Chapter 1/Prolong (thing)
Susumu ran from the kunoichi that was after him. He jumped from rooftop to rooftop until the full moon shone brightly. "Dammit." He leapt to the ground trying to maze through each alley in order to escape her. All of a sudden he was knocked to the ground "huh!" His back laid against the building behind him. The kunoichi approached him and drew her katana. Susumu was tired from the run and the fight before he couldn't possibly defend himself.
"You could never get away from me."
She walked towards him ready to kill. Susumu ready to die. Just as she was about to strike, a punch knocked her backwards. Susumu looked up surprised and saw girl with black shoulder length hair parted on the left dressed in strange clothing. She looked about his age but her eyes showed much history and travel. Then the kunoichi got up and wiped the blood from her lip.
"Why you little twit."
She raised up her sword but to strike another in her way.
"Sorry but my expertise is not in swordplay."
The kunoichi ran towards her and in one quick movement, the girl took out her gun and shot her attacker in the shoulder. The kunoichi screamed, grabbed her shoulder and fell back against the opposite building. She looked at her with so much anger panting heavily while the girl just smirked and nodded her head. The kunoichi heaved and leapt in the air and she was gone. Susumu stared at her former place in shock. "Hey." A voice said smoothly. He looked up, the girl was smiling at him. "Are you okay?" He closed his mouth and left his shock behind. He nodded. "K then. Be safe going home." She turned around and left.
Chapter 2
"WHAT! After all that I did at Ikedaya he's gonna make me clean up… pig crap!"
"Will you quit yelling like a little baby?"
"Shut up Susumu! This is totally unfair!"
Tatsunosuke walks up to them at the pig pen.
"Tetsu, will you please keep your voice down. I can hear you from the other side of the yard."
"But Tatsu…"
"I don't wanna hear it. You have to attend to the duties Vice Commander Hijikata assigns you. Speaking of which he would like you to go to the market to pick up some vegetables."
"WHAT! Another chore for me! Alright, if it means not picking up pig crap, let's go!"
"sigh Yamazaki would you come to help me keep my brother in line?"
"Hmmph"
-
They all walked to the market with Tetsu running ahead. They got to the vegetable stands.
"What should we get?" Tatsu asked.
Tetsu looked around, "Definitely not pickled radish, yuck." He went over to a different stand. "Ooo, how about these?"
"Tetsu, gumdrops are not vegetables."
"Oh can't we buy them, Tatsu, please!"
"No, we only have enough for a good vegetable dinner tonight."
"Oh fine."
Tetsu walked off and left Tatsu to buy the vegetables. Susumu followed him.
"You know, puppy boy, you could be less of a brat. I mean after all that you did at Ikedaya."
Tetsu turned to face him. "Shut up, no one asked you."
Susumu blinked, "What's been with you? You've been more cranky lately."
"Nothing. I'm just bored. Even after the choshu were defeated. Hijikata still sends you out to spy for him. The rest of us are bored."
"Well if no one's fighting. No one's killing right?"
"Yeah, I guess." Then Tetsu turned around and bumped into somebody hard. "Ow, what the…"
"Oh, I'm sorry."
Tetsu looked up to see a girl with black hair dressed in boy's clothing.
"Are you okay?"
Susumu recognized that voice. He looked a bit closer. Yep, it was the girl from the other night. The girl with the…
"What the hell are you doing in boy's clothing? Are some sort of freak!"
"Ha ha ha. No. This is what I have to wear for the job I do."
"What does a girl do in that?"
Then she looked at Susumu. Still smiling, Susumu thought she was more beautiful in the sun.
"Hey, I remember you."
Tetsu said (now calm), "What you know Susumu?"
Susumu just looked at the ground.
"Oh yeah we go way back." She covers for him. Susumu looks back up.
"So what's her name?"
She looked back at Tetsu. "Shouldn't you be asking me that?"
"What is your name?"
"I'm Mei. Mei Sohma."
"Well then, you and Susumu are perfect for one another. Since he cross dresses too." Tetsu snickers at him.
Susumu walks up and punches Tetsu on the head. "Don't speak of what you don't know, boy."
"Ow! I didn't do anything. That was so uncalled for."
"You're uncalled for."
Mei giggles. "Don't laugh at me! You're just a…"
Tetsu's cut off by Tatsu coming up behind him and punching him in the head. "Tetsu, you're being too loud again."
"OW! TATSU!"
"Sorry about that, miss. My little brother can be very loud."
"Oh, that's alright. I'm used to loud people. You see my instructor is…"
"DRAGONBOY!"
A man with dreadlocks comes up from behind and hugs Tatsu. Everyone is surprised to see him except for Mei who just smiles.
"What the…"
"Haven't seen you in a while, man. How ya been? I see you and your friends have met my newest recruit."
Tetsu's confused, "Hey, mister it's… wait you…WHAT! How can a girl my age work in the navy?"
"Now settle down, Ironboy. Mei is good at what she does. Better than most of the men in our group."
"She's not even carrying a sword."
"Aw, come on. You don't always need a sword to fight."
"She does just fine without a sword, Ichimura." Susumu buds in.
"What how do you know that?"
"Hey you, Sakamoto!" Some shinsengumi squadron approach, "Arrest him!"
"Oops, time to go, Mei."
Ryoma starts running and Mei looks back at Susumu, "See ya around!" And starts running after Ryoma with the shinsengumi chasing them.
"Um, that was kinda weird."
"Come on, Tetsu."
Back at the headquarters. Hijikata is waiting for them by the pig pen.
"You've been avoiding your page duties again, Ichimura."
"What? No, sir. You sent me to the…"
"Do it!" Hijikata leaves.
"Aw, come on."
Chapter 4
The next day Mei and Ryoma returned to their ship in Hyogo. The soldiers in training were joyous to see them. Mei loved to be in the navy. She got to travel the world and see so many different places than that of Japan. Many of the other soldiers were older than her and were all men. They didn't have the same views and outcomes Mei has had. She never wanted to kill or be far away from her family for a very long time. She felt lonely sometimes but doing the skills her father had taught her, a former right hand guard of the emperor himself, made her happy. The only family she had was her sister and her nephew. Her mother and father were killed in a raid years ago, and her brother-in-law was just never there. Joining the navy meant going away and finding her place when she becomes an adult. Though some may feel its best in a place like Shimabara…
Mei stands out on the deck watching the setting sun over Hyogo.
"What's on your mind little sheila?" Ryoma comes up smiling.
Mei looks at him and smiles back. "Don't call me little."
"Oh yeah, I know you've grown to your full height since you've joined up. But you're still shorter than me."
Mei grins and looks back at Hyogo.
"It's been a long time since you've been back in Kyoto, eh?"
Mei sighs, "Yeah, I wish we could've stayed longer."
"Oh, you know we've gotta keep movin. The navy doesn't just sit here and watch others do nothing. We gotta go on a sailing advencha!"
Mei laughs at Ryoma's English phrases, but is still somber. Ryoma realizes this and heaves a sigh.
"Alright, we'll stay for another week."
Mei beams as she looks up at him to see if he's serious. He is so she yells "Yay!" and turns to go down below deck as Ryoma stares after smiling.
-
Two days has past since Susumu has seen Mei and he couldn't stop thinking about her. He had so many questions to ask her, about saving his life, the gun, the navy, herself. It was weird for him to have such feelings. Ever since his sister died and he and Tetsu became friends his life changed…pretty much dramatically.
He was by himself today walking in the city. Not really looking for anything and walking at a slow pace. He dropped Tetsu off at Shimabara so he could see Saya and now he was left…doing nothing but to just bellow in his own thoughts.
Just then he saw her outside of a restaurant sewing some fabric. She wasn't wearing her strange clothing now she just wore a simple white robe with a black waistband with sandals. He was nervous in approaching her but he did anyway while she was humming a song, "Oh say can you see by! The twilights…"
"Um…hey."
Mei looks up, "gasp well if it isn't the cross dressing shinobi!"
Susumu blushes and looks at the ground, angry at Tetsu making her remember him that way.
"I'm just kidding please don't get angry at me."
Susumu looks back up, "I wasn't."
Mei grins at him. Susumu gets sidetracked by it then looks at what she's doing.
"Uh, what are you doing?"
"Oh this? I'm sewing a hat for my nephew."
"You have a nephew?"
"Uh huh, three years old. I haven't seen him in a while."
"From being in the navy?"
"Yeah it's cool though. I get to give him something every time I visit."
Susumu sits down, not too close to her. "So, what's it like?"
"The navy? It's cool you get to travel the world and see amazing places. Of course, nothing compares to Japan."
Then Tetsu runs up to them. "Susumu, you just left me there and I couldn't find you."
"Quit your complaining, will ya?"
Tetsu looks at Mei, "Hey, it's you!"
"It's me!"
"I wanted to say sorry about the other day, if I insulted you."
"Aw, don't worry about it. You saw someone different for the first time. I get it a lot."
Tetsu sits on the other side of her. "So your sensei, I see him around a lot. Is he a wanted man?"
"Yeah, he goes around stirring up trouble. Some people say he's defying the shogunate but he's just trying to make Japan a better place."
Tetsu and Susumu looked at the ground remembering past feuds with the Choshu and the Shinsengumi and how they wish there were no more blood feuds.
"So, you guys are friends?"
"Yep."
"From where?"
"The shinsengumi."
Susumu reaches over and hits Tetsu, "We're not supposed to be telling people that."
"Hey, she's just a small soldier from the navy."
"Oh, don't worry. I won't tell anyone."
Then the three orphans became friends.