CHARACTER INFO
CHARACTER NAME: Souji Okita
SERIES: Peacemaker Kurogane
PERSONALITY: The first impression one gets of Souji tends to be highly dependant on the context one meets him in. He has two ‘faces’, so to speak. Off duty, he is cheerful, friendly, and sometimes downright childish. He’s quick to warm up to people, loves playing with kids, and is practically always smiling. He can also be a bit mischievous, being capable of telling outrageous stories with a perfectly straight face, and sometimes inclined to tease people to see if he can get a rise out of them.
In a fight, however, he is utterly ruthless. At one point he describes himself as being ‘a child of a demon’, and it shows. The smile is there still, but it’s sharp, nasty now - the sort of smile that says someone else is in a lot of trouble. Despite the ruthlessness, he’s not needlessly cruel - it is simply that there is a job to be done, and that he does it very, very well.
He’s capable of switching between these different aspects of his personality almost instantly - as he does in his conversation with Ryoma in PMK volume 3. One moment, the two are happily joking with each other, a happy grin on Souji’s face - and seconds later, he’s got his blade drawn on Ryoma, all traces of humor totally gone. He is a good person at heart - as shown by his frequent kindness to others - but he is very much capable of putting aside his feelings when it is required of him.
BACKGROUND:
At the beginning of Shinsengumi Imon Peacemaker (the first series, to which Peacemaker Kurogane forms the second half), Souji is the one to bring Tetsu, the protagonist of the series, to Shinsengumi HQ after spotting him sitting outside. He petitions Kondou, the commander of the Shinsengumi, to let him have a chance to prove himself, and then wishes Tetsu luck when Tetsu says he’ll take down the great Souji Okita and excuses himself. He returns a few minutes later, changed for fighting, and introduces himself formally. As promised, he then spars against Tetsu - Tetsu forces him to get actually get serious, at which point he breaks Tetsu’s boku, and scares him with the look in his eyes - it reminds Tetsu of the man who killed his father. Not long after, as Tetsu is contemplating what he thinks are the full implications of being Shinsengumi are, he is also the one to give Tetsu directions as to where to hide to watch Hijikata take on a ronin ambush - without forewarning him as to what he’d see.
Over the course of the early part of the series, he’s shown to spend a great deal of his free time with Hijikata - not quite performing servants’ jobs for him, as being Toushizou’s page is firmly Tetsu’s job, but chiding him, giving him shoulder rubs, joking with him, and the like. He also gets teased a fair bit by the other captains for his lack of manliness, something which he does not seem to mind overly much.
When he, Shinpachi, and Sanosuke are out, off-duty, they run across Tetsu facing down a number of armed ronin in defense of a little girl. Souji is unarmed - when asked earlier as to why, he replies ‘It gets in the way of tag and things’ - but after Tetsu shouts out his name in warning, he is forced to kill his opponent, using the man’s own sword against him.
Afterwards, Tetsu gets upset with Souji, pointing out that it was not necessary to kill the man, at which point Souji reiterates a point made earlier - that because of the nature of his job, he is ‘a demon’s child’. He then shows Tetsu the Shinsengumi code, as set down by Hijikata, and explains that by following the strictures of the Shinsengumi, one must also follow the code of the samurai, and that if you face an opponent with swords drawn, either you or your opponent must die. To do otherwise is dishonorable, and the punishment for it is ritual suicide. The incident emphasises yet again the shift in Souji’s emotional response when compared to ‘average ‘ people.
Not long after this exchange, Tetsu asks Souji to be his training partner, despite knowing Souji’s skills and his difficulty in holding back. As their match grows more heated, Tetsu demands to know Souji’s reasons for taking up the sword, at which point Souji stops the matching, saying that his reason cannot be Tetsu’s as well, and that all he can offer the boy is a partner for his training.
When Yamanami and his subordinates return to HQ, Souji acts in some ways as a mediator between the two vice-commanders. He chats amicably with Yamanami early in the morning when they first arrive, and then, later, when the meeting between Yamanami and Hijikata grows sour, Souji drags Hijikata off on the pretense of grocery shopping to keep things from growing too heated. While they are out walking, the subject of Tetsu comes up, and Hijikata remains adamant that Tetsu should remain a page and not take up the sword and full duties of the Shinsengumi. Souji’s response to this is to point out he was far younger when he first joined, and then says ‘Ah. That’s what this is about. You don’t want another me, do you?’ before picking up his walking pace and moving ahead of Hijikata.
After Tetsu’s trip to Shimabara, Souji encounters Tatsu worrying about his younger brother. He attempts to reason with Tatsu, pointing out that he can’t coddle Tetsu forever. The two end up debating how easy it is to heal wounds of the heart, a question they don’t really come to a conclusion on. There’s also a brief moment of foreshadowing as Souji begins to cough violently, and then immediately blames it on choking on some tea when Tatsu asks what’s wrong.
After Ayumu’s death at the hands of Choushou ronin, Souji is the one to follow Hijikata out of the room rites are being held in, to try to get Hijikata’s attention through the taller man’s anger and ranting. His message is simple - It’s not your fault. When the Shinsengumi go to raid Masuya’s store and the ronin headquarters underneath, Souji is one of the captains leading the attack, all of his usual cheerfulness gone. He gives the order to strike down any who attempt to leave the estate or who resist arrest, but hangs back from the main action. When one of his men asks him why, as he’s usually on the front lines, he replies that he would like to let Yamazaki handle this his own way - as it was his sister who was murdered.
In the aftermath of the raid and Tetsu’s confrontation with Yoshida, the man who killed his parents, the question of how long it takes to heal wounds of the heart comes up once again between Souji and Tatsu. Souji expresses surprise at just how damaged Tetsu is, emotionally, and with the revelation that the younger boy has barely changed, physically or emotionally since his parents’ death, Souji turns contemplative, saying to himself ‘For me...how many years has it been?’ - another small moment highlighting his somewhat troubled past.
During the Shinsengumi attack on the Ikedaya inn - known afterwards simply as the ‘Ikedaya incident’ - Souji is again one of the leaders following right behind Commander Kondou, as befits one of the squad captains. His expression is serious. After cutting down many of the Choushou ronin, Souji comes face to face with their leader, Yoshida. He managed to knock the taller man down, but just as he’s about to make the finishing blow, Yoshida kicks him in the stomach, knocking him backwards. The fight continues, back and forth, but after one particularly nasty kick in the ribs, Souji begins coughing violently, bringing up fresh blood onto his hands. Yoshida takes the opportunity to knock him down again, stepping on his chest hard enough to crack his armor, as Souji struggles, coughing.
He pulls himself upright as Tetsu faces off against Yoshida, and tells Shinpachi and Kondou not to interfere in their fight, giving a list of tactical reasons why Yoshida cannot possibly win. When the battle gets close, however, Souji is the one to step in and kill Yoshida himself, telling Tetsu that his sword is for protecting, not for killing. He then comforts Tetsu, his earlier seriousness gone. When Hijikata and his reinforcements arrive, Kondou sends Hijikata to the back room where Souji is sitting, still coughing harshly. Hijikata sees the blood on him immediately worries, though Souji reassures him that he’s not sick, the blood isn’t his - though Hijikata insists on fixing him medicine for the cough anyway. As they walk back to headquarters in the aftermath, Souji quietly tells Hijikata not to worry - that Tetsu is strong, and won’t end up like he did.
In the aftermath of the Ikedaya incident, we first see Souji again in a somewhat more light-hearted moment, trying to keep Tetsu quiet while Yamazaki impersonates him for some dignitaries. He clearly finds the situation hilarious, struggling to keep himself quiet instead of bursting out laughing.
We are then treated two different encounters that illustrate just how rapidly Souji’s moods can shift. Tetsu finds him facing down a mysterious man - later identified by Shinpachi as Saitou Hajime, captain of third squad - completely serious and intent two kill. They exchange a quick series of blows, the mood tense - and then abruptly, Hajime comments on Souji’s choice of underwear, having caught a glimpse during a stance shift, and the two erupt in laughter, the fight suddenly over. A similar incident occurs in reverse when a strange man infiltrates HQ and pops out of the bushes. He and Souji exchange joking and cheerful grins before Souji suddenly draws his sword, expression serious, as the man is a wanted criminal, and Souji is on duty.
At one point, on an off-duty day, there is a rather lighthearted moment when Souji steals Hijikata’s private book of haikus he’s written - all of which are terrible - and shows it to Tetsu. As soon as Hijikata realizes it’s gone, he immediately pawns it off on Tetsu and absconds before Hijikata can catch him. At the end of the ensuing chase, he gives Hijikata back ‘his’ book - only for Hijikata to discover that the book he was given back was full of doodles Souji had done of his pet pig instead.
As fall shifts into winter life continues on in Shinsengumi headquarters - while there is intrigue brewing with the newest batch of recruits and their leader, there are no major battles. We find Souji playing with children on the grounds near HQ, helping them to build a snowman. He gives them his old, full name - Soujiro - knowing that ‘Souji Okita’ has a reputation as a killer, not as someone who plays with children. He talks with Yamanami briefly, who comments that when they first met, Souji was not much older than those children - but, as Souji points out, he was far less innocent.
Not long after, when Yamanami defects, leaving the Shinsengumi abruptly and without notice, it is Souji who volunteers to go fetch him back, in deference to their long friendship. When he finally finds the older man, Yamanami suspects it to be a ploy of Hijikata’s - knowing he could never draw his sword on Souji. Souji insists there was no order, that he came of his own accord, and attempts to plead with Yamanami, asking him to make apologies so they can find a reason to spare his life, as the Shinsengumi, Hijikata especially, still need him. Once they arrive back at headquarters, heated debate ensues between the vice commanders and commander, while Souji watches in silence. Yamanami draws his ‘blade’ on Hijikata, who immediately reacts with combat reflexes and cuts him down - only to realize that the sword is bamboo. With Yamanami bleeding out, Commander Kondou orders Souji to be Yamanami’s second and to finish the job cleanly, as if Yamanami had committed seppuku rather than being cut down. Souji obeys, and Yamanami is buried with honor. The event affects Souji deeply, though, causing him to drop his usual cheerful mask even in front of others, such as Yamanami’s mistress.
Between the Ikedaya incident, and Yamanami’s defection and death, a somewhat dreary mood falls on the Shinsengumi, and it is in such a mood that Matsumoto-sensei, doctor to both the shogunate and Shinsengumi alike finds them. He performs check-ups on all of the members, and it is here that it becomes clear that Souji’s earlier bouts of coughing were more than just a choking on tea, or caused by an external chest injury. While Matsumoto tells Souji that the coughing is nothing to worry about, he confides to Yamazaki that Souji has tuberculosis, and when he starts to cough up blood - something that had happened at Ikedaya - he will have roughly a year left to live. Souji alludes to knowing of his illness already, when he talks with Matsumoto after the check-up, saying ‘Even if I knew the truth, it’s not something that should be brought into the open.’
His poor health is brought into greater notice after this - during the following winter, Hijikata chastises him for being outside cooking in the cold, and he coughs a great deal more. At the same time, though, he is still well enough to help out with things around headquarters - like assisting Hijikata with his New Year’s cards, and discussing - albeit somewhat jokingly - teaching new students, when they get a fresh batch of shinsengumi recruits.
It’s a steady downward decline, however - when we next see him, Yamazaki is trying to keep him inside, despite his wishes to go spend time with the others and eat ‘bad’ food. He does manage to escape and spend some time in the open air, but Yamazaki wonders privately if he should inform the Commander and Vice-Commander how ill he’s become, despite the fact that telling them will change nothing.
ABILITIES: Souji’s only real special talents lie in the realm of martial arts. As one of the Shinsengumi, he is effectively a samurai, and was raised in the samurai tradition as well. His main skill is swordsmanship, and he excels at it. He is the best swordsman within the Shinsengumi - in a serious fight with the only other person who can come close to matching him there, it is said that the fight would end in death for both of them.
While he doesn’t use it often, he is also shown to have some skill in unarmed melee combat as well as his talents with a sword. For someone of his time period and status, martial arts training would have including work with the bo (quarterstaff), and jujutsu (unarmed combat), and at one point he also parries a katana strike with his foot, using his geta to catch the blade, before shoving the man who’s blade he caught against a wall with a mere flick of his wrist.
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