Yessss a new Hakuouki story. I'm going to try and write an AU one that has similar aspects from the anime. I hope this isn't a total flop ... let me know what you think please :)

Kaoru will be a bit OOC for this chapter as will Senhime. I threw in a couple of OCs to help the story along.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything under the protection of copyright (February 5, 2011)

Change waits … right around the corner.

~I~

Chizuru inhaled deeply, breathing in the crisp winter air, reveling in the mild bite it had in her throat. Below her shoes the snow crunched, the sound seemingly magnified in the quiet of the early morning hours, before the city had fully awoken. Her breath could be seen in the chilled air and the tip of her nose was blushed pink. With gloved hands, Chizuru fumbled with the front gate of her yard, shaking off the thin iced layer coating the silver latch.

"Chizuru, we're going to be late!"

Her brother rushed by her, apparently in too much of a hurry to exit using the gate. Instead he chose to clear the four foot fence in one jump. "See ya," he managed to say out of the corner of his mouth, a piece of toast clamped between his teeth and his bag swinging wildly over his shoulder.

"W-wait for me," Chizuru's persisting finally freed up the lock, and she took off after her brother, slamming the gate shut in her wake.

The snow had already been shoveled off the narrow streets, piled into empty spots near street corners. The thin layer of ice was turning into slush and the dreary sky looked lighter each morning.

Chizuru's brother happily trotted ahead of her, waiting for her, but not completely stopping. He had finished his toast and was now trying to knot his tie. "Chizuru," he moaned to his sister, as she finally caught up to him, her breath coming out in little puffs. "Help," he had already given up on his tie.

"Kaoru, why didn't you ask me earlier?"

"I was sleeping," he yawned, as if to stress his point. His sister gave him a subdued look of annoyance but dutifully started to work on his tie. The two teens continued their bickering once Chizuru had finished, Kaoru starting it off by loosening the tie Chizuru had just finished working on.

"Kaoru!"

"What? Look I'm still wearing it, I just wanted to be able to breath was all."

The two were almost a mirror image of each other, identical twins, both in the winter of their sixteenth year. They had the same color of dark hazel hair, the same deep brown eyes and the same small stature. Chizuru had a feeling that her brother could probably pass for a girl if he dressed like one.

Kaoru ruffled his short hair in an absent minded manner as he glanced at his watch. Apparently the time was not to his liking because he reached out and pulled on Chizuru's ponytail, "Hurry up, I don't want to be late for homeroom."

Chizuru rolled her eyes but hurried off to catch up to Kaoru, who had once again taken off. She knew the real reason her brother wanted to make it to school on time, and it had nothing to do with him having great academic prowess.

The grey walls surrounding the school courtyard loomed ahead, and a group of professors could be seen standing near the entrance, greeting the students. Even amongst the uniform clad crowd, Chizuru recognized her friend, standing just outside the gate.

"See you later," Chizuru called after her brother, although she had a feeling he hadn't even heard her. She sidled up to her friend, nudging her lightly, "Senhime, what are doing waiting outside?"

"Chizuru-chan," her friend's teeth were chattering and she looked near frozen. "I was waiting for you."

"Senhime, you didn't have to wait outside, your face is turning blue …"

"Never mind that," the girl said, taking Chizuru's arm and guiding her towards the double doors of the front of the school.

The four story building was already thronged with groups of students, escaping the late winter cold for the warmth of the hallways and classrooms. The exterior surface of the public high school was an off white color, bordering on the fringe of cream but overstepping the boundary into the hues of yellow. The tall windows were still all intact, probably due to the fact that baseball season had yet to start, and streaks from the melting snow had begun to appear on their once glistening surfaces.

Senhime was strangely quiet as she steered Chizuru towards their lockers. She cast about a glance as she changed her shoes. "Hey Chizuru," she was teeming with excitement, "this morning I found out something very interesting."

"Having to do with school right?" Chizuru asked. Most of her knowledge about school, academic or otherwise came from Senhime, whose father was the school's principal. Senhime was always the first student to know about any school celebrations, large upcoming sporting events, and any other information her father felt safe in sharing with her.

"Of course," Senhime winked. She waited while Chizuru finished shoving her outdoor shoes into her locker. "I heard that we're getting a new teacher."

"A new teacher? The school hired a new teacher midway through the school year?"

"Yep, and even better, he's going to be one of our teachers."

"One of ours?" Chizuru frowned. So far, she had liked all her teachers. Her math teacher was thorough, her history teacher enthusiastic, and her English teacher had a very soothing voice. All the rest of her teachers had equally admirable traits. "I like all our teachers though."

"But this new teacher is supposedly super good looking and I heard that he's something of a genius."

"Oh," Chizuru could tell there would be no disagreeing with Senhime on this matter, "I guess he sounds like an ok teacher."

"Just ok?" Senhime rolled her eyes. Chizuru joined the swarms of students in the hallways, making her way towards her classroom. "Chizuru," Senhime followed behind, "don't you want to ask me what he looks like, or how old he is, or if he's single?"

Surprise caused her to open the door to the classroom with more force than she had intended, Chizuru blushed, "Why would I want to know that?"

A loud voice calling, "Chizuuuru" from across the class room, stopped her friend's answer. "Chizuru, Chizuru!" a boy with brown hair waved enthusiastically to her. Chizuru subtly waved back, hoping to get him to settle down and stop drawing attention to her.

"Heisuke-kun," she said, taking her seat next to the boy. "You seem very hyped up this morning."

"I was waiting for you," he grinned in his usual manner. Chizuru could've sworn his smile was contagious. It was one of those grins that made you feel happier no matter how your day had been going.

"Why were you waiting for her?" Senhime's question had a suggestive hint behind it.

"So did you ask your brother?" Heisuke leaned forward suddenly, his face near Chizuru's.

Only able to blink, her mind having gone blank from embarrassment, Chizuru was only able to silently gape for a few moments. "Oh, right," she finally figured out just what Heisuke was talking about. "I asked my brother your question."

"And?" the gap between them lost a few millimeters as Heisuke leaned forward in excitement.

"Well, um he said, no."

"Uuuuuh," Heisuke sighed in an exaggerated manner, leaning back and slumping into his seat. "Chizuru, the point of you asking was so you could convince your brother to join."

"Join what? What question? What are you two talking about?" Senhime looked to Heisuke then to Chizuru.

"Oh, Heisuke-kun wanted me to ask Kaoru about-"

"Was it a straight out no?" Heisuke interjected.

"W-well, I'm not sure," Chizuru really couldn't remember.

"Chizuru-chan, you have to convince him."

"Tell me what you're talking about!" Senhime practically throttled Heisuke, grabbing his head and shaking it about.

"Senhime, Senhime," Chizuru rescued Heisuke from further brain liquidation. She had known at the beginning of the year that Senhime sitting behind Heisuke probably wasn't going to be safe and the disoriented look now on Heisuke's face seemed to support this.

"Uh Senhime," Chizuru began to quickly explain, "Heisuke-kun is the junior captain of the Kendo club. He asked if I could try and convince my brother to join the club."

"Kaoru? Why?"

"Kaoru was the regional champion in his age group for three years," Heisuke had quickly recovered and spoke with no less fervor than before. "Our team is good, but with him, we'd definitely make it to nationals."

"But Kaoru doesn't practice Kendo anymore," she turned to Chizuru, "Does he?"

"Not competitively, he still does train, in fact his exam for 3-dan is sometime next year."

"Which is why he should join!"

Further discussion ceased as a tall man with jet black hair strode into the room. Chizuru later realized that she had stopped breathing as her eyes had fallen on him. He had captivated her attentions in such a way that to look elsewhere would've been unthinkable, unimaginable and impossible.

The class representative was a little later than usual on his morning command to the class, "Stand!" Chizuru got to her feet with the rest of the class, watching the stoic man. He silently set down the binder he had in his hands on the podium and looked to the class. The class representative, said "Bow!" and Chizuru followed along with the class.

At the last command of "Sit," she retook her seat, surprised to find that she was anticipating hearing what the man had to say. Even from afar, from her desk, halfway towards the back of the classroom, Chizuru could see Senhime had been correct.

The new teacher was very handsome. Chizuru blushed, she hadn't even said it aloud, but just thinking it was embarrassing.

"Morning class," he said. "I am your new sensei." His voice was deep, his words precise and articulate. His tone wasn't one of conversation, but rather command. "I will be teaching your chemistry class for the rest of the year."

Turning about, he glanced at the large blackboards that spanned the front of the classroom. He looked displeased with them, but picked up a piece of chalk nonetheless and wrote with precise penmanship, his name,

Hijikata Toshizo

"As I am hoping you can all figure out, since your chemistry teacher before was also your homeroom teacher that in turn, also makes me your new homeroom teacher."

Chizuru was listening carefully to each word he said, but wasn't really grasping what it meant. She found she was too busy focusing on the man himself. His violet eyes caught the light in such a way, that they seemed to glisten and hold her gaze captive, like he knew all there was about her in a single glance. His black hair was shorter in the back than the front, the length ending near his chin. His skin was a creamy ivory color and his fingers were long and slender.

"I will take roll now," he sifted momentarily through some papers, finally pulling the list of names from the pile. "Please stand when I call your name."

Many of the other students appeared to be as nervous as Chizuru felt as roll was taken. Hijikata would call a student's name, and have them stand for about thirty seconds as he scrutinized them.

Many of the girls were trying to inconspicuously rearrange their hair, or smooth out wrinkles in their uniforms. Chizuru looked down at her own uniform, wondering how she would be perceived by Hijikata.

Senhime waved to Hijikata in an over-friendly manner when her name was called. This earned more than a few raised eyebrows, but Hijikata merely treated her like the rest of the students, examining her for a few moments before having her sit down.

"Toudou Heisuke?" Hijikata sounded mildly surprised as he read the name. "I didn't know you were in this class Heisuke."

"That's because Hijikata-san never pays attention when I talk," Heisuke said.

"Just sit down so I can move onto the next student."

As Hijikata continued with roll call, Senhime hissed to Heisuke, "Do you know him?"

Heisuke nodded, not elaborating on any further details. "How do you know him?" Senhime prodded.

"I just do."

"Tell me Heisuke," Senhime looked ready to choke Heisuke from behind.

"Yukimura Chizuru."

It was finally her turn. Chizuru got to her feet, her fingers nervously fidgeting with the lip of her desk in front of her.

"Yukimura huh?" Hijikata was staring at her with rapt interest, but his frown was unsuppressed. The dark mauve of his eyes seemed to intensify and as Chizuru finally met his stare he turned his gaze from hers, dropping his eyes back to the roll sheet. "You can be seated."

~I~

"So, what did you think of the new teacher?"

"Huh, oh sorry Ayano," Chizuru sheepishly rubbed her head, she had been thinking about Hijikata-san. "What did you say?"

"You were thinking about Hijikata-sensei weren't you?" her friend said knowingly.

"N-n-no I wasn't," Chizuru had never been one for telling lies.

Ayano smirked, "I was right wasn't I?"

"Chizuru!" Kaoru was weaving his way through the crowds, pushing aside first year students in his haste. "Did you hear the news, it's horrible."

"Kaoru, what's wrong?"

"Our chemistry teacher, beautiful Miss Yamato was replaced by some grumpy looking old guy."

"Who's a grumpy old guy?" Ayano shoved Kaoru aside, "Hijikata-sensei graduated top of his class and studied at Tokyo University, not to mention he looks good enough to-"

"Chizuru let's just go get lunch," Kaoru clearly wasn't listening to a word Ayano was saying, not that it truly bothered her. She continued with her monologue in ode to Hijikata.

"Oi brat."

A hand palmed Kaoru's head, shaking him, "When are you going to join our team?"

"Okita-senpai," Kaoru slapped the hand away. "I already told you I'm not joining your club."

Third year students Okita Souji and Yamazaki Susumu stood before them. Okita rubbed his hand, "Come on Kaoru, the captain himself is personally asking you," Okita threw an arm about Chizuru's shoulders, pulling her against his chest. "What if Chizuru-chan asks you to?"

Being this close to Okita, Chizuru flushed, "Okita-san …"

"I already tried," Heisuke had joined into their conversation. "But he still said no."

"Heartless," Okita said to Kaoru, "How can you say no to your own sister?"

"Sorry Captain Okita, I'm not joining the Kendo team."

"But Hijikata-san agreed to be our advisor."

Kaoru shook his head, "All the more reason for me not to join."

"Don't be a brat," Okita seemed to have forgotten that he had a hold on Chizuru and squeezed her even tighter.

"O-o-okita-san!"

"Is there a problem here?" the new teacher, Hijikata himself stood beside the group, his arms crossed and a frown on his face. "Okita Souji, please unhand my student."

"Ah, if it isn't the our school's newest academic mind, Hijikata Toshizo. So have you told the school about the job you had before you decided to start teaching? Or have you not given up that job yet?"

Hijikata didn't even bat an eyelash in Okita's direction. "Get to lunch and stop dawdling in the hallway."

"Yes sir, right away," Okita said, flapping his hand about in a dismissive manner. "Sorry to have caused problems Hijikata-san."

~I~

The temperature had dropped as the night crept over the town. The small ice crystals that made up the freshly fallen snow, refracted the light of the streetlights above. Chizuru heaved her backpack a little higher, letting out a long sigh as she stepped onto her home block.

Kaoru had disappeared after school with some of friends, most likely to go and play games or go and eat food from the street vendors. In all truths, he had probably just been trying to avoid Heisuke and Okita. All parties involved in their little argument were rather stubborn, so Chizuru had no idea who would be the one to emerge as the victor.

She saw a few of her neighbors that worked later, straggling back to their houses, briefcases in one hand, umbrella in another. The windows of the houses on the block were lit up with light, most muffled by the presence of drapes or blinds. There was a single light on in her house, probably her father, up late working again.

Even with his office attached to the house, her father's life was mainly occupied by his work. Her father ran a small medical clinic out of his home, and was constantly treating patients or working on his research. The two story house was divided in half, the clinic on one side and their domestic home on another.

Chizuru's bedroom was on the second floor, next to her brother's. Her father's bedroom, which he rarely spent time in, was next to Kaoru's. The main floor consisted of a rather large kitchen, a living room and an empty room that Kaoru had taken over to practice his Kendo in. The whole basement had been cleared out and refurnished to be her father's study. He kept the door locked whenever he wasn't in there and was the only one that had a copy of the key for the door.

Chizuru pushed open the front gate, and stopped. She had the oddest sensation, like someone was watching her. Half her mind told her to keep going, to run inside the house and lock the door, but another part said to look around, find out if there really was someone watching her.

Making the smallest of movements, Chizuru glanced over her shoulder, holding her breath. Someone was watching her, she was almost certain. She knew this stare, the overwhelming feeling that she was being examined.

Chizuru couldn't help but eep in surprise as a snowball was hurtled at her, nailing her in the side of the head. "Chizuru, Chizuru, are you ok?" Her brother half ran, half slid to her side. He appeared to be choking back a laugh. "Sorry," he patted the snow from her hair, "I thought you would've dodged it."

"Kaoru?" Chizuru looked around, the gaze was gone. "Did you see anyone else around here?"

"Anyone else? Better not be those idiots, Okita and Heisuke," her brother squinted into the night, looking from side to side. Having not found any threat he said, "Don't try and scare me Chizuru." He pushed her towards the door, "Come on, let's go inside, I'm starving."

In the doorway, Chizuru looked over her shoulder once more, waiting for some sign of confirmation to her thoughts. "Come on Chizuru, it's freezing outside, shut the door!"

"Maybe it was all in my head."

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

~I~

Chizuru peeked around the corner, watching her father as he poured over a stack of patient files. "Father," she knocked lightly on the open door.

"Hmm? Oh Chizuru? Is something bothering you?" her father leaned back in his chair, taking off his glasses.

"Er actually dad, I just wanted to bring you up some supper."

"Supper? Missed it again did I? Go ahead and put it over there," he directed towards an open space on the side of his desk.

Doing as she was told, Chizuru glanced down at the notes her father had been reading. It appeared to be a diagram of a family tree. Her father had drawn lines connecting generations and had written in his multiple comments in the margins. I looked as if he was looking for someone. The papers were shuffled aside as her father pulled a large folder over the diagram to cover it.

"So Chizuru," he cleared his throat, "How was school?"

The question was awkward, forced. Her father didn't usually show interest in her studies, and Chizuru was guessing he had only asked her the question to draw her attentions away from the family tree she had seen. "Well," she had answered this question before, multitudes of times before.

How was school?

Her neighbors asked her this, her dentist, the librarian, the old lady that she bought vegetables from and she had always been able to answer with ease. But now, faced with her father, her own flesh and blood, she was stuck for an answer.

"School was," she paused, "Well, school was the same as always," she ended rather feebly.

"I see," he nodded once. He turned back to his work, indicating that their conversation was now done and she could leave. Chizuru had missed her chance to have a longer conversation with her father and wished she had had a better answer.

"W-we also got a new teacher," she blurted out.

"A new teacher?" her father sounded preoccupied.

"Yes, for chemistry, his name is Hijikata Toshizo."

The reaction she received was not one she had been expecting. Her father's head shot up at the mention of Hijikata's name and he froze. "What was the name?" he asked.

"… Hijikata Toshizo."

Her father remained in his position of rigor, his fingers clenching and unclenching about his pen. "He's already back …"

"Father, do you know Hijikata-san?"

"Hmm?" his thoughts had evidently been elsewhere. He looked perturbed, his eyes were heavy with a malice Chizuru had never seen before.

"Never mind," Chizuru said quietly. She watched him in silence as he continued to stare straight ahead at the concrete wall before him. They remained in the heavy silence for the moment, and time stretched on, the seconds slowly creeping by as Chizuru mentally questioned what she should do next.

"Chizuru," he feather finally said, keeping his gaze from hers. "You know I want what is best for our clan right, for the Yukimura family?"

The Yukimura Family?

"Wh-what?"

"Everything I do is for the good of the Yukimura Clan," he had gotten to his feet. Chizuru had no idea what he was talking about. He rubbed a tired hand down his face. He was mumbling to himself, looking about his office. It seemed he had completely forgotten at the moment that Chizuru was even there. He opened the top drawer of his desk, frantically fumbling through the contents.

"Father?" Chizuru reached out a trembling hand. She had never seen him like this, so frantic and tense. He batted her hand away, retreating from her, a key from the drawer clasped in his hands. "Chizuru," he stood in the doorway, "Stay away from that man, away from his whole organization, they're nothing but murderers."

~I~

"Hey Kaoru," Chizuru poked her head into her brother's room. "Have you seen dad anywhere?"

Her brother was busy sorting through his clothes, halfway hidden by the closet's doors. "Father?" he shrugged, "I just assumed he had gotten caught up in his work as was stuck in his lab."

"No I already checked in there and could not find him. I looked into his medical room and even looked into his bedroom." Chizuru crossed the floor of the small room, perching herself on the edge of her brother's bed. "Kaoru, I don't think father's here."

It had been about two weeks since her father had given her that strange warning about Hijikata. She hadn't been able to speak to her father since then. The lights remained on in his office, even when he wasn't there and he had stopped taking dinner. It been almost a week since Chizuru had actually seen her father.

Patients had come knocking at their door, complaining of her father's absence and asking when he would return, but she was just as lost as they were on the whole issue. Her father did leave for days on end, but he usually told her when he would be leaving before he disappeared.

This time he had just vanished without a word to anyone.

Chizuru wondered if it had anything to do with Hijikata.

At school, Hijikata had settled easily into his role as the new chemistry teacher. He knew his material and worked at a furious pace that required one's utmost level of concentration in order to keep up. She could almost swear that sometimes his gaze lingered on her a bit longer than warranted and whenever he said her last name, annoyance seemed to flash across his eyes.

Chizuru had been wary of him before, but after her father's warning, she had become even more aware of the dark-haired professor.

Kaoru leaned back in his chair, yawning, "Is that really a problem? We're old enough to take care of ourselves. He probably just went out shopping or something."

Chizuru shook her head, "Kaoru, when was the last time you saw him? I haven't seen him for almost a week now. None of his patients have seen him either. I even called and asked his assistant, Jin, and he said he hasn't heard from him in a week."

"A week?" he scratched his chin, "Now that you mention it, the last time I saw him was also more than a week ago."

Maybe she was just overreacting but Chizuru asked of her brother, "Should we report him missing?"

He showed a noticeable hesitation before he answered, "We wait," he said, "for three more days. If he doesn't show up, then we will have to ask for help from the police."

~I~

Three days later, Chizuru walked with heavy steps into the police station. She mused quietly if she was looked as out of place as she felt. She wished that Kaoru had come with her but her brother was currently laid up at home with a cold, and Chizuru had had to practically force him to stay home.

The bright lights of the station only seemed to heighten her awkwardness as she crossed the tiled floor to the front desk. A uniformed officer with brown hair sat behind the desk, flipping languidly through a magazine. "Um excuse me," Chizuru said softly. The man appeared to not have heard her and continued to peruse his magazine, largely yawning. Chizuru gulped, and squeezed her hand into fists, "Uh hello!"

"Hmm?" the man looked up, his blue eyes finally taking notice of her, "Oh hi there." He grinned, leaning forward in interest, "What is a cute girl like you doing in here?"

"Um, well that is, I wanted to report a missing person?"

"A missing person? I'm sorry that you're here for that reason, but if you need a shoulder to cry on, I'm more than happy to oblige." He grabbed a piece of paper from the shelf behind him, snatching up the nearest pen from the desk. "What can you tell me about this person you're lookin' for?"

"Well, uh, he's my father."

"Ok, what's your name?"

"Oh, Chizuru, Yukimura Chizuru."

His pen paused, hovering above the paper. He glanced up at her, "Yukimura? You're father wouldn't happen to be Yukimura Kodou would he?"

"Yes that's my father. Do you know him?"

The officer smirked, "Not really," he tapped the end of his pen against the tabletop, "But he's really gone missing? That tricky devil."

"Uh."

"Don't worry little miss," he reached across the desk, ruffling Chizuru's hair, "We'll find him without fail."

"You will?"

"Yes," he nodded, "After all, we do have something we need to settle with him."

~I~

That police officer had been awfully strange.

Chizuru stared at the boiling pot of water on the stove, lost in thought. The only information she had given him was her father's name. He hadn't asked anything else, his age, height, weight, nothing at all that could be used to help identify him.

Just his name.

"Business with him?" Chizuru mumbled quietly. What business did the police have with her father? Did this have something to do with her father's sudden disappearance?

"Chizuru," her brother nudged her gently. His face was pale and dark circles had begun to form under his eyes. "You're going to end up cooking the pot if you just stand their looking at it."

"Oh, your soup," Chizuru said, snapping out of her daze. She began to carefully dump the cut up vegetables and spices into the water. "Kaoru," she wrapped an arm around her brother's shoulders, guiding him back towards the living room. "You need to rest," she said, helping him to sit on the couch.

"I'm feeling better," he said softly, laying back on his pillow.

Chizuru pressed a hand to his forehead, "You don't look better."

"Thanks a lot Chizuru," he gave her a weak chuckle. Kaoru placed his hand over hers. "Chizuru," was staring fixedly at her, "you won't leave me right?"

"Leave you? What are you talking about?"

"Like dad, you won't leave like him right? You won't leave me all alone."

Chizuru placed her other hand on top of his. "Don't worry Kaoru," she smiled. "I promise we'll always be together. That's what your twin is for right?"

He nodded, "Thank you Chizuru."

~I~

There it was again.

The unmistakable sound of someone else in the house.

Chizuru lay on the floor, unable to move half out of surprise and half out of fear. Her brother was still fitfully dreaming on the couch. Chizuru squeezed her eyes shut, willing her heart to slow and her breathing to return to normal. With slow movements, she got up, pushing off her blankets.

There were noises coming from the basement. It sounded like someone was in her father's office. Chizuru got to her feet, taking small, measured steps towards the door that led downstairs.

It had been left unlocked ever since her father had left, and she had only ever gone down there once since he had gone missing. The door stood ajar, and a faint light could be seen downstairs.

Chizuru glanced at the phone. Should she call for help. She kept her eyes on the open door as she reached for the phone. Inches from the phone, her hand stopped. She shouldn't call the police if it was her father downstairs. It seemed as if her father had some strange connection to the police and to call them here now would probably only cause troubles.

Her hands were shaking, warnings flashing through her mind, but Chizuru quietly began to descend the stairs into the basement. The staircase was surrounded on either side by grey, concrete walls and turned at a ninety degree angle at the bottom before opening up into her father's office.

Her body was protesting in fear with each step she took down. The air cooled noticeably with each step she descended. At the bottom stair, she was shaking uncontrollably. Her breathing was shallow and blood pounded in her ears.

Chizuru drew a deep breath and peeked around the corner.

She was right, there was someone down there.

Her father's newest assistant, Jin was down there. He was rifling through the cabinets in her father's office. And he wasn't alone. There were three other people with him. Two of them had their backs turned to her and the only thing she could really see of them was that one had light brown hair and the other, who slightly taller, had hair as dark as coal. The third was standing sideways, making it so Chizuru could only see half of his face.

The man had hair so dark, it was almost violet and his eyes were equally as striking. Despite their dark blue color they almost seemed to light up, catching the rays from the light overhead. All three had katanas with them, held in the belts about their waists.

"It's not here," Jin said, finally straightening. He looked at the tallest of the group. "He might've taken it all with him.

The man cursed under his breath. His companion beside him shrugged, "Well, he's going to have to return here eventually," he said, "It looks like he left all the rest of his research here."

Chizuru's eyes widened. She recognized that voice … but from where …

The man with the blue eyes slowly walked over to her father's desk. He gazed quietly at the bottom desk drawer before reaching out and pulling the drawer completely out of its slot. He didn't even look inside the drawer, but instead looked at where it had been. He knocked out the bottom of the slot.

The others watched him as he slowly reached a hand into the hole had hand made and withdrew something from it. He held up the bottle he had found for the others to see. "It looks like he left one behind," he said.

The bottle was clear glass and inside was about 8 ounces of a dark red liquid. "Good job Saitou," Jin said, snatching the bottle from him. He held it up to the light, swirling the contents about. "This is it, and it looks to be from one of the more recent batches too."

He paused, his face darkening, "And now that I have this, you all can't do anything to me can you?"

Saitou, the man with the blue eyes placed a hand onto the hilt of his blade. "I wouldn't," Jin said. He pulled the stopper from the top of the bottle. "I don't thing any of you want me to use this liquid on you. You all know very well what is does."

The air was tense, the three men watched Jin. "Thanks for finding this for me," he sneered.

Chizuru knew something wasn't right, she should move and go to call the police. She tried to move, but her body was frozen. Jin looked away from the other men for only a second, when Saitou moved, unsheathing his sword. He was in front of Jin in an instant, the blade piercing into the other man's side.

Jin's eyes were wide with shock, and he could only stare at the others in disbelief until Saitou withdrew the katana and released him. Jin clutched his side with his free hand, falling to his knees. He had managed to keep his hold on the bottle, and was now clutching it so tightly, that his knuckles were turning white. He coughed up blood, wheezing and struggling to put pressure on his wound.

Chizuru tore her eyes from Jin to look up at the other two men, whom had finally turned. She tightened her hand over her mouth to smother her disbelief. She knew both of them. The man with the light colored hair, Okita Souji, who went to school with her was by Saitou's side now, both watching Jin as they tried to determine what they should do next.

But the third man was looking directly at her.

Hijikata Toshizo's eyes bored into hers. His violet eyes were fixated on her, his expression austere and grim. Only once Jin's coughing had begun to worsen did he look away.

Jin was struggling to breath, coughing up huge volumes of blood as he kneeled on the floor. With the little strength he had left, he laughed, holding up the bottle. "Now is as good a time as ever," he wheezed. He upturned the bottle onto his head, spilling the red contents down his face.

The liquid trickled down his skin, staining the flesh a bright crimson. The red seemed to glow, almost as if it was burning. Jin dropped the bottle, ignoring the glass as it shattered across the ground. He clutched his face, crying out in anguish.

His whole body writhed in pain and he dug his nails into his skin. Chizuru could only watch in fear, her knees finally giving out as she sank to the floor clutching the wall. Before her eyes Jin's hair began to lighten, turning from black to white.

His breathing was slowing and the blood flowing from his wound had came to a stop. He finally stilled, his hands clutched over his face. Those in the room watched him, waiting for whatever was to come.

Jin got slowly to his feet, his body shaking. He burst out laughing crazily, holding up his trembling hands before him. The red upon his face had disappeared and black markings had materialized on his forehead, spreading towards his chin. "How wonderful," he said. "I feel so powerful all of a sudden."

He lifted his shirt, looking at the area where Saitou had stabbed him. The flesh was smooth and whole once more, there were no signs of the wound. He grinned, "It really works."

Okita looked to Hijikata, "Do we kill him?"

Hijikata gave Jin a detestable look, "We have no choice."

Unsheathing his own sword, Okita grinned, "Very well."

"I will leave this to you two then," Hijikata stepped around both of them. He made his way towards the stairs, towards Chizuru. She knew she was going to be caught but her body had shut down, refusing to move.

Hijikata was beside her, towering over her. "Yukimura Chizuru," he said. "You shouldn't have looked."

~I~