HAKUOUKI: Back in Time

Chapter 23

~Why not listen to music while you read?~

May 1865

Three months have passed since we had moved the headquarters to Nishi Hongwanji, and three months since Sanan's turning. After Sanan's situation was cleared, the next one was me. I had discovered their secret and they didn't know what to do with me. I was put in a tight position once again. But, the Shinsengumi had mercy. They allowed me to stay despite everything that had happened. Kondou is a very nice man.

The new headquarters was definitely larger than the last. It took Chizuru and I several weeks before we could find our way around.

Turning a corner near the back of the compound, I caught sight of someone sitting in the shadows.

"There, you are, Sanan. Your food is ready."

"Oh, hello. Thank you."

The snow had disappeared, the cherry blossoms had bloomed and fled, and now the swallows and the heat had come. Sanan and I exchanged a pair of smiles.

"It's getting really hot lately." I say while fanning myself. 

"Yes, it has. Unfortunately, the heat and sunlight aren't particularly pleasant for me."

It must be really hard for Sanan. He has to hide in the shadows or stay indoors during the day. It must be unbearable. But this kind of makes him seem like a vampire. 

The night he had changed, Sanan's hair had turned white and in his eyes had been a thirst for blood.

The Shinsengumi's greatest secret... For just a moment, the sun lit of Sanan's hair. And suddenly his hair turned into that brilliant white, or so I thought.

"Ah!"

"Is something the matter? You look as though you've seen a ghost, which I hardly feel is polite."

"Oh no. It was nothing at all." I must have imagined it.

Heisuke, Chizuru, and I made our way through the crowded streets of Kyoto at a brisk place.

"You know, I haven't gone out on patrol with you in quite awhile, Heisuke." Chizuru said while smiling. I on the other hand was preoccupied with my thoughts. That drug, they said it came from the West. Does it exist in the future? I wonder if the future is dealing with it in secrecy too. 

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I guess not. Edo had me pretty busy. Shin and Sano didn't bug you while I was gone, did they?"

"No, they were perfect gentlemen. I'm fine." Chizuru answered happily. I wonder how she can keep up with being cheerful after all that's happened. I wish I could be a little more like her. The whole drug thing has gotten me a little depressed to be honest.

"They look out for me when we're out on patrol, but I still haven't found any information about my father though..."

"Yeah, I stopped by your place in Edo after you told me where to find it, but... uh..."

"Oh... Well, thank you wore taking the time to look anyway."

"C'mon, cheer up! Who knows? He might just pop up someday."

I hope Chizuru's father shows up soon. I didn't want her to be like me, an orphan. 

"You're right. Besides, you're all helping me look, so I've got to find him sooner or later. But what about you? You haven't been back in Kyoto in awhile."

"Hm. Well... I sort of feel like the town has...changed. So have the people."

"Heisuke?"

"Hm...? Hey, Souji! Find anything over there?"

"Nope. Everything is normal." 

Okita was out on patrol as well, although his route took him through a different part of the city than ours. He gave us a short nod of acknowledgement, then looked back toward Heisuke withe a snicker.

"Well, normal for now at least. I'm sure things will pick up once the shogun gets here."

"The shogun's coming to visit Kyoto?" Chizuru asked.

"Yep. It's got Kondou all worked up too."

"Oh yeah?... Yeah. I bet he is..." 

That was unlike Heisuke. Did something happen?

"*Cough* *Cough*"

"Okita, are you alright?" I asked.

His face was tight with pain, and his coughing was getting worse. 

"You should be worrying about yourself." He said in between coughs. " You got bags under your eyes."

I guess I do. I haven't been able to have a good night's sleep for the past three months-

Okita glanced up and looked across the street. His eyes narrowed at something behind me, and I turned in time to see a ronin stumble backwards.

"Whoa whoa! Whadda ya mean, no?!"

"Stop it! Let go of me!"

"We're patriots, fightin' everyday to kick those damn foreigners outta our country! The least you can do is give us a little ooze! Or maybe even, heh, a little...company...?"

Across the street, a clump of men, perhaps three or four were harassing a young girl. That's sick.

"We have to help her!" Chizuru cried.

I felt Heisuke tense up next to me. "I know! Stay here,okay-"

Before he could finish, a flash of blue cloth shot past us, toward the dangerous knot of men.

"Well, well well. Guess being a patriot doesn't mean what is used to if we got men like you throwing it around."

"You... You're one'a those Shinsengumi fellas, ain't ya!"

"Ah, you must be the brains. So tell me chief, what's it gonna be?"

His lips curled back into a predatory smile as his hand fell to the haft of his sword. There was no mirth in that grin, and the ronin's faces abruptly grew several shades paler.