Saitou was nothing if not efficient about the work he did, but unlike his Shinsengumi days, he was less prone these days to overdoing it and filling nearly every waking second with something productive - which wasn't to say he'd in any way grown lazy; his work ethic was as strong as ever. But back then he'd worked for the good of the Shinsengumi, and when Chizuru - and later their daughter, as well - had replaced that as his purpose, he'd found that for once, his efforts were good enough. He could only do so much for the Shinsengumi, no matter how hard he'd pushed himself and how much he overdid it. Things were simply always stacked against them.

The idea that working too much was worse, not better, had been a strange one to adapt to, but one he'd been happy to accept nonetheless. He didn't just want to protect Chizuru's smile - he wanted to see it.

Or perhaps, in this case, feel it, in the gentle pressure of her face against his back. He'd have plenty of chances to see it later, though, since -

"I plan to, yes."