Chapter 21

"That was one of the saddest things about people—their most important thoughts and feelings often went unspoken and barely understood." ― Alexandra Adornetto,Halo

I couldn't sleep. At all.

I spent the first couple of hours rolling around in an attempt to get comfortable but all that did was work my blanket into a knot around my legs. Then, I stopped turning in hopes that I would just drift asleep. Obviously, I should have untied the knot around my legs first because it made my legs unbearably sticky with sweat.

I huffed in agitation before I shot up on my futon and angrily kicked the blanket away, only to grow more frustrated as the blanket refused to let go of my leg like a bloody leech. Giving the stupid blanket a final kick, granted just a tad bit too hard, the blanket finally flew off and landed in a messy heap on the floor.

I had enough of this. I needed a walk.

I rolled off of my futon in a very unladylike manner and slammed my bedroom door open. I was greeted with a blast of cold air, something very typical on a night in late February. It still caught me by surprise and I was immediately reduced to a mess of shivers. The sweat on my legs definitely didn't help me keep my body warm. I turned back around.

Walk? Yes.

Cold? No.

I needed a hanten[1]. However, my stupid evil blanket decided to stand in my way as I went to fetch the extra layer of clothing. I didn't even make it one step before tripping on the stupid thing and landing on my face with a loud thump.

Then I decided it was a wonderful thing to not have to share my room with anyone, especially any of the men.

I would have died from embarrassment if someone witnessed me tripping so ungracefully. The lower part of my sleeping robe opened up slightly when I fell, revealing my koshimaki[2], which had bunched up around my hips. Basically, if there was anyone nearby, they would have gotten a healthy glimpse of my lady parts.

I hastily shot up again and gave the blanket another kick as I muttered curse words and threats at the inanimate object like a mad woman before I stomped out my room. Forget about fetching a hanten. I didn't absolutely need to stay warm.

However, when I stomped around the corner of the house, I paused. Why did I even come out here? True, I couldn't sleep but I hated the cold and it wasn't like walking around in the cold was going to make me sleepy enough to pass out the moment I returned to the room. If anything, the cold just made it more impossible for me to fall asleep.

I slapped my own forehead for my own stupidity before groaning like a wounded animal. I honestly shouldn't even get annoyed at Souji and Hijikata-san anymore for saying that I had bouts of stupid because of how true it was.

"Shizu-chan?"

I jumped in fright at the sudden voice before spinning around to find Otou-san staring at me in confusion with Hijikata-san as they sat together on the roka. There was a small platter sitting between the two men with a cup of hot tea and a manjū bun for each man. The two men had obviously been sitting there for a while now.

How I managed to stalk past them without even noticing them, I don't know.

"Is everything alright?" Otou-san asked, tilting his head as he peered at me curiously.

Hijikata-san did the same before letting out an amused sigh. He then took a manjū bun from the platter and took a bite out of it before scooting over. As he swallowed, he patted the space he vacated earlier, telling me to sit down beside him wordlessly.

I did exactly what he told me to without much thought.

"Out doing stupid things because you can't sleep?" Hijikata-san asked a fond smile. For a moment, the look in his eye gained a faraway look. He was undoubtedly reminiscing about similar past events at Shieikan.

I nodded mutely before looking down at the cups sitting on the platter. There were only two, one for Otou-san and the other for Hijikata-san. They were obviously having some alone male bonding time before I interrupted it. Otou-san, however, misinterpreted my action when I stared down at the platter.

"Oh!" Otou-san exclaimed before smiling at me. "If you want my manjū bun, then go ahead and take it. Anything for my sweet little daughter." He had assumed that I was staring at the sweet snack that he had not yet touched.

I shook my head in response and flashed Otou-san a sweet smile at his offer as a courtesy before tilting back, allowing myself to fall onto the roka on my back. "Don't mind me. Like Hijikata-san said, I just couldn't sleep. Pretend I'm not here and go back to talking about what you were before."

Otou-san laughed fondly at my words, since my words were nothing he hadn't heard before, and reached for his cup before taking a sip of his hot beverage. He put the cup down on the roka to his right and looked to Hijikata-san.

"Are you really sure about this?" Otou-san said, carrying on the conversation from before I arrived.

Hijikata-san blinked in confusion as he turned his attention back onto Otou-san. "Am I sure about what?"

Otou-san shifted his gaze his feet. "I'm referring to Serizawa-san."

"Well, in all honesty, I'm amazed that we had to seek help from him." Hijikata-san paused to take another bite out of his manjū bun. "But even I realize that he's the only person we can rely on."

Even though I wasn't really paying that much attention to what the two men were saying, those words that just came out of Hijikata-san's mouth hit me a lot harder than I would like to admit. Serizawa was the only one in the Roshigumi right now with the status and connections to secure a patron and funding for the Roshigumi.

Serizawa, the one that belittled me just because I was a woman.

The one that treated my friends and family lower than trash.

The one that burned down someone else's property because he had been snubbed.

The one that went out drinking every night, accumulating debt on our tab.

The one that who lashed out with destructive behavior anytime he had consumed alcohol.

Serizawa, the one person I genuinely could not stand to be around without wanting to staple his fingers to his face.

Hijikata-san's words left a sour taste in my mouth. I didn't want to rely on that man. I was sure that nothing good would come from Serizawa's continuous influence. I felt like that man would get us the opportunities we needed before dragging us down with him as he spiraled downward from his destructive lifestyle.

I wasn't going to wait for that to happen. He was a threat.

If the Roshigumi needed Serizawa to attract a patron, fine. He would only be around long enough for that. Serizawa was like a tumor and I was no meek woman when push comes to shove. I would remove him when the timing was right.

I closed my eyes and rolled onto my stomach abruptly, incidentally attracting Otou-san's and Hijikata-san's attention, while I was attempting to get up. Unfortunately, I somehow misjudged just how close I really was to the edge of the roka… and tumbled off. I landed on my face for the second time tonight. I didn't bother getting up right away.

What was the point if I kept landing back on my face anyway?

"Shizu-chan?!" Otou-san exclaimed before he fell silent in befuddlement when I didn't get up. He must have turned to Hijikata-san when he said, "Err… Is she asleep? Her eyes were closed when she was rolling… Sometimes I can't tell. She's a bit strange at times."

I heard Hijikata-san sigh before I felt his foot nudging my side. "Shizuka? You alright?" He sounded a bit exasperated.

"I thought the ground looked pretty and wanted a closer look," I responded, sounding as serious as I could since I was not really willing to admit what really happened out loud.

I heard a snort before hands were tucked under my arms and I was lifted off the ground by Hijikata-san. When I was dropped back down on the roka, Otou-san was quick to examine my face for any damage. I, on the other hand, was quick to look away with an embarrassed pout when Otou-san broke out into laughter.

"If you're done, then I'm going to bed," I announced with crossed arms just as Otou-san's laughter died down into just snickers. I was so done with tonight.

"Sorry! Sorry!" Otou-san said through his snickers before rubbing my head fondly like I was still a kid. "You're just so too serious for the situation sometimes. It's endearing."

I didn't really feel like saying anything else, so I just nodded before heading back to my room. I spared them a somewhat petulant wave as a goodnight gesture before walking off completely. And despite hearing them laugh at my attempt to be serious, I smiled. They no longer sounded as tense as they did before when they were talking about the Roshigumi's dire situation. That was good enough.

However, I did lie to them about going to bed. I couldn't go to sleep. Right now was not the time to go to sleep.

Instead, when I got back to my room, I lit the lanterns in my room. I pulled out some writing instruments from my desk and grabbed the stack of blank papers sitting uselessly on my shelves. Wetting the calligraphy brush with the ink, I wrote the words "funds" and "sponsor" in the center of a blank piece of paper before circling them. Then I wrote "Serizawa" slightly off to the side as an afterthought and drew two lines, one line connecting "Serizawa" to "funds" and the other connecting "Serizawa" to "sponsor".

I needed a plan of action. I needed to analyze the situation know what I had to work with.

I wanted to get rid of Serizawa, that was nonnegotiable. But Serizawa, as shown in the diagram I just drew, was also the one that could get us what we needed at the moment. In order to get rid of the man, I had to somehow sever his ability to get what we needed and find a way to not lose what we would gain by keeping him.

I moved the piece of paper so that "Serizawa" was on the center of my desk and drew another line. This time, this line divided the space underneath the man's name in half. The left side was going to be filled with negatives, the right side was benefits. I would focus on the benefits first.

The first obvious benefit of having Serizawa was his connection to the Aizu Domain. He was our only connection to an influential domain in Kyoto. As irritating as it was, without Serizawa, no domain would even look at the Roshigumi, let alone sponsor us. I growled at that realization before moving on to the second benefit.

His status as a well-known samurai would make it easier to collect the funding we so desperately.

I paused before moving to the negative column to jot down my thoughts. Serizawa's way of getting money was by using his high social status to intimidate people into giving him money. He could collect a fair amount of money that way but if he did that in the name of the Roshigumi, the reputation of anyone that was connected to the Roshigumi in any way was going to take a hit, including whoever would end up sponsoring us.

Deciding to continue down the negative column, I then wrote down "behavior". Serizawa had a volatile personality. If people disregarded, angered, or disrespected him, he would act out in the most violent ways. This bad behavior would, yet again, ruin the reputation of anyone associated with the Roshigumi in any way.

And reputation was everything in a culture where death was preferred before dishonor.

I looked back up at the diagram I had drawn before and drew a circle around the line connecting "Serizawa" to "sponsor". This was the one connection I couldn't sever myself. The Roshigumi needed Serizawa to find a sponsor, but that didn't we needed him forever. Once Serizawa obtained a sponsor for the Roshigumi, he would sever that connection himself.

As for the "funding" portion of the diagram, I drew a perforated line across the original line connecting "Serizawa" to "funding". Severing this connection would be far easier. All I had to do was out compete Serizawa in obtaining funding and I had everything I needed to do so. I knew how to perform surgeries with the tools Tsune-san provided me and possessed medical knowledge people would pay heaps for. Plus, there was also the benefit that my methods would be preferred because they were nonviolent, and I could also build a positive reputation with successful surgeries, allowing for more income.

Then a plan came together as I stared at the diagram I marked up. I would take away Serizawa's ability to raise funding by outcompeting him, leaving his only value in his ability to secure a sponsor. Serizawa would then cause his own undoing when he completed that task, losing the only thing that made him valuable. He would then further make himself easy to remove by continuing his bad behavior.

If Serizawa was a useless troublemaker, then he was done for. That combination of traits would prove fatal to anyone and even his high social standing would do little to protect him. Keeping Serizawa around at that point would just be pointless and detrimental to the Roshigumi and removal would be imminent.

Yes, this plan could work, but only if I covered my tracks. Obviously, no man with a brain was going to sit around doing nothing once he realized what was happening. Any smart man would dispose of the poisonous thorn in his side as soon as possible. If I was caught, then game over. To minimize the chance of being caught red-handed, I would have to keep my operation secret from everyone until the time was right. Until I collected so much funding that it would be detrimental for Serizawa to even consider disposing of me.

But the easiest way to get caught, by far, was by leaving freshly written notes out in the open for people to read. So throwing caution to the wind, I burned the diagram.

When dawn arrived, which was actually in just about an hour since producing the plan literally took all night, I quickly dressed for the day and made haste for the kitchen. I wanted to be able to put my plan into action immediately and that involved heading to the city without an escort, something Hijikata-san would never allow me to do for safety reasons. So I intended to sneak out of headquarters before anyone woke up for the day. But I also found that couldn't bring myself to just leave without preparing any breakfast for the guys either.

Working quickly, I cooked some rice, chopped up some pickled vegetables, and make some miso soup for them to reheat later. Then I ran back to my room, grabbed my surgical tools and naginata before I made a quick exit from the Yagi house. The sun was still rising by the time I left. I was long gone before anyone even stirred.

As expected, the streets were still rather empty at the moment. If there was any shuffling of life, it was in the residential areas where people were drawing water from the wells and stirring from sleep. That area smelled incredibly like the scent of freshly cooked rice. The rest of the normally busy streets were still empty with the exception of a few hardworking business owners heading to work early and hungover men making their way home after a fun night.

Seeing how lifeless the city was, I headed towards an open teahouse, which I found surprisingly operated almost like Starbucks, much to my delight, and ordered a cup of hot tea while I waited for the capital city to swing to life again.

Hours passed as I watched the streets from my comfy bench at a teahouse for any potential medical patients. Then in the Hour of the Serpent, I spotted a young boy, probably around eight, lagging behind his friends while playing on the streets. He limped as he ran, never really picking up speed. The result of a broken tibia that never healed properly.

The injury wasn't life-threatening, but it was serious enough in this era. An injury that impeded normal movement of the body would seriously limit what the boy could do in the future career wise. This would be enough for the boy's parents to worry about his future and look for treatment options.

"Takumi!" a woman, boy's mother, suddenly called as she ran out of a nearby shop to reprimand him. "How many times do I have to tell you not to run on that leg? You might make the injury worse!"

"But I want to play with the other kids, Kaa-san! Why don't you ever let me have any fun?" the boy complained. He crossed his arms before averting his gaze when his mother's glare intensified.

"You know you can't afford to have that leg get any worse than it already is."

"It doesn't matter! I'm going to be a merchant like Tou-san is in the future, so why does it matter how well I can walk?"

"With the way inflation is rising right now, the future is uncertain. There is no guarantee that you will be able to become a merchant like your chichi-ue."

I gathered my items as I prepared to approach the woman. They were in the growing merchant class. They likely had money to spend. The perfect first target.

"Umm, excuse me?" I butt in gently just as I pretended to walk by, playing the role of a concerned young woman. "I noticed that your son had difficulty keeping up with the other children due to his injury. Have you had any doctors look at that leg yet?"

The mother looked at me, or more specifically my naginata. She seemed a bit suspicious at first before I won her over with a genuine expression of concern. "Yes, but none of the medication any of the doctors have prescribed have worked." She sighed afterward. "Maybe this injury is just too severe for doctors to fix."

"I wouldn't say so. The doctors just have been trying to fix the leg using the wrong methods."

"Really?" She seemed, rightfully, skeptical but she was hopeful at the same time "Do you know of a doctor that can fix this?"

"I know how to fix the leg. It wouldn't be my first time either." Well, if I counted my previous life.

"You're a doctor?" Her eyes widened before they shot quickly to my naginata once more. "I thought you were the daughter of a samurai because of the naginata you're carrying."

I laughed good naturally just to butter her up some more before leveling a disarming smile her way. "I only have this naginata because a close friend of mine didn't want me in Kyoto without any way of defending myself. I'm nowhere close to having samurai blood in my veins."

"Oh!" The woman perked up and definitely seemed far more friendly now than before. "So how would you fix the leg?"

"Your son's leg never healed properly after he broke it, right?" The woman nodded. "For the leg to heal properly, the bone must be broken again and then held in place by pins to heal straight. It might sound scary, but this operation is rather simple and has minimal risk because of your son's young age."

"You said that you've done this before. Has the operation always been successful?"

"I've never failed once," I stated with pride. "I can perform the same operation if you are willing to pay for my skills and the supplies needed. In fact, if you can purchase all the materials then I could even operate today."

Those words certainly caught her attention. She looked down at her son briefly before looking back at me, then to her family store.

"Why don't you come inside the store so we could discuss the details inside with my husband?" the woman exclaimed after she made up her mind. She was quick to usher me and her son inside. "Come along Takumi, we might just get that leg fixed!"

In the end, the boy's father ended up consenting to the operation near immediately after a short explanation. Both parents were desperate for their son to have a normal life and immediately paid me before going to purchase the needed materials. I operated on the boy's leg that same day.

As I was walking back to the headquarters after the operation, I spotted Ibuki-kun walking back to headquarters while carrying a jar of saké over his shoulders. I wrinkled my nose in disapproval. A sip of alcohol, every once in a while, was good for the body but at the rate Serizawa was drinking, I was surprised he didn't have liver failure yet. But then again, if he ended up with liver failure, I wouldn't be sad to see him go.

Wanting company, I called out to him before jogging to catch up to him. "Ibuki-kun!" I said before tagging him on the shoulder. "Are you heading back now?"

"Wah! It's you!" he cried in surprise, nearly dropping the jar as he jumped like a spooked cat. He then turned to me and shoved his finger in my face rudely. "Where have you been?! Hijikata-san asked Sano, Shinpachi, and Heisuke to look for you while they were out patrolling the streets!"

"Oh," I merely responded with the shrug of my shoulder. He gave me the stink eye before realization dawned on his face and he suddenly panicked.

"Gah!" He jumped again before running ahead to put some distance between us. "I shouldn't even be talking to you! Okita will beat me up again if he knows I've been speaking to you!"

I didn't let him keep that desired distance between us and jogged to catch up to him again. Before he could bolt on me, I grabbed his arm and practically handcuffed myself to him. "Aw, don't be so mean. Let's walk back together."

I sounded annoyingly cheerful when I spoke and it was all for the sake of drawing an amusing reaction out of him. But I was sure that if I reappeared at headquarters with Ibuki-kun then I would most likely not get scolded as much by Hijikata-san. Ibuki-kun, on the other hand, sounded like he was sure he was going to get murdered.

"Ah! Nononono! Don't follow me! Let go!"

"But we're going same way anyways. Besides, think of what Souji would do to you if he found out that you let me walk around Kyoto alone."

Ibuki-kun whimpered at my words and started to drag his feet as he walked, probably believing that he would live longer if he didn't arrive back at headquarters so quickly. "That's so cruel of you…"

When the both of us neared Mibu temple, unsurprisingly we heard the sound of wooden swords clashing with each other. As the Yagi house was somewhat too small to be having multiple people training in the courtyard at the same time, the guys often came to Mibu temple to train. Curious about who were training at the current moment, both Ibuki-kun and I exchanged glances before peeking through the gates.

It was Souji and… Saito-san?

I nearly dropped the items in my hands just to rub my eyes. For a moment, I thought I was just imaging things. I closed my eyes for a few seconds before reopening them. Sure enough, Saito-san still remained.

How did he even track us down?

Ibuki-kun paused to watch the spar with me. Both Souji and Saito-san were facing each other, each as still as stone statues. Then Souji moved first, bringing his bokken above his head and slamming it downwards towards Saito-san only to have it blocked. Saito-san pushed the attack away and Souji quickly shifted into a thrust. Souji's attack missed, allowing Saito-san to counterattack. To dodge the attack, Souji spun out of the way and leaped back to create some space between them.

"Most impressive, Hajime-kun. You don't let a moment's weakness slip by," Souji commented. The smile of wild excitement on his face was one I hadn't seen in a long time.

Both men resumed, attacking each other only to reach another stalemate as the blades locked together. Seeing no way of being able to overpower the other, both men separated and leaped back once again.

"You're still the same as ever. Just the fact you're left-handed makes you all the harder to lunge at."

"And it would seem you've improved upon your suri-ashi[3] side step as well," Saito-san commented as well.

Souji grinned at that complement. "I bet you're going to be unbeatable, even here in Kyoto."

Then they attacked each other again. Saito-san managed to launch two thrusts at Souji before Souji pushed him back. Both sensing that the end of the spar was near, they both brought their wooden swords over their heads for one last powerful strike. However, at the last moment, Saito-san vanished briefly and reappeared by Souji's left. His bokken was touching Souji's side. An expression of disbelief at the hit was present on Souji's face before it faded into one of resignation.

"You got… one in," Souji said with a somewhat strained smile. He was one that could never take defeat well.

Both men then disengaged before bowing respectfully to each other to end the sparring session.

"Hey, Hajime-kun," Souji then said after the bow. "Have you changed the way you lunge? Did you undergo training at a different dojo or something?"

"No, I don't believe I have changed my style."

"Hmm…" Souji didn't seem to believe what Saito-san said but he didn't question Saito-san's answer.

It was at this moment, I dropped the items in my hands by the temple gates and tackled Saito-san with a hug. Both men seemed to be surprised by my sudden appearance and Saito-san, the moment he got over his shock, froze stiff.

"When did you get here? Are you staying with us?" I asked excitedly, bouncing up and down without really releasing Saitou-san. I had missed him.

Instead of answering me, Saito-san just stared at me with wide eyes. He didn't seem to know what to do when a young woman was attached to his side.

"He just got here and he's staying with us," Souji answered me instead when Saito-san remained speechless. He didn't seem too happy to see me attached to Saito-san. "But of course, you would have known if you actually stayed at the Yagi house like you were supposed to." He narrowed his eyes at me as he pried me off of Saito-san. "Where did you go anyways?"

"I was out with Ibuki-kun," I answered faux-innocently to make Souji forget his question before pointing to Ibuki-kun, who was in the middle of sneaking away.

"Oh?" Souji responded with a dark smile as a shadow fell ominously over his face. He sped over to where Ibuki-kun was and forcefully looped an arm around Ibuki-kun's shoulders. "So you decided to take Shizuka with you?"

"N-no! You've got it all wrong!" Ibuki-kun immediately cried in panic before yelling at me. "Don't tell him lies! I don't want to die yet!"

I just merely smiled and waved innocently back at Ibuki-kun. He looked like he was about to break out into tears. This was too much fun.

"So you're calling Shizuka a liar? Both of you did return together." Souji's voice now dripped with venom.

Saito-san just sighed at the whole thing and stared at me through the corner of his eye while I smiled slyly back at him. He was already used to my antics.

"N-no! The only reason we returned together is because we ran into each other outside! I-I didn't want her to walk back by herself because it was dangerous!" Ibuki-kun attempted to explain in a flurry panic as he futilely tried to inch away from his assailant.

"Hmm… well, I guess you did alright." Souji then released Ibuki-kun but the dark shadow remained on his face as he gazed down at Ibuki-kun. "But remember, I'm watching you."

Ibuki-kun ran away from the temple as fast as he could after he was released.

Souji snorted at Ibuki-kun's actions while muttering, "Coward," to himself. He then bent down and picked my fallen objects off the ground before returning to where Saito-san and I were standing.

"So what were you doing?" Souji asked as he raised an eyebrow at me.

So he didn't forget his question. "Hmm… I wonder…"

Souji frowned slightly at my response before practically shoving his face into my personal space as he observed me. "You're not going to tell me?"

I shook my head wordlessly before I attached myself to his arm. He seemed to forgive me for my lack of an answer due to my actions before he pecked the top of my head lightly. Then, at that moment, Saito-san decided to enter the conversation.

"If you were out all day without telling anyone, then we should return to the Yagi house now to put an end to Hijikata-san's worrying," he suggested.

I really wished that I didn't agree to his suggestion right away. Doing so got me whacked.

"Ow!" I cried as Hijikata-san cuffed me on the back of my head with his hand. The moment he saw me walk in the house, he whacked me.

"Just what were you doing? What did I say about leaving the house alone?" Hijikata-san furrowed his brow as he harshly scolded me.

"To not to." I rubbed the spot he hit.

"So care to tell me why you disobeyed?"

"No, not really."

A vein appeared on Hijikata-san forehead at my response before he started pulling on my cheek. "Ho? Care to repeat that?"

"Ouch, ouch, ouch! Let go!" I cried while pulling at his hands, trying to get him to release me.

Otou-san just shook his head at me with a small smile and let Hijikata-san continue to abuse my face. Souji was no help either; all he did was laugh at me before tugging on my other cheek.

"Shizu-chan, you should listen to Toshi," Otou-san said when he was done laughing at me. "He's only looking out for you."

Now with Saito-san rejoining us, dinner was especially lively and I unsurprisingly ended up cooking some extra tofu. Otou-san was especially heartened by Saito-san reappearance. So much so that it bothered Souji.

"Truly, I am excited that you rushed to our aid, Saito-kun. It is most heartening," Otou-san said to Saito-san as we all gathered to eat dinner later that night. "With you here, we're a hundred men stronger."

Souji, who sat next to Saito-san, took a bite of food while looking envious at the praise Saito-san received from Otou-san. I nudged Souji's side and placed an extra sardine from my plate in his bowl to try to cheer him up.

"Sir!" Saito-san replied respectfully to Otou-san's praise.

"With him here, everyone from our Edo days has been reunited," Sannan-san stated before taking another bite. Both Otou-san and Hijikata-san nodded at that statement.

Suddenly, Shinpachi-san perked up like he just realized something before he looked around the room. "What's Ryunosuke up to?"

Ibuki-kun, who usually dined with us was nowhere in sight. His seat was empty and his dinner remained untouched. I furrowed my brow at the empty seat before making a note to myself to bring his food to his room later.

"I told him we're eating," Heisuke answered, "but he said he doesn't want any dinner."

"A moment, Nagakura-kun," Otou-san then cut in

"Yeah?" Shinpachi-san focused his attention back onto Otou-san.

"How was the city?"

"Right, I spotted some ruffians causin' problems here and there."

"It'd probably be best if we avoided going out alone," Sano-san added before giving me a pointed look. I pretended not to notice it as I pushed some more of my own food onto Souji's plate, silently telling Souji to stop picking at his food and eat more. "A rogue samurai could strike us down at any time and the locals won't be of any help."

"I see… This is even worse than I imagined" Otou-san then shot me a stern look too. I couldn't ignore that one and quickly shrunk back and hid behind Souji to escape Otou-san's glance.

Hijikata-san then smiled confidently before nodding at the challenge that presented itself before us.

"Let them bring it on!" Hijikata-san announced charismatically. "Because the locals and the clans aren't up to the task, we've got a chance to make a name for ourselves. You guys came prepared for danger, didn't you? You aren't going to declare you want to go home back in Edo, right?"

I swear that confidence oozed out of every pore of Hijikata-san body when he spoke. The guys also seemed to pick up on that and responded positively to the declaration by letting their wild grins grow on their faces.

Shinpachi-san was the first to respond. "I wouldn't have followed ya all the way to Kyoto if I was going to do that."

"Yeah!" Heisuke then agreed with just as much excitement. "Everyone here formed their resolves ages ago!"

Otou-san then bowed gratefully from his seat position, touched at everyone's words. "This may prove trying, but I hope you will bear with us for a while!"

Souji grinned in response. "Don't even get started, Kondou-san."

"We're used to the poor life!" Heisuke finished cheerfully.

"Like, seriously. Just gettin' miso soup and pickles is a luxury compared to life back at Shieikan," Shinpachi-san finished with a grin. "There were times that Shizuka could only prepare barley rice for us to eat. I'd never been so hungry in my life than the time we were on that diet."

"You said it!" Sano-san agreed.

Everyone laughed cheerfully at that.

The following morning, much to my great displeasure, Hijikata-san was waiting by the front gates. I had no idea when he even started standing by the front gates but it was obvious that he was waiting just for me to attempt to leave headquarters by myself. I had waited, hoping that Hijikata-san would eventually leave the gates unguarded. That never happened. He just seemed to continue standing there tirelessly.

It was now already the Hour of the Dragon and if I didn't leave soon, then I wouldn't have enough time to check on the boy from yesterday or even find a new patient. There was no way I would be able to get out of the headquarters unnoticed today unless I found some way to distract Hijikata-san. I quickly ducked into my hiding spot as Hijikata-san's hawk-like gaze swept over the area where I was once standing.

It was fine by me. If Hijikata-san wanted to play this game, then we'd play. It wouldn't be so hard to draw Hijikata-san away from the front gates. Not if I had a plan.

As soon as Hijikata-san gaze had passed, I hastily made my way to the kitchen, peeking into the other nearby rooms as I passed them to see what I would have to work with. In the unused room to the left of the kitchen were Sano-san and Shinpachi-san. They had a shogi board between them.

I grinned. This was going to be too easily.

Quickly putting on an apron when I arrived in the kitchen, I dusted the front of the apron with flour along with my hands. Once that was done, I returned to the room Sano-san and Shinpachi-san were in.

"Sano-san, Shinpachi-san," I called into the room as I appeared in the doorway. "Otou-san wants to talk to Hijikata-san and Sannan-san. Do you think you guys could go get them? I would go do it myself, but as you can see, I'm busy with making gyōza[4] in the kitchen. I can't leave the unfinished food in the kitchen for too long."

Those two instantly fell for the trick and even looked excited at the mention of the food item. Shinpachi-san looked especially excited, especially when he had to wipe away the drool that had accumulated in the corner of his mouth with his hand.

"Oh, it's been awhile since we ate any gyōza!" Sano-san said in pleasant surprise. "Sure, we'll go get them for you. I'll go get Hijikata-san and Shinpachi will go get Sannan-san."

"Sure thing, princess! Just focus on making those gyōza delicious! Yum! I can just taste them already!"

Someone was going to be very disappointed when he finds out that he's been deceived.

Both men exited the room and I returned to the kitchen to wait for Sano-san to remove Hijikata-san from the front gate. I watched from my hiding spot in a nook in the kitchen as Sano-san approached Hijikata-san.

"Hijikata-san, Kondou-san wants to talk to both you and Sannan-san."

"What about?"

"I'm not sure. Shizuka was originally supposed to go get you, but she's busy in the kitchen. She doesn't want to leave the food unsupervised. She's making gyōza today."

"Oh! It's been awhile since she made any gyōza for us. Well then, I guess I didn't need to guard the front gate after all. If Shizuka's busy in the kitchen, then that must mean she wasn't planning on sneaking out today. Well, I better go see what Kondou-san wants to talk about."

I got out of my hiding place and ditched the apron as soon as both Sano-san and Hijikata-san entered the main building, leaving the front gate unguarded. I quickly snatched my naginata and surgical tools that were leaning against the kitchen wall and made a dash for freedom.

I made sure to apologize to them in mentally before I was out the front gates.

However, while I did make it out of headquarters, I actually didn't make it really far. I didn't even make it down the block before I was caught. But Hijikata-san wasn't the one that caught me

"Oh? Just where do you think you're going?" I heard Souji ask.

I froze before I turned to see Souji leaning against a wall. He grinned deviously at me before he approached me and brushed my cheek lightly with the back of his knuckle.

"You won't be able to sneak away this time. I know you too well. So where are you going this time, hmm?"

I didn't know what to say. I didn't have a backup. If I failed now, it would be even harder to sneak away when Hijikata-san figured out what really happened.

I just stared wide-eyed at Souji, watching him narrow his eyes at me as his expression morphed into a particularly nasty one.

"Don't tell me you're sneaking out just to go meet a man—"

Then, at that moment, I decided I would go for the shock factor and stun Souji just enough to escape.

Souji was a young man that, strangely enough, had never had the company of a woman's warmth and intimate touch for a night. He was inexperienced and I knew I could take advantage of that.

Instead of trying to reason my way out of this one, I abruptly cut him off by shoving my lips against his. And this was where the plan failed.

Instead of freezing up like I predicted and giving me a chance to escape, Souji eagerly pushed me up against the wall he was leaning on before without breaking the kiss. His arms were on either side of my head, trapping me in place, as he deepened the kiss.

Instead of Souji being the one to freeze up, I end up being the one frozen in shock. I couldn't even respond when Souji invaded my mouth with his tongue. Perhaps I had been wrong about Souji being inexperienced when it came to the matter of interacting with the opposite gender. He seemed to know exactly what he was doing.

I didn't know why but just the thought that Souji may have been with another woman before made my chest clench painfully for a second.

"SHIZUKA!" The silence was broken with Hijikata-san's distant yell of anger.

Obviously, by now, Hijikata-san had figured out that I had tricked him. If I was smart, I would have pushed Souji off of me and left him to deal with Hijikata-san as I fled. But I wasn't smart. While I was too shocked to react to Souji's kiss, I also found that I enjoyed it. I remained frozen in my spot, allowing Souji to do whatever he wanted. Counting down from ten in my head, I heard the footsteps of a single person running approaching. The footsteps came to a sudden stop on our left side when my count reached zero.

"SHIZU—," I heard Hijikata-san yell before blurting out an ineloquent, "WHAT?!" I could have sworn his eyes popped out of his skull.

At the interruption, Souji broke away but kept his arms where they remained. He then turned his head toward Hijikata-san with an unimpressed expression on.

"Doesn't Hijikata-san know that it's rude to interrupt?" Souji all but sneered.

"I-I—what?" Hijikata-san stuttered, too baffled to do anything else. He quickly cleared his throat before composing himself so that he didn't look like a complete idiot anymore. "Well, as long as Shizuka isn't running around by herself! Just don't touch her in an inappropriate manner and we won't have a problem!" Hijikata-san snapped with a slight blush evident on his cheeks before he began stalking back to headquarters.

Souji continued hovering over me even after Hijikata-san vanished from sight. He then let one of his hands drop to caress my side, looking delighted when he saw me shiver, before letting his hand rest on my hip. Then instead of letting me go, he tucked his face into the crook of my neck and started sucking on my neck.

Once again, I should have stopped him. I should have said something. I didn't. I remained still and enjoyed the warm tingling feeling that crawled its way up my belly.

When Souji finally pulled away from my neck, he looked satisfied. His other hand then dropped from the wall to stroke the spot he had been sucking on. There was no doubt about it. Souji had left a love bite on a very visible location on my neck.

"Did you really think that you could trick me like that?" Souji then asked quietly. "You thought I would freeze up and give you a chance to escape. I already told you that I know you too well."

I flushed before looking down in guilt.

Souji then sighed before he stepped away from me. "I know you have a good reason for sneaking out even though I know you won't tell me, but I trust you. I'll keep Hijikata-san off your back so you can leave more easily. I won't ask what you're doing, but promise me you'll be careful."

My eyes widened at his words and all I could do was nod mutely before I jumped on him with a quick hug.

"I promise. You're the best, Souji," I said before I touched the mark he left on my neck in slight confusion. "But what was the point of leaving a mark on my neck?

"It's just a warning."

"For me? What type of warning is that supposed to be?!"

Souji let out a sigh before he affectionately said, "No, dummy. It's a warning for other men."

He then turned around and returned to headquarters.

[1] Hanten (袢纏; also 半纏, 半天, or 袢天), a short winter coat, is an item of traditional Japanese clothing. The coat started to be worn, especially by the common people, in the 18th century during the Edo period. The shape of the hanten bears a resemblance to the haori and is worn by both males and females. The facing and lining are padded with thick layer of wadded cotton for warmth. The collar is usually made of black sateen. Hanten often display a family crest or other designs.

[2] Unlike the men in the Edo era, women did not wear fundoshi. Instead they wore a koshimaki, which is a hip wrap that looks very similar to a long skirt. They are unlike modern underwear as they are open-ended and do not cover at all if flipped over the hip.

[3] Footwork in kendo where the person Steps forward by pushing off with the left foot, then quickly brings the left foot back into the beginning foot position.

[4]Gyōza or otherwise known as Jiaozi, are a kind of Chinese dumpling, commonly eaten across Eastern, Central, Southern and Western Asia. Though considered part of Chinese cuisine, jiaozi are often eaten in many other Asian countries.