A/N AND I AM BACK! With a new chapter cause this is just what AMVs do to me...

I hope you enjoy, and review!

And another thank you to Impractical Demon for fixing my grammar and diction to make it more pleasant to read for y'all.

Edit 5/28/16: Camilla goes back in time to 1864, not 1866. Sorry!

Edit 5/29/16: Hehe, sorry, but the Ikedaya Incident is during 1864 not 1866. Oopsies..

Enjoy!

Chapter 2

Camilla discovered that the year was currently 1864, the year of the Ikedaya Incident. For the two months she had stayed at Shimabara, she only saw the Shinsengumi twice, and it was only the same three people, Nagakura Shinpachi, Toudou Heisuke and Harada Sanosuke. To be frank, she was astonished when she saw how they looked. Their hair color was so different from the typical Japanese citizen that if she didn't know they were fully Japanese, she would have believed they were foreigners.

Though they had been depicted by historians as brutal and ruthless killing machines, the three men were pretty friendly. Camilla's face saddened as she remembered the tragic death of the young and handsome man, Toudou Heisuke.

Defecting to Itou Kashitarou's faction, he was killed in the Aburakoji Affair by a new member who did not know of Kondo Isami's wish to spare his life.

"Kawa-chan!" her former onee-san, Sakurai Jun, chirped cheerfully. "Nice job last night! Okasan was really impressed!"

Bowing low, Camilla said modestly, "I'm nearly as good as Jun-san."

"You've really improved since you began as a minarai, Kawa-chan. You're such a fast learner," the older woman said truthfully.

Smiling demurely, Camilla said softly, "I need the money, so I have to do my best." Being a geisha brought in so much money, Camilla had been able to pay off a black market merchant into selling her the most modern guns of that time, along with ammunition. Though she was required to know martial arts before joining the army, she still didn't feel safe without a gun.

Tonight was the night she would be meeting her supplier with the money. At midnight, she dug out the clothes she was first wearing when she got here. Black military fatigues that blended nicely into the shadows, and a black sash that would hide her face.

"Nijimura," she said coldly, facing the man a few blocks away from the entrance to Shimabara.

The man turned to face her, "You have the money?"

"All 100 ryos," Camilla said, handing over the bag of money. The man took it from her, and poured out the coins, counting them. She blinked, and then sighed. Of course he had to count it.

Five minutes later, he looked up and nodded. Camilla inclined her head, "I might look for you later for more bullets."

"You know where to find me," he replied, taking the money and vanishing into the night.

She pulled out her gun, keeping her finger on the safety just in case she bumped into unsavory characters.

As she stealthily made her way back, she started to think about how she would go about finding a way to return to the modern period. "Maybe I could somehow stowaway onto a ship to Europe. There might be books there from the ancient times…" Suddenly, she stopped, ears straining to hear. "What was that?"

Shouts resounded through the night's silence. Eyes widening in alarm, Camilla ran towards the sound, instinctively headed towards the source of the sound to try and see if she could help. She blamed her brother, who always told her that if she had the power to help someone, it was her responsibility and duty to do so.

Turning a corner, she nearly crashed into a young girl dressed in a hakama and yukata, instead of the usual kimono. "Hey, are you alright?" Camilla asked softly. Looking up, she noticed two men who were most likely ronin chasing after her holding swords. "Hey, go hide over there," she said quickly, shoving the terrified girl into a dark dead end with crates that she could hide behind. After making sure the girl was properly hidden from sight, Camilla turned to face the two ronin.

The two men looked at her, thinking that she was a man and asked, "Where did that boy go?"

"What do you want with him?" she asked, playing along with the idea that they were all male. "He's just a young boy, what did he do?"

"It ain't your business!" one of the men snarled. He looked at Camilla with contempt, "Where's your own sword? Not good enough for one?"

The other man snorted. "Yeah, don't butt into real men's business." He drew his sword menacingly, and sneered, "You can't even defend yourself."

Camilla rolled her eyes, and opened her mouth to speak, but before she could, the man on her right suddenly shouted out in pain as a sword was driven through his stomach. Camilla gasped, jumping back. The dying man's companion also moved back in alarm, holding his sword defensively. Turning around, they were faced with two men who were wearing the trademark Shinsengumi haori. However, the concerning thing was the color of their hair and eyes. Their hair was pure white, and their irises were glowing a menacing red. One of the white haired men pulled his sword from the man's body, lips drawn in a snarling grin. "BLOOD!" the white haired Shinsengumi man screamed, stabbing his blade into the already dead man over and over again. He, or it, was laughing a high pitched laugh that was tainted with insanity.

The man that was chasing the young girl drew his sword, striking at the white haired man that wasn't mutilating his companion. "Hah, take that!" the man shouted in triumph when his sword slashed through the left side of its torso.

To Camilla and the man's surprise and horror, instead of falling back, the white haired man moved forward as if the sword didn't even strike him, and stabbed its sword into the man's abdomen. The white haired man who had finally finished mutilating the dead men turned towards Camilla. She stepped back in horror. What were these people? Monsters, she corrected herself. These were monsters, not people. Without hesitation, she raised her gun and shot the monster facing her through the head. To her relief, the monster collapsed onto the ground, dead. "Look out!" the other girl's voice rang out.

Camilla whirled around, eyes going wide when she saw a gleaming blade rushing towards her face. Instinctively, she held up her arms as an attempt to shield herself. The blade crashed into her gun, and slid off the barrel, cutting into her arm. Gritting her teeth in pain, she jumped away from the monster, ready to pull the trigger and kill it. Just as she pulled the trigger, the monster was skewered through the heart with a sword.

She looked up sharply, gun cocked and ready to destroy any threats to her. A handsome man who was wearing the same blue haori as the monsters stood there, indigo hair tied into a side ponytail and deep blue eyes staring coldly at her. Shit. Camilla backed away, suddenly terrified.

"Aw, Hajime-kun, you killed them off so quickly. I was hoping to kill them all tonight," a new and unfamiliar voice said coyly. Turning, Camilla saw a taller man who was just as handsome, with reddish brown hair and cold emerald eyes that spoke of death and murder. A sly smirk played on his lips, and she could tell that this man was just as dangerous, if not more, than the one with indigo hair.

"We were charged with this task, so it is prudent that we do it as quickly and efficiently as possible," the indigo haired man said quietly. He pointed his sword at Camilla, "Do not run."

"Or we'll kill you," a new voice said with authority. A man with long flowing black hair that was tied into a ponytail appeared on the scene. He turned towards the dead end, looking straight at the young girl Camilla had hidden earlier that night. "You come out as well."

The girl stared at him for a second, before fainting. Camilla resisted the urge to facepalm, sighing internally instead. "What are you going to do with us?" she demanded. "That boy had nothing to do with this."

"It doesn't matter if he had anything to do with the actual conflict. If he witnessed it, then he needs to be brought in," the black haired man said shortly.

"Shouldn't we just kill them now?" the brown haired man asked, sounding genuinely confused.

The indigo haired man, who Camilla had concluded was Saitou Hajime, just glanced at the black haired man. Maybe that man was Hijikata Toshizo. Or Kondo Isami. "We'll bring them in for questioning," he replied. Looking at Camilla, he pointed his sword at her, "If you do not allow yourself to be tied up, we will kill you."

Saitou turned towards her, "And hand over your weapons."

She knew he had seen her gun, so she reluctantly handed it over. The other two men tensed at the sight of the Western weapon, eyeing her with suspicion. After having her hands tied behind her back, they forced her to walk between them, swords at the ready. "So," she said awkwardly, trying to make conversation. "You guys are the Shinsengumi, right?"

The black haired man looked at her strangely, but did not answer. Slightly disheartened, Camilla gave up, resorting to thinking of how to get back to Shimabara.

The walk was short, for they were close to the Shinsengumi headquarters. The young girl was carried off to another room since she was still unconscious.

"It's late, and the others won't be up," the black haired man mused, and then led Camilla to the same room the young girl was taken to. "You will be interrogated in the morning. Do not try to run."

Camilla lied down on the futon, stared at the young girl who was lying unconscious. "Who are you?" she wondered softly. "Why do you look so familiar?"

When Camilla woke up, the girl was also conscious, and terrified if her eyes correctly showed her emotions. "Hey, calm down, it's going to be okay," Camilla soothed, sitting up with slight difficulty because her hands were still tied behind her back. "Hey, what's your name?"

The girl looked at her, calming down slightly when she recognized the man who had saved her life. "Yukimura Chizuru. Thank you for saving my life yesterday."

Camilla froze. Yukimura Chizuru? That… was my mother's name!

"You are both awake?" an unfamiliar voice called out from outside.

The two turned around, and Camilla answered, "Yes."

The door slid open, and a middle aged man walked in. His face and expression was gentle and kind, more compassionate than the three men she'd met last night. "You will be interrogated now." He knelt down, and untied their bindings, "I'm really sorry. These bindings must have been very uncomfortable to sleep with. That Souji." After they were both untied, he stood up, "Please follow me."

They followed the man into a larger room where nine other men sat. "Here are the witnesses."

The man at the front and center looked up. Camilla assumed that this was Kondo Isami, the leader of the Shinsengumi. "Ah, hello! I am Kondo Isami," he said politely. Pointing at the black haired man from last night, he said, "This is Hijikata Toshizou, and the one to my left is Sanan-"

"Kondo-san, what are you doing?" Hijikata interrupted irritably. "We're not here for pleasantries! These are our prisoners and witnesses to an important secret!"

"Those are the witnesses?" Toudou Heisuke asked in disbelief. "One of them's just a kid!" he exclaimed, pointing at Chizuru.

Nagakura Shinpachi and Harada Sanosuke both laughed, and the brown haired man reached over to grind his knuckles into Heisuke's hair, "Who're you calling kid? You're just a kid yourself!"

"Say the old men!" Heisuke retorted, holding his head away from Nagakura.

The spearman grinned, "I'm no old man, but I can't say so for Shinpachi."

"Are you betraying me, Sano?!" Nagakura said loudly, looking playfully offended.

Hijikata growled, "Shut up, you three! This is serious!" After the three in the back went quiet, he turned to Saitou, "What happened?"

"While we were tracking the failed ones, we heard some noises that sounded like them. Once we reached the scene, there were two dead ronin who looked as if they were killed by the failed ones. One of the failed ones was dead, with a bullet hole through his head. The other one was about to kill this man," he pointed at Camilla. "But when I killed it, he also shot it through the head." He gestured at Chizuru, "This one was hiding behind some crates."

"Yeah, he was hiding behind some crates, so obviously he didn't see anything," Camilla pointed out.

Hijikata stared at the two of them, eyes narrowed, "But you still saw it." He scrutinized them closely, and for some reason, Camilla suddenly thought that maybe he could tell that they were women. Her fatigues barely hid her breasts, and the only reason why people thought she was a man was because no woman wore clothes like that.

"So we should kill them then," Okita Souji said bluntly, eyes gleaming with the air of a predator.

Camilla glared, trying to ignore her terror. She didn't want to die. "Don't I have a right to protect myself? Those men were going to kill me, and then Yukimura most likely. I obviously didn't want to die, so I killed them. Is that not okay for me to do?"

Kondo blinked, "What do you mean?"

"Why are you going to kill us?" Camilla demanded hotly. She glared at them all, "You all kill on a daily basis, but I can't? What gives you the right to kill us just because we've defended ourselves from those crazy psychos?"

"You're not here because you killed them," Okita said, rolling his eyes. "You're here because-"

"If they don't know why they're here, then can't we just let them go?" Kondo asked, and Camilla was struck with how naive and pure the commander of the Shinsengumi sounded.

"Even if they don't know what it is, they still saw it," Hijikata said harshly. "They might accidentally spill without knowing they did so, so no, we can't just let them go."

"Then shouldn't we just kill them?" Okita asked again, looking bored.

Hijikata held up a hand, staring even closer at them. "No, shut up." He narrowed his eyes, "What I want to know though, is why two young women are wandering around at night in Kyoto. And why one of them is in possession of a gun."

Silence filled the room.

"What?! Two women?" Kondo cried out, looking horrified at his mistake.

"They don't look like women!" Nagakura exclaimed. He squinted his eyes, "Well, the younger one does look pretty feminine."

Camilla stared at him, offended. Okita smiled slyly, "Then maybe we should have them strip!"

Chizuru gasped, flushing red, opening her mouth to protest. Kondo frowned, "No! Of course we shouldn't do that!" He looked at them apologetically, "I apologize for how you were treated. Don't worry, we won't hurt you!" He looked at Hijikata, "We should let them go. They're just two girls."

San'nan interrupted, "If I may, Commander, it is very suspicious that the young girl there is in possession of a gun."

They all turned to stare at Camilla, who gulped. "What is your name?"

She stammered out, "K-Kazama Kawaru."

"Kazama Kawaru?" Harada repeated, looking thoughtful. "Wait, aren't you a geisha?"

Fuck my life.

Heisuke and Nagakura also looked at her. "She does look familiar!"

The atmosphere turned tense. "Are you a spy?" Hijikata growled, hand on the hilt of his sword. "What is your purpose?"

"I swear I'm not a spy!" she said hastily. At their disbelieving look she said, "My home is in America, and I was sent here as a, uh, ambassador! And I got separated from the others-"

"Then why do you need a gun?" Okita asked. "I think the safest way is to just kill her. Being a geisha allows her to hear a lot of valuable information from the men she entertains. And for her to be out last night just when the failed ones escaped? It's too much to be a coincidence."

"But it is!" Camilla protested. "I snuck out to give money to the man who supplied me with my gun. It's not suddenly illegal to buy a gun, is it?"

"I don't think we should kill her," Kondo said, disagreeing with Okita. "Let's just keep the two of them here under surveillance for a while."

"What is your name?" San'nan asked Chizuru.

Chizuru looked up, frightened, "Yukimura Chizuru."

The captains all tensed, staring at her. "Yukimura? Do you know Yukimura Koudou?"

"He's my father!" she answered, eyes lighting up. "Do you know where he is?"

Camilla watched as the captains questioned Chizuru on her father and why she came to Kyoto to find him. Nowhere in history is a scientist named Yukimura Koudou mentioned. I've searched up everything I could about this period when I went through that samurai phase. I couldn't have missed anything. She swept the room with her eyes, What's going on?

"Saito-san, can you take Yukimura-san and Kazama-san to their room?" San'nan asked politely, indicating that they had a lot to discuss, without the two girls present.

Saito nodded, getting up from his seat. Camilla and Chizuru followed him out the door obediently. Camilla's mind reeled, What does this mean?

"Saito-san," Camilla began, eyeing him. "How long will we have to stay here?"

Saito glanced at her, and his voice was cold, "Until the threat of the Choshu clan is eliminated."

"What?" Camilla exclaimed, eyes wide. "I need to work-!"

"One of our captains will go to Shimabara and retrieve your belongings. But until the shogun's power is secure, you will not be allowed to leave this place," Saito said bluntly. Without another word, he turned around and left.

Camilla glared after the man, now regretting her decision to save Chizuru. Now how would she be able to research how to get back home? She sat down in front of the desk, scowling.

"Um, Kazama-san," Chizuru began softly, body tense and nervous. "I'm really sorry for dragging you into this."

Camilla blinked, surprised, "Why are you sorry?"

"If I wasn't in trouble last night, you wouldn't have been involved in this," the younger girl explained, looking guilty.

The older girl set her hand on Chizuru's shoulder, "It's okay. I made the decision to help you. It's not your fault." Chizuru smiled up at her, and Camilla smiled. "Everything'll be okay. I'll protect you." Because if I don't, my own existence might be erased.

Chizuru looked down, squirming slightly. After seeing Camilla's questioning look, the younger girl blurted out, "I just feel useless, because I can't fight. I won't be-"

"You weren't raised to fight," Camilla deadpanned. "I was trained to fight and protect those who cannot protect themselves. Besides, you can probably do a lot more than I can with other stuff, like cleaning and washing."

Chizuru gazed up at the older girl, awe and respect filled her face, "Arigatou, Kazama-san!"

"And don't call me that. Kawaru is fine," Camilla said affectionately. Even though she had just met Chizuru, the younger girl's vulnerability appealed to her protective side, bringing out the person Sophie and Vincent saw. The person that would destroy anyone and anything that she considered under her protection.