Back at headquarters, Hijikata sat in the interrogation room; Muzai across from him. Never before, had he expected to be in this position with the woman again. Not that she had done anything, but official business needed to be handled as such. Kondo had resolved to wait in his office with Sougo and Yamazaki while Hijikata spoke to the woman. Unlike before, he knew he could get an actual answer now. This wasn't a touch-and-go situation, she could speak to him without a few drinks. Compared to before, that was saying a lot. Occasional eye contact could be established, and Muzai was generally comfortable around him.
The room was cold, and Hijikata had offered the woman his coat. She hadn't had time to get dressed before he ushered her out of her apartment. While his coat could do nothing to warm her legs, it was still something.
Muzai was staring at the table, her hands folded together in her lap. The room had been silent for what felt like hours. Hair had fallen over the woman's shoulders, hanging with her head.
Hijikata couldn't tell if she was nervous or embarrassed. Most likely, it was embarrassment. She couldn't even say "Hi" to people she knew; a crowd outside of her apartment that thinks she's an escaped psychopath that's on the brink of suicide was probably out of her comfort zone. Sparking a cigarette, Hijikata averted his gaze. Obviously, she wasn't about to speak first.
"Muzai, I need you to tell me what happened. Start from the beginning."
Hazel eyes flicked up to Hijikata, and Muzai offered a slow nod. She placed a hand to her head and sighed before shifting her weight. It was obvious that something more was wrong. The woman had done nothing but anxiously glance around the room; mostly at walls, or rub the side of her head. If Hijikata had to guess, he would assume she had a headache. Maybe a silent anxiety attack. He couldn't be sure without any confirmation from the woman herself.
She still wasn't talking. Across the table from her, Hijikata glanced at his cigarette. His hand was resting on the table, and he tried to figure another approach. From the looks of things, she wasn't about to start talking. He found himself confused; she had spoken perfectly clear before. Her voice was normal back at her apartment but from the way things were looking, she was unable to maintain. A second was spent pondering the inconsistency of her speech.
Standing up, Hijikata allowed a sigh to escape him. She had fallen back to her old silent patterns. He would have to get closer, and let her whisper the story. He grabbed the back of his chair and carried it to Muzai's side before seating himself. The woman glanced towards him yet didn't pick her head up. The vice commander placed a hand on her back, and she turned to acknowledge him as he spoke.
"Listen, I need you to keep it together and talk to me." Damn that probably wasn't the best approach. He already knew that telling her to talk would only make it worse. When Muzai sighed, he immediately tried to cover the blunder. With poorly chosen jokes, of course.
"Uh, I know I didn't give you enough mayonnaise yesterday, but you didn't have to throw yourself out of the window over it." Patting the woman's shoulder, Hijikata maintained a serious expression. He took a drag of his cigarette as she turned to peer at him; frowning.
"And didn't I tell you not to invite men into your apartment for your little pole dancing specials?" Raising a brow, Hijikata met Muzai's gaze. Her frown immediately faded into an odd smirk, which hinted that he was moving in the right direction.
"You haven't invited me; scared I'll bust the place? I've already found your stash of illegal material. I could put you away for your little peep shows, and indecent deception of poor men. Luring them back to your place to feed like some sort of succubus; have you no shame?" Falsely glaring at the woman, Hijikata watched as she placed a hand over her mouth and tried to stifle a fit of giggles. He had done it; broken into her voice again. How many times would he have to coax her into talking before she wouldn't have any trouble with it?
"I only let you escape to throw 'the man' off my trail." The light words earned a relieved snort of humor from Hijikata, and he shifted his gaze. Slowly shaking his head, the man allowed his palm to slip from Muzai's back. Her amused expression fell, and she murmured a light apology. Waving the words away, Hijikata turned to face her. Clearly, Muzai knew what was expected of her. She nodded, and rubbed the bridge of her nose; confirming Hijikata's headache theory.
"After you left I didn't really do anything. I spent some time working, cleaned up; nothing unusual. The news people gave up a few hours later, and I went to go see Daddy. The doctor wants to keep him for a while... He wasn't too happy about that, but... Well, I heard him telling the doctor not to tell me something." The woman paused and shifted her gaze. Her hands crept to the table, and she laced her fingers together.
Hijikata patiently awaited the rest of the story as Muzai shifted her weight. She turned towards him, and her eyes met his with stifling intensity.
"I think something's wrong."
Flecks of gold and grey hung in the woman's irises, and Hijikata attempted to maintain eye contact. He didn't know how to react to that statement. Clearly, she was upset, but he didn't really know Kento. Couldn't really comment. He seemed like a good guy; pleasant in a slightly overbearing manner, yet Hijikata had nothing to say. Muzai obviously noticed, and her gaze drifted from his.
"So, I went back home. Nothing was different. I went to bed, woke up and took a shower. I was going to stop by the doctor's office again, but when I came out, some guy was sitting on my couch."
Now, the useful part. Analytical mode activated. Time to pick her story apart in the back of his mind and look for contradictions. No, she wasn't a criminal, but it was standard procedure. Even Muzai couldn't escape this process.
"I couldn't talk. I think the only thing I said was 'Wha' and my voice cut out. He was calm. Looked at me, and stood up. Skipped introductions. Apparently, he already knew me, but I don't know how." Shaking her head, Muzai frowned. As if she was trying to make sense of the scene as well.
"He asked about my speech. Of course, I couldn't answer, but I guess it's obvious. I didn't even move, but he pulled a gun out of his coat. Said that I was going to climb out of the window; kill myself. He wanted me to write a note, but I wouldn't. The whole time he just kept pushing the gun in my face. I figured he would either shoot me or not. Couldn't really do much about that, just try to stay on the 'not' side." Leaning onto the table, Muzai sighed. Her eyes flicked to the ceiling, and Hijikata continued to study her. She dropped her head, and laid in her folded arms; seemingly exhausted.
"So I climbed out of the window. I'd rather be stuck on a ledge and possibly fall instead of be shot, bleed to death or have a bunch of surgeries and be pronounced half-a-human."
"What did he look like?" The moment she finished Talking, Hijikata picked up his side of the conversation. Story first; most people forget after they focus on something else. Now he could work with details. Muzai met his gaze, and her brow furrowed.
"Familiar. I don't know... Yellow eyes. black hair. He was kind of short... Like, shorter than me... Which is ridiculous... I just got bullied by a midget."
Shifting his gaze, Hijikata attempted not to laugh at her. He had to stay serious- this was serious! The man instinctively forced himself to take a drag of his cigarette; as if that would help. His expression must have been obvious; Muzai leaned up and glared at him. Upon seeing the expression, Hijikata choked on the smoke, and had to turn away. The man placed his fist to his mouth; coughing.
"Don't make that face! He was muscular, and... Well, I don't know how to fight!"
Unable to stop himself, Hijikata felt laughter forcing its way out of his chest and nose ; disguised by another fit of coughing. He shook his head as if that would discourage the tone, but it had already escaped him. She knew he was laughing at her now.
"Don't know how to fight?!" He barely managed to echo, and Muzai crossed her arms.
"I dance, I don't- Shut up."
Yeah, right. Because she hadn't been dueling with him just a short while ago. Sure, that was just from dancing. If Muzai expected Hijikata to believe that, she was out of her mind. It had actually taken a good amount of effort to subdue her. It took a moment to regain his composure. By the time Hijikata turned back to Muzai, she was staring at the table; obviously upset. A sigh escaped the man, and he stubbed his cigarette out on a nearby ashtray. Now he needed to find out how she had been located. Calling Mori was out of the question- he had his anniversary. Unknowingly, Hijikata spoke before considering how to tell the woman beside him.
"You can't go back to your apartment..."
Muzai immediately turned to frown at him. Her gaze was far too intense to hold this time; Hijikata stared at the cigarette on the edge of the ashtray. He couldn't smoke that. His throat was hurting now. But he had the urge to at least try.
"If somebody broke in to kill you, there's only one reason why. It has to do with the case, and we can't let you go back now. Maybe to get some clothes or something but..."
"What do you mean? Where am I supposed to live? What about daddy? I can't move, moving puts stress on-"
"No. You can't go back." Cutting Muzai off, Hijikata crossed his arms. He didn't want to hear her speech about her father's health and stress or smoking. No. He wasn't in the mood for that. If anything, his mind had started to race again. Witness protection? Maybe. But then she would have to change her name and go to a different city, that was a lot of work. He didn't want to get a higher level of the law involved. Turning to face the woman, he felt his brow furrow with thought.
"You said the doctor wants to keep your father for a while, right?" Muzai slowly nodded, and her expression betrayed what appeared to be a calm demeanor. She was still frowning, comparable to a deer in headlights. It was as if she was expecting the worst.
"Leave him there for a while. He'll understand... And you..." Pausing, Hijikata met the hazel eyes that were already holding his.
"For now, you should stay here-" The moment Hijikata spoke, the door crashed open. Muzai jumped, and his gaze immediately snapped to the forms falling inside. Kondo, and Yamazaki fell to the floor, yelping in surprise, while Sougo simply turned to peer at them. Immediately jumping to his feet, Hijikata glared at the three men.
"What the hell are you doing?!"
Grinning from his spot on the floor, Kondo turned over. He rubbed his head, and an embarrassed chuckle escaped him.
"Well, I just couldn't wait to hear what happened..."
Yamazaki sat up, mirroring Kondo's pose to a T.
"Yeah... We didn't mean to interrupt... But-" As the spy tried to find an excuse, Sougo walked into the room. He stepped over the pair on the broken door and ignored the vice commander's scowl. Leaning towards Muzai, Sougo offered an invisible smile. The woman had covered her mouth with both hands. She was staring at the intrusive trio with wide eyes; shocked.
"Zai-Chan has a pretty voice." Flatly stating the observation, Sougo continued to stare at the woman. She leaned back, and Hijikata's hands formed fists. They had ruined everything! Nosiness had erased all of the progress he had made in the fraction of a second! It had taken the vice commander time to get Muzai talking again. Hijikata ha tried so hard, thinking of jokes, only to have everything go to waste due to an explosion of idiots.
"You can't blame me for wanting to know more about my little girl, Toshi!" Kondo had spotted Hijikata's frustration, yet was offering the wrong response.
"Welcome to the Shinsengumi! We'll make sure you have everything you need, Zai-Chan!" And Yamazaki was still being annoying. Muzai was still staring at Sougo with eyes as wide as dinner plates while he told her how her voice sounded. Good lord. This was a disaster. What a way to welcome a social wreck to their home. Bombard her with conversation and get in her personal space. And those bastards had been listening to her voice! Only Hijikata was allowed to do that!
"OI! You trying to kill her?! She's gonna need therapy after all this, get out!"
"She already needs therapy." The snide remark originated from no other than Sougo. Of course.
Snagging Sougo by his coat, Hijikata pulled the sadist out of the door. Kondo and Yamazaki were still awkwardly chuckling and welcoming Muzai to the building. Grabbing the edge of the door, Hijikata started to pull it upwards.
"So I guess that means you're coming to the hot springs with us-"
"That's perfect! We can go shopping together and pick out matching father/daughter towels-"
The moment the door got high enough to slide the idiots off, Hijikata shoved it back to the place it belonged. No, it wasn't connected to the hinges, but it would do. Holding the door in place with his back, Hijikata panted. He peered at Muzai, only to find her exactly as she had been when this mess started. Covering her mouth and wide eyed, only, this time she was staring off into space. She had frozen. Great, they broke her. Welcome to the Shinsengumi.
A/N: Hi all :)
Sorry the update took a while. It's a bit shorter than usual, because it's a transitional point. The next should be longer.
Thank you all for your patience and reviews. I appreciate the time you spend reading my story :)