July 1866
I was making a round with Souji, the last of the day before the Rasetsu take their turn. We had a permission after and were supposed to join Harada, Nagakura and Toudou in Shimabara, in a pleasure house they affectionate. My unit was walking silently as always, disciplined behind Tetsuya and Tairo. Souji's men was a bit less disciplined but i wasn't complaining. Although i wouldn't accept this coming from my unit, they weren't my men.
« How come Okita-san always let Saito-san walk at his left ? » i heard one of Souji's unit ask to another « is it a way to show that Saito-san's a better warrior than he is ? »
Souji seemed to have heard too and looked at me with a smirk.
You wish... i could nearly hear him say.
The man asking the question was probably new or, not a very observant person. It is true that normally, Souji should be the one walking at my left. He was the captain of the first division and i was the captain of the third. Therefore, he's higher ranked than me and i should honor his rank by taking his right. But Souji and I couldn't care less about rank when it comes to efficiency. The reason was much more simpler : I was left handed. Therefore, we could easily dodge any opponent because his right hand will strike on the right, and my left hand, on the left, leaving no space for any opponent to strike. Left-handed swordmen weren't common though even when born left-handed so i understood why the man thought it was a rank issue.
I heard a noise and my thumb unsheathe my katana a little. I wasn't mistaken. Ronins came from an alley, swords up, probably trying to be threatening but unfortunately, they were in front of Okita Souji, the sword of The Shinsengumi, captain of the first division, and Saito Hajime, captain of the third division. We didn't budge while they circled our men with a mischievous grin. In swordsmanship, the first to strike is usually the one loosing and we had far too much experience to make that mistake.
« Okita Souji... » said the one who looked like the commander. « We meet again. »
« I'm sorry, am i supposed to know you ? » asked Souji with a smirk.
« Shut up ! Don't play dumb with me ! You killed my brother last month ! » he yelled and Souji shrugged with disinterest.
« I'm sorry, i can't remember every brother i kill... » he took a fighting stance and his smile grew wider « wanna join him ? »
And with this simple provocation, it was chaos. The blades hit each others with clatter of metal and the wounded started screaming in pain. In a few seconds, the corspes of the ronins were lying on the ground, dead. Two were fleeing, thinking they were unnoticed.
« Catch them. » i said to Tairô and Tetsuya and they ran after them.
I had a complete trust that they would come back with their heads. A running man is not a fighting man, it's easier to kill for someone well trained. I took a look at Souji, sheathing his blade after cleaning it in the kimono of one of the dead men. He was smiling with blood all over his face and haori. The Sword of The Shinsengumi. Unfaltering. As he always had been. Only I could decipher that his breathe wasn't as steady as it used to be. He was starting to tire more easily even if he was trying his best to hide it. I didn't say anything and cleaned my sword before sheathing it.
A few minutes later, my men came back with their trophy and i nodded to acknowledge that they did a good job. Now that they had proven their success, they didn't need the heads anymore and so they dropped them on the pile of corpses.
« Ara... They ruined our haori... » sighed Souji, still with his smirk.
I looked at myself and sighed as well. My haori was splashed with blood all over it. I passed an hand on my face to see that i had some there too and i used my sleeve to clean it away.
« I hate it when it happens... » i heard Souji mutter. « Well, at least it's the blue one, not the white one. That would have pissed me off. »
I nodded. Souji always had a preference for our night haori, the white one. It wasn't a matter of color, not at all, it was just that it was designed by Kondou-san. Souji was looking up to Kondou like a father since he was a kid. I wondered why Kondou never adopted him officially but that wasn't my business anyway.
« I guess we will have to get back to the compound before getting out... » he muttered again.
He started walking and i followed, taking my place next to him at the head of the column. The patrol didn't have any more incident and we got back to the headquarters. I handed my haori to Tairô before going to the well to wash my face and hair. The blood had splattered everywhere, even on my kimono and so i went to my room to change it before joining Souji and we headed to Shimabara together.
We found the others in an oiran house where they usually go, the Sumiya. It was less luxurious than the one where i was meeting Yuki but still a very fine house and also the biggest if Shimabara. I knew that a lot of our men were going there frequently. When we arrived, Toudou was already drunk and Nagakura didn't seem very far to join him in total drunkenness. We sat with them and ordered some drinks that the oiran brought us very quickly but that wasn't because of us.
« Here are the drinks for your friends, Harada-han, do you need something else ? » said an oiran with a blue kimono.
« Please tell us if you need anything, Harada-han. » added one in red.
« Do you wish me to dance, Harada-han ? » asked the third in an orange kimono.
I sighed. Things like this never change. Everywhere Harada would go, every woman was here ready to bow to any of his wishes.
« Aaaaaaaaah ! » yelled Nagakura holding his head with both hands « how is it that you are so popular ! That's not fair ! »
« I'm not that popular... » objected Harada with an embarassed smile.
« Sano's so popular ! Sano's so popular ! » was singing Toudou, moving back and forth « eat that, Shin ! »
« I'm gonna make you eat this ! » yelled Nagakura, showing his fist to Toudou in anger before they both exploded in laughter.
Yeah...they're drunk...
I sipped my sake silently, savoring it. It was a very fine one with a sweet taste and a lot of aromas. After the bloodbath a few hours ago, it was really appreciated.
« Hey, have you heard ? » said Harada to me « Gion's festival is cancelled this year. »
« Is it ? » i asked.
« Yeah... Apparently the second Choshu expedition isn't really going according to plan and they don't want to have any incidents. »
I nodded. I had news that the expedition was encountering a powerful resistance. Some neighbors domains of the Choshu, although allied with the Bakufu, weren't really trying to crush the enemy and the Choshu was well equipped. If the imperialists in Kyoto heard about this too, this could explain why they were gaining confidence. We had a lot of street altercations lately. I was a bit sad not to be able to take Chizuru to Gion's matsuri this year but it was preferable to cancel it completely than putting her in an unnecessary danger.
We spent nearly all night there, talking about the shogunate, laughing and drinking, exchanging souvenirs about the Sheikan hall... After a while though, it was time to get back to the compound. The sun was rising and the pleasure house was closing. Nagakura got his pouch out before looking at me with embarrassment.
« Saito... » he said in a pleading voice.
« Understood. » i sighed.
It was a secret for no one that my pay was usually better than theirs since the assassination missions often went with a bounty directly from the Bakufu or the Aizu domain. And i was also spending less than them, always out partying. I paid the bill and we all headed out the Sumiya.
« Thanks, Saito ! » yelled Nagakura, grabbing my shoulder. « I really owe on that one. »
« Do not worry about it. » i said to be polite but i knew he wasn't going to worry anyway. He'll be back drinking and partying as soon as he had money to spend.
« Next time, it's on us ! I promise ! » he added with a giant smile, tapping on my shoulder.
« Alright. »
« When he says "on us" he meens on Sano and me anyway ! This one isn't capable of managing his money, anyway ! » said Toudou, both hands behind his head.
In this position, he couldn't dodge the fist that Nagakura sent him in the guts and it cut his breath. He got back on his feet in the second and showed his fist to Nagakura in anger.
« Told you it was coming ! » said Nagakura.
« Don't think i'm gonna let you get away with it, Shin ! » yelled Toudou.
The rest of us kept walking. This kind of fight was pretty common between Nagakura and Toudou and drunk, no one could stop them anyway. They will fight to hurt the other the more they can then fall into one another's arms to say how much they respect each other and then get back to the compound. Staying to watch would only be wasting our time.