A/N: This story idea came to me...rather randomly. Like a bolt of lightning out of the sky XD Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy! I plan on including pretty much every character in the series (me attempting to be ambitious...) Also, I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the eventual pairings, so feel free to tell me whom you'd like to see with whom.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hakuouki (if I did though...*rubs hands together evilly*), however the OCs are mine.

Chizuru wandered along the nearly-empty streets of Kyoto, the day coming to an end. In the distant horizon, the vermillion sun was sinking amidst a shifting gradient of colors and streaks of clouds with striking pinkish underbellies. The young girl's brown eyes aimlessly roamed about the area. She ought to stop at an inn before it got any darker: while she was dressed as a boy and had her wakizashi at her side, the streets of Kyoto were still a dangerous place at night. Just as she was about to go look for a suitable inn, she was suddenly stopped by a trio of ronin. Her features paled when they lumbered up to her, wearing smug expressions. This could only spell trouble.

Chizuru was panting heavily as she swiftly made a sharp turn into an alley. Hiding behind some stray planks of wood that had been leaning against the wall, Chizuru could only pray that she would not be found. The sun, now having been swallowed by the dark horizon, left the streets in a forbidding dark blanket. The moon was but a sliver of light in the sky, and lanterns could only provide a pitiful glow. Chizuru listened to the shouts of the angered ronin got closer, closer...but then they stopped. Why did they stop? Chizuru wanted to poke her head out of her hiding spot, but her instincts restrained her. Something told her that there was a thing out there that was much worse than the ronin. What it was, however, was a mystery. A monster, a demon...who knew? As the eerie silence dragged on, Chizuru was ready to finally sneak a peak when suddenly an ear-splitting scream shattered through the silence.

A desperate plea for life stopped short by a hideous, inhuman cackle. The ronin's—Chizuru guessed by the voice—voice caught in a gurgle and the sound of something softly spurting forth. The horrified young woman watched the shadows against the walls, the scene playing out like some ghoulish performance, as the attacker kept driving the sword into the already dead ronin. The metal ripped through the flesh, and more cackles filled the trembling night air. She could feel the beastly lust for blood and violence hang in the night air. She had to get out of here! With her senses raging and adrenaline pumped through her veins, Chizuru attempted to make a bolt for it. However, the surge of energy was only temporary, and the horror of the event made her legs buckle. She lurched to one side, causing the planks to fall down with a distinct clatter.

The insane laughter ceased immediately.

It was coming for her. Chizuru shuffled back, pressing herself against the wall as though she would be able to sink into it. A foreboding shadow ambled towards her with nothing less than an aura oozing menace. One heavy step...then another...and another...and yet another, until the ghastly beast came into view. White hair was outlined by the pale moon, giving the being an even more supernatural air to it. Sanguine eyes that glinted with an animalistic hunger stared straight at her. The man—no, the monster—raised his katana as though being pulled by puppet strings. There was no sign of any emotion, just pure madness. Chizuru was only able to watch her attacker ready her killing blow when suddenly—

Shouts, and the sound of a blade through flesh. Were there more of them?! The monster turned his attention away from Chizuru for a scant second. However, it appeared to recognize who the newcomer was, and so the monster jumped onto a nearby roof with speed and effortlessness that was anything but human. Frantic footsteps followed in the monster's wake, however, the newcomer stopped short when seeing the silhouette of a person against the wall.

It was a woman. She watched Chizuru with mystifying ocean blue eyes before slowly approaching her, her grip on her sword tightening. Chizuru scuttled back as far as she could. Was this woman going to hurt her? "Hey, it's okay," the woman, as though she was reading Chizuru's mind, cooed. Hesitantly, Chizuru crawled towards the woman, who graciously helped her up.

"Ah, um, th-thank you..." Chizuru bowed politely at her savior. But...where to go from here? Chizuru tried to keep her eyes on the woman, knowing that there was a mangled body not far from where they were standing.

"So, what's a young girl like you doing out here at night?" Like she was one to talk...w-wait, she knew she was a girl?!

"Ah, how did you know?"

"What? That you were a girl?" The woman snorted, "Like any boy would have such a cute face...so who are you?"

"Ch-Chizuru..." she mumbled.

"Chizuru..." the woman goaded her on with a hand.

"Yukimura Chizuru."

"Yukimura," the woman paused for several moments, thoughtful. "As in Yukimura, the doctor who specializes in Western medicine. What, you his daughter or something?"

Chizuru's head snapped up immediately. This woman knew her father?! Did that mean that she knew where her father was? "How do you know about my father?"

"What, you can't tell from my clothes that I'm a Westerner?" True, her clothes did strike Chizuru as odd. But then again, she's never really seen Western clothing. The foreigner wore a blue dress. It looked reminiscent of a kimono, only it stopped mid-thigh and looked rather tight. How was she fine in that? A leather belt was strapped around her waist, carrying the sheath of her Western-style sword. Finally, Chizuru looked down to see that the woman was wearing tall boots, with laces riding up the front. They looked like they pinched her feet. Was this outfit really comfortable to move in?! "Right, so I should probably introduce myself," the woman promptly sheathed her sword. With a bit of a flourish, she bowed, "Call me Imber. I am familiar with your father—I've met him once or twice—and I have been sent by my master to go look for him. You see, I have been living her in Japan for a few years or so no, moving from place to place. My master was concerned when she had heard that Yukimura-sensei had gone missing. Thus, you find me here."

"Oh, I see then. I've been looking for my father for some time now, Imber-san."

"And you've gotten nowhere," she said in an almost snippety tone. It stung a little, but she was right... "Good thing I found you, Yukimura-chan. Now then, how about we find your father together?" She would really do that? Chizuru stared at Imber with almost disbelief in her eyes. Another quick snort, "What? You think I'd leave you here alone? We're looking for the same person, so we might as well work together for this!" That did make sense... "So, what say you?" A brief smile, and Imber proffered her hand.

Chizuru eagerly accepted it.

A/N: And the prologue is complete: huzzah ~( =3=)~ okay I apologize it's not as good at the end but it's like almost 2am and I literally spent the entire day helping develop a website (fun stuff though) so my brain is kinda mush now. Anywho, this came out rather serious. Bah, well I'm not the type to stay serious for long...I guess anyway.

SO lemme know what you think or give some suggestions (cuz I got a few ideas but other than that...I'm basically just winging this story XD).

*Reviews make TinyTora happy, yes they do! She gets a warm and fuzzy feeling, which in turn makes her wanna write more X3