Spring had come to Kyoto again, but it didn’t change things much for Souji Okita, captain of the Shinsengumi’s 1st Division. Punks with swords were still trying to bully people in town, the Choshu were still a thorn in the shogunate’s side, and Hijikata was still as unbending as ever. As for the first two, it was Souji’s job to stop them, which, somewhere along the line, often ended in bloodshed.

 

So it didn’t matter what season it was. At any time of the year, blood was still red.

 

He was musing about such things as he walked to his room after a patrol. He’d just gotten back to the compounds and he knew that Hijikata was probably going to nag him about resting as soon as he saw him. Sure, maybe he’d still been coughing sometimes, but he was fine. If it made Mother Hen Hijikata stop nagging him, however, spending some time in his room was a small price to pay. Whether he spent that time resting or not was his own business. There were far more productive things he could do with his time, anyway. Like read the commander’s terrible haikus.

 

With that thought in mind, Souji went inside his room and settled himself on a cushion. Before he could begin reading, however, he heard footsteps and voices outside his door.

 

“Eugh, I can tell it’s gonna be a hot summer already. Can’t say as I’m looking forward to that.” The voice was Heisuke’s. The complaint was as loud as if he’d been in the same room, but he was just in the corridor.

 

“Agreed.” A much higher voice this time, no doubt Chizuru’s. She let out a short sigh before continuing. “I wish it could stay spring forever. Kyoto’s so beautiful this time of year.”

 

“Y’mean with all the cherry blossoms and stuff? Yeah, they sure are pretty.”

 

“It reminds me of when my father and I would have picnics under the cherry blossom trees.” There was a slightly wistful tone to her words, but it was soon gone, replaced by logic. “Oh, but I don’t suppose that would be appropriate for me to do here at the compounds. I wouldn’t want any of the soldiers to see me. They already suspect me.”

 

Souji held back a snort. Was it any wonder? Without knowing her circumstances, it was only natural for the men to resent her. Besides, she didn’t really look like a man, no matter how she dressed. It was best for her to keep her distance from anyone who didn’t already know her secret. Having a picnic under the cherry blossoms wasn’t an option unless she snuck out of the compounds somehow. Even if she managed that, it would be Souji’s duty to kill her before she could divulge any of the Shinsengumi’s secrets.  

 

As much as he half-teased her about ending her life, the thought of spilling her blood wasn’t a pleasant one. He hoped it wouldn’t come to that.

 

Truthfully, she seemed like a decent kid. Maybe not always the brightest. After all, if she hadn’t gotten involved in Shinsengumi business, she’d be able to go and have that picnic whenever she wanted to.

 

Actually, come to think of it, she might still be able to.

 

After thinking about it for a few moments, Souji felt himself smirk. This could be fun. The fact that it would also get him out of the compounds and away from Hijikata’s watchful eye meant that he could kill two birds with one stone.

 

Setting the book of what could only laughably be called “poetry” aside, Souji stood up and opened his door. A little ways down the corridor, he could see Chizuru sweeping, slowly making her way away from him as she cleaned. Heisuke was nowhere in sight, so they must have finished their conversation a little earlier. It was just the two of them. The perfect opportunity.

 

“Hey, Chizuru.”

 

She jumped when she heard him call her name, quickly spinning around. “O-Okita. I didn’t realize you were back already. Did you need something?”

 

“Yes, actually. I need you to come with me into town.”

 

Her eyes lit up at the idea of going into Kyoto. “Into town? B-But shouldn’t I ask Hijikata for permission to leave first?”

 

Souji raised an eyebrow, letting a sharp edge creep into his tone. “What, is an order from me not good enough for you?”

 

“No, it’s not that!” she backpedaled, her eyes shifting to the ground. After a moment, she seemed to find her resolve. There was a determined fire in her eyes when she looked back up at him. “All right. I’ll come with you.”

 

Before long, they left the Shinsengumi headquarters behind and found themselves on the bustling streets of Kyoto. Souji hadn’t said a word since they got into town, and he could tell that Chizuru was starting to get a little antsy from the silence. He continued strolling casually, keeping her in suspense as she walked along beside him.

 

“Okita,” she started, her curiosity finally getting the better of her. “what are we doing here, exactly?”

 

He finally looked down at her, a slight smile tugging at his lips. “I’m pretty sure they call this ‘walking.’”

 

Chizuru’s mouth opened, her expression a mixture of frustration and shock. She snapped it shut for a second before trying again. “You know what I mean. What kind of an errand is this?”

 

Her tone was firmer than he expected it would be, almost more interrogative than inquisitive. He rather liked this side of her. The defiant, headstrong girl. The girl who had traveled alone to a completely new city in order to search for her father. Though she now found herself in a rather dangerous situation because of it, he had to admire her tenacity.

 

Thus, he wasn’t about to give her a straight answer. This wasn’t a side of her he got to see every day, after all.

 

“You’ll see when we get there.” Souji turned his gaze to the path ahead after that, but he could still hear her grunt in frustration.

 

Just a few minutes later, they arrived at their destination: a small dango shop.

 

“Okita, what are we—”

 

He interrupted her question by pushing some money into her palm, folding her fingers closed around the coins. “Go buy me two sticks of dango.”

 

She looked up at him, blinking in surprise. “What?”

 

“Two sticks of dango. The tri-colored ones.” he clarified, meeting her questioning stare with a deadpan expression.

 

Chizuru shook her head, her ponytail swaying with the motion. “No, I mean… Well, this might be rude of me to ask, but…”

 

“Why can’t I buy them myself?” Souji supplied.

 

She nodded sheepishly.

 

“Think about it. Even without my uniform, there are people in town who would recognize me as being part of the Shinsengumi. What if rumors got around that one of the Shinsengumi’s captains is a big softie who likes sweets? It would hurt our reputation. Do you really want that to happen?”

 

He could tell by her hesitation that she wasn’t fully convinced, but she wasn’t about to argue with him, either.

 

“Okay, I’ll do it.” she said with a nod. With one last glance at him, she walked into the dango shop. Shortly thereafter, she came back out with a skewer of dumplings in each hand. She walked up to him carefully, trying to avoid colliding with any passerby or dropping the precious dango. As soon as she reached him, she offered him the sweets he asked for, but he shook his head.

 

“Not here. Follow me.” Without waiting for a response, he turned and started walking, his pace a little faster than before. Chizuru’s hurried footsteps followed close behind.

 

Before she could ask where they were going, they reached the edge of the Kamo river, lined with blooming cherry blossom trees. Some of the pale pink petals had already begun to fall, littering the ground like snow. More were falling even now, fluttering in the gentle breeze. Sunlight shone on the pale flowers and made the river sparkle as it flowed on its journey.

 

Souji wasted no time finding a comfortable spot under one of the trees, sitting down unceremoniously and waiting for Chizuru to do the same. Instead, she simply stared at him. She opened her mouth to say something, but she seemed to be at a loss for words.

 

“Have a seat.” he said, offering her a lifeline.

 

“R-Right.” she said curtly, slowly sinking to the ground a little ways away from him. “Um...here.” She held out a skewer of dango, still seeming restless.

 

“Thanks.” he said before taking it from her. After taking the first bite, he let his gaze drift to the cherry blossoms above them. Combined with the sunshine and the steady sound of the river, it was really rather nice. Admittedly...the company wasn’t bad, either.

 

When he glanced over at Chizuru next, she was considerably more relaxed. Her grip on the dango had loosened somewhat and she was looking up at the flowering branches with a faint smile on her lips. She would’ve made a lovely painting in this moment, but Souji was no artist.

 

“You better eat that dango before you drop it.” he warned. She was daydreaming so intensely that the skewer was beginning to tilt dangerously toward the ground.

 

Wide brown eyes looked back at him. “Huh? But isn’t this yours, Okita?”

 

He shrugged. “I think my eyes were bigger than my stomach. Go on, I’d hate for it to go to waste.”

 

The smile she gave him in return was the brightest, most honest one he’d ever seen from her. For once, she actually looked like a girl her age should.

 

“Thank you!” she exclaimed before taking a dainty bite.

 

Before he even realized what he was doing, Souji reached out and placed a hand on her head. She was just so cute that he couldn’t help it. The way she was looking at him now wasn’t helping things, either.

 

“Um, Okita?”

 

“You’re...a good kid, you know that?” He wasn’t entirely sure why he was saying this now, but he had to say something. “I know this isn’t really a picnic, but…” He averted his eyes, pretty sure that he was blushing now. What was it about this girl that made him unable to string two words together?

 

There was a long pause, the awkward silence broken only by the faint noise of life around them.

 

“T-This dango is really delicious, though.” she said at last.

 

“Yeah.” He only glanced at her sweet smile briefly as he replied, then pulled his hand away. He was grateful that she’d changed the subject, but her eyes were still expressive enough to embarrass him.

 

After they enjoyed the rest of their dango in silence, Souji laid back, letting his eyelids drift closed.

 

“Okita? Are you taking a nap?” she asked, sounding a bit concerned.

 

“Yep. Hijikata keeps nagging me to get more rest, so that’s what I’m doing.”

 

“Aren’t you worried that I’ll run off while you’re sleeping?” she asked hesitantly.

 

He opened one eye to look at her. “Why, are you planning to?”

 

“No…” she said, trailing off.

 

Slowly, he sat up with a grin. “Just to be safe, though, maybe I should have you sleep next to me.”

 

“W-What?!” Her face instantly turned red. “N-No way! I couldn’t do that!”

 

“Why not? You’ve already laid on top of me once, haven’t you? Isn’t this rather tame by comparison?”

 

“T-That was an accident!”

 

Souji kept grinning as she launched into an explanation of the events of that night. Just as he’d suspected, this had been a lot of fun.