A/N: The typo's fixed, thanks 14Phantom for pointing that out to me! I do proofread the chapters, but sometimes I still miss things. You're right about the sword thing too. I wasn't thinking. I should have made them use wooden practice swords instead. It's a little difficult to change that now, but I'll be sure to remember the advice for future chapters when I make them spar together again. Thank you for pointing that out to me too! I really appreciate it. I take all your reviews into account. They can only help my fanfiction become better after all!

Here's chapter 7. Constructive criticisms are greatly appreciated! Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Hakuouki or any of its characters.


Chapter 7

The seasons slowly changed. The vivid colors of spring melted into the intense heat of summer, and finally, it was August.

"Man, it's so hot!" Shinpachi cried. He was lounged out on the wooden porch and fanning himself with one hand.

"You can say that again." Sano sat on the porch, leaning against a wooden post. He chuckled. The other Shinsengumi captains were also there, taking shelter in the shade of the overhang from the bright sun that beat down on them that afternoon. Okita was sitting next to Sano, Heisuke had claimed the stairs, Saito was sitting on the wooden porch, facing the garden, his feet inches off the dry green grass.

Heisuke looked up as Aoi approached the group. "Oh, Aoi, come join us!"

"Alright, what are you guys doing?" She went to sit next to Saito.

"Nothing much." Okita drawled.

They sat in silence for a while, trying to cool off as much as they could in the scarce breeze. A kind voice sounded behind them. "Oh? What are all of you doing out here?" Kondou stood behind them holding several packages wrapped with bamboo leaves. Accompanying him was Sannan-san. They smiled down at the group.

"We're trying to escape this damn heat." Okita complained.

"Out here? Why not inside?" Kondou asked.

Okita laughed. "Well, Kondou-san, to tell you the truth, it's not like its any cooler inside than outside. Besides, at least we can feel something resembling a breeze outside."

"Hmm, I guess that's true." Kondou grunted.

"Kondou-san, what's that you're holding?" Shinpachi called out.

Kondou looked down at the four packages he was holding. "These? They're wagashi! Buns with sweet red bean paste in the middle! I bought them for us so we could share!"

Aoi gasped in excitement. "Wagashi? I haven't had those since I was a kid!"

"Is that so? Well, I bought a lot today, so eat up!" Kondou grinned at her.

Heisuke leapt up. "Ah, wait a second Kondou-san, I'm going to get Hijikata-san and Inoue-san, so don't start until I get back!" And he ran off.

Aoi stood as well. "I'll go make some tea!"

Kondou nodded. "Alright, we'll wait for you to return."

Minutes later, Aoi returned carrying the tea on a wooden tray. When Kondou saw her walking back towards the group, which was joined by Inoue and Hijikata, he opened up the packages and Shinpachi immediately reached for one. Aoi handed a cup of tea to Saito who was sitting closest to her. He accepted it graciously. "Thank you, but there's no need to serve us. Just put the tea down and enjoy yourself."

Sano smiled. "He's right Aoi-chan. If you don't hurry up, Shinpachi will eat all of them!" He took two of the wagashi and offered one to Saito. "Here, Saito."

Saito smiled at him. "Thanks."

Aoi quickly passed out the rest of the tea and took a wagashi for herself. She bit into it and the sweetness of the red bean paste filled her mouth. She smiled in delight. "These are delicious!" She exclaimed to Saito.

Saito took a bite of his own. "Yes, they are." He returned her smile.

"Hey, Souji, do you remember that one time when we were still in Shiei Hall when you wanted to try sparring with your left hand like Saito, and then you made a complete fool of yourself?" Shinpachi laughed.

"Shut up, Shinpachi. There's no need to bring up the past." Okita looked embarrassed.

Kondou laughed. "Oh, I remember that!"

"Kondou-san, not you too!" Okita sighed. "Besides, I was only kid then! What about that one time when Shinpachi was trying to show off with the wooden practice sword, but whacked himself in the face instead?" He grinned.

Shinpachi coughed, his face turning red. "T-that was before I even knew which side of the blade was the sharp side and which side was the dull side!"

Everyone burst out laughing. Saito turned to Aoi with a smile on his face. "I'm sorry, Tsukahara, we're talking about events that you don't know about. It must not be very interesting."

Aoi shook her head in denial. "That's not true! Even though I may not have been present, I still think it's very interesting to hear about them!"

Saito looked out at the garden. "I see." He took a sip of his tea.

The afternoon passed in merriment and even after all the wagashi had been finished, everyone stayed to watch the beautiful sunset. When dinnertime came, they all retreated to the dining room, then afterwards, to their rooms to rest. Aoi stayed behind to wash all the plates that had been used for dinner. Sano offered to help, but she declined any assistance that was offered to her. It was her way of thanking the Shinsengumi for the wonderful time she had that afternoon.

After she finished cleaning the dishes, Aoi walked back to her room. The night was still and quiet, and only a small sliver of the moon was visible, providing little light. But the light was enough for Aoi to see, from the corner of her eyes, something glinting. She stepped off the wooden porch and approached the glinting object that was almost concealed by the bushes and grass. Aoi picked it up. It was a small glass vial with a few drops of some sort of bright red liquid. She heard a sound behind her and quickly slid the vial into her kimono before turning around to face a pair of glowing, blood-red eyes and snow-white hair. Her eyes widened. She knew what was standing in front of her. It was the same thing that had attacked her the night she had first met the Shinsengumi. It was a failed soldier.

Aoi's right hand instinctively reached for the katana that should have been strapped to her left hip, but she remembered, too late, that she had left it in her room. Her breath quickened and the smile on the failed soldiers face widened, revealing sharp white teeth. She looked around her, but there was nothing she could use to fight with. The failed soldier crouched and sprung at her with a cackle. Aoi leapt to the side just in time. She had to do something quick, she needed to call someone. She shouted the first name that came to her mind. "SAITO-SAN!"

The failed soldier charged at her again. Aoi dodged to the side, but the monster's quick instincts outmatched Aoi's. He reached out a claw and swiped at her. His sharp nails tore her black hakama and scratched her outer left thigh, close to the knee. Blood spilled from the wound and Aoi fell backwards onto the grass. The failed soldier let out a high pitched shriek and lunged at Aoi's throat with his pointed fingernails, Aoi closed her eyes, waiting for her death, but she felt no pain. Instead she heard the sound of a katana piercing skin and the sound of blood splattering. Her eyes flew open and she saw the sharp, silver blade of a katana sticking out of the monster's chest, right where his heart was, and she saw the monster's red blood drip onto her green kimono, staining it. The sword slid out of its target with a sickening sound and the failed soldier toppled to the ground, revealing the person who had killed it. His dark purple hair and white scarf fluttered as he straightened up, and his deep blue eyes were as cold as ice as he flicked the blood off his katana and sheathed it. Saito looked down at Aoi and his eyes softened as he saw the frightened expression on her face. He reached out a hand to help her up. "Are you alright?" He asked, looking into her eyes.

Aoi took his hand and pulled herself up. "Yes, thank you for saving me."

Saito looked down at her wound. "You're hurt."

"It's only a scratch. It doesn't hurt." She looked down at it. It was true. Even though it was gushing blood, Aoi felt no pain. She heard the sound of several footsteps growing louder. She turned around to see the other captains running towards them.

"Aoi, what happened?" Hijikata looked at her. His eyes widened as he saw all the blood and gore covering her.

Aoi took a deep breath to calm herself down. "I was attacked by one of the failed soldiers just now, but Saito saved me."

Hijikata looked at the dead monster lying next to Aoi and Saito. Sannan-san spoke up. "A failed soldier? How did such a thing happen?" He looked shocked.

Aoi walked towards Hijikata. She took out the glass vial she had stored in her kimono. "Hijikata-san. Right before the failed soldier attacked me, I found this. Please explain. I want to know what almost killed me. I think it's about time you owe me an explanation."

Hijikata looked from the vial in Aoi's hands to her face. He stared into her light blue eyes for a moment, but he saw nothing except sincerity. He sighed. "Alright. You've been with us long enough. I just hope we can trust you with this." He turned around. "Souji, Shinpachi, I want you two to take care of the body. Then when you're done, go to the meeting room." He barked out. Then he faced the girl and Saito. "You two, let's go."

In the meeting room, there was nothing to suggest that they had been having a good time only hours before. The faces of the captains were grim and serious. After Okita and Shinpachi had entered the room and sat down. Hijikata looked up at Aoi. "This is an order Aoi. Don't repeat anything you hear in this room ever. Do you understand? If you do so without our permission, it's grounds for committing seppuku."

Aoi nodded. "I understand. You have my word."

Hijikata sighed and started to talk. "About a year ago, the Shinsengumi was introduced to a man named Yukimura Kodou, who was a doctor that specialized in western medicine. A short while afterwards, we received secret orders from the shogunate to help Kodou with his experiment. Kodou was testing out a certain medicine that, if it succeded, would make the Shinsengumi several times stronger than it was." Hijikata frowned. "We can't exactly ignore orders from the shogunate, so we had no choice but to help with the experiment. But the effects of the medicine weren't what we had anticipated. Those who drank it turned into monsters. The monsters were strong, there's no doubt about that. They healed with lightning speed and were ten times stronger and faster than the normal human. But there was no way to control them. They lusted strongly for blood and they killed and devoured anything that got in their way. They're called furies. The medicine that they were forced to drink, the red liquid in the vial you're holding, is called Ochimizu, or the Water of Life."

Aoi looked down with fright at the vial clutched in her pale, trembling hands.

Hijikata continued. "We could do nothing but watch as our comrades were turned into these monsters, furies. But just before you joined the Shinsengumi, Kodou disappeared, and now we've been doing our upmost to try and find him. We are still under orders from the shogunate to test the Ochimizu though, so Sannan-san has been going through the notes Kodou left behind to find a way to get rid of the side effects of the Ochimizu."

"I see…" Aoi whispered.

Sannan-san adjusted his glasses and sighed. "This is the Shinsengumi's deepest and darkest secret. We do mean it when we ask you to not speak of what you just heard."

Aoi looked at Sannan-san with conviction in her eyes. "I promise I will never tell anyone about what I have learned today." Her eyes were strong, but her hands still shook from the shock of learning the Shinsengumi's secret.

"I sincerely hope so." Sannan-san said quietly.

A dry silence hung over everyone like stale air. But Hijikata's sharp voice sliced through it like a knife. "Saito, get Yamazaki to help you treat Aoi's wound." He stood up and looked down at the girl. "You, after you've been treated, get some rest. It's been a long night."

Before Aoi went to her room to change out of her bloodstained clothes, she and Saito stopped by Yamazaki's room. He looked at the scratch on Aoi's leg. "It'll be fine in a few days if we bandage it." After he had put medicine on it and bandaged it, Saito escorted Aoi back to her room.

They paused in front of Aoi's room, and Aoi was suddenly reminded of the night she had first met Saito. They were in the exact same scenario. Saito seemed to read her mind. "It's like the night we first met." His lips curved into a small smile as he looked deep into her eyes. It was like he was reading her soul. The smile faded. "Get some rest. You must be tired after all that happened tonight."

"Alright." Aoi bowed politely at him. "Thank you for bringing me to my room and thank you for saving me again. This will be the second time."

Saito paused for a moment before responding. "It's only my duty." He turned around and strode down the hall.

After Aoi entered her room, she changed into clean clothes and slid into her futon, but she couldn't sleep. She thought about all that she had just learned. She felt a sense of foreboding. "What was going to happen to the Shinsengumi?" She thought to herself.


A/N: To all my readers, I know this update was really quick, but this is because I won't be able to update for a few days. I have to do some stuff for my orchestra this week before school starts. I should be able to update this again on Saturday, hopefully Friday though if I can get to it. Thanks for your patience!