Hakuouki: Hitsuzen

Call to Arms

"Oh, good. You're awake," Sumiko said when Okita finally opened his eyes again the day after they arrived at the Osaka Castle. Okita blinked in confusion as he took in his change of surroundings and tried to sit up. "Not so fast!" she scolded him, gently forcing him to lie back down.

"What happened?" he asked groggily. "Kondo-san... Chizuru...?"

"They're both fine," she reassured him with a smile before adopting a sterner expression. "And way better off than you! What the hell were you  thinking, becoming a rasetsu!?"

"I was thinking it might cure my illness and let me kill the guys who shot Kondo-san," he replied frankly. "But as it turns out, the part about it being a cure was a lie."

"Well, duh," Sumiko deadpanned after a heavy sigh. "I could've told you that, if you had bothered to ask. The Ochimizu only enhances your body's natural ability to heal. The problem with your illness is that it's being caused by a really malignant bacteria that's taken up residence in your lungs. Until that's gone, you'll never get better. The only reason you can move around now is because the Ochimizu enabled your body to keep up with damage being caused by the bacteria better. I'm afraid all you did was prolong your own suffering..." she said regretfully. He was still dying, just at a much slower rate. "Where did you even get the stuff anyway? Because I know it wasn't from San'nan-san."

"Nagumo Kaoru paid me a visit," Okita replied, furrowing his brow as his expression darkened.

"Nagumo... you mean Chizuru's look-a-like?" Sumiko asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, and you won the bet about his gender," Okita told her. "That kid came to my room one night several months ago, going on about how he was Chizuru's twin, and he gave me a vial of Ochimizu claiming that he received it from Koudou-san, and that it would cure my illness... and then he showed up again tonight with those guys. It was him. He's the one who told them how to ambush Kondo-san!" he said angrily, clenching his fists, as he glared up at the ceiling. "Sumiko-san. You have to watch out for Chizuru-chan. That guy's determined to make his younger sister suffer."

Sumiko frowned and furrowed her brow as she closed her eyes. It figured... when it rained, it poured.

"Yeah, don't worry. Leave Chizuru to me. As soon as I feel comfortable doing so, I'll leave you and Kondo-san in Matsumoto-sensei's care and rush back to meet with her and the others," she said solemnly. "But, on a happier note, Kondo-san is also up and asking about you," she added with a sly smile. "He asked me to give you a good scolding for him for giving everyone a scare like that once you woke up."

"You wouldn't..." he said, narrowing his eyes as a feeling of dread began to creep over him.

"That's right! It's plenty of green onion, leek, and bak choi soup for you!" she said with a cheeky grin. Aside from the fact that she knew he hated them, they had the added benefit of being very nutritious.

"I'll kill you..." Okita muttered darkly as she got up to leave and prepare his punishment meal.

"That's a good attitude," she said smirking. "You should hate me more, curse me more, and detest me! Then you should take the power of that hatred and use it to survive in this rotten world!" she continued, quoting Gin-san from Gintama in his parody of Itachi from Naruto as she slipped out of the room, leaving behind a somewhat bewildered Okita, who didn't get the reference at all. Of course, the priceless expression on his face just made it all the more amusing for Sumiko.

January, 1868

Conflict began between the former Bakufu army and the Satsuma and Choshu armies. It was what the world would call the Battle of Toba-Fushimi.