Saitou/Chizuru For Ari: Under (the) Cover(s)

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It was already sundown by the time they'd reached Osaka. They had gone by sea, a less likely means of travel for someone associated with the Shinsengumi, but when their aim was to sever apparent ties, it was the the most efficient, both in solidifying a new identity and in avoiding conflict en route.

When they'd disembarked, Chizuru had to grab Saitou's sleeve to keep her footing. Like a newborn foal, she had to learn to walk on solid ground again, but she couldn't imagine she'd make much progress when the surface kept swerving.

She was ready to apologize for violating his personal space, but stopped when she realized it probably did their alibi all the better. It didn't stop the blush from creeping up her neck, though. Dressed in a modestly-priced kimono (all they could afford, really), Chizuru felt self-conscious about her current appearance. She'd spent the last several weeks like this, but now they were in a very public place, and they were expected to mix in with the bustling crowds of this lively port town.

She had recited their monikers in her head for hours, using it as an exercise to drift off to sleep when they'd retired on the boat. She'd shared the same closed-in quarters for at least a month, calling him by a name he answered to all too easily. With new identities came new histories...posing as husband and wife in a spy operation...she knew Saitou would excel at the mission as he always would, but...

...well, she couldn't help but recall how the last undercover assignment she had went...

Saitou/Chizuru for Sam

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Years of cooking (and cleaning, nursing, bathing, etc...) for the Shinsengumi had done Chizuru a great service she learned, as she continued into adulthood. Compared to the fist-fights she had to break up between Harada and Heisuke, the tantrums of Hijikata, and the pranks of Okita...having a child was a cakewalk!

She knew she had little to worry about regarding the actual childbirth. While she'd never really taken her ability to heal for granted, per se, she was especially grateful that it would mean she could be worry-free about the baby growing up motherless as she had. If not for her healing, then for the protection she rested in with the baby's father.

...which was the biggest challenge of all, when it came to the pregnancy and the rearing of their child once she came. It was enough that she couldn't walk two steps without Saitou nearly scooping her up to make sure she reached her destination safely, but once the baby was born and she was bed-ridden for a day or two, the father hovered over her, asking twice, if not three times, that he was doing things properly.

At first it became endearing, but quickly Chizuru put her foot down and taught Saitou proper--not because he was doing anything incorrectly, only because formal instruction on anything was the only way to get the man to stop second-guessing himself on anything that didn't pertain to blades.

Of course, it all started over again when Chiharu started to walk...then said her first words...

Chizuru lay in bed that morning, recalling the years that felt like forever ago. It was just a few years now, though how long has it been since they first crossed paths? The sun started to peek over the horizon, a warm stream of light leaking into their bedroom.

She rolled over in the futon they now shared, pressing up against his back and spooning him. She pressed her lips into the back of Saitou's neck, nuzzling up into the warmth of their bed. "Good morning."