It only took an hour to re-edit this. So it might just be a day of no work and no school. We'll see how many I can get through in a single day...


As Kaiya had predicted, she had nearly no sleep. After a couple hours she did pull out her futon and try to lie down but after a couple minutes in the dark, she was in border-line panic attack mode. The nights events had brought to surface memories that she had worked hard on forgetting, events that hadn't ended as well as it had this night. Several times she had nearly gotten up to go see Souji or Saitou but both fear and pride prevented her from leaving her room, that and if she went to see Souji he'd undoubtedly go ballistic on Serizawa.

When daylight finally broke she was relieved, but even so it took her several hours to work up the nerve to leave. When she did, she made straight for where Kondou's rooms were situated. Then she stood outside the door for several minutes working up the nerve to knock. She felt like such a coward, getting so worked up over what happened last night. When in the end, she had been saved. When she finally found the nerve to knock, Kondou quickly opened the door but looked shocked to see her.

"Kaiya-chan I thought you were Toshi!" He laughed and rubbed the back of his head.

"Is he coming? I would like to speak with both of you…if that's alright…" Kaiya tucked stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"Yes, of…Kaiya-chan what happened to your hand?" Kondou's eyes opened wide in concern.

Kaiya quickly dropped her hand and looked at the ground. "That's what I want to talk to you about."

"What are we going to talk about?" Hijikata had come up from behind, causing Kaiya to jump. "I'm sorry, Kaiya-chan I didn't mean to startle you."

"I think we should all talk inside." Kondou said as he indicated them to go in. Kondou sat down beside Hijikata and Kaiya sat down in front of them.

"So Kaiya-chan, tell us what happened." Kondou said as he pointed to her wrist.

Taking a deep breath, Kaiya went into last night's events, ending the story with showing off both wrists. As Saitou had predicted the bruises were even brighter than they had been last night. She managed to keep her voice level but once again her tears threaten to flow over. Hijikata drew an unsettled breath to try and calm himself.

"Did he at any point…force himself...on you?" Kaiya could hear the barely contained rage seething in Hijikata's voice.

Kaiya kept her eyes glued to the ground, afraid that if she looked at either man she would lose control of her emotions. "No. He never got the chance but…I'm certain that's…that's what would've happened if Saitou-kun hadn't interfered." Her voice cracked at the end as her emotions were fast approaching their breaking point.

Suddenly she heard one of them get up and approach her and was surprised when she was suddenly caught up in an embrace. All those emotions she had worked so hard to bottle up came bursting forth and suddenly she was unashamedly crying into someone's shoulder. After she finally regained some self-control, she pulled back and was surprised to see Hijikata looking down at her looking very concerned.

"I'm sorry for crying on you like a spoiled child." She said trying to regain some control over her embarrassing hiccups and wiping her face.

"Think nothing of it." Hijikata said softly as he sat back again, once he was certain she wasn't going to break down again. He didn't return to his spot beside Kondou, instead he put out his hand and asked if he could see her wrists again. Reluctantly she lifted them and put her hands into his. He first looked at her right and even wrapped his hand around the very evident print of a hand, quickly glanced up to see if he was upsetting her then let it drop. He then took her left hand and saw that the bandage had come loose from the swelling going down and unwrapped it. He looked at her wrist and prodded it gently like Saitou had the night before, it still hurt but she managed to not pull away and kept her wincing to a minimum. When he went to wrap it again she stopped him.

"There's no point wrapping it right now. It will just swell again if I don't reapply some ointment."

Hijikata nodded and looked back at Kondou. When Kaiya finally looked at both men's face she could see a barely contained rage there. After a deep breath Kondou spoke again.

"I'm sorry Kaiya-chan but Serizawa-san is in a position where we can do nothing against him but he will pay one day whether it's at our hands or somebody else's, I don't know. But we will do everything we can to protect you from him and any other who would do you harm. But for right now, you should return to your room and get some rest. You obviously haven't slept any. Toshi, you know what kind of tea to make to help with sleep, right?"

Hijikata nodded his head. "Yes."

"Why don't you make some for Kaiya-chan so she can rest and help her re-wrap that wrist? You and I will talk more after."

Hijikata nodded again and got to his feet and helped Kaiya to hers. "Go to your room. I will be there momentarily with some tea."

Kaiya nodded and then turned to leave. As she opened the door, she found Souji standing there in his blue and white haori just about to knock. When he saw her he smiled brightly but then noticed her red and puffy eyes and sullen face, Souji immediately grabbed her by the shoulders and looked her in the face with a very worried expression on his.

"Kai! What wrong?" he said with slightly panicked voice.

She brushed off his hands and said, "not now" as she quickly rushed away.

He called after her and sounded like he had started to pursue her but was called back by Kondou. She couldn't face him like this, not right now. She had already bawled into Hijikata's shoulder she was afraid she would cry even harder into Souji's. She quickly retreated into her room, afraid she might run into somebody else. When she got inside she sat down at her desk and worked hard at composing herself before Hijikata arrived.

When he finally did arrive, she had her emotions clamped down tight. He settled down across from her, like Saitou had the night before and handed her the tea. He took the ointment she had set down beside him and took her left wrist once again in his hands and applied it while she sipped at the tea. She hadn't tasted the tea he had given her before but it was certainly fast acting for by the time he was finally done applying ointment and wrapping her wrist again she was having a hard time staying conscious. Hijikata had to help her lie down on her futon and gently pulled the covers over her shoulder as she faded off into a deep sleep.

111

When she finally woke again, the sun seemed very bright and high in the sky. She glanced around the room and found Souji sitting with his back against the wall facing the foot of her futon. At first she wasn't sure if he was really there, maybe just a delusion. He hardly moved for several seconds just his chest rising and falling with each breath. His head was bowed and she thought maybe he had nodded off but when she finally rolled up to a sitting position he looked up. Several emotions raced across his face but it eventually settled on worried. After a moment he stood up and walked up to her and sat down beside her and pulled her into a very tight hug. After a few moments she pulled away and patted him on the cheek.

"I'm fine Souji. Nothing actually happened."

Souji scowled as he looked down, "I should cut the bastard open and let him die a slow death, but Kondou-san says I can't let him know that I know what happened let alone touch him."

He crossed his arms over his chest. They sat there in silence for a few more minutes, then he reached across to grab for her wrists but she tucked them into her sleeves. He gave her a confused frown.

"No, Souji. Seeing my bruises will only make you even angrier."

Souji let out a frustrated huff. "I'm angry whether I see them or not. Just let me see…" he took a deep breath to settle himself. "Please Kaiya."

"I'm sorry but it's still a no."

Souji closed his eyes and focused on controlling his temper, he would not lose it on her! That was the last thing she needed, he had to encourage and protect her.

"Are you hungry?" He finally asked.

"Starving. How late is it?" She asked as she pushed back the blanket.

"It's the middle of the afternoon. You probably haven't eaten any since supper last night huh?" Souji stood up then reached down to give her a hand getting up.

"Souji, my hair is a mess and I need to straighten myself out. Could you wait outside?"

He withdrew his hand and gave her a nod, then went outside. Kaiya sat there a moment longer, then stood up and walked over to her desk. She sat down she once again unwrapped be wrist and took out the ointment. Once she had applied the ointment she awkwardly wrapped her left wrist back up and looked at her right. It too had swollen some but it didn't hurt like her left so she decided against applying the ointment to it as well. She finally combed the tangles out of her hair, washed her face and organized herself. When she left her room she found Souji, just like the first day she had arrived, standing by her door waiting. As soon as she left her room, she once again tucked her hands in her sleeves to prevent Souji nor anybody else from seeing them.

"All set?" Souji had finally worked his face into a more friendly expression.

Kaiya just nodded and Souji put a hand on her back and guided her towards the meeting room. He walked straight in when they arrived but Kaiya hesitated at the door. Souji looked back at her, concerned by her hesitation.

"There's no one else here. It's ok."

Kaiya choked back the emotion that suddenly rose up. The way he said 'it's ok', made it sound like he was trying to convince her that there were no monsters inside. Kaiya forced a smile on her face and stepped inside. Souji studied her for a moment, not at all happy at what he saw but decided it was best to not let her know that he saw through her.

Instead he asked, "I'm gonna get you some food, are you gonna be ok here by yourself for a few minutes? Serizawa-san is gone on some errands he won't be walking in here."

Kaiya nodded her head, "Yes Souji, I'm not a child."

Souji stood there a moment longer, not convinced but ended up turning and leaving anyways. Kaiya took a seat where she approximately always sat and waited for him to return. After a few minutes someone entered from the opposite side that Souji had exited, startling her. Saitou followed by Sanosuke had entered the room. Kaiya put her hand to her chest and tried to settle her now rapidly beating heart.

Saitou bowed his head when he saw her, "I'm sorry we didn't mean to startle you."

Sanosuke lit up when he saw her, walked over and plunked down beside her. "Rough night, huh?"

"Harada-kun!" Saitou scolded.

"What? Kaiya-chan is tough." He wrapped an arm around her shoulders. The relaxed air around him helped settle her nerves somewhat and she couldn't help but chuckle. Just then Souji walked in with a tray laden with food. When he saw Sanosuke with his arm around Kaiya he walked up and gave him a hard boot in the chest.

"Souji! Sano-kun was just trying to be nice to me and cheer me up. You don't need to kick him!" Kaiya scolded as she reached for Sanosuke. Sanosuke groaned as he sat up again, favouring his ribs.

"Geez, Souji-kun! What gives?" He sounded a little annoyed but he seemed to understand why Souji was behaving as he was.

Souji put the tray down in front of her and dropped down on the other side of her. "I told everyone; I'd hurt anyone who touched her, that includes you."

Kaiya gave Souji a shove but automatically hiss in pain. Souji, immediately concerned try to grab her wrist but she pulled away again. "Souji, knock it off!"

Saitou sighed and sat down across from her. "I think if you two want to make Kaiya-chan feel better, you need to back off and give her some space. Let's go Harada-kun, we need to get going and you said you weren't going to take long."

"Eh? Oh yah, just a sec." Sanosuke jumped up and left the room. Then came back a few minutes later armed with his katana, yari and his blue and white haori. "Right, let's go."

Saitou nodded at her and stood up. Sanosuke gave her a wink as he left and closed the door behind him. Souji made as sound of disgust.

"The gall of that guy." He made a sour face as he looked away.

Kaiya picked up her chopsticks, "Lay off Souji! I appreciate you wanting to protect me but you don't need to protect me from Sano-kun or Saitou-kun or any of the other captain's. I know that they won't hurt me. I'm not afraid of them. I'll be fine during the day and I probably won't be leaving my room at night any time soon. So just give me some space."

"I'm sorry Kai, I just feel responsible for you. You nearly got put in a seriously bad situation in a place you should have been safe. It's my fault." Souji's face became pained.

Kaiya's face softened, "Don't be ridiculous, Souji. You couldn't have known."

Souji smiled and rubbed his face. "You're way too nice to work with guys like us. Now just shut up and eat. You're already way too skinny."

111

After eating Kaiya spent the rest of day in the clinic, attending to various injuries that came in. Souji didn't stay around all day but popped in frequently to make sure she was doing alright. Yamazaki also popped in ever so often to see if she needed any assistance. He had been a lot more assertive about seeing her wrists and in the end, she let him look at them. She was pleasantly surprised at his knowledge and complimented him on his knowledge. He just chuckled and said,

"I've become very knowledgeable in dealing with sprains, a common injury among the Roshigumi."

As dinnertime approached, she began to get really uncomfortable, Souji had already dropped by about an hour ago to tell her that he wouldn't be there. The Choshu had been causing trouble and he and his unit had been tasked with keeping the peace. She wasn't sure if she wanted to face everyone quite yet, plus Serizawa might be there and she definitely couldn't face him yet. She was so caught up worrying about what she should do that she didn't hear Saitou come in. He stood there waiting for her to notice him but after several minutes she was still caught up in her thoughts. Finally, he cleared his throat, not wanting to startle her again but wanting her to notice him. She finally turned and saw him standing there.

"Oh, I'm sorry Saitou-kun! How long have you been standing there?" She gave him a bit of a weak smile.

Not wanting to embarrass her he just said, "Not long."

"Did you need something?" She looked at him like she was appraising him for injuries.

A small smile broke across his face at her immediate concern for him. "No, I just thought you might want to be informed that Serizawa-san won't be dining with us."

"Oh." Kaiya dropped her eyes.

"And to assure that the others will behave. I thought you might want to know, so it might help you decide if you wanted to join us tonight or not."

Kaiya put a hand to her head. "You'd probably think me a coward if I didn't go."

Saitou frowned. "Of course not. Last night would be traumatic for most women, and considering you have to face men like Serizawa all day every day, I think you are quite brave."

Kaiya scoffed. "I don't quite agree but thank you."

He offered her his hand and helped her to her feet. "I have been thinking about your situation."

Kaiya gave him a cautious glance. "Oh? How so?"

"Like I said, it's quite dangerous here not just from the men in the Roshigumi themselves but just being associated with us can be dangerous. I thought it might be wise for someone to teach you some self-defence."

Kaiya looked up at his face and he looked back at her with a serious expression on his face.

"You'd teach a woman how to fight?" She found his proposition hard to believe but if he was willing, she would be excited to learn.

"Yes of course. Women who are born to samurai families are also taught to fight. Obviously not to the same extent as the men but are still quite dangerous. If it was me, I would want to teach you like I would teach the men here, with a sword and hand to hand." He looked her straight in the eyes, his expression showed nothing but sincerity.

"Would they allow that? I mean I would like to learn but most men would be against something like that." She looked down blushing, suddenly becoming conscious of him staring down at her so intently.

"I would still ask Kondou-san first, but I think he would approve…he's a bit unconventional. It would be beneficial to us if you could accompany us on dangerous missions. You definitely could save more lives if you can get to them sooner." He put his hand under her chin and tip her head back so she could see his face. "You would be good at it. You have tons of spirit and you've got a knack for detail, which is beneficial in learning swordsmanship and other forms of combat."

"Well I'm willing if they'll allow it."

He smiled at her as he let his hand drop back down to his side, causing her blush to deepen. He stepped back and motioned towards the door.

"Shall we? Dinner is likely to be ready."

She nodded, working hard to keep the smile from her face. Once again, he fell in step beside her as they walked to where everyone was already eating. As they approached the door, Kaiya instantly knew that Saitou had been right about Serizawa not dining with everybody, it was much too lively. Serizawa usually didn't dine with them but sometimes he did and when he did, it was like walking into a temple with how quiet it was in that room. Presently she could hear Heisuke shouting at Nagakura, more than likely something to do with food. Saitou put his hand on the door and looked over shoulder.

"Are you ready?" He asked gently.

She nodded her head, and he opened the door and went inside. She followed expecting everybody to quieten as soon as they saw her but instead, they continued like they always did. There was already a tray with food standing where she always sat, waiting for her.

So far it was only Sanosuke, Heisuke, Nagakura and Sannan who were present. Heisuke was trying to reach around Nagakura with his chopstick while Nagakura held out what looked like half of Heisuke's fish and Sanosuke was trying to talk to Sannan over top of all the noise that Nagakura and Heisuke were making. When she sat down, Sannan looked in her direction and gave a polite nod but that was all the acknowledgement she got from anyone. Just after she started eating, Kondou and Hijikata finally entered laughing as they entered. Kaiya couldn't help but smile upon hearing Kondou laugh, it was just so hearty and almost childlike. She very much understood why Souji looked up to him so much.

When Hijikata saw Nagakura and Heisuke fighting, he immediately shouted at them to settle down and ordered Nagakura to give Heisuke back his fish. Nagakura looked like a kicked puppy when he finally handed it over to Heisuke. When it was finally quiet enough to hold a proper conversation, Sanosuke addressed her.

"So Souji-kun didn't poison you with his food huh?" He smiled at her broadly.

Kaiya smiled feeling more comfortable than she had felt all day. "No. It wasn't that bad." Her smiled turned a little more rueful. "I'm sorry Souji kicked you like that. It was totally uncalled for."

Sanosuke just shrugged.

"Eh!? Souji kicked you, Harada-kun?" Asked Kondou.

"Yup, right in the chest. Completely caught me off guard too. Didn't like me being friendly with Kaiya-chan. Thought I was too close or something. Don't worry about it, Kondou-san. He was just trying to take care of Kaiya-chan in his own messed up way." Sanosuke gave her a wink.

"Tch. I swear I didn't raise him to be like that, Kaiya-chan." Kondou pinched the bridge of his nose as he shook his head.

"I'm sure you didn't. Please don't scold him, like Sano-kun said he was just trying to protect me in his own messed up way. Besides I already gave him an earful about it."

Kondou just sighed and nodded.

"Oi, since when did you start calling Sano, 'Sano-kun'?" Asked Heisuke as stuffed what was left of his fish in his mouth.

"Since last night. When I had to haul your drunk ass to your room after she had to stitch you up." Sanosuke gave him a bit of a snide look and Heisuke suddenly looking like he felt guilty. Kaiya wasn't sure if it was from what happened to her or for getting into a fight.

"Since we seem to have stumbled onto the subject that you all said you wouldn't bring up. I have a request to make of you Kondou-san." Said Saitou as he shook his head.

Kondou looked a little confused but nodded consent.

"I think it might be wise to teach Kaiya-chan how to fight. It would be just as beneficial to her as it would be to us."

Nagakura scratched his head. "How do you figure that?"

"Like I said, it would help her to defend herself from attackers both here in the compound and also out in the city. Eventually people will start associating her with us and they may try to attack her because of it." Saitou responded.

Hijikata's interest looked piqued but still he had to ask. "You've only said how it'll help her so far."

Saitou just nodded and continued. "If she was trained to the level that we train our own recruits, then she could accompany us into combat. If someone is seriously injured, she'd have a better chance at saving them if she can get to them quickly."

Kondou nodded his head and looked first at Hijikata and then Sannan, both nodded to him in return. He then looked at Saitou. "So let me make sure I'm getting this right Saitou-san. You want us to teach Kaiya-chan the way of the sword, so that she can defend both herself and aid the Roshigumi."

"Yes as well as hand to hand combat." Saitou confirmed.

"You do realize that in doing so that would make Kaiya-chan an official member of the Roshigumi?" Saitou said nothing, obviously he hadn't considered that. Kondou then turned to Kaiya.

"Kaiya-chan. I do think it is a good idea, but I can only grant you this training if you become an official member. Which means you have to abide by all our rules, some of which are quite severe. Do you think you can do that?"

"Aw, come on Kondou-san. That's a bit much don't you think, it's not like she would be doing patrols or anything…would she?" Heisuke, ever the sweetheart was trying to come to her rescue.

Hijikata was the one to respond, "No Heisuke-kun, it's a reasonable request. Saitou-kun is suggesting full training, not just some basics and we only give that kind of training to full fledge members of the Roshigumi. And no, her responsibilities would mostly be the same."

They all turned to look at her. She considered her options; technically it sounded like she could still stay and continue as she had over the last couple months. She could also just return to what was left of her home. Or she could take their offer and have a permanent home among the Roshigumi. Unfortunately, the first and last option put her in Serizawa's path and the second put her at the mercy of every other samurai and Ronin without the protection of Souji and Saitou and no ability to protect herself.

"Alright, I'll accept your terms." She said when she finally decided.

Kondou laughed and slapped his thigh, "You truly are a brave one, Kaiya-chan. I think you'll do well too. Saitou-san, I think you should take on teaching Kaiya-chan since you suggested it and you are our best teacher and the most skilled in hand to hand." Kondou sighed and scratched his neck. "I have a feeling Souji is not going to like this."