Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Dearest,

I safely arrived in the capital. Do not worry since I already have found employment. There is a corp here that is tasked to keep the city safe. I have met its executive and after a small test of swordsmanship, I got enrolled. This is the chance of our life to make more money to insure our children’s future. I know you’ll manage in my absence. I’ll send my money over every month to help you. Here, from what I understood, I won’t need much. The pay is mince, but is only for entertainment. It might be better than another better-paid job where I have to buy my own equipment and food. 

The commander is called Kondou Isami and I haven’t seen him yet, but the other soldiers I met told me he was a fair and good man. I have joined the first division, under captain Okita Souji’s command. He looks young, barely older than your cousin Saburo, but he’s respected and also a bit feared, I guess. I don’t seem to understand yet what kind of man he is. Future will tell. 

Please keep an eye on the children and tell them that their father thinks a lot about them. I heard we could have permissions granted if we were good elements. I don’t expect to come back anytime soon since the travel would take me long and cost me much, but I hope to be able to do it in a year or two. I won’t stay long I am afraid, this is a lifetime engagement. 

I got the rules read to me. It’s more of a code of conduct and it’s strict. We are not allowed to take money from citizens or to have grudges against each other… I haven’t fully memorized them all yet… Fights are forbidden, except if they are demonstrations of swordsmanship, and quitting is not an option. Although only a few of us are actual samurais, we are all supposed to submit to the bushido and commit ritual suicide in case of non respect of these rules. It somehow feels strange, to have farmers as comrades, and even more strange to see them respect the warrior’s etiquette. Father probably wouldn’t have approved of this type of modern society. What a world, with farmers with a katana in hand… 

I hope my letter reaches you well. I will try to write as often as possible, if I can get ink and paper. I don’t think that soldiers like us are expected to write, but if I show them my worth, I hope to become a captain soon. I suppose their salary is higher than ours. 

Yours sincerely, 

Takeo

Chapter Text

Dearest, 

I have attached to this letter my first salary.

I am satisfied with my station. I made good friends amongst my unit. One of them, Einosuke, is a born samurai like I am. We are the only ones and it still confuses me, but it did bring us closer. Our captain, Okita, is also born with the title. It would be an understatement to say that I am relieved. Taking orders from a farm-born officer would have been a trial. 

Our job isn’t that difficult. We are making rounds through the city, mostly, and improving our fighting skills. That doesn’t mean it comes without danger. Captain Okita is a formidable swordsman, but he lacks the ability to see that others may not be able to follow him with as much prowess. He’s careless, and unforgiving. During our last round, someone was badly wounded. He was taken back to the compound but we haven’t seen him since. We don’t even know if he died. Captain Okita didn’t answer any of our questions and instead, he made us train all night, dusk to dawn. He took us one-on-one one after another, and when he was satisfied he had broken us all, he made us repeat katas on the Mibu temple grounds until the sun showed up in the east.  After that, we were too tired to ask more questions anyway. We were yearning for a moment of rest, but that didn’t come right away since we had the first round in the morning. We were extremely lucky it was a calm one. In our state of fatigue, I wouldn’t have bet on our skin in a street fight. 

We managed to get a bit of rest in the afternoon, but we went out at night again, this time coupled with the third division. Captain Saito seems to be on good terms with our captain, though I have problems understanding why. He is the very image of discipline, and the one of his men reflects on his leadership. I guess I might be a little jealous. His men seem to be respected, and although he expects excellence from them, I’m not sure he would have subjected us to what Captain Okita made us go through the night before. 

I wish I could say it was an uneventful night. Somehow, for us, it was. The Captains left us at some point and we had to wait for their return. When they did, it was with bloodied swords and a body on captain’s Okita’s shoulder. I didn’t see the person’s face, but they weren’t tall. Probably not much older than a teenager. I didn’t know if they were dead or only unconscious and, to be honest, I learned my lesson about asking questions. They took them back to the headquarters with us and I haven't heard anything about that person since. I guess that if they were killed or arrested, it was because they were an enemy of the shogunate, but… That young ? It felt wrong to me. In my heart, I hope nothing happened to them, although I know the chances are slim. 

I know how this may sound, but don’t get me wrong. I don’t think I’m working for monsters, and I don’t miss my old position. Sure, it had the title, but a title doesn’t feed our children. As a low-ranked accountant for our lord, I was unable to provide, as you reminded me quite often. I hope my efforts here will keep our family out of bankruptcy. I leave it to you to decide how to use this money. I trust you’ll make the best decision, after all, you’ve always had a knack for finding deals. 

How are you doing ? And our boys ? Are they helping you out ? 

I apologise for the shortness of this letter, unfortunately, I don’t have much more to say. I hope I’ll have more to share in my next letter. 

Yours sincerely,

Takeo