Archive of Our Own ^beta

“Takechi,” Takasugi Shinsuke called his name from two seats away as Takechi rose to his feet after they’d closed a strategy meeting one day. His voice wasn’t particularly loud, and if it were anyone else’s, it might have been drowned out by the hubbub of the other Kiheitai members present in the hall, yet somehow it carried in such a way that Takechi couldn’t miss it.

“Shinsuke-dono?”

“I’ll see you in your room in fifteen minutes.”

The tone did not betray anything, sounding as cool and collected as it did most of the time. Takasugi Shinsuke – or just Shinsuke, as he wanted them to call him – was the kind of man who commanded respect anywhere he appeared, and among his comrades especially so. Every Kiheitai member knew to follow his orders, and they did so without any complaint. This came both with Shinsuke’s position as their commander and with his great judgement that made everyone look up to him. And while Takechi was one of the few who actually had the right to voice their objections, he only really did so when the situation truly called for it.

“As you wish,” he replied simply, holding Shinsuke’s calculating gaze. After a few moments, the corner of Shinsuke’s mouth twitched in something akin to a smile and he looked away from Takechi again.

Across the table, Bansai seemed to glance between Shinsuke and Takechi, but his eyes were still hidden behind his favourite sunglasses, so it was difficult to tell if there was any real meaning to the action.

In the situation at hand, Takechi didn’t really have any specific reason to refuse, so his safest bet was to go along with whatever Shinsuke wanted. He had his doubts about the purpose of their rendezvous. Was it about the strategy for the upcoming deal with the Amanto from Planet Kochin, which Shinsuke had specifically asked him not to bring up during the meeting? Was it about their inventories? Was it something else? Takechi had no idea but surely worrying about it couldn’t be productive, so he dismissed the thoughts and made his way back to his room.

The room – cabin really – was modest just like most other quarters on their ship. In the middle of the room, there lay a simple futon on top of the tatami flooring, and there were a couple of cabinets lining the walls – just enough to hold a few sets of clothes – and little more than that. They did not have the luxury of holding onto too many possessions, so most of them kept the bare essentials, like their weapons of choice, and maybe a few items of personal significance.

For example, in Takechi’s case, the text of the Great Edo Ordinance Regarding the Healthy Development of Youths. Takechi sat down on his futon and picked up the sheets lying next to his pillow, once again looking over the text that was already strewn with his notes. Censorship and limitation of freedoms – this was just a repeat of what had happened to the samurai class, except now it was all citizens who would be affected. The boundless potential of flowers which had yet to bloom, that very potential would be nipped in the bud if they failed to do anything. But surely under Shinsuke’s leadership, they would do away with the order of the current, rotten world. Takechi had no choice but to believe in that, but he had to continue taking action on his own too.

“Takechi.”

Had it been fifteen minutes, really? Takechi wasn’t sure, but Shinsuke was already there, leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed. In his right hand, he held his kiseru and he took a puff on it as he regarded Takechi in a laid-back manner.

“Shinsuke-dono.” Takechi clutched the papers in his hands, wrinkling them slightly, and then put the sheets down in a pile on the tatami flooring. “What is it that you wished to discuss?”

“Oh, no need to be so formal.” This time, a crooked grin was so evident on Shinsuke’s face that nobody could possibly miss it. “It’s nothing serious, really.” He reached behind with his left hand and closed the door with the press of a button, then approached Takechi in unhurried steps.

Once he was close enough, Shinsuke dropped to the floor, sitting in a careless manner as he put out his pipe and placed it inside his left sleeve. The right side of his kimono rode up and revealed his thigh, his underwear peeking out as if he were a rebellious teenage girl sporting a skirt that is way too short to be in line with the school regulations. Or so Takechi imagined because back in his days all girls would just wear a modest kimono, so he wasn’t an expert on that. And they were both grown men, so it wasn’t a very good comparison, was it?

Shinsuke rested his elbow against the very same uncovered thigh, propping his cheek up with his palm, as he gave Takechi a languid, undecipherable smile. “So Bansai tells me you’ve been dressing up as me, apparently.”

That … was not what Takechi was expecting to hear, and he couldn’t decide if he was mortified or relieved because – well, if the cat was out of the bag, he didn’t have to hide any more, did he? What surprised him, however, was that Shinsuke looked at him with what looked like genuine amusement, even though with Shinsuke it was dangerous to assume.

“I hear even Matako was fooled at first,” continued Shinsuke conversationally, as if he was unconcerned by Takechi’s stunned silence. “Surely you’re not trying to actually hit on her, are you?”

This accusation finally broke Takechi out of his stupor. “Most definitely not.”

“Hmm …” Something glinted in Shinsuke’s eye, something yet unidentifiable, but surely as the Kiheitai’s strategist, Takechi would figure it out soon enough. “But still, you must have been watching me very closely to be believable to Matako, even if for a moment.”

Takechi really wasn’t certain where this conversation was headed. “Naturally, as all of us have, I believe.”

“Is that really all there is to it?”

Takechi raised an eyebrow in confusion. “I apologise for using your likeness like this, Shinsuke-dono, but I thought your charisma could … well, greatly help my cause.”

“Your cause,” Shinsuke mused, his eye darting to the papers lying on the tatami. “You’re right, Takechi, you should fight for what you believe in. Even if that cause is opposing the Great Edo Ordinance Regarding the Healthy Development of Youths.”

Takechi couldn’t tell if Shinsuke was mocking him or indeed how much Shinsuke even knew about the draft law. However, he didn’t have much time to dwell on that because Shinsuke then raised his head, his arm slowly dropping between his legs and resting there as he continued: “In that case, shall I help you with your grand cause?”

Help him … how? Takechi didn’t voice the question out loud, but the smirk on Shinsuke’s face suggested that he was aware of Takechi’s confusion and, in fact, revelled in it.

Shinsuke moved from his position, placed his hands on Takechi’s shoulders and pushed him down into the futon. Takechi’s own unspoken words lodged somewhere in his throat when Shinsuke climbed over his lap, trapping him with his body like a predator did his prey. The upper part of his kimono hung open, and his chest – flat like that of a prepubescent girl, though decidedly more toned – came into Takechi’s view as Shinsuke hovered over him. He then lowered his head to Takechi’s ear and said in a deeper voice: “Maybe you should get to know me more intimately before you try to impersonate me again.”

Takechi felt a shiver run through his body and he gulped nervously, frozen in place, as one of Shinsuke’s hands wrapped around his wrist.

“What say you, Takechi?”