We walked since dawn to Nihonmatsu. We weren't moving fast, due to our number and I tasked Haruhi with Chizuru's protection. If she needed anything, I was to be warned immediately. She never asked for anything once though, probably out of fear that I would send her to Wakamatsu. With her five months belly, moving that much was surely difficult but she was hiding it, walking at the same pace than us in her woman hakama, tied under her breasts and offering her a good range of movement.
She wrapped her stomach in a hara-obi as suitable but I suspected that she did it more to please me than to protect the baby from spirits and falls. We stopped at a shintô shrine on the road while the warriors could take a few minutes of rest and we asked the monks to bless the fabric for a healthy child and a safe delivery. So that the child could have my strength, Chizuru sewed a piece of one of my underwear inside the 4 meter long white obi. I was pleased that she eventually listened to me. Western medecine was probably of good help but japanese women had given birth with the japanese way since the beginning of times. Maybe they weren't totally wrong to do things this way if it was working. The hara-obi was a good thing. It was protecting it from evil spirits, accidents, falls and keeping it warm while increasing its strength. It would have been stupid not to use it.
Chizuru was pissed though, I could see it clearly on her face. Although she was trying her best to hide it from me, she was considering all my beliefs about the hara-obi as stupid folklore. Plus, now that she was wearing it, she was officially defiled and wasn't allowed to enter a temple before our child's presentation. Not that she was a really pious person but the interdiction was enough to angry her. The monks hadn't been very considerate either. They explained to her how spoiled she was now and I knew that only her love for me refrained her from insulting them in return and going berserk. She just pursed her lips and endured it, daggers in her eyes.
When we got out, I wanted to say to her that she wasn't defiled to me, all the contrary. She was glowing, radiant. She was even more beautiful than she was before. Yet, I didn't say anything, her aura particularly dissuasive. I decided to give her time and maybe talk to her later when I wouldn't risk to unleash a typhoon over my head.
We arrived safely to Nihonmatsu where we joined the Denshutai. After we set up the encampment, I reunited the men. We were near a bigger town now and there was a prostitution house which would be a great asset for the troop morale. In our previous camp, there were some farm girls coming sometimes, looking for easy money, but three or four girls for 1400 men... That was more frustrating than pleasing. I decided on a schedule to be sure the pleasure house wouldn't be overrun by our hundred men and that the encampment would still be efficiently protected. They were forbidden to come back totally drunk and to party beyond their given time. Anyone who wouldn't respect the orders would be severely punished.
« Are you gonna go ? » asked Chizuru while I was sharpening my sword again.
« Probably with the other commanders if they offer me to join them. » I answered in my toneless voice, eyes on my task.
« Okay... » said Chizuru with a small pout that she thought was invisible but my wife never hid her emotions well.
« I'm only planning on drinking sake. » I reassured her, oiling my blade and inspecting it.
So thin now... I will have to change my katana in a few months. This one will soon be of no use.
« Yeah, I know. » she replied, still pursing her lips.
I smiled a bit. It was cute how she was trying to hide her jealousy from me. She didn't have to be, I wouldn't lay with any prostitutes now that I had a wife. And I wasn't planning on having concubines either. My family was already enough work for me to complicate the situation even more.
I put my katana back in my scabbard, satisfied, and stood up, arranging my clothes to be perfectly tidy.
« I am going to meet with the commander of the Denshutai » I said.
« I'm coming with you. » she replied with a smile, standing up as well.
« No offense, Chizuru but I think this is men's business. » I objected.
« I know Otori-san. » she frowned « I was with him in Osaka when I studied with Matsumoto-sensei. I just want to salute him and then I'll go. »
« Alright, then. » I nodded.
I forgot that Chizuru was in Osaka while I was with the Guardians of the imperial tomb. She indeed met the Denshutai there while they were training with the french. I guess I could let her salute him.
« Can I come too ?! » asked Haruhi, eyes filled with stars at the idea of meeting a commander like Otori-san.
« No. » I said « you have to unpack and cook some rice porridge for everyone. Go. » I said firmly.
« Hai, Taichô... » she answered grudgingly.
« You'll have other occasions to see Otori-san. » I said with a faint smile « let's go, Chizuru. »
We walked into the camp until we reached the Denshutai section, Chizuru walking a few steps behind me. I wasn't a man who would have cared about appearing « weak » because I was walking with a woman and in the past, I often let Chizuru hold my arm or hand while walking, knowing that I could react rapidly anyway if there was any problem but now that I was Taichô, I needed to observe a certain etiquette in order to be respected and that included that my wife had to walk behind me and not on the same level. It was already odd enough that she was brought with me at war. If I let people think that she had any kind of control over me, I would lose all obedience from my men. She understood it very well when we talked it over and she agreed to play the role of the submissive wife in the encampment. I was pleased with it. I loved Chizuru with all my heart but I wouldn't mind a more obeidient version of her.
We arrived to the command tent and I announced myself and Chizuru before entering. I found Otori there which I didn't imagine this way at all. He was about 35 years old, short and completely at ease with his western haircut and uniform, as if he had been born western. He was with another man that was making both of us look even shorter. That man was clearly an european and he was very tall, even taller than Harada, about 1,85m. He looked a bit younger than Otori but it was hard to say with his facial hair, especially a big moustache that he seemed to be taking a lot of care of.
« Ah ! Saito-san ! » greeted Otori with a radiant smile « I'm so glad to meet you ! Hijikata-san had only praises to share about you and your prowess on the battlefield ! Let us introduce ourselves. I am Otori Keisuke, commander of the Denshutai and this is Jules Brunet, our instructor. »
I see. Some french did stay then...
« I am pleased to meet you, Otori-san, Juuru-san » I bowed « I am Saito Hajime, Taichô of the Shinsengumi and this is Saito Chizuru, our doctor and my wife. »
« Actually » said Otori, uncomfortable « Jules is a forename, it's the other way around for the westerns. Brunet is his family name. »
« Pardon me, Burunee-san » I bowed again, ashamed « I didn't mean to be impolite. »
« No harm is done » replied Brunet with a perfect japanese with only a hint of accent « I know that it must be hard with these names that don't sound japanese at all. »
He extended his hand to me and I looked at it pensively, wondering what I should do. A discreet sign from Otori made me understand that I had to extend my hand too and so I did. Brunet caught it in his and shook it before releasing it and he turned to my wife, leaving me perplexed with what just happened.
« And you, we've met before right ? In Osaka ? You're Chizuru-chan ! Look at you ! How old are you now ? » he said with a big smile.
« Ni... Nineteen... » she stuttered and blush and my eyes widden when Brunet leaned over to kiss her on both her cheeks with a sonor sound.
Jealousy invade my chest even stronger than the night in Gion when Sakamoto took her on a date or when I saw Kazama's kamon on her. Who did he think he was, kissing MY wife in public ?! In front of me ?! Was he trying to insult me ?! I put my hand on the pommel of my katana but Otori stopped me.
« It's a greeting ! » he said « It's the way they greet in France ! They shake hand with men and kiss the cheeks of women. Even women kiss each other, it's okay ! »
« Ah, pardon me, Saito-san » said Brunet with a candid smile « I tend to forget that the people who don't know us sometimes can find our ways strange. I meant no insult. »
« I see. » I said, still under shock.
That man just kissed my wife... and now he was telling me that I shouldn't react to protect her honor ?
« I am glad to see you both well, Burunee-san, Otori-san » bowed Chizuru, still blushing red and that was annoying me « I will leave you with my husband. If you need anything you can ask me. »
Well, not ANYTHING...
« You're so kind, Chizuru-chan ! » smiled Otori « Thank you ! »
Chizuru bowed and exited the tent, leaving me alone with the two men who turned back to me.
« You're so lucky, Saito-san » said Otori with a giant smile « Chizuru is a beautiful and smart woman. We were all very found of her in Osaka ! »
Brunet chuckled and nodded and I felt even more jealous. Chizuru didn't ever speak much of her time in Osaka or maybe I never truly asked. I really wasn't liking the direction that this conversation was taking.
« What is the situation in Nihonmatsu ? » I asked to recenter the conversation on a matter I was at ease with.
Otori smiled kindly. Hijikata-san probably warned him that I wasn't really the kind of man to enjoy small talk.
« Nihonmatsu-han has about two hundred men. The Denshutai has 800 and Shimada Kai has 70 that will soon be under your command with the rest when he will know you arrived. Aizu is sending 300 but they can't send more if they want to protect their borders. How many are you bringing ? »
« A hundred and six. Minor two who aren't fighters. »
« Let's say a hundred. So that means that when the Aizu men arrive, our force would be of 1400 men. Probably enough to defend a small domain like Nihonmatsu. I don't espect the SatCho to send more than 500 ou 600 men against the supposed 200 men of Nihonmatsu. »
« I see. » I nodded.
That was a good number but we shouldn't underestimate the SatCho advanced weaponry.
« The plan is to hide the army and not station it inside the castle, letting the SatCho believe that Nihonmatsu domain is alone in this war. » he explained, showing me the troop movements on a map « we would come from their sides here and here, the steep terrain could stop our retreat but it's the best choice we have and if the element of surprise is here, the battle could end rather quickly in our favor. »
I nodded again. I wouldn't have come up with a better plan. It was our best chance. We kept discussing other options and troop movements and also the encampment intendance for hours before I finally came back to Chizuru.
« I'm back. » I said, getting in and removing my boots and coat.
« Welcome home. » greeted Chizuru with a wide smile.
« Where's Haruhi ? » I asked, getting closer to my wife.
« She's helping with the porridge and the cleaning of the kitchen ustensils. » she replied, wrapping her arms around me.
I held her, nesting my nose in her hair to scent the spices that were like a drug to me and stayed there for a while, getting my full.
« What's the matter, Hajime ? » she asked, puzzled.
I'm jealous, envious, enraged and possessive at the sole idea that this man's lips touched your skin.
« Nothing. » I lied « I just felt like holding you. »
« You're cute when you're jealous. » she chuckled.
« I'm not. » I protested.
« Sure. » she chuckled again « I was going to take a nap. Would you rather join me or release me ? »
« Join you. » I answered, unfolding our futons. « It's still daytime, it will be an effective sleep for me and I haven't slept much last night. »
She laid down and took away her hakama and the hara-obi to sleep. I wasn't sure if she was supposed to keep it or take it off so I let her do whatever she liked. I laid next to her with only my shirt and underwear and held her against me, her breath in my neck and mine in her hair. I tried to sleep but my eyes wouldn't close. After a while, I opened my mouth again.
« Chizuru... »
« Hum ? »
« When you were in Osaka, he was kissing you like this ? » I asked, boiling in jealousy.
« I thought you weren't jealous. » she answered, yawning.
« Just answer the question. » I said, annoyed.
« Yeah and the other french too but it's just the same thing as a hello for them. »
« I see. »
I kept holding her, trying not to imagine all these tall men with their facial hair and their big noses and round eyes kissing my wife one after another.
« Chizuru... »
« Am I gonna sleep at some point ? » she asked.
« Sorry... »
I kept silent, letting her sleep but after a few minutes she spoke again.
« What do you want ? » she asked.
« These men... They didn't... touch you... did they ? » I asked, fearing her answer.
« No... » she replied in a sleepy voice « as I said, it's a way to say hello, nothing more. Sleep, idiot. »
« Alright. » I said.
I brought one on my hand between the both of us to touch her stomach, wondering if the little one would answer me.
« Thank you » I said « for the hara-obi. I know you didn't want to wear it and... you're not spoiled. You're beautiful and I love you. »
She lifted her gaze and smiled and I kissed her, on the lips. These at least were mine.
« I love you too, idiot. Please let me sleep. » she chuckled.
« Alright. » I said and I nested back my nose in her hair.
After a few minutes, I felt her fall asleep and I took my hand off her stomach to circle her, closing my eyes. We slept like logs until dinner time when a confused Haruhi came to wake us up. I helped Chizuru put back her hara-obi and headed outside with her to share the meal with my men and my family.
