Love at first sight (Heisuke x OC)

(Mini) Chapter 75: The journey that keeps getting longer

March 1869

We tied the reins of our horses to a wooden railing to stop them from running away before joining the crowds of the town. Our destination was the town's doctor's clinic. In the letter Chiyeko sent us, she told us that we have to find a Doctor Ozawa Waotaka because she left a letter with him which contains her whereabouts. After ten minutes, we reached the clinic. When we told the doctor why we were here, his face softened and he smiled. "Ah, Chiyeko. She was one of the best patients I've ever had. Extremely polite too. So you must be the Heisuke she couldn't stop talking about"
"That's me" I grinned proudly.
"You're just like she described" He chuckled. "I'll go fetch that letter, you three wait here" A few minutes passed before the doctor returned. "Here you are" He handed me a folded up piece of paper. "You're the second person who's come to me asking about Chiyeko today" Doctor Ozawa stated quite nonchalantly.
"Really? Pray tell, who was the first?" Sen asked the doctor.
"Kazama Chikage. Ripped the letter right out of my hand. He was rather rude if you ask me. I still can't believe a sweet woman like Chiyeko is related to him..." He said this with his arms crossed and a shake of his head.
"Neither can we" I stated with a frown. I guess it makes sense that Chiyeko would also tell her brother what happened...I reluctantly convinced myself.
"Thank you for the letter. We will now take our leave. Sayōnara" Kimigiku stated before the three of us left his clinic.
"Even though it is most distasteful, you do know it is unavoidable that we'll run into Kazama at some point during our rescue mission?" Sen asked me as I skimmed through Chiyeko's letter.
"Yeah, I know. I'm just hoping it's later rather than sooner"
"I think we are all hoping for that" Kimigiku commented.
"Okay, we've got her next location! Let's get to our horses and-! Whoa!?" I was suddenly grabbed by the arm and roughly pulled into the alley I was passing by. I looked up to see the culprit behind the action. "You! You know, you've got some nerve-!?" Before I could finish, Kazama slammed me into the wall behind me and unsheathed his sword to place it against my throat. The two men he'd brought with him were surprised by his actions. One more so than the other.
"How dare you let my sister get kidnapped?! By that bastard, no less!" He shouted angrily at me as his sword began to slice into my throat.
"Kazama-!" Sen began to tell him off, but I interrupted her.
"You think I don't feel guilty about that?! You don't believe that I think about that everyday?! How I messed up and allowed my girlfriend to be kidnapped!?" I shouted right back at him, my voice filled with self-hatred for what I'd allowed to happen. "And I didn't let it happen! We both know that Kioshi plays dirty! I would never let Chiyeko get kidnapped on purpose!"
"Yet she is still in that demon's clutches instead of here!"
"Just damare and stop being baka! Chiyeko sent the both of us letters for a reason! We may not like it, but we have to work together to rescue Chiyeko!" Kazama glared at me for a few more minutes before sheathing his sword and letting me go.
"I work better alone" He stated before leaving the alley.
"He works better alone, eh? If he wanted to be a lone wolf then why bother bringing us along?" Shiranui complained.
"He knows that he cannot do this alone. That is why he brought us" Amagiri stated.
"If you say so" Shiranui shrugged in response. "Anyway, we should all get going if we want to catch up with him"
"That is something we can all agree on" Kimigiku stated.
"Toudou-san, are you alright?" Sen asked with concern in her tone.
"It's already healed, I'm fine. And I'll be even better when I've got Chiyeko back so let's go" We all headed to where we tied our horses and mounted them before galloping off.

One week later

We had reached the town that Chiyeko was in and dismounted our horses to go look for her. The first place we thought to try was the inns, there were several inns in the town so we split up to half the time we'd spend searching for Chiyeko. "Will you hurry up? I'd like to find my sister sooner rather than later" Kazama stated in an authoritative tone.
"I want to find her as much as you and I'm walking as fast as I can so back off!" Kimigiku said it'd be better if Kazama and myself were in a group as we would be the first people she'd want to see, but I think she suggested it in an attempt to make us get along since there's no guarantee that we'll be the ones to run into Chiyeko...
We were now checking our third inn. When we asked the innkeeper if Kazama Chiyeko had checked in to his inn, his eyes widened showing us he recognised the name. "You know her?" I asked eagerly.
"Hai..." He admitted, in a rather sad fashion.
"What's wrong, did something happen?" I asked worriedly.
"She was...kidnapped..."
"Nani?!" Kazama and I exclaimed simultaneously.
"Are you telling me you are incapable of keeping your guests safe?" Kazama asked threateningly while drawing his katana.
"Scaring him isn't going to help anyone!" I scolded as I stepped in front of him to block his view of the innkeeper. "Could you tell us exactly what happened?"
"I'm afraid not...This man calling himself Kioshi came in here and was asking around for a Chiyeko. Of course, I didn't tell him she was staying here, but he must've knocked me out and looked in the guest log because when I woke up I went to her room and she wasn't there"
"That fucking bastard!" Kazama punched a wall angrily before storming off.
"Arigato for you help" I turned to leave when the innkeeper called out to me. "What is it?"
"After I found out that Chiyeko was missing I searched her room for some clue as to her whereabouts and found these" He handed me two envelopes. One was addressed to me and the other to Kazama. "Also, I'm not sure if you want this back, but I have no need for it" He handed me a folded up piece of paper. I unfolded it to discover that it was the letter I had sent to Chiyeko.
"Arigato gozimasu sir. Have a good day" I bowed before leaving the inn.
"What do you suggest we do now? We have no idea where that bastard has taken Chiyeko"
"These may tell us" I held out the letter addressed to him, but he didn't take it. Instead, he simply stared at it as if he was trying to gauge its worth. "It's from Chiyeko" I added which made him quickly snatch the letter out of my hand. I rolled my eyes at him before returning my focus to the letter she had written me. I ripped open the envelope and unfolded the letter before reading;

Dear Heisuke,
I wrote this letter, just in case and I hoped that you would never have to read this, but life can be cruel sometimes. If you're reading this then that means I've unfortunately been recaptured. Kioshi somehow uncovered my whereabouts and kidnapped me again. He's taken me back to his hideout, Nakakoshi Castle. I'm not sure of its exact whereabouts, I'm afraid. All I know is that's it's in the South from the first town I sent you to. Please Heisuke, I know you don't like my brother, but you have to work together if you hope to save me. I'll hopefully be awaiting your rescue.
Remember, I love you from the bottom of my heart!
Chiyeko
XXXXX

Chiyeko really does prepare herself for every scenario, even the bad ones..."What did yours say?" I asked Kazama when he looked up from his letter.
"She told me to work together instead of alone and made a lot of points to support her case"
"Like nani?"
"She stated that Kioshi has furies now and that I need to think about the bigger picture. To rescue her I will need help"
"So will you? Help us save Chiyeko?"
"My sister's life always comes first"
"Meaning...?" By this point, I was just teasing him. It felt nice knowing that he couldn't and wouldn't refuse.
"I will lend you a hand in rescuing Chiyeko" He reluctantly stated. "And after we rescue her, I will have to have a word or two with her" He muttered to himself.
"Well, we have an approximate location. Let's go round up the others and find that castle!"
"I have agreed to work together, but that does not mean that you are allowed to order me around" Kazama stated before turning on his heel and walking away. Seriously, even when he's on my side he's annoying...I sighed before going to find Sen and Kimigiku.

After gathering everyone up, we all mounted our horses and rode back to the first town before heading south. We had departed in two groups. Kimigiku, Shiranui and Amagiri had gone west to attempt to find an abandoned town they had heard about in order to give Chiyeko somewhere safe to rest after we rescue her. Leaving Sen, Kazama and myself heading south to try and find Nakokoshi Castle. Hang on Chiyeko...I tightened my hands around Jinsoku's reins...we're coming...!

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!!!