Chapter 2
"Are you deaf?! I SAID GET OUT!" a booming voice echoed just as a blue haired boy was tossed out of a sliding door. Keiko started as he landed in front of her, groaning in the dirt.
"Serizawa-san seems quite cheerful today." She snickered as she spoke the words, reaching a hand to help the boy up. He glowered as he accepted the help and the two began to walk away from the commander's room.
She had only been there a couple weeks now, but Keiko was adapting well to being in the shinsengumi, unlike the boy who had been tossed into her path. She felt a bit of pity for Ryunosuke, an artist had no business in a place like this. Despite his brusque mannerisms and apparent rudeness, he was actually a kind-hearted boy. Soft, she thought to herself as she stared at him. She sighed and turned away.
"Does he have an errand for you today?" She cast a sideways glance towards him. He shook his head, avoiding her gaze. "No, but… I think he might be sick…" The last part was barely a whisper. He looked incredibly concerned for the drunkard. Keiko smiled at the boy.
"You seem quite concerned, considering how ungrateful you usually are." She joked. He glared at her, she only smiled wider.
"You've only been here less than a month, what would you know." He growled, turning his sulking gaze away from her. Her smile never left her face. "I am observant, but anyone can see that you don't really want to stay here." She said cheerfully, ignoring his glare. "Or, perhaps you're right. I know nothing." Her smile grew wider as she spoke, and Ryunosuke couldn't help but to allow a small smile to cross his face as she did so. Her personality was infectious. She had a quiet pride that made it hard to doubt her, and no matter what she was always cheerful and carefree. And, above all, she was very wise. She seemed to have a youthful arrogance, but he saw through that. Ryunosuke hadn't known Keiko for very long, yet he trusted her judgement for reasons he could not even begin to fathom. He sighed as they passed through the courtyard.
He thought back to the first day Shinpachi had brought her to the headquarters. He thought she might be a goddess by how the light had caught on her skin, the way she strolled through the gates as though she were the commander. And then the way she fought! Ryunosuke was convinced that she must not be human, she fought so elegantly and without much effort. She took down their strongest captains with ease, in fact she had made each and every one of them look like novices the way that she dispatched them one after another. He had never felt so much admiration as when he watched her fight. Even now, she trained with Heisuke every other day and he still was amazed.
"So Serizawa has become ill…" Keiko's beautiful voice snapped Ryunosuke from his thoughts. He noticed the lack of honourific and looked at her, confused by her lack of respect. He knew that she was prideful, but she had still always been polite. Even when she wasn't around the person she was talking about, she would still call them by the appropriate honourific. He gave her a questioning look, but she appeared deep in thought. He supposed that must be the cause for her sudden lack of manners. "Interesting." She suddenly veered off to the left, heading for the courtyard where the members usually trained with Saito. Ryunosuke shrugged, intending to continue on his way. "Come along, Ryu. You can watch my sparring match with Heisuke today. Maybe you'll learn something."
Ryunosuke groaned, loudly. Keiko continued walking, not waiting for him to argue or complain. Truth be told she had started to develop a soft spot for the men she now spent her time with. Nagakura and Heisuke were always lively and she found their enthusiasm endearing, Harada was responsible and dependable and she found it quite enjoyable to spar with him. Okita was quite mischievous and was always sarcastic, but he was fiercely loyal and she knew that he was a worthy warrior. The same could be said for Saito, although he was very quiet and soft spoken, Keiko had discovered that he was actually very passionate and intelligent. She found Hijikata and Kondo to be deserving of the respect these men gave to them as well. Kondo was friendly and inviting, although a bit too trusting. She felt relief to know that the rest of the Shinsengumi was there to watch his back and keep him from getting hurt. Hijikata was perhaps the most endearing, in a way. It made Keiko's heart swell to think about him… She often thought that he was quite motherly towards his men. He often worried franticly over them, fussing like an overbearing mother and scolding them when they did wrong. Him and Okita often got into small spats, in which Okita felt that Hijikata was a bit too overbearing and Hijikata accused Okita of being too reckless. In fact, the more time she spent here, the more it seemed that the captains of the Shinsengumi really were just a big family.
However, two stood out from the rest. Serizawa, who would go from a drunken bliss to a full blown rage in seconds, and Ryunosuke, a soft-hearted artist who was swept away on a whim by Serizawa. Neither of the two seemed to belong to this family, both of them outcast, yet in different ways. It seemed to her that the others were ostracizing Serizawa for his reckless and aggressive behaviour, whereas Ryunosuke's exclusion seemed to stem from an unspoken wish to protect the boy. It was as clear as day that he did not belong among the Wolves of Mibu.
The more she saw of Ryunosuke and Serizawa, the more she worried for the boy. Despite the rough and, frankly, abusive manner in which Serizawa treated Ryunosuke, he clearly had come to depend on the older man. If something were to happen to Serizawa, Keiko feared for the boy's future.
As the pair walked, the courtyard slowly came into view. By the stand which still held all the training weapons, Heisuke stood as he examined the sword he would be using to train with that day. He noticed the two approaching and turned to beam at them, his friendly smile warming Keiko's heart. It was next to impossible to be anything but cheerful when Heisuke smiled like that. It was infectious.
"Heey~, Ayama-san! You brought Ryu this time?" He spoke gleefully, gesturing to the blue-haired boy who was slouching next to Keiko. She smirked before slapping his shoulder, causing him to jerk upright suddenly. "Indeed I did. I think he could learn a thing or two from watching us today." She grinned down at him. "Starting with posture, you need to stand up straight if you want people to respect you." Ryunosuke groaned deeply. This was going to be unbearable, he could tell already.
Keiko walked over to the weapons stand to take one of the many varying spears. She took a mock glaive off of the stand, the weapon she had grown the most comfortable using over the years. She turned back to see Heisuke and Ryunosuke talking amongst themselves, Heisuke bearing one of his friendly grins and Ryu looking as though Heisuke was about to try and feed him some insects. Keiko chuckled before heading back to join them.
"Don't look so gloomy, Ryu. I'm not going to have you actually do anything, I just want you to watch. And pay attention!" She spoke gently to him, but she held a certain firmness to her voice so that he wouldn't dismiss her. Ryunosuke looked at her sheepishly before sighing. "Why do you want me to watch anyway?" He groaned. Keiko huffed in irritation. "Isn't that obvious? You know nothing about defending yourself. You would be hopeless on your own." She shot him a knowing glare, hoping that Ryu would catch the implication she was making. The surprise and then sadness in his eyes told her that, yes, he did catch it. She turned to Heisuke then, who had been waiting patiently.
"I would like you act on the defensive today, Heisuke. Focus on blocking and evading my advances in order to escape, not to strike me back. Ryu," She spoke his name firmly, and he focused on her entirely as she spoke. "Pay attention to Heisuke's movements. He is far more advanced than you, but you should be able to pick up at least a couple things from watching him." Ryunosuke nodded before turning his attention to Heisuke.
With that, Keiko began her attacks. She rushed towards Heisuke, slower than she usually would so that Ryunosuke could see clearly. Heisuke did well to block and evade her, dodging carefully to avoid her glaive and ducking around when she moved to counter him. Whenever he would successfully block her, he would throw his weight into pushing her back enough for him to have time to back up. A few times, Keiko would rush forward to try and snatch Heisuke's weapon, or to trip him up as she had the first time, but he had learned quite a bit since their first battle and expertly dodged her attempts. The match went on for some time, Keiko slowly picking up the speed of her attacks, until eventually she was able to outmaneuver Heisuke, and she brought down a particularly powerful strike to his chest. She noted, however, that he was improving steadily day by day. She was growing quite proud of him.
Heisuke collapsed onto the ground, groaning as he grasped his chest. "Ayama-saaan~, that hurt so muuuch~!" He whined. Keiko sighed. "Honestly boy if you think that hurt then you will do very poorly in real battle." She heard Ryunosuke chuckle from his spot under the sakura tree, his arm resting in a relaxed position against his knee. Heisuke huffed as he pushed himself off the ground and pointed an accusing finger at the boy. "Oi! Don't you laugh! It's not like you could do any better, Ryu!"
Before they could continue their bickering, Keiko handed her mock spear to Heisuke on her way to stand above Ryunosuke, gesturing for him to put it away. "So, Ryu. Did you learn anything?" She stood menacingly above him, her arms crossed in a stern manner. He gulped heavily before responding. "Well… I mean I did, sort of…" He started, his voice wavering as he spoke, earning him an unimpressed glare from Keiko. He cowered before her, clearing his throat desperately before he continued. "What stood out the most to me was, er, when Heisuke-san used his weight to push you back. It seems to me that would have been the best opportunity to escape…" Ryunosuke trailed off, unable to bear the weight of Keiko's gaze. He sheepishly looked up at her, praying that his answer had been satisfactory. When he saw the expression on her face, he was surprised to say the least.
Keiko was smiling brightly at him, Heisuke grinning beside her, and holding her hand out to him to help him up. "Very good, Ryu! Had it been a real fight, that exact moment would have been the perfect chance to escape! Force your enemy to stumble and get some distance between you, then you have your opportunity to get away." She said, clearly quite pleased by his answer. "You know, if you put some effort into learning how to fight, you would probably be quite good. I would be willing to teach you, if you want." Ryunosuke accepted her hand and rose to his feet, but shook his head begrudgingly at her offer as the group began to walk out of the courtyard.
"I… I don't want to learn... " He turned his gaze away from his two companions, and Keiko sighed. "Well, alright. But, Ryu," She grabbed onto his sleeve, forcing him to look at her before she continued. "I worry about you, you know. If you ever need my help…" She tightened her grip on his sleeve, silently communicating her intentions. She didn't want someone like Ryunosuke, a kind hearted artist, to fall victim to vicious circumstance. He was brought into the Shinsengumi against his will, given no choice but to stay and do their bidding, and while he was treated fairly for the most part… Keiko found it unbelievably unfair to think that he was completely at their mercy. She hoped that she might be able to help him escape this unjust fate. Ryu looked down, biting his lip, before looking back up at her and nodding in an exaggerated manner. Keiko could see tears threatening to fall from his eyes, and she smiled as she released his sleeve from her grasp.
"That goes for you as well, Heisuke!" She turned on her heel suddenly, stopping Heisuke in his tracks. He looked shocked. "I am a part of the Shinsengumi now, so I want you to know; I'm on your side, you can count on me to be there to help. All you need to do is ask, okay?" Although Keiko didn't touch him, her presence was overbearing and he felt a sudden weight pressing around him. Her gaze held him in place and for some reason, he felt nervous. He gulped and nodded slowly, unable to find words to say. This was enough for her, though, and she smiled.
"Well," She started, turning to face the two boys. "I'm heading to take a bath before dinner, so I'll see you both later on." She waved dismissively as she finished her sentence, turning to walk towards the baths. From the corner of her eye, she could see the two looking sheepishly at each other, both of them apparently still uncomfortable from the afternoon's events. Keiko grinned to herself as she turned around a corner, heading for the baths.
Yes, she was growing quite fond of many of the men here. A frown crossed her face as she thought about it, a sense of unease building in her core as she continued to think on it. They all seemed friendly enough, but she couldn't shake a feeling that the group was hiding something. She just couldn't bring herself to fully trust them. It had been quite a long time since she had trusted anyone, really, and now that the opportunity to do so presented itself, she found that she was incapable of actually lowering her barriers. She liked them all, yes, and she felt an urge to protect them as well. She even felt obligated to train Heisuke, to help him become a stronger warrior. Yet, still she did not trust any of them. Her frown deepened as she felt the unease in her gut grow, her brow furrowing and her gaze lowering to the ground as she walked.
Suddenly, she was snapped from her thoughts as she landed face first into a hard - well, something. She stumbled backward slightly before regaining her composure and throwing a glare at whatever had gotten in her way, as though just by looking at it she would make it move. Her glare didn't last long, however, as her eyes landed on a beaming Shinpachi rather than a wall or a pole, which was what she had been expecting. A blush crept across her cheeks as she realized that she had just walked face first into Shinpachi's firm chest.
She bowed deeply. "I'm terribly sorry, Nagakura-san!" She straightened and rushed to walk past him, only for him to catch her by the arm and hold her in place. She looked at him, mortified that he would keep her here after such embarrassment. Shinpachi chuckled and his smile only grew at the look on her face.
"What's the rush? I don't mind you bumping into me." He said as he released her arm. Keiko looked away in embarrassment, still blushing profusely. Shinpachi sighed. "I know you're a proud woman but it really isn't that big of a deal. What's up with you anyway?" He brought his face closer to hers, trying to examine her expressions. She twisted her face uncomfortably, leaning away from his prying eyes. "What do you mean?" She grumbled. He straightened up, crossing his arms before eyeing her suspiciously.
"You looked upset so I called out to you, and you didn't even respond at all, then you bumped into me. You were totally spacing out!" He accused, slouching his shoulders as though the situation made him tired. Keiko felt her blush return and looked away from him. "Ah. That." She sighed. "Don't worry about it, Nagaku-"
"AND THEN THERE'S THAT!" Shinpachi suddenly shouted, raising a fist into the air dramatically. Keiko jumped from his sudden outburst. "W-w-what?!" She shouted back, more than a little shocked by his behaviour. He grinned at her and aggressively grabbed onto her shoulders, causing her even more uneasiness than before. "You keep calling me 'Nagakura-san', it's too polite! It's weird." Keiko deadpanned when she realised how dramatic he was being over such a thing as her being 'too polite'. She sighed, giving him an unimpressed glare.
"What do you want me to call you, then?" she spoke in a monotonous tone, making it very evident that she was 100% finished with his antics for today. He looked thoughtful for a moment, his hold on her loosening slightly, before his grin returned and his grip tightened again.
"By my name! Shinpachi! And I will call you Keiko-"
"If you say 'chan', I will end you." She growled out. Shinpachi laughed out, refusing to release her from his grasp just yet. He admired this woman greatly, but he also wanted to be closer to her. He couldn't put a finger on what he was feeling just yet, but he knew that she had peaked his interest and proven herself to be more than worthy of his respect. Her prideful nature amused him to no end, and her kindness inspired him. He grinned down at her, completely ignoring the half-hearted glare she was directing at him. She sighed in defeat after another moment of him just holding her in place.
"If I call you 'Shinpachi-san', will you be satisfied and let me go? I was planning on having a pleasant bath before all this you know." She looked up at him, pouting. He found himself at a lost for words for a moment, suddenly stricken by the look on her face. He had found her quite beautiful ever since he first saw her, but this pouting face looked… Well, very cute. He mentally shook himself before his usual smile returned to his face and he nodded, releasing her from his grasp at last.
"I won't hold you here any longer, then. Glad we cleared that up, Keiko-san!" He beamed at her again, and she offered a small smile of her own in return before heading towards the baths once again. As she left, she couldn't bring herself to stop smiling. The muscled man had lifted her spirits, even if she still didn't trust any of them, she at least knew that she would enjoy her stay with them. Her heart warmed at the thought of Shinpachi's smile when she said his name, and although she couldn't quite understand why just yet, she felt unbelievably happy.