Over twelve hours had passed, and every time Hijikata returned to his room, he found Muzai to be sleeping. With nothing else to do, the man decided to go to sleep, and give her a ride home in the morning. Once the man finished eating dinner and returned to his room, he saw that nothing had changed. His room was silent and the woman was peacefully resting. The vice commander lit a cigarette as he set up his futon and contemplated the events of the day. In the tape Muzai had made, she mentioned a man by the name of Yoshi. He needed to find that man. On top of that, the Shinsengumi was in the middle of identifying as many people as they could. Remains were their only clues, of course. Everything from teeth to bones, DNA; it was all being gathered.

Hijikata ran the process through his mind as he spread sheets over his futon. A bit of movement caught his attention, and the raven haired man glanced at Muzai as he paused to take a drag of his cigarette. She wasn't awake. Instead, the woman was just moving in a small attempt at stretching. She was still laying on her stomach, with her hand on the pillow; as if she hadn't moved all day. It didn't seem like she had; she had been too lazy to crawl under the covers. All Muzai had done was lay down. Hijikata had wondered if he should do something, like pull the covers over her, but then again, he didn't care. Maybe she didn't want the covers, or maybe she was hot. Either way, it was none of his business.

The vice commander walked to his closet to get a change of clothes. He wouldn't sleep in his uniform. Though it seemed annoying, he would have to leave the room to change. Just because Kondo was an idiot, and wanted his new "daughter" to stay. As Hijikata pulled a pair of comfortable pants from his mass of uniforms and the few pairs of regular clothes he had. The woman behind him moved again, and he wondered if she was waking up. If so, he would probably end up giving her a ride to, well, wherever the hell she lived. Glancing over his shoulder, the vice commander found that Muzai was moving in ways that he didn't like. Not exactly, at least.

She had turned onto her back, and from the looks of things, Yamazaki's yukata was coming loose. Wide eyed, Hijikata watched as the woman bent her leg, and the blue yukata threatened to prove useless. The V of her neck had been elongated, as if it had been pulled during one of her motions, and the vice commander wondered what he should do. One thing he definitely couldn't do was just stand there and watch like some sort of pervert. When Muzai started to move again, he saw disaster brewing. The robe was slowly yet surely sliding down her chest. What the hell was wrong with that woman? How was it even possible to be such a messy sleeper? A warm season was not enough of an excuse for something like whatever she was doing to be okay. The cigarette in the vice commander's mouth slumped as the corners of his lips fell. He had to be strong. Kondo was counting on him to watch the woman, but Hijikata was sure that this wasn't what the commander meant.

Quickly hopping to the woman's side, Hijikata started pulling her yukata shut, and straightening her clothes. Muzai didn't even stir, and he was thankful. This wouldn't exactly look right; especially when paired with his burning face. When the man was satisfied with her decency, he released a sigh of relief. That was close. Too close. He had tightened the yukata neckline as high as it would go, and pulled the fabric around her legs closed. She was one hundred percent decent now. Hijikata could rest easy; knowing that nothing weird was happening in his room. As the man pulled his cigarette from his lips, a line of ashes fell from the end. He hadn't noticed the most of the smoke had burned down, but that wasn't his main concern. The ashes fell on Muzai's chest. Shit. He couldn't just wipe them away!

Internally panicking, Hijikata tried to think of a solution. If he left them, she would know that he had done something while she was sleeping. The ashes would smudge on her robe, and there would be proof that he had been near her. Hijikata had to dispose of the evidence. Intensely staring at the line of broken ashes, the vice commander tried to devise a plan. If he tried to wipe them, the ashes would break and leave a white mark in their wake. And her chest was there. He couldn't possibly put his hand there. Tightening his jaw, Hijikata kept his eyes on the ashes. It was like looking at her chest, but he wasn't being like that. Really; he wasn't a pervert.

A course of action presented itself to the man, and he eyed Muzai's chest. Him against the ashes from hell. The cigarette in his hand had gone out. He had waited too long; staring instead of smoking. From where he was squatting beside the sleeping woman, Hijikata started to blow towards her chest. A few of the smaller ashes flew away, but the main portion remained. The man started to blow harder, but Muzai turned her head. Immediately stopping, Hijikata fixed his alarmed gaze on her. She would wake up if he wasn't careful. He had to be quiet and discreet. Inching closer, the vice commander cautiously directed a weak, silent stream of breath towards the ashes. Nothing. They didn't even move. Damn it, he had to get closer!

A second was spent studying the woman, and when she didn't move, Hijikata scowled. Those ashes were going down. Literally. He was going to blow them away, and everything would be fine. The vice commander leaned towards Muzai once more, and glared at his opponent. He was inches away; the ashes didn't stand a chance. The man aimed a low, steady stream of air towards the ashes, and they threatened to roll to the side, yet didn't even turn over. Growing anxious and aggravated, Hijikata could take no more. He loudly blew the ashes away, and for a second he thought victory was his. He thought that nothing would happen, and that he would get away without being noticed. When he saw the ashes slip away, his head had automatically voiced the word "Safe!", as if he had just completed a home run.

But the man was wrong. So horribly wrong. He had completely overlooked the fact that he was indeed blowing on Muzai's chest, and the room was sweltering. Apparently, his breath had the effect of a cool evening breeze, or something among those lines, because the sleeping idiot beside him seemed to want more. Not in a dirty sense, it seemed completely innocent, but the outcome remained the same no matter how he looked at it. Muzai moved, and slipped her fingers under the neckline of her yukata before tugging the robe open once more. It was an unexpected reaction, and Hijikata stared (wide eyed), as the fabric slid open just a few inches away from him. She was not fully exposed, but just a few more slacked inches would have killed him.

How did this even happen? All Hijikata wanted to do was change. Maybe take a shower before he went to sleep, and have a good dream. He was positive that he had done nothing to deserve this. Now he was inches away from a nearly bare chest; watching it rise and fall with each of Muzai's captivating breaths. He didn't even know the woman, and here he was, ogling her as she slept. But he wasn't being perverted. He wasn't doing anything bad! This was all her fault; for being a horrible sleeper!

The vice commander's face grew long, and he felt as though he had been incinerated. She had to be doing this on purpose. This was a prank, she had teamed up with Sougo; to make his life miserable. Glancing up at the woman, Hijikata found her to be peacefully sleeping. Muzai's lips were slightly parted, and barely moved as if she had just silently spoken in her sleep. She was blissfully unaware of his torment. A sudden head rush met the vice commander, and he pinched his nose. Turning away, Hijikata tried to sway the approaching nosebleed. It had already arrived. He had to stop himself. Uh, Kondo with whipped cream over his crotch and a mysterious cherry. Dead bodies, fat people falling over, slow motion crying face. It wasn't working; nothing was working!

Hijikata quickly pushed himself to his feet, and took care to grab his change of clothes. Apparently, his footsteps were a bit too loud, because Muzai started to stir. The woman let out a loud sigh, and started to turn onto her side. Freezing, Hijikata glanced at her over his shoulder. Had he been caught? Muzai sat up, and her eyes remained closed as she brought her fists to them. The woman rubbed away her sleep; providing the perfect opportunity for Hijikata to regain his composure, and widen the distance between them. By the time she finished wiping her eyes, Hijikata was on the other side of the room.

He had planned to calm himself down, but it was a difficult task to accomplish when Muzai's yukata had slipped down her shoulders. She wasn't fully exposed, but that wasn't the point. All Hijikata saw was top-boob. He stared at the woman; trying to maintain a cool demeanour, yet positivethat he was failing.

"Good morning..."

A lazy gaze and expression met the commander, and he tore his eyes from Muzai's chest to respond. She had actually spoken. But this wasn't the time to focus on something like that. Or... Was it?
"G- Good morning yourself..." The man muttered. As Muzai covered her mouth and yawned, Hijikata averted his gaze. Hadn't he ogled her enough for one day? More like a life time. This was so obviously wrong. Clearly, his reaction made him seem like a starved teenager, or something among those lines. Muzai started to stretch, but the vice commander had seen enough.

"Be a little more aware of yourself!"

Frowning, Muzai fixed her gaze on Hijikata. Though she hadn't noticed it before, the man had flushed a deep shade of scarlet. It took a moment for her to realize what he was talking about Hijikata was glaring at her, yet not exactly at her. Glancing down, Muzai was met with her own chest; peeking out from under the yukata she had been given. As she placed a hand to her collar to readjust her clothes, the woman brought her opposite hand to her lips. She started to giggle, as if nothing was wrong with what she had done, and Hijikata scowled.

"Pervert. If it was so bad, why were you staring?"
The moment Hijikata heard the words, and saw the stupidly lighthearted expression Muzai had donned, he was immediately defensive.

"Pervert? You're the one that was tearing your clothes off! If anything you're the pervert!" A small frown creased Muzai's brow as he spoke, yet before they could continue his door opened. Kondo and Yamazaki stood in the entrance, both donning equally alarmed expressions.
"Toushi, are you okay?" Kondo was the first to speak, and Hijikata muttered the word "yeah" before glancing at Yamazaki. The spy was staring at Muzai as she adjusted her clothes, and it didn't take long for the commander to catch on either. When Kondo's eyes focused on Muzai, the man glared at Hijikata.

"Toushi! What were you doing to her?! What were you doing in here with my little girl?!" The commander demanded the information, and Hijikata shook his head. Before he could find an answer, Kondo continued.
"I trusted you to take care of her! Not teach her dirty things!"
The words almost appalled Hijikata, possibly because he had been trying his best to not even look at Muzai, but she had been demanding his attention. In her sleep. It wasn't his fault. Loudly sighing, Hijikata tried to think of the best thing to say, but Kondo seemed to have been kicked into overdrive. He quickly turned to Muzai, and increased Hijikata's discomfort. Yamazaki was still staring at Muzai as well, only taking a few seconds to flick his eyes between the commander and Hijikata.

"Did the bad man touch you?! You can tell me! I'm a cop!"

Frowning, Muzai tilted her head. It was unknown, whether she would respond or not, but Hijikata would.
"Damn it Kondo, so am I!" The vice commander took a step backwards as if it would prove his innocence, but Yamazaki was the first to respond. Apparently, the spy had not been undated on Muzai's new title. He hadn't received the memo. Not that there was an actual written memo, but Hijikata expected such ridiculous news to travel quickly.

"Little girl?" He asked, but Kondo didn't take the time to explain himself. He quickly grabbed Hijikata, pushed him into Yamazaki and shoved the pair out of the room before closing the door.

A/N: Haha, tension is the best. So, I didn't expect to write another chapter like this so soon, but this is what my brain insisted on and it existed in there. Now, it's on the internet. Yep.
Hope everybody enjoyed this chapter,and that the wait wasn't too long :)