Disclaimer~ We don't own Hakuouki Shinsengumi Kitan, or anything relating to it. Zan nen desu ne?

Chapter Four
The Delivery

Sayo walked down the short hallway, sliding her sock clad feet along the wooden floor. She had become rather familiar with the layout of her new home in the few days she'd been living there. She stopped shuffling as she came to a paper door identical to the others, though she knew this one belonged to the Commander, Kondou. Kneeling down, Sayo slid the door open a crack, "Shitsureishimasu."

"Hai, come in."

Sayo opened the door enough for her to slip though, and stood up, stepping inside.

"Ah, Sayo-san, I have something for you to deliver." Kondou greeted, seeing that it was her and not one of his lieutenants come to bother him.

Sayo smiled and nodded, stepping up and sitting down by his short desk. She admired the neatness of his papers and inks, the way his brushes were laid out depending on size. She was never able to keep anything so organized; if this was her desk the papers would be strewn across the floor with ink stains covering everything like an amateur painting.

Kondou held out a bundle of three tightly rolled scrolls. "Could you please give these to Hijikata, I need him to look them over before I send them off to Matsudaira."

"Yes, of course." She stood up, and bowed once again before leaving the room. As she moved again through the hall, Hajime came into view walking at his usual calm and steady pace. She smiled up at him, hoping for a warm reaction, but he merely nodded and continued to pass her.

Sayo came to the door to Hijikata's room, and once again knelt before it, sliding it open enough to peek inside. This time she was not so graceful, the scrolls she carried were too many to hold with just one arm and in the process of opening the door all three coiled papers fell from her grasp and rolled into the room where Hijikata and Sannan sat conversing.

Their conversation stopped as they looked over at the girl with wide eyes sitting in the door way. Her face had turned a pretty shade of red as she noticed the attention had shifted to her mistake. "Eh… shitsureishimasu… I have a delivery from the commander."

Hijikata snapped out of his small moment of shock and bent down to help her pick up the scrolls. "Thank you, Sayo-san ."

Sannan smiled at her warmly and nodded his head, hoping to comfort her frantic expression.

"He wants you to look them over before he sends them to Matsudaira-sama."

"I understand." Hijikata said, unrolling the first scroll and skimming the contents.

Sayo bowed and backed out of the room, leaving them to finish their discussion, whatever it may have been about. When she was in the clear she leaned up against one of the walls and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath to calm her nerves. She shouldn't have shown so much weakness, and with such a simple mistake as that. There was nothing she disliked more than feeling helpless, which normally she was not. But around these men… something about her had changed.

"Psst, Sayo-san."

Sayo jumped, being caught off guard. She opened her eyes and turned toward the sound of the whisper, seeing Shinpachi's smiling face sticking out from across the hall.

"Come here." He beckoned her into the room, pulling his head back inside. After a moment she pushed away from the wall and followed him into the room, wondering what horrible surprise would be waiting for her.

Shinpachi slid the door closed behind her, an evil smile playing on his lips. "I have a job for you…"

Sayo nodded slowly, trying to keep a calm exterior as Shinpachi stepped closer to her. He placed a hand on each of her shoulders. "Can you deliver this to Heisuke for me?" He leaned in and pressed his lips roughly against hers, in what he considered to be a kiss.

"Iya! What are you doing?" She yelled, trying to turn away.

"Relax; it's your job right? To make deliveries…"

"Is this a normal delivery…? I find that hard to believe."

Shinpachi smiled widely. "Go on, it's very urgent."

Sayo sighed and wiped her mouth as she tried to make her way back out the door.

"Hey! You can't wipe off my delivery! Good thing I carry extras, come here!"

But Sayo was already out the door, nearly running to avoid another one of those… kisses. "Do I really have to deliver this? I guess I have no choice… I don't want to anger any of them," she mumbled to herself once she felt she had made a safe escape.

XXX

Outside on the deck, Asaji was scrubbing the wood floor, trying her best to make sure it was spotless.

Every so often, she would glance around her, taking in the beauty and the calming atmosphere her new home had. Just as the thought had crept into her mind, she shook her head, expelling it.

Sayo had told her countless times to think of their arrangements as temporary, and to not get comfortable; they had to finish what they started.

But each passing day, Asaji realized, she became more and more at home with the Shinsengumi.

Interrupting her thoughts, Asaji realized Heisuke was sitting on the porch stairs, watching her clean. She had forgotten he was there, and blushed, embarrassed by her slow progress.

"Why are you scrubbing in circles?" he asked, resting his chin on his hands. "Isn't it much simpler to go back and forth?"

"But it gets cleaner this way. It's a...habit, I suppose? Something I must have picked up a while ago..."

"If you say so..." Heisuke said with a smile, before continuing to watch her in silence.

"Hey, what's going on over here?" a familiar voice said.

Asaji felt her face become warmer, but refused to turn to the owner of the voice as they sat by Heisuke, glancing at her curiously.

"Are you trying to figure out the proper technique of scrubbing the floor, Heisuke?"

Heisuke glared at him. "When I did it, I did just fine..."

"Eh?" Asaji asked, glancing at them; she saw Souji sitting next to Heisuke. "You used to do this, Heisuke-kun?"

"For a bit...they'd just criticize me the whole time..." Heisuke said before sighing. "Ne, Asa-chan, what do you want to do after you're done with the floors?"

At the nickname Heisuke had called her, Souji turned to him with an amused look. "Asa-chan, huh?"

"Hey, we're around the same age, ne, Asa-chan?" Heisuke asked.

"I believe so, yes," Asaji replied with a smile. "And I have a lot of floors to clean before I can even think about doing anything else..."

"Ugh!" Heisuke exclaimed, jumping on the deck next to her. "Okay, I'm going to help you!"

He grabbed an extra rag and ran down the porch wiping down the floor.

"Heisuke-kun! That's not a good idea! I'm supposed to be the one doing the work!"

Asaji watched helplessly as Heisuke made his way back to her, cleaning the floor as he went. "Yeah, but the faster you get done, the faster we can do other stuff! Fun stuff!"

Souji leaned against the side of the railing, his hands behind his head in a relaxed manner. "What kind of fun stuff are you talking about, Heisuke?" He asked, in an almost contradicting fashion.

"I don't know...anything but this!" Heisuke replied.

"Heisuke-kun..." Asaji said, watching as he helped her.

Just then the door slid open and Sayo walked out. "It smells funny in here..." she said, making a face.

"Hello to you, too, Sayo-san..." Souji remarked.

"Oh, good, Heisuke..." Sayo said. "Here...uh...I have a delivery for you, from Nagakura-san."

Heisuke stopped scrubbing and stood up, walking over to Sayo. "From Shinpachi? What could he have for me...?"

Without saying anything, Sayo began to lean in toward him. Heisuke jumped back in surprise. "Wh-what are you doing?"

"...giving you the delivery..."

"I don't want it! Give it to someone else!"

"But..."

"Don't look at me," Souji said, putting up his hands.

Sayo turned and walked back into the house, grumbling, "I hate this stupid job...stupid Shinpachi..."

After her sister closed the door, Asaji walked over to Heisuke. "What happened?"

"I don't know!" Heisuke exclaimed.

Asaji glanced over at Souji for his input.

"Let's just say Shinpachi used Heisuke as a decoy for a delivery to Sayo..."

Asaji nodded a little, not completely understanding what he meant. "Huh...Shinpachi-sama is a funny one..."

XXX

Sayo continued down the halls, still grumbling to herself. Never in her life had she felt so degraded. As she was about to give up on her task for the time being, she saw Hajime walk by; he nodded at her as she passed, still not showing the expression she secretly longed for.

She spun around suddenly, having a realization. "Matte! Hajime!" she called out.

Hajime stopped and looked over his shoulder at her, "doushita?"

"Excuse me but...could you deliver this to Heisuke for me." She ran up to him and before he could react, raised herself on her tiptoes and planted a chaste kiss on his lips. Then quickly she ran back down the hall and around a corner.

Hajime stood frozen with his eyes wide, a blush slowly spreading across his pale cheeks. "Eh?"

XXX

"Okay, I think we've got this deck done…" Asaji wiped her slightly moist brow with her bare arm. "Only one more to go…" She smiled at Heisuke. "Thanks for helping me out…"

"No problem." Heisuke smiled proudly, lifting his head from the floor has he ran; butt in the air, with a rag in his hands sliding against the wood.

"You guys are making pretty good progress." Souji turned to see Hajime stepping out onto their deck. "But I think someone else is here for a delivery for our Heisuke-kun…"

"Sorry Asa-chan, I gotta go!" At the sight of Hajime, Heisuke quickly ducked into the house and out of sight.

"…Where'd he go?" Hajime asked looking around, a sickly expression on his face.

"Who?" Souji questioned, smiling playfully.

Hajime looked over at Souji, his expression didn't change but something in his eyes did. He began to walk toward Souji, slowly and rigidly.

"…H-Hajime?"

As Hajime reached Souji, his various hours in training kicked in; quicker than Souji could fathom, Hajime kissed him, touching his lips for less than a second.

"Give that to Heisuke," he said and calmly walked away.

Asaji watched Hajime's back until he was out of sight before turning to Souji. "So...that's what Shinpachi wanted to deliver to Heisuke...? But...why?"

Souji wiped his mouth. "It was really for Sayo. He used Heisuke as an excuse. Little did he know it'd go this far..."

"I'm sorry..." Asaji said sadly. "But maybe you could stop it here? That way Heisuke-kun is safe?"

"Are you kidding? Stop here? No way! I can't let Hajime down, the same way Hajime couldn't let Sayo down..."

"But if it was just a joke Shinpachi was playing, really there wouldn't be anyone that would be let down..." Asaji replied as she leaned over and picked up the cleaning rags.

"Silly Asa-chan. So young, so naive..."

"Eh? Well, since you're so intent on continuing this...that means you have to kiss Heisuke-kun now, right?" She asked, tilting her head slightly to the side.

"Good point..." Souji said tapping his chin. "Ah!" He pulled out a piece of paper, pen and ink before scribbling something down. "You still have a lot of floor to clean, get to it."

With that, Souji walked out of the room, and immediately saw Kondou who had stepped outside for a breath of fresh air.

"Ah, Kondou-san!"

"Hello Okita. You look like you're in a hurry, is something that matter?"

"Ah, I am very busy today... So busy, that I don't have time to take care of this... Do you think you can help me out? The directions are all here," Souji replied. He handed him the piece of paper, then turned back as he quickly made his exit. "SanQ Commander!"

Kondou watched Souji leave before glancing down at the note in his hands. He unrolled it and his eyes widened. "Kiss...Heisuke...? EH!"

XXX

Hijikata sat at his desk in his room, writing quickly and precisely on long rolls of important-looking papers. His face was fixed in a serious expression as he concentrated on the black ink that flowed flawlessly from his brush.

When he had finished with the sentence he was on, he looked up at paper lattice walls and narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "I feel as though something bad is happening..."

Just then there was a voice outside of his door, and when it slid open, Kondou was in the doorway.

"Ah, Commander, I'm almost finished with your scrolls. Give me a few more minutes."

"Ah, yes, good...I have another matter to discuss with you..."

Hijikata placed his brush on a small stone holder and looked expectantly at him. "Yes?"

"Well... It's less of a discussion, and more of a ... favor... Well, no, not a favor, an order, really..."

Hijikata raised his eyebrow. "What is it?"

"Here are the... details. Please, do not let me down."

"You can depend on me Commander," Hijikata said.

Kondou handed him the note and stepped out of the room, sliding the door closed behind him.

Hijikata waited a moment before unrolling the message and glancing it over. "Oya?"

He rushed out of the room, clutching the note in his hand. Sayo was walking by, and saw him. "Ah... Hijikata-san, you look upset. Can I help you with anything?"

Hijikata looked over the note once more, before shaking his head. "No, Sayo-san, this is something I must face on my own," he replied as he walked past her, a determined look on his face.

Sayo shrugged and continued on her way.

XXX

Outside, Heisuke was practicing with his sword, lifting it up and down, taking swings at imaginary Choushuu. "...san...shi...go..."

"Toudou..." a voice said behind him.

Heisuke turned and saw Hijikata standing there, staring at the note in his hands.

"Hijikata-san? You look ill..."

There was a slight awkward pause, in which Heisuke stared curiously at the vice-commander, wondering what he could possibly need.

"I can't do it! I can't bring myself to disgrace the Shinsengumi!" Hijikata blurted out suddenly, thrusting the note into Heisuke's hands. "Take it! And know that I fulfilled my delivery!"

Heisuke watched as Hijikata walked away embarrassed, not sure what had just happened. He snapped out of his trance to notice the note in his hands. Slowly and carefully he unrolled it and skimmed it. "Nani?" he said before taking out a brush he had nearby. "I'll show him..."

Translation Notes:

Shitsureishimasu - Excuse me
Iya - No (Gross!)
Matte - Wait
Doushita - What's wrong?
SanQ - Thank you (3Q)
Oya - Oh!
San-Shi-Go - 3-4-5
Nani - What