"Fukuchou, I saw Chizuru in a tea-shop two days ago," Saito told Hijikata after he gave the vice-commander his report on the Goryo Eiji. "She… told me she was truly to be Kazama's wife to unite the Oni clans…"

Hijikata sighed. "Yes, it is true," he replied, trying not to remember anything about how Chizuru had pleaded Kazama to stop his attack on their headquarters. "We let her go, because it was her decision to do so."

It was not usual for Saito to reveal any emotion, and Hijikata knew that Saito had cared for the girl to a certain extent. They all did. Although Saito had been calmer than himself or Souji, Hijikata knew that this did not sit well with Saito at all. "You intend to bring her back… after all this conflict has ended," he realized, because he knew that often, Hijikata's courses of actions would always be in his comprehension.

"Yes," Hijikata said, confirming his suspicions. "If Kazama brings her to his lands, we will find them and make sure she comes back with us…"

With that being clear, Saito knew what he had to do. As with everything, he put his trust in Hijikata's leadership, knowing that the man with piercing violet eyes would never bring anything they loved to harm. But somehow, deep down in his gut, a gnawing possibility grew. "What if… she wants to remain with the Oni?" Saito asked. He was sure that it was a query that must have struck Hijikata.

"Then we will fight to see her again, even for the last time." Hijikata's voice carried resolution, preparation for any outcome possible. The faint smile on his handsome features carried hope, even if it was only a fool's hope. Saito understood that expression, and bowed as he took his leave.

It had been only the fourth night since Chizuru's leaving, and he thought as if she had been gone for an eternity. He no longer saw her small, petite form sweeping up the fallen leaves in the courtyard. He took cups of tea, and found that they were too thick, too hot or too bitter… The meals were sometimes too bland or too salty. He no longer tasted Edo in his food (because Chizuru, who would often cook for them was also from Edo), but other tastes that brought him further and further away from home in the capital of Japan…

Knowing that there was no point trying to sleep, Hijikata opened the door to his room and walked into the courtyard, and was greeted by the last full moon of summer, surrounded by brilliant starlight. Looking at the moon, he recalled a legend that the Oni were the children of the moon… he wondered if it was true for her, because she often shone the most under the moonlight…

It was under moonlight that she ran from the Shinsen-Gumi headquarters to reach him to inform them that the Choushu and Tosa Imperialists were meeting at the Ikeda Inn. It was also under moonlight that she encountered Sannan when he first turned into a Rasetsu, refusing to kill him despite his adamant wish… It was under the moonlight that she had spread her arms before him, shielding him from Kazama when his katana had been struck from his hand, offering herself to the Oni for his protection.

It was under the moonlight, that she had dressed up as a geisha to spy on the roshi in Shimabara, at the cost of her safety.

"I am the Fukuchou of the Shinsen-Gumi, do you think I would simply elope with a geiko?" he asked the caretakers of the various teahouses in Shimabara. He had brought his arm around her shoulders, holding her close to him. At that point of time, he was aware of how fast her heart had been beating… was it because of the situation they were in, or was it due to something else? "I will be taking this woman with me, if you have anything to say about it, please come to our headquarters and we shall settle matters then!"

He had taken her back from their pursuers after openly proclaiming that he was returning to the headquarters with her, bringing all of Shimabara in an utter uproar. He became the fantasy of the other geisha and the envy of other men – no one could ever have the guts and the authority of the Oni-Fukuchou of the Shinsen-Gumi…

"You… looked beautiful in your disguise. If you really were a geiko, you would have thousands of men rushing to be your danna," he told her in the aftermath of their little problem at the gates of Shimabara days after their mission had been a success. "In a few years, you'll be a lovely woman, men will begin to fall in love you by the dozens… Kick them to the curb if they don't interest you."

Chizuru had blushed redder than the color of the rouge she put on as a geisha upon hearing his words. "Now I know why Hijikata-san is so welcome by other women…" she murmured, casting her eyes down demurely, a small smile visible at the corners of her mouth.

Easily receiving the meaning of her words, he returned, "Do not think that I am giving you flattery. I don't need to lie through my teeth to sell medicines that were supposed to heal every illness imaginable anymore." He even made a jab on himself, just for the chance that she would smile even more for him… He was duly rewarded.

He had openly revealed to Harada and Souji that he had fallen for the girl, but he just only realized how deep he had fallen. He had come to rely on her so much in the tiniest of ways, that her absence seemed like a katana pierced directly into his being. Knowing that she was no longer there, finding her shadow where he knew she had always lurked…

It pained him the most that she had chosen this path because she was doing it for them. He would have readily admitted defeat if Kazama had used legitimate means of asking for her hand, as Harada had often iterated whenever Kazama encountered them on the pretext of taking her away.

It pained him even more to know that no matter what he felt for her, no matter how much he wanted to see her again, her return was a low priority for the Shinsen-Gumi. It could function without a missing page. Now that the tensions between the Imperialist and Shogunate forces were so high that war could happen at any moment, he knew that his duties forbade him to even so much as to walk the streets, scanning house to house for her presence. It was a gamble that he had to take, to trust that she could take care of herself in the hands of the enemy.

Not long after Chizuru's mission in Shimabara, he had met Kazama walking from the direction of their headquarters. "What are you doing here?" he demanded, getting into his battle-stance, katana at the ready.

"I would advise against attacking me at this time," Kazama interrupted him. "If Yukimura Chizuru isn't here, there is no point fighting you."

He snarled. "What do you want her for?" he asked Kazama, anger more and more pronounced the glare he gave the golden-haired Oni.

"Peasants like you will never realize her worth," Kazama replied simply.

"I will not surrender neither Chizuru nor the capital to the likes of you," he spat. Looking back, it had been more of a promise to himself, than a threat towards Kazama. He would ensure the safety of both, unknowing that there would come a time when he would have to sacrifice the former or the latter.

Looking up at the silver moon, he called her name. "Chizuru…" a soft call, so soft that no one around him could hear it. It was more than that, a prayer for her safety, a prayer that she would never, ever cast them off, no matter what future she would choose for herself.


Across the city of Kyoto, Chizuru found herself unable to sleep. It was not the humidity of the summer nights, or the noise of the cicadas, but… something else.

She opened her room's door and realized that instead of a temple buildings, she saw a beautiful, elegant garden. Instead of powerful Buddhist statues, she saw ancient pines and oaks.

Closing her eyes, she imagined a room still well-lit although it was already the middle of the night, its inhabitant toiling into the night with accounts, documents and perhaps top-secret reports related to the running of the Shinsen-Gumi. If it was still lit, then she would silently creep into the kitchens to make a cup of tea for him.

Hijikata Toshizo…

This figure was most enigmatic in her life. She had never met anyone she wished to help any more than she did him. Everyone in the Shinsen-Gumi had their various responsibilities and roles, but it was Hijikata that seemed to have a mountain resting upon his shoulders. She knew that he could have easily delegated the work, but he knew that he trusted no one but himself to finish it all. Just to ensure that he would have a short rest, she would bring him his nightly tea and sometimes something to eat before leaving for her room.

It had been four days since she last brought him his tea. Did Hijikata sleep well these past four days? Stepping off the corridor and putting on her slippers, she walked towards the other garden at the back of Kazama's Kyoto residence and looked at the sakura tree.

At that point of time, the moon was angled just above the sakura, bathing the pink and white blossoms in its gentle light. Such a sight reminded her more and more of Hijikata, because she had decided the first time they met, because the combination of the spring breeze, the light of the moon and his long, black hair reminded her of how sakura petals would blow in the night wind…

"Listen here, I will kill you if you make any sudden moves," he threatened her at sword-point when he, Souji and Saito had saved her from the Rasetsu who had broken free from their hiding place. Due to reasons unbeknownst to her, she felt no fear at that moment. She listened to his words and obeyed them, allowing the men to bind and gag her, bringing her back to their headquarters. At that moment, his voice and his deep, amethyst gaze held every inch of her attention, and time seemed to sit still then…

A dull pain started to form in her chest. It was not because she was sick or wounded but…

"Hijikata-san…" she murmured under her breath, as though her mental images of the man in her mind would disappear if she said his name any louder. She knew that this path was one that she decided to take, and it was one that she could never back down, because of what it had meant.

She knew that being the last surviving daughter of the Yukimura clan, her duty was to marry Kazama, and strengthen the bonds between both clans in matrimony and in blood. She knew that by doing so, indirectly, it would take Kazama's attentions away from the Shinsen-Gumi, if only in part. So… why was she still so unsure about her decision?

Seeing Saito made it all worse. Although they did not speak directly about the matters surrounding them, she could feel his anguish, his resolve to see her returned back to the Shinsen-Gumi… if even Saito, who had left the Shinsen-Gumi with Itou's men, had a reaction like this, she knew she could not face Hijikata, Souji, Harada, Shinpachi and even Heisuke if she saw them again, no matter how much she wanted to return to the Nishi Hongan-ji.

Knowing that there was nothing more she could do, she walked back to her room and tried to get some sleep, not knowing that there was a pair of ruby-hued eyes watching her every move in the shadows.

Kazama Chikage had been sitting on the roof of his Kyoto manor, observing Chizuru the very moment she left her room. His superior senses caught her speaking the name of that errant human that brought her to him in the first place, and he sighed. What fool would thrust herself to the enemy just to protect a bunch of peasant samurai?

"If you truly wish to win her heart, you would have to open yours to hers first," Amagiri told him, suddenly appearing by his side. "As you know, Yukimura is a woman of iron will, but she is also stubborn. She will cling onto her past, because it is all she has now."

"I don't need you to tell me that," Kazama said brusquely. From the time he had intercepted her during her mission in Shimabara, he already realized that she was more than his targeted bride. It was not her beauty that struck him first, it was her fearlessness. This girl, unable to wield a sword, had plunged herself into the bloodiest areas of conflicts due to her wish to "help", and even more than once used herself as a shield around those useless humans… As the times passed, his interest in her grew deeper, until he realized that somehow or rather, he just had to see her again, never mind the fact that when he had first met her when she was only a child.

Amagiri smiled at his young charge. For centuries, the Amagiri family had been the retainers of the Kazama clan, and so the head of the Amagiri would serve the leader of the Kazama clan. He knew that Kazama had seen him as more of a companion than a retainer, although he rarely showed any inclination towards such notions. Thus, he found it prudent to add, "It would be a blessing to your clan if a union with the last remaining daughter of the Yukimura clan becomes a union of love," he told Kazama. "It would return much needed happiness to you and yours as well."

"The elders of my family expect me to sire a strong heir," he replied in a huff. "Any other achievements would be drowned out from the failure to do so." The traditions of the Oni were strict, more so for those of the Kazama clan. He had been the oldest son, the scion trained for utter leadership of their clan since before his father disappeared into nothingness. Still, he had to follow the strict "advice" of the clan elders, who often berated him for playing too many "games of war" and neglecting his duties to his ancestors while he was repaying the debt of their long, uninterrupted lives by fighting for the Satsuma-han in this current conflict…

"A strong heir must have parents that love each other to teach him how to love before anything else, Kazama," Amagiri stressed before leaving Kazama to his own devices. Kazama Chikage was no fool, and Amagiri hoped for his charge's happiness, even if there was only a small chance of it, considering the many suitors for the Yukimura daughter's hand.


HAN: Heh heh, here's a little love quadrangle. Currently what we're looking at is Hijikata and Kazama clearly vying for Chizuru, Chizuru clearly pining for Hijikata and Saito emerging as a strong opponent. What about Souji, Heisuke and Harada? HMMM... I also twisted some scenes from Sekkaroku (Hijikata's part) and Zuisouroku for the timeline in this chapter, heh heh. ^.^

Kazama-sama: Thank you! Seeing that Chizuru would be stuck with Kazama for the time being, there will be plenty of that, heh heh!

KatsuyaSaya: Well, I would imagine it would turn out to be something like the scene at Yuugiroku where Kazama actually almost succeeded in marrying Chizuru. Long story short, the Shinsen-Gumi boys got their girl back, but not without finishing all the sake and food for the reception. As for the speed of uploading, I tend to do one upload per day, as I'm now in my holidays. Thank you for your double review!

Haruka Tomohisa: Ah, well, Kazama is just awesome that way no? I actually took quite the effort in getting his tone right by watching almost every Hakuouki medium available. But that doesn't really count as hard work, doesn't it? I was busy fangirling all day long!

Olivia: (I had to go to Google Translate to get a grasp of your review) Thanks! As for Hijikata, he would most likely tear up the invitation, show up and challenge Kazama for a duel for the right to marry Chizuru, heh heh! Who would you bet on to win? I'll have five bucks on each of them because I love them both.

Aogetsu: I would think that the outcome Aburanokoji Incident would be a little less... severe since Chizuru won't be there if you get my drift.

DivineRosa: Oh Kazama is the icing on the cake. I somehow feel that his character is more or less tsundere like Hijikata, it's just that Kazama's voice is a hair sexier. Also, yep it is based on that game, I believe it's called Yuugiroku. Apparently there's a Yuugiroku 2 now. OH MY GAWD IT'S JUST TOO CUTE!

Allison: Yep I decided to make this a standalone fic heh heh! Thanks for the kind review! I've updated "Of Tea and Swords" too by the way ^.^