April 1866
After the disaster of our capture of Sakamoto, Hijikata-san finally understood that having Chizuru as a spy wasn't the brightest idea and he decided to assign her somewhere else. He asked Yamazaki and her to exchange their knowledge about western and eastern medecine. She wasn't a doctor, of course, but the little she knew, she shared with enthousiasm. And as for Yamazaki, his family used to be pharmacists and he had a lot of knowledge about chinese medecine. I could often see them together outside with some books, talking about how they could use it to cure something. She had also been assigned to take care of Souji's health but he wasn't really willing to make her task easier. She wasn't allowed to enter his room and he often was sending back his meals without even touching them. Sometimes, she could manage to find something he really liked and get him to feed himself but that wasn't every meal and worse, it wasn't everyday. Souji's health was beginning to decline and everyone could see that he had thinned. His body was less muscular than it once was and even if he was still trying to train everyday, he wasn't getting his muscles back. His cheeks, originally full, were now carved, and even his emerald eyes were less shiny than they used to be.
With all this, Chizuru had her hands full. She was still doing a lot of chores around the compound but her other obligations forced her to ask for help from the men and the captains and so, the chores were better assigned too.
As i was walking passed them, Chizuru and Yamazaki greeted me politely and i nodded. Still with a book in hand, Yamazaki was explaining to Chizuru the benefit of acupuncture on the body as a whole, how it could cure disease but also relieve stress and anxiety. Chizuru was particularly enthusiastic and i felt a bit sad not to have any peculiar knowledge to share with her. I continued my route towards the dojo where i was supposed to instruct some men. Hijikata-san ordered me to join Harada and Nagakura as instructor to release Souji from this obligation and making him rest some more. At first, Souji erupted into anger but now, he accepted it.
« Wait ! Saito ! » i heard Chizuru yell.
I turned over to the sight of her and Yamazaki running toward me.
« What is it ? » i asked.
« Could you try and get Okita away from his room ? We need to do a big cleanup but he wouldn't let us in and wouldn't do it himself. »
I sighed. Matsumoto-sensei had explained Souji countless times already that the only way he could be treated would be with rest and a clean environment. Souji insisted to stay at the compound but he wasn't following Matsumoto-sensei's orders about the cleanliness and freshness of his room and so, we had to use these kind of stratagems to clean for him.
« Understood. » i said before heading to Souji's room.
I announced myself before entering to find Souji leaning on a wall, reading a book with a smirk.
« Why do i get the pleasure of your presence ? » he asked me.
« I'm going to a training session at the dojo as instructor. I could use some guidance. » i said calmly.
« Yeah, you probably are gonna scare them away if i'm not there. You're not the most patient man i know when it comes to swordsmanship. » he said, hiding the book under his futon. « Right, let's go. »
He got up and followed me to the training room. I had fithteen students today. I was a bit late and so, they were already waiting for me senzai in perfect columns of five. The ones who practiced with me were expected to have this kind of discipline. I would not accept students leaning on a wall panel or reunited in groups while they wait. I recognized Tairô, the youngest of my unit, who had never been missing an Iai lesson since i've been promoted instructor. I positioned myself in front of them and bowed to them. They bowed too, their katana lying in front of them.
« Thank you, Kumichô ! » they said, at the same time.
« Thank you for being here. » i replied.
We all stood up and i put my swords on my left side like a right-handed for the course. We started with some simple exercises. Souji was leaning on the wall, arms crossed. When they were ready, we continued with some basic iai.
« No. » i said while sighing « your hips must do all the work. Not your arms. Look. »
I grabbed my katana on my left side, left knee on the front and pushed back my hips to help me unsheathe. I cut the air taking a step forward and bringing my hips to the front.
« See ? Hips get back to unsheathe then, they come to the adversary while stepping forward to gain strength and rapidity. Now you do it. »
I walked around the men to look at their movements but it wasn't brilliant.
« No. » i told one of them, correcting his posture. « When you unsheathe, your katana must be flat, the sharpe edge on the outside. Otherwise, if you keep it the normal way, with the rapidity of the movement, you could cut your own ear off. » he positioned his katana flat and unsheathed. « Better. You unsheathe flat, you sheath flat. Like this »
I showed him the correct movement and he mimicked it. I nodded and turned to the others. They were all doing the same mistake.
« Stop. » i told them « we are going to unsheathe and sheath until you can do it right. »
They all obeyed and i went from one to another to correct their movement one by one. When they were able to satisfy me, they moved on to another exercise, the cut i showed them at the beginning. In the corner of my eye, i saw Souji, probably bored, starting to move to get out. I wasn't sure Yukimura and Yamazaki had finished with the cleaning so i stopped him.
« For the next movement, i need to show you a real situation. Souji, would you mind, please ? »
He turned over with a smirk and came closer.
« I thought you'd never ask. » he said playfully.
« Good. I need you to try and grab my sword. » i said calmly.
Souji stayed in front of me, taunting me and in a swift movement, he tried to get my katana. In a blink, my blade was on his neck just like i did with Chizuru two years ago.
« Alright. Seen what happened here ? » i asked the men but they all shook their head. I had been too quick. « First, i turn. » i explained, doing the movements very slowly as i was explaining them. « Instead of bringing my left hand, sorry, my right hand, on the katana, i bring the katana on my hips to my right hand. Then, i grab my katana but not on the top like we're used to but by underneath. I unsheathe flat. And i strike with my elbow. » i put my blade back on Souji's neck. « The katana must be like the prolongation of the line from my hand to my elbow. » i sheathed and turn to the men. « Understood ? »
« Hai ! Kumichô ! » the replied.
« Do it. » i said and i turned to Souji while they were all at it. « Thank you. »
« You're welcome. » he smiled « although i would have prefered a real duel. »
« Maybe next time. » i smiled in return as i noticed Chizuru's head pass the shoji with a nod to informe me they had finished.
Souji stayed during all the practice session though and i even saw him practice a little of iai discretely. He always told me that he wasn't interested in something else than the Tennen Rishin Ryû of Kondou-san but he couldn't help but trying new things when he get the chance. I knew he would never change his style, whatever he could learn, but knowledge was power. With a bit of knowledge of iai technics, he could find ways to dodge them. That was the true spirit of a warrior. Learn from your enemies. Chizuru, who was looking from afar also tried to get in the course. It wasn't that easy but she managed just fine and i felt proudness from her progress. The course finished, we parted way. Souji had a round with Toudou and i saw them go along with Chizuru, still looking for her father after all those years. I looked at them going away under the first cherry blossoms of the season and lift my head up to look at this gorgeous sight, lost in my thoughts.
Hi everyone, before the next chapter, i will do a quick Questions and Answers so if you have any questions about my story, feel free to comment them or PM me. The QA will be released with an actual chapter so if you are not interested, you could jump it.