"... I don't think we should kill them." Mei whispered as Okita stated that the "boy" was too dangerous to keep alive, but that didn't stop Kondou from hearing Mei's small voice.
With a small smile, the Chief looked at her and prompted her to speak up, "Mei, why do you say that? Is there a specific reason?" He asked lightly, getting everyone to turn their attention to the female behind her master.
"Technically we don't need her opinion…" Okita piped up as he glanced at Mei.
Which earned him an annoyed glare from his page. "... No one asked you." She hissed before turning to Kondou, "... I don't think they will be a threat to us… nor think they wish to be a threat to us…" She stated, though her eyes averted when she felt Okita's, Sanan's AND Hijikata's gazes burning into her skull.
"You think, won't cut it, Mei." Hijikata stated.
"Fine! I know that that kid is not here to cause us damage! Or that they'd be captured and tortured or whatever excuse you find to kill them!" Mei quipped before glaring at Hijikata. "Look, obviously this kid was at the wrong place at the wrong time. They don't even have the local dialect so I doubt they're from here. Can we just give them the benefit of the doubt? Or at least hear them out about their side of the story, since all we're doing is playing hearsay, I want to hear what they were out doing last night before the incident with the men."
Everyone was silent for a moment before Kondou nodded, mulling over the options everyone had brought up along with the pros and cons of killing or not killing the "boy" in the other room down the hall. After some long, hard-thought moments Kondou nodded before he slowly stood to his feet. "I think Mei is right. It is only fair the boy gets to explain himself in this before we make a decision."
With a soft, relieved, sigh, Mei stood to her feet soon after and quickly followed after the man. The other captains following suit.
Hopefully this would help the kid out. Mei was 90% sure that her feelings were right, but she couldn't be right all the time.
Kondou finally made it to the room and was just about to open the sliding door before it opened from the inside and the girl Mei had been trying to save from execution stumbled out into Kondou.
"Oh my. Well, that was rather bold. You were looking to escape, I assume?" Sanan asked with a cold smile, his eyes glancing at Mei, who was giving the captive an exasperated look.
I'm trying to keep you from dying, and you can't sit still for 10 minutes?
"Um…" The kid looked around at all the faces in front of her.
"Attempting to escape was unwise. It will only make your situation more difficult." Sanan mocked gently as his eyes met with the childs. His voice was calm and not unfriendly, but his eyes were frigid and calculating as they bore into the "boy's" eyes.
Mei frowned before ignoring the look Okita was giving her just behind her. She didn't feel like being told "I told you so." Now she was contemplating on just telling Kondo why she really wanted to the kid to live, for now, or not saying anything at all.
"I told you once, and I won't do it again. Run, and I'll gut you." Hijikata sneered, looking down at the captive.
"Sorry, but now we've got to kill you. We can't trust a kid who can't keep a promise." Okita hummed mockingly as he set a hand on one of his swords scabbards. He looked and sounded, far from sorry.
Much to Mei's guess, the kid tried to run.
Though, they weren't able to get too far.
Hijikata shot a hand out, grabbing the child by the scruff of their clothes, and lifted them off the ground so their feet kicked helplessly in the air, "Did you really think you could escape?" He asked in light astonishment.
"L-Let me go..!" The child cried out, trying to push Hijikata's hand off them.
"You think I'm stupid? You'll just try to run. No." He grumbled irritatedly before furrowing his brows and pulling his lips down into a scowl.
"But I don't want to die! There's something I have to do!"
"Hijikata you're scaring her!" Mei shouted before stepping in front of the captured and Hijikata. "What happened to hearing her out! All of your vagueness probably scared the girl while she was waiting for an execution notice."
Hijikata groaned as he looked at Mei, but it seemed like her choice of words melted away a bit of the tension in the air.
"Wait… Miss…" The kid had stopped thrashing about, and something about the shocking surprise in the kid coaxed Hijikata to gently set her down. "... Did you just say… her?" The kid then looked around as her eye's met with Sanan's.
"So then you you really were a girl. That explains away a few things." Sanan hummed.
"You knew I was a girl?" The child exclaimed with evident embarrassment in her eyes.
"Did you really think putting on a pair of pants was going to fool us? Even an idiot could see that you're a girl." Okita piped up with a cocky smirk.
Jerks were scaring the girl knowing full fucking well she was a GIRL. Mei thought with evident agitation at the males blatant disregard for the feelings of a young lady. She would cold all of them later even if it meant getting into an argument with the ever-so-stubborn Hijikata. Not even beginning to imagine the sour mood it'd put Okita.
"What!? Are you saying that this child is a girl?!" Kondou blurted with wide eyes filled with surprise and confusion, a sweat drop falling down his face a bit. "Oh Isami Kondou, you fool! This is the embarrassment of a lifetime! How could you not have realized!?" He sputtered out.
Of course our lovely and charming Chief commander wouldn't have known, otherwise he'd have been way nicer… Mei couldn't help but wearily smile at the man. He was such a goof.
"Kondou, please calm down…. I was sure you all caught on, maybe not Kondou but…" Hijikata trailed off.
Kondou then turned to Sanan, "Don't tell me you knew all along Sanan!" Kondou begged.
Sanan gave the man his softest smile, and closed his eyes, "Well yes… She's doing her best to dress up like a boy, but it's so obvious that she's a girl." He cooed, unable to contain his amusement at the Chief.
"Alright alright, now… Tell your big brother, why were you cross-dressing around Kyoto?" Okita asked with an amused gleam in his eye.
"Big brother my ass…" Mei couldn't help but whisper, avoiding the glance of her master. "Can we just move this into the common room before we gain more attention, it'll be bad if the rank-and-file men see this." She suggested before grabbing the girls wrist a bit and pushing past the men and leading the child back to the common room, all the captains filing back in and surrounding the girl where Mei set her, in the middle of the space.
"I did think you were rather pretty…" Kondou started with a small smile, "I noticed you were rather slim, and your features were far too soft to be a man's… But to think you were a young lady this whole time…" The man nodded his head repeatedly, as if he was agreeing with a very intelligent suggestion. It made Mei laugh a bit at the poor, naive man.
"Once you know she's a girl, she really doesn't look like a boy at all, does she?" Heisuke pondered out loud, looking at the girl in the middle of the room with a scanning gaze.
Inoue looked a bit horrified, "So we bound her and left her for the whole night? Oh dear…"
"Well, 'she' claims to be a girl, but it's not like we have any actual proof, right?" Shinpachi stated.
Is he that blind?
"Proof? Really? Not obvious enough for ya, huh? Alright, will you feel better if I strip her down?" Harada suddenly pitched up.
Mei frowned and narrowed her eyes at the men, "Are you fucking serious with me right now?" She hissed, severely disappointed in the two men. "Let's say he does that, now you both look like a bunch of old pervs." She looked at the young girl before crossing her arms over her chest, "I vouch that the girl is a girl, end of discussion, SHINPACHI."
Shinpachi went a little pale as the wrath of Okita's page leaked off her form in waves. He looked nervous before looking at Kondou, who seemed pleased with Mei's response, "Well… If she really is a girl.. Killing her just seems kinda… wrong."
"Why are you so naive? It doesn't matter. If we have to kill her, she dies." Hijikata stated harshly.
Sanan nodded in agreement, "Exactly. However, her gender is irrelevant. Killing in general is wrong. We were organized to protect the citizens of Kyoto. We would ill serve the public good by murdering civilians in cold blood." He added before looking around the room a bit.
"Yeah yeah, but if this girl, or boy, is a threat to the peace, that's a horse of a different color." Okita interjected. Everyone looked at each other in agreement, but Mei still looked unconvinced that the girl was a threat to them, and it wasn't clear to any of them as to WHY.
Hijikata spoe up after a bit of silence, pulling out the girls bag, "My Apologies, but I took the liberty of checking through your belongings. It appears you came all the way from Edo… By yourself. You didn't seem to have much: some clothing, some pocket change, a few letters, and this sword." He held up the kodachi the girl had at her side when they found her the night before. "One of the letters was from Ryojun Matsumoto, a shogunate-approved doctor. I assume you saw him." He hummed before his eyes narrowed a bit on the girl, ".. What is your purpose here, Chizuru Yukimura…"
Everyone looked at the girl now with a stunned expression, eyes wide with disbelief and not even Mei offered up words in response until Shinpachi stumbled over his words, "Wait… H-Hijikata… That name…"
"Hey now, this can't be coincidence…" Harada added softly, his expression looking a bit concerned.
"Now, wait a moment. We only need to determine if you are a threat. Will you tell us your side of the story?" Kondou said with a soft voice, trying to calm the nerves of the child that was obviously being intimidated by the men of the Shinsengumi.
The girl, Chizuru, nodded a bit before opening her mouth to speak, "My name is Chizuru Yukimura… I lived in Edo with my father up until six months ago when my father said he had business to attend to in Kyoto… He did not give me an exact time of how long he'd be away but it was for work. He told me he would send word to me as often as he was able while here in Kyoto so I wouldn't worry about him… He told me if anything troubled him I was to contact Matsumoto immediately. My father sent word as promised. I received letters almost everyday, faster than I could reply, and yet… suddenly… Word from my father had ceased and a month passed." The girl looked down, "Matsumoto, my only hope, is currently absent. I could stand it no longer and decided to travel to the capital myself in search of my father, however, I could find no clue of my father's whereabouts. I was already at my wits end when I encountered these rounin…"
"Oh, then you're from Edo as well? And you came all this way to Kyoto to find your father?!" Kondou looked astonished as he looked at the girl with a big, warm smile. "So who is your father?" He wondered lightly.
"My father is Kodo Yukimura." The girl replied.
With a sigh Hijikata and Sanan closed their eyes.
"So the dots are connected…"
Now the girl looked thoroughly confused. "W-What… are you talking… about?" She asked lightly.
Mei looked at the girl completely perplexed, shocked really, as she felt annoyance start to bubble up from just the mentioned of Kodo Yukimura. What…? She thought before she looked down. That doesn't make sense though… She glanced up back at the girl and frowned.There's no way… The woman seemed in deep thought before Hijikata's booming voice vibrated the walls with impatience.
"There's no point in lying to us now! Out with it! What the hell are you doing in Kyoto!?"
The girl replied meekly, stuttering and tripping over her words just trying to get them to leap from her throat, "I… I just came to look for my father. I swear I don't know anything else…"
"You came to this city fully aware of what your father, Kodo, is doing?!" Hijikata demanded.
Mei bit her tongue as she waited for the girl to speak.
"I was only aware of my father being in Kyoto for his medical work, but I haven't seen him since last summer… That's all I know!" Chizuru whimpered as she swore to her words. Nothing in her voice or body language suggested she was lying, and the look in her eyes looked desperate at their Demon Commander to believe her.
Hijikata probably could see it, being that he suddenly held his tongue. Looking a bit troubled before Sanan leaned over to him a bit, whispering, "Hijikata… It may be better for us not to press the issue further because she may not know anything after all…"
But now it was Chizuru's turn to press on the subject, "So, what do YOU know about my father? Where is he right now? Please tell me."
"The Shinsengumi is currently attempting to determine the whereabouts of Dr. Kodo Yukimura." Saito piped up with his very monotonous way of speaking.
"You're after my father?! So, this means…"
"No no… You've got us all wrong. We're not, uh, AFTER him…" Okita added, thought Chizuru still looked a little confused.
"He's a fellow supporter of the Shogun, but… some time ago, he disappeared after a fire engulfed the home he was staying in." Mei clarified as she spoke up from behind Okita.
Saito continued soon after, "There's a reasonable chance that the enemies of the Shogun have identified him as a threat." The girl looked positively horrified, but, Saito continued without paying it much attention. "There is, of course, the chance he's still alive. Doctors skilled in western medicine are quite rare." To this, Chizuru nodded unsurely.
Sanan looked up from Chizuru to the Chief and asked, "Kondou, what do you make of her situation? Would it be in our best interest to help her, seeing as we are all looking for the same person?"
"What exactly do you mean, 'help her'?" Kondou inquired.
"I only mean to say we should cooperate with her until we find Kodo." Sanan suggested. "With her assistance, I'm sure our chances of locating Kodo will increase drastically." The mean turned their attention to Chizuru when she spoke in confusion beneath her breath. "Looking for him may prove fruitless, however, if he's in disguise, spotting him will be difficult." Sanan started, "You are his daughter, however. You should be able to recognize him no matter how he may have disguised himself, yes?"
Chizuru nodded, "Yes, of course."
"Besides, having her stay with us, regardless, can be of us to our headquarters." Sanan smiled.
Kondou hummed in response, "Hmm.. What do you say, Toshi? Sanan is making a lot of sense."
"If it turns out that she doesn't know anything after all, then…" He trailed off.
Chizuru suddenly looked desperate, "It's true! All I know is that my father headed to Kyoto, but I don't know anything else!" She squeaked. "And about last night… I didn't see anything!" She swore.
Hijikata looked a little exasperated, "Well, if she is his daughter, we can't really kill her, can we…?" He hummed before he turned to the girl and narrowed his eyes, "If you promise to keep last night a secret, we'll let you stay until your father is found. Fair?"
"I promise that the Shinsengumi will do whatever they can do to find Dr. Kodo!" Kondou smiled.
"Thank you so much!" Chizuru smiled, relieved.
Okita suddenly grinned, "You must be glad we won't be killing you, huh? Well, won't be killing you just yet, at any rate."
"Yes, I'm VERY glad." Chizuru snidded back.
"Okita." Mei reprimanded coldly before pinching his arm, "Behave." Dealing with her master was like dealing with a spoiled child. Never listens and always did what he wanted without any thought of repercussions.
Finally, after avoiding his gaze since last night, Okita's gaze caught Mei's. He could see her breath catch in her throat as she realized her mistake. Her body tensed behind him and he smirked at how much of a little pup she looked like, how scared she seemed. "We're going to have a talk later." He hummed.
Mei frowned at the thought before nodding and looking down at the floor, forcing her attention back to the rest of the men in the room, along with Chizuru Yukimura.
"W-Well, I guess we'll have to be nicer to you now that we know you're a girl." Shinpachi said, tripping over his words as if about to profess his love to a woman.
Heisuke smirked teasingly at his friend, "Gee, didn't take long for you to change your tune when you saw she was a girl, eh Shin?" He cooed just as teasingly as his gaze went to the 2nd division captain.
"Ah whatever. Having a lady here at the headquarters is sure gonna brighten things up, won't it?" Harada smiled at the girl in the middle of the room.
The remark caught Mei's attention immediately, "Excuse you?" She raised a brow as she stared at her closest friend with a narrow-eyed gaze. "Would you like to repeat that, Harada?" She hummed as her hands casually set upon her blades. "In case you have forgotten, I'm female."
"Yeah, but you're more of a guy than a girl when-"
"Now you've done it Shinpachi…" Heisuke whispered.
Mei's eyes could kill with that deadly look in them, staring down Shinpachi. "Keep digging yourself a hole, asshole." She growled.
"Now now, no fighting." Okita chuckled, setting a hand on his page's shoulder, silently ordering her to cool it.
Sanan sighed, bringing everyone's attention over to him. "I'm not sure if our headquarters are, er, up to standards for a young lady, however…" He looked to Mei, "Not saying that you are not a lady, Mei, but you know battle, you are a warrior in your own right, but this young girl is not a soldier, so we cannot expect to treat her as such." He explained, seemingly to make Mei feel a little better though smiled a bit as she crossed her arms in the corner of the room and pouted like a child.
"I'd prefer to place you in the custody of the Judiciary Commissioner or the Aizu rather than keep you in a house mainly full of men… but…" Kondou stayed silent as he looked at Chizuru apologetically.
"Then make her a page or something. Want an assistant, Kondou? How about you, Sanan?" Hijikata piped up rather impatiently.
"Oh, come on now, Hijikata. It's your idea. You can't just pawn her off on someone else~" Okita cooed.
Kondou smiled happily, "Ah! Excellent~ We can entrust Toshi with her!"
"Well, there you have it, Hijikata. I hope you'll take good care of her." Sanan smiled amused. Obviously happy with the Vice Commanders new responsibility. He was plainly mocking him and was having much fun in doing so.
"You sons of bitches! You can't just decide that!"
Mei watched the scene unfold and couldn't contain the smile that tugged the corners of her lips. The day went happier than she expected. Those quiet and happy days with the men of the Shinsengumi seemed relatively undisturbed now, a sense of relief washing over her as she let that thought settle within her mind. Her eyes settled upon the girl in the middle of the room however, as if almost having forgotten Chizuru Yukimura. Would she disturb those happy days with the men she held dear? Or would she be nothing at all?
All Mei did know, was that she needed to get answers from her.
Though looking around at the men jovial banter as they teased Hijikata, she thought, It can wait a bit…
Hello my lovely readers!
Sorry for the wait, I just started working and hanging out with my friends that were visiting from college for the summer. Now that Summer is coming to a close and school is starting up soon I'm getting more and more free days. It also took me a while to figure out a good stopping point while I'm working off the games for this part of the story. I'm going to try even harder to get these chapters up for you faster so please bare with me.
On another note, I really do hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Hopefully there are less mistakes since I read over it several times in the last couple months. Please Review, follow and/or favorite this story I would really appreciate some feedback and support. Thank you to everyone who has done all of those things for this story it makes me so happy knowing people are truly enjoying my writing. I will go back a edit the few early chapters when I get the time since there are notable differences in my writing style from then to now so please bare with me new readers (and those of you who reread the whole fanficiton over and over again when you feel like you've forgotten key points).
Anyways, thank you for waiting! I'll try to post another chapter sooner but I wanted to squeeze out this one before I go into work a bit.
Love always,
Chess.