A/N: another short chapter, sorry guys. not much else to put here other than that. enjoy!

disclaimer: i don't own Hakuouki; Kawa belongs to me.

Chapter 07: Kill With Love

I sweatdropped as she came to dry his hair. "Seriously, Chizu-chan," I muttered.

He glanced over at me from between a wince. "Don't get jealous over there, princess," he teased.

I huffed and crossed my arms at my chest. "As if. Yer free to choose whoever the hell ya want to be with, dummy." I reminded.
Souji chuckled, wincing. "Ow, Chizuru-chan!" He whined.

I giggled and smirked gently, leaning back into the railing. "Heh; serves you right." I mused.
He pouted over at me; I laughed.

"That's enough, it's dry enough already." He shooed her away gently, placing the towel around his shoulders.
She blushed slightly and smiled sheepishly as he fixed his hair back into the messy topknot he usually wore.

"Tell me, what do you think of my hairstyle?" He asked her.
Her brown eyes softened. "It looks great." She smiled.

He smiled. "Really? Great, thanks. Well, what d'ya think, Kawa-chan?" He asked, looking at me.
I blinked and then smiled gently.
"Shaggy as always, but shaggy suits you. You look more handsome like that." I mused.

Souji blinked before he coughed, blushing slightly. "Y'really think that?" He guessed.
I nodded. "Definitely." I smiled lightly.

He turned to the girl, "I'm actually trying to copy Kondou-san's hairstyle." He said.
"It does look like Kondou-san's, doesn't it?" Chizuru guessed lightly.

I smiled softly at him.

Ever since I'd gotten to know Souji more, I noticed that he was copying Kondou-san's topknot hairstyle. From what Toshi had told me, he treated Kondou-san like an older brother. Kondou-san had taken him in when he was little, and from then on I supposed they looked out for each other like blood brothers.

He poked my forehead. "Oi, what're ya smilin' at?" He wondered, perking my ears.
I blushed, shooing his hand away. "Nothin' of your concern, dummy." I replied, crossing my arms at my chest.

Souji smiled and sighed, ruffling my hair. "Whatever ya say, princess," he mused.

The geisha Kimigiku smiled lightly. "Please enjoy yourselves." She said.

"She's beautiful," I heard Chizuru muse quietly; she glanced her way and the girl quieted, nodding.
I chuckled softly and smiled at the girl, ruffling her hair.

"Kawa-chan, you drink up too! Sano's treating after all!" Shinpachi exclaimed lightly, perking my ears.
I looked over at him and Heisuke downing sake and rolled my eyes, smirking. "I will, you two drink first." I waved them off.

Souji chuckled at my right. "Afraid you'd get just as hammered as they do?" He wondered.

I blushed slightly and huffed, poking his belly with the end of my chopstick. "Not even close! Nii-san may not drink, but that doesn't mean I can't handle a few shots." I quipped with another smirk.
He pouted slightly when I poked him, rubbing his belly gingerly. "Ya never change, Kawa-chan," he mused with a sigh.

"Hey, Sano, why'd you let them go?" Shinpachi's voice perked my ears; I looked up at Sano.

Why did they escape anyway? I wondered.
All the Shinsengumi were required to do was guard that stupid bulletin board, and the Choshuu had tried to ambush Sano's patrol squad. So why they got away when he could've easily killed them all was a mystery.

"I thought that was strange, too; you even managed to catch some of them." Heisuke chimed.

His gold eyes rounded on the girl. "Chizuru, did you go out anywhere that night?" He asked.

She blinked. "No." She replied.

"You sure?" He insisted.
She nodded. "Yeah; I don't leave headquarters at night." She said.

"So what's the big deal, Sano?" Shinpachi asked.

His gold eyes hardened slightly. "Actually, a girl who looked like Chizuru got in our way when we were apprehending those Tosa Clan guys. Then everything fell out of formation." He explained darkly.
"That's horrible!" Chizuru declared.

I frowned slightly; a girl that looked like Chizuru?

"Maybe it's that girl you met while conducting rounds with Heisuke." Souji said, looking at her.

"You saw her?" I asked slowly, looking at him.
"Wasn't her name Nagumo Kaoru? She looked just like you." He added, ignoring me.

"But that's not enough evidence," she mused, looking down.

I ribbed him. "It must've been her, then; Chizuru wouldn't do something stupid like help anyone affiliated with Choshuu." I defended, scowling into his green eyes.

"I didn't really think so; after all, she was dressed like a girl." Heisuke chimed.
"Why don't we put her in a kimono to confirm it?" Hajime spoke up, perking my ears.

"Huh?" She balked, looking from Souji to Hajime to Heisuke to Sano and Shinpachi.

"Dress Chizuru up!" Heisuke barked as he hopped to his feet.

"That's it; that's a great idea! Hey, you; sorry, but could you dress this kid up as a girl?" Shinpachi chimed as he stood up and looked over at the geisha named Kimigiku.

"EH?" Chizuru squeaked.

"Now, hang on…!" Toshi began to get to his feet before the woman placed a hand up to stop him.

She seemed to smile. "Very well; I accept your request." She said lightly; the blush on his face from the strong drink seemed to deepen at the ludicrous idea.

I smiled lightly. "In that case, come on, Chizu-chan!" I declared, lifting her to her feet and dragging her to the door leading to the back hallway as Kimigiku slid it open and ushered the girl into the dark hall.

"W-wait, Kawa-chan…!" Chizuru yelped before I gently pushed her out of the room, closing the door behind her and the geisha.
I sighed and dusted my hands off. "That's better," I mused, walking back to where I was sitting.

"Oi, maybe we should have Kawa-chan dress up too," Souji mused lightly next to me; I spat out my sake, coughing.

"Hell no!" Hajime and Toshi snapped in unison as they jumped to their feet, surprising the boys; Hajime cleared his throat and sat back down, becoming very interested in his food.

"Over my dead body you're forcing both of them to wear a kimono!" Toshi barked, throwing Souji a death glare (I noticed Hajime also shot a cold glare in his direction from sitting closest to my brother).

Souji laughed lightly and smirked at his pissy face. "It was just a joke, Hijikata-san!" He said nonchalantly.

THWACK.

"Just a joke, huh?" I wondered as I cracked my knuckles.
He rubbed the large bump on his head gingerly. "Well, when you say it like that…" He began.

THWACK.

I sipped my sake. "Got anything else to add to that?" I wondered.

He munched on his rice. "No, ma'am," he replied sorely, seeming to ignore the pain at having twin large bumps swell and look like a pair of panda ears.

I smiled lightly behind my cup. "Good." I mused.

Hajime handed me the bottle.
I met his blue eyes and saw a smug smirk playing at the corner of his lips, amusement written across his face; I smiled gently at him and offered my cup.

It was another ten minutes later before we heard the door slide open.

"Sorry for the wait, everyone." Kimigiku's voice said as we looked at the girl dressed in a red kimono in awe.

"Chizu-chan," I said before smiling lightly. "You look beautiful!" I declared kindly.

"H-hey, are you really Chizuru?" Heisuke stammered.
She nodded. "Y-yeah," she replied.

Souji smiled. "What a transformation; I didn't think it was you, in there." He said.

"So, what do you think, Sano?" Hajime wondered.
He looked thoughtful. "I dunno; Chizuru's so pretty I can't decide." He mused.

She blushed.
"Damn straight; Chizuru's super cute!" Heisuke exclaimed.

"Yeah, Chizuru's a babe!" Shinpachi chimed excitedly.

"What's that, Shinpachi-san; enjoying the eye-candy?" Souji wondered lightly.

I cuffed him. "Idiot, don't you make fun of her too!" I scolded.
"You jerk, you're makin' me blush!" He barked.

"That's enough!" Chizuru barked, quieting them as she ran out of the room and out to the balcony.

"Ya were way outta line with that last line, Shinpatsu!" Heisuke scolded.

THWACK.
THWACK.
THWACK.

I crossed my arms at my chest and scowled at all three of them. "Idiots, it was because of all three of ya that she ran out like that!" I scolded them annoyedly.

"Geez, Kawa-chan that hurt!" Heisuke griped as he rubbed the bump on his head gingerly.

"Keep whining and I'll do worse." I vowed, scowling from him to the non-complaining Shinpachi and Sano who had matching bumps on their heads.

"Don't maim them just yet, will you?" Hajime wondered as I felt him place a hand on my shoulder; I looked at him and blushed slightly, lowering my gaze.

"Yeah, I know," I mumbled, reluctantly letting him pull me to sit back down next to Souji.

Souji snickered at seeing the trio be scolded like children, sipping his sake. "Warrior princess indeed," he mused quietly at my side.

I blushed again and pouted up at him, huffing. "Idiot, don't laugh unless you want another beating." I remarked, downing another shot of sake.

A/N: sorry this chapter is so short, it was a filler episode so i couldn't do much.. ^^;

you know the drill already. thanks~