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Chapter 8: A Test of Skill

May, 1864

Little by little, Hijikata had started to allow the girls to do more to help around as the months passed and it became evident that they weren't spies of any kind and could be trusted not to run away. Sumiko had fallen into place as the group's emergency medic, but she usually spent her time helping Chizuru with a few domestic chores. Today, they were doing some of the wash in a big tub beside the well, while Saito practiced his swing in the courtyard, and Okita lounged on the porch, watching. Sumiko glanced up at the clear, blue sky for a moment as she listened to the singing cicadas. It was warm, beautiful summer day.

"Got something you want to say." Saito asked, causing her to look back down and see that Chizuru had been staring at him.

"Uh, well!" Chizuru said, dropping the wet kimono she had been working on back into the bucket, as she stood up. "I thought maybe we could get around to looking for my father…"

"Not possible." Saito replied bluntly, turning away as he raised his sword again. "There are many out there who would do us harm. We don't have enough men to provide you with protection as well."

"Oh. I see…" Chizuru said, looking down.

"Chizuru…" Sumiko said.

"You could always come with us as we go out on rounds, though." Okita suggested.

"Really!?" Chizuru asked excitedly, immediately perking up. "Then, please, may I come with you?"

"But, doing the rounds is life or death. Screw up and one of our own dies. At the very least, unless you can vouch for your own safety, we can't take you with us." Okita said.

"I'm prepared to defend myself!" Chizuru said determinedly. "I've been to a dojo to learn the short sword."

"And I've learned some kendo from my father." Sumiko said.

"In that case…" Saito said, pausing after his last swing. "Allow me to test you."

Chizuru was first up. Sumiko sat on the porch next to Okita to watch while she waited her turn.

"There's no need to hold back. Attack me however you like." Saito instructed Chizuru calmly once they were in position.

"B-But…" Chizuru said hesitantly.

"Is that short sword at your hip simply an ornament?" Saito asked.

"That's not it at all!" Chizuru protested. "Saito-san, if stabbed by a blade, you would die." She said seriously, concerned for his safety.

"Pfft! Hahaha!" Okita burst out laughing, while Sumiko smiled wryly and sweat-dropped. She was pretty sure the one who should be more concerned about their own safety wasn't Saito… "Telling Hajime-kun to his face you might kill him is friggin' awesome. You rock!" He said, slapping his leg.

"It's nothing to laugh about, is it!?" Chizuru asked indignantly.

"But if you show us what you can do, we'd be more inclined to let you go outdoors." Okita said.

"If you don't wish to use the blade, strike with the back of the sword." Saito told her. Chizuru looked from him to her short sword and drew it with a determined and serious expression on her face. She flipped it around, readjusting her grip so that she was holding the blade reversed, as he had suggested.

"If you please." She said, indicating she was ready to start. Chizuru took a breath and charged. "Yaaah!" She shouted as she raised her sword, bringing it down to attack.

SWISH. CLANG!

Chizuru furrowed her brow as she turned on her heel to launch a follow up attack just as she had been trained to do in the dojo, but immediately froze when she realized the Saito's blade was already pressed lightly to her neck. Her eyes widened in shock as she stared up at the calm and collected samurai. Saito lowered his sword and slid it back into its sheath. Sumiko let out a low whistle of appreciation.

"Wh-What just…" Chizuru stuttered, still stunned. Okita laughed as he hopped off the porch and picked Chizuru's sword up off the ground.

"Surprised?" He asked. "Hajime-kun is an expert at the quick draw." He held her sword up for her to see.

"Huh? Huh!?" Chizuru gasped, astonished, when she realized what he was holding, looking down at her own empty hands. "No way! That one second…"

"You mean, you didn't notice?" Sumiko asked, sweat-dropping.

"If Hajime-kun were serious, you'd be dead." Okita told Chizuru, returning her sword.

"Thank your teacher." Saitou said, looking directly at Chizuru. "Your sword shows no hesitation."

"Huh?" Chizuru said, surprised. Didn't she just fail miserably?

"Your skill is such that you'll at least be of no inconvenience to us outdoors." He said.

"Hajime-kun gave you the okay, huh?" Okita said smiling. "That's pretty incredible."

"Good job, Chizuru!" Sumiko cheered, patting her on the back. "Let's see how I'll fare against him."

"You'd better come over here." Okita told Chizuru waving her over to the porch, while Saito and Sumiko got into position. Sumiko drew her sword and held hers reversed, too, intending to use the back of the blade to strike as well.

"If you please." Sumiko said, signaling she as ready to start. For a moment she just stared at Saito, but then she suddenly launched herself forward with great speed. With the same speed and accuracy as before, Saito drew his sword. His eyes widened in surprise when instead of trying to block it, she ducked so low, her sword was almost touching the ground, and she shot straight past him, pulling herself up into a standing position as she spun around to face him when he turned to strike again, effectively blocking his sword with hers. There was an intense moment of silence as two of them stared at each other, searching for any signs of weakness.

"Very good." Saito said as they both simultaneously backed down. "It would seem you had an excellent teacher as well."

"A-Amazing…" Chizuru said, stunned. She hadn't realized just how good Sumiko was until now.

"Wow." Okita said smirking. "I wouldn't mind sparring with you sometime."

"Thanks, but I'm not sure that's such a good idea… I wouldn't feel safe with you." Sumiko replied frankly, sweat-dropping. There was a predatory gleam in his eye. Okita would probably rip her to shreds. "What really helped was that I got to see Saito-san's moves ahead of time. I knew I probably wouldn't be able to block his first strike without loosing my sword, so I just avoided it all together and waited for the one with less momentum behind it."

"Uh, um…" Chizuru said hesitantly, hoping they hadn't changed their mind about her after seeing how skilled her friend was.

"We'll ask the vice-commander to let you two accompany us on our rounds.

"Thank you very much!" Chizuru exclaimed happily, sharing a triumphant grin with Sumiko.

"But if you try to escape, or get in the way of our rounds… We'll kill you." Okita added with a sly smirk, narrowing his eyes slightly at them.

"Okay!" Chizuru replied enthusiastically, smiling brightly.

"Yeah, I believe you." Sumiko said, smiling wryly, as she let out nervous laugh. Okita smiled in amusement and turned to follow Saito inside.

"Thank you very much!" Chizuru called after them as both girls bowed to show their appreciation, though Sumiko felt they could've done without the threat.

—∞—

"I grant you permission to go outdoors." Hijikata told the girls later after talking with Saito and Okita, though he didn't look too thrilled about it.

"Thank you very much!" They both replied in unison, glad it had all worked out. Now they could finally do what they had come here for.

"Accompany the officers patrolling the city. Make sure you obey the commanding officer." Hijikata said firmly.

"Hai!" They replied obediently, excited to finally be going out.

"Souji. Heisuke. You're on patrol today, yes?" Hijikata asked.

"I'm ditching them if we encounter rogue samurai. Okay?" Okita teased, smirking.

"Huh?" Chizuru gasped while Sumiko deadpanned at the bad joke, if it was a joke…

"That's no excuse!" Hijikata said sternly, glaring at him in disapproval. Okita just laughed, having successfully ruffled their feathers. "Those bastards from Choshu are acting up." Hijikata said, turning his attention back to the girls. "Normally, this would be no time to let you outdoors, but we've received word that someone resembling Koudou-san has been spotted.

"My father?" Chizuru asked excitedly as she and Sumiko perked up at this news.

"I could postpone your release, but it would do nothing to help find your father."

"Thank you very much!" The girls said, smiling gratefully as they bowed.