Days in the Life of a Shinsengumi Freeloader - 1

Chapter 1: Where There's Smoke, There's Fire

~*~

The Shinsengumi, being an all-male organization, did not allow women into their ranks (though there were very hushed rumors that, in his past life, first division captain Sougo Okita was a woman). As a result, it was rare to see women on the premises, unless they were suspected Joui members that had been taken in for questioning.

There was one major exception to this rule, an exception that had existed since she moved from Bushu to Edo. Mitsuba Okita, the first division captain's older sister, lived at the Shinsengumi headquarters - mainly because she had nowhere else to go after her fiance's death, and because even those Shinsengumi that were not Sougo adored her.

Every day, she thanked the heavens that she was still alive; she had experienced a very close brush with death not too long after her arrival in Edo, and it was only thanks to the timely intervention of alien technology that she survived. Even though her illness no longer posed a threat to her life, she was still sickly, and as such, the people who housed her often went out of their way to keep her from being exposed to anything that might aggravate her lungs.

Mitsuba appreciated their concern, but said concern also meant that, with a few exceptions, she was unable to see the vice-commander Toushirou Hijikata. And while she knew her brother wouldn't allow it even if she was healthy, she still wished that she could visit Hijikata more often.

It was really a shame. She often considered trying to convince him to quit smoking, but the odds of that actually happening were too low to even consider.

In spite of that, ever since her little brush with death, Mitsuba came to notice the brighter things about every day that passed. Today was no exception; though the sun was hidden behind dark clouds and the low rumble of thunder could be heard in the distance, she knew that the cleansing rains would leave the world shining in their wake.

And then, the last thing that kept her mood down - her loneliness - was shattered. The vice-commander's subordinate, Sagaru Yamazaki (whose hair had mysteriously disappeared for some reason or other), slid open the door to Mitsuba's room and waved her over.

At first, she didn't recognize him, so she said nothing until she could see his face a bit better. Then, she tilted her head and said, "Yamazaki... was it? Good morning. What brings you here this early?"

"Ah, um..." Yamazaki rubbed the back of his neck abashedly. "The vice-commander told me to come and inform you that he'll be visiting you today. Captain Okita tried to stop him, but... well..."

As the young spy indicated his absent hair, Mitsuba let out a quiet laugh. It was good to see that, if nothing else, her brother hadn't changed at all.

"...Well, thank you for informing me, Yamazaki," Mitsuba said, smiling. "If you can, please tell Toushirou that I'll be looking forward to seeing him again."

Yamazaki bowed, then offered Mitsuba a smile of his own. "I'll tell him right away, don't worry! But first, I need to... take care of this..."

Mitsuba watched as Yamazaki left, trying desperately to quell her joy. Even though Hijikata's subordinate had ended up with a problem of his own as a result, it was good to know that the vice-commander had planned one of his rare visits. Perhaps there would be time to discuss important matters, such as convincing the rest of the Shinsengumi that Hijikata's presence alone would not kill Mitsuba... although the odds of accomplishing such a feat were phenomenally low thanks to Sougo's determination to make Hijikata's life miserable.

And while there was the fact that Hijikata's visits did make Mitsuba much happier, Sougo still didn't approve of them for more reasons than just his grudge against the vice-commander - the younger Okita had a sister complex that made the Yorozuya's bespectacled manservant, Shinpachi Shimura, look like a lightweight by comparison.

Maybe a meeting with the commander was in order for both Mitsuba and Hijikata... after all, he was one of the few people that Sougo listened to.

~*~

The relationship between Hijikata and Mitsuba was... complicated, to say the least. Even before the founding of the Shinsengumi, Hijikata preferred living life on the edge - he was unpleasant and irritable at his best and downright violent at his worst, so he often got into fights. There were few things that could calm the Demonic Vice-Commander, and as it turned out, Mitsuba was one of them.

However, when Hijikata left for Edo with Sougo and Kondo, he had pushed Mitsuba away. At the time, she was downright heartbroken, even if - deep inside - she understood why he had made that decision. Time did not erode the feelings Mitsuba had for Hijikata, and when they met again in Edo after Mitsuba moved, her emotions went haywire and she ended up in the hospital.

After she recovered from that incident, she discovered that her fiance, who was the reason she'd moved to Edo in the first place, was using her to obtain the favor of the Shinsengumi for the Joui cause. This knowledge almost caused another attack, but it was much easier for Mitsuba to recover this time - even though the news had come as a shock, she accepted it in stride and turned her attention to other matters instead.

It was obvious enough to everyone in the Shinsengumi that Hijikata's bizarre change in personality around Mitsuba meant that he still felt strongly about her. As a result, most of the members were torn on what to do about them, and, for many, the only thing that held them back from arranging a marriage between Hijikata and Mitsuba was the fact that Sougo still lived on the premises.

After hearing about Hijikata's plans to visit her, Mitsuba made a note to herself to have a little chat with her brother about causing hair problems for the vice-commander's subordinates.

It was afternoon when Hijikata arrived; the sky had cleared up a bit, but it was still raining, and the forecast called for more thunderstorms later that evening. Mitsuba contented herself with watching the rain and listening to the weather lady - and then, the door to her room once again slid open, and she looked over with a pleasant expression on her face.

That expression changed to a mischievous smile when she saw the unusually red face of the Demonic Vice-Commander.

"Good afternoon, Toushirou." Despite her change in demeanor, Mitsuba greeted Hijikata with the same polite tone as always; it wouldn't do to tease him after he went through all that trouble just to meet her. "It's good to see you again... could you please extinguish that cigarette? I don't think it's doing my lungs any good."

Reluctantly, Hijikata removed the offending stick from his mouth and used a rather convenient ashtray to put it out; then, he walked over and sat beside her, keeping his distance as best he could. "...Your brother's a pain in the ass. Could you tell him to stop trying to blow me up?"

Mitsuba tilted her head, inquisitive. "Is this what you wanted to visit me about? I'll admit that Sougo's behavior can get... tiring at times, but it's not that easy to convince him. I've... tried to talk him out of it before, but he just won't listen..."

Hijikata remained silent for several seconds, hesitant to answer Mitsuba's question; then, he coughed and turned his head away. "Th-that's not the only reason. I..."

He turned his gaze to the floor, blushing hard.

"...anyway, if you can't convince him, we should talk to Kondo about it. I'm used to Sougo trying to kill me, but it's gotten worse ever since you came back."

"That's not a good thing to get used to, Toushirou," Mitsuba pointed out, though she knew that the poor man likely had to get used to it, knowing her brother. "At any rate, I don't think it's an immediate problem, so... let's sit together for a while. We can talk to the commander later, okay?"

She slid a hand toward Hijikata's, and he made an effort to covertly move away from her.

"...fine," the vice-commander muttered, his voice quite a bit softer than usual. "But... no touching. If Sougo sees us... holding hands or something like that, I can't guarantee your safety."

Mitsuba raised her other hand to her mouth and giggled. "I'd be more worried about you, Toushirou. I don't think he'll take any unnecessary risks regarding me."

Hijikata twitched, but said nothing; as much as he hated to admit it, she had a point, meaning that his excuse fell flat. After a few more seconds of awkward silence, he shifted a bit closer and offered his hand to Mitsuba.

"And you really should consider quitting smoking," Mitsuba said, as she laced her fingers with Hijikata's. "It's bad for your health, and Sougo can use it as an excuse to keep us apart."

Before Hijikata had time to respond, the door to the room slid open once again. Yamazaki stood in the doorway, wearing a wig that looked nothing like his original hair; he stared at the couple for exactly five seconds, then started backing away.

"Ah, I-I'm sorry, I... I'll leave you two alone, so-"

Before the spy could make his escape, though, Hijikata had already stood up and drawn his sword. "YAMAZAKI!!! IF YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT TELLING SOUGO ABOUT THIS, THEY'LL NEVER FIND YOUR BODY!!!"

Mitsuba only watched with an amused smile as Hijikata chased Yamazaki out of her room; it was good to see that, despite the addition of some new faces, their little group hadn't changed a bit.

~*~