A/N: okay, so for those of you who've read 'Blood In', i mentioned that i was going to put up a fanfic similar to the SSL AU plot of Hakuouki. hope you guys like it and enjoy!

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


Chapter 01: Sakura Good Bye

"What's Up, People!?" Blared loudly in the dimly lit room.

The young woman stirred beneath the blankets at the noise coming from her alarm clock, grimacing and reaching to slam a fist onto the 'SNOOZE' button.
Shit, it's too early, she thought, turning her back to the alarm clock and curling up into a ball as she vainly prayed that she could sleep longer.

The sound of her door being thrown open made her eyes shoot open; a flat object was thrown at her headboard, landing ontop of her head.

"OW!" She yelped, throwing the book off the bed and sitting upright, glaring annoyedly at the perpetrator.

Her brother's black-haired-violet-eyed figure stood in her doorway, arms crossed over his chest.

"Get up, it's time for school." He ordered with the familiar sternness she was accustomed to hearing so early in the morning, seeing her rub her head gingerly as she distinctly felt a bruise begin to blossom from where that damn book had landed.

She groaned and flopped back into bed.
"Nii-san, come on! It's MONDAY, for God's sake; can't I sleep in just another two minutes..?" She quieted when he sighed and moved forward into the room to pull the blankets away from her, making her shudder and cling to her pillow.

"You know the answer to that. Now come on, if you keep whining we're both going to be late." He reminded, scowling sternly at her pouting face.

Her gray eyes narrowed to look like steel; she scoffed and shoved him away as she hopped out of bed. "Fine, fine! Geez, you really hafta lay off the rice, nii-san. I think it's startin' to get to you," she mused in reluctant defeat, rifling through her chest drawers for her uniform clothes.

He made a face. "Just get your clothes on and hurry up. I'll meet you in the kitchen," he instructed, leaving the room as his patience was starting to slip through his fingers again (which it was wont to do when he woke up his sister for school).

She poked her head out the door and started to tiptoe back to bed.

"NOW, YASAKAWA!" He bellowed from down the hall, making her flinch; she swore under her breath and cursed him, getting dressed in a frustrated rush, clenching her teeth to keep from spouting more things she would regret later on.

:::::::::oX:::::::::

He glanced at her as he stopped at another stoplight.

She wasn't looking in his direction, instead glaring out at the world through the passenger window of his car, the palm of her right hand supporting her chin as her elbow rested on her folded knee.

A slight sigh escaped him at the sight; she was angered with him and she was pulling the silent treatment.

Since their parents passed, he was the one left in charge of them both and it was his duty to look out for his little sister; even though what he did and the instructions he gave didn't agree with her almost half of the time.

"At least smile, will you? Your face is going to be stuck in that frown the rest of your life." He tried to break the silence, trying to shatter the wall she'd put up since he'd made her get out of bed minutes ago.

She huffed. "What face?" She quipped cattily.

He reached to poke her temple with two fingers. "That face." He replied.

She swatted his hand away, scowling over at him. "Shut up, Toshi," she scolded.

He smirked slightly, exhaling and running his hand through her cropped black hair. "There's my little sister," he mused, seeing her cheeks burn a shade of light pink.

She looked away and snorted. "You're still a jerk." She mumbled.

He rolled his eyes at her remark, taking a turn and seeing the school building a few blocks away from where he was. "You remembered that I'm subbing your kendo class today, right?" He wondered, perking her ears.

She closed her eyes tight and cursed. "I forgot." She grumbled. "Why..?" She wondered, instantly cursing her ancient sensei for breaking his hip for the hundredth time in a month.

"Because Hanabusa-sensei broke his hip again." He reminded, turning to park in the faculty parking lot.

She opened the door and stepped out, hoisting her backpack onto her shoulder as he cut the engine and also stepped out. "Don't remind me; that old bastard needs to freakin' retire all ready," she muttered the last bit, storming ahead of him to the front steps of the school.

He exhaled patiently at her lead and followed calmly with his briefcase in tow, the familiar cacophony of the main corridor welcoming the siblings.

Here we go again, he thought.


"Well don't you look pissy." A voice said before a lanky brunette sidled up to her side and slung his arm around her shoulders.
She looked up at the brunette's green eyes and grinned lightly, ribbing him. "Shut up, I'm just sleepy that's all." She quipped.

Okita Souji returned the grin and squeezed her shoulders affectionately. "From what; you didn't have a guy over last night, did you now, Kawa-chan?" He wondered, looking at her with a sly glint in his jade-like eyes.

Kawa's cheeks burned and she huffed. "Honestly, you're such a letch. I was forcibly dragged outta bed by a certain oni teacher," she explained, throwing a look over her shoulder to see her brother had gone ahead of them to his class (much to her relief).

He nodded. "Ah, that explains things. I don't blame ya one bit; although the sight of you in bed is a nice view, I gotta admit." He mused in a low and sly tone, making her shiver.

Her cheeks burned again and she scowled, her elbow stabbing into his ribs. "Keep it in your pants, Okita," she warned.

Souji chuckled and winked at her. "One of these days, my stubborn princess, you're gonna be beggin' for it." He remarked nonchalantly with an off-hand gesture.
Kawa rolled her eyes. "So you say," she mused.

Someone cuffed the brunette affectionately before a head of raven-black appeared. "Now what lies are you putting in her head, Okita-san?" The black-haired boy wondered patiently.

He rubbed his head gingerly, making a face at his good friend. "Geez, Saitou-kun, yer fist is almost as fast as your sword! That hurt like hell," he whined.

Saitou Hajime rolled his eyes, looking at the girl as she laughed quietly. "I'm sorry if Okita-san is responsible for making you late, Kawa," he said for his friend, ignoring the annoyed pout that crossed the lankier of the two's face.

Kawa smiled at him and shrugged. "It's okay, he didn't make me late at all. I was starting to wonder where you were, Hajime," she mused, meeting his cool blue gaze.

He returned the smile and placed his hands in the pockets of his sweater. "Trying to get out of traffic; it's a nightmare this early in the morning, especially downtown." He explained.

She nodded. "I know what you mean. Toshi-nii doesn't complain much about it, though, which is kinda surprising. But then again, he's kind of weird." She shrugged innocently with a sigh.

"Oi, Mr. Ladies-Man, you finished that chem assignment right? Sannan-sensei said it was due by after school today." Souji piped up, planting his elbow on his friend's shoulder, interrupting their conversation.

Hajime briefly shot him a look before he nodded. "I finished it the other day. 'Ladies-Man'? If anyone, I'd believe that term was meant for you, Souji." He quipped, a wry smirk on his lips.
Kawa rolled her eyes. "He has a point there, Souji," she agreed.

Souji huffed and hugged her shoulders. "So that means my devilish charm is workin' at last on you, princess. It's about time, after all these long wasted years…!" He declared dramatically, lifting his free arm to hold it over his eyes in mock dramatics.

Both black-haired students looked at him patiently.

She huffed and gently shirked free of his grip, hooking her arm around the black-haired boy's elbow. "The hell it is; if anything, you both should know that I'm not the kind of girl that sleeps around." She protested coolly.

Hajime looked at her and smiled, looking away as they were nearing their homeroom. "That much is true. Out of all of us, you're one of the smartest girls in our year." He amended.

Kawa blushed humbly and giggled, leaning into his arm. "Aww Haji-kun, I'm touched!" She teased; he blushed slightly and smiled again.

Souji sighed and groped her, making her yelp and jump slightly. "There, you've been touched. Better?" He said patiently, seeing her cheeks burn a shade of red as she glared up at him.

THWACK.
She sighed as her right fist sucker-punched him in the nose; he yelped slightly and pulled away to rub his nose gingerly. "Does that answer your question?" She remarked with a huff, a vein on her temple twitching annoyedly.

He rubbed his nose, inhaling the air as a small trickle of blood dropped down his upper lip. "Crystal clear; the sucker-punch wasn't necessary, though." He said, his voice sounding nasal as he pinched his nose to keep from having a larger nose-bleed.

Kawa huffed. "Quit whining, will you? You're acting like more of an idiot than usual," she quipped.

Hajime sweatdropped and looked between his two friends, sighing patiently.
He was already accustomed to seeing this sort of scene play out between them; Souji would say or do something perverted and Kawa would either sucker-punch him like she just did moments ago or curse him to the lowest pits of hell for his actions/words.

If he didn't know any better, he would've assumed they were brother and sister; but of course, he knew better than to think such a ridiculous thing.

They (the three of them) were friends, and that's all it was. Simple as that.

Of course Souji had been crushing on Kawa since she first transferred in freshman year; out of all the girls in their school, he would pester Kawa just to make her blush and then bark insults or scoldings at him.

But then again, who could blame him? Hajime wondered.
She was the only girl in their school that wouldn't giggle incessantly and drool over him or the others in their group of friends; she was smart as a whip and she wasn't bad-looking, in retrospect she was very beautiful; she was strong enough to compete with the boys in their kendo class and she had a hell of a sucker punch.

He mentally kicked himself.

Why should he feel this way towards her? Kawa was his friend!
She was only eighteen, and her brother… well, he'd rather stand in the middle of freeway traffic than ever have to face down against her brother. Okay, her brother was the main reason he didn't dare ask her out. Besides the fact that Kawa was his friend, and he didn't want to disrupt that peace between them by trying to get into her pants.

The nasal sound of the bell ringing overhead jerked him from his thoughts; he grimaced slightly at the noise and frowned.
"Come on, Hajime," she declared as she dragged him into homeroom by the collar.

He blinked and gently pulled her hand off his collar, meeting her gray eyes. "I'm all right," he protested calmly, seeing her blush as he held her hand in his grip; he also blushed and released her hand, letting her walk away to put her bag away and sit down at her desk.

Souji ribbed him gently as he sat down next to him. "Getting all cozy there, Hajime-kun?" He teased lightly.

Hajime shot him a look. "Don't get any ideas, Souji," he warned, seeing him laugh.

He smiled innocently and sighed, relaxing in his seat and folding his arms behind his head. "Whatever, just let me know if ya two ever need a room." He said calmly.

"Okita Souji!" The familiar voice of Itou-sensei barked shrilly, making the rest of the classroom's occupants jump slightly in their seats, before twenty-seven pairs of eyes flew over to the relaxed brunette in the back.

He looked up with one lazy green eye. "Yo, Itou-sensei." He greeted lightly with a salute.

"Sit straight in your desk, Okita. Or do I have to drag Kondou-san into this?" The effeminate teacher ordered, perking his ears at the mention of his adoptive older brother.

Souji scowled at his blackmail motion, sitting forward in his desk. "Sorry, Itou-sensei." He grumbled.

Itou-sensei smiled lightly and turned to the roster on his desk. "Good. Roll-call; listen up or you'll be marked absent!" He added pointedly, beginning to go down the list of student names.

He threw up his middle finger when their teacher had his head lowered to read the roster for a moment, clucking his tongue. "Bastard transvestite." He grumbled.

She covered her mouth to hide a laugh, glancing at the front of the room and smiling over at her friend. "Got that right; God knows he's hiding a damn tutu underneath that old geezer get-up." She mused.

Souji laughed quietly, smirking over at her. "Maybe we should get him one for his birthday or somethin'," he mused lightly, seeing her giggle.

Kawa grinned and extended her fist out to him, their knuckled locking together.

"Hijikata Yasakawa!" Itou-sensei barked.

"It's 'Kawa', Itou-sensei." She remarked calmly, crossing her arms at her chest.
He ignored her and went on to the next student.

She stuck her tongue out and pulled the bottom eyelid of her right eye down. "Gaytard fucker." She muttered.

"Okita Souji!" He called.

"Present," he replied lightly with a cat-like smile, watching him duck down to read the roster again. His expression formed into a face. "Your frilly-ness." He muttered.

Kawa snickered.

"Saitou Hajime!" He declared.

"Present." Hajime replied coolly.

Souji huffed and smirked at his friend. "Someone's playing that 'I'm-too-good-for-this-shit' card." He mused.

Hajime glanced up at him from reading the latest issue of Jump. "What's wrong with it?" He wondered calmly.
He shrugged. "Nothin' at all, Saitou-kun." He said lightly.

Someone knocked tentatively on the door, quieting the room briefly.

"Come in," Itou-sensei beckoned calmly.

The door opened and a girl entered the room wearing the standard uniform of their school – navy skirt, black stockings, brown shoes and a pale blue sweater over a white button-up shirt – with short brown hair and slightly shy, slightly nervous brown eyes stood near his desk; she blushed slightly and turned to their teacher. "Um, a-are you Itou-sensei? I'm supposed to report to your homeroom… I just transferred here." She explained sheepishly, handing him her schedule.

Itou-sensei read her schedule and his eyes brightened. "Ah I see! Well in that case, welcome to your new homeroom. Please, introduce yourself to the rest of the class." He declared lightly, handing her her schedule back.

The girl blushed humbly and nodded. "Um, right." She stepped forward to stand before the room; she wasn't very tall, petite at best, and she had that cutesy kind of look to her that (Kawa guessed) would make boys flock to her like people to a church at Christmas.

She looked up at the class and inhaled steadily. "My name is Yukimura Chizuru, and it's nice to meet you all." She added with a light smile.

Itou-sensei smiled. "Very good; now Yukimura-chan, would you kindly take a seat?" He instructed.

She nodded and went to find a seat, finding a vacant desk infront of Kawa; she sighed a little as she dropped her bag on the floor and plopped down in the chair, looking forward.

"So I take it you're new here, huh, cutie?" Souji wondered lightly, perking the girl's ears; she looked over at him and blushed humbly.

"Uh, yeah…? It's my first time being in Shinjuku." She offered with a sheepish smile.

"Oi, what's with that 'cutie' crap? Don't be so perverted when ya meet new people, idiot!" Kawa scolded, glaring at her friend as her right foot stomped on his toe.

"Ow, geez, that hurt, Kawa-chan!" He whined, rubbing his foot gingerly and looking at her sorely.

She huffed and scowled again. "Idiot letch. I'm sorry if he caught you off guard like that. My name's Kawa, that's Hajime, and the pervert I just kicked is Souji." She apologized, meeting the girl's brown eyes and smiling lightly.

The girl returned the smile. "It's nothing, really. My name's Chizuru." She replied.

"Chizuru, huh? Nice to meet you. Souji always acts like an idiot, so ignore him, yeah? And Hajime's too quiet and stoic to ever talk to girls, so ya might wanna ignore him too." Kawa mused lightly.

Chizuru laughed quietly as both aforementioned boys shot their friend a look.
"And Kawa is too much of a reckless dork, so ignore her too." Souji quipped.

She shot him a cold look and huffed. "Jerk." She muttered in defeat.


A/N: hope you guys liked reading that. there's more to come, i just need to iron out the tweaks.

review please! thanks~