Hello everyone! I took down this story to rewrite the first chapter. I actually changed a lot less than I thought I would. Yay!

So this is my first fanfiction, but I love to write, so you'll be seeing a lot more, I'm sure. I'm a major Hakuouki fan, so you'll see a lot of those fanfics. So read and review my story, tell me how you liked it, where you want the story to go, if you think I should change anything, or if people seem too out of character. I hope you enjoy!

For a moment, time stopped.

Chizuru watched, frozen, as Hijikata-san and Kazama stopped in the middle of the fight. They were so close; she couldn't see who had stabbed whom. They both held the same determined look in their eyes, staring each other down. The sakura petals settled, and she noticed as the looks on their faces changed, Kazama's to slight shock and Hijikata's to satisfied triumph. Chizuru hadn't realized she was holding her breath until she let it out. Hijikata pulled his sword out of Kazama's gut, and the oni fell to the ground, dead at last. Hijikata stood, looked at his opponent, then turned his gaze to her, his love. She only had the briefest moment to smile at him, in relief and happiness, before his legs collapsed from under him. Chizuru screamed his name and ran to him as quickly as she could. He fell to his knees, eyes looking to the last sight he'd ever see, the sakura blossoms, the moon, and the stars beyond.

The proud warrior that Chizuru had come to know and love with all her heart, with determination and strength of steel swords, had fallen. He had sworn that he'd never let Kazama lay a hand on her, he'd promised to protect her until his dying day, and he had fulfilled both of them. But now he lay dying as she pulled his head onto her lap.

"Hijikata-san? Can you hear me? Stay with me, please! I love you! Toshi! I love you so much, you're my world, you can't leave me!" She pleaded, tears gathering in her eyes. Hijikata had asked her the previous night to call him Toshi, as Kondou-san had. She tried, but she had never addressed someone by their first name, and without honorifics before. She had thought she'd have more time to get used to it, but now…

"What will I do without you?" She whispered. She grabbed his hand and held it to her lips. Hijikata uttered a soft moan. "Toshi, can you hear me?" She shouted, desperately.

He didn't even open his eyes, but fighting to get the words out, he whispered his last words to her. "Chi… zuru? I am… s-so sorry. I-I love you... with everything… I have…" His voice trailed off, and his hand went limp in hers, his head went still.

She knew he was gone.

After Hijikata professed his love for Chizuru, and she returned his feelings, they didn't want to wait. They both knew that any day, Hijikata could die in battle, and neither wanted to hide their feelings and their affection any longer. They were meant for one another, and the love they had would never fade. They decided to get married, so that for however much longer they had, they would have the most sacred bond. Chizuru would be Hijikata's wife, and he her husband. They would live for one another, and fight for one another.

They went to a temple and had Otori marry them under a sakura tree. It was simple, only the ceremony with no one else there, but they had wanted to be married as quickly as possible. Time was precious to them as it was to the sakura, life was fleeting. They sent letters saying that they had married to Nagakura and Shimada and though they hadn't heard from Saito since the battle of Aizu, they sent one to him too, with the hope that he was alive to receive it.

After, they were inseparable, even more so than they had been before, spending every second together. They were two of a kind, a surprising, unlikely, but perfect fit. Her kind, gentle nature balanced out his harsh, demonic demeanor. She had taught him how to be compassionate, and she would raise his spirits when they lost a battle. She would still make him tea every night and coax him to bed so that he wouldn't work himself to death. He had taught her bravery, the true meaning of courage, and sincerity. From him she had learned determination, to never let her will bend, how to stand and fight for what she believed in, and she believed in him.

They were both so different from that frigid, snowy winter night when they'd first laid eyes on one another. Hijikata had lit the fire of determination in Chizuru's heart, and she'd reawakened his.

The month after their wedding had been pure bliss…then neared the end of May, all of the sakura nearly done falling, and the battle at the Goryokaku Fortress.

Hijikata had been shot, and as Chizuru carried him away from the battle, that's when they encountered Kazama. Even wounded, he fought to protect her till his last breath, and now he was gone. He was her world, what would she do without him? Looking back, she thought of all the captains, how they had welcomed her, how she had formed such a bond with them, and trusted them with her life. She had come to Kyoto looking for her father, but she had found things much more important. She had found her purpose in them, in the Shinsengumi.

Chizuru looked to the dawning sky, and swore she saw the Sincerity flag, with all of the Shinsengumi captains standing proudly beneath it, in the sky that was blue as their haori. She closed her eyes and the tears finally started to fall. She felt a soft, calloused hand gently wipe away her tears. She slowly opened her eyes, and she couldn't believe it! It was Hijikata, standing tall, not a drop of blood on his coat. He looked so at peace, his amethyst eyes unclouded with troubles. He whispered the sweetest sound she'd ever heard, him saying her name, "Chizuru."

Then the world faded to black.