Hakuouki Shinsengumi Kitan: Find Love in War (Hajime Saito)

Chapter 22

Chapter 22: A Peaceful Day Gone Wrong

A few days later...

Things start to calm down. There were barely any trouble or criminal activities. And the street has been quite busy lately ever since the peace. There are people who welcome the peace, but there are people who wonder when the so-called peace will end. There will always be trouble lurking around the corner.

Today, the Shinsengumi stay home and relax. There was not a lot to do with how peaceful Japan has been lately.

In the middle of the morning, Okita, Nagakura, Harada, and Saito train at the courtyard. After a little while, Okita, Nagakura, and Harada are taking a break from training by the stairs while Saito continues to train. Chizuru, who has a bucket of dry clothes, walk by and have a conversation with the boys.

They were discussing what happened between Nagakura and Itou. The former was invited out to eat with the latter and was asked a lot of question. Itou wanted Nagakura to quit the Shinsengumi, but he refused. And apparently, the same happened to Saito. After the conversation turns cold, Nagakura starts to wonder about Haruka.

"By the way, Chizuru, have you seen Haruka today?"

"I ran into her earlier, but she left in a rush before I could greet her."

Nagakura looks disappointed. "Eeeh. Where could she be in a rush to? I want to spar with her."

"I don't have a clue."

Chizuru lowers her head as she recalls what happened before she met with the four boys. 'Haruka was...crying...' she thought as she remembered seeing a fleeing Haruka with teary eyes.

Haruka went to town without notifying Hijikata. She knew the demon of Shinsengumi would not tolerate it, but she was in a rush that she forgot to notify him. She has things to do in town that she doesn't feel like mentioning to her fellow Shinsengumi members. It would only make her sad if she talks about it.

As Haruka stop by a merchant who is selling accessories, a kid bumps into her.

"Sorry, sir!" the boy said. Then he ran off before Haruka can say anything.

Haruka knew what happened, or get the feeling she should. She pat where her money should be and feel that it's not there. She just got rob by the boy that bumped into her.

"What bad luck," Haruka said under her breath.

Without wasting any second, she chases after the boy. The boy looks back and has a panicked look in his eyes. Haruka was coming in fast, just fast enough to catch the little thief. The boy run faster and when the time comes, he turns around the corner.

By the time Haruka finally catches up with the boy, he was cornered in the alleyway with a group of thugs. Five of them surrounding the kid.

Since they were too busy to notice, Haruka shout, "Hey!"

The boy and the group of thugs turn their attention toward Haruka.

"What do you want?" one of the thugs asked.

"Let the boy go," Haruka replied.

Another thug scowled. "This is none of your business. Piss off!"

With a shrug, Haruka says, "No can do." She points at the coin bag in the boy's hand, or try to, to the best of her ability. "That coin bag belongs to me."

"Oh. Do you have any proof?"

"Well, I-"

The boy attempt to escape while Haruka and the thugs are busy with their conversation, but one of the thugs caught him.