Love at first sight (Heisuke x OC)

Chapter 31: A night they'll soon forget

{The shogunate had set up a notice board by Sanjo Ohashi Bridge, this board was created to publicly declare the Choshu enemies of the court. However, the board was not appreciated by some people who had pulled it out and dumped it into the Kamo. The shogunate had the board replaced, but the same thing happened again. To prevent this from happening a third time, the Shinsengumi were ordered to guard the notice board.}

Nagakura walked into the common room and plopped himself down on the tatami mat. "Ohayō Nagakura" I greeted him with a smile.
"It's anything, but a good morning" He moaned. "*Yawn* You know I was up all night guarding a damn board? Tiring work, that's for sure" Since Nagakura was yawning, I couldn't really tell if he was being sarcastic or not about the guarding work being tiring. "Now fighting off scores of Choshu punks-that I can do! But guarding a piece of wood? It's just hard to get pumped up about that, you know?"
"Well, it's still an important job whether you like it or not I'm afraid" I reminded him.
"Yeah, yeah. I know. Still...Maybe something'll happen tonight. Tonight is...you, right Sano?"
"Sure is. I will discharge my duty with honour and enthusiasm" Harada smiled as if to provoke his nakama. Nagakura seemed to take the bait and was just about to respond when we heard footsteps approaching us.
"The whole shogunate army could not defeat a single domain. Do they really believe killing a few nameless ronin for defacing a piece of wood will do them any good?" Itou walked in, wearing a tight smile that had a twist of irony to it.
"Itou-san, you got a problem with the Shinsengumi's duties?" Harada's expression turned angry at Itou's words. That guy just has to sour the mood, doesn't he?
"Oh no, nothing of the sort. Even guarding a board is an important task. Well, best of luck to you. If you'll excuse me..." He left the hall, giggling to himself. He came in here to purposely piss someone off then leaves giggling because of his accomplishment? What is he five? As soon as Itou's footsteps receded, Nagakura spat out a curse;
"As much of a pain in the ass as usual, huh? We get hired by the shogunate and he goes around talking about how much better the emperor is"
"I've caught him sneaking around a couple of times, trying to recruit some of our guys into...well, something. Who knows what he's up to?" Harada shared his suspicions with us. "I still don't get why Kondou-san brought him"
"Unfortunately, only Kondou-san himself knows that" I sighed.

Night

{That night they struck, or at least tried to. Eight men from the Tosa Domain challenged Harada and his division in an attempt to tear down the notice board. The fighting was furious, but ultimately short. Harada managed to capture some of the perpetrators, though some of the Tosa he captured later managed to escape. Harada and the 10th Division were honoured by the Aizu Domain for their service to the shogunate and were given a reward.}

Several days had now passed since that night. Harada decided to treat his nakamas using his reward money. Which is why the captains had gone to enjoy a meal at Sumi. Heisuke-kun had invited me to come and Harada supported him leading to my joining them. I wasn't entirely sure Sumi was the sort of place a girl should be celebrating in, but the two were persistent on getting me to join them. Well, it's better than staying at the compound where I could run into Sanan so I can't complain. I decided to wear my pink two tone kimono along with my hairpin. I had tied my hair up into two buns. Plus, it's nice to go out on an occasion where I can dress up!

"Well I'll be damned! You really did it, Sano!" Nagakura cheered. "And to think you want to use that reward money to treat us all to some good food...Well!" It was transparently clear that Nagakura was ecstatic with Harada's decision.
"If you're going to suck up, you might at least try and mention how he actually got that reward" Souji pointed out with a smirk. He seems to be acting like he always does around me...I wonder if the sake really made him forget...
"I'll get to it!" Nagakura exclaimed defensively. "I'm just so touched that he's going pay the bill...I think I might cry!" Nagakura's tone turned emotional, it did sound like he was actually about to cry. He also began speaking faster. "Tonight's on Sano, guys! Drink as much as you want! Forget all your problems!" Nagakura announced.
"Hey! Don't go nuts, all right?!" Harada warned.
"Arigato Sano-san! I'm gonna drink myself baka!" Heisuke-kun shouted.
"Not everyone here can drink, you know" Souji stated, there was a hint of sadness in his tone that I noticed.
"There's more to do than drink, you know. Eat, for instance" Hijikata-san suggested with a smile.
"...Yeah, guess you're right. Hell, if Sano-san's paying, why not?" Souji shrugged in agreement. Just then, the door at the other end of the room slid open. An oiran in a beautiful kimono stepped into the room to greet us with a dazzling smile;
"Konbanwa, minna. Arigato gozimasu for coming. I am Kimigiku and I will be entertaining you tonight. Please enjoy yourselves. Food will be arriving shortly"
Once the food arrived, the celebration quickly got into full swing. "Man, expensive sake is way different! It just goes down so smooth!" Heisuke-kun exclaimed pleasurably.
"You haven't even touched your food Heisuke. If you drink on an empty stomach, you'll get drunk before you even have a chance to enjoy it!" Nagakura reminded him.
"Whatever. You know how often I get booze this good? Never! Filling up on food'd just be a waste of stomach space!"
"You sound like a bum. Just drink up" Harada spoke up.
"Hey, just 'cause you drink like there's a hole in your stomach doesn't mean the rest of us can" Heisuke shot back.
"You having fun Chiyeko? Doesn't look like you're drinking much" Nagakura had suddenly turned to me.
"I'm content just eating this delicious Manjū. Besides, I'd rather not get drunk"
"Well that's no fun. Tell her Sano!"
"Shinpachi's right, this is a party. Live a little"
"Yeah! You definitely won't regret it Chiyeko-chan! This stuff is great!"
"Eh, why not?" I drank some sake and gasped. "Wow, this really does go down smoothly!" The expensive bottle I bought can't even hold a candle to this!
"Told ya you wouldn't regret it!" Heisuke-kun showed me a large grin.
"How right you were!" I enjoyed the surprisingly delicious combo of Manjū and expensive sake.
"Still, can't believe they gave you all this cash just for protecting a board. I mean hell...Imagine how much you would've got if you'd caught all of 'em!" Nagakura suddenly brought up the reason Harada had received the reward money in the first place. "How did they get away, actually? You said there were only eight. That should've been pretty manageable"
"Yeah! What's up with that?!" Heisuke-kun exclaimed in agreement. Though, Harada didn't look too happy being reminded of his failure. "I mean, you surrounded 'em, didn't you? How'd they get away? And how'd the guys you actually caught escape?" That didn't stop Heisuke-kun pestering Harada for answers. The man being questioned fell silent as a frown took over his face.
"After we'd surrounded the Tosa men who'd tried to take down the notice board...this...girl showed up and got in our way. Because of her, our whole formation fell apart" There was a moment of silence before Nagakura spoke up in a loud voice;
"Well...like they say: shit happens! But tonight, Sano's payin' so let's drink till the sun comes up!"
"Seconded! Time to find out just how much of this stuff I can handle!" Heisuke-kun agreed cheerily. It was amazing how a few words from Heisuke-kun and Nagakura got the party started again.
"Hey Chiyeko-chan, ya enjoying yourself?"
"Hai. The food, drink, everything is just great! I'm really glad you invited me to come Heisuke-kun, arigato"
"Don't mention it! I couldn't possibly enjoy myself knowing you were alone at the compound"
"Well, I'm glad you feel that way"
"You're important to me Chiyeko-chan, of course I'd feel that way! Anyway, more sake?"
"Hit me!" Heisuke-kun poured me another cup before pouring himself one.
"This is definitely an event I will never forget!"
"Considering the amount of sake you're drinking, you most likely will" I pointed out.
"I better enjoy it while it lasts then, eh?"
"You do that Heisuke-kun"
"Don't need to tell me twice! Bottoms up!" He drained his sake dish in one gulp and poured himself another one.
"That isn't exactly what I had in mind, but knock yourself out Heisuke-kun" I shook my head with an exasperated smile on my face. Knowing how much Heisuke-kun liked to drink, he most likely would knock himself out by drinking too much. He loves his sake, what can you do? I thought to myself with a shrug before delving into the food until I was full. Just drinks for me now. I poured myself another saucer of sake.
"I see you're wearing the hairpin I gave you" Souji suddenly addressed me causing me to momentarily panic.
"Huh?! Y-yeah, it's a nice hairpin so it'd be a shame not to wear it...!"
"True, you clean up nice you know"
"What's that supposed to mean?!"
"Whatever you think it means" He smirked.
"You're so annoying..." I sighed.
"It's what I do. Oh, before I forget. Here" Souji handed me a box.
"What's this?" I eyed the box suspiciously.
"It's not a bomb or anything dangerous so stop looking at it as if it is"
"That doesn't tell me what is in the box"
"A new pair of sandals. Your old ones are broken. I told you to get some new ones, but you obviously have been putting it off"
"Oh ari-Wait a minute! If you remember that my sandal broke, that means you remember...!"
"Shh" Souji smirked as he put a finger against my lips. "It'll be our little secret" Knowing that Souji had remembered what he did caused my face to flare red. "Wow, never seen you go that red before" He chuckled and I threw the box at him. "All right, gomen! Just don't throw your gift at me!"
"I'll be sure to use the sandals when I next go out, arigato Souji"
"No problem" I quickly downed my saucer and poured myself another one. If I drunk enough I could blame the redness of my cheeks on the sake and hide my embarrassment.
A few minutes later, Harada suddenly stood up and addressed the whole room in a loud clear voice; "Well, now that we've had enough to drink, I think it's time for the main event!" Main event?
"Yeah! Go for it Sano! I've been waiting for this all night!" Nagakura encouragingly shouted.
"Right on! All right guys, pay attention! This stomach is not a common, run-of-the-mill stomach! Oh no! For this stomach knows the taste of a blade!" Harada announced with a lopsided grin of pride. He's definitely drunk...I sweatdropped as he pulled open his shirt and pointed at the ugly scar that crossed his belly. Kimigiku feigned polite interest at Harada's drunken act.
"Hey that's nothing to brag about!" Nagakura stated after letting out a hoot of laughter. "Some punk said you were just a thug who didn't have the balls to cut himself open and you just had to prove him wrong, didn't ya?"
"Of course I did! I'm a man! Gotta defend my honour"
"That wasn't real smart Sano-san. What were ya gonna do if you actually killed yourself?" Heisuke-kun asked.
"Well, I figured I'd cross that bridge when I came to it. I mean, a samurai is always looking for a way to die. Or not"
"Well then, to honour your, er, honour..." Nagakura pulled a brush, seemingly out of nowhere and with its accompanying ink began to paint on Harada's stomach.
"Hey! Whadda ya think you're doin'?!" Harada's voice rose in shock and anger.
"It's such an amazing scar...You're really lucky there Sano...You treat it good, maybe someday it'll give you a bunch of little baby scars!"
"It's a scar, you idiot , not a girl!"
"Oh man! I can't take it!" Heisuke-kun suddenly burst out laughing. "Everyone you talk, it moves! It's like a mouth!" He held his stomach as he laughed, I could even see tears coming out of his eyes. There's no one in the world quite like these three, that's for sure. I let out a quiet giggle as I watched the three of them tumble around the room like children.
"Men never grow up, do they?" I questioned to myself as drank more sake.

By now, I had drunk enough sake to make me completely and utterly drunk. I was no longer in control of my mind, nope. Now the sake sat in the driver's seat. Maybe that's why I agreed to play a game I never would've agreed to if I was sober.
"Okay, I've got the chopsticks!" Harada came back into the room with a handful of seven chopsticks. "Everyone remember the rules? Whoever draws the two short chopsticks has to stay together in a room for seven minutes"
"Yeah, yeah. We know the rules, let's draw the sticks already!" Heisuke-kun complained.
"Keep ya pants on Heisuke!" Nagakura shouted out.
"Everyone draw a chopstick!" We all gathered around Harada and drew a chopstick from his closed hand before sitting back in our places.
"I don't know why I agreed to play this game..." Hijikata-san sighed.
"Come on, Hijikata-san. Don't be such a stick-in-the-mud" Souji prodded Hijikata-san with his elbow.
"You're the reason I don't want to play this game!"
"Being stuck in a room with Hijikata-san for seven minutes, I wonder how much damage I could cause" Souji smirked causing the elder man to glare at him. Though Souji being Souji, ignored it completely.
"The moment of truth! Let's reveal on three. One...two...three!" Everyone opened their hands. There was a mixture of responses in the room.
"Damn, my stick's long. So much for my fantasy" Nagakura complained with a sigh. For some reason, he looked at me when he said that.
"Mine's long too. Out with it, who's got the short sticks?" Harada questioned looking around the room. My stick's short...I wonder who has the other one. "Stand on one if you've got a short stick" Harada began his countdown from five and when he reached one, myself and Heisuke-kun stood up.
"The two kids got the two short sticks, how fitting" Souji stated.
"Well go on you two, you know the rules. You can't come out until seven minutes have passed" Harada got up and ushered us into another room, devoid of any company. "Be warned that we'll come get you if you're not out in seven minutes. That said, have fun!" Harada left and now we were both alone in the room.
"Soo...what should we do...?" I questioned in an attempt to break the silence.
"Something crazy" Heisuke-kun suddenly hugged me.
"This is your definition of crazy?"
"Iie" He placed a hand on my cheek and locked eyes with me. "This is" He then closed in until his lips were pressed against mine. My eyes widened at first, but then I closed them as I kissed back. I let out a moan of pleasure at the sweet and gentle sensation that emanated from our joined lips. Heisuke-kun broke the kiss and just stared at me for a few moments. My cheeks reddened as he did this.
"Don't just stare at me like that" I moaned before taking the reigns and kissing him myself. This time Heisuke-kun moaned in pleasure as he ran his hands up my back. I removed his hair tie so I could run my fingers through the length of Heisuke-kun's hair as we kissed. This time I broke the kiss. "Now nani?" We laid ourselves on the floor before continuing with the kissing. We had kissed so much that I was breathless from the lack of air. That breathlessness led to us both losing consciousness. Although, I suspect that the sake was partly the reason for our sudden loss of consciousness.

In the morning, I had woken up with a massive headache. Needless to say, I had trouble remembering exactly what transpired last night. I asked the captains at breakfast and they all gave me strange smiles in response, except Saito-san. So after breakfast, I went to Heisuke-kun in hopes he would be able to refresh my memory, but he had forgotten too. Just what happened last night...?

DISCLAIMER: SOME lines or scenes MAY have been taken or adapted from Hakuōki/Hakuouki: Memories of the Shinsengumi. THIS DOES NOT APPLY TO ALL CHAPTERS!!!