What makes history (Hijikata x OC)

Stuck

Bouncing on the balls of my feet, I waited, and waited. Until the barest of moves caused me to spring in action. Saitō's attack didn't come as a standard upper blow; he went straight to the heart. Almost had me there. Fortunately, my reflexes took over; my opponent didn't expect me to launch myself at him. His slight retreat – an inch, at best – deviated his blade out of the initial trajectory. My left hand shot up, the dagger sliding along his blade to swat it aside as I entered his safe space.

Fast like a snake, I slammed the butt of my weapon into his nose, not strongly enough to break it, but with enough force to make him see stars. Saitō Saitō's gangly body jerked backwards; I tugged on his sword arm, engulfing it around my body and twisting. His wrist slightly popped when I tore the katana out of his grasp, and send him tumbling over. Another twisting motion upon his arm, and he was facing the ground, the tip of his sword caressing his loose ponytail.

It had lasted less than a second, but I was panting from the incredible amount of energy I'd had to deploy to beat him. Stunned, both Okita and Harada watched me, jawslack.

"She got Saitō," Harada whispered. "I can't believe it."

The groan that rose from the ground told me my opponent was still stunned. I grinned, and shrugged to downplay the demonstration. At last, that blasted cloud I'd been waiting for passed over the moon, plunging us into darkness. I released Saitō's sword at once and dashed away under the cover of the trees.

"Eh !" she's escaping ! "Harada !"

Despite the low lights, my eyes had adjusted to allow me to run on the path that followed the river. No choice but to leave my previous pack behind. I hoped they would cut the chase, but the brat was too stubborn for his own good. Already, heavy footsteps shuffled at dead leaves on my tail. If only I could find a tree to hide... I picked up speed, stumbling across roots that littered the ground.

That treacherous moon ! As the silvery light returned, I felt Okita straight behind me. I heard the familiar ringing of steel, then a shout. "Sōji, no !" I ducked by instinct; a searing pain exploding in my arm. The shock caused me to misstep, and I fell. My body tried to twist around like a cat, but the momentum sent me crashing faster than my arms could anticipate. My skull met something hard, and I nearly didn't hear the sickening crack of my own bone such was the strength of the hammer that embedded itself in my brain.

I welcomed the darkness with open arms.

Hours probably passed without me making heads or tails of anything. There was a soft voice, gentle fingers prodding my skull as I drifted in and out of consciousness. An angry voice, as well, much deeper, swore.

"Not a girl again !"

And Sōji – I recognised his snide tone – answering "No", and them something like ikatansan, then "Not a girl. Don't think we can hide her with a hakama this time."

Hakama ? I remembered hakama from my Aïkido classes in high school. I would have snorted had my head not felt like the desert after intense bombing. Was the moan of pain mine ? Probably, for the gentle voice asked the others to leave the room. Right, I'd have to find that angel and ...

Out of it again. Dreams came, unbidden and incoherent. Many a time, I felt I was awake, only to realise it wasn't the case. Damn, I hated this semi state of consciousness. Couldn't I shake out of my daze already! Shadows danced in my field of vision, or was it just my imagination ? A girl's face, worry etched in golden-brown eyes. Jet black air, and a stern face. Others that I mingled.

A loud noise shook me awake; the pain immediately returned. The stinging in my arm wasn't so bad. The pressure upon it told me it had been bandaged. But my head, damn it to hell! My head felt like it had been crushed by an elephant. Fuck, head trauma and concussion! Weeks of inactivity to come, if I was lucky. If the commander of that brat really was a demon, I doubted I'd survive long enough to heal.