Cherry Blossoms and Forgotten Love

Chapter 6

Chizuru's pov~

I woke up the next morning and sat up rubbing my eyes. Last nights events rushed to my head and I dared to look over. What I saw turned my cheeks pink in an instant. Hijikata was sprawled out laying on his back his shirt that was once fully buttoned now was completely unbuttoned exposing his lean well sculpted chest. One of his arms was across his face. Right then it hit me. He's older then me, mature... I wonder how old he is...

 "What are you looking at?" I heard him ask in a low sleepy voice. I looked him in the eye. He looked curious. My face turned a darker shade of the pink that was already there. "N-Nothing." I said quickly. His lips pulled up into a smirk. "I was wondering... Eh, how old are you exactly?" I asked. He pushed himself into a sitting position and raked a hand through his hair. "23, why?" He asked. That old... My face scrunched up as I did the math on my fingers. "6 years apart... wow." I breathed. "Not freaked out I hope." He said grabbing me by the waist and pulling me into him. I shook my head with a smile. "Good." He said smiling slightly and pressing his lips to mine sending my heart into an erratic rhythm. He pulled away. 

"I just have to ask... who is the better kisser?" He asked. His face was so serious. I could feel my face burning. "D-Does it matter?" I asked. "Mmm, to me it does." He said grabbing my chin. There is no way out of this. I sighed. "You do." I said taking one of his hands into mine and placing it over my heart that was still beating erratically. "Only you can do this to me." I said looking away. "I wonder..." He mused. My eyes widened when he leaned into me. I felt his lips brush against the skin under my ear. I felt my heart stop, skipping a couple beats then race. "Ok, ok I'm done. Don't have a heart attack please." He said laughing and pulling away. My face was no doubt red. "I can't believe you sometimes." I said grabbing my head. We got out of bed and went to the kitchen to make breakfast.

I glanced at Hijikata who casually leaned against the counter. "Can't you at least button that up?" I asked awkwardly. "Why?" He asked his lips pulling up into a smile. "For one it's distracting, two my friends could show up any time." I said. "Distracting?" He asked. I sighed in defeat. He chuckled and buttoned his shirt up. "You love teasing me don't you?" I grumbled. "I live for it." He said grinning.

Hijikata's pov~

I don't remember being so relaxed around people. Not like this. Not in this life. Her cheeks were flushed pink which was almost a regular thing. She looked up at me curiously. "Why are you staring at me like that?" She asked. My lips pulled into a gentle smile and I rested my hand on her head. "You're cute when you blush like that." I said pulling her into me. "Eh.... uh... what?" She stammered. I chuckled and kissed the top of her head and let her go grabbing the food she prepared for me. "Thank you." I said. She smiled and nodded.

 We ate and her doorbell rang. I saw her face turn into horror. "I told you, I'm already going to have to fight accusations." She said frowning. I grabbed her chin. She never learns does she? "What did I say about frowning?" I asked calmly. She sighed and averted her eyes. I quickly kissed her before she scrambled for the door. She opened it revealing every one of her friends... And Harada. I wonder what he's doing with them... He saw Okita's eyebrow raise when his eyes met mine then looked at her with a look that said exactly what he thought happened.

 "Don't look at me like that, nothing happened." She growled. Okita laughed and I have to admit I was trying to hold in a chuckle myself. "He just stayed the night." She said letting everyone in. "We need to figure out how we're going to hide this." Harada said. They all took seats in the living room. He could see Chizuru frantically looking for somewhere to sit. I grabbed her by the waist and pulled her onto my lap with a sly smile. 

Chizuru's pov~

I gulped and tried to suppress the red trying to find its way onto my face. "Clearly any contact at school would be... Risky." Saito said. My face fell. That was true... I nodded. "At lunch I suppose we could all join you in your room Hijikata-san so that it's less suspicious." Harada Suggested. "This seems like so much work. Are you sure you don't want to just date me?" Okita said. I felt Hijikata's grip on me tighten. "I wouldn't be saying that in front of Hijikata-sensei. We might find you under a bridge one day." Saito said with a sigh. Senhime giggled. Heisuke and Harada both looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Its cute." She said. "And tragic." Heisuke said. "I'll figure it out. It will work." Hijikata vowed loosening his grip. "So, what will we do today?" Heisuke asked casually  folding his arms behind his back. "We could go to the beach." Senhime suggested. "It's almost winter." Saito commented. "We don't have to swim, we could have a bonfire." I said. "Sounds fun." Heisuke grinned. "Then it's settled." Saito said. "I have marshmallows." Harada grinned. "I have everything else needed to make a proper s'more." Okita said. "I have to go shower and change. I'll meet you there alright?" Hijikata said. I nodded.