Hello minna~! I just moved into my dorm so I haven't been able to update until now. I'm all moved in and I miss my family a lot:/ But I'll see them soon, so until then, I'll try to update as soon as I can. I hope you enjoy chapter 9! Ja ne^-^

~OtakuMisaki

The next day, Misaki woke up and headed to the main room where everyone was having breakfast, she was hesitant at first because she didn't know how she could face the others without thinking about the past. Lately, that was all she was thinking about and she knew it was a matter of time before the Shinsengumi figured out that something was bothering her. When she walked in, she was greeted by Chizuru, "Misaki! Ohayo."

Misaki replied back to her, "Ohayo gozaimasu, Chizuru." She tried to smile, but it came out forced and she realized that Chizuru had noticed, but neither said anything. Suddenly, the Shinsengumi came in followed by their oni commander. They were all smiling at her. All but Hijikata-san. He had a harsh demeanor about him, but his face softened when he looked at Misaki. Misaki greeted them, "Ohayo minna." She bowed and looked at them.

"Ohayo gozaimasu," They said one by one. Hijikata pushed forward and made eye contact with Misaki, "Azuma-san. We've noticed that you seem different lately. Nagakura and Souji suggested that we take you to Shimabara for a change in scenery. Would you like to come to Shimabara with us? You can just relax and enjoy yourself and don't worry. Nagakura-san will be paying for it all."

"Eh?! Nobody told me that!" Shinpachi exclaimed.

"There's no need to explain, you wanted to go so badly, it's only fair," Harada teased. "Besides, our commander said you were going to. He wasn't asking for permission." Harada smirked and Hijikata grunted and nodded in agreement. Misaki looked at everyone, surprised that even Hijikata agreed to this. His tough exterior made it seem like that this would never happen. Misaki agreed and they went to Shimabara to enjoy the hot springs. Chizuru and Misaki were on one side and the Shinsengumi captains were on the other side. Misaki kept a towel wrapped around her body and she kept a dark ribbon wrapped around her head as usual. She still felt tense because she didn't like lying to Chizuru or the others, but she knew that everything that her parents did would have been done in vain if she let her secret out. Chizuru noticed Misaki's uneasiness, but did not say anything. She decided to ease into another subject that she was particularly curious about. "Misaki…can I ask you something?" Misaki looked at Chizuru nervously, afraid of what she would ask, but she nodded her head in reply as if her body wasn't listening to her mind. "So…you and Saito-san…" Misaki's eyes widened in surprise, although she felt a sense of relief, she felt tenser than ever since she had a feeling of where this discussion was going. However, she decided that this was better than her finding out about her true identity.

Meanwhile...on the male side of the hot springs…

Everyone was listening in to their conversation, everyone except Hijikata. Shinpachi was trying to climb over to the women's side because he wanted a glimpse of Misaki and Chizuru. Hijikata growled and ordered Heisuke, "Get him down, Heisuke. He'll embarrass us all including the Shinsengumi name. We are valiant warriors, not lecherous perverts!" Heisuke climbed up, but then curiosity got the better of him and he tried to climb over along with Shinpachi. "Honto*…Harada-san, get them down before we are kicked out."

Shinpachi and Heisuke were pushing and shoving, "Get out of the way, Shinpatsu-san!"

"Heisuke, it was my idea first, so you get out of the way, besides you're too young to see something amazing like this!"

"Stop it you two!" Harada-san pulled on their legs, making them fall into the hotsprings, generating a loud splash. Misaki and Chizuru heard the splash, but knew better than to question it. "That's no way to treat a lady, you need to respect them if you want to see them in that state!"

"It was Heisuke's fault! He tried to push me over!"

"What?! No, I didn't. You said it was your idea first!"

"Oh, please, we all know you said that first."

"Shinpatsu-san…" Heisuke got into a battle stance, getting ready to tackle Shinpachi.

"Urusai!* Mo ii*…you'll ruin the reason why we are here. Now, sit down and be quiet!" Hijikata ordered. They did as they were told because they knew that they shouldn't question Hijikata, they were no match for a temper like his. They sat in silence and they heard Misaki and Chizuru talking. All of sudden, Saito's name came up and Saito remained composed, with his eyes closed and his arms crossed. Hijikata did the same, however the other Shinsengumi captains turned to face the fence that blocked them from the females. "Eavesdropping is not a respectable thing to do."

Harada-san said, "Hey, Saito! It seems that Misaki has a thing for you." He waggled his eyebrows at him.

Saito remained composed and did not show any hint of emotion or reaction at Harada's statement. "And where do you get that idea? They simply said my name. That is hardly enough proof. And, why are you calling her Misaki? When did you two become so familiar with each other?" He asked without a hint of emotion.

"They are talking about you, not anyone else. But you."

"I fail to see how this relates to anything or give you a bigger impression of something else."

"But—Saito-san…" Heisuke interrupted, but was stopped by the glare in Saito's eyes. Everyone was silenced and the only thing that could be heard were Chizuru and Misaki's whispers on the other side of the hot springs.

Much later…

After everyone had their relaxation time in the hot springs, they filed into the bathrooms one by one, changing into their robes. They ate dinner together and everyone tried so hard to make Misaki smile. She smiled at the thought of them being so concerned about her. Shinpachi yelled, "Yes! There it is!"

Misaki was taken aback, "What?"

"We've been waiting to see that beautiful smile of yours." He replied. Misaki turned slightly red.

"Oh, I made her blush!" He shouted.

"Shinpatsu-san! You're being too loud…" Heisuke shouted equally as loud.

"You drunkards…" Harada-san yelled.

"Oh dear, it seems that they are all drunk. We should play a prank on them." Okita suggested. Shinpachi put an arm around Misaki and Saito instantly glared at his arm. No one noticed this glare, but Misaki tried to move away, feeling uncomfortable with the closeness and the smell of alcohol on Shinpachi's breath. The next moments were mind-boggling. Shinpachi had tried to put his hands over her shoulders, but instead, he had rested his arm on his head. Misaki's eyes instantly widened, feeling terrified as the experience with Takuma as a young child was traumatic. Saito saw this and started to make his way to Misaki, but Shinpachi's hand slipped and pulled her ribbon off, revealing fox ears. Misaki felt her ears perk up as they had been bound to hide them. Saito went over to see if Misaki was okay, but Misaki mistook his gesture for something out of anger. Everyone gasped at the sight of her ears, but Okita, Hijikata and Chizuru weren't surprised. It was as if they knew about her secret life. She immediately grabbed the ribbon back and put it back in it's original spot and ran out the door. Hijikata didn't say anything as well as Okita, but Chizuru got up to go after Misaki. Hijikata told her, "Leave her. She's going through a lot right now and it seems the only person that can comfort her right now is Saito." He looked up and saw him standing where Misaki was. Saito followed after Misaki quickly, trying to find her through the chaos that was Shimabara. He was worried about her being on her own in such a state, it left her vulnerable and he felt responsible for making her feel that way. All he knew was that he had to get her back before she was caught in a situation she could not escape.

Here is a key for some words that used if you don't know what their direct translations to English are. Did you enjoy this chapter? Give me some feedback. I felt that I needed to speed up the story to make it escalate. Gomenasai for creating a cliffhanger, but I've been working on this chapter for a while and I wrote as much as I thought I should for this chapter. Please R&R! Arigato gozaimasu~ Until Chapter 10! Ja ne~

*Honto: really

*Urusai: shut up or be quiet

*Mo ii: that's enough, enough.