Chiyeko has admired the Shinsengumi ever since she first heard of them. So when a trip to Kyoto goes wrong and causes her to cross paths with her heroes multiple times, how will she react?
This trip to Kyoto throws the peaceful life of Chiyeko into...
{The rest of the Shinsengumi had made it to Osaka Castle, filling Heisuke and myself with relief. That relief was short-lived , however. We soon learned that Yamazaki along with Inoue had both lost their lives at or because of the battle of Toba-Fushimi. To make matters worse, formerly loyal domains began to betray us when they learned of the rebels' obvious advantages. This led to the shogun's retreat to Edo and seeing as we were supposed to be guarding him we had no choice, but to leave Osaka castle and follow him there.}
On this day, our ship was scheduled to set sail. I was laying in my futon, my thoughts keeping me from getting a good nights sleep. That and the fact that I felt strange sleeping on a constantly swaying boat. If I can't sleep, I may as well take a walk. I slipped my feet into my sandals and made my way up to the deck of the ship. There I encountered Heisuke. "Oh hey Chiyeko...Whatcha doin' up so late?" "Konbanwa Heisuke. And to answer your question, I couldn't sleep" "Ah, I don't blame ya. A lot of stuff happened..." "Tell me about it..." There was a pause in our conversation and the sound of the crashing waves filled the silence.
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Heisuke looked out at the vast ocean ahead of him and spoke gently; "...It's been five years, already" "Huh?" "...Since we came from Edo to Kyoto" "Oh" "Back when we were at Shiei Hall, we were so broke that we could barely find enough to eat!" He quietly chuckled. "So we'd just get a coupla bottles of cheap sake and drink 'til we couldn't see, talking about how messed up politics were back then" "Sounds like you enjoyed those times" "Yeah...Then we heard that the Roshigumi were looking for members so we pounced on the opportunity! All that mattered to us was that we didn't have to worry about food anymore and that now we could always all be together..." "Heisuke..." It wasn't hard to picture them all together as he described, the image appeared vividly in my mind. I could see them trading banter back and forth, having the time of their lives everyday. Just like they used to do in Kyoto before everything got...complicated. "Back in Edo, all anyone talked about was the Imperial Nationalist party and how they were wrongfully treated...But then when we made it to Kyoto, we were the ones arresting all those guys. The ones treating them wrongfully" He sighed softly before continuing. "It seems like Kondou-san and Hijikata-san were too fixated on becoming samurai..." Heisuke's gaze turned down to watch the water move below him. "Shin and Sano-san...Looking back at it, I guess as long as we were together, they thought everything'd be fine" Heisuke's fists then clenched as he uttered his next words; "Then everything changed when the shogunate gave us the order to research the serum...I was always the one who thought it wasn't the best idea...I just couldn't get myself to look the other way, like the others..." His hands then relaxed as he continued. "I remember joining the Guardians of the Imperial Tomb and Itou-san told me: Do you actually believe your hard work would come to fruition while the shogunate forced you to work for them and their research?" "Mhm..." "Back then, I kinda agreed with him but...But that didn't mean everything Itou-san said was right either" The sense of anguish and conflict inside of Heisuke must have been bubbling up for a considerably long time. He had trouble deciding what was right for him as well as how he could go about making it so. There aren't many people in this world who would be able to navigate this issue sensibly...but- "...There's only so much one guy can do. Before I knew it, I was doing things that didn't fit with who I was" Heisuke..."And I almost lost my life at Aburano Koji...And now because I selfishly didn't wanna die, I'm a fury...Now, I can only really move about at night and my body can't be hurt, even if I'm stabbbed or shot a bunch of times" He looked down at his open hands and I noticed they were shaking slightly. "I killed people-bathed in their blood even...My body shook for want of their blood...I thought I'd finally become a full-blown monster, but..." He closed his hands and they ceased their shaking. He then looked up, directly into my eyes before speaking. "...There you were, next to me the whole time" Under the starry night sky, Heisuke smiled brightly, despite the fact there was a bright blush present on his cheeks. "...Arigato Chiyeko. I'm so glad you're here with me" "You don't need to thank me Heisuke..." In fact, I think I'm the one who needs to thank YOU. You're boundless energy and amazing kindness is what's kept me going...When I was afraid of losing my life to the Shinsengumi's secret, he was always there to comfort me. "So...Now I finally feel like I know what I'm supposed to do" He had his eyes closed as he spoke determinedly. "I'm not gonna concern myself with the state of the world, Japan's future or other big stuff like that..." He opened his eyes and within them I saw intense flames of willpower burning. "I just want to use my powers for things that matter to me, for the people I want to protect...for you" "Oh Heisuke..." His words brought tears of joy to my eyes. "...I promise you this Chiyeko" He gazed at me seriously while turning to face me fully. "I'm no longer the Shinsengumi's captain of the 8th Division, nor a member of the Guard. Technically, to the public I'm a dead man" True..."For as long as I'm a fury, I can't really stop being one of the Shinsengumi, but...My wish to keep you safe has never dwindled...And, if I can help it, it never will..." His voice shook so faintly that it was nearly overpowered as the waves crashed into the sides of the ship, even so his eyes told me everything that I needed to hear. "Arigato gozimasu Heisuke" Our hair blew beside the seemingly endless sea. I smiled kindly up at Heisuke, whose eyes were twinkling beautifully in the moonlight. "I love you so much Heisuke" I stated before engaging him in a kiss. I wrapped my arms around him and he did the same in return. He kissed me passionately and when we broke the kiss to breath, he looked into my red eyes and said; "I love you too Chiyeko and I'll continue to love you for as long as I'm able to" "Heisuke-" Before I could reply, his lips were over mine again. I'll never stop loving you, no matter what.
...
We set off to Edo, not knowing what fate awaited us, but knowing that we'd be alright because whatever was coming our way, we'd face it together.
DISCLAIMER: SOME lines or scenes MAY have been taken or adapted from Hakuōki/Hakuouki: Kyoto Winds. THIS DOES NOT APPLY TO ALL CHAPTERS!!!
