Chapter 56

"The further you get away from yourself, the more challenging it is. Not to be in your comfort zone is great fun." ― Benedict Cumberbatch

"Are you sure you don't need my help to prepare breakfast." I asked Souji and Saito-san as they busied themselves with various tasks around the kitchen.

Upon learning of my pregnancy and my adverse reaction to some certain scents in the kitchen during my early weeks of pregnancy, I was completely banned from preparing meals. What happened now was that the captains now paired off and had a rotational system when it came to deciding who was on kitchen duty. However, I thought that completely banning me from cooking was unreasonable. Sure, I was nauseous the first few weeks, but now that I hit my thirteenth week, the raging hormones that influenced nausea had calmed down and I no longer suffered from nausea as often, or I'd like to believe. But at the same time that some of my nausea was starting to disappear, I was starting to show through my clothing. That resulted in everyone being afraid that I would strain myself if I did any "strenuous" chores and, apparently, Souji believed that cooking was too strenuous for me because I often felt sick around half-cooked foods and the other guys just decided to roll with whatever Souji said.

"No, you're not cooking." Souji said with some annoyance as he threw in more firewood into the fire. "Besides, Chizuru-chan was supposed to help us in the kitchen this morning, not sleep in. I'm going to go wake her up."

"Oh! Why don't I take over maintaining the fire for you while you go wake Chizuru-chan up?" I suggested as I was eager to finally be able to do something in the kitchen again. Before I was pregnant, the kitchen was my domain and it felt really weird not to be working in the kitchen anymore.

Souji shot me a small annoyed glance before he walked over to where I was standing only to pick me up by my hips and deposit me on a nearby counter.

"Sit there and be good." Souji said to me with an expectant look before turning to Saito-san. "Hajime-kun, make sure Shizuka doesn't stand up and attempt to work while I go wake Chizuru-chan up."

Saito-san gave a silent nod of agreement before he went back to stirring the cooking soup. Souji turned back to me with a pleased expression on his face causing me to sigh in defeat before giving him a small smile. He rubbed the baby bump gently for a few seconds before he kissed my forehead briefly and left the kitchen to go get Chizuru-chan. When Souji left the kitchen I made a quick move to get off the counter to do some work, but froze when Saito-san looked at me from the corner of his eye.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Saito-san said to me without turning from the pot in front of him. Completely defeated, I sighed once more before I yielded to Souji's requests.

"I don't understand why Souji won't let me help around in the kitchen." I complained to Saito-san. "My morning sickness stopped two weeks ago and the scent of half-cooked food really doesn't make me nauseous enough to be a problem anymore. Well, at least not enough to make me actually throw up."

"You may not suffer so much from nausea as greatly anymore, but you get dizzy occasionally now, right?" Saito-san said. "Souji is probably afraid that you'll lose balance in the kitchen and hurt yourself. Besides, while working in the kitchen you will have to deal with fire and I know Souji does not want you staring at the fire because it will give the baby birthmarks."

I exhaled loudly, more superstition I could live without. Where did all these superstitious beliefs come from anyways?

"Well, if you won't let me help physically, can I at least give you a suggestion?" I asked. The vegetables that Souji prepared a bit back were really bothering me. He used far too much soy sauce to season them and they were probably so salty that they were bitter.

"What is it?" Saito-san asked.

"Souji added too much soy sauce to the vegetables from earlier and you should probably wash off the excess soy sauce and season them again."

Saito-san took his focus off the soup and went over to where Souji placed the vegetables to sample a small piece. Upon putting a small piece in his mouth, Saito-san shuddered a bit when he tasted the over-salted vegetables before he carried the dish to a nearby bucket of water to wash the vegetables off. When he finished washing the vegetables off, he placed them back on the dish and returned the dish to its original location without redoing the seasoning.

"Aren't you going to season the vegetables?" I asked.

"No." Saito-san said bluntly. "Too much salt is bad for the body."

"Yes, that is true, but too little salt is also bad for the body." I retorted, but Saito-san ignored me as his focus resumed on the soup.

An annoyed sigh drew my attention to the doorway, Souji had returned from his self-appointed task of waking Chizuru-chan up.

"Was waking Chizuru-chan up so difficult that it warrants so much annoyance?" I asked Souji as he made his way back to the stove.

"She wakes up slowly." Souji said as he resumed his position at the stove. "You'd think that she could at least wake up on time to help in the kitchen since we are giving her room and board while helping her search for her missing otou-san."

Souji hadn't really warmed up to Chizuru-chan yet since her arrival and same with most of the other guys. While many of them did treat her a lot nicer than Souji did, they still mostly kept their distance. No one would want to get attached to a person they may be forced to kill in the future, especially if said person was a sweet girl. Chizuru-chan, on the other hand, probably didn't warm up too much to the guys either in the few months she was stuck here. I could see how nervous and scared she felt around the guys. The way she also attached herself to my side when I was around also spoke in volumes about how uncomfortable she felt around the captains. Chizuru-chan still probably thought of the Shinsengumi as a group of terrifying men that killed all too easily.

"I'm sorry for being late!" a feminine voice shouted at the doorway after the sounds of rushed footsteps. Chizuru-chan entered the kitchen in great haste as she looked around for any tasks she could help with.

"Good morning, Chizuru-chan." I said kindly as she entered the kitchen. She smiled brightly at me, but was interrupted by Saito-san just as she was about to respond to my morning greeting.

"Yukimura, don't shout…" Saito-san scolded her as he continued to stare at the pot he was using with a serious expression. "Many of our warriors have rounds that do not end until it is nearly dawn. I like to let them sleep as long as possible before they must start the day."

"…Ah, I didn't realize. I'm sorry if I caused any trouble." Chizuru-chan apologized with a deep bow.

"There is no need for you to apologize." Saito-san said. "It would be best if you were more careful in the future, but there was no trouble."

"But…it was my job to prepare breakfast this morning, and I overslept…" Chizuru-chan replied while looking down at the floor. It was obvious that she was feeling a bit guilty for sleeping in while the others were working hard.

Saito-san pulled his contemplative gaze from the pot he was using to look at Chizuru-chan with an indifferent expression on his face.

"You appear to be mistaken." Saito-san said bluntly. "Your actions this morning makes no difference to us."

"Huh?" Chizuru-chan asked in confusion.

"Did you believe we would be unable to make the meal without your assistance?" Saito-san continued. "That is incorrect. Warriors must be skilled in preparing their own food. The only thing we require from you is your help in finding your otou-san, Kodo-san."

Chizuru-chan's posture sagged upon hearing what Saito-san had to say to her. According to what Saito-san said, Chizuru-chan was pretty much a useless burden the captains had to put up with while searching for her father. That had to hurt to hear such a statement. No one liked to be called useless. However, I disagreed with everyone else's thought pattern so far. A person is only useless if you regard that person as useless. Every person is useful and the trick was to find what the person would be useful for.

"I'm sorry…" Chizuru-chan said as she deflated quite noticeably. "But… Um… I'd still like to help out, if that's okay. I want to be useful somehow, if I can. I don't want to die…"

Die? Where did she get the idea that we would kill her if she wasn't useful? My eyes drifted to Souji. Of course… Souji was probably having some fun at Chizuru-chan's expense. Saito-san pulled away from the pot upon hearing what Chizuru-chan had to say and undid the tie holding back his sleeves before completely focusing on Chizuru-chan.

"Did someone tell you that if you didn't contribute in some manner that we would be forced to kill you? That you were required to work?" asked Saito-san.

"Y-Yes…" Chizuru-chan nervously answered back as she non-discreetly inched closer to where I was seated for comfort and nodded.

Saito-san and I looked at each other before he sighed heavily in response, "Souji… don't feed her lies. We need her to find Yukimura Kodo. We can't kill her for oversleeping."

Souji, who was kneeling on the floor to check the fire heating the stove, stood back up and turned towards Saito-san. "Well, I know that." Souji said. "I mean, if we could kill her for sleeping in while the rest of us can't, I would have done it already. I just figured if she's going to mooch off of us, she might as well work for it. Make herself useful to us at least."

"She IS being useful." I pointed out in defense of Chizuru-chan. "She's been assisting me with small tasks while I conduct research for Sannan-san's nerve graft. Plus, she's been helping with laundry for the past week."

Saito-san sighed before addressing Souji, "It is not your position to determine these things. Go add wood to the fire."

"Yeah, yeah." Souji answered as both men resumed making breakfast while Chizuru-chan just stood there, gaping in slight confusion.

"U-Uh, um, so… Is there something I can help you with here?" Chizuru-chan asked once she got her voice back.

"Could you finish preparing the soup?" Saito-san answered. "You know where the miso is stored, correct?"

"Yes!" Chizuru-chan said as she brightened up once more when she was given something to do.

Chizuru-chan had prepared a few meals in this kitchen before, so we didn't have to worry about her having to find her way around. Finally with something to do at last, Chizuru-chan quickly set to work as her nervousness started to fade.

"Oh, let me help." I said as I pushed myself off the counter so I could go over to Chizuru-chan's side, but was stopped when Souji looped his arm around my waist.

"And what do you think you're doing?" Souji said as he raised an eyebrow at me. "Remember the last time you said that? You felt nauseous for the whole day last time you helped cook."

I pouted at Souji. What he said was true, but just because I happened to feel a little sick after I cooked last time didn't mean it was going to happen this time. Souji chuckled a bit when he saw my pout before he led me outside.

"Why don't we keep you away from the strong scent of half-cooked foods for now until we're sure you won't feel sick from catching the wrong scent." Souji said gently.

"But I'm just so use to cooking for everyone every day and now that I'm not cooking for everyone anymore… I feel like I'm being lazy while everyone is busy working." I admitted quietly.

"You ARE doing something, just something different." Souji said with a gentle smile as he laid his hand on my belly. "Growing a baby inside of your body is very tiring, isn't it? If you still want to do something then go finish making the hara-obi."

Ah yes, the hara-obi. True to his word, Otou-san did head out to buy one the next day after I told him of my pregnancy, but while Otou-san was out at the market, he ran into Kyoko-chan's mother. When Otou-san told Kumiko-san the news, she first congratulated Otou-san before insisting that a pregnant woman should make her own hara-obi to ensure maximum protection from any bad luck that may harm the baby. Taking the advice to heart, Otou-san went to go buy some cloth for me so I could make my own hara-obi instead. Shortly receiving the cloth that Otou-san bought for me at headquarters, Kumiko-san showed up and quickly taught me how to make the hara-obi. Several special charms, made from the pregnant woman's husband's loincloth, would have to be sewn onto a hara-obi to complete it.

Oh, I remember flushing bright red when Kumiko-san told me I needed one of Souji's loincloths. It wasn't touching Souji's loincloth that made me embarrassed, but it was the fact that I needed to ask Souji for one so I could wear part of it around my waist. Just the thought of asking Souji for one of his loincloths made my ears burn. Kumiko-san laughed at my reaction and patted my cheek while calling me cute before she gave me a small push towards Souji as he was walking through the gate just as he was returning from his patrol. Souji had raised his eyebrow with amusement at me when I stuttered and blushed while asking for one of his loincloths. He grinned at me mischievously before he ushered me into the privacy of our room. There in the private, he went ahead and pulled off the loincloth he was currently wearing at that moment and handed it to me with a teasing smirk while he was butt-naked. If I was bright red before then there were no words to describe what color I was afterwards.

"The hara-obi? How did you know I'm not done sewing it yet?" I asked. Souji grinned mischievously at me before he answered.

"Well, I just happened to notice that you haven't used the loincloth I gave to you yet." he said teasingly as I turned pink.

"O-Oh…" I stuttered in response before I quickly turned around to head back to our room. "T-Then I'm going back to finish it now." I said before I quickly excused myself. I heard Souji's laughter behind me as I sped back to our room in great haste.


"Is that…?" a voice I hadn't heard in a while said behind me as I worked on the hara-obi. I jumped a bit in surprise before turning around to see Kyoko-chan standing behind me.

"Kyoko-chan!" I squealed in girlish delight as I dropped everything I was holding so I could jump to my feet to hug her. "It's been ages since we last spoke in person. When did you get back from the village?"

"Just last night." Kyoko-chan chirped. "Hijikata asked Kenji to come to headquarters today the moment we arrived back home and I decided to come with. So much has happened while we were apart! You got pregnant while I got married! We have so much to catch up on! But, first things first. What is that?" she asked as she pointed to a fragment of Souji's loincloth I was working with.

"Well to be blunt, that's part of a loincloth." I said as both Kyoko-chan and I sat down on the floor. I quickly resumed work on the hara-obi as we spoke to each other.

"A what?" Kyoko-chan said while looking taken back by my statement.

"Yeah… Please don't ask what it's for."

"Okay… Skipping over that…" Kyoko-chan said before grinning at me impishly. "So now that we're both married women, we can talk about some more risqué topics."

"Risqué? What do you have in mind?"

"Well, we can start by talking about what our husbands like to do in bed." she suggested as she wiggled her eyebrows in a suggestive manner.

"Oh? Then I guess I'm going first." I said with a giggle. This sounded like it would be a fun topic to discuss. "This is what Souji likes to do when we're in bed togeth—"

I never got to finish my sentence. Just as I was about to elaborate on what Souji liked to do, Chizuru-chan called me through the shut doors.

"Shizuka-chan! Breakfast is ready!" Chizuru-chan said through the doors.

"Huh? Who's that?" Kyoko-chan whispered.

"Yukimura Chizuru." I whispered back.

"You mean—?!"

"Yeah."

"Then what is she doing here?" Kyoko-chan asked quietly.

"It's a long story." I said. "I bet you Hijikata-san asked Kenji-san to come to headquarters the moment you guys returned to Kyoto because of the situation regarding her."

"Shizuka-chan?" Chizuru-chan called through the door again when I didn't answer.

"Coming!" I answered. Kyoko-chan took this chance to get up and slam the door open so she could get a glimpse of the girl in question.

"EH?!" Chizuru-chan cried in surprise when Kyoko-chan grabbed her the second the door opened. Kyoko-chan quickly spun around with Chizuru-chan in her arms and dragged Chizuru-chan into the room.

"This is a crime!" Kyoko-chan wailed when she placed Chizuru-chan on her feet inside the room. "How can such a cute looking girl be running around while dressed like a boy! I bet this is all stick-stuck-up-his-ass's fault!"

"'Stick-stuck-up-his-ass'? Um…" Chizuru-chan said while looking extremely confused and flustered. "W-Who are you? And how do you know I'm a girl?"

"Because you're too cute to be a boy." Kyoko-chan said cheerfully before tugging on Chizuru-chan's cheeks.

I laughed heartedly at the whole scene before I put down my materials and stood up. "This is Fuma Kyoko, a close friend." I said as I helped Chizuru-chan out of Kyoko-chan's grip.

"Oh! Nice to meet you!" Chizuru-chan quickly bowed politely to Kyoko-chan. "My name is Yukimura Chizuru!"

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Kyoko-chan returned the greeting. "Were you sent to gather all the captains for breakfast?"

"Oh no! I forgot!" Chizuru-chan exclaimed as she quickly rushed to the doorway. "Sannan-san asked me to get Hijikata-san! I'm sorry for leaving so abruptly!" she said with another bow before rushing out the door.

"Sannan-san sent her to get Hijikata-san?" I mumbled as I watched Chizuru-chan scurry away. "I better go with her. Sannan-san probably just asked Chizuru-chan to get Hijikata-san to have some fun at her expense."

"Hmm… Alright then." said Kyoko-chan. "I'll see you in a bit after you've had breakfast then. I'll go join Kenji in messing with Yamazaki for the meantime."

Kyoko-chan quickly vanished as she turned the corner of the hallway before I quickly headed in the direction Chizuru-chan ran in earlier. However, it didn't really matter how quickly I headed towards Hijikata-san's room because Chizuru-chan had gotten to it before I could catch up with her. Sannan-san probably had planned to have Chizuru-chan walk in on Hijikata-san while he was changing just to annoy him. Chizuru-chan looked flustered while she was standing outside Hijikata-san's room and was talking to herself when I caught up. I probably arrived too late.

"What should I do? He must think I'm a horrible person with no manners…!" Chizuru-chan said to herself. "Of course, Hijikata-san does have a surprisingly handsome look about his face…"

Oh? What's this? Another woman that has fallen for Hijikata-san's undeniably handsome charms? I held back a snicker as I continued to listen to Chizuru-chan speak to herself as she was completely unaware I was standing next to her.

"I…didn't mean to stare. He IS very attractive, but…" she continued without noticing that Hijikata-san had finally emerged from his room.

"What the hell kind of excuse is that…? You hit your head recently?" Hijikata-san said in a bad mood as he caught what she said.

"Ah!" Chizuru-chan screamed in surprise as she quickly jumped around to see Hijikata-san glaring at her.

"So? Why have you come all the way to my room? Spit it out." Hijikata-san said in an icy tone. "Shizuka, why didn't you stop her from entering my room? You know what my routine is by now." he asked me after he turned his head towards me. Chizuru-chan jumped once more in surprise when she realized I was standing next to her.

"I was going to stop her." I answered. "But I got here a bit too late."

Hijikata-san sighed at my response before turning back to Chizuru-chan with a glare. "So, are you going to answer me?"

"R-Right!" Chizuru-chan nervously stuttered. "It was time for everyone to gather for breakfast, and, er, I came to get you."

Hijikata-san continued to glare at Chizuru-chan quietly, causing her to fidget in place before speaking up.

"Um…?" Chizuru-chan said unsurely.

"Chizuru, don't tell me you came here voluntarily."

"What? Um, yes…?"

"Who set you up for this?"

"That would be Sannan-san." I cut into the conversation.

"Umm, he mentioned that you had been up late working last night, and he wanted to make sure you were okay." Chizuru-chan explained. "He seemed worried about you…"

"He's doing this to annoy me and no other reason. He's having fun at your expense." Hijikata-san said as his glare disappeared. "Sending a civilian on a mission to check up on the Oni."

"You think so…?" Chizuru-chan asked as she wondered about what Hijikata-san said.

"They just like to needle at each other for fun." I explained to Chizuru-chan. "Don't take anything that just happened to heart."

"Oh…" Chizuru-chan said quietly with a small nod.

"Oh, Toshi and Yukimura-kun…" I heard Otou-san's voice from behind me as he strode up to our small gathering in the hallway. "I don't normally see you two together like this." he said without sensing the strained vibe between those two before turning to me with a, "Good morning, Shizu-chan! How are you feeling today?"

"Good morning, Otou-san!" I chirped cheerfully. "I'm feeling pretty good today."

"Kondou-san! Good morning!" Chizuru-chan said after me with a quick bow.

"Why, the same to you!" Otou-san said cheerfully before asking, "You guys are just standing here; did something happen?"

"Could say the same about you." Hijikata-san said to Otou-san. "What are you doing? It's time for breakfast and you're not in there already."

"Ah, uh, well actually… It's a really nice day today, so I felt like going for a walk." Otou-san answered with a big grin. "After morning training ended, I just started walking around outside headquarters. It was very refreshing! …Did I stay out too late? I lost track of time for a while, so I rushed back here. I hope I didn't trouble anyone."

"Just like you to wander off. You're fine." Hijikata-san said as he broke out into a smile. "Let's just head over now."

Wasting no more words, Hijikata-san turned and started to walk towards the main hall. Otou-san and I started to follow after Hijikata-san, but then Otou-san paused and turned around to face Chizuru-chan, who was still standing in the same place. I stopped walking when Otou-san paused to face Chizuru-chan.

"Yukimura-kun, do I recall correctly that you were in charge of breakfast today?" Otou-san asked.

"Y-Yes, I was!" Chizuru-chan quickly scrambled to answer.

"Ah, excellent. Now I'm looking forward to breakfast even more." Otou-san said happily. "Everything you cook tastes like home. I can tell you put your heart into it. I'm glad you came to stay with us. I feel lucky that I get to eat your delicious food when Shizu-chan can't cook."

"Oh no, it's no trouble…" Chizuru-chan said while looking happy that Otou-san complemented her cooking.

"Some of the men have no idea how to season correctly." Otou-san continued as he suppressed a shudder. "Souji is the worst don't you think?"

"U-Um… Uh… His food IS rather…er, bold." Chizuru-chan said as she settled for the polite way of saying that Souji's food tasted...nasty. I giggled at Chizuru-chan's confession.

"Then you might want to watch out for the vegetables at breakfast today." I added gleefully on to what Chizuru-chan said.

"Then Toshi's cooking is even worse." Otou-san said. "He's not allowed in the kitchen anymore, but seriously, the porridge he use to make back in the day was—"

"Hey! Kondou-san! Shut it!" Hijikata-san interrupted as his bark echoed down the hallway causing Otou-san's posture to shoot up straighter than wooden board.

"Oh that's right. Everyone's waiting on us. We must hurry!" Otou-san said before he quickly spun and ran down the hallway towards the main hall, causing Chizuru-chan to giggle.

"Well, we should get going too, huh?" I said as I offered Chizuru-chan a friendly smile. "By the way, going back to what Otou-san was saying about Hijikata-san's porridge—"

"I can hear you, Shizuka!" another one of Hijikata-san's shouts echoed down the hallway.

I grinned before whispering into Chizuru-chan's ear, "His porridge was so bad that if you left a bowl of it out at night, the next morning there would be dead rats around the empty bowl. His porridge was so bad that the rats that ate it during the night would die the next morning."

"EH?!" Chizuru-chan cried as her voice bounced off the walls.

"SHIZUKA! DON'T FEED HER LIES!" Hijikata-san yelled. How did he hear me? Maybe he was just reacting to Chizuru-chan's cry of surprise from earlier. Oh well. Even though Hijikata-san yelled at me not to lie to Chizuru-chan, I wasn't lying. What I said about the rats was completely true.


"Ah, finally. What took you so long Kondou-san? What, did you walk to the other end of Kyoto and back?" Shinpachi-san said as soon as he saw Otou-san walk through the door. Everyone else quickly made their way to their seats as Otou-san paused momentarily due to Shinpachi-san's question.

"Eh, sorry about that." Otou-san said sheepishly as he scratched the back of his neck and chuckled awkwardly before he continued to make his way to his seat next to Hijikata-san. "I didn't go very far, but on my walk I spotted a dandelion growing by the street. I got so caught up in the fact I had seen proof that spring has come that I lost track of the time!"

All the men grinned wryly at what Otou-san said while some chuckled.

"Somehow I'm not surprised…" Sano-san commented. "You can make it up to us by leading everyone in for breakfast before the food gets cold."

"Of course!" Otou-san exclaimed cheerfully. "Alright everyone, enjoy this delicious food and put your all into working hard for another day!" And with Otou-san's happy little speech over, breakfast officially began.

"By the way, Sannan-san…" Hijikata-san said to Sannan-san between bites of his food. "Heard that I made you worry unnecessarily this morning."

"But it was not unnecessary." Sannan-san replied with faux kindness. "Of course I, as a dedicated member of the Shinsengumi, would be concerned about our Commander, who has difficulties waking in the morning."

Hijikata-san grinned wolfishly while Sannan-san's glasses glinted dangerously in the light, hiding his eyes. This was how these two men showed their friendship, but it often made newcomers nervous, like Chizuru-chan. She was currently looking back in forth between the two men with unease.

"Here," Souji said as he placed one of his sardines on my plate, "eat this. Sardines are supposed to be good for pregnant women."

"Are you sure?" I asked Souji. "You have patrol later and I don't want you to go to work hungry just because you gave me your food."

"I'm fine." Souji said as he reached over to brush a strand of hair behind my ear. "Besides, you're eating for two now."

That was not completely true. The "eating for two" while pregnant was actually a myth. While it was true that pregnant women did have to eat more, it wasn't by much. I only needed about 300 extra calories. I was going to tell Souji this, but when I saw him looking at me with so much concern, I just smiled at him and ate the fish he dropped on my plate to ease his worry.

"Whoa…" Heisuke suddenly said in disgust. I looked up from my food and saw him pulling a half chewed vegetable out of his mouth. Oh, it looked like he just got a taste of the vegetables Souji was in charge of preparing. "Uh, Chizuru, did Souji prepare the vegetables?" Heisuke asked with a grimace.

"Um… I'm not sure actually?" Chizuru-chan responded as she turned towards Souji.

"I got as far as boiling them, and then put the soy sauce on, but…" Souji said. "Then Hajime-kun tasted one and claimed I made them too salty—'it's not good for you' he said—so he washed the seasoning all off when I wasn't in the kitchen."

"I only did what I must. The body cannot process an excess of salt." Saito-san stated.

"But you went too far!" Heisuke complained loudly. "These taste like…like nothing!"

"Keep your voice down, please." Inoue-san scolded Heisuke. "You're frightening Yukimura-kun."

"Ha ha…ha…" Chizuru-chan forced out a tired laugh that seemed to ask, "Why are you bringing me into this?"


"I'll be heading off now…" Chizuru-chan said after she had cleaned the main hall and kitchen up after breakfast.

"Oh, Yukimura-kun. I'm sorry to trouble you, but would you mind staying behind for a little while?" Sannan-san caught Chizuru-chan just right before she left to go back to her room.

"Huh? But…" Chizuru-chan said.

"Yes, you are correct. The captains, Hijikata-san, and I usually have our meetings with Kondou-san here after breakfast." Sannan-san said.

"Wouldn't it be a problem if I was here during that time? I might hear something I shouldn't…" Chizuru-chan said with worry.

"It will be fine for today." Sannan-san said to ease her worries. "In fact, our discussion will be about you."

"What…?!" Chizuru-chan exclaimed in surprise as some nervousness reappeared on her face. Knowing Chizuru-chan would probably feel more comfortable being next to someone she didn't really perceive to be dangerous, I called her over to where I was sitting.

"Chizuru-chan, come sit over here for the meeting." I said kindly while patting the empty spot next to my left side.

While Souji was sitting on my right side and I was sure that Chizuru-chan would currently like to stay as far as possible away from Souji, I knew that Chizuru-chan would want someone she could feel safe with next to her. Ignoring Souji presence the best she could, Chizuru-chan quickly moved to sit in the empty spot next to me before the meeting could officially being.

"During the meeting yesterday we decided to tell some of the Inspectors about you before telling another close ally." Inoue-san said to Chizuru-chan after she had settled next to me.

"The Inspectors…? Ally?" Chizuru-chan asked.

"Yes. The Inspectors and a close ally will be the ones who'll be actually out looking for information about Kodo-san." Inoue-san elaborated. "Before we put all our resources and men into the search, we need to introduce you to them."

"O-Oh, I see! Thank you very much!" Chizuru-chan said as she quickly bowed in thanks with a small smile on her lips. But the way Inoue-san had explained the situation to Chizuru-chan irked me a bit. He had made it sound like we weren't doing anything to locate her father before this, which was completely untrue.

"I'm still completely against this." Souji objected next to me. "It'll cause more trouble than it's worth. Like the medicine. We'd have to explain the whole mess, and why we kept that information from the other men."

"Souji. The commander trusts both Yamazaki and Shimada, and Fuma with the Shinsengumi's secrets." Saito-san pointed out. "Even if we didn't inform them about her now, if we continue searching for Kodo, we'll have to tell them at some point. We cannot keep prolonging it."

Souji turned his head away from Saito-san, still unconvinced that informing the Inspectors would be a good idea. The fact that he also didn't like Yamazaki-san much may have also played a role in his decision. Chizuru-chan shrunk in her seat and scooted closer to me at the tension starting to build in the room. I quickly shot her an encouraging smile before I gently placed a comforting hand on Chizuru-chan's back to ease her nervousness.

"Well, we shouldn't waste a good opportunity. No sense in drawing it out." Sano-san laughed a bit too brightly to be sincere. He was just trying to diffuse the tension when he saw Chizuru-chan shrink next to me. "I mean, she's been here at headquarters for a little more than three months, right? It's time to make a move."

"Hey, you're making it sound like all we did was slack off until now." Heisuke complained before turning to Chizuru-chan with an earnest expression on his face. "Just so you know, Chizuru, us captains have been investigating places around Kyoto for Kodo-san too. We haven't sitting on our asses this whole time."

"Y-You have…?" Chizuru-chan asked as she perked up hopefully.

"Finding Kodo-san sooner rather than later wouldn't just be for your benefit; for the Shinsengumi, it'd help us out a lot if we located him quickly." Sano-san said.

"U-Um! Thank you, all of you, for looking for my chichi…!" Chizuru-chan said as she bowed towards all the captains.

"You shouldn't be thanking us. After all, we want to find him for our own reasons too." Heisuke said as he scratched his nose before he shot Chizuru-chan a warm smile.

After all that discussion, Shinpachi-san who was quiet the whole time, finally spoke up with narrowed eyes and a cool voice.

"I'm with Souji on this one." Shinpachi-san announced his opinion, causing Chizuru-chan to flinch again. "Why should we tell more people about a girl when we don't even know when we're going to get rid of her. 'We had no choice but to bring her to headquarters after she found out about our secret, but we had to kill her because she got in the way'—say something like that to our men and morale would drop like a stone. Bunch of the guys are soft on women. We'd have to say she 'went back home' even if the circumstances forced us to finish her off."

Shinpachi-san did have a point. The less people knew about Chizuru-chan and the secret, the better. However, it still must have hurt for Chizuru-chan to hear that they were anticipating her death at their hands, and already preparing for the explanation afterwards.

"But…we did all agree that we'd have to deal with that situation down the road. So why complain about it now? It's a done deal." Shinpachi-san said as he lightened his tone.

"I guess you're right." Souji agreed. "I understand why we're doing it, but that doesn't mean I'm happy about it."

"Excuse me." Shimada-san's voice spoke up from the other side of the door. "Shimada and Yamazaki reporting as requested."

"And a few more extra people." another cheerful voice called in from behind the door. It was Kenji-san.

"Enter." Hijikata-san said.

Shimada-san and a very tired looking Yamazaki-san entered the room first before Kenji-san and Kyoko-chan came in. When Shimada-san and Yamazaki-san spotted Chizuru-chan, they bowed in greeting while Kyoko-chan winked playfully at her.

"I am Kai Shimada, an Inspector. Nice to meet you." Shimada-san introduced himself to Chizuru-chan in a kind manner.

"I am Susumu Yamazaki." Yamazaki-san said politely as he quickly scanned over Chizuru-chan with a sharp, hawk-like gaze.

"Yo." was all Kenji-san said as he lifted his hand lazily in a short greeting, completely skipping out on introducing himself.

"I'm sure you've already heard, but your new mission is to locate a doctor by the name of Kodo Yukimura. He's been trained in western medicine." Otou-san address the new attendees of the meeting before he calmly laid out all the facts for the three men that just came in, plus Kyoko-chan, in a smooth and authoritative tone. "We've put out inquiries regarding his whereabouts, but we've not had any success as of yet. We can't confirm it, but the lack of information suggests some sort of organization is involved in the cover-up."

"I assume, then, that information about Kodo-san won't be falling into our laps?" asked Shimada-san.

"Right." affirmed Hijikata-san. "He could be kidnapped, or even covering his tracks on his own. Best guess: He's in hiding. Tread lightly. We don't know what's going on with him, so who knows who's watching."

The three men being address nodded.

"Very well, let's get to the reason we're all gathered here." Sannan-san spoke up. We've recently acquired a… trump card to assists us in finding information on Kodo-san."

"His daughter, right?" Kenji-san said quickly as he looked out of the corner of his eye back at Chizuru-chan.

"My, quick as always, Fuma-kun." Sannan-san complemented Kenji-san.

Meanwhile, when Kenji-san mentioned his educated guess, both Yamazaki-san and Shimada-san both looked at Chizuru-chan in surprised silence. Feeling the Inspectors' scrutiny, Chizuru-chan became stiff.

"This is top secret, but the Shinsengumi is searching for Kodo-san in connection to some confidential orders we received from the Bakufu" Otou-san said. "We have hidden both her identity and gender to keep important information from falling into the wrong hands, or ears. No one else must know."

"Understood, Chief. Does she know the full details of our orders?" Shimada-san asked, hinting at the rasetsu secret.

Hijikata-san brusquely shook his head and he narrowed his eyes before saying in a commanding tone, "She's not one of us, nor does she work for the shogunate. She doesn't need to know."

"I'm not worried, but I assume since Hijikata-san trusts you three that you know better than to whisper this intel into the wrong ears. Secrecy is our highest priority." Sannan-san said before smiling kindly at Kyoko-chan when she complained how Sannan-san left her out of the initial count.

"Yes, Colonel." Yamazaki-san replied. "We are grateful that the Commander has faith in us. There is no doubt that we will carry out this mission successfully."

Souji heaved a sigh in the face of Yamazaki-san's declaration. His eyes were dismissive as he stared at Yamazaki-san. I sighed tiredly at what was going to happen next. Here we go again…

"This is just great…" Souji said insultingly. "Anybody else think we're just creating more flunkies to blindly follow Hijikata-san, or is it just me?"

"…Do not insult us, or your superior, with thinking any of the Inspectors are so foolish as to blindly give our loyalty." Yamazaki-san said with narrowed icy eyes as he rose to meet Souji's challenge. "My respect for Commander Hijikata is genuine. That's all."

Souji gave Yamazaki-san a sideways sharp grin. The tension between those two could be felt by everyone in the room.

Stop it, Souji." Saito-san stepped in. "Don't needlessly start a fight inside the group."

"You too, Yamazaki. Calm down." Shimada-san said to Yamazaki-san. You mustn't speak back to a captain."

However, it was like neither of them had heard a single word. They continued glaring at each other before Hijikata-san grimaced and rubbed his forehead like it pained him. Deciding that I had enough of Souji's and Yamazaki-san's cat and dog relationship, I shot Kenji-san a quick look and he nodded at me when he received my silent message. At the same time, I slapped Souji's shoulder while Kenji-san, for whatever reason, decided to pull on Yamazaki-san's ponytail. Souji snapped out of his glare as he blinked at me in surprise while Yamazaki-san fell over at the amount of force Kenji-san used when he pulled Yamazaki-san's hair.

"Ouch! What the hell was that for?!" Yamazaki-san cried as he lost his composure. Kenji-san merely grinned in response.

"Meeting's over. Time to get to work." Kenji-san said as he strolled out the door. "Let's go Kyoko. We have to put our own men to work."

"Okay." Kyoko-chan said cheerfully as she followed after Kenji-san. "Bye Shizuka-chan~! I'll see you later?"

"Sure." I called to her as I wave good-bye.

Hijikata-san sighed before sternly saying, "You heard Kenji. Meeting's over. Everyone get the hell out. Yamazaki, Shimada, stay. I need to debrief you on what you should expect."

At Hijikata-san's orders, the captain all stood up and filed out of the room in single file. Quickly catching Chizuru-chan's eye before I left the room, I waved her over to where I was standing.

"Let's go back to your room now, okay?" I said.

Chizuru-chan nodded silently before she followed me out the room, leaving only the leaders in the main hall with the Inspectors behind.


Chizuru-chan let out a tense sigh the moment we returned to her room. The meeting we were just at must have made her incredibly nervous and now back in the peacefulness of her room, she was able to calm her mind.

"It's hard to believe we just ate breakfast just a little while ago…" Chizuru-chan said.

"Well, not really." I said as I pointed to the position of the sun through an open window. "The meeting was actually pretty long. It's already almost time for lunch."

"Oh!" Chizuru-chan exclaimed when she realized what I said.

"A meeting with all the captains was pretty stressful for you, huh?" I said. "They really are all good men, so no need to be so jumpy around them all the time. Don't worry, they'll all warm up to you soon enough."

Chizuru-chan nodded silently at my words, but it didn't seem like she quite believed me. I guess only time will change her opinion.

"Hmm… I think it's Harada-san's turn to prepare the food for lunch?" Chizuru-chan asked me after a short moment of silence.

"Yes, it's his turn." I said before picking up a journal full of medical notes off of Chizuru-chan's desk. "We have some time before lunch, so why don't I go over some of the material with you."

"Okay." Chizuru-chan said as she brightened up at having something to do while she waited for lunch.

However, less than an hour after I started going over the material with Chizuru-chan, a crash followed by the sound of ceramics breaking filled the room causing Chizuru-chan to jump. The sound was coming from the kitchen. A chorus of voices the filled the other end of the hallway shortly afterwards. What was going on? Could it be that cat making a mess of the kitchen again?

A week ago, a tan cat suddenly showed up in the kitchen and stole some food. After that, the cat would return to the kitchen every few days to steal some more food while creating a complete mess during that process. The captains had tried to keep the whole situation hushed so they wouldn't get in trouble with Hijikata-san, but each invasion the cat made always ended up with an exponentially worse mess. There was no way that they would be able to keep this from Hijikata-san if they didn't catch that cat soon.

"Hajime-kun, over there!" I heard Souji's voice down the hallway.

"…I know. But seeing it doesn't mean I can capture it. Look where it is." Saito-san retorted in annoyance.

"Stop moving your damn mouth and move your feet instead! Run!" Souji said right back at Saito-san, sounding more irritated than before.

"Wh-What are you guys doing he— Whoa?!" I heard Yamazaki-san next.

"What's going on out there…?" Chizuru-chan asked.

I sighed before answering, "It has to be that cat again…"

"Cat?" Chizuru-chan said while looking puzzle. She stood up from where she was sitting to crack open the door to take a peek at what was happening outside. I stood up shortly afterwards to join Chizuru-chan in sticking her head out the door.

When both Chizuru-chan and I peeked out the door, we were greeted with the most hilarious sight. Souji and Saito-san, two of the deadliest captains of the Shinsengumi, plus Yamazaki-san were running down the hall after the tan cat that had been raiding our kitchen for the past few days. Within the cat's mouth was a sardine it filched from the kitchen.

"Wh-What?! A cat?!" Yamazaki-san said as he pointed at Souji and accused him. "Don't tell me this is Okita-san's… Take responsibility and get it under control!"

"I've already said it's not mine, damnit…!" Souji yelled back as he tried to catch the cat. "I want to catch it just as much as you guys!"

"Souji. You seem to have time to argue…" Saito-san scolded Souji as the cat jumped away. "Move your feet instead!"

The three men scrambled down the hallway, focused and completely serious, were after that nuisance of a cat.

"Wh-What is going on?!" Chizuru-chan asked, not quite believing in her own eyes as she watched the three deadly men play tag with a cat. Standing completely dumbstruck, Chizuru-chan stood in place as the men barreled past us and watched their backs until they turned the next corner.

"Chizuru! Shizuka-chan!" Heisuke called us as he suddenly just appeared and started trotting towards us.

"Oh, Heisuke…!" Chizuru responded when he snapped her out of her stupor. "What was that all about…? Why were they running after a cat? Did something happen?"

"Oh, uh… Well it's kind of a long story." Heisuke said. "Do you both have time right now?"

"Sure." I said.

"We need to figure out our plan of attack!" Shinpachi-san said as he magically appeared out of nowhere. "Chizuru-chan, we're going to borrow your room."

"N-Nagakura-san?!" Chizuru-chan said in surprise as Shinpachi-san went in the room almost immediately after appearing.

"Oh, good idea!" Heisuke approved.

"What?!" Chizuru-chan blinked in more surprise.

"We don't have time to goof off. This takes top priority!" Heisuke explained before entering Chizuru-chan's room after Shinpachi-san.

"Sorry about this Chizuru." Sano-san said as he was next captain to appear. "All the other rooms nearby seemed to be occupied or in use. This is the only place we can use on short notice."

"U-Uh… Um…?!" Chizuru-chan managed to stutter out as she grew increasingly pale. She had to be feeling nervous from the number of captains inside her room right now.

"Oh, hey. Have you two seen Sano-san or Heisuke?" Souji said, as he was the next one to appear. "I've been trying to find them."

"They're inside." I said while pointing to Chizuru-chan's room.

"Uh, they said something about figuring out a plan of attack?" Chizuru-chan relayed what Shinpachi-san said. "So they went into my room for a meeting."

"A meeting? Excellent idea." Saito-san said as he appeared after Souji. "We should join them."

"Huh?" Chizuru-chan said with her head spinning.

"Come on. You're coming too, Shizuka." Souji said as he took me by my arm and ushered me inside as he and Saito-san both entered the room, leaving Chizuru-chan standing outside in confusion by herself.

"Hey, get in here Chizuru." Sano-san gestured to Chizuru-chan inside as he soon as he noticed her standing outside by herself. "If the other men spot you hanging out in the hallway outside your own room, it'll be hell to explain."

"Ah, um okay!" Chizuru-chan said as she tentatively stepped back into the room.


"It started in the kitchen." Shinpachi-san started dramatically while rubbing the back of his neck and deliberately avoiding looking anyone in the eye as soon as we were all seated in a circle in the room. "Sano and I are in charge of lunch today, so we were getting things ready like usual… But then—out of nowhere!—that thing got in. And everything we had is just…gone. It's like a warzone in there."

"Um…" Chizuru-chan said. What Shinpachi-san said must have made no sense to Chizuru-chan because she didn't know about the problems the cat was causing. She didn't even know that the cat existed until today.

"You're talking about the cat, right?" asked Chizuru-chan. "It got in the kitchen? Did it do something?"

"It knocked over all the pots and pans we'd been using. Of course the food went everywhere. I think I even saw some hit the ceiling." Sano-san explained as his mouth twisted bitterly. Both Sano-san and Shinpachi-san looked bleak as they spoke about the situation.

"O-Oh. Oh no…" Chizuru-chan gasped sympathetically.

"Right now it's looking like we won't have lunch. But that's not the worst part…" Sano-san said with a cringe.

"It's not…?" asked Chizuru-chan.

"Hijikata-san's gonna go full Demon on us." Heisuke explained. "He might string us up by our thumbs, or make us sit and listen to him lecture about wasted food for HOURS."

I snorted at the last part of Heisuke's sentence. "Like Hijikata-san is someone who can lecture on wasting food. You don't want to know how much food was thrown out in the earlier days from before Hijikata-san was banned from the kitchen."

Souji bit back a snicker at my comment before he responded to what Heisuke said. "We can only hope we get off that easy. With the mood he's in, he might add fists, or blades." Souji said wryly.

After Souji finished speaking, the room fell quiet as the mood in the room turned dark. Saito-san's voice pierced the gloom of the room. He spoke softly, but everyone could hear how serious he was.

"We must keep this matter quiet." Saito-san said. "The commander should not be troubled with this. We can take care of this issue ourselves."

"Where is he right now…?" Chizuru-chan asked.

"He's still back in the main hall. Talking to Kondou-san and Sannan-san about official business." Heisuke answered.

"If we interrupted an important meeting for this, with him how he is right now… We might not be presentable to the public for months. Some of us might not ever be found." Souji said wryly, causing the room to go silent once more. The tension in the room tightened once more and the air nearly hummed with the tension.

"Anyway, to keep this from Hijikata-san, we'll have to clean up the kitchen and cook again." Shinpachi-san said.

"We can't ignore that cat either." Souji added.

"We should split up." suggested Saito-san.

"Shinpachi and I will somehow deal with cleaning the kitchen." Sano-san said.

"I'll help too." I said. "You guys have to clean the kitchen and prepare a new meal, so you could use the extra hand."

"Then Hajime-kun and I will try to do something about that cat." Souji said. "Also, Sano-san, Shinpachi-san, keep Shizuka away from the stove. The scent of half-cooked food often makes her queasy."

Sano-san and Shinpachi-san nodded at Souji's instructions.

"W-Wait a minute!" Heisuke said in a panic when he realized he didn't have a partner. "You want me to hold up Hijikata-san and the other two on my own?"

At Heisuke's words, all the eyes in the room shifted to Chizuru-chan.

"You're not doing it alone." Saito-san answered Heisuke.

"Eh? M-Me?" Chizuru-chan stuttered when she realized who everyone was looking at.


"Thanks a bunch for helping, Shizuka. You're saving our skins by coming with Shinpachi and me." Sano-san said to me as the three of us headed towards the kitchen.

I narrowed my eyes at Sano-san as I scanned him over. Something didn't feel quite right. "There's something you didn't mentioned at the meeting…am I right?" I said.

Sano-san and Shinpachi-san deflated at my suspicions. "…There's a mean old man in the kitchen right now. He, uh, saw the giant mess in there and is pretty pissed off." Sano-san answered.

"Well see, after the pots went flying everywhere and made a horrible racket, Gen-san came in to see what was going on." Shinpachi-san explained. "He was all 'What the hell happened here?!' and went off on us. It was like he snapped."

"Well, Inoue-san never did like messes or wasting food." I pointed out.

Shinpachi-san took what I said in stride before continuing on with is explanation. "He was so steamed I thought he was going to draw his sword. I'd never seen him so furious." Shinpachi-san said as he coward a bit.

"If Inoue-san is still mad in the kitchen then what did you guys do after Inoue-san appeared…?" I asked hesitantly. Did they at least try to appease Inoue-san or did they…

"Are you kidding? We ran for our lives." Sano-san said. "We've been hiding out here ever since."

I figured as much…

"So I suppose that means we have an extra step: Calm Gen-san first, and THEN clean the kitchen, after that we can finally make lunch." Sano-san said.


"There you are, you miserable little cretins!" Inoue-san yelled the moment Sano-san opened the kitchen door.

His voice rattled the walls, intense and frightening; it had been ages since I had last seen Inoue-san like this. The last time Inoue-san was like this was when I was eleven and Souji was thirteen. What happened the last time Inoue-san was like this was when Souji accidentally hit Inoue-san with the prank he had planned for Hijikata-san. Souji bolted when he realized he got the wrong person and left me to deal with a very pissed off Inoue-san.

"C-C'mon now, Gen-san… Just calm down." Shinpachi-san spoke first as he raised his hands in a placating manner with a forced smile while trying to calm Inoue-san down. "No point in scolding us now, right? The food's already a mess and yelling won't get it back. Anyway, we need to figure out how to get rid of the evidence fast."

"Don't give me that 'anyway' nonsense, young man!" Inoue-san angrily yelled back at Shinpachi-san before he deflated and sighed heavily. "… Nothing to do but start cleaning. Quickest way to make it look like it didn't happen. The floor first, perhaps?"

"Well, good thing we brought help." Sano-san said in a soothing voice to help calm Inoue-san down as he jerked his head in my direction. "Shizuka's going to give us a hand. There'll be four of us tackling this, so it shouldn't be too difficult."

"Well, no point in standing around and just talking about the mess." I said as I began to tie my sleeves back while Sano-san threw a grateful smile at me. "Gotta actually start working to get this kitchen clean."

"I knew we could count on you." Sano-san said. "Let's hurry and clean this place up before the Oni comes around."

Inoue-san suggested that we clean the floor first, but when I looked at the floor, it didn't look quite as bad as I thought it was going to be. Inoue-san must have started to clean the floor himself after Sano-san and Shinpachi-san had fled the kitchen the first time around. Thanks to Inoue-san thinking ahead, it didn't take too much time for the kitchen to be cleaned.

"Still, looking back at it… It's truly a sad sight. So much ruined food…" Inoue-san said depressingly after the kitchen was tidied up.

"Hmm, how about using the rice that fell on the floor as fertilizer out in the field?" Shinpachi-san suggested.

"That sounds good." I agreed. "Just leave the bucket of spoiled food by the door and I'll take it out to the field later with Chizuru-chan."

"Alright." Sano-san said with an appreciative grin. "I go with you and Chizuru-chan later to help. A pregnant woman shouldn't be straining herself too much, after all."

"So now we need to get started on lu—" I started but was interrupted by a loud crash outside.

"Uh-oh! That's pretty bad, Hajime-kun." I heard Souji's wry voice from outside. "Hijikata-san's definitely gonna give you shit for that!"

"W-Would you please focus! We don't have the time to argue over this right now!" Saito-san argued back.

"Man, sounds like Souji and Saito have their hands full trying to take care of things out there…" Sano-san commented after a moment.

"Maybe they could use some extra help?" I said, but we really could not afford to spare them too much of a hand as we had our own hands full in the kitchen.

"I have a bad feeling about this." Inoue-san spoke up with a grimace. "Hmm, I think I'll go take a look."

"If you're leaving, then I'll fill in for you and help prepare lunch." I said.

"Oh, I would feel much better if you did, thank you. But if you feel sick while preparing lunch then please step out to get some fresh air and leave everything else to Harada-kun and Nagakura-kun." Inoue-san said before he stepped out of the kitchen.

"So… What exactly are we going to make?" Sano-san asked Shinpachi-san while sounding a little lost after Inoue-san had left.

"We used most of the ingredients already, and a bunch ended up on the floor, so we'll have to make do with what's left. That's…not good." Shinpachi-san said as he scratched the back of his head.

"Yeah, I had a feeling." Sano-san said as he started to look worried. "We don't have a lot of time either. Better come up with something we can make, and fast."

"So…Sano… You got something in mind, right? At least give us something to work with." Shinpachi-san said.

"Why the hell are you putting it all on me?" Sano-san panicked. "I'm barely better than you at cooking. I can't think of a dish at the drop of a hat like that."

…If I let Sano-san and Shinpachi-san decide what to prepare for lunch then we would never be able to get everything done by the time it was time for lunch. Deciding that I need to take charge, I quickly took stock of what we had left in the kitchen. It was probably time to go grocery shopping again.

"The miso soup still looks untouched by the fiasco in the kitchen earlier and we still have some taro." I said as I caught the two arguing men's attention. "We can use the taro to make simmered satoimo and use some of the pickled vegetables we have stored away as another dish."

"Ah! I forgot that Shizuka-chan's here!" Shinpachi-san exclaimed in relief. "We're saved! Shizuka-chan can take care of the cooking for us!"

"Oi! Idiot!" Sano-san scolded Shinpachi-san. "Shizuka can only give us instructions on what to do. She still gets nauseous around half-cooked foods most of the time."

"…I forgot about that." Shinpachi-san said sheepishly. "So, what do you need us to do?"

"Sano-san, the miso soup was untouched by the mess earlier, but it was never finished. I'll leave the miso soup to you because it's almost impossible to mess up miso soup." I said. "As for Shinpachi-san, I'll need you to help me peel the taros."

"Right!" both men said before setting to work. However, we didn't work for long before another crash was heard. This time the source of noise was from the front gates.

"Souji, you must feel ashamed of yourself." I heard Saito-san say. "A captain in the Shinsengumi is unable to catch a cat."

"Speak for yourself, Hajime-kun." I heard Souji defend himself. "I don't see you doing any better and we're equal rank!"

"There go Souji and Saito again." Sano-san commented. "Damn if they aren't noisy as hell."

"Looks like they still haven't caught the cat." I said as I backed away from the pot that contained the simmering satomio. I was hoping I could finish with the taro before I started feeling sick, but that clearly wasn't going to happen.

"To be able to taunt and outrun a pair of skilled guys like those two… Damn. That cat has balls." Shinpachi-san complimented the cat before the two men laughed loudly.

"Hmm? Shizuka, are you alright?" Sano-san asked in concern when he saw me back away from the pot.

"I'm done in the kitchen." I said with my hand covering my nose and mouth. "I'm starting to feel a little sick. Ugh…"

"Sano, I'll take Shizuka-chan outside for some fresh air." Shinpachi-san volunteered.

"Wait a moment!" Sano-san objected. "It would be best if I did that. I know you'll just use this chance to wiggle out of cooking."

"Hmm? What was that? I couldn't hear you over the sound of the soup boiling." Shinpachi-san said with a giant grin as he led me out of the kitchen.

"Let the taro boil in the pot for twelve more minutes." I called back to Sano-san before Shinpachi-san and I stepped outside of the kitchen.


"…What the hell?" I muttered to myself when I entered the yard with Shinpachi-san.

The yard was a complete mess. One of the trees near the front gate appeared to have been uprooted, the trunk completely whole…and horizontal.

"Damn, it's like a typhoon went through here. There's no way in hell we can hide this. Not good." Shinpachi-san said as he started to sweat. "But how do you knock down a tree from chasing a small cat?"

"They probably chased the cat up the tree and when they tried to climb up after it, the tree fell over when it couldn't carry their combined weight." I said as I began massaging my forehead. This was going to take a lot of work to clean up.

"Ah, I see." Shinpachi-san said as he scanned the yard.

"I'm going to go lay down." I said after a moment when my nausea decidedly wasn't going away. "You should probably go back to the kitchen and help Sano-san finish up lunch."

"Ye—" Shinpachi-san started before a meow cut him off.

I looked down at where the meow came from to see the cat that Souji and Saito-san were after rubbing itself boldly against Shinpachi-san's leg. Of course this was going to happen… Animals were always attracted to Shinpachi-san for some strange reason. We probably could have avoided the whole mess in the yard if we had sent Shinpachi-san after the cat instead of the other two.

"Huh. Look at that." Shinpachi-san said as he stared at the cat rubbing itself against his leg. "Hey you." he said to the cat. "You're causing a lot of problems around here, you know that? And here you are, cool as can be."

The cat just meowed at him as it happily continued rubbing itself against his leg.

"Couldn't you at least act like you feel bad for what you did? But look, here you are, purring and content." Shinpachi-san said before bending down and rubbing the cat underneath its chin. "It's all your fault we're scrambling to fix things, after all. You've been leading us on quite a chase."

After Shinpachi-san was done talking to the cat, he scooped the small animal up in his arms and turned around.

"I'll go let Saito and Souji know I caught the cat." Shinpachi-san told me.

"Alright." I said. "I'll go relieve Chizuru-chan and Heisuke from distracting Hijikata-san before I go lay down."

I quickly made my way to the main hall afterwards. Souji and Saito-san did make a lot of noise during their chase and there was no way that Hijikata-san didn't expect something was wrong. Chizuru-chan and Heisuke would probably be very relieved to be released from their duties. As I approached the door to the main hall I could hear Hijikata-san's frustrated voice.

"What are you saying, Kondou-san? We shouldn't make a fuss over just one cat."

Oops, looks like Heisuke and Chizuru-chan couldn't keep Hijikata-san from finding out about the cat in the end. Deciding it was best to put those two out of their misery, I opened the door to step in and tell them the status of the cat.

"Huh? Is something wrong Shizu-chan?" Otou-san asked me the moment I opened the door and stepped in. "You look a little sick."

I sighed tiredly before I went over to where Otou-san was sitting. I laid down on my side as I placed my head on Otou-san's lap before answering.

"I do feel a bit like throwing up." I admitted. Otou-san rubbed my side in a comforting manner.

"Shizuka, don't tell me you know about the cat too." Hijikata-san said as he looked sternly at me. I guess me feeling sick wasn't going to protect me from Hijikata-san's interrogation.

"There's no need to worry about the cat anymore." I answered. "Shinpachi-san caught it a few minutes ago."

"Huh? Shinpat-san did?" asked Heisuke. "I thought he was supposed to be in the kitchen?"

"He was, but I started feeling sick so he took me outside to get some air. That's when the cat walked up to him and started to rub itself against his leg." I answered. "There should be nothing else to worry about."

However, as soon as I said that, a crash resounded in the yard.

"Hey! Get back here!"

"Meow!"

"Damnit! Why did you guys run up to me! Of course the cat is going to jump and run as soon as it saw the giants that were chasing it earlier!"

"Shut your mouth and move, Shinpachi!"

"…I spoke too soon, didn't I?" I said with a stressed sigh. Hijikata-san facepalmed in response.


I stirred from sleep due to the extreme the urge to pee. The baby just had to be sitting on top of my bladder. Why couldn't it sit on top of some useless organ, like the appendix, or at least an organ that wouldn't make me want to run to the restroom every night? Carefully wiggling out of Souji's grasp, I got out of the futon so I could head to use the facilities without waking him up.

"Mmm… Shizuka…?" Souji mumbled with his eyes closed before groping around the futon for me as I slipped out the door.

The situation with the cat earlier today didn't end well. The cat was never caught again after it escaped from Shinpachi-san's arms and everyone had to endure a harsh scolding from Hijikata-san. That was before Hijikata-san stepped outside and saw the mess that resulted from chasing that cat around. Many trees in the courtyard had toppled over, the laundry was all over the floor, and there was even a whole bamboo fence that had been knocked over. When Hijikata-san saw the mess, he exploded. Needless to say, after some more severe punishment for the guys, they ended up spending the whole day cleaning up the massive mess in the courtyard.

After finishing up my business, I washed my hands before heading back to the bedroom, but paused when I saw Hijikata-san sitting on the roka and speaking to the very same cat that caused the mishap earlier today.

"Do cats have easier lives than humans?" Hijikata-san gently asked the cat with a soft expression as the cat just sat obediently and listened to him. "No. We are all living beings, so there is essentially no difference. How could you wander into the famous Mibu Wolves' den so carelessly?"

The cat just merely meowed back cutely and innocently in response to Hijikata-san's questions. This whole scene was adorable. It was quite amazing how he could get the stray cat to sit and listen to him obediently.

"If you have a great responsibility, then you shouldn't do this." Hijikata-san continued with a small smile forming on his face. "Don't give me that face. It'll be troublesome if you feel attached. Hurry up and leave. This is the Shinsengumi's headquarters. There's no way we can raise cats here."

With one small wave of his hand, Hijikata-san gently shooed the cat away and it disappeared into the bushes after meowing cutely one last time. Once the cat was gone, Hijikata-san stood up and stared at the bushes the cat disappeared into before turning his head while rearing a terrifyingly strict glare.

"What are you doing?" he asked harshly.

Who was he talking to? Because I know that he certainly wasn't talking to me. Turning my gaze to who he was glaring at, I saw Chizuru-chan, who was by her open window while dressed in her sleepwear, freeze up and nervously avert her gaze.

"Ah, um…" she stuttered as she ran her fingers up and down the window's frame to distract herself from Hijikata-san's terrifying glare.

"If it's late, then sleep." Hijikata-san barked at her.

"I-I'm sorry."

"Go to sleep!"

"Okay!" she exclaimed out of fright before she bowed, or at least tried to bow to Hijikata-san. Hijikata-san had scared her so much that she forgotten she was standing at a window, so when she tried to bow...she slammed her head on the window still. "OW!" she cried before disappearing from the window.

Hijikata-san remained in place as he continued to stare at the window, completely baffled by what he just witnessed, before smiling to himself. I bet he was thinking that was incredibly cute.

"So, what are you doing up." he then said after a short while before turning to me. So he noticed me too?

"I needed to use the facilities, then I got sidetracked while returning to my room." I said as Hijikata-san approached me.

"Facilities again?"

"Well, I do happen to have a baby sitting on top of my bladder." I said as I rubbed the underside of my growing belly. "You would have to too if you had another human sitting on top of your bladder."

"Fair enough." he said with a tired sigh before he placed his own hand on my belly briefly. "Here, why don't I walk you back to your room?"

I nodded back with a small smile and allowed him to begin steering me back to the bedroom.

"So, that was rather cute." I commented on our way back as I referred to the cat. "I bet Chizuru-chan thought that too."

"She wasn't supposed to see that." he grunted as he averted his gaze in annoyance.

"But she did. I bet she'll no longer be as terrified of you as much as she was before."

Hijikata-san merely huffed without saying anything back to me.

"Besides, isn't this a good thing? Despite being the Oni Vice Captain, it's not like you actually want anyone to be terrified of you. It just comes with the job."

"Alright, enough speculation for now." Hijikata-san said gruffly as we arrived back at my room. He sighed one more time before playfully ruffling my hair. "Go back to sleep." he said after he walked off.

"Goodnight!" I called back to him before entering the bedroom, only to find Souji staring blankly at my empty side of the futon with a small frown on his lips.

So I did wake him up. I slid the doors closed with a small thud, causing Souji to blink a few times before he snapped back into focus.

"Sorry, did I wake you earlier?" I asked before I made my way back to the futon.

"Where did you go?" he asked instead as he wrapped his arms around me when I got back into the futon. He quickly pulled me close and spooned me from behind as his hands came to rest on my belly.

"The facilities." I answered bluntly as I got comfortable again.

"Heh, is that so?" he said into the nape of my neck before drifting off to sleep again.

The next day, Chizuru-chan didn't seem so nervous and scared around the captains anymore. After she had seen Hijikata-san's softer side, she had come to the conclusion that she didn't need to be so terrified of the captains anymore.