A/N: after reading such good reviews for my previous Hakuouki fics, i felt really compelled to publish this latest addition. FYI, it's told from Kawa's POV (1st Person). also, after reading said reviews, i figured it'd be good to bring Kawa to the front stage again.
so enjoy the fic!

EDIT: the title translates to "Rain Lily"

disclaimer: i don't own Hakuouki; Kawa belongs to me.

Chapter 01: Not Everybody Likes Snow

A stale chill crept into the darkened room.

I shivered, curling up tighter beneath the blankets and mentally cursing the damn cold front that had plagued Kyoto.

Someone knocked on the door of my room, from the back hallway it sounded. "Yasakawa-kun, are you awake yet? Breakfast is prepared," the familiar voice of one of the men wondered, his tone kind.

I inwardly groaned; damn it, but it's cold, I thought with a pout. "I'm on my way. Thank you, Inoue-san." I replied, hearing the shuffling of his feet disappear down the hallway.

A heavy sigh escaped me as I sat up in bed, flinching and rubbing my arms. "Damn, it's cold." I grumbled, throwing the blankets off and straightening to my feet to hurry and get dressed.

I threw the sleeping yukata off, slipping into my usual pair of medium navy-colored hakama, pulling my white vest-like kosode on over my shoulders and securing it beneath the hakama's waistline, using my blue sash and tying it like a belt at my waist.

Goosebumps erupted down my naked arms, making me flinch again and hold myself.
I grumbled under my breath as I looked through the closet for a haori to cover my arms; I paused short of finding one to see a familiar haori staring at me point-blank.

A pale blue haori hung in the middle of the closet, the bottoms of the sleeves highlighted with a white triangle design; I smiled at the haori and snatched a dark red haori from the side, closing my closet door and slipping my arms through the sleeves of the red robe.

I pulled my mirror from my desk to look at myself; my black hair that fell to mid-back looked scruffy and messy, making me frown.
Another sigh escaped me as I untied the blue hair-tie from my wrist and raised my arms to tie my hair back into a messy topknot, looking at my reflection again.

My gray eyes stared at my reflection as most of my hair was kept out of my face; I smiled, lowering the mirror to the desk and stepping away from the desk to throw my doors open to face the day.

As I had figured, it'd snowed last night; I scowled and pulled the lapels of the haori closer to my chest, exhaling and lifting a hand to scritch the back of my head. "Geez, doesn't God know not everyone is used to snow?" I wondered to myself, hearing my stomach growl.

I pouted, huffing before I sprinted to the main room to quell my hungry stomach.

:::::::::::::oOo:::::::::::::

Slightly raucous voices were coming from the main room that served as both the dining room and meeting room.

I smiled to myself and shook my head, exhaling as I threw open the door to let the sun shine on the occupants of the dining room.

"Oi, close the door! It's freezing!" A voice barked indignantly; I looked into the room to see a familiar brunette with blue eyes rubbing his muscled arms and scowling at me.

He blinked before he smiled lightly. "Oh, it's you, Kawa-chan! Well in that case, good morning." He said, trying to cover up for the sore expression that marred his face a second ago.

I rolled my eyes at him and sighed, closing the door as I stepped into the room. "Morning to you too, Shinpachi." I replied, sitting down near the front of the room.

A second man, a brunette with shaggy hair and teasing green eyes, looked at me and smirked. "You don't like the new uptake in weather, Kawa-chan?" He wondered as I rubbed my arms.

I stuck my tongue out at him. "Not really, not when I have to wake up feeling like a frozen piece of meat." I replied; he chuckled, filling a spare bowl with rice from the cooker and handing it to me to put it on my tray.

A third man, with long jet black hair and violet eyes, shot a look at me. "Maybe you shouldn't wear that vest if you're that cold." He reasoned calmly, his arms that were folded in his purple kosode sleeves sliding out as he ate a clump of rice with his chopsticks.

I made a face at him and huffed. "So you want me to go around the barracks topless? Geez, nii-san, I never pegged you to be that lewd." I remarked, seeing him spit out his tea in surprise.

Both the brunette with green eyes and a second man, with raven-black hair tied in a loose ponytail and cool blue eyes, blushed at the idea, the remaining men in the room also letting their faces color pink at the image.

I glared at them. "Pigs, all of you! Geez," I barked, whacking my half-brother on the back as he coughed.
"D-damn it, Yasakawa, I hate it when you do that!" He snapped, scowling at me with annoyed violet eyes.

The brunette with green eyes, Okita Souji, looked over at my half-sibling and smirked. "At least I wouldn't hafta pay to see ya topless, Kawa-chan," he mused lightly.

I shot him a death glare. "Keep it in your pants, you idiot letch." I warned frostily.

The black-haired man with blue eyes, Saitou Hajime, cleared his throat and continued with his food.
"I'd stop now, were I you, Okita-san. Considering Kawa's skill with a blade, she would most likely do worse things to you than try and cut your head off." He reasoned patiently before eating a clump of rice.

I looked at him and blushed slightly, hearing myself giggle. "Throwing compliments this early in the mornin', Hajime-kun? Such a gentleman." I sighed dramatically.

He paused and glanced up at me, a faint rosiness staining his cheeks, before he looked at his food, seeming to become really interested in his rice and soup; I smirked lightly.

A sigh escaped the third man, my half-brother Hijikata Toshizou. "Yasakawa, stop heckling Saitou-san. It's too early in the morning to hear you two debating." He scolded before sipping his tea.

I felt a slight tic in my cheek when he spoke my full name, scowling up at him. "It's too early for you to be callin' me by my full name too, Toshi. How many times have I told you? It's 'Kawa'." I shot back indignantly, looking away with a huff.

One of the other men, the tall redhead with gold eyes, chuckled. "Now I really see the resemblance between you two, Hijikata-san." He mused lightly.

Toshi shot a look over at the captain. "Honestly," he grumbled, stung at the fact that the only way anyone could tell we were related was because we were both too stubborn to lose an argument.

I smiled over at him. "I'm touched, Sano," I teased lightly.
Someone groped my ass from behind, making me yelp. "There, you're touched; better now?" The brunette mused with a sigh.

"Bakkero!"

WHACK.

"OW! Geez that hurt, Kawa-chan!" Souji whined, rubbing the new bump on his head gingerly and looking up at me with sore green eyes.

"Pervert! That's what ya get for groping my ass!" I shouted annoyedly, blushing and glowering at him.
"Well can you blame me? It's so cute and round…! Ow, hey don't hit me!" He yelped when my right fist hit him on the head a second time.

"Idiot letch!" I barked.

The rest of the men in the room exhaled at the scene, returning to their meals.

"Inoue-san, would you please check on our guest?" I heard the commander, Kondou Isami, ask Inoue-san, interrupting my beating of Souji as we had finished eating and the dishware was taken away to the kitchen.

"Kondou-san, what guest?" I asked, looking at him confusedly.

He looked at my brother. "Well, Toshi?" He wondered.

He cleared his throat and looked at the occupants of the room (myself included).
"Last night, we encountered two Furies that had escaped from our headquarters. They killed two ronin, but luckily, we found them before they could cause any further damage to the residents of Kyoto. After exterminating them, we saw that there was a witness." He explained.

I widened my eyes slightly before looking down, crossing my arms in the sleeves of my haori. "You didn't kill him?" I wondered quietly, looking up at my brother.

He shook his head. "No, we didn't; the witness was just a boy, he didn't appear to have aided the Furies." He replied.

I nodded and looked down at my tabi; the memory of my first encounter with a Fury flashed in my mind's eye, the sight of those beady red eyes that longed for blood and that pure white hair that looked like snow… I clenched my fists slightly, keeping my eyes cast downward.

The next time I saw one, I would cut him down. I wasn't that scared girl I was when that Fury stormed into my room and almost killed me.

The door slid open, stirring me from my reverie; I looked up and blinked back the sunlight from my eyes, seeing the silhouette of Inoue-san and the silhouette of a figure a few inches shorter than him standing in the doorway.

"Good morning," Souji spoke lightly, sounding as if he'd known the second person for his entire life.

I watched as Inoue-san and the figure entered the room, sitting down near me; I managed to get a better look at the second person.

This witness was nothing more than a child! Ontop of that, from what Toshi said, this witness didn't look like a boy, but actually was… a girl.
I looked at the pink kosode and pale gray hakama, looking at the girl's big brown eyes and medium brown hair tied into a ponytail.

Poor thing, to have been dragged back here by my brother… I frowned softly and crossed my arms in the sleeves of the haori again.

"…Stop it, Souji; he'll think it's true." Hajime's voice stirred my thoughts again; I looked up at him, looking up at the girl to see a slight blush staining her cheeks at Souji's comment.

He looked at the girl. "You don't have the marks of the tatami mat on your face." He assured her.

"That's mean, Hajime-kun; you didn't have to tell him." He declared lightly.

I backhanded him. "Idiot, don't be such a jerk!" I scolded, seeing him rub his head gingerly.

"All three of you, knock it off! Stop this idiotic chatter." Toshi ordered, perking my ears.

I scowled slightly at him and quieted, huffing. Jerk, I mused inwardly, looking over at the three remaining men as they commented on the newcomer. I smiled slightly.

Ah yes, of course, I thought, the three comedians.

Todou Heisuke, Nagakura Shinpachi, and Harada Sanosuke always reminded me of three brothers; if they weren't playfully competing with each other, they were bickering like puppies over food at meal times.

"Cut it out, all three of you!" Kondou-san barked, making me jump slightly; Souji snickered at my side before I kneed his thigh in response, pursing my lips.

"I'm sorry for all the gossip. Please don't be afraid; close the door and sit down." The voice of reason around here, Yamanami Keisuke or "Sannan" as we all referred to him, said to the girl in a kind tone.

She nodded and closed the door, sitting down at my right.
I looked at her again as Kondou-san introduced himself, Sannan-san, and Toshi to the girl.

"Kondou-san; why are you telling him all this?" Toshi spoke up, scowling reprovingly at him.

Kondou-san looked sheepish.
"I-is that bad?" He wondered.

"Ya don't have to introduce yourself to the person you're going to interrogate." Shinpachi commented.
"Well, that over-formality is just like Kondou-san, isn't it?" Sano chimed.

I rolled my eyes at him and sighed, lifting a hand to scritch the back of my head. Honestly, sometimes I wonder if you guys aren't still ten years old, I thought, vaguely listening in to Hajime as he recounted the scene last night to the witness.

"I didn't see anything!" The girl exclaimed in her defense, perking my ears.
"Really?" Heisuke wondered.

"I didn't!" She insisted.

"Eh? But from what Souji said, you helped the ronin." Shinpachi piped up suspiciously.
"That's not true; I was running away from those ronin! Then the Shinsengumi came, and I was technically saved by them." She explained; I lifted a brow as I could almost smell the fear in her words.

Poor kid.

"…Come on, let's kill him. It's the best way to silence him." Souji piped up.

"But…" The girl began again.

"Idiot!" I barked, smacking him upside the head again.

"Ow… Geez, your right hand is as hard as ever, Kawa-chan…!" Souji grumbled, rubbing his head gingerly.

I huffed.
"Well that's what you get for being so mean to the kid! Keep begging for his death and I swear that I'll beat you into a coma." I threatened annoyedly.
He looked at me and huffed, a smirk crossing his lips. "Is that right?" He wondered slyly.

"Yasakawa, enough." Toshi snapped, perking my ears; I winced when he spoke my full name, throwing him a death glare before I huffed and straightened to go sit down next to Heisuke, leaning against the wall.

"Please; I won't say a thing to anybody!" The girl pleaded.

"That's enough, take him away." He ordered, looking away from the girl.

She looked up as Hajime grabbed her arm and dragged her out of the room, her pleas ringing in the air outside.

I looked over at my brother and ran a hand through my hair. "Honestly, nii-san, he's just a kid. Younger than Heisuke, prolly. What merit would there be if the kid was beheaded for something he didn't do?" I reasoned patiently.

He looked in my direction as I heard Heisuke bark indignantly at my comment. "If I need your opinion, I'll ask for it. Other than that, be quiet." He returned.

I made a face and sighed, folding my arms behind my head. "Fine, but if you get in trouble for doin' something you shouldn't have done, don't come whining to me, Toshi-nii." I pointed out.

He seemed to quiet down before he huffed. "You might have a point, though." He mused, perking my ears; I looked at him with one open eye.
"Hm?"

"Perhaps we shouldn't dispose of him after all." He suggested; I opened both eyes, looking over at him confusedly.

"Huh? No disposal?" Shinpachi piped up in disbelief.

"Is it alright like this, Hijikata-san? He saw them, the failed ones!" Sano chimed in, both men looking at my brother with serious eyes.
"Last night, we killed two warriors that refused their orders. He was just passing by." Toshi explained calmly.

"Is that all you want to say?" Sannan-san wondered, speaking up since the girl had entered the room.

"Actually, that's all that kid can understand from all this." He replied.

"Well, if you say so, Toshi…" Kondou-san mused.

"That was your plan all along, wasn't it?" Sannan-san asked.
"Otherwise you wouldn't have brought him back here alive; anyway, we have to protect the secret. We can't just release him like that." He mused; my brother huffed and looked away in reluctant defeat.

"I know; I still have some things to check out." Toshi snapped, straightening to his feet and leaving the room.

I watched him leave and sighed. "Point." I mused.

Souji glanced over at me and smirked. "I'm surprised he even put what you said into consideration, Kawa-chan, knowing your brother." He mused.

I looked at him and returned the smirk. "I know, I'm still trying to get over the shock!" I declared dramatically.
Shinpachi, Heisuke, Sano and Souji laughed.

"So, that's why a girl dressed like a boy and was wearing men's clothing." Toshi mused.
Kondou-san nodded. "I see…" He blinked. "Wait, you're a girl!?" He barked in surprise.

"You're a woman!?" Shinpachi chimed in shock.

"Is that true?" Heisuke barked.

I covered my mouth to hide my laughing. "I think you guys really need to get glasses…" I giggled.
"H-hey, that's not funny, Kawa-chan!" Heisuke quipped.

Kondou-san groaned and bowed his head in shame. "I, Kondou Isami, made a terrible mistake! I didn't know you were actually a girl!" He apologized.

I sweatdropped and smiled sheepishly. "Now, now, Kondou-san…" I began.

"She's obviously a girl." Souji piped up lightly; I ribbed him. "Oi, then why did you insist she was a boy this morning?" I demanded.

"If what you're saying is true, how do you prove it?" Shinpachi asked curiously as he, Heisuke and Sano looked at her.

"'Prove it'?" The girl, Yukimura Chizuru, repeated in confusion.

"How about you take your clothes off?" Sano teased lightly.

I threw my cup at him. "Pervert, knock it off! Geez, it's a wonder you all don't sleep with the damn geisha at Shimabara whenever you go there." I barked, scowling at him, Souji and Shinpachi.

"Eh?" The girl blinked in confusion; I looked at her and smiled lightly.

"These guys won't hurt you, okay? Or else." I added grimly, looking at the aforementioned captains pointedly.
She seemed to smile back, ever so slightly. "T-thank you, Yasakawa-san." She replied.

I blinked and then chuckled.
"It's Kawa; Hijikata Yasakawa. And it's nice to formally know your name, Chizu-chan." I added with another smile.

Chizuru laughed weakly. "Likewise, Yasakawa-chan… I mean, Kawa-chan." She stammered sheepishly.

"Oi, since when does she ever act this nice…?" I heard Shinpachi ask Souji behind my back.

"Since there's actually another girl around, Nagakura! Geez, with so many idiotic men around, it's hard to maintain being polite." I snapped indignantly, looking away and scritching the back of my head in frustration.
Souji chuckled. "Not all of us are idiots here, at least not from your point of view, Kawa-chan~," he teased with a wink.

I blushed slightly before my elbow jabbed into his ribs, folding my arms in the sleeves of my haori. "Shut up, you letch." I growled, looking away.

"You said your name was Yukimura Chizuru?" Sannan-san asked, perking my ears.
She nodded.
"Is your father Yukimura Kodou, the Western medicine doctor?" He asked again; she widened her eyes.

"Do you know my father?" She asked alertly.

Toshi's face twitched slightly; I looked between her and him, Sannan-san and Kondou-san. I hadn't heard much about Kodou-san; all I knew was that he was the one responsible for creating the "medicine" that turned men into Furies.

"So she's Kodou-san's daughter…" Kondou-san mused sadly.

"How much do you know?" Toshi asked the girl.

"'How much' what?" Chizuru repeated in confusion.

I looked at him. "Nii-san, she doesn't know anything." I defended gently.
"Kawa, be quiet. Don't play dumb, girl. I'm talking about Kodou-san." He shushed me, scowling at the girl.

"What do you mean; has something happened to my father?" She asked the room at large.

"It happened a month ago; there was a fire at the clinic your father was working in; since then, he's been missing." Hajime explained, as was his role among the group to be the voice of explanation.
"It's strange, his body wasn't found among the rubble. There's a possibility he's involved in a case." Sannan-san picked up from where Hajime left off.

"We're also looking for Kodou-san." Toshi added. "If you don't say anything about what happened last night, we will look after you while we're searching for your father." He declared.

She perked up; I looked at him curiously. "Nii-san," I began in surprise.

"Don't worry; we'll surely find your father!" Kondou-san smiled in assurance.
"Thank you very much!" Chizuru said.

"It's great that you weren't killed; at least for now." Souji declared, smiling at her when she looked at him.

"Y-yes," she muttered.

I pat her shoulder gently, scowling at my friend. "Give it a rest, will you? It's too late to be hearing you promise a swift death to the girl." I scolded.
He smiled that cat-like smile at me. "Whatever you say, princess." He said with a wink; I pouted and huffed. "Idiot." I grumbled.

"Well, if that's the case, then we'll have to treat her better!" Shinpachi piped up.
"You have a soft spot for girls, Shinpatsu. That's the only reason ya treated Kawa-chan nicely the first few months she was here!" Heisuke protested.
"Eh? O-oh yeah, I forgot about that." Shinpachi chuckled sheepishly.

I sweatdropped and rolled my eyes, scritching the back of my head. "Honestly..." I muttered.

"It's too early to take her in like this, though." Heisuke mused.

"It's fine, considerin' our base will be more cheerful as well, so Shinpachi isn't the only one happy about this now that there are two girls around." Sano chimed lightly.

"But if she's not a warrior, we'll have to think about how we'll be treating her. Yasakawa-kun is a different case, considering she's Hijikata-kun's younger sister as well as being already accustomed to our rules ontop of knowing how to wield a sword." Sannan-san said thoughtfully.

"Then we'll put her under someone's protection, like Kondou-san or Sannan-san," Toshi commented, his arms folded in the sleeves of his haori.

Souji grinned lightly at him. "Sorry, Hijikata-san, but I think it'd be best to give that responsibility to the one who proposed the idea." He said lightly, perking my ears as well as my brother's.

He blinked.
"Yeah, I feel safer if she's under Toshi's protection." Kondou-san chimed.

"Then it's settled, Hijikata-kun. We're all counting on you to watch out for the little lady." Sannan-san said lightly, both he and Kondou-san smiling innocently at my brother.

I looked over at my brother and snickered as he cursed the men. "Talk about stepping into it, nii-san." I mused lightly.

He scowled over at me. "You stay out of this, you've said enough." He growled.
I raised my hands in surrender. "Don't bite my head off just yet, nii-san! 'Sides, not to be mean or anythin', but you are strongest with a katana in hand." I added innocently.

Toshi scowled again and huffed, cutting his gaze to the side and scritching the back of his head in frustration. "Brat." He grumbled.

He perked up and smiled at me as I came forward. "Your teeth still chattering from the cold?" He teased.

I rolled my eyes and sighed. "No, I'm fine." I looked at the girl and smiled lightly.
"He hasn't been giving you trouble, has he? I know my brother asked the guys to keep guard over your room in shifts, but this one…" My foot jabbed his knee. "Tends to not know when to keep his mouth shut." I explained.

Souji rubbed his knee, pouting up at me. "What am I, your personal training dummy?" He grumbled as I leaned against the wall he sat against.
I laughed quietly. "Almost; if you didn't run your mouth as often as you do, I wouldn't scold you." I replied with a smirk.

He returned the smirk as his eyes looked mischievous. "Shame you never wanna try those 'punishment' techniques out in the bedroom," he mused slyly.

I blushed humbly and huffed, crossing my arms in my sleeves. "Watch your mouth, pervert; there are virgin ears present." I snapped, indicating Chizuru.

He looked up at me with one green eye. "You ain't no virgin, as far as I know." He teased lightly.

I blushed again and sputtered a huff, kicking him.
"It's too cold for you to try and disprove that." I growled.

Souji chuckled.
"One day, princess, yer gonna beg me on your knees, and I'm gonna enjoy every second of givin' it to ya." He said smugly.

I scoffed and felt my face burn up at his words, lifting a hand to scritch the back of my head in frustration. "Pervert." I grumbled.

"Now what is he telling you?" A familiar voice wondered knowingly, perking my ears; I looked up to see Hajime standing on the other side of the door, a tray of food in his hands.

I smiled in relief at his presence. "The usual," I replied with an exasperated sigh.
He huffed and returned the smile.
"That doesn't surprise me; he's been trying to get you to sleep with him for months." He mused.

"Hey, I told ya that was a secret, Hajime-kun!" Souji griped, blushing slightly.

I looked down at Souji and giggled. "How cute, you're blushing." I teased.
He huffed. "Oh yeah?" He tried to grab my ankles; I jumped away in time, dancing away to stand behind Hajime as he sighed patiently.

"Too slow, love!" I declared with a laugh.

"Honestly, you two…" He grumbled.

I looked at him and smiled, kissing his cheek. "Don't pout like that, Haji-kun." I advised, seeing his cheeks blush slightly.

Souji huffed and looked away. "Ya can be so cruel sometimes, Kawa-chan," he said dramatically.

I looked at him and rolled my eyes. "That's for that virgin comment." I remarked with a smirk.
He made a face, making me laugh.

"S-Saitou-san, you heard me talking to myself too?" Chizuru piped up, perking his ears.

He nodded.

She sweatdropped and looked down in embarrassment.
I made a face. "Nice going, you two. It's not like we're gonna report what you said to the whole of Kyoto, Chizu-chan." I pointed out patiently.

We perked up as Heisuke showed up, pointing out that Hajime was gonna miss dinner.
"I have a job to do." He remarked, indicating his guard duty.

"Not only that, but Hijikata-san said for us to keep an eye on her at all times." Souji chimed as he straightened.

"Well why doesn't she just eat with the rest of us?" Heisuke asked. "It's okay, because Hijikata-san is out to Osaka on business." He added to the girl.

"You're right; I'd get bored just watching this girl eat." Souji said thoughtfully, taking the tray from Hajime's hands and giving it to Heisuke.
He looked at him in confusion. "Eh; why did you give it to me?" He asked.
"You were the one who proposed it." He replied, walking off. "Let's go; Kawa, you comin'?" He called.

I rolled my eyes at him and sighed. "Yeah, keep your topknot on. Chizu-chan, come on." I said, opening her door for her.

Chizuru blinked. "Um, Kawa-chan, I…" She began.

"It's not a big deal, okay? Let's go before Sano and Shinpachi eat what's on your tray." I waved it off, taking her wrist and leading her out of the room and down the walkway.
"O-Okay!" She declared behind me.

I heard Hajime sigh quietly as he and Heisuke followed. "Leave it to Kawa to be the missionary, here," he mused.

"I heard that!" I declared.

:::::::::::::::oOo:::::::::::::

I rolled my eyes when the boys – Heisuke and Shinpachi – started arguing over food. Again.
"Honestly, you two really do act like ten year olds," I muttered, eating a piece of fish from my plate and chewing.

"It's not like you act any different," Hajime pointed out at my left, perking my ears.

I looked up at him, pouting. "What's that supposed to mean?" I asked suspiciously, my fingers gripping the chopsticks rather tightly.

He sipped his drink calmly. "Nothing more than the fact that between you and Okita-san, it's hard to tell who acts more childish." He explained in an aloof tone.

I blushed as I heard Souji cough next to me, seeming to have overheard Hajime. "He starts it; you've seen 'im." I protested indignantly.
Hajime looked at me with one open blue eye. "Fifty percent of the time, yes," he amended indifferently.

I huffed and looked away, whacking Souji on the back as he tried to swallow his rice. "You can be so mean sometimes, Hajime," I griped sorely.

He seemed to smirk out of the corner of my eye. "That's solely based on your opinion, Kawa." He mused.
I rolled my eyes.

The door slid open behind us. "Excuse me, everybody," Inoue-san said, making us look to see him looking at us with a slip of paper in hand.
"I have news from Hijikata-san, from Osaka; it appears Sannan-san has acquired a serious injury." He relayed.

"What happened to Sannan-san?" Shinpachi asked alertly.
"It's a very severe wound that injured his left arm; it's not so bad that it threatens his life, though." Inoue-san explained.

"Well that's good." Chizuru declared.
"It ain't good!" Heisuke piped up, confusing her.

"The sword isn't a tool you can manipulate using one hand; maybe he won't be able to use a sword again." Hajime explained.
She looked concerned for a minute.

"Inoue-san, is my brother alright?" I asked, looking up at the older man.

He nodded and smiled lightly. "Hijikata-san is perfectly fine, Yasakawa-kun. But that's all I have to say, I have to report to Kondou-san." He assured me, leaving the room.
I sighed a little and smiled. I'm glad, I thought in relief.

"If worse comes to worse, we'll have to use that medicine on him." Souji mused next to me.

I looked at him alertly. "Souji, don't suggest such a thing! You know what that'll do to him… And we can't afford to lose someone like Sannan-san." I declared, lowering my gaze.

"Um, Kawa-chan, what're you talking about?" Chizuru asked, perking my ears.

I looked at her and smiled, waving it away. "It's nothing, Chizu-chan!" I replied; the memory of that night flashed in my mind. I lowered my gaze again. "Yeah, it's nothing." I muttered.

Souji glanced at me, pouring more sake into my cup. I looked up at him and smiled slightly, nodding.

geesh.. i didn't figure this would be a long first chapter.. O:
lol well either way, hope you all like reading this. xD

edit: "Bakkero".. i'm not sure if i spelled it right. if anyone finds the correct spelling for it, please message me! thanks~

feedback is loved, so review please! thanks~