"Chizuru! Where are you?" Shinpachi yelled as the captains returned to headquarters. Chizuru heard the call and hurried over to the source. She found most of the captains huddled around the entrance to Hijikata's room.
"I'm here! Did you find Hijikata-san?" she asked as she pushed her way through the men. She froze with her mouth agape at the sight of the vice-commander. His eyes were closed as he rested his head on Harada's shoulder, carried on his back. Kondou hustled to lay out Hijikata's futon while Harada did his best to remain patient, but it was clear that his arms were growing weary.
"Heisuke-kun, please grab me a bucket of water and some clean towels. Saitou-san, please grab me some extra bandages," Chizuru instructed as she hurried over to Harada's side. She immediately noticed small beads of sweat forming on Hijikata's forehead, so she reached out her hand to feel his temperature and recoiled.
"He has a high fever," she stated. "Let's get him into bed immediately."
Harada and Kondou dutifully obeyed and worked together, with Shinpachi's help, to gently lower Hijikata onto the futon. They gingerly removed Harada's overcoat and Hijikata's hakama from his pliant form, leaving him in just his bedclothes. As the men changed him, Chizuru could see more of the damage done and could not believe her eyes. She saw the deep burns on his wrists and the plethora of bruises across his chest and torso. From what she could tell, Hijikata's ribs were not broken, much to her relief. She still needed to assess him for more serious injuries.
"Yukimura-kun, you should see this," Kondou said as he leaned Hijikata against him and pulled his bedclothes down to expose the top of his back and shoulders. Chizuru covered her mouth at the sight, but noted that the wounds were not deep, no longer bleeding, and did not show signs of infection. She could wait to clean them until he woke up. For now, she needed to worry about bringing down his fever.
Saitou and Heisuke soon returned from their assigned duties. She thanked them both and dipped a towel in the cool water, wringing out the extra water before gently placing it over Hijikata's forehead. It took her a few moments to realize that the captains were still huddled around her and Hijikata's bed. She promptly stood up and pushed everyone out of the room.
"Are any of you injured?" she asked. Everyone shook their heads. "Good. Go get some sleep. I'll let you know in the morning how he's doing, but the best thing you can do for him now is to let him rest." With that, she slid the door shut, leaving the captains to give each other confused looks and slowly drag themselves to their own rooms. The only people to remain by the door were Kondou and Saitou.
"Aren't you going to bed, Saitou-kun?" Kondou asked.
"I want to be near in case Hijikata-san wakes up," Saitou responded. Kondou gently patted his shoulder, understanding his sentiments, and headed off. Saitou sat down in front of the door, alert like a guard dog ready to ward off any threat.
Inside the room, Chizuru took no time at all to wash Hijikata's wrists clean and wrap them in bandages; she also took the liberty of cleaning off the dried blood up his arms. Once both wrists were cleaned and dressed, she re-soaked the towel cooling his brow and wiped away excess sweat from his cheeks and neck before returning it to his forehead. Her work for the night was complete.
She stood up and walked to the closet, rummaging for another futon; unfortunately, all she could find was an extra blanket neatly folded. It was soft enough, so she laid it out next to Hijikata. She took off her external kimono and untied the knot holding up her ponytail. Before she lied down, she gazed over at Hijikata and realized that his ponytail was still in place. She leaned over and undid it, allowing his hair to freely lay around him. She moved back to the blanket and lied down, using her hands as a makeshift pillow beneath her. She noted the rise and fall of Hijikata's chest one last time before she herself succumbed to sleep.
Warmth. Before he could process where he was, or what was happening, Hijikata felt warmth in his entire body, completely at ease. As he slowly cracked his eyes open, he gazed upon a familiar ceiling. As he cautiously scanned a small section of the room, he realized he was lying in his bed, in his room at the compound. From what he could tell, it was still early in the morning; sunlight seeped in through the window, but the room remained dimly lit. Silence surrounded him besides the peaceful sound of birds chirping outside.
He slid his arms out from underneath the covers to rub his eyes awake, careful not to bother his shoulders too much. As he raised his arms, his sleeves fell, revealing bandages wrapped around his wrists, faintly stained with red. He lowered his hands to rub his eyes, and felt the back of his hand touch something cold. He reached up and grabbed a mostly dry towel from his forehead, setting it on his lap. He slowly sat up, his long black hair draping over his shoulders. He noticed a blanket laid out next to him and felt shocked to find Chizuru sleeping.
"Chizuru?" he whispered to himself, both in confusion and amazement. For the first time in a while, he felt happy to see her again, and so at peace. That is until she yawned and slowly opened her eyes.
"Oh! Good morning, Hijikata-san," she softly uttered. "How are you feeling?"
"What are you doing here?" he asked.
"Taking care of you, of course," she replied as she sat up and stretched. "How are you feeling?" She reached out to check his forehead for any more signs of the fever. He looked at her confusingly, but allowed her to continue. She only left her hand there for a second before a smile bloomed on her face. "Thank goodness, the fever's broken."
"I'm feeling better," he answered. "Did you spend the entire night here?"
"Yes. I wanted to stay close so you wouldn't be alone. Are you hungry?"
He couldn't help but stare at her in amazement as he felt an overwhelming emptiness grow in his stomach.
"Starving," he said with a chuckle. She stood up and folded the blanket, returning it to the closet.
"Alright. You stay in bed while I go make some porridge and tea," she said as she casually walked to the door. "I'll tend to your other injuries after you've eaten. With that, she disappeared behind the door and hurried to the kitchen.
She poured rice and water into a pot and lit the fire underneath. She left that alone to cook and began to chop the vegetables just as her father taught her when she was younger. She felt a strong sense of pride in taking care of her friends just as well as her father and Matsumoto took care of their patients.
She prepared a tray with the porridge, a side dish of pickled radish, and a cup of freshly brewed tea. As she lifted the tray, Kondou appeared around the corner.
"Ah, Yukimura-kun, good morning! Tell me, how is Toshi? Is he awake?" he asked.
"Good morning, Kondou-san! Yes, he's awake. I was actually going to take him some tea and porridge. If you'd like to see him, you can take it instead," she said as she passed the tray to Kondou. He couldn't help but grin from ear to ear.
"Of course I will, thank you! Oh, and I forgot to ask you something last night, Yukimura-kun."
"Oh? What is it?" she asked.
"It's about Satoya-san. While we were gone, did she say anything to you? Reveal anything about herself?" he asked seriously. She solemnly shook her head.
"No, she didn't. I tried to talk to her and get to know her better, but she just ignored me," she replied. Kondou sighed.
"That's alright. Thank you for trying. Please serve her some breakfast as well. I'll take this to Toshi now," he said as he carefully walked out of the kitchen and onto the porch.
Hijikata carefully laid himself down on his stomach to avoid disturbing his back. As soon as he laid his head down on his hands, his eyes felt weighed down by exhaustion, unable to stay open for long. He hadn't heard from Chizuru in a while, and so he allowed them to shut for a little while, reciting to himself that he refused to fall asleep before Chizuru returned. Not too much time passed, however, before he felt a hand on his shoulder gently shaking him awake.
"Toshi? Are you awake?" a familiar voice asked. He slowly opened his eyes and looked up at Kondou kneeling next to him.
"Kondou-san? What are you doing here?" he asked as he slowly pushed himself up.
"I volunteered to bring you some breakfast. Were you sleeping? I'm sorry if I woke you. If you would like to sleep more, we can save it for you until later," Kondou insisted.
"That's not necessary. I was just resting my eyes," Hijikata quickly assured as Kondou set the warm tray in front of him. Watching the steam rise from the porridge and the tea brought a small smile to the corners of his lips; it wasn't until he noticed the side dish of pickled radishes that tears threatened to escape his eyes. It seemed that everyone knew pickled radishes were his favorite, but he still never expected others to go out of their way to prepare them specifically for him. He brought his hands together in front of him and thanked the universe for allowing him to have another meal made by those who cared about him the most.
He took the first bite, then the second, before realizing that Kondou remained kneeling beside him.
"Kondou-san, you don't need to stay here while I eat," Hijikata said.
"Of course I do. I want to make sure you eat all of your food so you don't faint or anything like that," Kondou explained. "I was also really worried about you last night and wanted to see how you were feeling." Hijikata looked down at his tray almost shamefully.
"I'm sorry for making you worry. I'm still pretty tired and sore, but much better than when you found me. Speaking of which, how did you find me?" Hijikata asked.
"One of Bando-san's henchmen came to us and told us where you were," Kondou explained. Hijikata stared at him curiously.
"A henchman? Who?"
"A young girl by the name of Satoya," Kondou answered. Hijikata's eyes grew wide.
"Satoya-san? Where is she? Is she still here?" he asked hurriedly.
"Wait, you know her?" Kondou countered.
"Yes. She was in charge of me for the first half of my imprisonment. We spoke a few times, and she defended me when Bando-san's men began to beat me," Hijikata explained. His hand subconsciously reached up and rubbed his lowered head as if to soothe an ache. Kondou noticed the movement, but restrained himself from commenting on it. He could tell from Hijikata's blank stare that his mind was elsewhere.
"Toshi?" Kondou asked. Hijikata's eyes snapped back into the present and he looked up to meet Kondou's worried look.
"Sorry. My mind wandered for a second there…Anyway, is Satoya-san still here?"
"Yes, she is. I had her put in one of the holding cells while we rescued you. I haven't really had the chance to consider what to do with her yet," Kondou explained.
"I want to go see her," Hijikata stated as he lifted the tray above his lap. Before he could move it to his bedside, Kondou swiftly grabbed hold of the other two sides of the tray and gently pushed it back down onto Hijikata's lap.
"Not until you've finished eating and Chizuru has tended to your injuries. Until those two things are done, you are to stay in bed. And that's an order," Kondou said sternly. Hijikata looked up at him in surprise, then chuckled as he released the tray and picked up the bowl of porridge.
"Yes, sir," he said as he took an unusually large bite. Kondou relaxed and released the tray as well, smiling in relief that Hijikata allowed him to take care of him this way.
"Thank you," Hijikata whispered. He dutifully continued to finish his breakfast and tea while Kondou sat by his side, looking out for him as he had done since the days of the ramshackled dojo, where they knew they would remain close friends and comrades for the rest of their lives.