Love at first sight (Heisuke x OC)

Chapter 59: Sen gets kidnapped

We were on our way back from yet another meeting with Doctor Matsumoto. Looks like our contingency plan is coming along nicely. When we reached headquarters, we reported back to Hijikata-san before Heisuke told me he was going to go check on Sanan. I went back to my room while he did so.

My sliding door was roughly thrown open causing me to jump. I turned around to see Heisuke, but from his facial expression I could tell something was wrong. "Did something happen?"
"He's gone! Sanan-san's gone! Along with some of the Fury Corps!"
"N-Nani!?"
"Before we left, I checked on him and he was still reading over those documents he found...Damnit! He must've snuck out after we left to meet up with the doc!"
"Should we tell Hijikata-san?"
"Iie. Not yet. C'mon, we have to find him!"
"O-Okay...!" I grabbed Aka Tatsu before we discreetly left our headquarters.

We ran out into the vacant streets of Edo. With the Imperial Army still on the march and the rumours of vicious killings in the city, it wasn't surprising to find the nighttime streets void of people. "Damnit...Hijikata-san told me to keep an eye on Sanan-san!" That's when it hit me.
"Is that why you didn't want to tell Hijikata-san about Sanan-san?"
"...Hai. He was counting on me to make sure Sanan-san didn't get into any trouble and I've failed miserably..."
"Don't blame yourself Heisuke. You're only one man, you know. There was no way in hell that you could've watched the guy 24/7"
"Yeah, I guess you're right...Still, we've gotta find him as soon as possible!" It didn't take a genius to guess why Sanan and some members of the Fury Corps had disappeared. My guess became reality when we heard a shriek. "Heisuke! Over there!" I pointed to a man who stood several yards away from us. He held a glistening sword in his hand and lying at his feet was a young girl, facedown in a pool of her own blood.
"You bastard!" Heisuke yelled angrily as he leapt toward him, moving like the wind. His sword was drawn before he even reached the fury. When he did reach him, his sword bit deep into the man's side before swinging around to carve a deep red line through his legs. No human could've survived his attack, but we weren't dealing with humans. The man stood, seemingly unconcerned with his fatal wounds. We were dealing with furies. His wounds quickly closed and he turned away to run, but didn't get very far. I heard the whisper of metal passing through flesh, though it wasn't Heisuke who had swung his sword. The fury froze, twitched and split in two. Standing behind him, glaring at us through the spray of blood was a demon I knew very well.
"Hmph. Not worth my time..."
"Kazama?!" Heisuke stared at my brother in shock while I ran over to the little girl to turn her over and listen for a heartbeat. I heard none. I lifted my ear from her chest and sighed.
"We were too late..." The girl's eyes were wide open in shock and fear. Poor little girl, she didn't deserve this...I closed the girl's eyes so it appeared like she was sleeping. I strongly wished that that was indeed the case as I stood up.
"...Could you tell your pet Shinsengumi to stop adding to my problems by releasing their disgusting creatures into the streets?"
"They're not my pet Chikage, would it kill you to address them with a little dignity"
"Hai, it probably would" While Chikage and I bickered, Heisuke went over to the dead fury and rolled it over with a shove of his foot. He grimaced as his eyes took him in. I also sighed as my eyes caught sight of him, my petty argument with Chikage was forgotten.
"Yeah, this was one of our guys. I dunno though..."
"...Do you think Sanan-san did this?" Our worst fears were proving to be true and neither myself nor Heisuke were happy about it. He frowned as he rubbed his hand across his chin in thought. I can't believe Sanan would have even children killed for his own personal gain...
"What do you mean? Are you saying you didn't command this filth to go forth and murder?"
"Of course we didn't! You think we wanted young children like her to be dead!?" I gestured to the lifeless body laying a few feet away from us. "No matter what you think about the Shinsengumi, they'd never allow their own to kill innocent people!" My little outburst had shocked both Chikage and Heisuke who looked at me with wide eyes. Their gazes were making me feel uncomfortable and I began to fidget as well as blush. "Would one of you say something?!" I yelled out, not able to take their stares anymore. "And stop staring at me!" I added.
"Well, she's right. We didn't condone this. We're the ones coming after them. The man who's in charge of them is the man who leads our Fury Corps. It's looking like he thinks he can just do whatever, even though the chief's and commander's back"
"Pathetic. But then, what can one expect from farmers and peasants? You can't even control your own men" As maddening as his attitude was, Chikage's words hit the nail on the head. "...Fine. Tell me where I can find the so-called leader of these creatures"
"Why? Don't tell me you're planning on helping us..." Heisuke trailed off, not believing what Chikage had said.
"I'm not here to wipe your collective assess, but something has to be done or eventually the Satsuma will catch wind of it and demand I deal with the problem. Less work for me if I destroy the root of the cause now. And besides...Seeing these fakes running around makes me sick"
"So you do intend to help us" I stated with a smirk.
"Call it what you will" Chikage sighed.
"I don't want this guy helping us..." Heisuke frowned.
"He's very skilled when it comes to a sword Heisuke, we could use his help"
"Mhm..."
"I know you don't like him, but he's my brother. Please can you, at least, play nice until we find Sanan-san?"
"Fine..."
"Arigato, now let's go!" The three of us searched the city, but found no more of the members of the Fury Corps.
"I can't find them anywhere. There are a lot of 'em missing, but the streets are practically empty. I dunno where they all went..."
"Have you considered that perhaps you are merely a terrible investigator? Clearly I should have conducted this search on my own. No doubt I would have found them already..."
"Yeah, well, I didn't ask you to stick around. You wanna go off and find them on your own? Fine by me! And get stuffed while you're at it!"
"Damare!" I shouted causing both men to hold back whatever insults they were about to throw at each other next. "I know you two don't like each other, but just stop it! You're acting like bloody children bickering back and forth like that! Now would you both grow up and focus on the task at hand?!" They both were taken aback by my shouting. They looked towards the ground and mumbled apologises to each other. "Good, now we've still gotta find Sanan-san so let's retrace our steps and go back to the compound. Maybe he went back there"
"Good idea Chiyeko!"
"It wouldn't hurt to check considering we can't find him anywhere in the city" Chikage agreed.
"Look who's finally agreeing on something" I muttered before walking ahead.