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Chapter 23: Clearing the Air

"Oh, Sumiko-san!" Chizuru said, perking up when the older girl came to help her carry the washed vegetables back inside. "Guess what, Matsumoto-sensei is here!"

"Eh? Really?" Sumiko asked, blinking in surprise. "I knew another doctor was coming, but I never thought it would be him. I should have asked Yamazaki-san for more details… Still, this is good! It'll be nice to see an old friend, and he may know something about Koudou-san." She added with a smile. "We'll have to drop in on him once he's finished with the health inspection."

"Un!" Chizuru agreed, smiling excitedly.

—∞—

"Matsumoto-sensei, How did the checkups go?" Kondo asked as he entered to room the inspections had been conducted in while Matsumoto-sensei was packing up his medical kit, having just finished with the last man. He glanced up at Kondo and sighed.

"If you add up the sick and wounded, it's almost a third of the troops, isn't it?" Matsumoto replied.

"What's that!?" Kondo exclaimed, taken aback.

"Don't 'What's that!?' me, Kondo-san!" Matsumoto said, standing up to confront the Shinsengumi's Commander. "What have you all been doing!? From sores to loose bowels! Your HQ is an exhibition of illness, I say!"

"An exhibition of illness…?" Kondo asked, startled.

"First, prepare a sick room and carry your ill there. Disinfect all your clothes! Get this headquarters cleaned now!" Matsumoto ordered sternly. "And in the future, listen to Miyagawa-kun before it gets this bad!" He knew she and Chizuru were there, and there was no way she would have let it get this far without at least warning the men first. Did these fools not take her advice simply because she was a woman? She might be a bit eccentric at times, but she was an excellent doctor who had even taught Koudou and himself a thing or two.

—∞—

"Today, we shall spend the day performing a major cleaning!" Kondo announced once he and Hijikata had gathered all the men once again.

"Eh!?" They all exclaimed in dismay, grumbling amongst themselves.

"It's about damn time!" Sumiko said, nodding in approval. Thank goodness for Matsumoto-sensei. Chizuru smiled an laughed a little at the stark contrast in reactions.

The rest of the day was devoted to cleaning out the headquarters until it was spotless. Sumiko and Chizuru helped with this while Matsumoto-sensei tended to his patients in the sick room. Everyone was pitching in. Quite frankly, the amount of rubbish and refuse they ended up sweeping out and having to dispose of was staggering. Still, they were managing to make progress in the momentous task of cleaning out the huge temple surprisingly fast with everyone working together. Chizuru and Sumiko had just finished putting away some of the plates they had washed when they happened upon Heisuke. He was sitting by himself in the shade of the building, looking kind of desponded.

"Heisuke-kun." Sumiko said getting his attention. He glanced up to find both girls staring at him with concern.

"Are you not feeling well, yet?" Chizuru asked, remembering how he had said he was feeling sick before, when the Shogun came to the capital. Sumiko raised an eyebrow and stared knowingly at him. He could tell she knew he had been faking it before, so he might as well fess up.

"Eh? Uh, nah, the truth is I never felt bad." Heisuke admitted a bit hesitantly before looking back down. "I just… didn't wanna protect the Shogun."

"Eh?" Chizuru said, surprised.

"I see. I thought as much." Sumiko said, sitting down beside him. "Wanna talk about it? It's obviously troubling you." Heisuke glanced between her and Chizuru. He couldn't talk to the others about this, but maybe they would understand.

"The Shinsengumi's original goal was to keep the peace in Kyoto. But suddenly, it's like we're the Bakufu's retainers… I couldn't get excited about it." He explained regretfully. " 'What is it I wanted to do?' I've been thinkin' about that…"

"So that's it…" Chizuru said quietly, bowing her head. She hadn't realized at all, that Heisuke was struggling with something do heavy…

"Ah! But you don't gotta worry, Chizuru!" Heisuke said quickly when he noticed how down she looked. "No matter what guys come attack us, as long as I'm here, I won't let 'em lay a finger on ya." He stated confidently in an attempt to reassure her.

"Un." Chizuru said, smiling slightly. She was glad to see him looking more energetic. "Thank you."

"Good for you, Chizuru." Sumiko said, smiling, to hide the apprehension she felt. If she was remembering right, then soon, Heisuke would… but she could be wrong. After all, she had only ever paid enough attention in history to get a passing grade. She hoped she was.

—∞—

It was late in the afternoon, and the girls were picking up the last of the plates they had left out to dry in the sun. They looked up when they heard someone approaching.

"Matsumoto-sensei." Chizuru said.

"Thank you for your hard work." Sumiko said, smiling sympathetically as she bowed her head in greeting, knowing full well how difficult that rowdy bunch of rough guys could be.

"Long time no see." He said, smiling wryly down at the two girls. "Let's go somewhere more private to catch up."

That somewhere more private turned out to be Kondo-san's room. Sumiko guessed he probably wanted to keep an eye on them to make sure they didn't say too much about a certain medicine.

"Miyagawa-kun. Chizuru-kun. At last we meet." Matsumoto-sensei said. "I'm grateful to Kondo-san."

"I was aware that Matsumoto-sensei and Koudou-san were on friendly terms." Kondo said. "I thought we might turn up a clue…"

'Oh, so we both had the same idea…' Sumiko thought.

"Thank you both for your consideration." Chizuru said as they both bowed to show their appreciation.

"I received Miyagawa-kun's letter, but I never learned what's most important, your location." Matsumoto said. "There was no way for me to contact you."

"Ah, sorry. I didn't know we when or where were moving when I wrote it." Sumiko apologized, smiling a bit sheepishly.

"Incidentally, Matsumoto-sensei," Chizuru began tentatively, "my father…"

"Unfortunately, I don't know Koudou-san's location, either." Matsumoto informed them regretfully.

"Oh, I see…" Chizuru said, hanging her head in disappointment. Sumiko placed a supportive hand on her shoulder. "Matsumoto-sensei, please tell me!" Chizuru said suddenly, raising her head. "My father… Did my father really research that medicine?" She asked anxiously, nearly causing Sumiko to face-fault.

"Chizuru…!" Sumiko said, startled. Wasn't that supposed to be a secret!?

Matsumoto's eyes widened slightly in surprise. He glanced questioningly at Kondo. Kondo nodded.

"Your being here brought the two of you in proximity of the medicine, didn't it?" Matsumoto asked.

"What the… so you already knew?" Sumiko asked, relieved they hadn't blown their cover, but slightly chagrined. This didn't seem to be nearly as much of a secret as Hijikata had made it sound…

"Yes. What Koudou-san undertook with the Shinsengumi was… an experiment, by the Bakufu's orders to create Rasetsus." Matsumoto began explaining. " 'Rasetsu' referred to humans with superhuman powers and unbelievable healing abilities. The medicine that brought forth the Rasetsus is the Ochimizu. In the West, it's called the Elixir; in China, it's Xian Fan."

" 'The Elixir'… doesn't that refer to a supposed cure-all/immortality potion sought after by alchemists?" Sumiko asked, furrowing her brow slightly. Did that mean there were Rasetsu in other parts of the world as well? … Could that be where the European legends for vampires came from? Alchemists who had failed to create a proper Elixir and turned themselves into Rasetsus…?

"You know of it?" Kondo asked, surprised.

"Well, I've heard of it. I read a lot." Sumiko replied, sweat-dropping. "But the Ochimizu is different from anything I've read about. Taking it greatly increases your strength, and wounds become very quick to heal. But it brings with it so much suffering that you can loose yourself."

"You've learned that much?" Matsumoto asked.

"Yes." Sumiko replied solemnly. "Which is why I can't believe Koudou-sensei would have had anything to do with it."

"Why… Why would my father research that?" Chizuru asked, clenching her fists. That terrible medicine…

"Regardless of Koudou-san's own feelings, he had to obey the Bakufu's orders." Matsumoto explained. "But as a result, Koudou-san left here. I believe it was his conscience that led him to that decision." He smiled kindly at the worried girls. "Please, have faith. Your father and Sensei is a man worthy of respect." He reassured them.

"Yes." Sumiko agreed. That must have been it. Chizuru raised her head and smiled slightly.

"Hai." She said.

"Incidentally, Sensei…" Kondo said after a moment, glancing at Matsumoto. "There's something I wish to tell you."

"Ah, sorry, Kondo-san. But before that, I have a favor to ask Matsumoto-sensei while he's here." Sumiko, smiling apologetically. "Sensei, could you please examine me? I think I may be coming down with something."

"Eh?" Chizuru said surprised. Sumiko never got sick!

"D-Don't tell me even Miyagawa-kun was affected by the 'exhibition of illness'!?" Kondo asked, startled.

"The what?" Sumiko asked, sweat-dropping.

—∞—

"So, what is it you wanted to talk about?" Matsumoto asked once they were alone in her room. "I can tell just from looking at you that you're as healthy as ever."

"Yeah. Thanks for going along with it." Sumiko said, smiling wryly. "Actually, it's about this." She said, walking over to the desk and pulling out a folded up piece of paper and five small packets of powdered medicine to give to him. "I've been working on something to help counteract the 'Rasetsus' thirst for blood."

"They've got you working on the Ochimizu, too!?" Matsumoto asked, alarmed.

"No! No way!" She responded quickly. "I don't want anything to do with something like that; I have zero interest in playing god. However, one of the guys who took it is a patient I was unable to save, so I wanted to try to do something to help him out… but I wasn't sure how to tell Kondo-san and the others about it. If they knew I was looking into this and thought I was poking my nose where it didn't belong, they might become suspicious of me. So, it's really convenient you already know. It seems like you're in a better position than I am to offer this to them. I'd appreciate it if you told them it came from you."

"What is it?" Matsumoto asked as he opened up the folded piece of paper. It looked like notes and instructions for some kind of new medicine.

"It's basically just a powdered medicine made with the same concentration of iron and other nutrients found in blood." Sumiko replied. "My theory is that since the medicine works to enhance healing and muscle performance, which both use blood, perhaps the Rasetsu's blood thirst is simply their body's way of telling them they aren't making enough of their own for that. You know, like how sometimes people crave certain foods because their body instinctively know there's something in them that it needs, like sodium or magnesium? I don't know if it will work or not since it's just an imitation of the real thing, but I figured it was worth a try."

"Yes, I see what you mean." Matsumoto said thoughtfully. "It's a good theory. All right, Miyagawa-kun. I'll see that they get this medicine, but you should be careful not to stick your neck out anymore than you already have."

"Haha. No worries there, Matsumoto-sensei." She said, smiling wryly. "I like my neck right where it is, still attached to my head."

—∞—

"San'nan-kun? You're alive?" Matsumoto said, surprised when Kondo showed him to his next patient once he had finished with Sumiko. Was he the patient she had been talking about?

"Yes. May apologies for the worry I've caused, but I've been here, continuing research on the medicine." San'nan explained calmly.

"Meaning, you've succeeded?" Matsumoto asked.

"As you can see. I am proof of such." San'nan replied.

"But given that you can't be out in public, it's not a complete success." Matsumoto said.

"But if I continue to refine it, it may become workable." San'nan said.

"You're better off not trying." Matsumoto said sternly. "It's too dangerous."

"But, researching the medicine is at the order of the Bakufu." Kondo said.

"That may be so, but…" Matsumoto said, frowning. He sighed heavily. He could tell from the look on San'nan's face that nothing he said was going to make any difference. If only more people shared Sumiko's attitude toward playing god…