Work Text:
Hijikata Toushiro, Demon Vice-Commander of the Shinsengumi, wakes up to see the barrel of a bazooka pointed at his face.
Yet another day where he barely manages to escape death only because of his quick reflexes and years of waking up to near death experiences.
After a quick jog around the campus (escaping from the devil) for his cardio exercise he gets ready for the day. Breakfast and a quick cigarette break later he feels as about ready as he ever will to tackle the day.
He attends the morning meetings which is always a headache. Getting anything done around the Shinsengumi without losing his cool is near impossible. Chaos is a vital ingredient to start his day. Go..Kondou-san might be the leader but most of the planning and execution of the daily duties falls on the shoulder of one Demon Vice-Commander.
After dismissing everyone with their duties he gets to enjoy a semblance of control when he drills the Shinsengumi code every morning into all members both old and new.
Daily patrolling around Edo is one of his favorite duties where he can escape from the Shinsengumi campus for a while... provided he doesn't share the same route as Sougo or runs into one certain annoying permhead.
Today is one of his unlucky days patrolling around town since he's run into said permhead. Both of them are a sweaty mess from the sweltering heat. Looking at each other's faces pisses them off and they can't help but bicker. It's a trait of their character, they were created like this! So they end up bickering about something random and totally useless. Gintoki ends up making Hijikata get him a parfait in order to buy his silence. They part ways at the next crossroad and end up making plans for a nightout of alcohol just so they can settle some stupid bet they had in the previous crossroad.
Soon afterwards the sun begins to set and Edo begins to transform into her nightly glory and he returns to the Shinsengumi quarters to end his patrol.
He reaches his room safely, no attempts on his life were made. After freshening up and trying to report back to Kondou-san, who apparently had already gone out to stalk the gorilla woman, he settles down to do some paperwork.
Hijikata is a workaholic no question about that so his idea of relaxing is doing paperwork and watching bad TV soap operas. However reading Yamazaki's report which is more of an essay is always a Herculean task and he ends up smoking through a pack of cigarettes by the time he finishes correcting and beating Yamazaki for his horrible reports. Yamazaki seems a bit masochistic since he never learns.
Evening meetings are as chaotic as the morning ones. Their leader is more often than not missing and everything falls solely on Hijikata's shoulders. Kondou-san is not a bad leader by any means but his shenanigans end up incapacitating him for his duties more often than Hijikata would like it to. By the end of it Hijikata is just glad he survived another day of it.
Dinner is a chaotic affair as well. Shinsengumi is chaos manifested in Hijikata's opinion. He's had to learn breathing exercises to calm his nerves (anymore and he thinks he can probably jump to another anime). His doctor has warned him of high blood pressure and his veins just popping one day and his lungs collapsing if he smokes like a chimney every time he's agitated. He's thankful for the more subdued affairs that are breakfast and lunch since everyone is a little low on energy in the mornings and most of the members are out patrolling during the day. If the circumstances were any different he's sure he would have gone to an early grave from the stress.
After dinner comes more paperwork and if he has the time then some bad soap operas. Most nights Hijikata ends up dragging a drunk and half-naked Gori.. Kondou-san to his room and tucking him in the futon.
Paperwork done he gets ready for bed and slips into his usual dark blue yukata and sets up his futon. Before he slips into the futon he checks every nook and cranny of his room for possible threats and boobytraps. He can never let his guard down around Sougo.
After making sure that his room is safe to sleep in he turns off the lights and finally gets into his futon.
He's always drop dead tired from all the chaos of the day so as soon as his head hits the pillow he's out like a light most nights.
But on nights when sleep is difficult to come by Hijikata Toushiro contemplates his life choices and circumstances. He hardly gets time to wind down properly or pursue a hobby (probably something like more paperwork). His life is not an easy one. He's made a lot of enemies. But he's also made a lot of good friends and allies along the way. Being in a position of power is a responsibility and he knows he has eyes watching his every move. It gets exhausting sometimes.
But if asked would he exchange this life, his friends, his family, his position, his choices, his losses for a life where he can afford more time for himself, less stress, less heartbreak and more pleasure. He'd probably reject the very idea. Afterall why would he give up something he's worked so hard to achieve and in the end gained more than he could ever hope for for some fairytale ending. Everyone knows those never last.
Hijikata would say he's found his home and he'd die before he exchanges it for anything else.
He loves his home, chaos and stress included.