The Day Everybody Decided to Listen to Kondo
The day ended with Isamu Kondo running into his room with a horrified shriek and barricading it, and it wasn't because the entire compound had been assaulted by ghosts or that he had witnessed something of equally horrific proportions. It was because everyone was suddenly listening to him and taking him seriously and that in its own right was just frightening.
It had seemed innocent in the beginning. He had bounced over to Hijikata's room and made an off-hand comment about the man's calligraphy and to his utter shock Hijikata merely blinked at him before nodding and fixing the character he had been working on right in the way Kondo had suggested. He had even thanked the man. He tested his waters further with Susumu whom he ran into in the hall. Kondo was shocked yet again when the young shinobi did agree with him that dressing a woman to gather information was peculiar and could become strangely enjoyable at times.
Then there was Yamanami, who beamed at him when he suggested that they set apart some funds for another random party. Saitoh hadn't helped the strangeness much, for when Kondo chanced upon him on the dojo and quizzed him about his form Saitoh had very humbly agreed that yes he was correct and he would practice the way Kondo had suggested accordingly. Souji put the damage on sometime afterward, when Kondo squeaked something about the pigs and Souji solemnly nodded.
There were other smaller incidents but nothing scared him as much as what had come from the other superiors, from Susumu, from Saitoh and from Souji. It would be a day that would haunt Kondo for the rest of his life.
Unbeknownst to Kondo, he was the topic of discussion over dinner after he had fled from the scene.
"That's how you get Kondo to heel," said Souji, as he sipped his tea.