Previously:

"I like you best the way are you are now, too," he agreed. Sumiko smiled, looking relieved. He was the one who was relieved. He regretted that he wouldn't be able to give her the grand wedding she deserved. She was basically marrying into nothing. Well, not that he was nothing, but without his family's connections, his influence was drastically reduced, and he couldn't touch his family's fortune.

"Don't worry. I'm sure you'll find something you want to do," Sumiko said. "And I don't intend to stop practicing medicine, so we'll always have income from that. It's perfectly normal for women to work, too, in the future," she added when she thought he might object.

"Hmph. No matter what I say, you won't change your mind about that, will you?" Kazama said. He didn't need to look at her face to know that her expression would back that decision up one hundred percent. "Very well. It would be a shame to stop an artist from practicing their craft." Her skills were far beyond that of a normal doctor, from what he had heard. It would be a pity to waste them.

"Thank you," Sumiko said, glad he understood.

Chapter 62: Into the Fray

"What is that?" Kazama asked Sumiko, leaning down to read over her shoulder, as she finished writing the address for the letter she was getting ready to send. Some time had passed since they had returned to Edo, and the girls had been exchanging letters to keep in touch. He had thought Sumiko was writing a response to Yukimura Chizuru's latest letter, but that did not appear to be the case.

"Well, Chizuru said she still hasn't had any luck with finding a way to get to Ezo, so I thought I'd try writing a special prescription..." she replied with the hint of a sly smile, addressing it to Keisuke Ootori. She still had some contacts she knew that owed her a favor and could deliver it for her.

"And what about Hijikata Toshizo?" Kazama asked impatiently with a frown as he nuzzled his face against her neck and planted a soft kiss that made Sumiko blush.

"I already told you, we have to wait for April or May before we can make another move on that front..." she reminded him wryly, sweat-dropping. It really would be bad for history if anything happened to Hijikata before then.

—∞—

A few weeks later, Chizuru was praying in front of the graves again, when someone called out to her.

"Yukimura-san!" Chizuru looked up to see the old priest approaching her.

"Oshou-sama?" she said, wondering why he looked excited.

"I have a letter for you," he told her. Chizuru stood up and hurried over to him. She thought it would be another letter from Sumiko, but it had been sent by Keisuke Ootori, the Minister of the Army for the Republic of Ezo. "Ootori-san?" she gasped, surprised, and quickly opened the letter to read its contents. Her eyes widened slightly in astonishment, and she had to brace herself to keep the tears of relief and gratitude that formed in her eyes from falling. He was requesting her presence in Ezo, where she could work as Hijikata's assistant to help take care of him. At last... Hijikata-san... She finally had a way to meet with him again!

"Are you going?" the priest asked, concerned for her safety.

"I am!" she said determinedly. "There is someone in Ezo who still needs me."

"I see... Treasure your life. Do not race to your death."

"Yes! Thank you for everything!" Chizuru said with a bow. The priest nodded.

"Take care."

—∞—

The Republic of Ezo

KNOCK. KNOCK.

"I'm busy right now. Save it for later," Hijikata said firmly while he worked at his desk, a little irritated to have his concentration broken by the knock at his door.

"I'm coming in!" the intruder announced with a high and clear voice. Hijikata looked up as the door opened to reveal a small attendant wearing clothing that was a mix of Japanese and Western style. Their dark brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail, but he couldn't see their face because of how they had bowed. "I am Yukimura Chizuru. I received an appointment by the Minister of the Army that is effective as of today. I have been assigned to serve Vice Minister Hijikata as his attendant," Chizuru introduced herself, rising with a smile.

Hijikata stood and stared at her, unable to believe his eyes. He had often imagined seeing her again when he was tired or troubled. Was she really there this time?

"Here are my orders," Chizuru said, holding out the papers. Hijikata furrowed his brow and frowned. No. Real or not, she couldn't be there. It was too dangerous.

"Take it and go," he said sternly, upset that she had put herself in danger and that Ootori-san would enable her to do so. She couldn't stay there. He couldn't bear it if anything happened to her. "I do not accept your appointment."

"I understand," Chizuru said calmly and proceeded to rip up the papers without hesitating. She had thought that would be his response.

"!" Hijikata gasped, startled. He had expected her to maybe try to change his mind, but this... "What are doing!?" he demanded. That was no way to treat an official document! Didn't she realize how much trouble she could get into for that?

"You do not have to accept it," Chizuru told him determinedly, unfazed. "I came here of my own free will. Hijikata-san, I want you to keep me by your side."

"The officer commanding men to their deaths can't enjoy the company of a woman!" Hijikata said sternly, looking away as his frown deepened.

"Is that all you have to say?" Chizuru asked calmly, making him look at her again. "Hijikata-san, you're always like this! You always shoulder all of the work by yourself and endure such hardship," she scolded him.

"That's my job. If I can resolve a problem, I should handle it myself," he replied stubbornly.

"Because of that attitude, everyone is worried about you," Chizuru said. "I couldn't have come here if this was just me being needy. But everyone has entrusted me with something! As a fellow member of the Shinsengumi, I must obey their wishes!" she finished strongly. For a moment, Hijikata just stared at her.

"I give up," he finally said with a sigh. "This is why you can't defy an Edo woman," he said with a small smile as he closed the distance between them and pulled her into his arms. Chizuru gasped and her cheeks glowed with a light blush. "I came to realize something once you were gone," he said softly. "Without you by my side, it was agonizing just to stand." Tears welled up in Chizuru's eyes. "You have saved me..." Chizuru closed her eyes and pressed her head against his chest.

"From now on, please share your hardships and suffering with me. Please rely on me rather than enduring it on your own," she begged earnestly as a tear streamed down her face.

"Stay by my side," Hijikata said, holding her close, as he rested his head against hers. Chizuru smiled.

—∞—

The City of Edo

Sumiko smiled when she received her next letter from Chizuru and read her account of what had happened. She was happy for them, though she was a little sad because Chizuru warned her it would probably be the last letter she received from her for a while since Chizuru had entered back into the war, and they had to be careful about the mail being intercepted. But that was all right. Sumiko already knew what was going to happen anyway, and she trusted Hijikata wouldn't let anything bad happen to Chizuru. Although, she was still pretty miffed at him for leaving her friend behind in the first place.

For the next few months, Sumiko and Kazama kept their eyes and ears open for further news on the war. The main battle of Hakodate would last from December 4, 1868 to June 27, 1869. The naval battle of Miyako took place in March. The day after the Republic of Ezo's ships left to commence a surprise attack, a terrible storm struck, which caused only one of the three ships, the flagship Kaiten, to make it to Miyako Bay to carry out the mission. Even so, Hijikata and his men maintained a firm resolve as they continued to fight. But there was a limit to how much the Kaiten could do against eight enemy battleships. After Captain Kouga's death in battle, they had no choice but to retreat. They suffered 24 fatalities and 34 casualties. Within a mere four hours after the operation commenced, the Battle of Miyako Bay ended in a crushing defeat for the former Bakufu army. Hakodate would become a battlefield soon.

In April of 1869, after waiting for the snow to melt, the Imperial army finally appeared in Ezo. In order to intercept the troops that landed in Otobe, the former Bakufu army sent Minister Ootori-san to the Matsumae Pass to the southwest of Hakodate. Vice Minister Hijikata-san was sent as the commanding officer to the Futamata Pass northwest of Hakodate. It was finally time for Sumiko and Kazama to make their move as well.

Sumiko finished putting her hair up in the usual style she wore it in when she dressed as a woman, with her the center of her bangs pulled back with a yellow bow, two long sections of hair framing her face bound in columns of red ribbon with the ends folded back up at the bottom, and the rest of her hair draped on her shoulders and falling down her back in a very, very low ponytail that was also bound in red ribbon. Like Kazama, she was now wearing a Western-style outfit. Hers consisted of: a yellow vest with black lapels and panels of purple silk brocade with red flowers and green brances on the sides over a white blouse with the sleeves rolled up, a red cravat tucked into her vest, olive-green pants with a black belt, black and brown lace-up leather boots, and a purple sash tied around her waist to hold her katana. She would probably need a sword where they were going, even if she only intended to act as a doctor.

"I'll never understand how this could become that," Kazama remarked, admiring the view from the open doorway while thinking of her male disguise in traditional Japanese clothing. Her new outfit really brought out her curves. "You must have used some kind of trick."

"All I did was strap my chest down and put on a little makeup," Sumiko said, shrugging. "I just added some shadows and highlights here and there to make my face seem less soft and put a little color on my lips to make them look less pink. It was all blended to match my skin tone, so it wouldn't be obvious. Chizuru thought it was too much trouble, so she just stayed as she was was."

"Oh? So that's how you did it," Kazama said. "I thought your transformation was too extreme. To think the same face paint women use to make themselves look more feminine could also make them appear more masculine... You're a sly tanuki, aren't you?" he teased, smirking at her cleverness.

"I have Annie to thank," Sumiko replied, standing up and turning to face him. "She was always complaining that she had a hard time finding a makeup brand that carried a shade that matched her skin tone, so she learned to make her own, and she showed me how when I got curious..." she explained as she pulled on her tansu, which was much heavier than usual, thanks to the large extra compartment she had added onto it. She had already insisted on carrying it herself. "Are you ready to go?"

"I've been ready for the last few months," he replied, taking her hand as they stepped outside together, heading for the naval yard to find an Imperial vessel that could take them to Ezo.

—∞—

"!?" a soldier stationed aboard exclaimed as he fell over in shock when Kazama and Sumiko descended upon the ship. The other men on the deck immediately turned their attention to the two intruders and quickly moved to surround them.

"Identify yourself!" one of the standing soldiers ordered anxiously as they all placed their hands on their swords, ready to draw if they posed a challenge or proved to be a threat..

"Are we under attack?!" another soldier asked nervously.

"One of them's a woman!" another said.

"What is the problem?" asked a stern voice from above. Sumiko looked up and saw standing on the upper level a mustached man who was in his late twenties or early thirties wearing the stereotypical attire and headgear associated with the Imperial military officers of the era. Since his 'bear wig' was the black 'Koguma' associated with Satsuma, it was a pretty safe guess that this ship was supposed to belong to them. "!" the man gasped when he recognized the identity of one of the intruders. "Are you not Kazama?" he asked the blonde oni warily, taken aback to see the dangerous being there after the rest of his clan had revoked their support of Satcho.

Kazama smirked as he looked up too and recognized the familiar human. "Kuroda, huh?" he said. "Good." This particular general was no fool. He was a man who could be reasoned with. Kuroda had seen him in action before, so he should already know very well what he was capable of. "You can take us to Ezo."

"Kuroda? As in General Kuroda Kiyotaka!?" Sumiko asked as her eyes widened a little when she put the current situation together with the resemblance he bore to a picture of the famous man from a later point in time when he had his portrait taken in Western clothing.

"Yes. Is that significant?" Kazama asked, noting the affect the name had on her.

"Very. This guy is going to do really well out of this war," she replied seriously. "He's going to win, so you picked a good ship to be on, because it probably has the highest chance of not being sunk or captured, seeing as how he's on it. He's going to be powerful in the near future, so he'd be a good friend to have."

"Chief Kuroda, shouldn't we do something?" the soldier standing beside him asked anxiously as Kazama and Sumiko walked off to find a place where they could converse further about their plans in private. Were they really going to let these two suspicious people do as they pleased?

"Leave him and his companion be," Kuroda ordered firmly. He didn't recognize Sumiko, but he knew Kazama too well to want to risk angering him. "Even if you ganged up on him, you could not win."

"So, we'll stick with the Imperials and advance along with them until June, then we can break ahead and find Chizuru and Hijikata-san," Sumiko said, sitting on a barrel.

"And you intend to offer your services as doctor to give us an excuse to be here," Kazama added.

"Yes, and you can offer to fight for them or scout ahead," she said. "Please be careful if you do. I know oni have amazing healing abilities, but..."

"You're concerned for me?" Kazama said, pleased she felt for him.

"Of course," Sumiko said. "I know you're strong, but I also know how dangerous bullets and explosives can be."

"I know that, too. Don't worry, I won't forget my promise," Kazama reassured her. "I won't die and leave you behind." Sumiko smiled.

"I know," she said.