Love at first sight (Heisuke x OC)

Chapter 30: The unexpected

Heyo!

Just here to say I know Souji is WAY OOC in this chapter. I apologise in advance for that. Though, in my defence he IS drunk and people DO act differently under the influence 🤷🏾‍♀️

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I was on patrol with Heisuke-kun. Hijikata-san had ordered every member of the Shinsengumi to be extra vigilant and ready to jump into a fight at moments notice. This was because the Choshu may still be in Kyoto. They had been declared enemies of the court after the Hamaguri Rebellion and were driven out of Kyoto. However, some people feared that remnants of their forces remained in the city, in hiding. This led to increased alertness and focus during patrols, both day and night ones. We were currently walking to a certain store that the people of Kyoto were skeptical about.

"It sure has been hot lately, huh Heisuke-kun?" I asked as I swept the back of my hand across my forehead, wiping away several new beads of sweat. Kyoto was a brilliant city, but the humid heat was one thing I could definitely do without.
"Tell me about it...It's days like these that make you long for winter"
"Preach" I joked.
After a few minutes, we reached the store people were having suspicions about. "Well, let's go"
"Ladies first" I rolled my eyes at his attempt at sarcastic humour and entered the shop. "I'm from the Shinsengumi. I have come to inspect your store" Heisuke-kun announced to the shop keeper.
"H-Hai, sir. Of course" Just before we could start our inspection, a commotion started up outside.
"I have to go check that out-"
"I'll go Heisuke-kun, don't worry about it"
"You sure?"
"Positive. Plus I don't exactly know what I'm supposed to be doing in here anyway"
"Fair point, be careful then"
"I will" I left the store and went to check what all the commotion was about.
"Hey! Outta the way! You got a couple of patriots comin' through here!" A number of ronin were making their way in my general direction. They looked rather unpleasant and that was reflected in their actions. They yelled, threatened and generally intimidated anyone unfortunate enough to cross their path. Patriots? Don't make me laugh. They may consider themselves loyal to the imperial court, but I bet they only use their supposed patriotism as an excuse to steal what they please and kill who they want. "Hey! You deaf?! I told you to move!" The ronin tossed a poorly-aimed kick at a child playing in the street.
"Stop that-!" I was about to give them a piece of my mind, but someone beat me to it.
"Desist, you hooligans!" A girl had placed herself between the ronin and the child. Her yellow kimono looked to be of high quality and her dark brown short hair was well kept. She had four separated sections of her hair that were longer than the rest and were separated by beautiful looking hair ties.
"Wassit? You think you can tell us what to do lady?! Ha! Some woman wants to pick a fight with us?! Patriots loyal to the emperor?!" He reminds me of that ronin who kept giving me trouble...Having lost his patience quite quickly, he shot out his hand to grab the girl, but missed. I suspected his next attack wouldn't be so inaccurate and took a step forward to protect the girl, but it seemed I had no need to. The girl drew her sword and struck the ronin hard in the abdomen with the hilt of it before sheathing it again. It all happened so fast that if you blinked, you would've missed it. The ronin cried out in pain and fell to his knees. That was amazing! "Urgh...hnng...You..."
"Maybe next time you'll think twice before abusing your patriot status" The girl pointedly told him. I walked up to her and the ronin.
"Nice work, that'll teach him a lesson for sure" I saw that the others had begun to slowly back away and I unsheathed Aka Tatsu. "Try to run and I'll knock you out. It won't be pleasant for you, so I'd advise listening to me" The ronin began shaking in their spots and stayed put. "Daijōbu Miss?"
"I'm quite alright"
"That's good" Just then Heisuke-kun came out of the store with his men. He quickly ran over to me.
"What the heck happened here?"
"Just a few ronin abusing their patriotism. What should we do with them?"
"Hmm...Take 'em to headquarters. They could be Choshu"
"Hai sir!" Heisuke-kun's men quickly started binding the ronin for transport. I sheathed Aka Tatsu and turned to the girl.
"I know you didn't do it for me, but I want to thank you regardless for stopping those ronin" I bowed my head. "So arigato gozimasu"
"Wait, you caught them?"
"Why do you sound so surprised?"
"Well...you don't exactly look like the fighting type"
"It's wrong to judge a book by its cover you know"
"Right, of course. Gomen" Heisuke-kun apologised while awkwardly rubbing the back of his head.
"I suspect that this, our meeting here, is providence. Leading me to believe that we were fated to be friends"
"That's a nice thought"
"Though it is difficult to become acquainted with the nameless. Might I inquire who you are, then?"
"I'm Kawaguchi Chiyeko, a female solider of the Shinsengumi's 8th Division!"
"Really? I must say this is the first time I have come across a female recruit of the Shinsengumi"
"You're not the only one who's shocked to see a girl as a member of the Shinsengumi" I admitted rather dejectedly.
"Well in any case, you may call me Sen"
"It's nice to meet you Sen"
"And it is a pleasure to meet you, Chiyeko" She grasped my hand between her own, her face open and earnest. "We must meet again sometime, Chiyeko"
"How about later today? I'm not doing anything so we could meet up for lunch at Ayame's Teahouse?" I suggested.
"Certainly, I like the sound of that! I shall see you again at noon" She gave my hand a gentle squeeze then turned and left. Her kimono flapped behind her.
"Well let's get going. We've fallen behind so we gotta make up for lost time if we wanna complete patrol on time"
"I'm right behind you!" We somehow managed to catch up and finish our patrol on time.