𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐊𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑 ˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳ 𝐡𝐚𝐤𝐮𝐨𝐮𝐤𝐢 [ON HOLD]

⇛ 𝐂𝐇. 𝟒

the day for heisuke to leave edo came quick and keiko was running around looking for the boy she had became close friends with in the short amount of time together. he visited her whenever he could and they'd usually talk about funny story's from the shinsengumi or go buy food. she had become comfortable with him and began to reconsider his offer about going to the shinsengumi.

her eyes finally locked onto the familiar green clothes that were moving away from her.

"heisuke!" she yelled, rushing after the boy like it was the most important thing in the world. keiko knew she probably could have just yelled his name then walked over, but the running made it so much more dramatic.

"keiko." he called out, looking over his shoulder. the girl stopped just in front of him with her hands on her knees. "what are you doing here?"

"take me with you!" she said, lifting her head up to watch his face turn baffled.

"huh?!"

"back to the shinsengumi. i thought about what you said. would they really be able to protect me? even so, i'm a really good swordsman and i can help fight or i can even cook. i could clean! i just can't risk getting caught again and-"

"okay!" he interrupted. a grin appeared on his face as she stared at him faltering for a moment, her mind tricking her into thinking he had said no.

"okay?! so, you'll take me!" she asked, cupping his hand in hers. "you really will?"

"you seem so persistent, how could i ever say no?" he exclaimed as she let go of his hand. "let's go now."

"thank you so much, heisuke."

❀

the pair had been traveling for a day already. it was nearly the middle of the night and they weren't tired enough to sleep, so heisuke described and named each shinsengumi captain and commander so that when she went back she wouldn't have trouble knowing who's who. he then proceeded to tell her how him and his two best friends, the mood maker trio, would mess around and cause trouble.

"-so then sannan dropped a whole bowl of whatever weird potions or science stuff on the floor and saito's face," heisuke let out a loud laugh. "he wasn't frightened, but was in some shock."

"and this was all your fault?" keiko asked, a hand covering her mouth as she laughed at the images she created in her mind.

"yeah, but shinpachi and sanosuke were to blame, too!"

silence filled in as heisuke laid on his back with his arms behind his neck and keiko brought her knees up to her chest, hugging her legs with one arm and using her other hand to throw random sticks into the fire she had made to keep them warm.

"hey, heisuke?" she called out, her voice slightly muffled from her mouth being pressed against her legs.

"yeah?" he asked, breaking out of his daze.

"the shinsengumi captains sound so fun. do you think they'll all like me?"

"what makes you question that?" he turned to lay on his side and propped his elbow on the floor so he could rest his head on his hand.