Draft 3

If there's anything that could describe my emotion in that one moment, it would be anxiety

Why? Well when you're providing medical treatment to one of the most infamous militia group in Japan at its start, and knowing full well you're probably going to change history as you did so, and you've probably just made enemy with it's leader, things tend to feel...stressful shall we say

Doubly so if you're having Okita motherfucking Souji hovering a mere three meters from you

I glanced behind me back. There stood the girl from before, her blade sheathed to the side, dangling on the side of the black Hakama she wore in a relaxed manner

Okita's uniform is still in place, though the bob cut hairstyle from before has been now tied into a pony tail with bangs on either side of her face. Cute and adorable, the swordsman's presence radiates a strong sense of lethal harmlessness

She smiled as our eyes met

I turned back, causing her to pout

How the fuck...I swear I've just lost sight of her at the market, but when I came back to the clinic she's already chilling in the chair like nothing happened

"Hey" She poked me in the cheek

Why is she here? Did the Roshigumi's leader told her and Hijikata about my refusal to follow them? That's probably the reason why she's here, to teach me a lesson. Or worse. My paranoia's off the chart now

"Heeeey"

Samurai are nothing like common thugs, they tend to have a lot of pride in themselves and can be easily angered if provoked. But most of the men whom I met are Ronin, who wouldn't feel inclined to hold themselves back from staining their blade with my blood as their more honorable brethren

"Heeeeeeeeeeeeeyyyyy"

And why is Okita Souji a woman? Isn't that a historical contradiction? A guy who is actually a girl. Is this an old version of the term "reverse trap"? Hold up, this is not the time for those kind of thoughts

"Hey!" A sharp poke to my cheek made me snapped out of my stupor.

Reflexively I caught Okita's hand, only to realize what I just did moments later

"You've been ignoring me for the last few minutes now" She pouted "I know you're a doctor, but isn't that stepping out of bounds?"

I released her hand. For a moment, I'm taken off-guard at how smooth and feminine it was. Without the few scars on it, it would look like this girl has never touched a single blade in her life

"Ah, a-apologies for that Okita-san. I was merely thinking about something else"

Then again, something tells me those hands has been stained with a lot of blood as well

I took another look at her to confirm her gender. Although possessing a lithe physique, there's no denying the slight bulge underneath her uniform's chest fabric as anything but a woman's knockers

To actually mistakes this girl as a male...I'll never forgive the Japanese

"What are you here for?" Sighing, I asked her.

In return, the swordsman merely shrugged

"I just want to see you. It's not every day you see someone talks back at a Ronin and come out alive"

She grinned

"It's also not everyday you see that someone, who is considered on par with an imperial doctor, rejected an offer in place of saving human lives. It's something that caught my eyes, is all"

Oh. Not this again

"I just happen to value health over money and prestige, as the doctor that I am"

"Which is rather surprising"

"Is it?" I turned to her "Isn't it the same to everyone else?"

Okita's face turned bitter

"Not everyone, no" She shook her head "Sometime, there were men who would disregard human lives for a clob of coins. To them, lives are merely numbers on which they could profit of"

Oh...that reminds me of some unpleasant acquaintances back in modern day

"Would you like to have some tea?" Not knowing what else to say, I awkwardly offered.

Not like there's anything to say between us. My job is to save lives. Hers is to take them away. A common topic between us to converse would be hard to find

To my relief, Okita smiled and accepted.

We conversed some more about her group. I pointed out how they could take care of themselves and the various medicine that can be extracted from nearby herbs, while she told of her time practicing in the Kendo ways.

She spoke of how she once deflected a hail of bullets from revolting officers using a wooden sword. I laughed, only to realize moments later that she was being serious

...Shouldn't it be impossible for a human to do so?

The amount of dexterity and skill required to not cut apart, but to deflect a flying bullet in it's trajectory, that is to say, veering it off course, with a blade of inferior material would simply be tremendous. And the fact that she did so with a volley of them speaks of how bullshit that is

"Well, It's nothing impressive. Hijikata can do the same if he paid some mind to it, granted he would simply charge through them like usual!"

Her giggle does little to calm my nerves

I took a sip of tea to calm myself, mentally making a note to look about it later

Just like that, the hours passed between us. When the sun has settled down is also when she has to return to her division

"This village means a lot to you, doesn't it?"

"Of course" I drank the last remains of my tea, placing the cup on the table "It was...the place where I first decided to start my medical career. Though recently I've been thinking about travelling the country to help less developed town"

"Then you could always accept our offer" There was excitement in Okita's voie as she smile "You look like a good man so far. It's not necessary to serve the Roshigumi exclusively. You can help the people on your travel there too! Kami know how lacking in common sense some of our men are"

"The answer is still no. I may reconsider that when you arrived in Mibu, however"

"Why Mibu?"

"It's uhm...just some personal preference" He scratched his cheeks sheepishly. 

Okita blinked, but eventually accept the explanation. She look out toward the window, where the first sign of night had descended above the sky. It was time for her unit's roll call

"It's been fun talking to you"

Fun? Well I suppose the stress of meeting a famous historical figure is thrilling to say the least

"Hmm. Likewise. You should hurry up and return to your men" I urged her

After this I'm not going to meet you again. I'll just return to being the village doctor and live away a peaceful life fully content with my research

"Bye, Dokutah!" She cheerily waved before walking into the village streets.

I watched her back blend away amidst the crowd, before exhaling deeply

Shit

I don't understand this

I'm not as dense as to believe history's had someone's gender being wrong. If such events come to light it would be both an embarrassment and a revelation for researchers everywhere

There was the case with Nagao Kagetora where experts and myths alike leaned toward him being a woman, but not Okita because concrete evidences have been presented and studied with scrutiny. The photo taken of him would have been enough proof to any arguments raised

Then again, this could be me not thinking flexibly

Who to say this Okita Souji is the same Okita Souji from history? The fact that she had shown a level of skills far surpass that of her legend's is intriguing. Perhaps it's not a problem of how or when, but who

It was with a feeling of puzzlement that I started my nightly research about medicine

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"You look to be in a good mood, Okita"

"Hm. How can you tell?"

"...Just a hunch"

He watched as the figure of his closest comrade entered the inn with the ghost of a smile on her face. Inside, the sound of ronins feasting on their meals turned to cheers as one of their own returned

Hijikata frowned. 

What is it that made her fell in such a happy mood? Usually it'd just be the smell of battle that successfully get Souji's blood rushing, but the nearest skirmish they'd engaged in was only half a day before, therefore it would be unlikely be the reason for her mood 

His eyes slid over to the house at the end of the hill. A lone, small hut just a tiny bit larger than the peasant's abode. 

The place where she'd just returned from belongs to a doctor. He made a note to look into it later