- Chapter 1 – The Demon in Dreams

Chizuru had to hurry to the other Shinsengumi; after all, Yamazaki had left it in her hands to deliver the message. And as she ran, she thought about what might happen if she doesn't make it in time. Would everyone blame her? Would she carry the burden of this through the rest of her life? All she knew how to do right now involved running and delivering this message.

But, right as the breath almost deflated her, she arrived safely at Hijikata's side and the message got across as well. But after that, Hijikata told the troops to regroup at Ikedaya, and Chizuru had run a few more blocks before they all arrived at Ikedaya, so she kept up her pace with the others until they came upon the face of the scene. Hijikata ordered his troops to go in after the others and help push while Hijikata dealt with the Aizu Clan.

As part of the Shinsengumi, Chizuru rushed in to help the injured comrades who had fought in battle with Great Spirit. After tending to a wounded soldier, heard something coming from upstairs and made her way through the corpses and up onto the stairs. A Choushuu soldier suddenly appeared from the hallway and held up his sword, preparing to impale the young woman. When all of a sudden, a katana slipped in between her and the warrior and impaled him instead.

Chizuru spun around to meet the face of one of her comrades, Saito "Hurry and get up to the top floor, I'll support you from down here."

Chizuru granted him a small smile of thanks and then whipped back around to head to the top floor. She crept up the stairs with her hand on her katana for any open chance of attack, but thankfully, nobody arrived to take her head off. And as soon as she was only a few feet away from the sword-clashing room, she scooted over to it and opened the door just a crack to see who exactly was inside at that moment.

What she witnessed made her head reel with the excitement of the spring wind. Okita was clashing with a blonde-haired man with a white robe, and being pushed back by him as well. But this man seemed different to Chizuru, like he wasn't a comparison to any of the other enemies they had faced before that night. As Chizuru sat there, the man with the blonde hair raised his sword and cut a clear path across Okita's chest.

Unconsciously, Chizuru threw open the door and in a panic dashed to Okita's side and shoved him away from another one of the man's fatal attacks. The blonde-haired man's face melted into an expression which was full of shock from the sudden interference.

Chizuru then quickly stood up and rushed to stand in front of Okita to block further attacks. She slipped her katana out of her sheath and made a battle stance of defense. The man faced her with an irritated look on his face while pausing for a moment, and thinking. When his thoughts were done, he raised and pointed his sword at Chizuru who stood shivering before this frightening warrior.

Down below, Okita looked up and managed to cough out "Chizuru, run away, fast…"

As a quick response to Okita's pleas Chizuru said "I'm sorry, but I can't follow those orders right now."

The blonde man smirked and then a frightening and isolated feeling covered her from head to toe, like a black mass of shadows, and they were surrounding the man as well. The man didn't seem to react to it at all, in fact—

Chizuru's eyes went wide with shock what she witnessed next 'His hair, its turning platinum, but how… why… his eyes switched colors….?'

Chizuru suddenly realized the silver mass dangling in front of her face as if it had been there the whole time. 'My hair is turning colors too?'

All of a sudden, the black masses of shadows dissipated as it was interrupted by the noises of the Shinsengumi's soldiers marching up the stairs for battle.

A man who looked older than the one before her stepped out of a hole in the wall and spoke to him "Kazama, let's go."

With an irritated sound, he turned and spoke to the other man "Let me clear something up." After he said this, he turned back Chizuru and spoke "Why do you help these weak humans?"

"W-What are you-?" Chizuru responded in a way that seemed to baffle Kazama greatly.

"Kazama." the other man seemed to be growing irritated.

"I know, let's get going." Before jumping down from the building's balcony, he took one last glance at Chizuru and disappeared without a trace.

After what seemed like decades, the Shinsengumi infiltrated the small room that now had no trace that anyone was in it besides the bloodstains and broken walls. Chizuru dropped to her knees, for she couldn't comprehend the thought of that man for the life of her. What were those black masses that crept in and out of him? What was that isolation and fear she had felt only minutes before? She curled up in a ball and hid her face in her pants. She knew she wanted to cry, but something inside her told her not to, and only in moments was Hijikata by her side calling her name.

"Chizuru, are you alright? Are there any wounds on you?"

Upon hearing his voice, Chizuru's hands leaped towards his chest and then held tight on his robe. She lay there against his chest breathing heavily as he wrapped his own arms around her. And for the first time during this mission, she felt like she was in a truly safe place in his arms. Like a never ending haven. And she got lost in it and lost the power to keep a true hold on reality. And slowly yet sweetly, she drifted off to sleep.

While she slept, the man named Kazama seemed to infiltrate her dreams and bring nightmares instead. And no matter how hard she would try to wake up, the screaming wouldn't stop. And then her nightmare became a memory, the one of Kazama jumping off the balcony. But it was different, around the pair nothing but them seemed to be in their own little space and time. And right before he fled from the balcony, he turned and voiced a few words with no sound. And all of a sudden, a growing mass of shadows started crawling up her body, unaware of her pain. She could hear words being called out to her, but she didn't want to leave, she wanted to know what he had said. But just like any other dream, it had ended.

"Yukimura, hey, Yukimura, are you all right?" It had been Yamazaki who had woke her up "I was just passing when I saw your door open and inside you were sweating and panting."

With a blank expression Chizuru only responded with "My door was open?"

She looked up towards and passed Yamazaki at the cherry blossoms which were only now beginning to bloom. And quietly she whispered to herself "The nearest bridge…"

"Huh, did you say something Yukimura?" asked Yamazaki in a concerned voice.

"Oh, no, and I'm okay now. I'm sorry that I interrupted whatever you were doing before now." Chizuru rose from her bed and gave a deep and sincere bow. Yamazaki did the same thing back to her and went on back to delivering the message to Hijikata.

- Hijikata Toshi –

"Sir I have the message that you've asked for." Yamazaki said.

"Very well then, enter Yamazaki." ordered Hijikata.

Yamazaki slid the door open and excused himself to the seat across from Hijikata and sat down folding his hands over his legs.

"The man that Okita mentioned, it seems that he's been caught walking around Kyoto before. But only for business, and it also seems that he's associated with the Choushuu."

"Are they allies?"

"It would seem likely."

"Damn it!" Hijikata began "He seems to be a capable enemy too."

"Indeed."

Hijikata scratched the back of his head with concern, as if it would help him find answers. Then he finally lay down his hands and looked up at Yamazaki "Thank you for delivering the message, you are dismissed"

Yamazaki got up to leave, but right before he stepped out through the door he said "Hijikata, you better go check on Yukimura. On my way here, I had to stop by her room and wake her up from a nightmare. She still seems shook up from last night."

Hijikata peered up at Yamazaki for a few seconds before there was only a shadow through the door to look at and finally looked down and said "Very well."

After a while of folding through papers, Hijikata stood where he was standing and reached for his outer robe and sash. The robe he was already wearing was the one he had slept in the night before, so it didn't seem comfortable to go walking around in. Then once he was done slipping on his clothes, he tied his sash with a small golden string and began walking down the hallway towards Chizuru's room.

'I wonder why she was having nightmares, I know that that must've been a frightening experience for her, but she had also been witness to many other incidents with us just like this. Why do the nightmares begin now?'

Hijikata in spite of his pride decided to think about this at a later time and check to see if Chizuru had yet to leave her room. 'It had only been about half an hour so I'm sure if she isn't there she would be having lunch with the others.'

When Hijikata arrived at Chizuru's door, he said "Chizuru, are you in there?" After a few moments of silence, he said "I'm letting myself in." Though he did do that, Chizuru was no longer inside her room and Hijikata as he had said before that she just must be eating with everyone else. However, he was slightly concerned about this factor. So instead of returning to his headquarters, he headed down to where everyone currently was. His thoughts eroded away the sounds around him, and soon enough he found himself running through the halls, desperate for the evidence that she still remained within the headquarters. The minutes that it took for Hijikata to reach the dining area seemed like decades to him.

Once he arrived at the door, he threw it open and shouted "Is Chizuru in here?!"

The only response he got were the surprised faces of all the Shinsengumi Captains and his own fading echo. After scanning the room and found no Chizuru, without shutting the door he raced down the hallway towards the main gates. The captains chased after him but couldn't keep up quite as well.

- Yukimura Chizuru –

After Yamazaki left, Chizuru found herself standing on her futon reviewing the contents in her dream as if they had just occurred in reality. Then all of a sudden she heard a voice calling out to her. She looked around herself, making sure no one had really snuck in without her noticing. No one seemed to be loitering around so she listened closer to the voice that was calling her. After a while, it stopped calling her name and it started repeating and repeating over and over again a destination, a place to go to. Was this an order, or a request?

Frighteningly enough, Chizuru cupped both her hands over her ears to keep the voice from talking, but it didn't work. The voice seemed to be stuck right smack in the middle of her subconscious. And when she opened her mouth to scream no sound came out. It was like someone was messing with her vocal cords.

"Sshhhh…." the voice would say.

She reached and fought to take a hold of the door in front of her, but then she fell to the ground in a fit of confusion and pain. The room became enshrouded in darkness, consuming more and more of the space around Chizuru until there was nothing left.

When she opened her eyes, the darkness had not yet disappeared, but something new appeared, a man. His hair shone like the radiant sun when it sweeps across the sky in search of night. His robe was made of a white silk that only the finest silkworm could have thread. But his eyes seemed to be his most outstanding feature. They shone like rubies that had been sitting in a silent stream under a bridge of the same hue.

"The bridge, I need to get to the nearest bridge. I have to find him…." She then drifted back into unconsciousness and woke up on top of the futon with a killer headache. Then she realized why the voice had tormented her that way. She quickly ran down the hall towards the main gate and tripped somewhere halfway. She knew that someone was there, and she knew she had to see what he wanted, otherwise, the voice would continue tormenting her. She slowly walked against the wall to see if anyone was near the main entrance. With no one in her way, she made a final sprint towards the gate.

Right before she stepped outside the boundaries of headquarters. She heard a voice call out to her it was stern, yet filled with so much concern for her. But she knew she couldn't stop running even now.

But before she even landed another foot, a man's strong arms came from behind her and pulled her backwards. Her head tucked in, ready for the pain as she may hit the ground, but she never did. In fact, she had landed in somebody's lap; it was warm and comfy, almost like that of pure cotton. Yet more fierce, and once Chizuru realized that the man that had caught her was panted she twisted her head around to greet the face of an exhausted Hijikata. Eventually, even the rest of the Shinsengumi had surrounded them.

Hijikata lifted his face, and it wasn't the usual soft monotone she usually saw either. "What the hell were you thinking, Chizuru?!" After that, he began shouting more complaints like 'where you headed.'

Eventually, Chizuru squeaked the one answer she thought may stop Hijikata "Th-The Bridge…." Hijikata heard this and continued listening "The nearest bridge, the voice told me to—"

"The voice, did you recognize the voice?"

"N-no…"

Hijikata made one more face of concern for Chizuru, then stepped up and said "Everyone should follow me." And as told to, the Shinsengumi's captains and Chizuru followed after Hijikata. But, the entire time Chizuru seemed to have a pained expression on and continued staring down at her feet.

After they arrived at a room, he told Heisuke to fetch for Sannan and Captain Koundo. "Now, I want everyone to pay close attention, and give me any ideas of what could've happened."

"Uhm, what exactly are you talking about Hijikata?" asked Sano.

"It has to do with Chizuru; I found it suspicious because of what Yamazaki had told me. He told me that on his way to reporting to me, he had to stop by Chizuru's room because her door was open and she was sweating and panting in her sleep. Are you aware of this, Chizuru?"

"Uh, no, not that I was panting…"

A moment later, Sannan and Koundo walked in along with Heisuke following after them. Hijikata then explained everything that had taken place from his point of view, and continued questioning Chizuru.

"While you were sleeping, did you happen to be dreaming about anything in particular?"

At these words, Chizuru searched the floor for answers and finally brought her head back up and said "Yes."

"Please explain the dream in detail."

"Well, I was in my room, and then everything got consumed in shadows…" Chizuru covered her face with her hands but kept a small peephole in her fingers.

"Seeing as how uncomfortable she looked Hijikata said "You should go rest your head, get your mind off this stuff."

"—there was a man."

"Hmm, a man, what did he look like?"

"He had silky blonde hair and a white robe with another black one over it… And his eyes…" Chizuru nearly jumped at this aspect "His eyes were the color of rubies, but at the same time, they were tainted with bloodstains… And, they seemed to be able to tell my very thoughts."

Chizuru's eyes went wide with terror as she realized who he was "Ka-zama it's him, the one from Ikedaya!" Without her comprehension, she let loose a bloodcurdling scream which shook the very grounds of her soul. Then, she felt a warm hand on her shoulder, she looked up and stared at Hijikata's face with tears streaming like hot springs from her eyes.

"I know this might not help, but you should go rest in your room for now. I'll issue a guard to watch over you."

"Th-Thank you…"

And just as she was told, she dismissed herself to her room. But, when she got there, she didn't feel like she should fall asleep. As if that voice was still there, just waiting for the right chance to launch it's poisonous yet again at her neck.

- Hijikata Toshi –

"Well?" Hijikata gave everyone in the room a serious face, which told them that maybe this wasn't just a coincidence.

Sannan raised his hand and after Hijikata gave him permission he spoke "Do you think she could've been poisoned?" he stared at Hijikata then back down at the floor and began to speak again "I've heard of some very famous people who would poison someone while they're asleep and it paranoid them to death."

"That sounds like it, but I don't think that was the objective. After all, they could've just gave her some physically harmful poison and be done with her. Plus, he told her to go somewhere, the nearest bridge."

This seemed to prick an interest in Saito so he offered "Captain Hijikata, I know of such a bridge not far from here. Please allow me to take a few soldiers down there and see."

"Very well, prepare to leave immediately."

As he was told, Saito slowly got up and without a second glance left the room to gather the troops.

Then Okita spoke up with an intense tone of voice "Hijikata, please allow me to accompany Saito. If it truly is the man from Ikedaya, then I'd like to show him how much a blade to the chest can hurt." He said this with a smirk.

"I absolutely refuse," he said sternly "you are in a terrible position to even be thinking about revenge like that. Please take in what your body can take and think harder about these things."

In a fit of anger, he thundered out of the room into the hall where his footsteps echoed more so than it did inside the room.

"I-I'll go after him." Heisuke offered.

Hijikata nodded at him, and then as if on cue, Heisuke got up and swiftly left the tense room.

Hijikata sighed and then said with a depleted voice "I'll leave it at this today supposing we have already begun to take action." He nodded to the rest and then they all returned to their study.

- Saito Hajime –

As Saito left headquarters, he noticed that many people were avoiding making eye contact with him. There was also an abundance of whispering, Saito just happened to hear a few comments from the concerned-faced citizens.

"The poor Shinsengumi…"

"…he doesn't know what he's in for….."

"…..don't look…."

All of this just made Saito want to reach the bridge sooner. Without noticing, he soon started walking a tad faster than his troops. But, as soon as he noticed he slowed down again.

Finally, it seemed to Saito that it had taken centuries to reach the bridge where his final hopes prayed. But as soon as he reached the climax of the wooden bridge, his face turned from a calm look to a face flushed with anger. It was as if the devil suppressed inside of him had been released from its chains. He stomped the ground not once, but twice just to make sure it stuck.

For right in front of him was a beat up katana with a red cloth swaying in the breeze. The katana was piercing through the vast blue and white clothing which was no doubt the clothing of someone in Shinsengumi. It was stained with that of crimson, the blood from one of their soldiers. Probably from the night they attacked Ikedaya.

Saito lifted the cloth, and underneath it all was a noted, also pierced by the katana. It seemed that whoever placed it there wanted them to see it.

He took the note in his hand and lifted it up for his eyes to see. It read:

"This man died with a spear in his throat, don't forget that as long as you have that woman, nothing but misfortune will gather at your end."

Saito took the uniform and stuck the note in his pocket. He then tore the sword from where it was imbedded in the wood and walked down next the gentle stream. He planted the sword in the ground and held his hands together in a prayer.

"We appreciate your help in our path of justice." He whispered.

He stood back up and then let the other members of his troop pray for the lost warrior as well. And once his business was done, he left and headed back towards headquarters. And on the way there, he could even hear his own men whispering about the way he acted back there.

He made that a note to not lose his head during the next battle with the man who he knows will appear any time again to take Chizuru.

- Chizuru Yukimura –

Later that night, Chizuru waited until she was sure that everyone else had fallen asleep, and then took a black cloth and wrapped it around her to make sure she didn't attract any attention in the dark. She knew that no matter what, if she didn't meet that man at the bridge, then another nightmare would spring into her dreams.

A minute before she left her room, she slowly and quietly slid her door open to make sure no one was out patrolling the hallway. Then very quietly, she stepped outside of her room and while keeping an eye on her surroundings, she slide her door shut. It was difficult for her to sneak around without almost getting caught by the people on patrol.

Then, all of a sudden she heard the wood behind her creak, but when she whipped around, her hand on the hilt of her sword, nothing remained there. She knew that from now on, sneaking out of headquarters wasn't going to be easy. Somebody was watching her. She turned back around and almost rounded the next corner when hands dashed out from behind her and covered her mouth and pushed her back with the force of a hand on her stomach.

She was being held against a man's chest, Chizuru was doing her best to find an exit, but then overhead she saw a small light moving through the hallways.