Trying to Kill Each Other Doesn't Count as Flirting (or Does it?)

Chapter 13

(F/N) sat in the common room at Shinsengumi Headquarters. Before her, the shoji doors were wide open, allowing the cool spring breeze to waft inside, and she sat with her back to the room, staring out into the courtyard.

The whole day had been a blur. That morning, the Mimawarigumi had visited, and spent several hours asking her questions, which she'd answered as best she could when her brain felt like mush. After they left, Okita and Hijikata sat her down and made her eat something, every bite tasting like sand in her mouth. Hijikata had left at some point, but Okita remained, sitting at the table with a book in his hands.

Now she sat staring at the courtyard, wishing everything would disappear.

Footsteps sounded in the hall, and the door slid open. A glance over her shoulder and the smell of smoke told her Hijikata had entered the room. He sat across from Okita, and took a draw of his cigarette before speaking.

"I've gotten in touch with the head of the Hitotsubashi clan."

(F/N) froze.

"You mean...Nobunobu-sama?"

"Yeah." Hijikata exhaled a cloud of smoke. "After all, what happens to you from this point on is up to him."

(F/N) flinched. She hadn't even thought of that. She was seventeen years old, and now that her parents were dead...Hijikata was right. She was in Nobunobu's custody.

"Well?" she prompted. "What did he say?"

"He says you're going to live with some distant relatives in Kyou."

Her blood froze.

"What?"

She wasn't sure who spoke first—her, or Sougo.

"He can't do that!" (F/N) snapped, scrambling to her feet. "My home is here, my friends are here—my everything is here! He can't just send me away!"

"Hijikata-san," Okita said, drawing his sword. "I think you need to die."

"He's going to move you to Kyou, whether you like it or not," Hijikata said, "and this isn't my fault! Haven't you ever heard of don't shoot the—"

(F/N) threw a kunai at his head. He barely dodged, and by the time it hit the wall behind him, she'd already run out of the room into the courtyard, as fast as her legs would carry her, until she collapsed to her knees by a tree. She pressed her hands over her ears, wishing she could block out all the raging thoughts in her head.

Why...why did this have to happen to me?

"I'll kill him."

She didn't know who she meant—Hijikata? Nobunobu? No, there was only one person she wanted dead, and that was the person who'd taken her parents from her.

Footsteps crunched on the ground behind her, but she didn't turn around. Those footsteps were familiar, after all. She'd recognize them anywhere.

"(F/N)," Sougo said, resting a gentle hand on her back, "don't worry. If anyone tries to take you away, I'll make sure they regret the day they were born."

(F/N)'s shoulders relaxed. That's right, Sougo was there. He wouldn't let anything happen to her. Everything would be fine, as long as he stayed by her side. 

For a moment, everything seemed to click back into place.

Then he added five extra words.

"Because I'm your friend, remember?"

~o0o~

Her friend. What a joke.

Sougo sighed. Of course he didn't want her to leave, but it wasn't like that gave him the power to override Nobunobu's command. Still...when he saw her crying...it broke his heart. He had to do something to make her smile.

However...

He paused in the middle of the hallway. (F/N) was safely in his room, set up with several manga volumes. Now it was time for him to reflect on what he'd done. He didn't even know whether Hijikata would even let her stay another night, much less whether he would be able to keep his promise.

With that in mind, he heaved a sigh, and continued down the hall.

Look at me, making promises I can't keep. That girl's turned me into an idiot.

Oh, well. Time to pull out some of that old blackmail material on Hijikata.

Author's Note: Hello! Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and if you did, please remember to vote! Also, the next chapter may include some slight spoilers for the Courtesan of a Nation arc of the anime, and assumes you have prior knowledge of that arc. If you have not seen it, please do so before proceeding (or don't, whichever suits you best.)

-Marguerite Partello