Clashing Blades, Cross of Fate

Draft 3

If there's anything that could describe my emotion in that one moment, it would be anxiety

Why? Well when you're providing medical treatment to one of the most infamous militia group in Japan at its start, and knowing full well you're probably going to change history as you did so, and you've probably just made enemy with it's leader, things tend to feel...stressful shall we say

Doubly so if you're having Okita motherfucking Souji hovering a mere three meters from you

I glanced behind me back. There stood the girl from before, her blade sheathed to the side, dangling on the side of the black Hakama she wore in a relaxed manner

Okita's uniform is still in place, though the bob cut hairstyle from before has been now tied into a pony tail with bangs on either side of her face. Cute and adorable, the swordsman's presence radiates a strong sense of lethal harmlessness

She smiled as our eyes met

I turned back, causing her to pout

How the fuck...I swear I've just lost sight of her at the market, but when I came back to the clinic she's already chilling in the chair like nothing happened

"Hey" She poked me in the cheek

Why is she here? Did the Roshigumi's leader told her and Hijikata about my refusal to follow them? That's probably the reason why she's here, to teach me a lesson. Or worse. My paranoia's off the chart now

"Heeeey"

Samurai are nothing like common thugs, they tend to have a lot of pride in themselves and can be easily angered if provoked. But most of the men whom I met are Ronin, who wouldn't feel inclined to hold themselves back from staining their blade with my blood as their more honorable brethren

"Heeeeeeeeeeeeeyyyyy"

And why is Okita Souji a woman? Isn't that a historical contradiction? A guy who is actually a girl. Is this an old version of the term "reverse trap"? Hold up, this is not the time for those kind of thoughts

"Hey!" A sharp poke to my cheek made me snapped out of my stupor.

Reflexively I caught Okita's hand, only to realize what I just did moments later

"You've been ignoring me for the last few minutes now" She pouted "I know you're a doctor, but isn't that stepping out of bounds?"

I released her hand. For a moment, I'm taken off-guard at how smooth and feminine it was. Without the few scars on it, it would look like this girl has never touched a single blade in her life

"Ah, a-apologies for that Okita-san. I was merely thinking about something else"

Then again, something tells me those hands has been stained with a lot of blood as well

I took another look at her to confirm her gender. Although possessing a lithe physique, there's no denying the slight bulge underneath her uniform's chest fabric as anything but a woman's knockers

To actually mistakes this girl as a male...I'll never forgive the Japanese

"What are you here for?" Sighing, I asked her.

In return, the swordsman merely shrugged

"I just want to see you. It's not every day you see someone talks back at a Ronin and come out alive"

She grinned

"It's also not everyday you see that someone, who is considered on par with an imperial doctor, rejected an offer in place of saving human lives. It's something that caught my eyes, is all"