Author's notes:

- If you want to read a particular character's story, feel free to just skip to it! They hold up as independent stories.

- Name of stories are based off flowers + their meanings according to the language of flowers.

- Names are according to Chizuru's POV; for example, since she addresses Souji as "Okita-san", I will use "Okita-san". If she changes the way she addresses someone, I will change it accordingly. Hopefully it won't be too confusing!

- Each story follows the same pattern/chapter format:

1. An event(s) following Chizuru's life after she joined the Shinsengumi

2. An event(s) after the events of Hakuouki (the original game) + end of Chizuru's life (or that of her lover's, whichever comes first)

- There will be a story for the normal end (where she ends up with nobody) and one story each of the 6 "date-able" guys in the game, so a total of 7 stories. Hopefully I have the stamina and inspiration to complete it!

- Some of the stories might reference each other while others are unrelated.

Reviews very much appreciated since there is much for me to learn. Thank you!

Normal End: Mixed Zinnia

Mixed Zinnia: Thinking of/In memory of an absent friend

Chapter 1

Wasting no time, she walked briskly towards the kitchen, stopping only to politely greet the soldiers she passed by along the corridor. Held delicately between her hands was something she had been working on for the past week and had only completed the night before. It started as a way for her to distract herself from the fact that she was no better than a free loader. Since she had a lot of free time, being cooped up in her room with little to nothing to do on most days, it was also a way for her to pass the time... Hopefully they would enjoy the product of her hard work!

Sweat on her brow caused her bangs to stick to her forehead as she walked, and she tried to wipe the sweat away with the back of her hand. It was, however, mostly in vain as she continued to perspire under the intense heat. She could only imagine how worn out the poor soldiers must be, having to patrol the streets of Kyoto daily in such conditions - perhaps that's why so many of them had taken ill. She was lucky the heat hadn't gotten to her; if she fell sick and had to stay in bed all day, she would feel even more useless and pathetic.

When she left her home in Edo in search of her father in Kyoto, she knew that no amount of mental or physical preparation would get her ready for the trials that were no doubt to come.

Getting chased around by two men who wanted to rob her of her kodachi the day she arrived, for example, and being the witness to two gruesome murders… Where her pursuers where cut down by two out of control furies, and where she would have shared their fate if not for the fact that they were then cut down by a captain of the Shinsengumi. Technically, both murders had prolonged her life – perhaps that's why she felt somewhat guilty. If she hadn't grown overly confident of her disguise and wandered around too late at night, she wouldn't have to hide out in that back alley, and maybe those two men – however wicked they were for the crimes they were about to commit – would still be alive.

Then again, if they hadn't been greedy, their fates would have been different.

Of course, there was nothing she could do about the furies; there was no doubt in her mind that they would have been cut down anyway, regardless of whether she was there or not, but part of her still felt that perhaps, things might had turned out differently if she had made the wiser choice of retreating to an inn once the sky turned dark.

… For one, she wouldn't be a "guest" of the Shinsengumi right now, even if the circumstances brought her one step closer to locating her father. She had cursed her own ill luck and was wary at first, but had quickly grown comfortable with living under the same roof as the feared Wolves of Mibu… Mostly because she found that there was less and less to fear, especially among many of the high ranking members. Apart from a few exceptions – such as Heisuke-kun's spontaneous visits, or Gen-san taking the time to make polite conversation with her, or Okita-san dropping by at often inconvenient times – she found that as long as she kept her word about being inconspicuous and stayed out of trouble, she was left alone. The lower ranking soldiers, especially, avoided her as she was always being closely watched by one of the captains. Out of what she perceived to be kindness, she was even allowed to walk around the headquarters.

Recently, she was even allowed into the kitchen.

Preparing everyone's meals made her feel useful, and above all, it made her feel like she was a part of the Shinsengumi. Though she would, every once in a while, be reminded of the fact that she was just a guest – or really, a glorified prisoner – because of someone's words or actions, she took pride in what she could – or was allowed to – do.

Sliding the door to the kitchen open, she quickly stepped inside, and slid the door close behind her; no doubt the heat would tenfold once the fire was start up and she started to cook, but while keeping the door open would invite in the breeze, pests might also sneak in. Wiping away her sweat again, she placed the item she had been holding on a table to the side in order to free her hands so that she could tie her sleeves up with a tasuki. Smiling, she first prepared the rice – a must have, given how much energy those from the Shinsengumi often exerted due to their training and patrols.

Next was the miso soup, as it would whet the appetite – not that certain members needed their appetite whet, seeing how they often made attempts at snatching each other's food, dissatisfied with the amount of food they were provided with. It was a routine she had grown accustomed to, and even found comfort and joy from; it gave her a sense of normalcy, like these peaceful days would sketch on forever.

After breakfast was ready, she washed all the utensils and containers that were no longer needed, and dried each one with a cloth before putting them back where they belonged. She knew that cleaning up was not strictly part of cooking duty, and most would leave the kitchen with dirty utensils and containers lying around, but she would hate to trouble those cooking after her. Besides, she had a feeling that cleaning up after cooking pleased Saitou-san; he had never mentioned it to her, but she caught what she thought was a rare smile when he inspected the kitchen the morning after she was first allowed to help with preparing meals. He was, after all, the only exception to the "cleaning up is not part of my responsibility as cook" agreement-of-sorts, being as impeccable with his duties as a cook as he was as a warrior of the Shinsengumi. Knowing that she did not add to his burden was all the more reason for her to keep the kitchen spotless.

Standing back, she scanned her surroundings. Satisfied with the condition of things, she finally picked up the item she had left aside when she first entered the kitchen – a wind chime; although not masterfully made, she thought it looked and sounded good enough to showcase. Although she completed it last night, she did not wish to be an inconvenience to anyone who might be preparing dinner in the kitchen. She instead decided that the best plan of action was to hang it up the next morning, when it was her turn to prepare breakfast.

She even made sure to wake up earlier than usual, factoring in the time it would take her to prepare breakfast and hang the wind chime. Her plan worked, and it was far too early to start portioning out the food, lest it ends up being served cold despite the summer heat. Instead, making use of a stool, she carefully tied the wind chime to one of the windows, smiling when the summer breeze caused it to create a soft, soothing sound that seemed to echo in the kitchen. The sound even made the heat in the kitchen more bearable, in her opinion.

Hopefully the captains would agree - it should be Okita-san and Saitou-san's turn to cook lunch today...

Her smile widened, and she climbed off the stool. Having completed what she had set out to do, she then divided the food into portions, carefully pouring the steaming hot miso soup into the individual bowls, and piling on as much rice as she could without the mountain of rice spilling – especially for Nagakura-san and Heisuke-kun.

In Okita-san's miso soup, she stirred in more soy sauce, having realized from drinking his often too salty miso soup and seasoned fish that he preferred stronger tasting foods. To Saitou-san's miso soup, she moved some of the tofu in her portion to his, having heard that he enjoyed tofu, but not wanting to deprive someone else of their share… Especially since the remaining food would be shared among the common soldiers, and it never looked like it was quite enough to feed so many men.

The captains ate better than the common soldiers, but not by much. Usually they got an extra slice of pickled radish, nothing extravagant like an extra fish or an extra side dish. Regardless, she felt a pang of guilt, thinking about how she did a lot less than the common soldier on a day-to-day basis, but was given such better treatment – getting her own room, not being required to train despite wielding a blade, eating the same meals as the captains…

Sighing, she tried to clear her head of the negative thoughts by squeezing her eyes tight, and gently patted her cheeks with both hands.

"Yo, Chizuru?"

Her eyes snapped open, and she spun around, finding herself face to face with a well chiseled chest- No, wait- Her face flushed, she moved her gaze a few inches up, and found herself staring into the concerned eyes of-

"Harada-san?"

"You alright, Chizuru? I happened to pass by and saw you spacing out-" He paused, staring intently at her face, "Are you overheating? Your face is red."

"Y-yes!" She replied, nodding her head, secretly relieved that he had given her a way out; it would hardly be polite to say that her face was red because she was startled and embarrassed at being caught spacing out and hitting herself on the cheeks, "It's a really hot day today, even though it's still early!"

"Well... Be careful not to overwork yourself."

He frowned, and she couldn't help feeling touched at how genuine his concern for her was. Just as she was about to tell him not to worry, Heisuke-kun and Nagakura-san walked through the door, their lips split into wide grins.

"Flirting so early in the morning, Sano?" Nagakura-san laughed as he slapped his friend heartily on his back.

"Eh, you're not bothering Chizuru are you?" Heisuke-kun's grin disappeared for a second as he turned to look at her. Once he saw that she was shaking her head, he was grinning again, apparently satisfied with her answer, "Hey, since we're here anyway, let's help you carry the trays!"

"Ooh! Good thinking Heisuke!" Nagakura-san's grin grew wider as he matched towards the table that the trays of food were on. Hands resting on his hips, he hovered over the table, "Let's give the tray with the largest fish to ourselves!"

"Ah! W-wait! Nagakura-san, the trays were prepared-"

"-carefully for the different people who will be eating, right?" Harada-san completed her sentence, chuckling when she fumbled over her words in surprise and started to gesture with her hands. After a minute, she stopped gesturing, and stared at the floor, not quite sure what to say; she always thought that her attempts at personalizing each person's meal was subtle enough to go unnoticed, but…

She was starting to feel both sorry for herself and embarrassed at her attempts to be subtle when she felt a strong hand patting her on her head; it wasn't the same type of pat she got from her father as a child, but it was comforting all the same. Almost shyly, she looked up, peering at Harada-san through her bangs.

"You're a good woman, you know."

She flushed at his words, and looked away, glancing at where Heisuke-kun and Nagakura-san were standing. They grinned at her simultaneously, and it suddenly dawned on her that they probably knew too. Then again, the captains of the Shinsengumi were surely very observant people, since a moment's hesitation or mistake could result in their death. It was probably an occupational hazard, but she didn't think that it extended to the food they ate as well… So did that mean that... Everyone else was also aware of it?

Her face probably turned a darker shade of red.

"Extra pickled radish must be for Hijikata-san," Heisuke muttered, grabbing hold of one of the trays. Balancing it on one hand, he picked up another tray with his other hand, and made his way to the door, a bounce in his step, "And this one is mine for sure! Look at how high the rice is piled!"

"Well, you'll have to carry the more normal looking ones-" She recognized that Harada-san was probably referring to the saltier dishes for Okita-san, and those without noticeable differences, such as the meals portioned out for Kondou-san and Sannan-san, "-but leave the rest to us."

"Yes!" She replied cheerfully as she bowed briefly in gratitude; she wondered if perhaps they had planned to assist her, but came in separately pretending to just be passing by so that she would not feel bad about accepting their help... Not too long ago, she would not have entertained such thoughts about the dreaded Shinsengumi, but she had witnessed for herself the kindness of the captains on several occasions - enough to convince herself that they were not as heartless as the public made them out to be, even if Okita-san had said that she was naive for thinking so, "Thank you very much!"

… These peaceful days might not go on forever, but it just meant that she would have to treasure the present that much more.

Ending notes:

- I guess the ending became a little Harada-ly, but I thought he would be the most likely one to show his concern that way.

- I wanted to mention more characters but it was getting… So… Long…

- Story/Wind chime inspired by Saitou's character cd.