Love at first sight (Heisuke x OC)

Chapter 65: A minor disagreement

Pic at beginning is what I imagine Chiyeko's Western uniform to look like. Art doesn't belong to me! All credit goes to Epic Soldier!

Just had to tell you that, continue on.

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August 1868

{Moving north didn't save us from the Imperial Army's wrath, we were surrounded and Kondou was captured. Our chief had wished to commit honourable suicide when we were surrounded, but our commander convinced him to surrender instead, hoping that perhaps he could survive. With attention diverted by Kondou's surrender, the rest of us were able to escape, but despite Hijikata's best efforts to have his sentence commuted or removed, Kondou was executed.

Though the Shinsengumi had lost their chief and many of their comrades, they continued to push north under their new leader, Toshizo Hijikata. The foremost concern on my and Heisuke's mind, however, was the location of Sanan and by extension, Sen. As we moved north, we heard frequent rumours of brutal murders like the ones we'd heard of in Kyoto and Edo. Men and women of all ages were being slaughtered indiscriminately, their bodies sliced to ribbons. Occasionally, we actually came across these corpses ourselves. They confirmed that we were on Sanan's trail, but they were hardly a pleasant sight. Eventually, our travels took us to the home of the Aizu clan.}

Aizu was a powerful domain in the northeast led by Matsudaira Katamori who was a former Kyoto Military Commissioner. They were one of the few domains that the Shinsengumi could call their allies. When we arrived, we had a meeting with them and it was decided that the Shinsengumi would fight under Matsudaira in several battles to come. In terms of our abode, we were given rooms in a house in the town surrounding Shirakawa Castle. Later that night, after leaving us a surprise, Hijikata-san sent for Heisuke and myself.

Night

After changing into my new western inspired uniform, I went to Hijikata-san's room to join him and Heisuke. Though, when I saw Heisuke I froze. He was looking at himself in contemplation with a frown on his face.

"C'mon, don't you think these look kinda weird? They're tight in all the wrong places" I stared at Heisuke in wonder, he was almost unrecognisable. "Heeeeey Chiyeko. You listening?" His voice was obviously the same, as was his height, but his appearance was different and when I say different I mean different. Perhaps taking my silence as shock, Heisuke turned to Hijikata-san for his opinion. "...Hey Hijikata-san. Do I look funny?"
"That matters? Clothes are clothes...Why are you asking me anyway?"
"Well, I mean look at her. She's totally in shock. I figured I must look pretty hideous" He gestured to me before sighing; "Man, I told you they're funny lookin' Hijikata-san"
"Just shut your mouth, you little brat. If you spend more time with it and less time running that whiny mouth of yours, you'll get used to it"
"Why the hell are you trying to get us into Western clothes all of a sudden anyway? Back in Kyoto you were the biggest hardass in the world when it came to foreigners and their stuff"
"Look, we're going to start using rifles and western clothes are going to make shooting easier"
"The hell?! I don't use a rifle so wouldn't it have been cool just to keep on wearing what I had?" Heisuke asked looking shocked. "You made me cut my top-knot! For nani? Nothing! Look at her reaction. My girlfriend thinks I look baka" Heisuke's eyes narrowed in what I perceived to be anger towards Hijikata-san before glancing over at me indignantly. Which managed to snap me out of my trance, so to speak.
"Nani, me? I'm not staring at you because of what you're wearing, you baka"
"Don't call me baka! Why else would you have frozen up and kept quiet since you got here?!"
"Well, that's..." Everyone had gotten new uniforms when we arrived in Aizu, including me. I was basically used to them by now. No, this was because of Heisuke's hair. He'd always kept it long before so seeing him like this was a big shock, but it was a good big shock. His new hairstyle flattered his features in a manner I was unused to seeing. It was so...short. To be honest, Heisuke's hair kinda looks...
"...Sexy"
"Hm? You say something?" He grinned at me and my cheeks instantly began to burn up. I wasn't supposed to say that out loud and he DEFINITELY wasn't supposed to hear that, how embarrassing...!
"M-Me? I didn't say anything...! You...er...look great Heisuke, very handsome" I stammered an excuse in a rubbish attempt to cover up what I had accidentally let slip from my lips.
"Yeah? Well if you think so, that's good enough for me. I guess I could give this outfit a shot then" He grinned again before loosening his sleeves and cuffs in an obviously showy manner.
"Are you purposely trying to tease me?" I pouted with rosy cheeks.
"Maybe" He smirked before loosening his collar.
"Enough flirting. I called you here for a reason. Save that for when you're alone" Hijikata-san sighed exasperatedly.
"Oh yeah? So what's up?" Heisuke asked as he stopped playing around.
"Had something I wanted you two to take a look at" Hijikata-san sighed bitterly while pulling something out from his sleeve. We soon realised it to be a thin, rolled-up piece of paper. "This is a copy of a letter sent from the Sendai to the Aizu and...we've got a problem" Hijikata-san unrolled the letter before handing it to Heisuke and me. We each held a side of the letter and began to read it.
"So this is from Sendai to a bunch of domains..."Why we must not yield to this new regime"...?"
"So let me get this straight...They're telling other domains that the new government's pressuring them, but they aren't going to give in and that we should all fight against the Imperial Army for as long as we can?" I questioned, hoping I understood what I was reading.
"Close enough. Sendai's made an alliance with the Aizu and the other northerns called the Great Northern Alliance. This letter is telling everybody to fight to the last man. They probably sent it to minna in the alliance"
"...Hijikata-san, did you just bring us in here to show us a letter?" Heisuke looked slightly annoyed as he asked this. "I mean, maybe I'm missing something, but this sounds like good news for us"
"That's exactly what I was thinking"
"The letter is fine. Read the last line" Hijikata-san instructed with a frown. We both looked down at it again and Heisuke began reading the end aloud;
"...Therefore it is our duty as patriots to oppose this new-!" He froze and I saw his eyes widen. I let out a gasp and let go of the paper as I read two certain and very worrying words. It can't be...The smile that had been playing about Heisuke's face suddenly disappeared as the hand holding the letter began to tremble. Suddenly, he found it difficult to enunciate and he struggled to say the sender's name. I had hoped that my eyes were deceiving me, but there was no mistaking it. There it was, a certain person's name signed at the end of the letter. "Signed Sanan Keisuke, Retainer of the Sendai Domain" Sanan, the man who had turned me into a fury, kidnapped Sen-chan and was intent on creating a kingdom of furies in the north had been made an official in the service of the Sendai Domain. You've gotta be kidding me?!
"How that little rat snuck into the Sendai Domain, I've got no goddamn clue. He must have managed to finagle his way into the Sendai higher-ups"
"How'd he even manage to gain Sendai's trust!?" I exclaimed in shock.
"Your guess is as good as mine kid...That bastard served as the Shinsengumi's Colonel, he's a problem that we created. Now, he's a problem we need to un-create"
"My current priority is finding Sen-chan and since Sanan has her we have to go after him...But what about the Aizu? Don't we need their permission?"
"Yeah, as much as I'd love to lend you a hand in finding your nakama, we're on the Aizu's payroll now so we can't just run off and do whatever without the top brass' say-so" But we can't just leave Sen-chan in the hands of Sanan! I knew my thoughts wouldn't help in the current situation so I kept them to myself. "...And even if we did, the Shinsengumi heading into Sendai as an army might cause problems between the Aizu and Sendai" We're basically being restrained from doing anything about Sanan! We can't let him get away with this, but we can't go after him! Then what the heck are we supposed to do?! Heisuke's bitter laughter brought me out of my thoughts.
"I get it. You called me in here because you want me to go to Sendai. Right Hijikata-san? I mean, as far as the rest of the world knows, Sanan-san and I have been dead, buried and dusted a long time ago. Send a dead man after a dead man, huh?"
"Don't say it like that Heisuke..." I had noticed a gradual change within Heisuke. Whenever he talked about himself, he would do it in an increasingly bitter manner. I realised that he had started acting this way around the time of Sen-chan and Kimigiku-chan's revelation about the source of a fury's power. Additionally, a frown would darken his face whenever the topic of furies came up. Honestly, it broke my heart to see him like that.
"...It's all right Chiyeko. He can say whatever he wants. Doesn't change the fact that I'm ordering him to go take care of Sanan-san"
"But..."
"Your order is to take out Sanan-san at any cost, including your life. Do I make myself clear?"
"Hijikata-san! That's not fair! You can't expect Heisuke to carry the burden of stopping Sanan all on his own!" I knew Hijikata-san was my superior, but I couldn't help screaming at him. I mean, how could he give Heisuke an order like that?! "It's like you want Heisuke to die and that's just not right!" I soon found myself panting, nearly out of breath as I shouted at Hijikata. The only reason I stopped was because Heisuke gently rested his hand on my shoulder.
"I appreciate your concern Chiyeko, but that's enough"
"Don't you tell me that's enough, I can't just let-!"
"Chiyeko. I said enough" His authoritative tone paired with his stern gaze scared me into shutting my mouth. Satisfied with my silence, he turned to Hijikata-san and nodded. "Either way, I've got a little unfinished business with that bastard anyway" His hand curtly lifted itself from my shoulder. "Orders received Commander. If you think that I'm the only one fit for the job then I have no choice but to abide" Heisuke's eyes were dark and stoic, a stark contrast to the doe-eyed charm his eyes normally glowed with. A far cry from the man I'd fallen in love with. "Well, if there's nothing else, I'm gonna go prepare. I'll try to head out as soon as possible" It was painfully obvious that Heisuke was suffering. He didn't like being a fury and every time the bloodlust took him, he was brutally reminded that he was no longer human and that his life was considerably shorter than most people's. I know he's suffering, but I've never seen Heisuke like this before. This negative behaviour is so unlike him...Heisuke stood up and opened the door to leave.
"Heisuke, wait!" I called out to him, but he ignored me and slid the door closed behind him.
"Don't, Chiyeko"
"But-!"
"Let him be" Hijikata-san's voice was calm, but there was no mistaking his words were a request rather than an order. His face was drawn and his eyes were sunken and tired. The war was draining his spirit and sending Heisuke to Sendai was yet another burden he would clearly rather not bear. "...I can't send men from our fighting divisions. We can't spare them and it might piss someone off. Heisuke's the only fury who's been publicly declared dead. He's my only choice"
"So there's absolutely no alternative then?" I really don't think he should go alone...
"You think I haven't looked for one? Iie. It's just him. Besides, he's probably the only man who might actually stand a chance against Sanan-san" There's nothing else we can do then? Heisuke has to go it alone? He'll be going to Sendai, alone. Suffer the bloodlust, alone and face Sanan, alone. And if he doesn't win he'll...die, alone...
"Hijikata-san, in your opinion do you think Heisuke has any chance at beating Sanan?" Hijikata-san remained silent giving me the answer I needed. I know what I have to do! If Heisuke being coerced into accepting a mission to his death meant that I would never see him again then there was only one thing to do. I turned to the Commander with determination in my eyes.
"Please let me go with him! I can't leave Sen-chan to suffer under Sanan and I want to help save Heisuke! I just can't let him go alone!" Hijikata-san stared at me, his eyes piercing and his face unreadable, but I didn't let that deter me. "I can't stay here knowing that Heisuke could be approaching his death" I stated clearly in a strong voice as I stared back into his eyes intensely. After a while, he let out a long sigh and shook his head.
"You're set on doing this, aren't you?"
"Hai" I nodded. "To me Heisuke never died. To me he is still the leader of the 8th Division and my superior, that's why I have to go with him, to stop my superior from doing something baka..." I looked away from Hijikata-san and continued, rather bashfully; "...And because I can't let the man I love run into a dangerous battle alone"
"Well, I'll certainly miss your stubbornness, that's for sure"
"So I can go with Heisuke?"
"Yeah. Just be sure to pull back the reins on Heisuke every now and then. Keep 'im in check"
"Don't worry, I'll be keeping a tight hold on his reins for the foreseeable future" I chuckled.
"Good to hear. The Shinsengumi will miss you, but consider yourself free to leave whenever you want"
"Arigato gozimasu Hijikata-san" I bowed. "Really and truly, you have no idea how much this means to me"
"All right, all right. No need for the theatrics. Just don't die on me, got it? That goes for the both of you"
"We're too stubborn to die so soon Hijikata-san"
"I guess you're right there" He let out a short chuckle.
"Hijikata-san, I...I'll never forget the fun and adventures I had as a member of the Shinsengumi"
"And I'll never forget how you changed many of us in the Shinsengumi" For a moment, Hijikata-san and I looked at one another, smiling. I haven't seen him smile like that since Kondou-sama passed away...I bowed again and stood up to move towards the door. I slid it open and stepped out of the room, but before I could close the door, Hijikata-san spoke, his voice low. "...Take care of Heisuke for me" I will, I promise. With my answer locked in my heart, I shut the door behind me. It was unlikely that I would ever cross paths with any of my Shinsengumi companions again, but even so I didn't regret my decision. Joining Heisuke on his journey will allow me to keep him from dying, or at the very least make sure that he doesn't die alone. Sayōnara Hijikata-san, I'll never forget you.