"How did you twist my right arm behind my back? I didn’t even have ti to react before my arm was twisted behind . How did you do it?"
The handso young man blinked his curious eyes at Aoto, looking like a thirsty schoolboy eager for knowledge.
"Ah, well..." Aoto put down the bowl of miso soup he had been drinking. "I actually used a little technique..."
Aoto tried to explain succinctly to Mr. Hijikata.
Hijikata listened intently, his entire upper body leaning slightly toward Aoto’s seat.
Fellow martial artists Zhouzhu, Kondo, Chokata, and Saito were also listening curiously.
"I see..." After listening carefully to Aoto’s explanation, Hijikata nodded slightly. "Using inertia and the flaws of the human body structure, huh..."
After mumbling, Hijikata’s expression turned serious as he said to Aoto, "Tachibana, after dinner, could you spar with and use that move on again?"
"Hm?" Aoto raised an eyebrow, then nodded without a second thought, "Of course."
After happily agreeing to have a good sparring session after dinner, Hijikata smiled cheerfully.
Then, Aoto and Hijikata chatted idly for a while.
Before today, Aoto’s impression of Hijikata was that he was very skilled in swordsmanship, one of the top experts at Shiwei Hall; close as brothers with Kondo and Chokata; a troublemaker known for fighting and causing trouble outside, earning the infamous na "Thorny Evil Child"...
Now, through chatting with Hijikata, Aoto learned more about him.
Hijikata’s ho in Edo was right next to Shiwei Hall.
From Shiwei Hall, it was just a 1 or 2-minute walk to Hijikata’s ho.
It is said that he rented a place close to Shiwei Hall to make it convenient to train there.
Because of his good relationship with Kondo and the others, Hijikata often stayed for als with them and sotis even spent the night at Shiwei Hall after late-night training sessions, making Hijikata Toshizo sothing of a half-resident there.
After finishing discussing Hijikata’s residence, for so reason, the topic suddenly shifted to how Hijikata addressed Kondo.
Hijikata called Kondo "Asheng" - a nickna derived from Kondo’s childhood na.
Kondo’s childhood na was Katsu Gorō, so Hijikata gave him the nickna "Asheng."
...
And so Aoto and his senior brother, whom he had just officially t today, chatted casually.
Tonight’s dinner concluded in a rather harmonious atmosphere.
Abi and Kyūbē moved the leftover dishes and table into the kitchen.
Just after finishing his al, Zhouzhu belched as he headed toward the toilet.
Sitting cross-legged on the tatami mat, Hijikata lightly patted his now full stomach and grinned at Aoto:
"Tachibana, shall we go to the dojo to spar now, or take a break first?"
"Let’s take a break first," Aoto laughed. "I’m really full right now."
Hijikata nodded: "Then let’s rest for a bit..."
"Th-that—Mr. Hijikata, are you in?!"
At this mont, a young woman’s voice suddenly rang out from the entrance of Shiwei Hall.
The mont the female voice fell, Kondo and Chokata, who were still in the hall, imdiately had strange expressions on their faces.
Hijikata, however, remained composed.
Only Aoto and Saito were clueless.
"Hm?" Aoto cast a curious glance toward the entrance, "Mr. Hijikata, it seems soone is here for you."
Hijikata Toshizo nodded expressionlessly: "I heard."
With that, Hijikata stood up, crossed his hands into the sleeves of his feathered robe, and walked calmly out of the room.
"Ah ah..." Chokata watched Hijikata’s departing figure, "Those people really ca..."
"Those people?" Aoto looked even more puzzled, "Who ca?"
Chokata, looking quite mysterious, gave a wry smile to Aoto: "Well... it’s hard to explain in a few words... you’ll have to co see for yourself."
Chokata gestured for Aoto to follow.
Noticing Kondo and Chokata’s rather peculiar expressions, Aoto beca even more curious about the "those people" Chokata ntioned, so after a brief mont of thought, he nodded to Chokata.
After Aoto got up and followed Chokata toward the entrance, Saito also silently stood up, following closely behind the two.
Chokata led Aoto and Saito to a small window beside the entrance.
Leaning close to this small window and looking outside, they could see Hijikata standing face to face with a young girl outside the entrance.
Aoto recognized the girl—she was the one who identified Hijikata this morning during his capture and unmasking.
This girl, looking like an ordinary townsman’s daughter, had her hands clasped tightly in front of her chest, showing a tearful, worried expression toward Hijikata.
"Ah, Mr. Hijikata, thank goodness, I rushed over to see you as soon as I heard you were released from the Prison Compound."
"I just went to your house, found no one there, and hurried to Shiwei Hall to find you. I’m so glad I did!"
"Why were you arrested by the people from the Magistrate’s Office today? Are you okay? Are you hurt? Have you been mistreated at the Prison Compound?"
The girl anxiously scanned every inch of Hijikata’s body.
"Ajing, don’t worry, I’m fine."
Hijikata spoke in a tone... that Aoto heard for the first ti—gentle—addressing the girl he called Ajing.
"Why I was arrested by the people from the Magistrate’s Office today... it’s a long story, and now’s not the right ti or place to talk about it. I’ll explain it to you slowly when there’s a chance."
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