Disclaimer: The usual.

What gives with the title? It's actually a twist on the title of a wuxia novel 'The Romance of Book and Sword' by Jin Yong. In the novel (set during the turbulent early years of the Manchu dynasty), a master swordman is incredibly dense about a woman's feelings towards him... if anyone's interested, read it yourself. On with OUR story...

Chapter 2: Fujita

That willful cousin of his actually joined. Okita learnt of it from Tetsu. The redhead was thrilled to bits after Tokio aka Fujita-san offered to give him some pointers on the double-swords style. Kondo had been impressed by Tokio's skill. No one had seen through her disguise yet...

Both of them are caught in a fearful bind...

Let her figure out how to cope with the communal barracks! Hijitaka-san! Okita glanced up as the familiar smell of tobacco wafted in. Should he tell? As a boy, Hijitaka had peddled medicine at the Takagi household. He had seen the daughter of the house on several occasions. He'll recognize her...

"Toshi!" Okita pounced on the Demon of the Shinsengumi as he entered the room. Honesty's the best policy. Throwing his arms around Hijitaka's neck, he glanced up and down the veranda before sliding the door shut with his foot.

"Er, Souji-chan, what are you up to?" Hijitaka was feeling distinctly uncomfortable with his friend clinging about his neck. "Promise not to be mad?" Hijitaka nodded. Okita whispered into his ear.

"WHAT?!" Hijitaka roared. The young captain was thrown onto the tatami. Great, now he'd order me commit seppuku. "Hijitaka-san, if I commit seppuku, will you be my second?" Still trembling with shock and rage, Hijitaka spoke. "Of all the kami-damned things...If the truth gets out about Fujita, Kondo will look like a downright idiot, same for Saitou. A woman as a Shinsengumi taishi..."

"Is Okita-san committing seppuku?" A small voice piped. Both men looked to the door. Tetsu was standing there with the tea. Don't they ever knock? Tetsu stifled a yelp as he is pulled into the room...

"Fujita Goro is Takagi Tokio, Saitou-san's fiancée?" Tetsu sighed in relief. At least Okita-san isn't going to commit seppuku..."Repeat this outside this room and it's seppuku for you, boy." Hijitaka growled

"Can't we tell Kondo-san?" Okita ventured. Hijitaka shook his head as he spoke. "Kondo will tell Saitou. Then Saitou will bolt for Hokkaido while both of us commit seppuku. Can't you convince her to resign? Oops, we don't have a resignation clause...hell, we don't even fire people! If the truth gets out..." It's seppuku for all of them.

Hotaru felt herself blush as she served the new recruit his rice. He's so cute! Even more so than Okita-sama. She noticed Fujita seemed to be looking at Saitou, a lot. What a pity. Hotaru hurried off to get the soup.

Yamanami returned to the barracks and was surprised to see Kondo in a good mood. "San-nan, we've got a new recruit who's almost as good as Souji." Great, another poor kid whose life we're gonna ruin. Kondo's next words almost caused him to fall off the veranda. "Kondo-san, that's crazy!"

"I overheard a most interesting conversation in a restaurant some days ago... Well, it's obvious what Fujita-san's up to. What say we try to get the couple together? Hajime can be clueless at times...Fujita isn't that bad a swordsman. We'll try to make arrangements..." Kondo's eyes glinted with a rare mischief.

"Dammit! The laws..."

"The law forbids Fujita from fighting on the battlefield. We'll just keep him off it."

After dinner, Tokio grew uneasy. What had she got herself into? She clutched her hands to stop them from shaking. Tonight, they may be out. Tonight, they may kill... "Nervous?" Saitou patted her shoulder reassuringly. She gave him a weak smile. "Not tonight, Fujita-san. You wouldn't be joining us that soon." She watched in disappointment as Saitou and the rest of his patrol got ready for their night's work.

It's hopeless. Despite all his enquires, no one had seen a young woman of a substantial means traveling to or staying about the city. Also, there're the dangers of the road to consider for a woman traveling alone... They can't be sure Tokio even made it to Kyoto. Saitou thought with a twinge of guilt.

Saitou pushed thoughts of missing fiancée aside. Duty comes first. So far, the only silver lining to this dismal affair was finding Fujita-san. At least if the Takagi sent someone after him, there'll be a ready replacement in the ranks.

He hated to admit it but he actually liked the kid. Fujita is slender like Okita. They do happen to have very fine features. Saitou found Okita's behavior a bit annoying at times. Goodness knew how Hijitaka put up with it. He had initially expected to dislike the boy but Fujita had certain strength of spirit. Saitou hadn't sensed such a strong spirit since...Was Fujita looking at him again? Well, the boy may just be unused to his new environment.

Meanwhile, Tokio is faced with the prospect of sharing the room with at least ten men. She moved her futon to a far corner and settled in for a long and uneasy night scrunched up against the wall. Tetsu peeked out of his closet with a grin. Maybe he should recommend the closet to her. It may be small, but it offers some privacy. He was outgrowing it fast.

Notes:

Can Okita force Tokio into leaving? A bit of risk-taking on Kondo's part? What does Saitou make of Fujita-san's attention? Stay tuned.