Soji Okita

The genius swordsman and officer of the Shinsengumi. He has a carefree personality and a friendly sometimes childlike disposition but displays frighteningly deadly skill in combat situations. He loves sweets and has an affinity with children with whom he loves to play with and who adore him in return. He is first assigned as the assistant vice captain later in the series he gets assigned as the captain of the first squad. He has strong bonds with Kondo who essentially raised Okita from when he was an adolescent after his mother and siblings could no longer afford to care for him and Hijikata whom he loves and respects like a brother. He is the first person to discover Sei039s true gender and he is her confidant on any matters relating to the fact. He039d wanted her to go back to a normal girl039s life after she had gotten her revenge due to the brutality of the life of a Samurai and he often tries again to convince her to do so whenever situations that he doesn039t think she can handle arise. In contrast to this mentality he more often sees her as a boy sometimes even forgetting that she is a girl which Sei is both irritated by and grateful for. As Sei039s mentor he trains her and is not afraid to be strict or at times even cold towards her if he feels she needs it but he is more often found hugging teasing or being silly around her and is in fact noted to be quottoo softquot on her by his peers. He is protective of Sei and has concern for her well being often worrying about what she039s doing or where she is. He039s always quick to rush by her side if he feels she039s in danger and he frequently serves as a form of comfort and reassurance to her. After the Ikedaya Jiken he admits he has come to care for Sei as if she were his own kin like he does Hijikata but it isn039t until over a year following those events that he realizes he039s actually in love with her. Ironically everyone else except for Sei had already assumed that he and Sei were romantically involved with each other quite some time before that. Okita039s obliviousness to love stems from a traumatic incident that occurred when he was 17 when a woman he039d turned down attempted suicide in front of him. Though the woman in question survived the incident troubled Okita deeply and he came to the conclusion that falling in love wasn039t worth such pain and consequently he kept his distance from women ever since something he later realizes didn039t occur when he met Sei because of her nature as a girl who wanted to be thought of as a man. Another hindrance to any potential romance he may have is that he has dedicated his life to the path of the Samurai and has long since vowed to himself that he039d never marry. Because of this despite his feelings he is more willing to let Sei live the life of a normal girl and even get married to someone else than to vocalize any desire to be with her as he doesn039t see himself as one who could bring her true happiness.