I do not own Hakuouki or it's characters. This work is entirely fictional and created for the sole purpose of entertainment.

Okay, so I took a little more time on this and tried harder to make it work. Hijikata seems a little out of character, I know, but he's going through a crisis so I don't see him being completely okay through it. The idea of him wanting to leave the Shinsengumi is unlikely in the canon series but please remember this is not canon - this is a fanfiction.

Reviews are welcome and appreciated. Flames will be used to keep Hijikata and Saitou warm in my next drabble piece. Thank you.

*This fact is not actually factual. I created this for this work alone. If anyone finds proof this is factual, please message me so that I may fix this.

Light pink obscured the view of a cloudless sky - occasional patches of blue peeking between the branches of a tree so revered it was called the Samurai Tree*. Blossoms fluttered gracefully in a gentle breeze, stirred to life by the flowing bursts. Underneath them, a male stood, lost in thought. Long black hair pulled back in a tight, high ponytail waved along with the roseate petals, whispering a silent song.

The tall male lifted a hand, capturing one of the floating blooms in his hand, his fingers caging it gently as not to break it's petals. Bringing it to his face, he ran it under his nose, inhaling it's scent. So much had changed. His men were changing, the world was changing. Times no longer supported the world of samurai - built on honor and decency. Fleeting in the passage of time, yet so long in the memory of a single person.

"Hijikata-san."

A sigh left his lips at the sound of his most trusted and most loyal friend and Captain. Turning, he set eyes upon the indigo-haired male. "Saitou."

Saitou's face was soft, almost pained, as if he knew what his commander was thinking. He stepped forward, his hands tucked away in the arms of his haori, "Hijikata-san, what is on your mind?"

"Too much, Saitou."

"Am I not trusted enough to know?" The boy's voice almost sounded hurt, catching Hijikata's attention. What was going through his mind? What would Saitou think about what he had on his own mind?

"You know you are. I don't see what good it would do to speak of such silly things, Saitou. For these thoughts, I should be forced to commit seppuku."

Saitou frowned. What was on his commander's mind that would require him to commit honorable suicide? Stepping forward through the gently draping branches, he settled a hand on Hijikata's arm, "I will not tell a soul."

The older male smiled a bit, lowering his eyes to look into the gentle warrior's eyes, knowing that his Captain trusted him more than anything. Saitou would die for him, if it came to that. Why couldn't he entrust these thoughts to him? A sigh left his lips, head turning to look up at the tree above them. Saitou reached up, taking hold of one of the falling blossoms. They raised their hands, the two blossoms resting in their open palms.

"Saitou... I do not feel like a samurai anymore... We have lost our way in this changing world. No one respects us any longer... We live and die for this country, and yet we are turned away from, cast out. What good are swords in the face of guns? What use are we to a country that's turned it's back to traditional ways?"

"Hijikata-san..."

"I once thought the world needed us. I thought we were doing the right thing in fighting for our beliefs. But those beliefs are just being trampled on each day. Our own men are turning away from the beliefs we based the Shinsengumi on. What have we come to?"

Hijikata's blossom fluttered to the ground, crushed by his grasping hands. The male turned in his anger, lifting his head to glare toward the tree's branches. Saitou frowned a bit, raising a hand and setting it on his back.

"Hijikata-san... I believe we fight for ourselves. Perhaps you are right. Perhaps the country has turned it's back on us. But that does not mean we turn our back to it. Right or wrong? Which is correct, the old ways or the new? Do we let go of our beliefs and flee to the new way for the sake of not being left in the dust? Do we pick our swords up once more and hold on to that sacred belief of the old ways? It is not up to anyone else to decide what our hearts want. You still have men who will live and die beside you. We will follow you unto whatever means you have for us. Even if it means dying for you... Or at your sword."

Hijikata moved his hand back, catching Saitou's wrist gently, causing him to drop his blossom. He turned, pulling the male against his chest. Saitou's surprised gasp was lost in the mouth that was suddenly on his. Hijikata's arms grasped the shorter male closer, urging their bodies together. He pulled Saitou's arms around his neck, encourging the younger male's soft lips to respond to his own with soft and light brushes against them. The Third Division Captain finally responded, his fingers grasping at the other's shoulders gently, curling into the taller's haori. Pressing firmly against him, the fukuchou urged his head back, forcing him to step backwards until the boy's body hit the trunk of the sakura tree behind them. One hand curled into that long hair, tightening almost painfully on the indigo strands. Saitou gasped softly, allowing Hijikata the opportunity to slip his tongue into his mouth. He was fully aware of the fact that Saitou might not want these kisses, but in the back of his mind, he had deluded himself into forgetting that fact.

Though it had caught him by surprise, Saitou was just as wanton, pushing back against Hijikata and kissing him back almost desperately. It seemed both had understood the need for the physical touch to convey their feelings.

When his lungs were finally bursting for air, Hijikata pulled back, leaving behind a very flushed, breathless Saitou. A smirk curled the fukuchou's lips upward as the younger leaned forward to press their lips together again. However, he pulled back, simply brushing their lips against one another. The action wrought a little whimper from Saitou's mouth, causing the vice commander to smirk wider, "If I didn't know you better, Saitou, I would say you're being wanton for me, hm."

The smaller gave a light pout, but straightened his face back into it's normally stoic mask, though his voice remained breathless, "Hijikata-san..."

"I adore the way you say my name."

"Hijikata-san... Onegai."

That word, the way it was delivered. The demon commander narrowed his eyes, controlling himself not to just rip through their clothing and make that soft mouth open to say - no, scream - his name in many more ways. "Why didn't I do this sooner, Saitou? Was I so blind to not see what I had in front of me?"

"Hijikata-san... You paid attention to what mattered. The Shinsengumi."

"The Shinsengumi is broken. It's going to take more than guns to win this war. Even with the fighting spirit the Shinsengumi has, I don't think we're going to win."

Almost docilely, Saitou's fingers brushed upward along the other's chin. "Have faith."

"I'm trying." Hijikata's voice was a low growl, the digits of his fingers still in Saitou's hair tightening to the point where he was almost pulling hair painfully from Saitou's skull. The younger hardly seemed to notice the pain.

His voice was soft, lightly challenging the taller male. Tender fingers brushed through the ebony locks, "Not hard enough."

Hijikata growled softly, kissing that soft, pouting mouth once more to quieten the younger. Saitou's mouth curved into a smirk against the taller's lips, knowing he was right. After a moment, the ravenette pulled away, resting his forehead against the shorter male's, "If I asked you to run with me... Would you?"

"No." Cobalt eyes narrowed, the stoic mask starting to slide into place once again. Hijikata feared that mask at the moment, afraid it would lock Saitou into his thoughts once more. His fingers touched the swordsman's bottom lip, coaxing him back out of his shell once again, "Tell me why."

"We have come this far. I swore to uphold my beliefs, the Shinsengumi beliefs... your beliefs. I would not leave those behind. my destiny is to die in battle, as is yours. You know that. You have just lost your way."

"Guide me back to it."

Saitou engaged the kiss this time. It was soft and light, lingering on the edge of the demon vice commander's lips, almost teasing him. His hand lifted to run through the coal black strands but was caught in his fukuchou's own, pulling it to his cheek to brush along his soft skin. Plum colored strands fell across azure blue eyes, the lithe younger male's expression full of some unknown emotion the two would later recognize as love. "Hijikata-san... Believe in your men. Believe in yourself. Believe in me." His hand guided Hijikata's to his chest, over his heart. The male towering over his petite form gave a soft smile, looking back to his eyes, the emotion in the purple irises matching that of the beryl eyed male. He clenched his fingers in the male's haori, pulling Saitou closer, "Fine. You have convinced me... But now you're stuck with me for the rest of your life."

Saitou's lips curved upward in a genuine smile, head leaning forward to lightly kiss the other's lips, "Aa... I look forward to it."

Around them, the blossoms swayed, taunted by the wind and hiding a secret the world would never know. After all, the sakura was the tree that held all of the secrets of the samurai.