Samurai's Blossom - A Hakuouki Fanfic [HAITUS]

Chapter 6 - Oni

This chapter is dedicated to AleBrasil01! Happy reading!

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Sara pov:

"So, are all of my men healthy, Sara?" Kondo san asked while looking over what I was writing in my log book of those of the Shinsengumi – every one of them from Kondo san himself and the captains to all the footmen.

"They're all mostly healthy, I suppose, but lacking enough nutrition. I think I'll have to make them some nutrition pills to take every day for at least a month to up their stamina and overall health," I said while looking over the assessment I had written down. "And we have to clean up the headquarters – many of the men seem to have mild dust allergies. How long has it been since you cleaned the whole headquarters anyway?"

Kondo san gave a sheepish laugh. I figured that it had been ages since they last cleaned. I laughed with a shake of my head and closed the log book before standing.

"Do you have any important meetings or battles today or tomorrow?" I asked him.

"Hmm, no, I don't think we do. We just have usual training and practice sessions," he answered after thinking with a hand near his chin.

"Well then, you should tell everyone that their training session is going to be cleaning the whole headquarters until its spick and span," I said, "and Chizuru and I are going to be overlooking everything. It's time to give a girl's touch to this place."

"I suppose it's true that a home without a woman's touch isn't a home at all," he responded with a laugh. "Well, this place is our home considering the fact that we all live here as a family."

Kondo san was like the father figure to everyone here more than a mere leader. I had seen the feeling of attachment from Okita san the strongest. It was then that I understood why he was so cautious about trusting me – he was loyal and wholly devoted to Kondo san, seeing him as the most important person to him, and he didn't want anyone to do anything bad to him. The initial bitterness I had towards him had faded and I treated him like I treated all the others of the Shinsengumi without getting upset when I received nothing more than a cold shoulder in return most of the time.

But I was almost sure that he was just beginning to warm up to me these days – after almost a month since I began working as the Shinsengumi's doctor – because he wasn't as hostile as before. But we still had a ways to go.

I had also noticed that he had frequent coughing fits, most of which left him exhausted for a while after it stopped. He was beginning to become a little pale and thin and it was worrying. When I had done a check-up on all of the Shinsengumi members today, I had got the chance to check up on Okita san as well, for he couldn't avoid it when everyone else was being examined.

I was nothing short of was shocked and troubled by what I had found out. I had written down his diagnosis as lung congestion and a sore throat because of the 'don't-you-dare-let-others-know-I'm-sick' glare he had given me but it was far worse than that – he had tuberculosis. And the stuffy, dusty air in the headquarters and Kyoto in general was only aggravating it.

The modern world had a cure for the illness but how could I treat it here? How could I help Okita san when this time was so...primeval??

"Sara? Are you alright?" Kondo san asked, breaking my train of thought.

"Huh?" I asked dumbly for a moment.

"You were frowning. Is something the matter?"

"O-oh, no, nothing's wrong," I answered, forcing a smile and involuntarily glanced at Okita san as he laughed while speaking with Chizuru and Hijikata san. "I was just thinking of the medicines I need to restock."