Escaping Cherry Blossom Chapter 4

“You talk as if she’s keeping a secret from her lover, Sen-chan.” Souji commented. Sen turned knowledgeable eyes to Souji and smiled.

                “She might as well be.” Souji looked at Chizuru upon whose face a slight blush was spreading and then to Sen who had a smug grin on her pretty face.

                “And just what do you mean by that, Sen-Chan?” Souji asked hesitantly. Sen shot him a brilliant knowing smile.

                “It’s woman’s intuition, Okita-san. We women can always tell when our friends like someone. Especially us Demons. We are very keen to the wants and desires of our own kind, you see.” She explained. Realization dawned on Souji’s face and he looked back at Chizuru and nodded.

                “Hm….I think you may be onto something here, Sen-chan.” He said. Sen ‘hmphed’.

                “Of course I am. Like I said women’s intuition! It’s almost never wrong.” Souji nodded again and then a troubled look swept across his face.

                “But…if she likes Hijikata, what about the dream she had of him? Doesn’t that mean that she’s scared of him or something?” He asked?

                “That’s a good point. But it’s something she will have to figure out for herself.” Sen said looking over at Chizuru who had been listening quietly to the conversation. Chizuru remained silent thinking over what had been said.

 

                Upon returning to base, Chizuru ran quite literally into Saitou as she hurried to get to her chores that she had left undone while she was out on patrol. The impact sent her backwards and braced herself  for a harsh fall. Saitou’s arms shot out and caught her around the waist before she hit the ground. He steadied her back on her feet and bent down to look at her face.

                “Careful, Yukimura. Running around the halls is dangerous. You could get hurt.” He told her. Chizuru flushed and bowed respectfully at him.

                “Please forgive me, Saitou-san! I was in a hurry to get back to my chores!” She chirped. A soft smile appeared on Saitou’s face and he let out an exasperated sigh.

                “You don’t need to rush, Yukimura. You have plenty of time to get it all done. Oh. Which reminds me? Hijikata told us to tell you to bring him his tea when you returned from patrol. He probably knows that the others are back so it might be wise not to keep him waiting too long.” He said and walked past her without another word and disappeared around the corner. Chizuru sighed and ran off towards the kitchen to prepare the Vice-commanders tea.

 

                Hijikata was immersed in the documents on his desk when he heard a tap on the door. He glanced at the door and then returned his attention to the documents.

                “Come in.” Was all her said. The door slide open and Chizuru stepped into the room and walked over to his desk.

                “I’ll leave your tea here, sir.” She muttered as she set his tea on the corner of his desk like she always did. He looked up from the documents in his hands and gave her a gentle smile.

                “That’ll be fine thank you.” He said. Chizuru sat down next to him and watched him as he returned to his work. A few moments of silence ensued before he spoke again. “I hear you ran into Sen in town.” He said. Chizuru gave a small smile.

                “I did. I was glad that I ran into her today.” Chizuru answered him. Hijikata grinned and dropped his documents.

                “Did you have fun?” He asked her and tilted his head watching her reactions. Chizuru clasped her hands together and nodded.

                “I did. It’s been a while since I last saw her and we had a nice long chat with Okita-san.” She said, casting him a glance.

                “Oh? What was today’s topic of conversation?” He asked her, turning to face her a curious expression on his face. Chizuru looked down and blushed.

                “Um…just the..usual stuff. Girl stuff and…boys I guess.” She replied to his question. She hasn’t been completely dishonest. They had indeed discussed boys. Well, Hijikata to be exact. Hijikata raised an eye brow at the girl.

                “Oh?” He said, amused. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.” He let out a deep laugh that Chizuru found oddly attractive. Chizuru fell silent not willing to say anymore. Hijikata stopped laughing and gazed down at the girl an odd expression crossing his handsome face. He raised a hand and placed it on the girl’s cheek forcing her to look at him. Chizuru gave a startled look at the sudden contact but she didn’t dare move. He stared at her for a long moment before slowly leaning forward and placing a light kiss on the girl’s forehead.  He ran his hand from her cheek down the side of her next to stop at her collar bone.

                Chizuru should have been scared out of her wits by this sudden contact but she wasn’t. Oddly enough she found it comforting even after the events of the previous night that had left her in such a state of fear. She trembled slightly at the feeling of his hot breath as he placed kisses on her temple and her cheek, slowly working his way closer and closer to her parted lips. He brushed his lips slightly against hers and then drew away slightly to look at her face. He chuckled when he found that her face was completely red. He went in for another touch of the lips when the door to his room snapped open and Heisuke and Shinpachi stormed into the room laughing loudly. Chizuru pulled back, startled.

                “Hijikata!” Shinpachi bellowed and then noticed that Chizuru was sitting oddly close to the Vice-commander and her face was red. He grinned and leaned down to look at her. “Hey missy! Watcha doin’ in here alone with Hijikata?” He asked teasingly. “You’re not doing naughty stuff are ya?” Chizuru stood abruptly and bowed before exiting the room in a rush. Heisuke stared after her and then turned to Hijikata.

                “The hell is up with her?” He asked the irritated looking man. Hijikata shot both of her comrades intense death glares.

                “You two have impeccable timing, I hope you know that.” Hijikata growled menacingly. Shinpachi threw his head back and laughed.

                “Yeah, we know.” He said and then sat down. “It’s part of our charm, you know?” Hijikata swiped and hand over his face and looked at him in annoyance.

                “What do you want?” He demanded. “And it better be good.” Shinpachi just laughed again and then got down to business.