I'm thrilled to see people are enjoying this. To answer some questions:

Will Kaoru be part of this? Honestly, I'm not sure yet, though I'm leaning toward no just because he is a very difficult character for me to get into his head and hear his "voice". As for Chizuru and her memories, it will all be answered in due time.

As always, feedback is always welcome.

Chapter Two

Preparations

Chizuru.

Chizuru.

Chizuru.

Her name bounced around in his head constantly; Souji suspected he might go insane eventually. He stared off into space all the time now - enough that Kin had gotten fed up with him and tossed a mixing bowl at his head. Though the party wasn't until tomorrow night, his sister was prepping all the food she'd be making ahead of time. All of them had gotten wrangled into helping, come to think of it - penance for Hijikata opening his mouth in the first place, apparently.

Mitsu really was a formidable woman when she wanted to be.

So here he was, alone, laying in the middle of Shieikan's dojo and staring blankly at its ceiling. This had always been the place he'd found peace - a fact that hadn't changed at all. He needed answers - the kind he had to find on his own - and he'd come to the one place he'd known he could relax to find them.

What if she remembers? That answer, he supposed, was obvious enough. They'd pick up right where they left off, or so he hoped. Souji knew he was...difficult sometimes. Would she still want him, when she could have her pick of anyone? All his joking aside, he'd always figured she'd liked Heisuke in the beginning. He was affable and full of cheer usually - annoyingly so - and so very obviously sweet on her from Day 1. And she'd always had that smile - the one that would always catch him at the oddest moments and just stop him in his tracks for the slightest fraction of a second. How could anyone smile like that?

Like they were the sun and seeing you made them shine just a little brighter?

What if she doesn't remember? Reasonably, this was far more likely to be the case, though he hated thinking about it at all. If she really remembered nothing at all...should he even go near her? Souji was still the same no matter what the era his mind came from and she could do so much better then him. He'd always known she'd really deserved more then he'd been able to give her, irregardless of his tuberculosis. Chizuru deserved the world at her feet. What if...someone else could do that for her?

With a snarl, Souji got to his feet and snatched one of the bokken off the wall racks. He needed to clear his head. He didn't like where his thoughts were taking him. Was it fair to her to be selfish? He ached for Chizuru in ways he didn't even know he could ache. Part of it was the physical, but a lot of it was simply her presence in his life. Selfless, foolish, crazy woman that she was who'd stared down the fearsome Wolves of Mibu and somehow wrapped every single one of them around her slim little fingers.

None of it, Souji reasoned, was worth thinking about until he knew what there was to think about. Figure out where she was and go from there.

He got into position to start some of his katas when he felt the hairs at the nape of his neck prickle in warning. His keenly honed warrior's senses were still more then sharp enough and he whirled around just in time to knock the offending bokken aimed for him away while dodging backwards, eyes narrowed at the perpetrator. Even if it weren't the middle of the day, Souji knew who it would be the minute he felt his neck tingle in warning. Chidingly, he drawled, "Ah, Hajime-kun, how mean…"

A small grin peeked out from under his violet hair, though his eyes were as laconic as always. Of all the captains, Souji had always gotten along best with Hajime because he was the only one, besides Hijikata, who really gave him a challenge during a spar. But where Hijikata tended to rise to Souji's baiting every time, Hajime would always remain cool and unflustered. This new era hadn't changed that about him at all. "One must ensure skills remain sharp and do not dull with disuse."

As a prod, Souji charged forward, bokken crossing a few times with the smaller man's briefly before disengaging again. It was a dance his body knew down to his muscles. When Hajime moved this way, he moved that way. Souji tracked his friend's every movement with a grin inching wider across his face as they fell into their old routine, each landing some blows that were going to bruise spectacularly by tomorrow. Neither paid attention or cared about them, however, and he saw his opening…

Only to have Hajime move with that inhuman speed of his, the blow of his bokken sharp but poignant against his abdomen before he could even bring his own to bear. Souji looked down and sighed, grumbling good naturedly as Hajime stood to his full height and rolled his shoulders. "It doesn't really feel like any time has gone by at all, does it?"

"Iie." Hajime eyed him curiously. "Hijikata thought it wise I come here, rather than assist with preparations."

Damn that bastard. He still knew him a little too well, it seemed. Hajime was really the only one who could stand up to him in a full on spar and Souji had been looking for a fight. It would've been easy to go and find one, though a spar with Hajime was at least satisfying. "Did he now?" Souji set the bokken back onto its rack and gave an exaggerated little sigh. "I suppose we should get back and help…Mitsu-neesan might be displeased if we don't."

Saitou Hajime, fearsome Shinsengumi Division 3 Captain, visibly paled at such a thought as he set his own weapon back into its proper place. "Ah…this seems a…prudent course of action."

Ah, Chizuru. Souji barely contained his laughter as they made their way back to his home. If only you could see us right now. You would be happy, I think.

Of course, had he known what he'd be walking into, Souji figured he'd have stayed at the dojo a little bit…longer.

Like for a week.

His arms ached. It didn't help that the bruises were staring to make themselves apparent. Mitsu had him join the Idiot Trio in cleaning the house from top to bottom; a lengthy chore considering it hadn't had a good gutting in a few years. It occurred to him to complain about it, except the only other option was helping Kin and Souji would rather scoop his eyeballs out with a dull spoon then get in her way. Even now, he could hear her snapping orders like Hijikata used to at Hajime and Sanan, who'd had the misfortune of stopping by to lend his assistance. The placid smile he gave Hijikata whenever he passed him hinted at who'd put the idea to come by in his head in the first place. Nothing had changed in their particular friendship, either, though Souji had been relieved that he was like the old Sanan once again. He was all soft-spoken kindness wrapped in pointed looks and barbed intelligence.

The sun was barely visible over the horizon any longer by the time they were finished. They'd flipped on the lights strung along the garden perimeter about an hour ago, mostly to see how they'd look. The garden had a rather…unreal aura about it, he had to admit, and groaned as he rolled his shoulders.

He'd really be feeling those bruises come morning.

"A good day's work, I'd say," Kin noted, a beaming smile on her face. "The garden looks beautiful, Mitsu-neesan."

Mitsu smiled tiredly. "Hopefully it'll be good enough."

"They'd be fools if it weren't." That from Hijikata, who offered a small quirk of a smile towards her.

Souji's eyes narrowed slightly. Are they…having a moment? He looked towards Kin, who caught his eyes and grinned his grin – the I-know-something-you-don't-know grin – that damn near made him choke in disbelief.

Thankfully, the moment was broken by the most hideous chorus of growls he'd ever heard. All eyes turned to Heisuke and Shinpachi, the source of the noises, who laughed in embarrassment.

Sanan rubbed at his forehead in exasperated amusement. "It seems we finished just in time, I suppose," he murmured to Kin, who outright laughed. "Shall we convene into the dining room? I believe dinner is all ready for us."

That was met by rather exuberant cheers.

Dinner was more like a battle then a peaceful affair…but Souji was used to that. Every dinner among the captains had always been something of a fight. He'd sneak pieces of food out from under Heisuke and Shinpachi's noses, grinning over their heads at Hajime who calmly did the same. The other end of the table was slightly more refined about it, but he saw Kin snatch things from Sanan and Hijikata both while the latter glared at the former who merely gave him an edged smile and a subtle verbal poke in return.

Conversation continued steadily even after dinner was long since finished. Mitsu eventually left to do the dishes with assistance from Sano and Hijikata; Kin finally excused herself to go over last minute checks of everything that needed to be cooked tomorrow. Sanan got up to go assist her, but she waved him off with smile. "You're coming by to help me tomorrow, right?"

"Ah." Souji eyed him curiously, intrigued by the almost discomfited look on the former colonel's face. He couldn't recall Sanan being truly rattled by anything, really. Glancing towards Hajime, Heisuke, and Shinpachi, they too had gone silent in favor of watching this rather unusual spectacle play out. Not the only one noticing it, huh?

"No need to assist me further tonight then; I'm retiring for the night after I give it one last check." Habit made Kin lean down and actually give Souji a kiss on his head, much like she'd always done when he was little. "Try not to ruin all the hard work you did cleaning, huh?"

"No promises there." He grinned, though his eyes caught Sanan's over her shoulder, quirking an eyebrow in silent question. Did he just…avert his eyes?

He was distracted from that thought by Shinpachi's boisterous laugh. "Aww…what a good baby brother." Shinpachi gave another laugh as he said this, slapping his leg as if it were the most hilarious thing he'd ever said. Heisuke grinned and even Hajime cracked a smile over it. Souji focused on the latter and held a hand over his chest, wounded. "I expect it from those two idiots, but you Hajime-kun? I'm hurt."

Of course, the grin that broke over his own face moments later ruined it, and they all had a good laugh – even Sanan relaxed and chuckled along with them. In their own ways, they were still reforming old bonds; some of which that had become more damaged then others.

In the end, Sanan and Heisuke actually ended up deciding to crash the night. Souji wasn't surprised about the latter; Heisuke lived furthest away and tended to avoid going home much anyway. Sanan, on the other hand, was a bit of a surprise. It also brought back memories of another time where it was just the three of them, though the memories themselves were far less pleasant.

"Aw man, that was good." As usual, Heisuke proved to be an apt icebreaker. "Kin-san really knows how to cook. Does she make food every night?"

"Not every night," he chuckled. "But most, yeah. It's her thing."

"Wish she'd been around back in Edo," he sighed. "Save us from some of Shinpachi's disasters…"

"I recall, Toudou-kun, your endeavors having similar results." A friendly jab from Sanan, spoken with a small smirk, and Souji laughed at the sight of it.

This was the Sanan they'd all missed.

"Better than Souji's!" he sputtered indignantly, pointing at him. "He damn near poisoned us!"

"It is not difficult to be better than Okita-kun in culinary endeavors." A sideways glance his way, eyes gleaming, and Souji's lips curled into a pointed little grin. Sanan had always been a cagey bastard. Everything about him was about the unspoken; the words he left unsaid. Kondo had always been the best at reading into people and understanding these sorts of things, but Souji thought he understood the words that were behind that look. It showed up every now and again whenever the past came up.

With a slight bit more force then was warranted, he slapped Sanan on the back and hoped it conveyed everything he'd wanted it to. "Never claimed to be a good cook, idiots. Now get out so I can sleep."

A relieved smile crossed the older man's face before he nodded and left. "Of course. Tomorrow, then."

The minute he left, Heisuke turned to him with a frown. "What was that?" He'd seen the undercurrents, apparently, but the actual meaning had apparently been lost on him.

Souji just rolled over onto his bed and sighed. "Ahhh…ask Sano or Shinpachi. I'm tired."

"Mou~!" He grumbled but conceded, leaving his room and shuffling down to the guest room Kin had prepared for him with what he had no doubt was a pout on his face. He could've explained it, but perhaps the most important parts were simply what they'd meant.

"I'm sorry for the trouble," his eyes had said. "Am I forgiven?"

"Yeah," his smack to his back had replied. "Now shut up and move on."

In his head, he could see Chizuru then, staring at him with that befuddled expression on her face. "I don't get it…why not just say it straight?" She'd always been more than a little curious about the interactions between the Shinsengumi's captains. None of how they acted had ever really made sense to her.

"It's a guy thing." His answer had only confused her further, though he never did give her a better answer to that question. As he closed his eyes, Souji imagined her there beside him, his mind bringing her up in crystal clear detail as if she really were right there; he could even smell the faint scent of the flowers he'd used to make the wreath in her hair. He held out his hand, almost expecting to feel the silky strands of her hair between his fingers.

He couldn't, of course, though he imagined her smiling at him and heard a faint whisper of her voice speak to him. "Weirdos."

"Yeah," he murmured, heavy lidded eyes trying to drink in the image his tired mind had conjured up for him before it vanished. "Just…easier then saying 'Sorry' and shit." The image of her faded away and he closed his eyes, heart heavy. I still don't know my answer, but I miss you, Chizuru. He sighed quietly before succumbing to sleep.

I'll see you soon.

I really hope I'm doing Souji justice. He is just soAWESOME. And he strikes me as such a kid where most things are concerned, though he doesn't seem to like to think about serious stuff much. I hope his interactions with his fellow captains are realistic too - I didn't want to not do them justice since, aside from Chizuru, they really were the biggest thing in his life.

Next Chapter: The party is here and Chizuru finally meets the Shinsengumi. Souji's got a decision to make, but what will it be?