What makes history (Hijikata x OC)

Heisuke - alive

My name was Heisuke Tōdō, and my heart still beat. Once, I had been the Shinsengumi artillery commander. Yes, artillery commander... we were no fools. The age of the swords was dying, and we didn't want to perish with it. But of course, I had to die in that ambush against Itō-san, the snake that had betrayed all my beliefs and used my doubts to lure me out of the only place I'd called home.

Today, the sun was hiding with the clouds, and I didn't feel its harsh light weighting down upon me. As I walked around, more aware than I had ever been, I wondered why I wasn't more spooked about becoming a Rasetsu.

I was still me, member of the Baka trio, and happy to be reunited with the Shisengumi as Itō had disappointed my hopes. But Tōdō Heisuke couldn't join his men for the usual drill, neither could he appear in the dōjō to perform katas and traditional bushido.

As my feet carried me around the engawa almost silently, I sniffed the air – rain and damp earth –, observed the last leaves upon large trees, and heard the tiniest of flickers in the air.

I'd never been so attuned to my surroundings, never had such control over my body. My speed, my strength, my abilities had increased tenfold. And for the moment, the drawbacks – sensitivity to light, mainly – weren't quite enough to cause me regret.

Later ... time would tell. I had been opposed to the Ochimizu from the start and now... I owed the elixir my life. I owed Sanan my sanity, as his research had modified the elixir to allow rasetsu to be more than soulless killers.

I was on my way to Kitsu's rooms; Harada told me she blamed herself for not being able to save me from that slash in the back. A deep gash from shoulder to hip that should have killed me. Poor Kitsu; didn't she know she had saved my life? That man she shot was about to slice my head off as I lay, writhing upon the ground.

A strange noise greeted my ears as I approached her room. First, she was panting heavily, and the slight smell of sweat reached my nose. Then, it seemed like something dragged on the tatami mats. I announced myself.

"Hairi," came an out of breath response, as curt as Hijikata's usual greeting. I frowned; was she experiencing another attack after the poison? Worried, I pushed the sliding door open, only to freeze upon the threshold. Kitsu was ... spinning. And again. And again.

It was strange sigh; her body infused with so much energy as she whirled on one leg, the other wrapped around, then extended, then wrapped for another turn. Then two turns. Her face was red, her braid flying about, curling at the nape, her features determined as she watched the wall after each turn. Eventually, Kitsu stopped, panting heavily, and greeted me.

"Hey, Heisuke. I'm glad to see you."

Alive. But she didn't say it.

"What are you doing?", I asked, puzzled by the form of training she was going through.

"I'm working my balance centre," she explained. "Those are called fouettés, and they aim at training the internal gyroscope that keeps you from falling over when you turn your head. Or climb on rooftops..." She paused, then, and grit her teeth in annoyance. "Or try to escape an irate Oni's blade."

When she started another set of turns, backwards, this time, her balance failed and she fell upon the tatami. I was by her side at once, yelling her name. She stopped me with a lifted hand, sitting awkwardly on the floor.

"It's alright, Heisuke-kun. I just can't master the turns in the counterclockwise direction. That's all."

"Perhaps your body is not healed yet. I heard... I heard what Itō-san attempted to do. I swear if I had known, I would have run all the way back here!"