calmed down.

"This is why I hate most men!" Hitomi's ears felt lighter as the sound of laughing in the dojo faded. Had her new comment struck a new nerve? She released her folded arms from her chest and opened her eyes to see the men had stopped all laughter at the sight of Soujiro.

"Not all men are like them." He said with a delicate smile.

"Soujiro!" Her jaw dropped with surprise.

"You gave me quite the scare today," He explained as he came close to the group. "I've been looking everywhere for you."

Hitomi felt second round of blush appear on her cheeks. She sunk her chin into her neck before replying in a small voice, "I'm sorry about that."

"The three commanders want to speak with you." Soujiro said in a smooth voice.

"Oh!" She slapped both of her cheeks with her hands. "I'll come right away! I was just…looking for someone…"

"Katsuke?" The man with purple hair tilted his head to the left.

"So you heard!" Shinpachi was quick to give Soujiro a quick elbow to the side.

"What's so funny about that?" She puffed both of her cheeks up and poked out her red bottom lip. "He's the man of my dreams!"

Heisuke leaned into Sanosuke and whispered, "That's putting 'man' lightly."

Her ear twitched to the sound of Heisuke's voice. Before she could respond, the group of three men broke out into a roar of laughter, leaving her to groaned to herself. Ugh, men, why did they have to be like this?

"Oh, so you're still here!"

Hitomi felt her eyes snap open. The voice she was hearing, it wasn't just anyone's voice, it was the voice of her soulmate. The butterflies in her belly began to soar while her heart's beat picked up in speed. Ah, hearing his voice was better than any melody, it was hypnotizing. She whirled around to see Katsuke Nakamura standing behind her. Her eyes softened and her lips parted. "Katsuke!"

Before he could say or make his next move, Hitomi jumped at him with full force. She was sure to wrap her delicate arms around his waist as she nuzzled her face into his flat chest. She cooed as she inhaled a deeply and took in his scent.

"Katsuke!" She released a girlish giggle as she tightened her grip. "I've been waiting for you!"

She felt the warm sensation of Katsuke's hands on her shoulders. Before she could respond, the pressure that was applied by his hands disappeared, leaving her to feel her body detach from her love. The force from the older boy was so strong it caused Hitomi to topple backward, onto the floor.

"Get off me!"

After her bottom had hit the floor, Hitomi opened her eyes to see her beloved standing over her with a scowl on his face. She could hear sounds of the other men behind her making comments at him but she ignored them. She only wanted to hear Katsuke; he was the only person that mattered.

"Katsuke!" Tetsunosuke shouted from the back. "You can't push around girls!"

"She insists on hanging on me!" He crossed his arms over his chest. "It's annoying!"

"That's no way to treat a woman." Sanosuke huffed.

Hitomi watched as Soujiro approached her side. He bent down to her level and extended his pale hand to her. "I'll help you, come on."

She placed her hand into his and waited for him to help her upward. Once on her feet Hitomi placed her hands in front of her chest and sent Katsuke her best 'puppy-dog eyes'. She poked out her lips and forced a blush to make herself appear more pleasing. He couldn't deny her, not after this trick!

"What did I ever do to deserve this?" Katsuke moaned as he lifted his hand to his head and ran his fingers through his brown hair. "Why do you love me, anyway?"

"You want to know why?" She shut her eyes and whispered in a soft voice. "You want to know the love story between the two of us?"

"Please go on." Shinpachi grinned.

"I believe that's what I asked." Katsuke snuffed, his eyes darting off in a different direction.

"Well," She was sure to clear her throat before starting her story, "We met at Shimabara. On that exact day, I was going to begin my career, we were scheduled to date that night."

"Ooh, this gonna be good, I can tell." Sanosuke leaned in to Heisuke and whispered.

"But," Her eyes fluttered open. "He refused me."

"Hey!" Heisuke's arm shot into the air, grabbing everyone's attention. "I remember that night! You ran off, like a scared DOG!"

"I recall that too!" Shinpachi broke out into a loud fit of laughter.

"Hey," Sanosuke took a moment between giggles to make his comment, "Yamanami was there too, I bet he remembers!"

"Shut up!" Katsuke balled his fist and began to wave it back and forth at the three laughing men.

The woman with the red hair felt her eyebrow twitch. What was this, a social event? No! This was her story and they were going to listen, whether they liked it or not! "Hey!" She snapped at the men to gather their attention. "Are you going to listen or not?"

Hitomi watched as the men settled down and turned to her. She could safely assume they were all ears, by the looks on their faces. She cleared her throat for a second time before continuing. This was her story and she had to tell it just right.

"He refused me. That's the one thing no man has ever done to me, refuse me." She explained in a small, smooth tone as her eyes shut. "Every man I have to date takes me without hesitation and I find it disgusting but…Katsuke…" Her hands rested flat over her small bust and took in a short breath of air. "The fact that he doesn't want me makes me want him. Am I strange?"

"Very."

Hitomi's eyes cracked open with shock. Her jaw hung open and she directed her vision to her love. He stood there with his arms crossed over his chest and both cheeks puffed out. His eyebrows hung heavy over his eyes and he presented the worst frown she had ever seen.

"Katsuke!" Tetsunosuke jumped to Hitomi's defense. "Don't-"

"Oh, Katsuke!" She lunged at Katsuke for a second time. "Marry me!"

"Is it just me," Sanosuke leaned into his two partners in crime. "Or is this very, very wrong?"

Soujiro lifted both hands in front of his face and clapped them together in a delightful manner. "This is going to be fun!"

Act End.