Hello everyone! I am back! For now, anyway.

So, what made me write this instead of continuing my other stories? Well, I recently bought a 3DS, and one of the first games I bought for it is Hakuoki 3D: Memories of the Shinsengumi, which is, for those who don't know, just a remake of the original Hakuoki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom game for the PSP, but with some few extras. I got so hooked up with it that I finished all the 6 routes as fast as I could, playing when I wasn't busy with homework and such, which took about a five days. But before even knowing of the game, I already knew about the anime, just sayin'.

So after it, I rewatched the anime and fell deeper in love with it all over again. Wait, that sentence is weird. Ah, whatever. Guess who's my favorite guy? It's the forever stoic and silent Saito! ^_^ I don't know, there's something about his voice that made me instantly fall in love with him, not to mention that I have a fetish for silent and serious guys like him. Also, such a bishounen. (Melts).

This is something that suddenly formed in my mind one day, like how my other stories started out, and I just had to make it into what it is now. In fact, I was so obsessed with this that I even wrote bits and pieces of it on a spare notebook during classes (forever model student [sarcasm]) and rushed home just to type it in.

Well, I don't plan on rushing this, so for those who want fast-action, this is not for you. You have been warned. But if ever I do rush it...it is purely unintentional. Also, I am notorious for not updating stories for a very, very, very long time. Ask some of the people who have read my stories and are still waiting for the updates, I bet they all have a brick in hand and are ready to stone me to death.

Also, one thing you should know before reading, I didn't think this through before posting. It's purely impulse, so if you think the plot is not well-thought of, I apologize. The same goes for the title. I'm a lazy person. And I drew some inspiration from several fanfictions not limited to Hakuoki, so if you find somewhere in the story something familiar, it might or might not be coincidental. If it is not coincidental, I give credit to the person whoever thought of it then.

One last thing you need to know before reading. This story is not only based on the game and anime, but also on some doujin games as well, particularly a doujin game called "Kuchihatenu Sakura no". Some of you might have heard of a new PS Vita game called Sweet School Life (SSL), but I'm not sure what's the relation of it to Kuchihatenu. I mean, even the uniforms are the same. It's scary. But oh well.

Not sure if this is all I have to say, but I'll leave it at that, since I'm sleepy when I'm typing this. Hope you all enjoy. And if you don't, sorry I failed to meet your expectations.

"Aaa" - spoken words

Aaa - thoughts, mostly the protagonists (of this story, not the game, duh)

"Aaa" - written words

'Aaa' - whispers

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the OC.

EDIT/UPDATE:

Hi everyone. I hope you're all doing well.

As you might've read from the A/N above, I first came up with this out of impulse. After re-reading the story once more, I found several awkwardly placed moments/dialogues, and some parts that, well, don't make much sense (to me, anyway).

So I decided to rewrite it.

I don't know how you guys might react to this rewrite, but I hope you guys will all like it.

EDIT/UPDATE 2:

So I edited and revised it even further. From now on, I will take this story seriously.

That also means that I will revise the other chapters as well.

I understand that it has been a while since I last updated, and if you have to reread it from scratch all over again, I sincerely apologize.

For new comers and those who are rereading this, any chapters after this are still unrevised, and will most likely be different by the time I finish and upload them. I also apologize for that.

Unfortunately, my writing schedule is still messed up, as finals are approaching, and it has been some time since I played the game.

I have no priorities which I put my stories in, so updates will be sporadic as well.

Chapter 1

Today was the first day of school, so was the first day of her high school life, but Morizawa Ayame wasn't thrilled. This school, Hakuou Gakuen, was a private all-boys school that just recently turned co-ed, which means that the female population is really scarce. In fact, Ayame hasn't seen a single female creature ever since she set foot on the school premises.

Of all the schools I had considered, I chose to pick the one and only Hakuou Gakuen. Ayame sighed to herself as she ignored the men that have been ogling her for quite some time now. And how in the world did I manage to pass the entrance exam when all I did before and during the test was fuck around?

Don't get her wrong, it's not that she doesn't like the school as a place of education. Hakuou Gakuen has been known throughout the country as one of the top high schools, with its students commonly placing high ranks in the national exams, not to mention that it takes a person of at least some caliber to get accepted. The only problem is, rumors have been flying that the school, or at least some of its administrators, are involved in some sort of shady business or whatnot. That, coupled with that fact that the school is full of boys and only boys, there's no wonder not everybody would want their daughter to enroll to the place. So what made Ayame choose this place even if there are more than a hundred better choices out there? She doesn't know either. It's probably a mystery that would go unanswered for the rest of her life.

Ah, whatever. I'm already here. Maybe I'll take this as a trial run, then decide if I want to stay or not. Transferring to another school is as easy as just signing a paper nowadays, after all. She sighed again. That's what I said, but these stares are already getting to my nerves...

Being the only person that's wearing a skirt, she'd naturally gain attention, wanted or not. Damn all these stares. But I guess it can't be helped. It's not every day they get to see a woman roaming around in the campus, and I bet the only woman most men here see every day is their own mother.

Being the only girl in an establishment full of men has its ups and downs. One downside to it is that almost every single club that's recruiting new members would flock to her, since she's the only female, and thinking about it, who wouldn't want a female in their club if she was the only skirt-wearing creature in the school?

That's what's exactly happened to Ayame, and as the boys crowded around her, she lowered her head and gave an intimidating glare to each and every one of them. They stopped what they were doing and let Ayame walk out of the crowd as the boys watched, terrified.

The upside to all of this is that she didn't have to squeeze through people to take a look at her class, since the boys all parted in a Red Sea-like manner when she approached. She walked leisurely to the board, scanned the papers pinned on it to find which class she belonged to, all the while ignoring the stares and whispers all around her.

"Hey, who's that girl? Why is she here?"

"Dude, did you forget? They decided to make the school co-ed, you dumbass, so she's a student like us."

"Man, the first female in our school and she's a total hottie."

"I wonder what her year is. It would be awesome if we were in the same class."

"But don't you think she looks a bit like those female delinquents? I mean, look at her."

"Yeah, not to mention how she gave a death glare to all of those guys back there..."

True enough, Ayame just slung her bag over her shoulder in a not very feminine way, her tousled blouse wasn't tucked in, and she was missing the ribbon required for the female uniform of the school. Not to mention her other hand was in her blazer pocket and her face was literally shouting don't come near me in a very annoyed way. No wonder they'd think she was a delinquent.

'Morizawa Ayame' Finally, Ayame saw her name at the very bottom of the board. 'Year 1, Class 1'

Let's just hope that this school doesn't get any worse than it already is.

She backed away from the board, but didn't go in the building yet. Since there was still a lot of time, she figured she'd explore the school grounds some more. Who knows, she might find something interesting enough for her to stay. Unfortunately, after a few minutes of walking around, she found that the school is just like any other schools out there in Japan, with nothing that stands out or catches her eye.

Man, this place is boring. Ayame thought as she went around the corner. I wonder where I should transfer to...

But she stopped dead on her tracks. She was at the back of the school building, in the courtyard near the field, and was amazed to see a huge sakura tree in full bloom. The wind rustled and petals flew everywhere, creating a blizzard of pink petals all around her. She was so mesmerized by it that she temporarily ignored everything else around.

"Look out!" A voice pulled Ayame back to reality as she saw from the corner of her eye a round object flying towards her. She could barely react when it hit her square in the temple and she felt her body falling towards the ground before completely losing consciousness.

~o~O~o~O~o~O~o~

Oww... Ayame thought to herself as she slowly regained her senses. There was a dull pain throbbing at the side of her head, on her left temple, that wasn't exactly that painful, but it wasn't pleasant either. With her eyes still closed, she started wondering what she was doing before passing out. Right. I was hit by a ball.

But something was...wrong. She remembered she was at the back of the school grounds when everything happened, so logically, she'd be in the school infirmary lying on the bed. Unless the infirmary didn't have beds, she wondered why she was lying on something as cold and hard as dirt on the ground. Plus, her clothes felt different, too.

Puzzled, Ayame opened her eyes. She was indeed lying on the cold, hard ground that was covered in snow, something that shouldn't exist in spring, and it was dark all around her. Looking up at the sky, stars were scattered across the night sky, and when she sat up, she noticed that she wasn't wearing her Hakuou Gakuen uniform anymore. Instead, it was replaced by a kimono that felt too rough against her skin.

Where the fuck am I and what the hell happened? Ayame asked herself, but as soon as she did, a cold breeze blew through her and she shivered. But before that, I better find a place to stay.

Easy for anybody to say. There was nobody around to ask for help and nobody would answer no matter how hard she knocked on each door. There was one weird thing she noticed while wandering around. The houses around her were the really old wooden ones, ones that only existed even before the Meiji era, where foreign styled houses didn't catch on yet. The really old Japanese-styled houses.

If it weren't for the bone-biting cold, she would've stopped and pondered on her situation, but it was not time for that. If she doesn't find shelter against the cold soon, she might freeze to death.

After walking around for another while, she saw a faint light in the distance, and judging from the way it swayed from left to right, it was a lantern, and somebody was holding it while walking. A gleam of hope sparked up, and Ayame quickly ran towards the light without any second thought. Now a few meters nearer, she saw the man holding the lantern, and he was accompanied by three more others who were trudging along behind him in the snow.

"Um, excuse me..." She went forward a few more meters until she was sure they could see her and spoke up, catching their attention.

"Well, what do we have here, a small rabbit lost in the dark streets?" The men finally noticed her, and the man holding the lantern grinned widely as he spoke to her.

"You really shouldn't wander about in the middle of the night, miss." A man approached as he spew out words Ayame could barely understand, and she noticed the reek of alcohol as they came nearer.

"Um, I just need a place to stay for the night..." Ayame said, but quickly regretted her decision and backed away from them.

"Is that so? You could stay in my place. Nothing like helping the needy, right?" One of the men slurred. He obviously had something else in mind than just "helping the needy".

As they approached her even more, it was clear that they all had malicious intentions, and Ayame backed away even further, ready to run if she had to. "You know, I changed my mind. Sorry to bother you people."

"It's not very nice to ask a favor only to change your mind after we offered it." A man grabbed her wrist as soon as she turned around.

"Let me go!" Ayame tried to twist her wrist away, but his grip was surprisingly strong for a drunkard. As she continued to try and fight back, the man's free hand started wandering about on the rest of her body and attempted to untie the obi on her kimono. Panicking, Ayame turned and kicked the man in the crotch with all the force her leg could muster.

Howling in pain, he let go of her wrist, and as soon as he did, Ayame dashed out into the night. The man's companions, realizing what just happened, suddenly sobered up and started chasing her while unsheathing their swords and cursing at her.

Dammit. All I wanted was a warm place to stay and I get this. Whoever rules the universe must hate me. And what's up with their clothes and weapons? Ayame thought as she ran. But running in the snow with shoes she wasn't accustomed to was proving very difficult, the constricting kimono wasn't making things easier, and it was taking her a bit more than she needed just to slightly outrun the men chasing her.

The chase continued through the streets and alleyways, and Ayame was starting to get annoyed. I don't really want to cause more conflict, but they're obviously asking for it.

Stopping and turning to face her pursuers, Ayame silently eyed the weapons they were holding and her environment, weighing her options. Seeing her stop, the men stopped one by one in front of her, their breaths ragged from the chase and the alcohol that was still in their system.

"Finally gave up, missy?" One man asked, panting slightly.

"I'm not giving up." Ayame glared at him. "I'm just considering my options of taking out all of you."

"Hah! You must be stupid to think that you can get out alive without any weapon!" As soon as he finished, the man charged towards her with his katana raised over his head, but before he could swing it down on her, Ayame side-stepped out of the way and his katana hit nothing but thin air. Before him or any of his companions could make sense of what happened, Ayame quickly attacked where he was most vulnerable: his side.

"Gah...!" The man let go of his sword as he clutched the part where Ayame hit him.

Bad idea. Ayame thought as she kicked his sword away and quickly hit him at the nape of his neck, rendering him unconscious.

"What the..." The other nearest man had barely enough time to react before Ayame ran towards him and struck him down, too.

"Bitch, you're good." The last man smirked at her before charging. He was obviously faster and far more skilled than his downed companions, and because of the narrow alleyway and her tight kimono, she had some difficulties evading his attacks. One of his attacks sliced her right in the shoulder and she jumped back from him. Wincing in pain, she held the wound with her right hand as she felt warm blood trickle down her arm.

"Ugh..."

"You don't seem so good now that you're wounded, huh?" He snorted and his smirk grew even wider, but that only made Ayame glare at him.

She waited for him to charge at her again before she blocked the arms that were holding the katana with her right wrist and, bearing with the pain, countered by striking the middle of his chest with her left hand. If she weren't wounded, that could've knocked out a full grown man, but he only knelt down and clutched the part where Ayame hit him. It was good enough for her. Before he could even look up at her, Ayame lifted her leg and gave the man a kick in the face, knocking him against the wall and he slumped on the ground, unconscious like his friends.

"Hah..." Exhaling, Ayame gripped her wound once more and leaned against a wall. She really didn't want to do all that but she had no choice. Now not only is she cold, but she's wounded, too, and that just decreased any meager chance that she might get help. Who wants to take in a wounded girl? "What do I do now...?"

"Hehehehehehehehehehehehe..." Suddenly, a high-pitched laughter broke through the silence and Ayame turned around, alarmed.

A few meters in front of her stood a man clad in blue and a head guard on his forehead with an unsheathed katana in his hand. Not yet over from what had just happened, she backed away from the strange, white-haired man.

"Blood...it smells...nice..." Ayame had to strain her ear to hear what the man just said, and she gasped when he lifted his head up. His eyes were as red as blood, and she noticed his gaze was fixated on the blood that was gushing out of her shoulder wound.

Without any warning, he lifted his katana and ran towards her as he laughed maniacally, as if he was a mad man. His inhuman speed gave Ayame little time to even scream, and all she could do was shut her eyes as she waited. But the pain never came. Curious, she opened her eyes to slits and saw that the man who originally wanted to cut her up has stopped right in front of her, his katana still in the air, but this time there was the tip of another sword protruding out of his chest. As the katana was pulled out from him, he dropped to the ground, blood pouring out from his wound, and he was dead within seconds.

Looking up, Ayame saw another man swing his own sword to the side to get rid of the blood and proceed to sheathe it to the scabbard at his right. He had a white scarf around his neck and his long, purple hair was tied in a side-ways pony tail that reached his chest.

Her life was saved at the last minute, and she let out a huge sigh of relief. Although, she just witnessed a murder happen, and she doesn't know whether she should be grateful or not.

"I certainly didn't expect another run-away only a few weeks after the last incident." Another man emerged from the shadows. "And like last time, Hajime-kun didn't let me show off in front of the lady at all."

"If I did, you would've let him killed her." The man in front of Ayame spoke with no emotions at all as he turned his back to her.

"You always manage to read my mind. How do you do that, Hajime-kun?"

"Enough with the chit-chat. Saito, explain what happened." Another man with long, tied-up black hair appeared. He wasn't glaring at her, but Ayame sensed that if she try so much as to run away, he will kill her, so she stood in place, not daring to move.

She noticed that the clothing of the three men was the same as the man that just got killed. Or at least, the haori they were wearing was identical. Not to mention they were all wearing kimonos and carrying katanas. Just what the hell is happening here...?

"We heard several men yelling, so we came here as fast as we could. When we arrived, Nakata was about to kill her, so I dealt with him accordingly." The man called Saito said as he looked at the other unconscious men. "However, the others only seem to be unconscious, therefore, this is not his work."

"So you mean to tell me that this little lady over here took care of the thugs?" The man with the cheery yet unnerving smile approached and studied Ayame, and she only glared back at him. "Kind of hard to believe, if you ask me."

"Stop harassing her, Okita." The other man said.

"But Hijikata-san, don't you think a woman who can beat up three grown men on her own is interesting?"

So that guy with the annoying smile is called Okita, while the other one, who seems to be the leader of the group, is called Hijikata, huh?

"Commander, what do we do with her?" Saito asked, ignoring Okita.

"What do we do with her? Do you really have to ask?" Okita adjusted his katana on his left as he turned back to look at Ayame with a smile. "She obviously saw everything, so we obviously kill her."

"That should be the rule, but as much as possible, I really don't want another civilian killed. The reputation of the Shinsengumi is already bad enough as it is." Hijikata sighed. "If word got out that we're out killing people again..."

The Shinsengumi? What, do they really think themselves as part of that famous police group that existed more than a hundred years ago? Not to mention they just straight out killed that man. This Nakata might be crazy, but killing is never a solution. They must be a bunch of nutjobs. That was what Ayame thought to herself, but seeing how they carry themselves, the clothes they're wearing, the weapons they're carrying, and the overall atmosphere of the place, she felt like disagreeing with herself.

A mere three-steps away from her, the men were discussing amongst themselves, but Ayame was not deaf enough to not hear and realize that they were thinking of ways to deal with her, and she swallowed hard at what she heard. Forget about all this time period craziness for a second, if I don't do anything they might really kill me here and now.

The men standing before her were obviously far more skilled than the rogues she took care of, and neither fighting them nor running away are reasonable options. But she couldn't just stand there and let them decide her fate. There must be a way to persuade them not to kill her...

"U-um…" She spoke up, albeit meekly. Sure, she dealt with four men all on her own just a while ago, but she wasn't too sure about facing the ones right in front of her.

The men weren't expecting her to speak, so they all turned to her, the expressions on their faces hard to decipher.

"Trying to wiggle your way out of the situation is a bit too late at this point, since we know what you saw." Okita smirked. Well, at least with this one, Ayame could tell he enjoyed very much toying with people, and that sort of irritated her.

"Of course I know that, you nitwit. I'm not stupid." They widened their eyes in surprise. It was apparent that they didn't expect her to talk back either. "I know I saw something all of you didn't want me seeing, and killing me is one of the options you've got, but I've got a better deal here that could benefit all of us." I know I needed something to make them change their mind about killing me, and I sure hope this works.

"Elaborate on that…deal." Hijikata narrowed his eyes at her, though he seemed interested in hearing her out.

"Hijikata-san, yes? It looks like you haven't slept in at least five days. Okita-san, you are being bothered by a stomach ache and minor chest pains. You, Saito-san, seems like an honest enough person and isn't hiding any illness or discomforts."

Saito nodded at Ayame, while the other two widened their eyes further in surprise. Looks like neither of them wanted anybody to know what their bodies weren't up to the weather lately.

"You are a physician?" Saito asked.

Ayame shook her head. "No. Well, not yet. My parents were doctors and I grew up learning more medical things than an average person could know."

"Heh~" Okita said. "Not even Kodo-sensei could tell all of that with just a glance. You're good. Killing you would be a waste."

"Commander, what of her now?" Saito turned to Hijikata, who was deep in thought.

"Hmm. I still don't see how we can benefit."

"Oh c'mon. I'm saying that I can work for you as a free stay-in physician and I will keep your secret safe. Of course, being a stay-in physician means that you'll have an easier time keeping an eye on me, too, meaning less chance for me to spill your secret, or whatever that is." Ayame rolled her eyes. She couldn't believe he didn't get what she was implying the first time round. She was practically advertising herself.

"That is a tempting offer." Hijikata lowered his head as he thought about it some more. "Fine. We'll take you on that."

"I'm genuinely surprised that Hijikata decided to spare you." Okita turned to Ayame with the smirk still on his face. "Isn't this nice, though? You won't be killed, yet."

"Follow us, we'll bring you to our headquarters and get your wound treated." Saito said.

Great, now I'm going to live with a bunch of murderers. I guess that's better than them killing me but…I'll just have to find a way to escape later.

"And don't worry about them either." Hijikata pointed his chin at the unconscious men and the dead man. "We have someone who will take care of them. Thankfully, there isn't a lot, so this shouldn't be too much of a job. As for us, we need to leave now in case someone sees us."

I wasn't really curious how you were gonna deal with them in the first place, and your blue haori is practically shouting out who you people are anyway so why bother being stealthy? Was what Ayame was thinking to herself again, but she didn't say anything out loud. No harm in keeping it to herself.

"Alright, then…" With the threat on her life temporarily lifted, all the nervous tension was suddenly released. She was almost killed, that thought, combined with the loss of blood made her feel dizzy, and just as she took a step, she felt herself falling towards the ground as her legs gave out under her.

Saito, who was in front of her, turned and caught her in time, and Ayame avoided a possible injury to her face.

"Are you alright?" He asked as he pulled her up.

"Y-yes. Sorry, it's just that I don't think I can walk now that I've relaxed..."

"You almost got killed. Twice. Any normal person would have the same reaction. And that wound on you isn't helping either." Hijikata looked at the wound on her left shoulder and then looked at Saito. "Think you can carry her?"

Saito nodded silently. Before Ayame could register what Hijikata's last sentence meant, Saito slipped an arm under her knee and lifted her up, causing her to yelp in surprise and Okita's grin grew wider.

"It certainly is a rare sight to see Hajime-kun treat a lady this way."

"She cannot walk and we have to leave this place as soon as possible. It can't be helped."

"S-sorry. I must be heavy..." This was the very first time Ayame has been treated by a man like this, so she can't help be feel embarrassed. She had tried to keep her cool and act as tough as she can be, but this situation is making it very hard.

"You are surprisingly light." Saito replied as they started their way back.

"And you know whatever Hajime-kun says is true." Okita commented. "He's surprisingly honest, after all."

"I dislike lying." Saito sighed. Surely, he didn't show any signs of carrying a burden at all, so Ayame let him carry her without another word.

Right now, Ayame was very, very confused. At first they all seemed like cold-blooded murderers who liked cosplaying as historical figures (as weird as that may sound), but now, they were being attentive to her, as if they actually cared.

Ayame didn't know anymore. Her head hurt, and perhaps it was the loss of blood, or maybe it was the swaying, Ayame soon felt sleepy. In the next second, she fell asleep in Saito's arms.

~o~O~o~O~o~O~o~

What a weird dream… Ayame thought to herself as she chuckled internally. Feeling her senses come back to her, she felt herself lying in something soft and warm, and was covered by a blanket. I dreamt I time-travelled back to the late Tokugawa period, and was taken in by members of the Shinsengumi. Not every day I have a historical dream that got myself in it. Well, at least I'm in the infirmary right now. Time to wake up. Hope I didn't miss too many classes…

Sitting up, the small smile on Ayame's lips fell into a deep frown. Seems like she thought to early. She wasn't in the infirmary as she hoped she would be. Somehow, though, Ayame wasn't surprised, and she was surprised that she wasn't surprised. "Goddammit, I'm still here." She grumbled.

She was in a traditional Japanese room only a few tatamis big, and even thought she had a change of clothes, it was still the traditional Japanese clothing and she was lying on a futon instead of the infirmary bed she initially thought it was. She winced as her left shoulder throbbed in pain, and she noticed that she was cleanly patched up.

"Excuse me." Someone outside the room greeted, startling her. Judging from the voice, it was Saito. "Are you awake?"

"Y-yes, I just woke up..."

"Everybody is waiting for you in the common room. I was instructed to bring you there."

"Right, just a minute." Ayame said as she stood up and started tidying herself, making sure she was presentable before stepping out of the room.

Saito was patiently standing on the hallway and after Ayame came out, he nodded her a silent greeting before turning to take her to wherever everybody else was. "Follow me."

Ayame did as she was told and trotted along behind him. After all, they were the ones who owned the place, she's technically their prisoner now. As they walked along the hallways in silence, Ayame took the time to familiarize herself with the place.

If this isn't a dream, then somebody must be pranking me, one way or another. That's the only logical explanation I can think of. She thought to herself as she observed the things around her. They are in a traditional Japanese house and are currently walking along the exterior hallway, and at their right is the central courtyard. There isn't much to see in the courtyard at this moment, since everything is covered in snow.

She then turned to the new clothes she was wearing. Somebody probably changed it for her, seeing as she was out cold the entire night. It wasn't her uniform, but it was an upgrade from the cheap kimono she was wearing the night before. They even gave her a pair of gray hakama that oddly went well with the dark blue top. If she's not mistaken, typically only men wear clothes like this. Also, the bandage tightly wrapped around her left shoulder felt foreign as she gingerly traced it with her right hand.

But this can't be prank. Not with all the snow and buildings and clothes…not to mention their katanas. A prank of such a scale shouldn't even be legal. Then is it a dream…? Feels too real to be one, though…

Without warning, Saito stopped right in front of her, and Ayame caught herself before she bumped straight into him.

"We're here. Everybody is already inside." Saito said as he opened the door for her and let her in before closing it behind him. It was a big room, and other than Saito and Ayame, there were a total of eight people sitting around and watching the newcomer with curious eyes.

"Good morning~" That cheerful voice with the annoying undertone could only belong to one person, and Ayame's eyes immediately looked towards the man waving at her. "Did you sleep well last night?"

"…I guess." Ayame frowned. She didn't like the look on his face, as if he was about to say something Ayame would definitely punch him for.

"Really~?" Before Ayame could voice out her thoughts, however, Okita's smirk widened. "Or maybe you prefer Hajime-kun's arms after all? You did fall asleep in his arms as soon as we started heading back last night."

Heat crept up Ayame's cheeks, and she knew her suspicion was justified. She had the urge to step up to him and punch that silly grin off his face, if only there weren't so many people in the room watching her every move, so she resorted to glaring at him instead. Saito said nothing as he went and took a seat at Okita's right.

"Oi, Okita, I got nothing against you and your jokes, but could you not kid around with something like that? Kinda leaves a bad taste in my mouth." A man with a green bandana wrapped around his forehead, frowning at both Okita and Ayame.

Ayame was confused. What did he mean about her sleeping in Saito's arms leaving a bad taste in his mouth? She turned to the chuckling Okita in hopes that he might answer her confusion, but he simply shook his head. "You'll understand soon enough." He said to the man.

"Why don't we cut the crap and get to business?" Hijikata finally spoke up. "You, take a seat."

He obviously was talking to Ayame, and she did as she was told and sat down in the middle of the room, surrounded by everybody.

"First things first." Hijikata glanced at Saito. "I want Saito to explain the events last night."

"One of our men left the compound last night and we were tasked to track him down. As we were searching for him in the town, we heard several men yelling, as well as sounds of a fight, so we immediately headed to that area. When we arrived, we saw the man we were looking for about to commit a crime against this person," Saito motioned towards Ayame, "so we dealt with him accordingly."

A bespectacled man nodded as Saito finished, but quickly followed it up with a question. "And what of the noises and sounds of a struggle before you arrived?"

"As what we know of right now, they were in a disagreement with this person, and when we arrived, they have already been taken care of."

"Whoa, wait a second there, Saito." The same man with the green bandana around his forehead raised his hand. "You mean to tell us that this brat right here took care of a bunch of thugs? Are you sure about that? I mean, he looks like he can barely snap a twig!"

Ayame let his insult slide, but she did raise an eyebrow at his choice of pronouns.

"As much as I would like to agree with you, Nagakura," Okita let out a small chuckle, "from what we ourselves saw at the scene, it's true. The thugs were knocked unconscious by a single person, barehanded."

"And no weapons! The hell man, this isn't even funny anymore." Nagakura snorted, refusing to believe what was laid in front of him.

"Nagakura, I was there as well. It's true." Hijikata interjected. "We can talk about that later, can we now proceed?"

"Sure, boss." Nagakura shrugged. He seemed content that his feelings about this matter was out. He seemed like a simple person, and simple people are tad bit easier to deal with, Ayame thought.

"We assume that Nakata was drawn to them by the smell of blood." Saito resumed and pointed at Ayame's left shoulder. Apparently everybody knows that she's injured already.

"I see..." The man with the spectacles mumbled to himself.

"Well, at least we get the gist now." The man sitting beside Nagakura said. He seemed quite laid back, and had eye-catching red hair tied to a low ponytail. "But what I don't understand is, why didn't you just..."

"Get the problem taken care of instead of bringing it back?" Okita finished for him, and he snorted as he glanced quickly at Hijikata. "Oh, we did consider it."

"For now, let's hear your side of the story so everyone can understand, and then we'll reach a conclusion later." Hijikata nodded at Ayame to start talking. "First, start with your name."

"Morizawa. Morizawa Ayame." she complied.

"'Ayame'? Isn't that a girl's name?" Nagakura snorted.

"Well, of course." Ayame shrugged. "Probably because I am a girl, you dumbass."

The room fell silent for a few seconds, before Nagakura and another boy beside him stood in surprise.

"EH?!"

"Are you serious?!" Nagakura turned to Hijikata. "Hijikata, are you playing a trick on us? Because if it is, it's really bad..."

That instant, Ayame understood what he meant about Okita's remark about her and Saito. Nagakura thought she was a man, and the thought of a man sleeping in another man's arms to him was…

"Calm down, the two of you. Do you really I think I'd mess with you in this situation?" Hijikata said, irritation evident on his face. "And yes, she is a female. I thought everyone knew from the start."

"No damn way! It's true the he...uh, she...looks prettier and has a slightly higher voice, but the way she looks and acts..." This time it was the boy beside Nagakura who voiced out his surprise. He looked rather young in this room full of adult men, and Ayame guessed he couldn't be any older than her. At least, not by a lot.

"Just calm down, Nagakura. You too, Heisuke." The man in the red hair said, though it was obvious he was enjoying the commotion. "I had my suspicions at first, but look closely and you'll see that there's no way she can be a man. Unless, of course, you want more proof? We could always jut take off her clothes anytime."

"Huh, what Harada said makes some sense..." Nagakura nodded in agreement.

"Absolutely not! We shall do no vulgar thing to a woman! We already discussed this the last time!" The man seated between Hijikata and spectacles shouted in an outburst, his cheeks red.

Last time...?

"Although if you do," Ayame said, unfazed, "don't blame me if I brake all of your fingers and make sure you'll never be able to use them again."

"Uwah, yes ma'am." Nagakura winced.

"Alright, enough with the sideshow, can we get back on track here?" Hijikata said. He could almost feel a migraine coming up. Nagakura and Heisuke he was used to, but for a girl to be this bold... "Explain your side of the story."

"I woke up in a dark alley, needed a place to stay for a bit, asked people, they chased me, knocked them down, then that Nakata dude showed up, and the rest is history." Ayame shrugged as she explained, although she winced as she did so. The cut the man made to her last night must've been pretty deep.

"..."

"..."

"That's it?" Hijikata asked in disbelief, as if he was expecting more.

"What do you mean that's it?" Ayame asked him back, puzzled.

"I would like to ask what you were doing out in the cold at night unconscious, for one, or anything before that, like where you come from and where you live."

"I don't know."

"You...don't know?"

Ayame didn't know why she lied, nor the reason why she did it without hesitation, and before she could think it through, she opened her mouth once more. "I remember being hit real hard in the head by a ball or something, and then I passed out. The next thing I know, I was lying in that alley. Do you think I'd want to lie in the cold alley where anything could happen to me as I was unconscious?"

"Well, no, of course not." Hijikata narrowed his eyes as he stared at her. Not only did she seem to be avoiding questions, her sarcastic undertone seems to be an attempt to throw them off-track, something only Hijikata himself noticed.

"Dear me! I've heard of this condition before." The man beside Hijikata exclaimed as he looked at Ayame with sympathy in his eyes. She didn't like it, but she had to bear with it. "You lose part of your memory due to trauma in the head. Toshi, we clearly have help her!"

He turned to Hijikata, and Ayame almost thought she saw Hijikata's eye twitch. "If the chief says so, then we have to comply."

"Hold on a sec! From what I heard, she saw everything, shouldn't we kill her to keep her silent?" Nagakura spoke up once more.

The man beside Hijikata frowned at the notion, looking like he was against the idea, but couldn't come up with a counter-argument, so he looked back to Hijikata instead. "From the rules, Nagakura is right, but why did you decide to keep her alive, Toshi?"

"Last night, as we were contemplating on how to deal with her, she came up with a proposition." Hijikata nodded at Ayame, giving her permission to speak for herself.

"I offered to be a free stay-in physician in exchange for shelter and food, plus I will keep your secret to my grave, if it has to be like that." Ayame said.

"Stay-in physician? But don't we have Matsumoto-sensei for that?" Heisuke looked at Hijikata and then at Ayame.

"Consider this: Matsumoto-sensei isn't in town most of the time, and our medics can only do so much. If we take her in, for free other than shelter and food, not only can we keep an eye on her as she keeps our secret, we have one less thing to worry about, and that is health." The bespectacled man said.

"True enough, but what about medicine? That's gotta cost something, right? And another mouth to feed?" The red-haired man said.

"Don't worry about medicine. I can make my own. I've learned enough about herbalism to make decent, even potent, medicine, and can cost half of the useless stuff shops out there sell. Although I can't argue against that extra mouth to feed part..."

"What's there to argue?" The bespectacled man said once more. "We get a free stay-in physician that can cost us less than a doctor outside can, all for the fee of shelter and food. I say we don't get that kind of offer every day."

"But still..." Nagakura exhaled deeply.

"May I just point out some observations?" Ayame interrupted, and before anybody could say anything else, she went on. "Hijikata-san, this is the sixth day that you haven't slept. If this continues, you will become less of a functioning human as your attention-span and memory decreases, not to mention the effect it could have on your work and health. Okita-san, I can see that your chest-pains are still there. If I am still alive by the end of this meeting, I request you to see me for a brief checkup as soon as possible. The man beside Hijikata-san...I shouldn't be saying this, but you have a slight hemorrhoid, and it is somehow affecting your movements, especially when sitting down. That man in the green bandana, Nagakura-san, your ankle is slightly twisted, and you're hiding it quite well, actually. If you don't get that treated soon, you might as well just cut your foot off. That is all."

"..." First there was silence from the rest of the people.

"I told you she was good." Okita broke the silence as he smiled at her before turning to the middle-aged man seated beside him.

"T-that was extraordinary..." The man beside Hijikata coughed as he slightly colored. He certainly wasn't expecting anyone to know his condition at first glance, much less tell everyone else about it.

"Well, she has said this much to prove herself. I say we keep her alive. Does anybody have any objections?" Hijikata asked, and no one muttered even an argument. "Then that's settled. We didn't introduce the others earlier in the case that we agree to kill you, but now it seems that introductions are in place. I am Hijikata Toshizo, the commander of the Shinsengumi. You have already met Okita Souji and Saito Hajime, so we'll skip over them."

Hijikata then motioned at the man to his left. "This is Kondo Isami, the chief of the Shinsengumi. The man at his other side is Sanan Keisuke, our colonel."

"Those three are Nagakura Shinpachi, Toudo Heisuke, and Harada Sanosuke, respectively." Hijikata continued. "The man seated at Okita's left is Inoue Genzaburou, while the one beside him is Yukimura Chizuru."

"Well?" Okita looked at her expectantly.

"Well what?" Ayame asked back, confused.

"Oh, c'mon, you've just been introduced to the Shinsengumi officials and captains. How does it feel to be under the employment of the infamous Shinsengumi?"

"Okita, stop that." Hijikata warned.

"Such a kill joy, Hijikata-san~ Although, I guess asking you that question is kind of useless, isn't it? With your amnesia and all that…"

"I…" Ayame spoke up. There was no denying it anymore. There is no way somebody set this up for her, and even if this isn't a dream, but reality, she might as well play along. Who knows where this will lead her. More importantly, who knows what these people will do if she started blurting out that she comes from the far future and stuff? She herself could barely believe it. "The Shinsengumi…"

"Oh, so it seems that you know of us after all! See, Hijikata-san? Our infamy has had such an impact that even the amnesiac knows us before she knows her origins." Okita didn't let Hijikata speak as he turned to Ayame again. "Well, my question still stands. What do you think of being under our employment?"

Ayame looked him dead in the eye and let out a small chuckle. "Well, it's not like I have a choice, do I?" Steeling herself, she scanned the room, looking everyone in the eye. "Never have I thought I'd be under the Shinsengumi's care. This…is going to be very interesting." Afterward, she let out a smirk other people could only compare to Okita's own mischievous one. Suddenly, Hijikata almost felt that he was going to regret taking her in.

"We have agreed to let you stay as our physician in exchange of free shelter, food, and to keep our secret, but we have a few more conditions you need to follow. First of all, you are allowed to operate and wander about inside the compound, but you cannot leave the place without my permission and without anybody escorting you. Second, I'm afraid you'd have to dress up as a boy for as long as you're with us. It'll create far more problems for what its worth if word got out that a woman is staying in the Shinsengumi. Third, you will not say a word about last night to anyone at all."

"Very reasonable conditions." Ayame nodded. "Sure, alright, and consider what I saw last night completely forgotten."

"I hope you will stay true to your word." Hijikata narrowed his eyes at her once more. "Well, now that everything's done, come with me. I have some things I want to discuss with you...privately."

Uh oh. Did he...figure it out? Ayame gulped. Nobody seemed to notice her nervous disposition as she stood up and followed Hijikata out of the room. After silently following him for a bit, he led her to a small room she believed was his, and he motioned for her to sit in front of a small table as he sat at the opposite side.

"Alright. I know this is still a bit early, but I would like to get business out of the way." He said as he pulled out a piece of paper and brush. "Instead of being a medical officer, the Shinsengumi will employ you as an ordinary physician. I imagine that will make matters, such as your gender, easier to hide. You will still be working alongside the medical officers, however, just that your full focus is on working as a physician instead of being called to fight when needed. We don't have an actual infirmary, so things such as checkups and such will have to be done in the soldier's room."

All this he said while writing it down on the paper. He didn't even give her time to ask questions or voice opinions. Well, I suppose its natural. I'm not exactly in the best place to negotiate either.

"Your bedroom will be the same one you woke up in earlier. If you need supplies or necessities, the requests need to go through me first so I can approve of them." Hijikata continued. "Other than doing your job as a physician, you are free to do whatever you want as long as it doesn't violate the conditions I stated earlier, although I highly advise you to stay in your own room unless it's absolutely necessary. Much easier to keep an eye on you that way."

For a second, she thought Hijikata was going to continue speaking until she realized he paused so she can voice out her opinions. "Occasionally I would need to go and buy herbs and materials to make medicine. How will I...?"

"Unless it can be done by having other of our men do it, you will accompany whoever is out on patrol that day. One of their routes should have an apothecary."

"And my meals?"

"In your room. I will have someone bring the food to you."

So I really am a prisoner, then.

"Clothing? I can't be wearing someone else' clothes for the remainder of my duration here."

"Fine. You can go out with a patrolling group tomorrow. One of them is bound to pass by a clothing store."

"Hmm..." Ayame scrunched her brow. There really isn't anything else she needs to know at the moment. At least, it wasn't like what she thought this discussion would be about, and she relaxed. "I have no further questions."

"Good." Hijikata nodded. Not once did he lift his head to look at her during their conversation, but once he has finished writing, he looked up and straight into her eyes. "As of this moment, you are now officially employed as the Shinsengumi's physician. I look forward to working with you."

EDIT:

And also, while I already had an ending in mind when I first wrote this, I now have a completely different thing being cooked up.

Story progression will still somewhat stay the same for now, so there's nothing to be worried about.

All I'm going to do is rewrite parts to make it flow smoother.

Can't say when I'll be able to finish the rewrites and then continue on with the story though, since I have summer classes.

EDIT 2:

Again, general story line still the same.

I have taken liberties on a few things here.

As some of you might know, Japanese has different sets of rules as compared to English. In this case, I'm talking about pronouns. When speaking third person in Japanese, it is possible to refer to someone without having to specifically mention their gender. That is the case when Ayame was being introduced to the crew and Nagakura's ignorance to her gender, and spoke of Ayame as a "he".

Next, I don't know if it might offend anyone, but I did write a part showing Nagakura's obvious disdain towards a possible same-sex relationship between Ayame and Saito, as at that point, he thought Ayame was a man. That does not mean I object to same-sex relationships myself. In fact, I'm a huge supporter. But if we are to be historically correct here (at least I try to, and even so, I might still fail horribly as I only know of the stereotypical belief), same-sex relationships during that time (late Tokugawa era, mid-1800s) aren't a very well received notion. Heck, it's only recently that homosexual people can come out safely without fear of ridicule and/or punishment.

Just throwing a few things out there, as I have recently come to the realization that anyone on the internet can be offended by the smallest of things.