Chizuru hurriedly paced back and forth in front of the headquarters' front gate, prompting the two guards on watch that night to grow anxious. She knew she should've gone with Hijikata. When she felt there was no hope left for the night, she saw the last patrol approaching the gates, torches in hand. Leading the pack of men, she noticed Harada with his red hair illuminated by the torchlight, his spear held diligently in his right hand.
She began to approach the men and scanned the group, but still found no sign of Hijikata. He shouldn't have gone alone and made me worry like this, she thought as she greeted Harada.
"Harada-san, thank goodness! Did you see Hijikata-san while you were out?" she asked. Harada's initial welcoming smile shifted into a look of confusion.
"Hey, Chizuru-chan. No, I haven't seen him since earlier today. Is he not here?" he asked.
She shook her head. "No, he left to go for a walk two hours ago and still hasn't come back. I'm really worried about him, Harada-san!" she exclaimed, fear settling in her eyes. Harada began to quicken his pace to the common area, Chizuru following close behind.
"Yeah, that definitely is not like Hijikata-san, especially when a storm is coming our way," he said, motioning to the heavy clouds in the distance moving closer towards them.
"Does Kondou-san know about this?" Harada asked. Chizuru simply looked at the ground and shook her head in response.
"Alright, let's find him and notify him first. Hopefully a couple of us can conduct a quick search before the storm hits," he explained as they reached the common room for meals and meetings. Typically, Kondou enjoyed a drink or two at the end of the day with some of the other captains or the deputy commander; on this night, it was no different. As Harada slid the door open, he saw Kondou and Saitou, the captain of the 3rd division, enjoying a round of drinks together.
"Ah, Harada-kun, welcome back! Please join us for a drink! Oh, Yukimura-kun, you may join us as well!" Kondou exclaimed with a wide grin, motioning the both of them inside. Harada stood to the side to let Chizuru go first, then closed the door behind him as he followed suit.
"I appreciate the offer, but we have an issue. Chizuru and I believe that Hijikata-san is missing. Apparently, he left two hours ago to go for a short walk and still hasn't returned. What's worse is if something did happen to him, the incoming storm might wash away any possible trace of what happened," Harada explained. His voice carried a gravely worried tone, one that Kondou and Saitou hadn't heard in a long time. Kondou's eyes widened as he listened to Harada's story and set down his cup.
"Toshi, missing? I hope that's not true. You're right that we should take advantage of the time we have now to find him. Harada-kun, I hate to send you back out, but as you said, we don't have much time. Saitou-kun, please go with him. At this point, any information will help. I'll inform the guards on duty tonight to be on the lookout, should Toshi come back before you do," Kondou instructed as Harada and Saitou stood to leave. As Kondou also stood to follow Harada and Saitou out the door, Chizuru gently grabbed his arm, at which point he turned to see her bowing her head low.
"Kondou-san, I am so sorry! I shouldn't have let him leave on his own. I tried to go with him, but he still left by himself–"
Chizuru felt a large, warm hand rest on her head. When she looked up, she saw Kondou's golden eyes looking back at her, his warm smile lifting her from her bow.
"It's alright, Yukimura-kun. We'll definitely find him," Kondou assured, moving once again towards the door as Chizuru stared at his back, wondering how a man with such a heavy burden could still smile and be so carefree. She admired that about him, but she also knew that he and Hijikata have known each other the longest, and she could understand how this situation weighed on Kondou's mind more than anyone else there.
Chizuru slid open the door and stood on the porch for a few moments, gazing at the clouds looming above her. Hijikata-san, please be okay, she prayed to herself.
After an hour or so of riding in the wagon had passed, Satoya spotted a lone manor in the distance. They followed the winding road to the entrance, where two guards stood before large wooden doors. One of the guards began to approach Satoya's side of the wagon as the horses calmed to a stop.
"What's your business here?" the guard asked harshly, staring at Satoya with an extra suspicious glare.
"Is this the Ayuzawa residence?" Satoya asked in response, her voice low but clear.
"Who's asking?" the guard barked, hand at the ready to draw his sword if needed. Satoya reached into her pocket and grabbed the shogi piece Bando had given her earlier that day, and dropped it into the guard's outstretched hand. Taking a moment to inspect this bizarre token, his eyes widened upon realization and looked back at Satoya for an instant before bowing his head.
"I apologize for my rude behavior. Yes, we've been expecting you. Please proceed," he stated as he handed the shogi piece back to her. The other guard ordered, "Open the gate!" to which two guards next to the door pushed on either side of the center and cracked it open with a low roll, stirring up the horses. As the doors proceeded to open further, the driver whistled to the horses, beckoning them to move once again. The wagon trudged on as the doors closed behind them, and the wagon slowed to a final halt just in front of the manor.
Bando was right: this was a surprisingly small manor for this level of security, but it wasn't uncommon. The last thing they wanted was to stand out amongst the rolling fields surrounding them. Satoya once again turned to gaze upon the vice-commander, still breathing and seemingly at peace. She made eye contact with one of the men and asked, "Has he stirred at all?"
The man simply shook his head, and at last, she felt she could release her sigh of relief. I'm just glad I didn't kill him, she thought to herself as the main door of the manor opened and an older middle-aged gentleman in a dark blue kimono approached her side of the wagon. Satoya hopped down and gently bowed.
"You are Ayuzawa-san, I presume?" she asked, her head still bowed.
"I am. And you must be the infamous Sparrow I've heard so much about. I wanted to personally welcome you and see your cargo for myself," he said, grinning like a child as he bowed to her in return. Satoya stood back upright and blushed slightly behind her mask. She couldn't remember the last time someone treated her with this much respect.
"Thank you for your hospitality. Right this way," she said as she motioned to the back of the wagon. Ayuzawa moved ahead of her, his anticipation and curiosity apparent for the world to see. His eyes widened at the sight of Hijikata-san and sighed with a deep sense of satisfaction, as if he were just now laying his eyes on a beautifully rare creature.
"I needed to see for myself, otherwise I would not have believed it. You've really outdone yourself. But enough of this. Let's move inside so we can get you and our other guest situated," Ayuzawa stated as he moved back towards the house. One of Satoya's men slung Hijikata over his shoulder as the other two men moved the wagon to another part of the estate. She knew nothing would happen, but she kept feeling as though she couldn't lose sight of the warrior. She couldn't help but feel protective as he was her charge, and she simply wasn't used to having a charge of any sort. She followed them inside as the clear night sky showed signs of thick clouds rolling through.
Harada and Saitou raced down one of the main streets of Kyoto, looking at every alley and building they passed, shouting Hijikata's name in case he were near. They stopped for a moment to catch their breath, hating the fatigue creeping into their bones. They knew that Hijikata had a usual route when he walked through the town, but did not find anything out of the ordinary. As they looked around, the storm clouds that were once distant now loomed directly over them.
"Harada, it looks like it will start raining soon. We should head back, give Kondou-san our report, and try again in the morning," Saitou stated.
"We can't just leave without finding something," Harada replied. "Surely if it were a random scuffle, we would've found something by now, right?"
"Yes," Saitou agreed. "I think this was planned out. But who would be bold enough to try and take Hijikata-san?"
"You mean dumb and cowardly," Harada corrected. "Okay, let's think like the attackers. If I were someone who wanted to take Hijikata-san and knew of his reputation as a skilled swordsman, I wouldn't go by myself. I would definitely try to outnumber and corner him. Leave him with no options of escape, you know?"
"Yes," Saitou replied. "Perhaps they cornered him in one of the alleys?"
"But we checked all of them and didn't find anything," Harada responded.
"What if he caught on that someone was following him and tried to hide? We didn't check behind all the containers in some of the alleys. Maybe he dropped something," Saitou posed.
"Now there's an idea!" Harada exclaimed with a little extra enthusiasm. "Let's split up. I'll check these alleys, and you check those over there. Yell out if you find anything."
"Got it," Saitou replied, and once again, they ran through the alleys, slowing their speed near any containers that a person of Hijikata's size could hide behind.
After checking a few alleys, Saitou noticed a slip of paper with a few drops of blood next to it on the ground. The rain began to trickle down upon the scene, but Saitou clearly read the paper as the ink began to bleed: For the Commander of the Shinsengumi.
"Harada-san!" Saitou yelled, surprised at himself for raising his voice to such a level. Saitou rarely yelled, and if he did raise his voice, he never raised his tone to expose any emotion. The man was as stoic as they came, but as he held the letter in his hand and ducked under part of a roof to keep himself out of the rain, he felt his heart beating heavily. His body was preparing his mind for the worst.
Harada came running around the corner and ducked under the roof next to Saitou. "What did you find?" he asked. Saitou held out the letter in front of Harada so he could read the script on the front. Harada's eyes widened and immediately opened it up.
"I also found a few drops of blood on the ground next to the paper before the rain began," Saitou explained. Harada's eyes quickly scanned over the ink scrawled on the inside and Saitou could see his expression suddenly change from shock to pure anger.
"Damnit!" Harada exclaimed, shoving the paper into Saitou's hands before pacing back and forth under the roof. Saitou gingerly re-opened the letter and read the message on the inside. His eyes widened in shock as well. This is not good at all, Saitou thought to himself as he tucked the letter into his kimono, safe from the rain. He and Harada looked at each other and ran as fast as their sandals could carry them back to headquarters to give Kondou the terrible news.