According to the latest news, the Shinsengumi's newest recruit was named Itou. Harada had taken the time to tell them—during a training session he had with Kai—that Itou was both an excellent swordsman as well as an orator, and Hajime and Haru knew that meant he was dangerous. A sword is powerful, but words, when used properly, could cause much more damage.
Chizuru was washing the clothes on the ground below the open corridor, ignoring the sun overhead, as You approached her. Noticing him, she dusted off her dress and stood up. Hajime watched from the shadows with amusement, knowing exactly where this was going. Kai and Haru were standing near a tree, absorbed in a conversation, seemingly ignorant to Kakeru and Koi in the tree above them.
"So, would you like to go out to the... um..." started You, before he was left at a loss for words.
"To the amusement park?" asked Yoru, hopping down from the open corridor, his arm healed with nothing but a light scar to show he had ever been injured.
"To the movie theater?" asked Arata, stepping beside You and throwing a hand over his shoulder.
"Or maybe to a concert?" asked Aoi, an elbow on Yoru's shoulder.
Chizuru didn't seem confused, but rather amused, which seemed quite strange to Hajime. Something was nagging the back of his mind, but he couldn't put the feeling into words.
"You realize none of those places exist, right?" said Arata.
"That's not..." You sighed, as Shun appeared out of nowhere and pulled Hajime forward. Hajime almost lost his balance in the surprise attack.
"Who wants to bet Chizuru isn't actually Chizuru?" asked Shun, as Kai and Haru stopped talking near the tree to listen. Kakeru and Koi hopped down from the tree, landing in between Kai and Haru, both of whom stepped back in surprise. Rui and Iku sat down in the corridor.
Chizuru covered her mouth with her hand before shaking her head indignantly. "Of course I'm Chizuru!"
"Really? What's your mom's name? Your father's relatives?" asked Shun, his eyes gleaming. Hajime wondered why he was interrogating Chizuru as if she was a criminal, and what had brought this on.
"My dad doesn't have any relatives. My mom is Maiko Sorano." Realizing what she said, she buried her face in her hands and sighed, as Shun's smile carried the light of victory. Hajime finally realized what he was feeling. The belated realization that this girl was lost in time too.
"Ayame Sorano," she said, looking up and running a hand through her hair, a gesture uncommon to the girls of the past. "That's my name."
"Timeline?" asked Hajime.
"The 21st century. I was—am—a stage actor."
Hajime glanced around, and Iku shrugged in response. "Never heard of her."
Chizuru winced, as Hajime sighed. She started explaining her plays in detail, speaking of instances in practice, in rehearsal, on-stage.
"You were Rin in the play 'Finding the Lost,'" recalled Hajime. It was one of the few stage plays he had watched on television and he remembered a dark-haired girl with blue highlights playing the role of a delinquent. He smiled. The running-her-hand-through-her-hair gesture was something unique to that delinquent she had played.
"Someone knows me!"
"How did you happen to be here?" asked Haru, tilting his head.
"I fell off the roof—" Haru winced "—and then I woke up as Chizuru." She told them how a portrait of Koudou and his name was all she had to go on, and how she only knew the name of the girl she was because one of her neighbors called her by it. "I'm searching for a way home."
YOU ARE READING
Dimensions
Fanfiction"Shun, what did you do this time?" "It wasn't me. I would've chosen a better location," he said, standing up and looking around. "Haru, what do you think?" asked Hajime. Haru looked around with his keen eyes. "This looks like the past. Everyone, st...
