-September, 1866-
A month before, the Shogun had passed away, causing a bunch of things to happen afterwards. Such as a board that states the Choshou to be the enemy was pulled up, and tossed into the river. Causing the Shinsengumi to have to protect the different boards in the small city.
"Welcome back." Chizuru greeted Shinpachi as he sat on the staircase next to Y/N, who was peeling an apple.
"Yeah, how'd it go?" Harada, leaning against the railing of the stairwell, questioned.
"I'm so tired I could drop. I don't mind crossing swords with those Choshou guys, but I can't get worked up about protecting a notice board." Shinpachi explained, grunting as Y/N harshly patted his shoulder.
"You're doing great." The female stated as she held up two thumbs with a monotonous expression that well matched Saito's.
"I can't really get motivated when you make such an uncute expression." The green bandana wearing male sighed.
"What was that?!" Y/N shouted as she whacked his side, pouting as the others laughed.
"Now that the entire Bakufu army has lost to the Choshu domain, I honestly don't think having killed some rogue samurai will change anything at all." Immediately pausing, the group glanced up to see the familiar purple clad man.
"Itou-san, do you have some sort of complaint with the duties of the Shinsengumi?" Harada harshly questioned the man, or, it at least felt like he was forcing himself to act polite.
In response, Itou laughed, causing Y/N to flinch. Which, the two males didn't miss, and caused their glares on the man to become more intense. "Heavens no. Protecting a sign board is an important in and of itself. Well, please do your best." Itou stated, waving, before he walked away.
"Damn, he's a creepy dude, as always." Shinpachi bluntly pointed out.
"I hate him so much!" Y/N exclaimed, punching her fists into the air, before leaning her back against the stair just above her as she scowled.
"I always see him getting his pals together, whispering about this and that. Who knows what he's up to behind the scenes." Harada stated as he eyed the corner Itou had turned, before groaning as he scratched his head. "What was Kondou-san thinking when he recruited a guy like that?"
"Harada-san." The group quickly looked at three Shinsengumi warriors as they approached.
"Oh, times up, huh?" Harada questioned as he grabbed his spear and began to follow after the guys.
"Please take care of yourself." Chizuru said.
"And good luck!" Y/N cheered on beside her.
Harada turned his head to look at the two females and grinned. "Yeah." He agreed, before walking away.
-Two Days Later-Night-
Y/N stared around in awe as she walked between Chizuru and Kyo as they walked through the opening of the Red District, the guys seeming quite excited about the sudden happening the night before.
"Sano, you've really done us a service!" Shinpachi cackled happily to his best friend. "I never thought you'd use the reward money to treat us all." He grinned happily like a child would after his mother told him he could have any candy he wanted in the whole sweet shop.
"Shinpachi-san, if you really want to praise him, you ought to mention that he protected the sign board." Okita smirked from the other side of Harada.
"Yeah, there's always that too." Shinpachi agreed, a little less ecstatic. His eyes then lit up as he rushed to the entrance of Shimabara. "Oh, well, Sano's paying for tonight. Drink all you like, and sweep away the gloom of the day." He stated cheerfully.
"Bastard, this is my money you're talking about." Harada harshly whispered to his friend, before walking inside.
"Sano-san, thank you! I'll be sure to drink my fill!" Heisuke excitedly exclaimed as he followed behind.
"Not like all of us can drink sake, though." Okita sighed as he entered behind.
"Enough of that talk, eat whatever food you want." Hijikata added afterwards.
"Yeah yeah. Hey, come on Kyo-kun!" Shinpachi smirked as he practically dragged Y/N's older brother inside, causing said female to giggle as the blue eyed male was obviously trying to pry out of the older male's strong grip.
"You're one of us now, so don't hold back on ceremony." Saito told the two females, before he walked inside as well.
The two shared a confused glance, before smiling as they followed close behind.
As soon as the group were put into a room, the females couldn't help but to glance around in awe, as it was obvious that they had never been in such a type of place. Chizuru being a girl, and Y/N not having lived in Japan. Their attention was then put onto a door as it slid open and a beautiful, older woman bowed.
"Greetings to you all. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, I shall be accompanying you gentlemen this evening." The woman greeted. "My name is Kimigiku, I hope you have a pleasant time." She said.
"So pretty." Chizuru accidentally said aloud, her cheeks darkening as Kimigiku smiled in her direction.
Y/N hid a giggle behind her hand at her friend's embarrassment.
"What will you be eating?" Saito asked Y/N, as she sat in between him and Okita, much to Kyo's displeasure.
"I don't really know...It all sounds so expensive, and I've never heard of certain foods." Y/N explained as she attempted to remember the different foods that Kimigiku had listed off. [I don't know how these places work, please bare with me.]
"Remember, don't worry about the price." Okita grinned at her and winked.
"My mom always told me to get something cheaper than whatever the person who is paying is getting." Y/N informed him in a matter-of-fact tone.
"That sounds stupid." Okita retorted.
"It's called manners, ever hear of it First Captain?" Y/N harshly snapped, cheeks heating up as she heard Saito snort beside her. "Sorry." She muttered.
"I get the chicken tempura. Since Sanosuke-san is paying, you might as well get the meal with it." Saito explained to her by her side.
"Then I'll get that." Y/N smiled happily.
It wasn't much, but since Kyo had shown up, Saito had seemed to talk to her more often. Not much, but it was more than before. And, the female found it quite nice to speak with someone who was more down to earth and not as energetic as the others.
"Will you be having sake as well?" Kimigiku asked the male-dressed-female with a kind smile.
"Uh...Well...I don't think-" Y/N began to deny, before Kyo spoke up.
"You can't drink, Y/N." Kyo immediately denied, causing the female to puff out her cheeks and scowl at him.
"I can make my own decisions." She snapped at her stepbrother, before smiling at the geisha. "Yes, I'd like some sake." She stated.
____Quick Time Skip___
"Ugh, you guys are such pigs!" Y/N shouted as she watched Hiesuke and Shinpachi gobble up their food.
"Eh~? But we're your pigs, N/N~" Shinpachi snickered, as Y/N's cheeks turned a darker hue then they already were, as they had been flushed ever since her fourth cup of sake.
"You're drunk." She huffed, shaking her head in displeasure.
"Not as drunk as Hijikata-san." Okita snickered, elbowing her side and causing the female to glance at the mentioned Vice commander.
"I've heard you're like a devil, Hijikata-san of the Shinsengumi. But it would seem an act as you're such a good and gentle man." Kimigiku kindly, flirted, told Hijikata.
"I hear that often." HIjikata said as he took another sip of his sake, while Y/N, Shinpachi, and Heisuke spit out their own sips and began to laugh.
"He never could hold his liquor!" Heisuke exclaimed through tears.
"I have no clue what to say." Y/N huffed and shook her head, before taking a bite of the chicken, a soft smile covering her lips as the batter wasn't too much, like how she had it at this one restaurant back in (country).
"Man, just imagine, if all of this is for protecting the sign board, who knows how much you can get for capturing all of the culprits!" Shinpachi exclaimed.
"Yeah, you said it." Heisuke nodded his head in agreement.
"Hey, Sano, why'd you let them get away? If there were eight of them, you should've been able to figure something out and catch them all red-handed." Shinpachi pointed out.
So he's not that drunk after all. Y/N thought as she finished off the chicken.
"Yeah, I thought that was weird too. At least some of them got caught, right?" Heisuke asked as well.
Harada suddenly frowned. "Chizuru, I need to ask you something." He stated as he looked in the other female's direction. "Did you go out anywhere that night?" He asked her.
"Huh? No." Chizuru shook her head.
"Truthfully." Harada stared at her seriously.
"Yes, I'm always at headquarters at night, honest." Chizuru told him, blinking her large brown eyes owlishly.
"Yeah, she was with Y/N and I while we were cleaning up the kitchen." Kyo spoke up on the female's defense, surprising both females in their own way.
"What's with all the questions, Sano?" Shinpachi interrogated.
"It's just, when we went up against those soldiers that night, someone who looked just like Chizuru was there and messed everything up." Harada explained.
"It can't be." Chizuru muttered.
Y/N suddenly snapped her fingers. "Kaoru!" She exclaimed.
"Wait a second, that cute girl we met on patrol the other day?" Okita questioned, and Y/N nodded her head in agreement. "She did look an awful lot like you." He told Chizuru.
"But that's not enough to..." Chizuru looked a bit doubtful.
"I didn't really think she did, but after all, she was dressed up as a girl y'know?" Heisuke spoke up.
"Then I believe we should have Chizuru dress in a girl's kimono." Saito spoke up.
"Huh?" Chizuru asked, before her eyes widened and she looked at the others who didn't deny his suggestion.
"Chizuru!" Heisuke exclaimed as himself and Shinpachi stood up in excitement.
"Hell yeah! That's a good idea! Hey, Miss Kimigiku! Can you dress this one in a girl's kimono for us?!" Shinpachi questioned.
"Huh?!" Chizuru squealed in shock.
"Yeah, this one too." Okita placed his hands on Y/N's shoulders, causing the laughing female to tense up.
"Wait, what?!" She asked. "Don't put me into this too!" She exclaimed.
"You all." Hijikata began to stand up to stick up for the females, before Kimigiku placed her hand on his chest.
"Very well, I shall do my upmost." The geisha grinned deviously.
___Quick Time Skip___
"I can't believe you forced my sister into a girl's kimono!" Kyo huffed as he pointed at Okita accusingly.
"Don't act like you don't want to see it too." Okita smirked, before he shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "It's not everyday we get to see either girl dressed up like themselves, don't you think this would be a good opportunity for her to try something different while you guys are here?" He asked, causing Kyo's eyes to widen in realization.
Does he...know? The futuristic male narrowed his eyes at Okita, who smirked mockingly in response.
"Apologies for the wait." The tension in the room immediately seemed to disappear, as the door to the back room slid open.
The guys all stared in awe at the two females as they walked into the room.
Chizuru had her hair pinned up in the same style as Kimigiku, but her make up looked less caked on, and was just enough to show her natural beauty. The kimono she wore was a mixture of red and green, and seemed to be a bit big for her small frame.
Y/N looked about the same, except her hair was left down, with a simple rose ornament resting on the side of her head. The kimono she wore was black with a rose pattern of orange and red at the bottom to her knees.
"Is that really you, Y/N, Chizuru?" Heisuke was the first to speak up, a dark red coating his cheeks.
"Yeah." Chizuru shyly nodded her head.
"I haven't worn so much makeup since Homecoming." Y/N muttered under her breath.
"Well, talk about a change! For a second I didn't know who it was." Okita chuckled, getting over his own moment of shock.
"Well, does she look the same, Sano?" Saito questioned the burgundy haired male.
"Huh...Well, I don't know. Chizuru's just so damn pretty that I can't tell anymore." Harada stated with a teasing smirk.
"Huh?!" Chizuru looked shocked, as well as embarrassed, while Y/N's eyebrow twitched.
"You said it! Chizuru's pretty!" Heisuke agreed.
"She's so good-looking I forgot it was her!" Shinpachi stated soon afterwards with a laugh.
"Shinpachi-san, have you fallen under her spell?" Okita teased.
"Don't make me blush." Shinpachi laughed while rubbing the back of his neck, flustered.
"Please, stop it!" Chizuru exclaimed, before suddenly running out of the room and slamming the door shut.
"Hey, Shinpachi, why do you gotta say such weird stuff?" Heisuke blamed the older man.
"It wasn't just him, you drunk perverts!" Y/N exclaimed as she kneed the back of Heisuke's knee, causing the male to flinch and fall to the ground on his knees. "You all should know that looks aren't everything! All because Chizuru put on a different outfit and some lipstick doesn't mean she wasn't beautiful before!" Y/N shouted at the group, a fire background starting to rage behind the female.
"Aw, calm down, Y/N. I know you just want to be complimented too." Okita teased the female, causing her cheeks to heat up.
"As if!" She exclaimed and attempted to kick his side, only for Okita to grab her foot and stick his tongue out at her teasingly.
"Eh, but you do look a lot prettier, Y/N. You should get dressed up a lot more!" Shinpachi stated.
"Yeah, you're really cute." Heisuke agreed happily.
"Maybe we should've gotten you a girl kimono from the beginning." Harada laughed.
"I'll kill all of you." Y/N threatened as she balled her hand into a fist, though when the others just laughed, she sulked in a corner of the room.
"You guys aren't great with women at all, huh?" Kyo deadpanned. "I hope you have a way of getting her out of there." He added afterwards as he narrowed his eyes at the other males.
"Oh, uh...Hey, Sano-san! Do that thing you always do! It'll be like we're drinking without you if you don't do it!" Heisuke exclaimed.
"Huh? Oh, OK." Harada agreed and nodded his head.
"I'll get the other two, they wouldn't want to miss this." Okita smirked, and ruffled Y/N's hair on his way to find Hijikata and Chizuru who weren't in the room.
"Hmph." Y/N huffed and pouted slightly as she fixed her hair, before she returned to her seat. "What are you doing anyways, Harada-san?" Y/N questioned as she warily eyed the man as he took off his shirt and Shinpachi asked Kimigiku to get him a bottle of ink and a brush.
"He's gonna do his famous belly dance!" Shinpachi exclaimed excitedly.
"You guys are such a mess." Y/N stated, covering her face with the palm of her hand and shaking her head, but she couldn't help but to laugh.