A dull headache beat at his temples as Hijikata slowly returned to consciousness. He wasn't fully aware of the situation, but for now, he could tell that he was lying on his side on tatami flooring, so he knew he was indoors. As his senses returned to him, his most recent memories flooded his mind: he left the compound to take a walk, then was attacked by four men. He immediately opened his eyes at the recollection, only to find that darkness surrounded him. He could feel his eyelashes brushing up against a blindfold as he blinked to regain moisture in his eyes.
Suddenly the dull headache returned with more force. He groaned at the pain, only to realize his groans came out muffled. He tried to move his lips to speak, but another piece of fabric had already been placed in his mouth while he was unconscious. He wriggled around on the floor, attempting to sit up, but found that his wrists were tied behind his back and his ankles had been tied together as well. He was rendered completely immobile.
Where am I? he thought to himself as he tried to control his breathing against another set of ropes that had been tied around his chest, tethering his arms to his ribs. Calm down. I need to calm down.
Suddenly, he could hear a door slide open and close near his feet and felt small footsteps moving in front of him. He stopped moving when the door opened, hoping to hide the fact that he was awake; however, it didn't make a difference. He heard a voice in front of him quietly state, "You're awake. Good."
His eyes widened underneath the blindfold, surprised at how young the voice sounded. This isn't a man, he thought. A young boy? Perhaps. But the boy would have to be very young; his voice hadn't fully deepened. Either way, Hijikata would not underestimate this child. Who knows what lay in store for him.
After a few moments of various objects clanging against each other, he felt two small but firm hands grip his shoulders and pull him up into a sitting position. Although the motion was not fast, he still felt another pang from his head and grunted to avoid succumbing to the pain. The child's voice spoke to him, much closer now than before. The child said, "I'm going to take off the blindfold, so hold still, okay?" Hijikata then felt a hand push his head down and two arms reach around his head to untie the blindfold. He couldn't help but feel awkward; his head practically rested against this child's chest as they sat there for what felt like an eternity.
Only a few seconds had passed, however, before Hijikata felt some relief as the blindfold fell away from his face. He was grateful for the dim lanterns in the room; he didn't need much time for his eyes to adjust to his new surroundings. As he lifted his gaze to meet his captor, he found himself stunned. The child was not a child at all, but a young woman! She wore all black with a mask over her face, just like Yamazaki, but her head was uncovered, exposing her shaved head. Is this woman a monk? Hijikata thought. No, that would be impossible. Unless…was this person just masquerading as a monk to avoid detection? Hijikata blinked a few times to clear his head and regain his focus when he could hear water trickling next to him.
He looked down and saw the woman wringing a cloth in a small bowl of water. She raised it out of the water once more, squeezing the extra water out, and began to bring the cloth closer to Hijikata's face. In defiance, he immediately turned his head away, not wanting to be touched in any way by this stranger. She paused, then moved her hand away from him just slightly.
"I hit you a little too hard in our last encounter and split your head open. I just want to clean the wound," she explained. Hijikata looked at her as she said this, analyzing her face for any emotions. The thing is he couldn't find any. Her eyes remained calm and stoic, not angry or annoyed or amused. Weighing his options for a second, he knew he would not win this fight, and once again turned his head to face her. Her fingertips pushed his hair back on one side of his forehead to expose the wound and the blood trail down his cheek. She raised the cloth again and gently dabbed at the wound. Hijikata tried to turn his head away again at the contact and the shock of pain, but she grabbed his chin before he could succeed.
Hijikata hated having no control of his body, even his head movements, but found it odd that this person would not be rough with him. Her hand on his chin was soft but her grip was firm, and she tried to be both delicate and efficient about cleaning the wound, which is something any other captor would never dream of treating him in their care. He stared at her eyes and noticed a very focused look as she continued with her task; Hijikata felt a bit relieved that she did not meet his gaze. No matter who this person was, his well-being meant something to her.
Satoya released his chin.
"I'm finished," she stated as she stood with the bowl and walked out of the room, sliding the door closed behind her.
Hijikata took this opportunity to get a better view of his surroundings. He did not want to move too much and risk falling over, but from what he could see, he was in an empty room, save for a lantern placed in each corner; it was about the size of his room back at the compound. Oh, how he desperately wanted to go to bed and write this all off as a bad dream. He shook his head to help him stay calm and refocus his priorities: find out who this person is and find a way to escape and return to the Shinsengumi.
He tried once more to loosen his bindings by twisting his wrists, but stopped after a minute or so. He was clearly making no progress and his wrists had become even more sore than when he first woke up. Whoever tied these knots was very skilled.
Just then, the door opened and the ninja figure returned to the room. This time, however, the figure carried a tray with some rice balls and two cups. She closed the door behind her, then placed the tray in front of Hijikata and sat down.
"Are you hungry?" the figure asked. Hijikata didn't feel hungry at that moment, but he did need some water for his dried throat. He also wanted an opportunity to speak and find out more information. He nodded.
"Will you promise not to make a commotion?" the figure asked, her stare serious. Hijikata nodded again. Satoya leaned forward and pulled the gag out of Hijikata's mouth, letting it hang around his neck. Hijikata coughed briefly to clear his throat and worked his jaw for a few moments.
"Thank you," he mumbled.
Satoya grabbed one of the cups and moved it toward Hijikata. He gratefully accepted the gesture and drank a few deep gulps before Satoya took the cup back and set it down on the tray.
"Who are you?" Hijikata asked, keeping his tone low and even.
"Who I am is none of your concern," the figure responded blankly. She picked up one of the rice balls from the tray and moved it towards Hijikata, leaning in on her knees. He intentionally moved his head out of the way in defiance but maintained eye contact with her.
"I thought you said you were hungry," the figure said, frustration becoming more present in her voice than confusion.
"I have a right to know my captor's name," Hijikata boldly stated. "Especially when my captor is a young woman."
Satoya paused for a moment, then leaned back and sat on her haunches. Hijikata could see a slight lift in her cheeks underneath her mask and a certain squint in her eyes: she was smiling.
She removed her mask and began to eat the rice ball in her hand. She didn't eat it elegantly like he expected a woman to eat, but at least she wasn't a slob. Hijikata found it very peculiar that this otherwise attractive young woman would be working as a criminal, but he pushed the thought to the back of his mind. He needed to stay focused on the present moment to learn anything about this woman that would help him escape.
"So you did notice," Satoya said in between bites. "I'm actually kind of impressed."
"Do most people take a while to realize you're a woman?" Hijikata posed.
"Most of the people I deal with don't get the chance," Satoya replied, still eating her rice ball. She looked down and Hijikata followed her gaze to the other rice ball still on the tray.
"Do you want it?" she asked, now pointing to the rice ball.
"Why do you care?" Hijikata countered harshly, hoping his intimidating stare would work in this scenario like it did on Chizuru. From what he could tell, it didn't make a difference.
"I care because your well-being is my responsibility," Satoya explained. "So…are you hungry or not?" Hijikata continued to stare at her but did not respond. Satoya finished eating while the pair sat in silence, then pulled up her mask.
"Are you still not going to tell me your name? It's rude not to properly introduce yourself," Hijikata asked, hoping to get a rise out of her. Satoya pondered this thought for a moment, then stepped around the tray right in front of Hijikata. He leaned back slightly to avoid feeling uncomfortable, but he couldn't stop her as she placed the gag hanging around his neck back in his mouth. She then kneeled down so that they were at the same eye level, as if Hijikata were a child. If there's one thing Hijikata hated, it was being patronized.
She sighed. "My name is Satoya Haru. Happy?" she asked as she stood up once more, grabbed the tray from behind her and walked towards the door.
"I'll be back in a few hours, so please try to behave yourself," she said as she opened and closed the door behind her with one hand.
Hijikata felt a small sense of accomplishment getting at least that much out of her. He repeated her name in his head so he wouldn't forget it. Satoya Haru. Satoya-san. He assumed that she was probably working for someone; he couldn't think of a reason why or how she would abduct him on her own. Was it a personal vendetta, perhaps? No, she wouldn't have been considerate of him if that were the case. But who would she be working for? He ruminated on the question for a while, trying to rule out suspects. Unfortunately, the Shinsengumi had far too many enemies to make this an easy task.
As the lanterns dimmed more and more, Hijikata felt his headache return and his stomach growl. Since there was nothing more he could do, he carefully maneuvered himself back on to his side and closed his eyes. Maybe I should've eaten the rice ball, he thought as he drifted off to sleep.