Play 6: Great Lies
The smirk on his face only widened, and the temptation to slap him only increased. The looks on Kondou, Toudou and Nagakura's faces were shocked, while the others had no other reaction. Seemed like Souji wasn't the only one who knew it all along.
I turned my surprise to anger almost immediately. "You guysknew, and didn't even say anything!?" I wanted very much to rip the ropes apart and shake Souji, Saito, Hijikata and Harada by their shoulders, but I couldn't. Helplessly, I twisted my wrists in annoyance, hiding a flinch of burning pain. I glared at all four of them, and while Souji's smile didn't drop, Saito and Hijikata ignored me. Harada chuckled softly, apparently a little amused at my sudden outburst.
"All right, all right. Now, tell your big brother...Why would an innocent but feisty young girl dress up as a boy and run around Kyoto in the middle of the night?" Souji interupted.
I focused my glare at him, blushing in embarrassment. "What do you mean 'feisty'?" I wanted to snap at him rudely, but the sudden serious atmosphere made me hesitate. "Well, I..." I stopped again, frowning at the floor. For a moment, I was debatting on whether I should tell them I was from the other era, but I decided that it wouldn't be wise. Even if I said it, no one would believe it, and instead take me as some lunatic.Moreover, after witnessing the gruesome mass murder the day before, any weak-hearted person would go insane...Right?I coughed slightly as I came to a decision, taking in a deep breath like how I always did before I perform my character on stage. Within a second, I put on my 'mask', speaking in an unsure voice.
"I...I'm not quite sure..." I shrugged, pretending to consider about this seriously. "When I woke up, I was in Kyoto, and couldn't recall anything else except for three names..." I trailed off, letting go of my 'mask' and sighed unknowingly. Should I claim that my name was Chizuru? Or should I just use my real name? Also, should I really use the family name Yukimura? Somehow using someone else's name seemed wrong, but then once again, did I really have a choice?
"Yukimura Koudou...Matsumoto Ryojun...Yukimura Jun..." At my name, my heart sped up. Would they know that I was an imposter? I glanced at everyone's faces, but they didn't look betrayed or anything--just pure shock.
"Yukimura...Koudou?" Hijikata's surprised expression seemed to mirror most of the Shinsengumi members' faces. Sanan finally stepped up, sighing in resignation.
"Perhaps we should all sit down and talk about this again," he pointed out. "Some of us may have changed their opinion." His eyes flickered over to Kondou, who didn't look like he had gotten over this, and then looked right back at me. "Also...Yukimura-kun, is it?" His smile didn't seem warm. "I am sure we have a lot to ask from you."