To Not Give In

Thirteen || The Blade that Kills and the Blade that Protects

The situation was getting more and more nerve wracking with each passing second. I casted a sideways glance at the fusuma before looking back at Hijikata-san. The vice-commander sat with his legs crossed and arms folded as his crystal violet eyes scrutinized me. He closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them again, he nodded once.

"Fine."

Huh? I blinked. After comprehending what he said, I felt something begin to spark inside my chest. A grin began to spread across my face.

"Thank you!" I cried out, bending forward into a small bow and straightening again.

"Though you'll have to have an officer or one of the captains accompany you each time you go out," he added. "Someone needs to keep watch over you in case you run into trouble."

And that spark of hope and joy faded a little. "What trouble?"

He waved a hand. "Rogue samurai, some dangerous or irritable men, Choshu guys, take your pick. Last thing we need is for you to get hurt or involved with those kinds of people."

"Is it because you think I can't defend myself?" I demanded. "Because I can. I can fight with  my fists and feet, and...and...I know some kendo."

At this, he raised a brow. "You know swordsmanship?"

I bobbed my head.

Okay, it was kind of true. Back when I would take trips to Kyoto more often to visit Ojiisan and Obaasan, Ojiisan would force me into taking these kendo lessons with him despite my protests. It was boring. I just swung around a heavy, bamboo stick. Plus it was tiring. I gave up after two trips.

So it had been about...six years since I last did kendo.

"If you say so then..." Hijikata-san's eyes gleamed and for a second, I caught a glimpse of the "demon" side of him.

I shuddered. I had a really bad feeling about his next words.

"...why don't you demonstrate your skill tomorrow?"

Ah, I was right to be anxious. I let out an awkward chuckle.

"About that," I began cautiously, plastering a big smile on face, "would it be alright if I, um, demonstrate it a few days later instead?"

He tilted his head to the side a bit. "Oh? But if you know how to do kendo, then shouldn't you be able to show me tomorrow?"

I let out a small laugh. And a very terrified and uncomfortable one, at that.

"Yeah, well, the truth is...I haven't done it in a while...I can still do it though, of course," I hastily added, "It's just...I'm a bit rusty. Give me a few days or so to practice and I should be fine. Please?"

I gave him my best puppy eyes. Hijikata-san merely rolled his eyes.

"Three days," he finally replied. "That's it. On the fourth day, you will demonstrate to me your level of skill."

"Yes sir!" I shot forward into a bow, bonking my head on the tatami mat. I released a small squeak. "Ow!"

"Huh? Are you alright?" Hijikata-san sounded alarmed, and I peeked up to see his eyes slightly wide. I gave him a small wave.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," I responded, flashing him a weak smile.

Three days, huh?

Crap I had a lot of kendo to catch up on. I internally groaned.

The next day, I began practicing. I woke up extra early to grab a bokuto and ran to the small garden outside the corridors, beginning first with warm-ups of slashing downwards fifty times, like the way I often saw the captains have their soldiers do during training. My muscles were burning by the time I finished, and a thin layer of sweat coated my skin. After a moment of catching my breath, I continued to the actual swordsmanship.