A/N: Thank you everyone for reading so far! This is the last official chapter before the epilogue. I hope you enjoy!
Kazama awoke, feeling confused and slightly cold. He looked around, and was thankful that Chizuru was still asleep. He quickly took his haori back, determined to keep his one good deed a secret from didn't want his companions to know he had tried to be nice, though judging by the amused look he received from Amagiri, it hadn't gone completely unnoticed. His guard knew better, and said nothing, allowing Kazama to retain some of his dignity. He saw the larger demon scan the forest before relaxing, sitting down to discuss the day ahead.
"We are a few hours outside of Edo. I have business to take care of while we are there, and it is better I do it alone."
Kazama watched his companion internally struggle with the fact that he would have to leave his ward alone. Kazama could hardly care less what Amagiri did, he hadn't been the one to make his guard follow after himafter all. It was Sen's orders keeping him around, not his own, which irked Kazama to no end. Amagiri had been his guard first, and Sen had no right to pull rank on him. Kazama shifted into a more comfortable position, crossing his legs as he responded.
"Whatever it is, be quick about it, we must move back home soon before this war gets any worse. I trust Sen has stopped following us for you to say this though."
He saw Amagiri nod, and they both relaxed noticeably. Amagiri had been the first to notice Sen trailing them last night, but after more than a few stumbles, Kazama had heard her as well. He figured the princess would follow them, but had assumed she would have been a bit more tactful about it. He swore the princess had fumbled and staggered more than Chizuru, who had almost passed out from exhaustion. It was a relief to both of them that she was not following them anymore. It meant they were free to do as they pleased, though Kazama still didn't think he needed a babysitter around Chizuru. He sighed, looking over at the sleeping girl.
"Well, we should wake her before too long. I will leave her at her house and come find you when you are done. I have my suspicions about her 'father' and I believe he has come home to use her in his studies."
Amagiri's face looked grim, and Kazama was sure his was no different. It had been kept secret from Chizuru that her father was not related to her by blood. The doctor had raised her well enoughbefore this war broke out. She probably still loved him as her father, despite all of his shortcomings. They had both decided it was for the best she didn't know about her adoption. Unfortunately Kodo had quickly turned to the Imperial Army once it was clear they would give him power and the resources to continue making the furies. None of the demon clans approved of this research, which had resulted in Kodo's exile, but they both knew he had to be stopped quickly before he tried something crazy with his newfound army. Amagiri gave him a curt nod in agreement that they should start moving on. Kazama watched the man get up and nudge Chizuru awake, shaking her shoulder gently, informing her that they must leave. Kazama watched as she yawned, barely awake, before stumbling to her feet. They packed up camp quicklyand headed on toward Edo.
Kazama led the way, keeping an eye on the girl while Amagiri followed behind. Chizuru, for some reason, felt comfortable enough to ramble to him. Kazama followed some of it, too concerned with what the doctor was doing behind their backs to pay attention to idle chatter, drifting in and out of listening for some time until she said something of interest to him.
"… though I suppose it's been a while since I saw all three of you together. Not since that silly flower incident about a month ago. Heisuke still laughs about it sometimes, I guess because everyone initially blamed him."
He stopped walking momentarily, snorting in anger, and quickly kept walking when he thought of how childish he must look. He frowned slightly at the word 'silly.' He hardly thought it was silly. It seemed she had some idea what had happened. Kazama saw Chizuru stop when she looked at him, obviously oblivious to why he looked annoyed.
"… Is something wrong?"
Kazama sighed at her pathetic look of confusion. That whole plan of Amagiri's had been an utter failure, and now she had to bring it up after they had been avoiding the subject for months. His frown deepened, trying to think of a way to save his dignity, though it had already been damaged beyond repair thanks to those damn flowers. Kazama scowled, knowing he had to give Chizuru a response; otherwise she would just nudge it out of him eventually.
"You mentioned a flower incident. Continue on about that."
Chizuru looked confused at his sudden request, but she began telling him what she knew.
"It was about a month ago I guess, someone left some flowers outside of my door and didn't leave a note or anything saying who they were from."
Kazama scowled. He knew all of this already, and it didn't help to have to hear his mistake once more, especially from her. He turned away from her as he felt his cheeks heat up, avoiding her gaze. It had already been rubbed in his face enough. Chizuru looked away, just as embarrassed as he was. Kazama gave her a nudge to go on, clearing his throat. She stuttered, but went on anyway.
"…Heisuke seemed convinced you did it, but I don't have any idea where he got that from. All you did before that was try to kidnap me so why would you start sending flowers?That's what everyone else said too. Do you know anything about that?"
He saw the apparent blush on her face as she looked to him for an answer. He grimaced, not wishing to answer the question, but knowing he could not avoid it for long. Kazama heard Amagiri snicker faintly behind him and knew he had no way around the issue.
"Yes I know what happened. I left those for you, and did not leave my name. Your friends mocked me extensively for it."
His response was clipped and irate, and his anger only got worse when he heard Chizuru giggle at him. He glared at her had been mocked enough by his own companions, as well as all of the Shinsengumi, and now she was mocking him as well! Kazama was about to start yelling when she calmly stopped him with a hand on his own, blushing deeply.
"They were very nice flowers. Thank you, Kazama."
He deflated at her kind words. His flirtations and forwardness had done nothing in the past; he never thought this plan would have ever worked! He had only done it to appease Amagiri, and it turned out the guard had been right. Kazama had never heard a response from her about those stupid flowers, and thought the whole thing had gone over poorly until Shiranui told him he forgot a note. He had sulked and assumed her friends had taken credit for it, never speaking about it again after that. Kazama hadn't asked the girl about the incident before, assuming that it had been a disaster, and was shocked to hear she had enjoyed them. He could hardly see the use in flowers; they lived for a few days at most, and then withered into were hardly a suitable symbol for undying love, or so Kazama thought. Perhaps it was just a thing females enjoyed. It was the only reasonable answer the demon lord could come up with. He could see no purpose in them. Kazama looked down at her, as she eagerly waited, hoping for him to say something in return.
"Yes well, I left them for you to enjoy, and they fulfilled their purpose."
He kept walking, eager to put this whole conversation behind them. He was ready to forget all the embarrassment he had suffered and revel in the fact that she had liked them. He regretted that they would have to part ways as soon as they reached Edo, but he was content to enjoy her company now for the rest of the journey.
Kazama walked ahead of the girl, noticing she did not immediately follow. He was about to turn around when he heard her sprint ahead to catch up, joining him by his side. The large smile on her face said that she knew what he had truly meant, that he had more feelings for her than he was willing to let on. Kazama was no judge of women's thoughts, but he took her smile as a good sign that she felt the same. They finished their journey in a content silence, waving Amagiri off as he went to go conduct his own business. They had arrived too late to find the Shinsengumi, but Kazama had kept his promise and brought the girl safely to Edo. He saw no reason to follow her further into the city, and had his own business to attend to here that she did not need to be involved in.
He left her with one last promise to come back for her, and went to go stake out her house to wait for Kodo. He had told her he needed to find Amagiri before they left Edo, and had told Chizuru to stay put in the town square, hoping she would listen. Unfortunately, she hadn't and went to go look around her old house and they both ran straight into the deranged demon. His motives had been as Kazama expected; he intended to take his daughter and use her to restore the Yukimura family through the use of furies. Kazama's blood boiled at the hurt look in her eyes. No matter what Kodo was to him, Chizuru still saw him as the loving father he had used to be. Kazama watched the girl plead with him, begging him not to go through with his plans. When it was clear that her father would not listen to her, Kazama quickly intervened, intending to fight the doctor. Before he could dispatch the treacherous demon, Kodo moved aside in an attempt to run. The doctor had created enough a diversion to escape in the end, using his own daughter to distract the demon. Kazama grit his teeth in anger as he held the girl who sprawled against his chest. Kodo had thrown her aside in his haste, and she would have fallen to the floor had Kazama not stepped in to catch her. It was unforgivable to toss his own daughter around, and the pain of betrayal written on her face was enough for Kazama to mark Kodo for a death sentence.
Once Chizuru was steady enough to stand, they both rushed outside, only to discover he had fled. To Kazama's further annoyance, Amagiri had been waiting unnoticed outside, spying on the battle as well. He had seen Kodo, was even close enough to snap his neck, but had been unable to catch him. Kazama felt his grip tighten on his katana, but forced himself to relax when he saw how disheveled the girl looked after the confrontation. In an attempt to calm his temper, as well as his rattled nerves, Kazama found himself seeking Amagiri's advice. It was a blow to his pride to even consider asking for help, but he began to tell the guard what he had learned in hopes of creating a plan that did not put the girl in danger. This whole venture would be a waste if she were injured now. The two men sat down inside the house to discuss while Chizuru made tea for them. They could hear the china rattling in her trembling hands as she served them. Kazama watched her hesitate slightly, before asking about what all three of them had avoided until now.
"What do you plan to do when you find my father?"
Kazama saw the fear in her eyes, knowing she still had hope that Kodo was a good man. Chizuru even still deluded herself into calling him 'father' after she had found out he had used her to gain power, and had no real relation to her at all. Even now she was still defending him, which only furthered his anger at the doctor. To Kazama, the solution was simple, Kodo had to die. He had less than honorable intentions, and had used his daughter as a shield for his own protection. In addition to creating an army of furies, he had also manipulated the last surviving female of the Yukimura clan under the false pretenses of fatherly love in order to control her. It was obvious that he could not be allowed to live any longer. What a fool that doctor is, Kazama thought bitterly, though fool was a kind way to put it. Regardless, the demon lord worried about breaking the news to the girl.
"He plans to use those false demons to create an army and take out anyone in his way, regardless of their race. He cannot be allowed to live."
Kazama regretted his bluntness for a moment when he saw Chizuru's eyes well up with tears. He could hardly blame her, she had been raised with human feelings her whole life, and from past experiences fighting for herhe knew those were hard for Chizuru to toss away. She still remained friends with that useless bunch of samurai after all, and they had seemed loyal enough to her as well until recently. Even after learning she was a demon and had no need to stay with those men, she remained loyal to quickly shook these thoughts from his head, knowing he couldn't let the girl's tears stand in the way of a necessary move toward the greater good. He knew he had to act quickly to get her to stop though; he could hardly stand her crying.
"This is for the best, Yukimura. Kodo has decided to get too far involved in the endeavors of humans to satisfy his own greed. If he is allowed to continue, he will kill many innocent lives. Do you truly want that?"
He watched her sniffle, then shake her head. Good, he thought, she had some sense about her. Despite her lingering feelings for the doctor, he knew she could see this was ultimately the best course of action. He looked at Amagiri, who nodded in agreement. They would continue on toward Edo to find Kodo, and ultimately take him and his army of furies down. The three quickly agreed upon a plan; Kazama and Chizuru would lower Kodo's guard and wait until Amagiri had taken down the furies outside before coming back to assist his ward. Kazama had initially fought against bringing the girl into it, but she had held her ground, wishing to say her piece to the doctor. Kazama agreed, though reluctantly. He could hardly put up a fight after she had already agreed to help take Kodo down, though he was unhappy about putting her in deserved to be able to say goodbye, so Kazama had given in quickly. Once Chizuru had said what she wanted, Kazama had planned to have Amagiri take her away to spare her from having to see her father die. The plan went rather smoothly, until it came time for the demon lord to finish the man off. Amagiri had almost gotten the girl out of harm's way when suddenly she had struggled out of his grasp. Before his guard could grab her, Chizuru had gotten in between his katana and Kodo, and she had her arms raised in defense of the despicable man. Kazama felt his eyes go wide, knowing he had almost cut Chizuru down with his own sword.
"Please don't, Kazama! I'm the head of the Yukimura clan; I'm responsible for my father's misdoings. Punish me instead!"
Kazama saw the determination in her eyes, though he was still frozen in disbelief. The man on the floor looked just as shocked. He could hardly believe she had just offered to die for this man. The doctor had manipulated her and used her as a means for his own escape, and yet she still thought it was her burden to bear. Kazama quickly shook himself out of his shock and weakly chuckled at the girl. He knew that he would never let her take responsibility for the pathetic man, not even at herown insistence. He tried to move her aside, but she just struggled more.
"You can't do this Kazama! He's my father!"
Kazama's scowl softened at her words. He took her chin in his hand and gently tilted her head upward, looking her in the eyes as he spoke though his sword did not waver away from Kodo.
"I will not let you be a sacrifice for this man's mistakes. They are his responsibility alone."
His words left no room for argument, and before she could argue back, Kazama had moved himself between her and Kodo. Amagiri hung back, letting his ward fight his own battles. He heard her weak protests behind him, but they were mostly unheard over the sound of blood pounding in his ears. He hated the doctor, how he had used his own family just for power and betrayed his own kind. He hated how Chizuru cried for this fool, despite everything he had done. His grip on his katana tightened as he stalked across the room, knowing that he may ruin any good will the girl had toward him after dirtying his hands with her beloved father's blood. Kazama had already decided to protect her no matter what, and this had to be done not just for her, but also for the good of their whole race. He executed the doctor quickly, stabbing the blade into his heart, wanting simply for all of this to be over.
The tension in the room ebbed, but he soon heard sniffling behind him. Kazama turned around and saw the girl crying. She rubbed at her eyes in an attempt to hide her face from him. He was unsure of what to do to calm her, looking at Amagiri who gave him no support other than a wave of the hand toward the grieving girl. He flushed at his guard in annoyance; how was he supposed to know what that meant?Kazama slowly inched toward the girl, and wrapped an arm around her, patting her head with his other hand. It was all he could really do to soothe her to the extent of his knowledge, and after a while the demon felt her relax in his arms. Her sobbing slowed and she burrowed slightly against his chest. Kazama felt at peace having the girl there in his arms, and was content to let her stay as long as she pleased. He saw Amagiri smile out of the corner of his eye, before leaving the room and giving them space. Kazama felt the girl shift in his arms as she looked up at him, seeming hesitant to talk.
"Go on," he encouraged her.
"…Kazama, can we at least leave him somewhere he can be found before we leave? I want him to at least have a proper burial somehow."
Kazama nodded, all his will to fight against her gone. If this is what she wanted, it was the least he could do to soothe her grief. He felt her relax, clearly comforted by this. The two made sure Kodo was in a place well travelled by humans where he was certain to be discovered and at least allowed to be put to rest, and went off to rejoin was more than he deserved, Kazama thought, but if this simple matter made Chizuru happy then he was willing to overlook it was clear that Amagiri had taken care of all his duties to Sen, he had rejoined Kazama as his guard, letting the other two decide what their next step would be. Kazama allowed Chizuru to express her wishes, knowing what her next request would be. He had already decided to follow her until they saw the end of the Shinsengumi, and quickly agreed.
The trio followed the path of dead soldiers and rumors of the Shinsengumi's demise north to Ezo, where they found a ruined town. Before he could stop the girl, Kazama saw her run for a bloodied and burnt flag, the last remaining symbol of the Shinsengumi. Kazama had anticipated this journey ending poorly, and did his best to console the grieving girl as she knelt on the ground, crying over the flag. It was clear none of her friends would be coming to greet her; they were all long gone. She had remained strong until now; he supposed knowing the Shinsengumi were truly gone had finally caused her to snap.
Kazama waited patiently until she composed herself once more to say anything. While before he would have no hesitation in pushing the girl around, he had grown to respect her now. She was stronger than he had thought, and had held her own against not only the Shinsengumi, but also Kazama himself. She had once been just a target for mating, but now Kazama saw her as more, as a companion he could easily spend the rest of his days with. When Chizuru finally calmed down enough, he approached her with his own plans.
"I will be returning to solitude now, Yukimura. It is not our place to get involved in human affairs anymore."
Kazama knew this was for the best. He had owed the Satsuma and Choshu after saving his family during the war that killed the Yukimura clan, and that debt had been repaid. Too many of their kind had been killed in this war, and it had been decided that the demons would stay out of human affairs for good now. The people of Japan would decide their own fate, and learn to pick up the pieces and move on just as the demon clans had done for centuries. Kazama's attention turned toward Chizuru, his eyes softening as he looked at her.
'When you are done here, come find me, or I shall find you."
Before she could react, Kazama gave her a parting to push her too far, he kept it chaste, giving her the softest kiss he could, barely brushing his lips against hers. He felt her slowly relax against him, and smiled against her lips. It was his way of promising that he would indeed return for her some day, though he had a feeling that she may come to him. Kazama shakily let her go before he lost control of himself, and bade her farewell. The demon lord had to take care of things back home, and she needed time to grieve over her lost friends. Kazama motioned toward Amagiri, who had stayed back to give them space, both of them intending to go home and stay there had faith in her now that she could hold her own, and trusted her to make the right decision when the time came for them to be reunited.
Amagiri matched his pace as they slowly walked back home. Kazama gave one last look back to the temple he had left her at before departing the thought back to the kiss, slowly laughing to himself. He ignored the look he received from his companion as he thought back to how this had all started. If it weren't for Amagiri's suggestion for the flowers, he wouldn't have gotten anywhere with the girl. Kazama would never tell Amagiri this, but he was thankful for that stupid plan. Someday, he thought, he might tell his guard, but for now he decided to focus on his plans for his future with Chizuru.