Chapter 1-1

January 1864

I could hear the sudden twittering of songbirds and as I rolled over uncomfortably I noticed that I couldn't move my arms.

Well hell, what had happened to me? Then it hit me and I remembered... Ah. Yes. ...Right. How could I have forgotten something so deplorably embarrassing, not to mention frightening? They had tied me up like I was some kind of mangy dog.

If only this was my room, I thought.

I struggled with the ropes in an attempt to reach the tiny blade that I had stitched into a small pocket in my sleeve. Lucky for me when they had searched me they hadn't done a very thorough job, and upon the usual prick of my finger I knew I had found my lucky arrowhead. Unfortunately, my arms and hands were bound so tightly that the most I could do with the arrowhead was hold it between my fingers and try not to drop it.

"If only this were just a really strange nightmare..."

But it was not.

I had met those irritatingly strange men the night before, and they practically dragged me back with them to their headquarters... Of the Shinsengumi.

Well great, what was gonna happen to me now...? Okay so I didn't really want to know... What I did know was what I was going to do to them if they didn't come in here and untie me right this instant and explain to me why they had to tie me up in the first place!

Who was I kidding; they had swords; and I was tied up, not to mention I had no idea where they had put my swords! Giving up on my struggle with the ropes that bound me, I gave a heavy sigh of defeat and awaited my fate.

It was at that moment that the door slid open, and a kind-looking man stepped through. Though whether his kind eyes were a mask that hid his true nature…

"I see you've finally awoken."

With a soft smile, he introduced himself as Genzaburo Inoue.

"I'm sorry we have to treat you this way… Hold on a moment. I'll loosen the ropes, all right?"

As he spoke, almost imperceptible worry creased his forehead.

His smile quirked as he removed my ropes, working quickly and skillfully. My wrists, however, were left bound.

I glanced at my hands and then slowly looked back at him, questioningly.

"Uh, thanks, but…" I paused a moment as I studied his eyes for any hostility. And when I felt I could trust him not to lop off my head, I carefully lifted my hands and added, "Is this really necessary?"

He let out a short laugh as though I had said something amusing, and a sudden wave of impatience took hold of me again. However, I quickly pushed it back down not wanting to be rude to the only member of this crazy group who has been kind to me so far.

"I am sorry but it is a necessary precaution seeing as we know nothing about you as of yet. Now, if you'll follow me, please."

He rose to his feet carefully pulling me up with him, "They've been discussing what to do with you since morning… For now, they've decided to hear what exactly it is you saw last night."

I had no response for that, so I just nodded and did my best to stay standing, my body still a bit unsteady after being tied up all night.

The man who called himself Inoue was very polite and almost kind, but it was quite clear that I was to do as I was told. He must have been able to guess my thoughts, because he smiled at me and winked.

I did a mental eye roll, again, not wanting to be rude. I smiled back, though with how stiff I felt I wasn't sure if it was actually convincing.

Clearly it wasn't since the next words out of his mouth were, "You don't need to worry. I know they seem scary, but they're all really very nice."

Doubtful, I thought to myself.

I wasn't quite sure what to say to that so I said nothing at all. After all, even at home I'd heard rumors of the vicious Shinsengumi. They weren't pleasant rumors, either. It was hard to imagine that the people in charge of such an organization were anything resembling…nice.

…

Inoue led me to a room and opened the door. As I stepped inside I found myself surrounded by the leaders of the Shinsengumi. Their eyes dug into me like knives dipped in poison. I froze, as though paralyzed, just past the threshold, and swallowed.

Okita glanced up at me and gave a smile that was almost kind, and had I not known better I would have believed it to be real.

"Good morning! I hope you slept well?"

Yeah right, I'm so sure, I thought struggling to not start a stare-down with him.

I remembered him… Okita. I mean how could I not; he had acted like a total lunatic the previous night. However, perhaps it was because I was surrounded by strange men, but it was oddly comforting to see a face I recognized… even if it was the face of insanity. I had no doubt that he was willing and almost certainly able to kill me.

How about we gag and tie you up and see how well you sleep?! It quickly occurred to me, however, that this would be a very unfortunate choice of words… So instead I said, calmly as possible, "Well, it hadn't been particularly…comfortable."

Okita's right brow arched, "Is that so…?" His mouth quirked sideways into a grin. "Because when I went to have a look at you earlier, you didn't budge no matter what I poked. You were knocked out cold, and you look so snug and cozy in your sleep."

My eyes widened in anger and then quickly narrowed in rage. I had a sudden overwhelming urge to throttle him.

He is so lucky that my hands are still bound, I thought clenching my jaw shut. Okita's grin widened as my previous urge to throttle transformed to contemplating murder.

Saito rolled his eyes at our clearly childish behavior and my cheeks flushed at my own immaturity.

How can I have fallen for such an obvious tease?!

"Souji didn't go anywhere near your room last night."

Quite silent I blinked at Saito who had just spoken, a hint of annoyance in his tone.

I turned back to Okita. His grin still playing about his face, he glanced over at Saito then winked at me, "Aah, I just wanted to see you squirm a little," veering back to Saito, "Not very nice of you, Hajime, calling me out like that."

…He must be kidding. How did this guy ever become captain?!

"Shut it. You sound like a couple of kids," came another familiar voice.

I turn to the voice to find the overly beautiful Hijikata glaring down at us. I quickly looked away in utter embarrassment. His voice brooked no further insubordination. Okita shrugged and was silent, but the smile lingered in his bright eyes.

"So Hijikata… This is your witness?"

The man who spoke was… Okay, so perhaps man was a poor choice of word considering he looked more like a boy than a full grown adult. I'd imagined the leaders of the Shinsengumi to be old—or at least middle-aged—men, but… They all looked quite young.

…

In fact, they looked rather like a group of young thugs…

The boy who had just spoken glanced at me his eyes, narrowed in annoyance, but a hint of amusement held strong within them, "He's a real stick, huh? Just a kid…"

The brat's name was Heisuke Toudou. On our way from my room, Inoue had given me a brief description of the people I was about to meet. Supposedly, Heisuke was the youngest captain in the Shinsengumi.

Another young man with red hair pulled back into a loose ponytail spoke next, "You're calling him a kid, Heisuke? That's rich."

He chuckled as he spoke, but the way he looked at me suggested that there was little he missed, despite his humor.

"Right you are." Said the third man, "To anybody else, I'll bet the two of you just look like another pair of scrawny little brats."

The man who just spoke nodded with brows drawn, as if he was quite serious about the subject.

The other man turned him with a scowl in his eyes also seeming very serious about the subject, "I'm the only one who gets to call 'em out on being scrawny punks because I'm a mature adult and all…"

The man who had spoken previously just looked at him and then laughed, "Mature adult…? Anything that comes out of your mouth is basically nonsense, Shinpachi."

However, Inoue had told me that two of the men in particular were… somewhat immature, to put it nicely. He had said that the one with short brown hair was Nagakura, and that the one with longer red hair was Harada.

Heisuke scowled at them both, "Leave off, you grumpy old bastards."

Nagakura's mouth quirked sideways into a grin, "The hell I will, boy! You think you can get away with talking to us like that?!"

"Besides," Said Harada, "I'm hardly old enough to be called 'old'. Shinpachi, maybe, but…not me."

Nagakura glared at his supposed friend, "You son of a… I thought we were friends!"

Heisuke burst out laughing and once again I was forced to wonder just how anyone this immature could ever become a captain of a group as fierce as the Shinsengumi.

"Ha ha ha ha! C'mon, Shin! Would an adult get so worked up over something like that?"

They're back and forth rapport seemed developed into a rhythm from years of friendship, which pre-dated my arrival , but they couldn't quite hide the odd inquisitive glance in my direction. I could sense something other than simple curiosity, a feeling of animosity, or resentment, perhaps. Despite their cheerful levity, they had not forgiven my presence among them.

Suddenly, I wished very much that I had never come looking for my father. See this is exactly what I had meant when I had said he was more trouble than he was worth. If I hadn't come looking for him in the first place I would never have gotten into this situation.

My chest tightened, not in fear, but anger. If I ever got out of here and found out that he was off gallivanting in the red districts or some other equally deplorable place, I swore to any God who cared to listen that I would end him.

"I apologize for all of this frightening behavior. Please, don't give them the pleasure of unsettling you."

The man who had spoken had a kind face unlike the others who all seemed to be scowling in my general direction. His voice was calm and warm, though I couldn't let myself relax, they all still had their swords while I, well… didn't.

Hijikata smirked and slowly shook his head before saying, "Are you serious? You're the scariest out of all of us, Sanan."

As he finished speaking, the rest of the men nodded solemnly in agreement. I glanced at Sanan and searched his eyes for this evil that they all seemed to think he had inside him, but I was unable to find any traces of it.

Sanan smiled back at him seemingly unfazed by Hijikata's crude words.

"Oh? How cruel. I can understand their feelings, but that even our demon of a commander should think so… It is up to me to hold the integrity of the Shinsengumi to our highest standard."

Sanan leveled his gaze with Hijikata's his eyes narrowing slightly, "It is easy to be confused, however, when our standards… Or rather, are taboos, are at the mercy of our own, Hijikata."

Hijikata grimaced and gave a sad smile, "That is true. But now is not the time to be talking about this… "

Sanan leaned back, his riposte delivered.

Hijikata also said nothing, but his own smile did not leave his face either.

"You're Lucky to have a friend like Sanan, Toshi."

However, Hijikata and Sanan were not listening and instead had started a violent stare down. How anyone could think these two were friends was beyond me. Still, the man who had spoken had certainly sounded as though he thought they were friends.

Said man then turn to me, a glimmer of my hope in his eyes, "Oh, my apologies. I haven't introduced myself. I am Isami Kondou, Chief of the Shinsengumi."

"That would make you the most important man in the Shinsengumi, then."

I hadn't really meant to but I ended up stupidly saying this out loud causing the Chief of the Shinsengumi to blush slightly.

"Well, I wouldn't call myself the most important person. It is more accurate to say they represent everyone."

He then turned to the man known as Hijikata or otherwise the demon of the Shinsengumi.

"Toshi over there is the commander, and Sanan is our colonel."

Hijikata closed eyes and slowly shook his head before bringing his fingers up to pinch the bridge of his nose.

"Ah…Kondou? Why are you telling him all this?"

Their leader blinked a few times, clearly clueless, "Uh… Why, do you think it's a bad idea?"

This time it was Nagakura who spoke, "Well, unless you really think this kid needs to know all our secrets, maybe you should keep your mouth shut."

Heisuke nodded in agreement, "Exactly! Why bother anyway? We don't owe this kid anything."

Kondou flushed bright red again clearly embarrassed and probably feeling a little bit like he has failed as their leader, "Hmm… perhaps, you always good points, but… Is it not rude to ignore your guests?"

Harada glanced over at Kondou and let out a bark of laughter. I was dumbfounded and shocked beyond my own belief, though not by the fact that they were talking to Kondou this way but because he was letting them! I found it hard to believe that this guy was the leader of the Fierce and feared by all Shinsengumi.

Harada glanced at me then back at Kondou, "True, but we have already brought him here. So it's not like telling 'im will hurt us."

Kondou had looked rather disappointed when Hijikata had spoken, however he perked up again at Harada's kind words.

I've scarcely known him for five minutes, but already I could see that he was well-liked by his men. He had that sort of charisma that simply drew you in. A man who was impossible to hate.

Kondou turned so that he was once again facing his men, "…Well, let's get back to the business at hand. Can you run through what happened last night?"

His glance slid to Saito, who gave a small nod and began to speak, "Last night we were on patrol when we encountered some wandering ronin. They drew steel, so we fought. Some of our men subdued the ronin, but in doing so exposed their failure."

As he finished, Saito turned to look at me. He seemed to be searching my eyes for the answers to questions he didn't dare ask in front of everyone else. Needless to say, this was making me very uncomfortable. I forced my eyes to remain on his and my mouth to open. Against my better judgement I chose lie over truth, "I didn't see anything." I knew he would see right through it but I didn't see how I had any other choice. I mean, let's be honest here, they were going to kill me whether I told the truth or lied and got caught.

However even with my insistence, Hijikata continued to stare at me with a harsh glanc , but Saito remained expressionless and the smile on Okita's face didn't falter.

Heisuke, however, was the only one to question my answer, "Huh. You sure you didn't see anything?"

I nodded, "Yes, I didn't see anything." I was so mad at myself for lying to them like this that I was beginning to feel sick. However, if I was to ever get out of here and find my father then telling the truth was a risk I just could not take.

Heisuke seemed satisfied with my answer, "Really… Well, if that's true, then I don't see what the problem is."

Nagakura, however, was unfortunately for me not convinced, "Now hold on a minute. I thought Souji said you helped out some of our men or something…"

"Oh, he did, did he," I slid my gaze to Okita and narrowed my eyes. I knew he was lying, he knew he was lying, and yet he had this big stupid grin on his face!

I turned back to Nagakura and let out a heavy sigh, "I'm sorry but that's not true."

I glanced back over at Okita, but his smile hadn't changed. Whatever he was thinking was a mystery to me. I did not know how much more of this stupid game of his I could tolerate.

"I had been running away from the ronin…" this was also a lie, but one that I was not ashamed to tell, after all it was partially true. I had been running away, but only to lure those morons into a trap of my own, and this was a truth I was ashamed to tell. If I had just, I don't know, knocked them all unconscious, then they never would have followed me into an alley that I would have never had to go into and they would have never been massacred by those things!

"And then," I continued, "some people with Shinsengumi uniforms showed up… Really, they sort of rescued me."

Nagakura narrowed his eyes at me, "Then that means you saw them slicing up those ronin, right?"

My heart skipped a beat as I realized my mistake far too late…

"Uh-um…"

Oh crap…

There was no point in denying any longer that I was lying.

Harada's eyes slowly slid to mine. I looked back and saw within his a hint of concern but mostly annoyance, "So in other words, you actually saw everything. The whole ugly business."

I hung my head in shame, and not wanting to lie any longer, I said softly, "Yes."

"You've got an honest heart. That's not really a bad thing, but…"

I wasn't quite sure what to make of Harada's words, I mean, was he condemning me or was he saving me?

My presence had not been a good thing for the Shinsengumi. Would their next words be the ones that condemned me to death for being in the wrong place at the wrong time?

Perhaps it was from being overwhelmed by fatigue but my voice shook as I continued with my plea.

"I won't tell anyone! I swear!"

It was Sanan who spoke up this time, "It seems unlikely this attack was mere chance. Then again, I have no reason to think you're an enemy either." He frowned momentarily and then gave me a sad smile, "Even if you do not intend to tell anyone, you could be captured; interrogated. I doubt you could withstand torture."

"If only you knew all the things I had to withstand through my long life," is what I wanted to tell him but instead I kept my mouth shut… and looked away.

Saito's soft voice pierced my thoughts, "It's easy enough to stay quiet, but if someone should try to… coerce you, you've no reason to keep our secrets."

He was right, I had no reason to keep their secrets. Though I had no reason not to either. After all, had they really intended to kill me they would have done so by now. Perhaps, this meant that none of them truly wanted to go through with killing me.

Okita's eyes slid to mine, a smile tugging at his lips, "We don't have any kind of guarantee that you'll keep your word. It wouldn't be very smart to just let you go."

None of them except Okita, that is.

His smile widened into that of a nasty grin as he folded his arms and then turned to Hijikata, "Let's just kill the kid. You want to keep someone quiet, that's the only sure way."

Fantastic. If everyone here is as crazy as this guy then I'm doomed.

I looked desperately at their Chief, who gave Okita a reproving look, "Don't be so cold, Souji. What do we gain by murdering a civilian?"

Okita's smile vanished, and his eyes flicked to me before lowering them to the floor. He then rose his eyes back to his leader only to find Kondou glaring back at him, "Oh don't give me that look. I was just kidding."

"Then perhaps it should have sounded like it," Saito's voice was as calm as ever.

Okita made an attempt at a derisive snort and looked intently at a wall, his face slightly red.

Inoue seemed to be the only one who thought this was insanity, "But surely, there must be something we can do? After all, we're talking about a child…"

Sanan also seemed appalled by this decision. His eyes flicked to mine before returning to Kondou's, "I've no wish to kill him either, but we can't discount the chance that he could reveal information about us."

Sanan paused for a moment, and I couldn't help but wonder if he was going to take Okita's side after all, but then his brows furrowed, and he turned to Hijikata.

"I would like to hear the commanders opinion."

With the responsibility of his position invoked, Hijikata had no choice. He sighed, and glanced around the room. His eyes slid to mine periodically as he spoke, "Last night we had to kill some men who broke the code. This kid should not have been involved at all."

The kindness in Sanan's eyes was replaced with a mixture of confusion and intrigue, "I imagineThat puts an end to the matter for you?"

"Well, he probably saw something, but I doubt he really understood what it was."

Nagakura was still not convinced that I should be out of the woods just yet, "Even so, this is serious. We have bigger things to think about. We have to keep this under wraps. If rumors were to get out that the soldiers of the Shinsengumi are thirsty for blood, that would be problematic."

Shinpachi's words made sense, they knew it I knew it.

Why didn't I just stay home, I thought miserably.

The look in Hijikata's eyes became grim.

His eyes flick to Nagakura's a gleam of irritation within them, "Hey, watch your mouth. It is our responsibility to regulate all warriors who violate our code. They will be dealt with."

Okita glanced at Hijikata a serious glint in his eyes, "Well, that does not change the fact that the kid saw something."

It was Harada who broke the silence brought on by the previous spoken truth, "I think Souji has a point. …Still, I'll do whatever Hijikata and Kondou tell me to."

Heisuke was highly troubled by all this talk of murdering, "I think we oughta let him go. It's not like he knows why they went nuts, you know?"

…Wait, what did he mean by that? You mean there was actually a reason behind those creature's insanity?!

Hijikata saw my eyes go wide, and I saw his narrow. They then flicked to Heisuke.

"Shut it, Heisuke."

No sooner were the words out of Hijikata's mouth than Heisuke smacked both hands over his own.

"Uh oh. Well, this is going to make it even harder for us to just let you go…"

Okita smirked as he said these cruel words.

Nagakura seemed frustrated about something as his eyes flicked to mine, "A man should always be ready to face death. You should make peace with yours."

A man? Excuse me… I would think that men of such an organization would be smart enough to see that I'm clearly a woman…!

Great, so they thought I was a boy...fantastic…

With everything else that had happened that previous night, I'd completely forgotten how I was dressed!

"Very true."

Apparently Harada agreed.

"A brave death is always an option. When I was young, I committed honorable suicide."

This I did not even try to understand…

Nagakura, however, found this quite amusing… the reason behind this I didn't even want to know.

"Although it didn't really stick, did it Sano?"

Their jokes were… too barbaric, even for my taste, but they both broke into raucous laughter at them.

Saito did his best to ignore them.

"Commander… since we can't seem to reach a consensus, can I send the child back to his room?"

As he spoke, Saito turned to look at me.

"If you hear something you shouldn't while you're here, then we'll have no choice but to kill you."

"Fantastic! You may as well kill me then. Because I'm fairly sure I've heard more than my fair share of things that I shouldn't," I wanted to say to him, but instead just nodded and stayed silent.

Never-the-less, he was right. If I remained here with them, then it was very possible that I would hear something else I wasn't supposed to!

I mumbled nonsense, quietly to myself, about how this was all my father's fault.

Hijikata nodded in agreement, "Indeed… Let's do that. Plus, there's something I want to look into."

Saito nodded but said nothing.

Sanan spoke next, "I agree. There are far too many careless men here."

Nagakura's cheeks flushed slightly, "C'mon, Sanan… What're you looking at me for?"

Harada smirked, "That oughta be pretty obvious. We're all guilty of being careless. Especially you, Heisuke."

The youngest captain's cheeks went bright red as he flicked his eyes to his two supposed friends, "H-Hey! Back off! It was just a mistake, all right?"

I could hear Heisuke's voice rise as everyone turned to look at him. He looked back at them for a bit, then turned to me and mumbled in a voice I could barely hear.

"I…I'm sorry."

…

I was pretty sure that I was still about to die, so I couldn't bring myself to say to him more than just, "It happens…" but he looked as though he'd meant what he said, so I gave him an awkward nod. Which was the most I could manage.

Besides, now that I was being brought to a room away from this one and possibly being left alone there, I had to remain focused on planning a way to escape from here.

"Shall we go?"

I almost didn't hear Saito's soft quiet words but managed a nod and one last glance at Heisuke's worried eyes as Saito led me away from the room.

After they had taken me back to my room, I stopped there for a time, struggling with the ropes that bound my hands. If I could just get them loose enough so that I could use my lucky Arrowhead, I could free my hands and be rid of this place…or so I hoped.

The wonderful ripping sounds of the ropes tearing apart had my heart skipping a beat as it sped into a race of excitement.

Something stopped me, however, from leaving the room once my hands were free.

"Hmm…"

The rumors I'd heard had said the Shinsengumi were cruel, vicious men, but they'd seemed much more human than that.

Then again, even as I sat there they were deciding whether or not to kill me…

"I don't think they really want to kill me, well except maybe that Okita guy… however, it seems like they think they may not have a choice."

I rubbed my hands as the tingling effects of blood recirculating began to take hold.

If I didn't defend myself somehow, I'd definitely be killed.

I didn't know how I was supposed to convince them, though and I didn't really care.

However they might have felt about me, it was clear that their priority was the welfare of the Shinsengumi.

Hold it. They thought I was still a boy, perhaps if I told them I was a girl that would somehow change their mind or perhaps it would somehow make my predicament even worse.

Either way I had to find a way to escape. I refused to die in this hellhole!

And that meant leaving immediately. Staying in that room wasn't likely to improve my chances.

Fortunately, my hands were free now so they wouldn't be slowing me down as they would have been in their previous position bound behind my back. I definitely had a chance.

"All right, now the exit was...where again…"

I cast my memory back to when they had brought me into the headquarters the night before.

"…Right."

It should work. It had to work.

I slowly rose to my feet and holding my breath, edged toward the door. Leaving this way was rather rude but I was hardly given a choice.

With my right hand, I reached for the door…

I was almost there when suddenly it flew open all on its own, revealing—

"What?!"

I let out an embarrassing shriek as both Kondou and I toppled to the floor.

Sanan had been standing directly behind him and was now staring down at us, a smirk tugging at his lips.

"Oh my… Well, that was rather bold. You meant to escape, I assume?"

I opened my mouth to say something, anything, but decided it was better not to.

Sanan's expression softened though his choice of words did not.

"Trying to run was not wise. It will only make your situation more difficult."

He glanced down at my hands and I did not try to hide them but his eyes became cold as ice upon seeing that they were no longer bound.

Too late, I realized why they'd only bothered to tie my hands. They'd been watching me.

"I told you once, and I won't do it again. Run, and I'll kill you."

Hijikata's voice was low, and filled with quiet rage.

"Sorry, but now we've got to kill you. We can't trust a kid who can't keep a promise."

"The hell you will," I muttered and then made a mad dash for the door.

If I was going to die anyway, then I had nothing to lose by trying to escape.

Slipping around a stunned Kondou, I took off down the hallway.

A shadow slid into view before I could make it to the entrance.

"Did you really think you could escape?"

With the speed and Grace of that of a great cat, he snatched me from the floor in one smooth motion.

"Let me go!"

"You think I'm stupid? You'll just try to run. No."

His voice was angry. I squirmed and twisted, but I couldn't escape. His strength was unbelievable.

"But I can't die here!"

My voice threatened to waver, but I refused to let him hear just how afraid I really was.

"Damn it! There's something I still have to do!"

"Hmph. And what's that, huh? What makes a girl put on pants and run around Kyoto pretending she's a boy?"

Finally someone noticed I was a girl!

Hijikata placed me back on the ground and I whipped around to examine his eyes. He did not look happy.

I flinched away and then blinked at my surroundings. Well hell, I'd been so busy struggling to get free of his monster grip that I hadn't even noticed he'd brought me back to that room.

Sanan look at us and then nodded.

"I see. Then you really were a girl."

I gaped at him for a moment and then blinked.

"C'mon, you really thought putting on a pair of pants was going to fool us? Even an idiot could see you're a girl."

I was already becoming quite familiar with that voice I mean how could I not, the jerk always had something snarky to say.

"Oh, Isami Kondou, you fool! This is the shame of a lifetime! How could I not have realized?!"

At this point the whole room went silent well except for Okita, who seemed to be struggling with not choking on the laughter now stuck in his stupid throat.

Kondou's reaction, I confess, made me feel little bit better.

Hijikata's eyes slid to mine.

"You almost got killed for it, whatever it is. Maybe it's time you fessed up, kid."

Not trusting myself to say anything intelligent I looked back at him and just nodded.

So there I was, surrounded once again by the leaders of the Shinsengumi.

Kondou cleared his throat before saying, " I had noticed you were rather slim, and your features were far too soft to be a man's, but to think you were the lady this whole time…"

Kondou was nodding his head solemnly, over and over, as if he were agreeing with a very intelligent suggestion.

I gaped at him finding it hard to believe that someone so soft could ever be the chief of such a violent group.

Hijikata gave a heavy sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose.

Heisuke gave me a once-over seeming amused by something.

"Once you know she's a girl, she really doesn't look like a boy at all, does she?"

What was wrong with these guys; you would think they'd never seen a girl wearing pants before! And besides, it's not like I was seriously trying to hide that I was a girl…

Inoue grimaced, seeming to be the only one horribly bothered by this, "Then we bound girl and left her for an entire night…? Oh dear."

Well hell, I couldn't believe it but I was actually feeling sorry for him. Here I was waiting for them to decide whether or not they were going to kill me and now I was feeling sorry for one of them just because they felt bad that they had done all these things to a girl!

Yup. Something was seriously wrong with me…

Of course, it didn't help that he was now looking at me eyes flooding with concern.

Each of them, however, took the news differently.

Nagakura folded his arms narrowed his eyes at me.

"Well, 'she' claims to be a girl, but it's not like we have any actual proof, right?"

"Excuse me?! What exactly are you suggesting?"

Though, I understood what he meant I mean after all I was barely below average in the chest area. Not that you'll ever hear me complain I mean if I had boobs that were more obvious I would just have to beat up that much more people for looking.

Harada laughed. Nagakura grumbled to himself under his breath.

"Proof? Really…? Not obvious enough for ya, huh? Alright, will you feel better if I strip her down?"

Okay, I was now officially disgusted with all of them.

I was about to tell him just that when a sudden outburst of rage shot from Kondou's mouth.

"No! You absolutely will not! Even suggesting such a thing as preposterous!"

Kondou shot up before I had even finished opening my mouth, his face bright red, but Harada's words hadn't had any malice behind them.

"I just figured it was the quickest way to settle the question… But, I won't force it."

Harada shrugged and settled back into his seat.

Nagakura still had his arms crossed, and his brows were knit.

"Well… If you really are a girl, then… Killing you would just feel kinda…wrong."

I clenched my fists not understanding how clueless they could be at times, it was frustrating.

I lifted my eyes to his.

"Killing without reason is always wrong it shouldn't have to depend on gender."

Hijikata completely ignored me, however, Harada's cheeks flushed slightly despite that fact.

Hijikata's eyes did flick to mine momentarily before returning to Nagakura.

"It doesn't matter. If we have to kill her, she dies."

His words left no room for argument.

Sanan's voice broke the silence that followed.

"The lady is right, though. Gender is irrelevant. Killing in general is wrong."

He glanced at me momentarily, a careful smile in his eyes. But as he turned back to Hijikata the smile was gone… only a hint of concern remained.

"We were organized to protect the citizens of Kyoto. We would ill serve the public good by murdering civilians In cold blood."

"Yeah, yeah. But if this girl, or boy, is a threat to that peace, then that is a different story altogether."

Okita had that irritating wolf like grin again.

But I guess he was right.

The Shinsengumi had already suffered a very gruesome reputation in Kyoto. If rumors began to spread that their men were thirsty for blood, things weren't likely to go well for them.

Ha! Like I could possibly care about that…

However, if they were no longer able to operate in Kyoto, and no one was there to protect the people, the city would eventually fall into chaos.

I could see in their eyes that each one of them knew full well the consequences rash actions could have. Well that is except for Okita, who seemed to be glancing at me periodically with the eyes of a bloodthirsty killer.

Fan-freakin-tastic! Was I eventually going to have to actually fight this lunatic?

Hijikata's gentle voice broke into my thoughts of lunacy.

"I apologize, but I took the liberty of checking through your belongings."

It was only then that I noticed my bag of belongings nestled at his feet.

"It would appear that you came all the way from Edo… By yourself."

He lowered his eyes to my bag of belongings.

"You didn't seem to have much: some clothing, some pocket change, a few letters, and these two swords."

His eyes flicked to mine momentarily before returning to my bag and retrieving from it a letter.

"One of the letters was from Ryojun Matsumoto, a shogunate approved doctor. I assume you saw him."

He then turned his eyes to mine once again but this time they no longer held the gentle kindness they had before.

"What is your purpose, Emma Yukimura…?"

The minute my name was spoken, the vibe in the room shifted immensely.

Everyone wore a stunned expression, eyes wide, and no words were uttered in response… Until…

Well hell…

"Wait, Hijikata… That name…"

Nagakura's eyes widened and he suddenly seemed anxious about something.

Sanosuke, however, just appeared severely worried OK so that's basically the same thing as anxious.

"Hey now, this can't be a coincidence…"

"Now, wait a moment. We need only determine if you are a threat. Will you tell us your side of the story?"

I could feel all their eyes on me. The room was completely silent.

I took a calming breath and then began my story.

"My name is Chizuru Yukimura…"

Under the watchful eyes of the leaders, I sharply described how I came to face them. How I lived in Edo. And how I'd come to Kyoto to find my father. How lonely the city felt before I had arrived here at their headquarters.

"Oh, then you're from Edo as well? And you came all the way to Kyoto to find your father?!"

I could see emotion welling up in Kondou's eyes as he continued.

"What business did your father have in Kyoto?"

"My father is a doctor. His name is Kondou Yukimura, and he specializes in western medicine—"

It was like somebody had suddenly turned off all the sound in the world. I couldn't hear anything except the steady pounding of my own heart.

"So, the dots are connected," mumbled Hijikata.

Oh for the love of—What the heck did I say Now?

The moment my father's name crossed my lips, the atmosphere in the room changed.

Sanan was the only one who didn't seem phased by this, " The handwriting within the letter does indeed match Kodo's, but… To think you were Doctor Kodo's daughter…"

"Okaaay, so I take it you've already met my father then."

I wasn't sure what the sudden silence meant, and I was fairly certain that I didn't want to know; only that the revelation of my parentage had caused the pronounced change in their behavior.

Hijikata turned on me then, his eyes full of distrust making them cold and distant.

"So, you've been withholding information from us?"

It was now my turn to be clueless and confused.

"Wait… What information are you talking about?"

At this point however Hijikata no longer seemed to be taking my side on anything for he now seemed to view me as a real enemy.

"There's no point in lying to us now! Out with it! What the hell are you doing in Kyoto?!"

It was hard to admit, since I barely knew the guy, but his sudden outburst of rage actually hurt my feelings. I blinked back a sudden urge to cry and shot back at him these words, " I just came to look for my father. I swear I don't know anything else…"

Though, deep down I knew this wasn't entirely true I just hoped they didn't discover that. I knew my father was up to some sketchy whatever he was doing I just didn't know all the details, well, really any of them.

Hijikata's icy stare was like daggers in my heart.

"You came to the city fully aware of what your father, Kodo, is doing?!"

I don't know why but I felt like I needed to prove something to this guy.

"I was only aware of my father being in Kyoto for his medical work, but I haven't seen him since last summer… That's all I know, truly!"

Hijikata slammed his mouth shut. My words seemed to have caused whatever rage he was feeling towards me to suddenly hiss out of existence.

It was Sanan who finally broke the silence that followed.

"Hijikata, it may be better for us not to press the issue because she may not know anything after all."

"So, what exactly do you know about my father? Where is he? Do any of you know?"

The room once again fell silent until Saito cleared his throat before his response.

"The Shinsengumi is currently attempting to ascertain the whereabouts of Dr. Kodo Yukimura."

I choked out a laugh to hide my annoyance at thinking I had found the lead only to have it dashed away.

"So you're after my father too, huh? What has he done to you, now?"

Okita smirked a smile that was a little less crazy than what I'd seen so far.

"Oh, no, you've got it all wrong. We're not, uh, after him. And he hasn't done anything to us."

I didn't fail to notice that his eyes didn't quite meet mine as he finished speaking.

"Okaaay…"

Could it have been the Shinsengumi my father had been dealing with during all those frequent trips to Kyoto? To be quite honest that would have been a relief…considering the alternative-booze and boobs.

At least with this I could have been somewhat proud of him for leaving me and my mother alone for so long each time.

"He's a fellow supporter of the Shogun," started Okita, "but… Well, he sort of disappeared a little while ago…"

I gave a heavy sigh and lowered my eyes to the floor and to make matters worse Saito added, "There's a reasonable chance that the enemies of the Shogun have identified him as a threat."

My eyes snapped up to his and I suddenly wanted to shout, "And why would they be thinking that, you jerk!" However, chances are it wasn't directly Saito's fault so instead I said as calmly as I could, "What exactly makes you think this?"

"That is not information you are at liberty to know." Hijikata's voice was a low growl, and his eyes burned with something I couldn't quite decipher.

"Okay, all right." I quickly put my hands up to show that I was backing off from the questions…Well, for now at least.

Saito continued speaking as though nothing had happened, "There is also a chance, of course, that he's still alive. Doctors trained in Western medicine and valuable and rare."

They seemed to be only concerned with his safety but for me it wasn't a matter of whether he was alive or not it was only a matter of whether he had gotten anyone else killed. I didn't really want to mention this so I just nodded and said nothing.

My heart pounded frantically in my chest, though not out of fear for him but out of fear for any poor soul he tried to save. See he wasn't just a doctor; he liked to experiment on his patients using new treatments only he knew of, of course, he would never do this without their consent. As far as I could tell he wasn't aware that I knew about his 'special treatments'. As a kid sometimes at night I could hear wailing coming from neighboring homes where he had just finished performing his 'special' treatment. The cries never sounded human, not even once.

Sanan glances between me and the Chief of the Shinsengumi.

"Kondou, what do you make of her situation? Would it be in our interest to help her, seeing as we are all looking for the same person?"

"What exactly do you mean, 'help her'?"

Sanan smiled at me then leveled his eyes with Kondou's.

"I only mean to say we should cooperate with her until we find Kodo."

He slid his gaze back to mine.

"With your assistance, I'm sure our chances of locating Kodo will increase drastically."

I glanced at Sanan but still didn't trust myself to say anything.

He continued. Apparently my father had only visited a small number of times. I understood then what he'd meant: It would be difficult for them to track down someone they barely knew.

Oddly, I felt relieved by this. If he hadn't been here with them for very long then he couldn't have possibly screwed up their lives…or so I wanted to believe.

"You are his daughter, so you ought to be able to recognize him no matter how he may have disguised himself, yes?"

I nodded, "That's right."

"Besides," Sanan turned back to Kondou, " having her stay with us, regardless, can be of use to our headquarters."

Kondou flicks his eyes to Hijikata's.

Hmm, what do you say, Toshi? Sanan is making a lot of sense."

Hijikata sighed heavily his lips pursed.

"If it turns out that she doesn't know anything after all, then…"

I suddenly felt that I had to get them to believe that I didn't know anything about why my father had come here that I didn't even have an inkling of a clue.

"It's true! All I know is that my father headed to Kyoto, but I don't know anything else!"

Hijikata then looked away as if in defeat.

"Well, if she is, in fact, his daughter, we can't really kill her, then, can we…"

"…Which means more work for me," His eyes added. They narrowed as he looked down at me, his new burden. Though, he couldn't quite hide the hint of relief that now graced his eyes.

His eyes softened a fraction before he added, "If you swear to forget about what you saw last night, then we'll look after you until you can find your father. Fair?"

Kondou joined in on the joyous fun of deciding not to kill me, a brilliant smile tugging at his lips.

"I promise that the Shinsengumi will do whatever they can to help you find Dr. Kodo!"

I was still reeling from the fact that I wasn't going to die that I couldn't stop the slight tremor in my voice, "Th-Thank you so very much, Sir!"

I had never imagined something like this! Receiving the help of a whole group of highly trained eyes should help this search go much faster. Not to mention I had found my first decent lead.

Okita slid his eyes to mine a dumb grin twinkling in his eyes.

"You must be pretty glad we won't be killing you, huh? …Well, won't be killing you just now, at any rate."

"Just give me a reason, Mr. Samurai," I grumbled through my teeth.

There was no denying that my situation was still less than desirable, but at that moment I really didn't care.

Heisuke gave a bark of laughter, "Okita was challenged by a girl! Now, when was the last time that happened?"

Nagakura brought his finger to his chin as though he were seriously thinking, "I believe it was his sister."

Harada just about choked on his own laughter, "That's right. Cuz she's the only girl in the world that he's afraid of!"

Kondou suddenly shivered as though remembering something dreadful, "Yeah, well, he's not the only one."

At this everyone glanced at each other and then burst into laughter.

Well hell, were they all afraid of this woman?! I suddenly found myself wanting to meet the woman who had instilled fear into a group like the Shinsengumi who was feared by all.

Well, I have been through a lot in the past two days and as I watched the sunset a second time, I found solace in knowing that the search for my father would no longer be a lonely one. That I would have help from that which I had least expected it…the Shinsengumi.

Let's face it, Kyoto had been hell for me when I first arrived here. And even though I'd been here for less than three days, it would seem my fortunes were taking a turn for the better. I still had a long way to go, and I had plenty of reasons to panic, but it was important to stay calm and optimistic.

Inoue gently placed a hand on my shoulder and as I turned to look up at him I was reminded of why I liked him so much his kind smile could light up a room.

"Aren't you relieved, Yukimura? It's a pleasure to have you."

I beamed at him and for the first time since I arrived here in Kyoto I didn't have to force the smile that now curled my lips.

"Yes! Thank you. It's a pleasure for me, as well!"

The room had fallen silent once more as Kondou had apparently arrived at some sort of decision, "Hey, Gen? With her being a lady, after all, I'm not sure that are all-male household is equipped for her needs."

Both Inoue and Kondou not to mention the rest of the captains were suddenly overcome with a look of anxiety once more.

Inoue brought a finger to his chin in thought.

"You bring up a good point. What would you have me do…?"

Kondou crossed his arms and thought deeply.

Well hell I had never been more embarrassed in my life… they were talking about my female ablutions.

Kondou let the sentence hang in the air, and looked at me, his arms still folded.

And just before I thought I might die from an overwhelming bout of embarrassment Saito finally spoke up to once again save us all from dying from embarrassment.

"Should you require anything, you need only ask. We will do what we can to accommodate you."

Saito's expression didn't change, but his words were unexpectedly warm and friendly. I looked away from him awkwardly, but I still felt the heat rise in my cheeks. For God's sake he's just being polite, I reprimanded myself.

I forced myself to look back at him and kept my eyes on his. I prayed that my cheeks weren't as red as they felt.

"Thank you…"

"W-Well, I guess we'll have to be nicer to you now that we know you're a girl."

Nagakura winked at me.

Heisuke rolled his eyes and said, "You're always nice to the ladies, Shin. Sure didn't take you long to change your tune once you figured out she was a girl, huh."

Nagakura grit his teeth at Heisuke, "What exactly are you implying?!"

I didn't really want to know the answer to that and was grateful when Harada jumped in for the save.

"Ah, whatever. Having a lady here at headquarters is sure going to brighten things up, won't it?"

Okay, when I said save I was clearly mistaken…

Besides, I wasn't entirely sure that would be the outcome.

Sanan put a stop to this nonsense with his next words, "I'm not sure if our headquarters are, er, up to standards for lady, however… But then again, she's not a soldier, so we cannot expect to treat her as such."

Hijikata seemed annoyed by this as his eyes slid to mine and narrowed.

"Then make her a page or something. You want an assistant, Kondou? How about you, Sanan?"

He gave a small shrug. Whatever was done with me, it would seem he no longer cared. Now for reasons I couldn't fathom this bothered me. But before I could contemplate why, Okita forced his way into the conversation.

"Oh, come now, Hijikata. It's your idea, so you can't just pawn her off on someone else."

Kondou, clearly amused by this added, "Ah, excellent! I believe we can entrust Toshi with her!"

His face split in a wide smile, and he slapped his leg in agreement.

Sanan also nodded and said, "Well, there you have it, Hijikata. I hope you'll take good care of her."

Yes, well, there you have it. The whole Arrangement was decided and then agreed upon without Hijikata's or my consent.

And Sanan's smile had more than a little of a mocking twist to it.

Clearly neither of us we're going to have any say in this. Well great, not only was I now stuck with some strange gorgeous guy but he didn't even want to have anything to do with me!

Hijikata glared at all of them a growl in his voice, "You sons of bitches. You can't just decide!"

As I watched their back-and-forth, some of my earlier relief began to ebb away only to be replaced with the previous frustration and paranoia that my life could only get worse…