Re-edited February 2021
Kaiya let out a sigh of contentment as she laid her head on Hajime's chest as Hajime rubbed a slow circle on her back while he stared down at her with a gentle smile on his lips. After a long time of utter silence Hajime was the first one to break it.
"You know, the others are getting suspicious of us. We're going to have to tell them eventually." Hajime yawned lazily and covered his mouth with his other hand while doing so.
"Mm, yah. Souji's made several comments about me never being in my room in the morning. I think he's guessed why but is trying to get me to say it." Kaiya reluctantly sat up and looked for her clothes. It had been a couple days later since they had all gone out to celebrate Sanosuke's success.
Today everyone was to meet early. Hijikata didn't say why but Kaiya got the impression that it was a top-secret meeting. By the time she was done getting ready, Hajime had been standing by the door for several minutes, waiting for her to finish. He had even rolled up the futon and put it away.
111
They walked to the meeting together and sat down in their normal places. Everyone but Souji and Hijikata were already gathered waiting, even Yamazaki was there which was rare. As always, Sano and Shinpachi were teasing poor Heisuke and being loud and rambunctious. After about five minutes of waiting, the two arrived together, Souji took his seat by Kaiya while Hijikata took his seat at the front with Kondou and Sannan.
"Good morning everyone." Started Hijikata "We have gathered here to inform you of some recent events. While on his patrol, Souji came into some important information. Apparently Roshi have been spilling their guts to some Geiko's about planning an attack on the Shinsengumi."
"Roshi, huh." Said Sanosuke as he rubbed his chin deep in thought. "Where?" He asked.
"Shimabara." Souji responded.
"So what's the plan, Hijikata-san?" Asked Heisuke.
Hijikata glanced at Chizuru who had been looking at the ground fidgeting nervously since Kaiya had arrived. "We have discussed it extensively. We have decided that Chizuru should go undercover. She has agreed to it."
"Wait, what? You can't make Chizuru do that! It's dangerous!" Kaiya looked across to Chizuru.
"It's okay, Kaiya-chan. I want to be useful." She looked up at Kaiya and gave her a pleading look.
"I don't like it either!" Heisuke said jumping to his feet.
Hijikata gave a sigh like he knew they were going to object. "We aren't making Chizuru do anything. She volunteered to do it. She'll be protected."
"Or are you volunteering too?" Asked Souji with a smile and a wink to Kaiya and Kaiya gave him a glare in return.
Shinpachi slapped his thigh. "That's actually a good idea! Two spies are better than one, right!"
Hijikata and Kondou looked at each but it was Hijikata who responded again. "No. Kaiya-chan is too well known. Even if she was done up in a fancy kimono and make-up, I fear she may still be recognized."
"Yeah Kaiya-chan is so beautiful, all the village men are probably always staring at her. If one of them saw her, they'd know who she was!" Sanosuke said as he winked in her direction.
"Behaving like a Geiko and eavesdropping, even Chizuru-chan can do that." Souji gave a sly smile.
"Well, if she doesn't make any serious mistakes, I don't think she'll get busted. Chizuru looked like a real Geiko back then." Said Sanosuke.
"True!" said Shinpachi.
"It'd be my pleasure to see Shimabara's most beautiful woman again." Sanosuke gave a winning smile while Chizuru's cheeks turned red.
"Anyways," Hijikata gave everyone a glare, clearly telling them all to shut up and let him finish. "I'm not entirely for it myself but Sannan-san is right we don't have time to do find out the information any other way. She'll be protected. I've already asked Yamazaki-kun" he nodded in Yamazaki's direction "…and Saitou I assume that you'll be up to doing this as well." He looked over at Hajime.
Hajime nodded his head. "Yes."
"I've already talked to the owner; they've agreed to let Chizuru go under cover. Souji, since this was all your idea, you can escort Chizuru. You'd better get going." The two immediately got up and left as Hijikata looked in Kaiya's direction with a pained expression. "I know you've already got a lot on the table but if you could pick up some of Chizuru's chores, that'd be appreciated. I'm sure you remember the state of this place the very first time you came here. We're not the best at cleaning but we'll all do our best to help out." He looked around the room for emphasis. "But if you could find the time to handle the cooking…we're even worse at that. Souji said you're really quite good at it."
From the corner of her eye, Kaiya saw Hajime nod in agreement. "I'll do the best."
Kaiya left everyone to finish their plans so she could quickly make breakfast. She made the quickest and easiest thing she could think of and when she was done, Inoue helped her pass out the trays. Kaiya never stuck around to see if they liked what she had made, but instead she headed straight to the med clinic. Two hours later, Hajime showed up in her clinic. She hadn't heard him come in while she took stock of what supplies she had; she was planning on going to market with Hijikata a little bit later. When he touched her back, she nearly dropped a very expensive vial of medication.
"Hajime!" She said trying to settle her heart.
"I'm sorry, Kaiya-chan. I didn't mean to scare you." He said with a slight smile.
"Where did you come from? I didn't hear anything!" Kaiya put the medication down she had barely managed to hold on to.
"The door." He said sarcastically than gave her a kiss on the forehead.
"Haha funny guy. What are you doing here?" She loved the fact he was starting to kiss her outside the bedroom more.
"I thought I should come see you before I leave. I may not see you for several days. I think you will probably be a busy woman though; you probably won't even notice I'm gone." He smiled down at her.
"Yes, I probably will be busy. I have to do both, Chizuru-chan's and Yamazaki-kun's chores…or at least his medical obligations but at night I'll still miss you." Kaiya wrapped her arms around him and went up on her tip toes to kiss him.
He sighed and pulled her arms from around his waist. "Kaiya-chan, I'm sorry but if someone was to step in…"
Kaiya frowned but let him pull away. "I understand. How long will you be gone?"
Hajime shook his head. "It's hard to say. It could be a couple days, it could be a couple of weeks or it could even be a couple months." He looked behind his shoulder towards the door. "I should go."
"It's a little early isn't it?" Kaiya asked.
He grabbed her chin. "I need to get the lay of the building. It will help me protect Yukimura more efficiently." He planted a quick kiss on her lips then turned and headed for the door. "I'll see you when I can. Don't push yourself too hard."
"You be careful too. I'd rather not have to sew your innards back into place again." He smiled at her then left.
111
Kaiya sat in the med clinic, late, a few nights later. She'd been busy the last couple of nights as several of the men had become ill from food poisoning. With Yamazaki unavailable, Kaiya had been going for almost twenty-four hours straight. Even last night, she had decided to just sleep in the clinic to make her life a little simpler.
Just an hour ago, another man came looking for her with the same problem as the others. Kaiya had begun to wonder if someone was poisoning the men intentionally, she'd have to mention it to Kondou and Hijikata. Kaiya reached for her water jug, to pour herself a drink but it was empty. With a sigh she got to her feet, taking her jug with her as she exited the clinic and headed off towards the well.
Once there, Kaiya dropped the bucket into the well and as she was pulling it back up, she heard a familiar laugh far off behind her. From the well she had a good view of the front gate and when she looked over her shoulder, she saw Souji walking away from Hijikata and a beautifully dressed woman. She could hear Hijikata shout something at Souji but could not decipher what he said. When Souji was out of sight, Hijikata pointed to a room and the woman stepped up inside, collected her shoes then closed the door.
Kaiya was now very curious at what was going on, so she dumped the bucket of water into her jug and walked over to where Hijikata tried to look casual as three of the men walked past; bowing respectfully as they passed. He hadn't yet seen Kaiya as he turned and knocked on the door. He stood there waiting for the woman to step out with his back to Kaiya as she came up to them.
"Good evening Hijikata-kun!" Kaiya said.
Hijikata practically jumped out of his skin when he heard her. He put a hand on his chest and when he looked at her, he was scowling. "Where the hell did you come from?" He asked, sounding irritated…probably not liking being snuck up on.
Kaiya pointed over her shoulder towards the well. "I ran out of water and I was thirsty, so I went to fill up my jug."
"Why are you even awake? You're usually a sleep by now." He sounded less annoyed, but he continued to frown.
"I've had a rash of food poisonings. I actually wanted to talk to you and Kondou-san about it."
Hijikata looked over his shoulder as the woman came into view. It took Kaiya a second to realize that it was Chizuru. "Sure, but could you do me a favour first?" Kaiya just nodded. "Could you give Chizuru a hand getting out of this getup? I'm sure you'll be happy to hear that her mission is done."
"Absolutely." Kaiya said as happily as she could.
She grabbed Chizuru's hand and they walked off towards Chizuru's room. They had to walk slowly as Chizuru had trouble walking in her extra tall shoes. When they finally got to Chizuru's room, Kaiya helped her out of her layers of clothes and sacrificed some of the water from her jug so that Chizuru could wash off the make-up on her face. She then helped take out her hairdo. When all was said and done, Chizuru let out a sigh of relief.
"Thank you Kaiya-chan! It's so nice to be in normal clothing again!" Chizuru rubbed her eyes and yawned.
"You must be exhausted. You should get some rest! I'll talk to you in the morning, I'm sure you have a bunch of interesting stories to tell."
Chizuru laughed slightly uncomfortably. "…yeah. Good night Kaiya-chan."
Kaiya picked up her jug and left. She went back to the med clinic to drop off her jug, took a drink, and then headed off to Kondou's room. Kaiya could see the light was still on, so she knocked.
"Come in." Came his response.
Kaiya slid the door open and saw Hajime seated in front of Kondou and Hijikata. Kaiya frowned.
"I can come back tomorrow if I'm interrupting anything."
"No Kaiya-chan, take a seat." Said Kondou with a smile. "Toshi said you wanted to talk to us about something. That will be all Saitou-kun." Hajime nodded his head and left. "Kaiya-chan, what is it you wanted to talk to us about."
"Over the last couple of days, there has been several cases of food poisoning." Started Kaiya.
"So the men aren't cooking their food properly? That hardly seems like something you should bring to us." Said Kondou.
Kaiya shook her head. "I don't think that's it. It's not all at once. The first group was yesterday morning, and only two. Then late in the afternoon three more came forward and then late last night and so on. None of them ate the same food and they are some of the most loyal members…as far as I know. I just find it strange."
Kondou and Hijikata looked at each other. "That does sound unusual. Toshi what do you think?" Asked Kondou.
"Are you saying that someone is intentionally poisoning men loyal to us, Kaiya-chan?" Hijikata asked her.
"I only suspect that might be so, but I have no proof."
"Unfortunately, it's a strong possibility. There has been…movement lately. Be careful, Kaiya-chan." Hijikata gave her a concerned look.
"Is it Itou-san? I've seen him talking a lot to some of our more competent warriors." Kaiya watched them closely.
Kondou laughed out loud and Hijikata just shook his head. "We need to remember to watch what we say around Kaiya-chan, she much too smart and perceptive for us." Kondou said.
"Like I said, Kaiya-chan. Watch yourself. He may approach you as well. Your services would be invaluable, even to him." Hijikata stared at her.
"Tch. Unlikely. I get a feeling he's trying to undermine me. Make me look incompetent. He's made it clear that I should be sitting on some man's mantle, being a good housewife not doctoring soldiers. And if he did approach me, I'd laugh in his face."
Hijikata laughed and smiled at her. "That certainly sounds like you. In many ways you and Souji are very much alike. You look exhausted, when was the last time you slept?"
Kaiya had to think about that real hard, "…uh…about the time the first poisoning came to my attention. I've caught a couple minutes of sleep here and there, but it generally gets interrupted by someone needing medical attention."
"Then go to your room and get some sleep. Yamazaki-kun, can take over now that he is no longer watching Chizuru." Hijikata got to his feet and motioned her to get to hers as well.
"I'm sure Yamazaki-kun needs to sleep as well." Kaiya said as she walked to the door.
"I think he's slept more recently than you, now go." Hijikata practically shoved her out the door and gave her a stern look before shutting the door. Kaiya stood there a moment longer contemplating whether she wanted to obey.
"Go Kaiya-chan." Kaiya flinched, she hadn't noticed both Yamazaki and Hajime both standing not far away. "I can take care of things."
"I didn't see either of you standing there." She said as she walked up.
"We were just waiting for you." Said Yamazaki with a slight smile.
Kaiya frowned. "Why?"
"Nagakura-san said that you'd been very busy these last couple days. Said that you showed up long enough to cook then disappeared back into the clinic. I thought I should check to see if you needed any help and from what we heard; you just need some rest. My sleep cycle is reversed anyways. Just tell me what I need to know, and you can go and get some rest." The three of them slowly started wandering off towards the med clinic as she told them about the food poisoning.
The two men frowned at each other. "It would seem that my job is not over." Said Hajime.
"No, it would seem not. I'll go to the clinic and talk to the men, see what I can find out. You, Kaiya-chan need to get some rest." Yamazaki put a hand on her shoulder.
"You'll be more helpful with some sleep, Kaiya-chan." Hajime stared right at her with a serious look. It was not a suggestion.
Kaiya sighed, "Alright, alright I get what you're saying. I'm leaving. Good night you two."
She turned and headed off towards her room. As she stepped into the courtyard, that lead to her and the captains' sleeping quarters, she was stopped by a man standing in the corridor in front of her. Kaiya frowned as she didn't immediately recognize the silhouette.
"Good evening Ishikawa-sensei!" Greeted Itou when he turned around and saw her standing there.
Dammit! She thought. It was unlikely anyone would be coming to her rescue this time.
"I went looking for you at the clinic, but you weren't there! I've been standing here the last several minutes considering knocking on your door, looks like that would have been unsuccessful too." He gave her one of those creepy smiles that was supposed to be friendly.
"Have you been injured or perhaps feeling unwell, Itou-sensei?" Kaiya responded, trying to keep her tone as kind as possible.
"Oh dear, no! I just wanted to talk with you!" He said enthusiastically.
"At this time of the night, that's a little unusual." Kaiya was feeling extremely uncomfortable now.
"Yes, you're right but you're a very hard woman to have a private discussion with! Can we speak somewhere else? There's no need to wake anyone." He waved to a door.
"No thank you, Itou-sensei, here is fine." Kaiya tried to keep her tone kind, but she suspected that some of her mistrust crept into her voice.
"I'm afraid I may have given you the wrong impression. You must think that I don't believe that you belong here, that maybe I think you are unqualified." He left room for Kaiya to respond but she said nothing, so he continued. "Well, it's quite the opposite actually. I think you are overly qualified! You deserve much better than the Shinsengumi. And for this grave error, I'd like to make it up to you!"
"I don't…" Kaiya started to respond.
"Just a quick lunch, in the middle of the day in a busy shop. I don't want you feeling uncomfortable." Too late, she thought. "Well just think about it. It is quite late, Ishikawa-sensei. I'll let you get some rest and sleep on it. Good night." He gave her a polite bow and left.
