Love at first sight (Heisuke x OC)

Chapter 18: The Battle of Ikeda Inn

Hello!

The music is to be played when the protagonist runs into Ikeda Inn.

I repeat the music is to be played when the protagonist runs into Ikeda Inn.

Thank you!

~~~~~

I was outside staring at Aka Tatsu's blade. I don't want to stay here...I want to help..."Hey Chiyeko-chan!"
"Heisuke-kun? Shouldn't you be getting ready for the raid?"
"They're fine without me. Besides, I wanted to spar with you" He held up two wooden swords. I sheathed Aka Tatsu and took one of the swords.
"Okay, why?"
"You'll see" We both took up fighting stances. "Don't hold back. Act like this is a real fight"
"Hai!"
"Go!" Heisuke-kun rushed for me and I sidestepped to dodge before swinging my blade towards him. He quickly turned and blocked my blow. I pushed against his sword, but it was clear I wasn't going to be able to beat him like that. I jumped back and ducked to avoid a swift swing from Heisuke-kun. I raised my blade high and Heisuke-kun raised his to block. I smirked and quickly changed my target to Heisuke-kun and managed to hit him hard in the arm. I guess that ronin wasn't completely useless. I continued to dodge his swings until I suddenly lost my footing and fell.
"Ah!?" Heisuke-kun's sword quickly pointed itself at my throat. "Darn rock, I wouldn't have lost if I didn't trip!"
"Don't be so hard on yourself Chiyeko-chan" He held out a hand to me and I took it. He pulled me to my feet and grinned. "You've made massive amounts of progress! Your improvement is that much more unbelievable since you couldn't fight at all before!" This is as good a chance as any!
"You said I've improved, right? Well let me show you how much I've improved in the raid tonight"
"Okay"
"Really!?"
"The reason I wanted to spar with you was because I wanted to determine if you were ready for something like this. You definitely are. If you hadn't asked, I would've told ya you'd be coming!"
"Arigato gozimasu Heisuke-kun!" I bowed before hugging him tightly. "I won't let you down!" I let him go and he smiled with a blush.
"You better not" Why's he blushing? "We should probably help the rest of them before Hijikata-san finds us"
"Good idea, let's go Chiyeko-chan!" He grabbed my hand and pulled me inside.

Preparations for the raid were in full swing and I found myself overwhelmed by all the soldiers and officers that were running back and forth. Heightened tension hung thick in the air and despite my efforts to ignore it, I felt it beginning to affect me. This is gonna be my first raid with the Shinsengumi...I'm so excited, yet nervous at the same time! Heisuke-kun had told me to wait in my room, even though I wanted to help everyone prepare. He said it'd be better for me to sit in my room and prepare myself for the raid. As I paced around my room, two voices could be heard. "We're heavily lacking in manpower. Kondou-san has only ten men ready to go into battle"
"Man, half our guys are out with stomachaches. Hijikata-san and I only have twenty four men available apiece. Not exactly a laughing matter, eh Saito?" Harada chuckled derisively. From the snippets of conversations I'd heard here and there, I had pieced together that Kondou-sama would be taking his men to the Ikeda Inn and Hijikata-san would be taking his to the Shikoku. "So...do you think we'll bring 'em along on this one? It's a night mission. It'd be perfect..." "Them"? Wait, he can't mean-"We've lost a few of them over the months, but there should be enough left for the raid right?" He is! He's talking about furies!
"I heard they won't be seeing combat for a while. They're having...difficulty adjusting" Going out on killing sprees is not something I'd call "difficulty adjusting"! "They stop listening to orders as soon as they see blood. It's...inconvenient" Come to think of it, that fury that caught me was crazy for my blood. He was screaming for it and everything...Is that their energy source or something? Wait, iie I shouldn't be thinking about this! I'm not supposed to know anything about furies! I stopped pacing in my room and became very still, hoping they wouldn't notice my presence. Although, considering they hadn't already I was probably in the clear. Still, it didn't hurt to be safe. I couldn't let them know I'd heard everything they said. I quietened my breathing as my shaking hands clasped one another in an attempt to cease their trembling.
"...They've gotta be spinning in their graves. Didn't they choose to do this so they could fight?"
"Sano, you only say that after someone's actually dead"
"Yeah, I guess you're right. They aren't really dead, are they? In fact, they're even harder to kill now..." I need to make sure I hear no more of this...! I quietly slipped out of my room through the outer door, removing myself of being a recipient of their conversation.