Re-edited February 2021
Early the next morning Kaiya was awoken from her blissful sleep by a hand stroking her bareback. When she opened her eyes all she saw was a strong shoulder and her arm draped across a half-covered chest. Kaiya smiled and made a happy sound when she remembered where she was, in Hajime's room draped over his naked body.
His hand moved to stroke her head when he noticed that she was awake and whispered softly. "Kaiya-chan, wake up."
Kaiya groaned and hugged him tightly burying her face into his neck. Hajime chuckled as he ran a hand down from her shoulder all the way down the leg that was draped over his naked waist.
"I don't want you to leave either, but we can't let the others know. You must return to your own room." Hajime let out a regretful sigh.
"No!" she complained in a whiny voice.
For the first time in her life, she felt so blissfully happy, she wanted to spend the rest of her life lying in this wonderful man's arms. He laughed again, then tried to lift her up but latched herself to his body. He changed his tactic and started tickling her side. Unfortunately for Kaiya, she was extremely ticklish and immediately turtled in order to protect herself, forcing her to let him go. Kaiya covered her mouth, trying to not laugh out loud.
Once released Hajime quickly rolled out of bed so she couldn't grab on to him again. Kaiya just scooted over into the middle of the futon and pulled the blanket up to her shoulders and closed her eyes again. Hajime bent down and scooped her up with ease, nearly causing her to squeal in delight. He had a wonderfully mischievous smile plastered on his face as he suddenly whirled her around. He then set her down at arm's length and tried to keep his eye on face and not her very naked body.
"You're mean!" she said with a pouty face.
He groaned in agony as his own desires assaulted him. "Stop being so damn beautiful! I'm trying to get you dressed and in your own room. Not make love to you again…" He shuddered and closed his eyes trying desperately to focus. "I think you're the mean one here, putting me through this." He said, trying to chuckle.
"Fine." She said with a sad sigh. "But if I have to put clothes on so do you."
Hajime just nodded and turned away from her. As she dressed, she watched sadly as his beautifully muscled body disappeared underneath fabric.
When he was done, he kept his back to her and asked. "Are you done?"
Kaiya laughed at him; he wasn't trying to protect her modesty he had seen all of her so there was no point in that but she was fairly certain that if he glimpsed her naked form that might be the end of his control. Kaiya did up the last knot in her obi.
"All done." She said sadly. He turned slowly at first, glancing over his shoulder to make certain she hadn't been lying, then turned completely to face her.
"I'm sorry." He said regretfully "I would be lying with you still if I thought I could but…" Hajime sighed again.
"We must keep up appearances. It's ok Hajime-kun, I expected this. Doesn't make me want to do it anymore but I understand. Are you still going to teach me how to use my sword better? I may have some natural talent but I'm still very much an amateur." She gave him pleading eyes, knowing full well his defenses were down and would have an extremely hard time saying no to her.
"Fine." He said with yet another sigh. "I don't know how good of an idea it is, but I can't seem to say no to you. Meet me in the courtyard in an hour and I'll do my best to focus my mind on teaching you."
Kaiya crossed the room and kissed him, letting her hand slide between the folds of his clothing and groping him.
He moaned and pushed her back, "Kaiya-chan!" He scolded. "I won't teach you anymore if you do that…during the day. I can't focus with you touching me like that."
"I know." She said smiling slyly. "I just had to do it once. You groped me in public so now we're almost even."
Kaiya turned and walked to his interior door and listened intently, when she heard nothing, she slid the door slightly open then peered out. When she saw no one, she stepped out and closed the door behind her and walked next door to her own room and entered. She was fortunate that her room was only a few steps away.
An hour later, the two of them stood outside together. Hajime had managed to settle himself down enough to put his stoic expression back on, although it was hardly stuck there as she did things that made him smile. He had even at one point, while correcting her stance ran his hand down her back down to her butt and lingered a moment before turning away to hide the lecherous smile that had formed. Shortly after though, their bubble was popped by Hijikata coming to visit.
"Good morning Saitou, Kaiya-chan." He said as he approached. "How's her progress coming, Saitou?"
"Her swings are sound but she's lacking in the foot work." He said as his typical personality suddenly snapped into place.
"And this is the katana you chose for her?" He indicated the blade in her hand and Hajime nodded. He turned to Kaiya and put out his hands. "May I have look at it?" He asked her.
Kaiya nodded and handed it to him hilt first. He studied it exactly as Hajime had in the store, then gripped it properly and swung it. "Both beautiful and well built. I think it's well suited for you."
"You two seem to take swords quite seriously." She noticed.
Hijikata smiled. "Something him and I share in common. We're both a bit of sword enthusiasts. There's nothing like a well-built blade. Although any warrior should know what to look for in a blade. Sannan-san is a bit of an enthusiast himself, there are a few others among the Shinsengumi who appreciate blades like we do, like your cousin. He desperately wanted to go with the two of you, yesterday, but he had to look after himself as you well know."
Kaiya turned her head in the direction of Souji's room. "Speaking of which, he should be awake by now. I should go check on him."
Hijikata handed her back the blade. "Make sure you show him this. I'm certain he'll want to see it."
Kaiya smiled as she sheathed the blade. "I will. I'll see you two at breakfast."
She then turned and headed off to Souji's room. When she got to the door she knocked and was met with no sound. Kaiya knocked again but no answer again, so she slowly opened the door and looked inside. Kaiya frowned, the futon lay in the middle of the floor but Souji wasn't lying in it and there was no one in the room. Kaiya turned and walked back to the courtyard, where Hajime and Hijikata where still talking.
She put her hand on her hips as she stopped in front of them. "Have either of you seen my bastard cousin?"
Hijikata smiled and shook his head. "He bolted didn't he. I haven't seen him since yesterday."
"Neither have I, maybe ask Kondou-san. He sees him the most frequent besides you, maybe Souji went to go see him?" Suggested Hajime just barely keeping the smile from his lips.
"Well." Kaiya said. "It's a place to start, at least it's better than me finding out that he's been practicing behind my back." She gave Hajime a meaningful look. Then turned away just as she smiled.
"I don't think she's going to let you live that down, Saitou." Hijikata said with a smile.
Kaiya left and headed off in the direction of Kondou's rooms. On the way there she ran into the man she was looking for. She stopped in front of him and put her hands on her hips again, while he gave her a bit of a guilty smile.
"Good morning cousin!" He greeted her giving a kiss on the cheek and taking katana from her obi.
"You're supposed to be resting." She scolded as she tried to reach for her sword.
"Damn, Hajime-kun said he was going to buy the sword for you, but he got you something real nice. Happy birthday by the way." He pulled out the blade and started walking in the direction of his room as he inspected the blade.
"Thank you Souji. I didn't want him too, but he said he wanted to repay me for saving his life which I told him he didn't need to. Then, he used the excuse of my birthday, which I'm sure he heard about from you…now get back on topic. What are you doing wandering around?"
"I swear, I was just looking for you actually…" Kaiya gave him a disbelieving look "What? I swear! I went to see if you were at the clinic since you weren't in your room."
"Hajime-kun was teaching me more about swordsmanship." She said a little too quickly.
"Oh?" He said stopping to eye her suspiciously, then shrugged. "I guess you were excited to try it out huh? Oh, and I think Kondou-san wanted to talk to you. Something to do with Heisuke-kun I think."
"Well then, I'll go talk to him. I'll come check on you later." She turned to walk back in the direction they had come but Souji stopped her.
"Hey, do you mind letting me eat with the others? I'm getting tired of eating by myself." Souji gave her a pleading look.
She smiled and stood on her toes and gave him a peck on the cheek. "I think I can allow that. You seem to be moving around alright, so have my permission to wander…"
"Yes!" Souji exclaimed excitedly.
Kaiya put a finger up "…but only a few hours a day. Rest is still a priority and no practicing." She glared at him.
"I won't. You wouldn't hold back against me like you did with Hajime-kun. I'm just happy that you're letting me out of my cage, even if it's a few hours a day!" Souji seemed so excited. He reminded Kaiya of a kid sometimes.
"You're welcome, now I better go see Kondou-san." He just nodded as she left.
Kaiya walked up to Kondou's door and knocked. She heard him invite her in, so she opened the door and entered. Kaiya found Kondou at his desk writing something, when he looked up, he smiled at her.
"Good morning Kaiya-chan. Did Souji talk to you?" He asked as he indicated for her to take a seat nearby.
Kaiya sat down not far from Kondou's writing desk. "Yes, he did. He said it was something to do with Heisuke-kun?"
"Yes, it is. I was wondering if you think he's healed enough to accompany me to Edo. There is a man by the name of Itou Kashitarou who I wish to speak with. I want to ask him to join us. Heisuke and Itou-sensei were pupils at the same school, he may be able to help me get Itou-sensei's support. I was hoping that you might give Heisuke the okay to come a long with me." Kondou put his brush down and looked at her.
"I don't see a problem in that, just as long as he doesn't get hit in the head again, he should be ok. He's had no dizzy spells for almost a week and his vision has cleared. I think he should be ok."
Kondou sighed in relief. "That's good to hear. I would like to leave by this afternoon. Could you maybe send some supplies with us just in case somebody gets injured?"
"Yes. I will have a bag of supplies packed by the time you leave. I'll even label them as to their uses." She said with a smile.
Kondou returned her smile. "That would be most useful. You're dismissed, I'm sure breakfast is ready by now." Kaiya nodded and got to her feet. She turned for the door and as she opened the door, Kondou called. "Oh, by the way, happy birthday Kaiya-chan!"
Kaiya looked over her shoulder, "I guess Souji can't keep his mouth shut. Thank you, Kondou-san." He smiled as she turned and left. Kaiya headed straight to the meeting room and entered without pausing.
As she entered several said "Happy birthday!" in unison. Kaiya looked around and saw Souji, Chizuru, Sanosuke and Shinpachi smiling in her direction.
"Souji!" Kaiya complained.
He got up and gave her a hug as Chizuru suddenly got up and left. "Don't be mad. You deserve a little bit of positive attention, don't you think?"
"It's your birthday, Kaiya-chan? You didn't say anything this morning!" Hijikata gave a bit of irritated look from where he sat.
"That's because I planned to keep it to myself." Souji indicated for her to sit in her normal spot between him and Hajime. As she sat down, Chizuru re-entered with a tray of food. She came and set it down in front of her. When Kaiya looked down, there was a gourmet meal in front of her.
"Did you make this Chizuru-chan?" Kaiya said a little shocked.
"Yes! Okita-san wanted to make you something special and since he can't cook, he asked me to do it. He paid for the special ingredients. It's your present from the both of us!" She smiled brightly at her then got up than went to her own spot and sat down at her own tray.
Kaiya looked over at Souji. "You didn't have to do that, either one of you! But…thank you."
"If Souji had said something sooner, we might have done something for you as well Kaiya-chan!" said Sanosuke with a smile.
"And you don't have to. You guys don't do anything for each other's birthdays, so I don't expect you to do anything for me. Souji's done enough."
"Aw, we owe it to you Kaiya-chan. Not just for the last month but also for the last year. You deserve the attention. And that means none of you are to pester Kaiya-chan." Hijikata said as he glared at the guys. "And emergency cases only for your actual duties. You have my permission to take the day off, consider it my gift to you." He said smiling.
Kaiya looked at him shocked. "You don't have to do that!"
"Just shut up and take it. Now eat Chizuru-chan's food she worked so hard to make for you." He gave her a firm look but she could see the humor lighting his eyes.
Kaiya picked up her chopsticks. "Thank you! All of you, really." She said with a humble smile.
111
Almost two weeks later, Kondou returned along with Itou and his supporters. Kaiya sat with the Captain's and Chizuru as Kondou, along with Hijikata and Sannan, was showing Itou around the compound. Kaiya didn't pay too close attention to what was being said by the others as she leafed through on of her father's medical journals that she had brought with her. Despite her inattention she could tell that they were talking about Itou and that the general tone of what she heard from everyone was very negative. They didn't like him.
When Kaiya looked up to study the man as he walked up to the front of the meeting room, all she saw was a soft looking man. Most of the men in the Shinsengumi were men who'd obviously worked their whole lives but this man, was skinny and had an aristocratic air about him.
Everyone suddenly stopped talking, as he approached with Kondou, and got to their feet. Kondou went about introducing all the captain's and then indicated Kaiya and introduced her. Kaiya bowed respectfully. Itou gave Kaiya a bit of a lecherous leer then looked at Kondou while Souji moved in closer and put her arm around her shoulders protectively.
"I'm surprised the Shinsengumi would employ a woman. Even in a less dangerous capacity."
"Actually, though she isn't one of the soldiers, she has the same training as our soldiers and does get involved in conflicts when need be. She's quite skilled both as a doctor and a warrior." Kondou said with confidence.
"Is that so? Well, I look forward to a display. I imagine it must be difficult to keep the soldiers in line around her, with such a beautiful woman around."
"Not really." Souji replied, while not glaring, his look was hard. Kondou and Hijikata both shot him a warning look. "Most of the men don't want to cross me and they know if they so much as irritate my cousin in the wrong way, there'll be hell to pay."
"Oh, you and Ishikawa-chan are related?" He looked intrigued but unperturbed by Souji's veiled threat.
"Yah she is, and I can be a bit protective of her. You might want to let your men know, she's off limits." His face didn't change expressions, but his tone said enough.
"Souji!" Both Kondou and Kaiya said in unison.
"I'm sorry Itou-sensei. He didn't mean it like it sounded but Kaiya-sensei is a very important part of the Shinsengumi, so she is very well protected. Her abilities have already proven very vital to us." Kondou said trying to appease them both.
"Kondou-san is quite right. If it hadn't been for Kaiya-sensei, I wouldn't be able to properly perform my duties as a warrior. She is quite worth our protection." Said Sannan with a smile.
The conversation moved on from her on to other topics that didn't matter to her, and Kondou, Hijikata and Sannan moved inside the meeting room leaving the rest of them outside. Souji and Sanosuke also moved off to do the afternoon rounds with Chizuru in tow. Souji gave her a one arm hug and a kiss on the cheek before departing.
When it was just the three of them Kaiya asked "Did Heisuke-kun not return with Kondou-san?"
Shinpachi shook his head. "No, he's looking more into Koudo-san's disappearance. I've got duties of my own to look after, I'll see you two later."
Kaiya bent over and grabbed her book. "I should get back to the clinic. I believe Yamazaki-kun has duties of his own to preform and we got a couple sick men who need attending to."
"Kaiya-chan wait a moment." Hajime took her by the hand and led her to where they wouldn't easily be overheard. "Are you alright? Itou-san was not the kindest to you. He wasn't outright unkind to you but with your history with his type, I wasn't certain if he might've upset you." He reached up and touched her cheek softly as he studied her eyes.
"I'm fine Hajime-kun, really. I think Souji made himself heard and I'll be careful. If something happens, I know where to go."
She gave him a smile and touched his hand on her cheek. Over the last couple weeks, their relationship had settled in some ways. During the day they had become comfortable spending a lone time together without that same electric attraction, but they had also spent several nights together and that seemed to be enough to expend that electricity.
He stared into her eyes for several minutes then glanced around briefly before planting a kiss on her lips. "Alright but if he bothers you, tell someone!" He stepped back and then turned around and left her alone.
