[A/N] - I keep having to reference my old chapters to see how I set these up. -facepalm-

Welcome back to Maikaze, the tenth (legitimate) chapter anniversary! Thanks to my readers and reviewers for helping me making this far!

Now, I know I said I'd have Edge out eventually. And it will be out. Eventually. Because I will be able to dredge up my nonexistent imaginative brain cells to type it out without a rough draft. Eventually.

In the meantime, I found some spare time this weekend to start typing this out for everyone's enjoyment. After finishing Ao no Exorcist (my new favorite anime) and starting Persona 4 : The Animation (squeeeee!), I found myself in a good enough mood to start slogging through this. Needless to say, my mood has gone down just a bit. o3o

While I was writing this, I noted just how near-sighted I am. I can sit less than two feet away from the screen and not be able to read it. -facedesk-

Oh, and I recommend reading this in ¾ page format. I personally think it makes it look cleaner.

Edit: On 8/26/12, I made a few edits to this chapter, thanks to the wonderful insight of my many constructive-criticism-wielding reviews. Thanks to you all!

A few more weeks had passed since Chizuru had made her first dinner for the Shinsengumi. Now in mid-spring, the flowers found themselves popping up from their dormant states and flourishing in the warm spring sunshine. Trees allowed their fresh, green leaves to appear from the branches to accompany the new, crisp colors that spring had invoked.

Within this symphony of colors and foliage in the courtyard of the headquarters of the Shinsengumi, Chizuru knelt next to a wooden wash basin near the stone-hewn well with her sleeves rolled up behind her elbows as she scrubbed at the uniform haoris of the Shinsengumi. She hummed contentedly at the blue and white fabric, stained with brown and black and red spots that she didn't really feel like wondering about where they came from. The sunshine had put her in a good mood from the moment she had woken up. She found that although she didn't mind the soft snow and bitter chill of winter, she enjoyed the warm air and bright sun of spring just as well.

Two other people kept her company while she worked away. Saitou stood to the side of the raised wooden platform above the ground, practicing kata in silent concentration as his blade passed through the air with controlled grace. The whistling sound of the sharp metal slicing through the air gave a melodic harmony to the sounds of chirping birds and rustling leaves.

Off to the side and out of the way of the swinging steel, Souji sat on the steps leading up to the wooden walkway, leaning against a wooden support beam. His eyes flickered back and forth between Saitou and Chizuru as he watched them with lazy attentiveness, his eyelids half open, half closed. Chizuru thought him as rather lazy, but knew that he'd join Saitou if he had been allowed to.

Before Souji had arrived, it had only been Chizuru and Saitou in the courtyard. Without saying a word, Saitou had simply begun his practice several steps away from where Chizuru was washing a stack of dirty haoris. After about four well-scrubbed haoris, the sound of footsteps on wood alerted the two in the courtyard of Souji's arrival.

"Morning, Hajime-kun, Chizuru-chan. Why are you up so early?" Souji asked, rubbing at the back of his neck with one hand and covering a massive yawn with the other.

"Good morning, Souji," Chizuru greeted him, looking up from the wavering reflection of her face in the cold water in the basin, while Saitou seemed to ignore him except for the inclination of his head in Souji's direction. "Heisuke told me that the uniforms could use a wash just before he and Shinpachi-san went out on their rounds after I woke up."

"Makes sense. I don't think we've ever washed those ourselves, to be honest." Souji shrugged, displaying the mild disdain that most of the Shinsengumi tended to have towards typical household chores other than cooking. His gaze flickered over to Saitou, seeming to notice that the violet-haired man was training for the first time. "Hey, Hajime-kun."

"What is it?" Saitou replied without taking his eyes off of the glinting blade moving effortlessly through the air.

"Feel like sparring?" Souji grinned, his hand on one of the hilts of his own swords as he spoke.

"I'd prefer not."

Souji made a disappointed sound, a frown surfacing on his face. "Aw. Why not?"

Saitou sighed shortly and finally turned to face Souji after sheathing his sword. "Because you'll get in my way."

Chizuru almost laughed at the scandalized look on Souji's face after Saitou's blunt statement. She held her mirth at bay, turning her back to the pair while Souji trudged back up onto the platform and sat down to watch Saitou continue his solo training and Chizuru's chores.

The memory of the recent event still brought a smile to Chizuru's lips when she glanced at Saitou out of the corner of her eye while she gave her numb hands a break from the chilly water. Her smile must have been larger than she'd thought, for Saitou met her gaze and intoned, "Is there something you'd like to say?"

Startled, Chizuru searched for a response that wouldn't find her on the dangerous end of the sword in Saitou's left hand. "Erm… I was actually… wondering if I'd be able to go outside the headquarters soon so that I could search for my father." She actually had, in fact, been thinking about whether or not she'd be let out of this unspoken "house arrest" she'd been placed under - that thought had just happened to become a handy way out in this situation.

Saitou didn't show any outward signs of having picked up on her white lie, resuming his kata and replying, "That is not possible. A number of people are trying to kill the Captain at this point in time. We do not have any soldiers to spare to offer you an escort."

Slightly disappointed, Chizuru turned her head to the side to shield her eyes with her hair. "I see…" I wouldn't ever expect them to put my safety over Kondou-san's in any situation. Somehow, I don't feel as if I'd let them, either, if it turned out that way. She thought of the kind, caring, and somewhat brash leader as something of a father figure to the Shinsengumi. Maybe I could even say… their heart? I can't imagine them the way they are now without him.

Souji's thoughtful voice pulled her from her own thoughts. "Of course, you might be able to come with us while we run our rounds around town."

She turned to him hopefully. "Is that really possible? Would you really let me go with you?"

"Ah, but we're risking our lives when we're out on patrol," he added lazily, his eyes wandering around the courtyard. "Some unlucky idiots get themselves killed when they're not paying attention." He turned his head slightly to smirk at her. "At the very least, we'd need you to be able to defend yourself so that we won't have to come to your rescue if we happen to take you along."

Slightly indignant, Chizuru stated, "Even I know the art of self-defense…" She kept herself from huffing and crossing her arms like a little child, but only just. However, she did want to disclaim her skills, as to make sure they wouldn't think she was overconfident of her ability - it was quite the opposite, actually. "Granted, it was mostly self-taught while I traveled from Edo…"

Souji rolled his eyes mockingly. "Because that really showed when you got cornered the first time we picked you up."

Chizuru's mind instantly flashbacked to that cold, snowy night. Chased by two rogue rounin, she'd hidden behind a barrel, only to peek around its edge and find her pursuers slaughtered by ghastly, white-haired samurai wearing haoris similar to that of the Shinsengumi's uniform. They had been about to strike her down when… A blank formed in her memory. She remembered the same loss of recollection from when she'd been trying to defend herself from Shinpachi's probing questions several weeks before. Her memory simply seemed to drop off after the point in time where she'd seen the bloody blade being aimed at her own person.

"Souji." Saitou's crisp voice surprised Chizuru into looking up at the violet-haired man.

Taking it as a reprimand, Souji held up his hands in surrender.

"Yukimura-kun."

Chizuru was astonished at Saitou's utterance of her name. I think that's the first time he's ever directly acknowledged me by name. "Y-yes?"

"If you believe that you are capable of defending yourself should we take you on our rounds… Show me." Saitou turned to face her fully.

"… Show you? How?"

Souji's eyes lit up. "Hajime-kun, you're mean. You'll spar with her but not with me?"

"S-spar?" The word came out as an incredulous question. "I have to fight you?"

"It seems to be the most appropriate way to test your claim."

Chizuru was sure that being shocked so many times in a row was bad for her health. "But I…"

"You should go for it, Chizuru-chan," Souji urged her, laughing. "It'll be entertaining, for sure."

Saitou ignored Souji's comments. "You said that you desire to look for your father - so much so that you'd be willing to risk your life on our rounds. Compared to such a risk, this should not be so worrisome to you."

Despite her protests, she soon found herself facing Saitou, several steps away from the older man with her short sword drawn, weighing down her hands. Sano had soon joined Souji as an onlooker, and after learning of what was about to transpire, promptly sat down on the edge of the wooden platform to watch.

"There is no need to soften your blows," Saitou instructed her. "Attack from any direction."

Still at odds with the fact that she was about to fight someone who was clearly above her skill set, she murmured, "Ah, but I…"

"Is that sword at your waist merely for show?" Saitou subtly challenged her, keeping his voice as even as it always was.

"Of course not!" Chizuru exclaimed. "I just… you could die if I struck you with the edge of my sword, Saitou-san!"

He leveled his sapphire gaze at her without any hint of anger or amusement, while Souji and Sano began to laugh outright.

"It's amazing how you're afraid you might kill Hajime-kun," Souji explained in between bouts of laughter. "This is too good!"

"This isn't a laughing matter!" Chizuru cried, angry at their lack of concern for Saitou's wellbeing.

"Don't worry about it, Chizuru-chan," Sano said, retaining more composure than Souji. "You'll both be fine. Besides, if you do a good enough job with that sword of yours, you'll be able to come with us to look for your dad. Keep that in mind."

"If you are so concerned about your abilities, attack with the back of your sword," Saitou said.

"Oi, Hajime-kun, she could cut her own throat if you push her back far enough with her sword like that," Souji commented.

Chizuru glanced at her sword. Determinedly, she turned the gold-inlaid hilt around in her hands so that the sharp edge of the blade faced up towards her. She took her stance, her grip tightening on the smooth wood. A slight breeze circled through the courtyard, pulling at the ends of Saitou's white scarf and the loose strands of his violet hair. Chizuru felt the sleeves of her kimono pull away from her skin with the wind, making the fabric rasp against itself to add to the sound of the passing wind.

She perceived a silence in the world around her as she faced off with Saitou for a moment, watching him as he watched her. A sudden pull of the wind in Saitou's direction occurred as he rushed her with a swift draw of his sword from its sheath. She flicked her own blade up quickly to block him, the strands of hair handing in her face darkening to from obscure brown to pure black. The force of his blow drove her heels into the dirt beneath her as she tried to push him away from her, as well as the sharp blade from the soft flesh of her face, marginally succeeding just before he jumped back, eyeing her with a newfound caution.

Her ears picked up the murmurs from the two onlookers nearby, but she didn't acknowledge them, keeping her attention solely focused on the violet-haired man in front of her.

She watched with sharp eyes as Saitou sheathed his sword in preparation for another strike. Her instincts led her to make the initial move this time as she charged him with a fast swing to his side. Saitou braced himself slightly and drew his sword halfway out of its sheath to block her strike, letting it slide back into the wooden cover after she'd retreated. They could both feel the tremors the force of her blow had caused moments after they'd distanced themselves from each other.

Subconsciously deciding that striking and retreating was not the most efficient way to fight, Chizuru moved to fight Saitou close-range, approaching him at a slow walk with her sword in front of her. Once the pair of fighters had become close enough to place two swords between them from end to end, Chizuru unleashed a flurry of strikes on Saitou, not resting her arm once while he blocked and parried each and every one of her blows. Her strain-inducing blows wore down both of them, but neither fighter allowed the other to give in. Her arm grew heavy with each attack she dealt, but she ignored it in favor of searching for an opening that she could use to break through Saitou's defense.

She thought her chance had appeared after trading a few more blows and parries. Sweat was beginning to run down into her eyes and plaster her hair to the skin of her forehead. Saitou seemed to be under less stress than it took to walk over a bridge, but his brow was furrowed in concentration. Saitou made a quick slash at her right side, prompting her to pivot on her foot to spin back and distance herself from the cutting edge before rushing back to counterattack. However, she timed her swing incorrectly and, in the middle of attacking Saitou's arm, cut her own upper arm on his outstretched blade. She cried out in pain involuntarily and dropped her sword, falling to her knees.

There, the battle ended.

Saitou sheathed his sword and turned to face Chizuru, whose hair and eyes had reverted to their normal colorations after sheathing her sword. She slumped, clutching her upper arm tightly while warm, crimson blood oozed profusely from the deep cut. The violet-haired warrior stepped forward to stand in front of her before kneeling to her eye level. Gently, yet with surprising force, he moved her hand away from her shoulder to inspect the wound. She held back a whimper and flinched when he lightly prodded the unbroken skin around it.

"It's a fairly deep cut," Saitou noted. "It is clean, though. You understood how to use your blade and did not waver in your attempt to strike me."

Chizuru managed a pained smile in return to his underlying praise. She watched him curiously when he removed his hand from her shoulder to unwrap the white scarf around his neck.

"Ah, what are…?" She trailed off as he wound the pristine fabric around her bloody shoulder. "Saitou-san, you don't have to do that!" she protested, trying to draw her arm away from Saitou's steel grip in vain. "Your scarf will get all dirty…"

"It would be inconvenient if the Lieutenant deemed you proficient enough to join us in our rounds and you became ill with some infection to the extent where you wouldn't be able to go," Saitou murmured, tying up the ends of the scarf around her shoulder.

I suppose that's his own way of saying that he's worried about my wellbeing… Chizuru thought with a small smile. "Thank you, Saitou-san."

Saitou nodded and moved to stand up, leaning forward past her ear. She picked up the faintest murmur of his voice as he said, "I see now how you managed to keep yourself alive that night."

Chizuru froze while Saitou stood up straight and continued in a louder voice, "At the very least, you will not get in our way if we take you with us. However, the final decision is the Lieutenant's."

A slight incline of Saitou's head led Chizuru to look up towards the elevated wooden deck, where Hijikata now stood behind Souji and Sano, looking on impassively towards the pair in the grass of the courtyard.

"Come on, Hijikata-san," Souji said, leaning back on his palms and looking up at the older warrior. "She tried her best against Hajime-kun, and he gave her the go-ahead. That's pretty amazing, if you ask me."

"I'd let her go with us," Sano chipped in. "At least, it'll be more interesting for us if she comes along."

Hijikata sighed and crossed his arms. "Since you've proven yourself capable of defending yourself if something should happen while you are out, you are allowed to leave headquarters with the others when they leave on their rounds."

Chizuru hadn't been paying much attention to the men's conversation, still in shock and confusion because of Saitou's quiet statement. I did what? The question ran through her head over and over until Hijikata had stated that her freedom was actually hers. A bright smile appeared on Chizuru's face and she jumped up to bow towards Hijikata. "Thank you very much!"

"Hey, Chizuru-chan, watch your arm," Souji reminded her. "You don't want the wound to reopen again, do you?"

Chizuru stiffened for a moment and clasped the supposedly injured area of her shoulder that had long since stopped bothering her with the sting of its pain. "… Ah, thank you. I almost forgot about it, I was so excited."

"As for when you leave headquarters… You will go with whomever is patrolling the city during their round and you must obey the squad's leader at all times," Hijikata told her.

She nodded in agreement.

"I'm on patrol with Heisuke later today," Souji informed her. He turned around to look at Hijikata over his shoulder. "I'll abandon her if we get surrounded by rogue soldiers, okay?"

"W-what?" Chizuru furrowed her brows, frowning slightly.

"Of course it's not okay!" Hijikata pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

Souji chuckled. "Just remember, Chizuru-chan - if you try to escape or get in the way of our rounds, we'll kill you." His statement went unchallenged by Hijikata and he leveled his forest-green gaze at her.

Chizuru noticed the implications of his statement but decided to ignore them. At this point, I think those jokes are just a part of his sense of humor… A slightly twisted one, at that. "Okay," she agreed warily.

Souji got up from his seat, stretching languidly with his hands reaching for the wooden overhang while Hijikata crossed his arms once more and said, "To tell the truth, this isn't the best time to be sending you out with the patrols. The Chōshū have been acting suspiciously lately. However, there have been sightings around the city of someone who matches Koudou-san's description."

"Father's…?"

"I doubt out search for him will progress any further if we don't take this opportunity," he continued, "so you will be there to assist in finding and identifying him."

"Ah, thank you!" Chizuru said sincerely, bowing. "I'll do my best!"

[A/N] - Yes, I know it's short. ;^; I didn't really want to end it there, but the next section of my story won't flow well if I put it in this chapter.

2,000 words short of my last chapter and two weeks late, considering I'm trying for at least one chapter a month… I'm personally ashamed, so please don't chew me out for this. I've had a lot to do and it's just not coming to me that easily, writing this. One of my personal laments is that my school's carnival was pretty much rained out on, even though I was looking forward to it…

Well, I hope you enjoyed Chizuru's moment of action-spotlight. Tell me if there are typos! Until next time!

(You didn't really think I'd forget the review responses, right?)

xXxWolvesInTheNightxXx - Thanks! I had that purpose in mind.

QueenieIzzy - Ahaha, this time… not so lucky. -sweatdrop- I'm glad you think I did well with the cooking scene! I personally don't cook, so I had to do a lot of research and hope I got it right. Fluff is fluffy~ I don't actually know about the ending yet, to be honest. I've only planned it out half-way, to where my rough draft ends. So we'll see, hm?

Conrii - Ah, thanks for reviewing (twice)! I remember you from the first few chapters, and I was thinking that you'd left this story for dead. Eheheh. That scene required research, so I'm glad it's correct. I appreciate your kind criticism of my writing style - I try my best to make it as enjoyable to read as possible! Thank you for thinking so highly of my story!

ResonantWings - Thanks muchly! Soon is always controversial. And Edge… might come out soon. Maybe.

Litschi - Ahaha… yes, my chapters do seem to be getting farther and farther apart. Sorry… It's hard, picking favorites, I hope you know. D: Thanks for the typo noticing! Yes, the translations do seem to help people. Ehh, I'm not sure if I really have a true storyline right now - it's just the anime with the focus on Chizuru and Souji, really. But thank you for your praise!

The dream may or may not mean something. And Chizuru's hesitancy is part of her personality, normally. That line in the kitchen was thought up on a whim, so I'm glad you like it! As I said before, I'm not sure how they carried those trays but to fix it now would be awkward. Sorry…

And Souji likes umeboshi. She put umeboshi in the cup to make a drink out of them. Umeboshi are salty. Apparently, one wasn't salty enough. Heehee. Here's your update!

SighingWinter - Again, soon is in the eye of the beholder, but here you go! Thanks for liking my story!

paperplanes - The hunger was built into the story because I was hungry while I wrote it, yeah? Thanks for your praise - I try my best! Here's your new chapter - albeit somewhat late.

ChiisanaXStar - I guess I did a good job if people keep getting hungry, yeah? Edge will come out. Eventually, yeah?

echoingsky - Thank you for your review and praise! I don't even know where it's going, so we can enjoy the plot together! …Ergh. Soon is becoming my worst enemy. Soon is relative, but here you go!

LilyFragrance - I have to strap myself down for this review response. x3 (Part of this will be sent in a message to you.)

I did think the dream was cliché, but I couldn't do much about it. It's how it was in my draft. I read a lot, so I pick up my vocab that way. :3 Yes, but I've only described Okita with forest-green eyes. x3 He came in to wake her up, but just decided to sit around. Those two were supposed to only insult Shinpachi, but I made it so that Chizuru saw through their little act. o3o And, yes, on its own, it sounds wrong, but he does mean the threatening. I had to research that noodle-making myself, so I'm glad it came out well. I've never seen it made myself. And I made up some of that stuff, but if it sounds good… I can't say much for mushrooms either. Bleh. But typical Japanese meals have three side dishes, so I needed something else. You mentioned that falling-on-Okita part in your last review, I think, so I put it in, just with a different setting and circumstances. You see so many innuendos in this, it's pretty funny. xD I don't think they're that salty either, but eh. Hungry, hungry~

I take ceramics in school, so I decided to use some of the things I've seen myself for that small part. I can rent out Chizuru, but I won't pay for life insurance. Or your hospital bill when Okita finds you. I'm totally setting up for a shopping scene. It's in my mind~ And yes, Chizuru is an awesome cook. But clumsy. My way of not making her into a Mary Sue. Wash those dishes, men! xD Again, that scene was thought up on the spot. It's a rather short description of the sky, but I'm glad you like it! It's definitely getting colder, rainier, and cloudier here too, as I mentioned before. Okita does have nice clothes… Me wants. Their hearts are connected to their stomachs - must cause some really bad heartburn, huh… -random thought is random-

Oh my gosh, your poor tastebuds! -tear- But I don't know how salty they are, since most of these things, I haven't had firsthand experience in… ORZ. I enjoy dedicating chapters to you! Don't worry! And thanks again! My reply is a puzzle too. -heehee-

Thanks to QueenieIzzy (x2), Ms.'.Bloody Rose, sync94, Xxamuto loverxX (x3!), CeriseSkies, Queen of Seiryuu, and Starian NightZz (x2) for your Story Alerts, Favorite Stories, Favorite Authors, and Author Alerts! They mean BUNCHES to me!

A bird just flew into my window. Twice. Aw.

Review please! x3