Hello everyone! Here is chapter 2! I hope all of you will enjoy this one as well.
Also, I want to give a shout-out to StariChanx, Kikikitsune18, nakigaoyuu, and LesCahiersDeSable for following/favoriting my story! And to eliz1369 and the two reviewers whose names showed up as "guest," I'm glad you liked the first chapter so far! I'm curious to see where this will go as well, as I only have a general outline for the whole story. Details such as emotions, locations, and situations are up to the turbulence that comes with my inspiration, my own connection with the Chizuru of this story, and how the Shinsengumi respond in their own way to what's happening around them. Let's see where this goes together!
Once again, please review so that I can have a better idea of what you all think about each consecutive chapter, and favorite/follow if you like the story! Thank you again for the support!
Chapter 2
When Chizuru awoke next, her hands and feet were tied together with a long piece of cloth, and a handkerchief was bound around her mouth to prevent her from speaking. Bright orange sunlight filtered in through her window blinds, and she gasped as she realized the situation. I guess I really didn't sleep much… Oh no, I have class! What time is it? But her worries decreased somewhat as the wall clock blinked "6:00 am." She took as good of a breath as she could to calm herself down; she was sleep-deprived once again, but at least she had some time before she truly had to depart.
"The girl's awake," Harada noted, and Chizuru squeaked. She had almost forgotten that she was now held hostage, and her eyes flickered over to him with a glare.
"Seems like the little miss is angry now. Maybe we should kill her before she attacks us," Okita chuckled.
"Souji, absolutely not," Hijikata sighed as his frustration at the younger man seemed to increase even more.
However, Okita completely ignored the older man's gaze, and instead smirked as he noticed fear seep into Chizuru's already faltering gaze. To avoid his burning stare, she looked at Hijikata, who gave a heavy sigh. He brought his guarded purple eyes to match her own, and asked, "If I untie you and allow you to speak, will you not run away?"
She almost rolled her eyes, but ended up nodding. This is my home, what do you mean run away?! More like how did you all end up in my room from more than a hundred years ago?
The man before her grunted in acknowledgment, and another with purple hair and deep blue eyes proceeded to untie the handkerchief around her mouth. Once it came apart, Chizuru drew a large breath of air and moved her mouth to relax her facial muscles.
The man with glasses moved next to her bed and sat in cross-legged position. "I'm going to ask, who are you, and where are we?"
Chizuru raised one of her eyebrows while responding, "I'm Yukimura Chizuru, and you're in my bedroom."
A long pause filled the room. First, each of the men glared at her, but these gazes soon turned into those of bewilderment and surprise. Then, a clamor of voices spilled across the bedroom. "IT CAN'T BE!"
"Why are we in a girl's room?!"
"My, my, isn't this scandalous. Hijikata must be having some urges come up after the last decade or so of abstinence, eh?"
"Souji, I'm going to have your head if you don't keep quiet."
"Vice-Commander, that would not be ideal."
Despite feeling on edge, Chizuru fought down her urge to laugh since the situation she was witnessing was beyond ridiculous. Never did she imagine that her so-called "captors" were in the midst of bickering about something so mundane. However, cold sweat also ran down her back at the fact that her limbs were tied, she could not move, and the men who held her hostage were all part of a famous military group in 19th century Japan. What's happening to me? Why did they all show up? I must be dreaming, but how else did I get tied? There is no explanation for this phenomenon…
Despite these wandering thoughts, Chizuru shoved them aside, steeled herself with resolve, and turned her attention to the man who addressed her earlier, "Could you tell me what you are all doing in my room? Also, it's only right since I gave my name that you all give me yours."
He chuckled and nodded, "You are most certainly correct. I am Yamanami Keisuke, or Sannan, and I am the General Commander of the Shinsengumi."
Chizuru bowed down in respect, "Nice to meet you, General Commander."
Hijikata continued to glare at her, but Sannan beckoned him to sit next to him. "Hijikata-san, why don't you come over here?"
He sighed as he then made his way next to the bed as well. "You said your name is Yukimura?"
"Yes," Chizuru nodded.
"I'm Hijikata Toshizo, Vice Commander of the Shinsengumi."
"Nice to meet you," Chizuru bowed in respect. Despite not growing up in Japan, her family still maintained some traditional habits. She therefore decided that despite being scared out of her wits, she'll give respect to those who deserve it. Based on her knowledge of history, that included the men sitting before her.
As her gaze flickered to her bedroom door, the man who leaned against the wall smirked, "Okita Souji, Captain of the First Division."
The purple-haired companion who sat next to Okita's feet then murmured, "Saito Hajime, Captain of the Third Division."
Chizuru bowed each time as she heard, "Toudou Heisuke!" "Nagakura Shinpachi's the name!" and "Harada Sanosuke," which were the names of each of the Shinsengumi captains and commanders. She knew who they were already before they even introduced themselves, but she figured that it would make them more suspicious if she made that fact known.
Once the introductions were over, Chizuru turned to Hijikata's neverending stare. "You said we are in your room?" he asked.
"Yes," she nodded.
"Why?"
Chizuru bit her lip. She didn't know, and she decided to just give an honest answer, "I don't know." In response, Hijikata rubbed his temples as if a headache was beginning to bloom. However, she continued, "But, wait! I have a theory as to what happened…"
Sannan looked at her with an expecting gaze, "Go on."
She drew a deep breath and began, "I think you got transported to the future."
His eyes furrowed. "Future?" Chizuru nodded. Sannan held his fist to his chin and murmured aloud, "That would explain why this room seems so odd for us…"
"Odd?" Chizuru asked.
He nodded, "What year is it?"
"2017."
Another silence befell the room. Chizuru shuffled nervously as she tried to adjust her sitting position to a more comfortable one. As she looked around the room, she noticed that while Hijikata, Sannan, Saitou, and Harada were deep in thought at this new fact, Toudou and Nagakura seemed panicked. Okita, on the other hand, simply closed his eyes and folded his arms across his chest.
Should I say anything else? But what would I say? This must be hard on them… Her mind raced as she looked to each man and took in their reactions. Chizuru intertwined her toes together, a bad habit from when she was a child, and looked down at her bed to avoid their gazes.
Hijikata broke the silence, but what he said next was not directed towards Chizuru. "Everyone, what are your last memories?"
"I fought the Aizu under 'makoto.'"
"I was protecting you. You didn't forget did you, Hijikata-san?"
"Fought with Shiranui."
"In bed."
"I was on the floor of Sendai Castle, holding your hand, Hijikata-san…" Heisuke murmured. "WAIT!" he then exclaimed, "My hair's long again!"
"Heisuke, did you you seriously just notice that?" Harada chuckled, "We're all in our pre-war attire! I would have expected Shinpachi to not notice this, but I guess I shouldn't be surprised…"
"Eh?! Sano, you're asking for it!" Shinpachi exclaimed as he moved closer to Harada, arms out like he was about to tackle the man.
However, the escalating fight was quickly subdued by Hijikata's shout, "Everyone, stop!" The room quieted once again as he turned his attention to the young woman before him. "It seems that we retained our last memories of death prior to arriving. Yet, we returned to the physical states we had before adopting Western attire. You really don't know why?"
Chizuru shook her head, "I don't know why you all have come here after … death," she hesitated while saying the word.
"But why else would we end up in this young lady's room?" Harada remarked.
Hijikata sighed, "There must be a reason we were thrown into this time period, and much less her room. Yukimura, who are your parents?"
"Koji and Mari… why?" Chizuru asked.
"Hmm," he murmured, his eyes furrowing in thought.
"It seems that what we were expecting is not quite true, is it?" Sannan spoke up.
Chizuru tilted her head, confusion flitting across her gaze, "What do you mean?"
His contemplative eyes met hers, and she noted that he seemed slightly less guarded than before, "Only that someone with your last name played a major role in our demise, but you needn't worry."
Chizuru stopped to think, her gaze landing down at her tied feet again. I don't recall reading about anyone named Yukimura in the history books, only that the Shinsengumi were loyal to the shogunate and so fell with their master as the Meiji period came to fruition. Maybe that's why they looked like they despised me the second I said my name. As her thoughts passed through at lightning speed, she wrapped her fingers around each other even though her arms were still tied behind her back. Maybe there was a reason I could visualize them… Could it be because of my last name? But why? Maybe I should tell them about the figurines…
But before she could finish her thought process, Shinpachi broke the silence, "Do all of you have symbols on your tabi?"
"Why, Shinpachi-san? You curious about your feet?" Okita teased.
"I'm not joking. I don't understand these symbols, and they were never there before."
Chizuru looked over her bed to find that Shinpachi's tabi, or traditional Japanese sock, had a large "C.Y." on the flat surface. She felt a shiver run down her entire spine as Toudou, Harada, Hijikata, and the others all found the same symbols on their tabi. Oh no…
As if he sensed her discomfort, Hijikata turned to her and narrowed his eyes, "You know something about this. Out with it." He watched as the young woman bit her lip and avoided his gaze.
"It seems you should come out with it now. Hijikata-san isn't the most forgiving nor the most patient. Cat got your tongue?" Okita remarked.
Chizuru bit her lip even more and tasted iron, but she was not sure how to proceed. The implications of this realization were huge, and she knew that she had no choice but to tell them about the figurines. However, she was scared about how they would react, and how they would feel at finding out that a piece of clay may have brought them to her time.
She looked to Hijikata and Sannan, both of whom met her gaze. Chizuru swallowed, glanced at the clock that now blinked "7:00 am," and murmured, "Can you untie my hands and feet? I have something to tell you all, and I'd prefer to tell you while sitting comfortably."