It's upload day!

First of all, a special thanks to desirae669, who reviewed the last chapter saying this is her new favorite Hakuouki fanfic. It literally made my day!

Next: Due to the lack of votes about the events stated in a previous chapter, i'll just write them all and post them in between some published chapters. So here's whats coming as bonus stories: Saitou's anniversary, The first of Keiko's assignement, Dumplings in Kyoto 3, The Chase of the Stray, and finally one more scene with all the Shinsengumi members. Would you like anything else? You can ask for special requests!

Thank you so much for reading. It means a lot to me. I hope you're enjoying this story as much as I do. Stay tuned!

Chaos had spread in the little chamber Kazama had so conveniently invaded. The gusts of wind, born from Keiko's surprising transformation, had come to a complete stop from the moment the demon had pushed her away from Amagiri's touch. Harada, now persuaded the onis had come to attack, had pointed his spear toward Kazama, facing him as he had positioned himself between his friend and the demon. The red-haired man had stood up, his gloves had been put back as well, and he was just staring at the fighters, waiting for any movement from any of them. Stunned and quite confused, the young woman was stroking her hair in awe from its (even more) unusual color it had gained. Her disheveled mane was slowly fading back to its natural golden tone right in front of her amazed eyes.

"Leave us alone and leave this place! You are not welcome here; go back to whatever hell you're from"! Harada's speech frowned the blond demon's forehead and he barely had made a step to reach the spearman that Keiko was already standing tall between them. The speed of her movement left a blur as she positioned herself to protect her ally, harvesting the whole attention of everyone in the process. Harada left a surprised gasp as he noticed her hair had turned all white once more and that her velocity was nothing human anymore.

"Stand down half-breed" ordered Kazama slowly. "You are aggravating your case". Nevertheless, she stood there and swiftly stroked her hand along Harada's spear, leaving a trail of fresh blood on its blade, and as she raised her slit palm to the demon threatening them, she said in haste but with composure: "I'll bleed on everything until you leave us alone. I'll make this place as dangerous as needed for you to go away without harming anyone. So please, please! Leave".

The two onis stiffened as the blood dripped and filled the air with its stench. Uncomfortable, they both retreated to the barricade, but before they left, Keiko made a couple quick steps to the veranda to throw a last speech: "I'll leave this place at dawn. Do not come back here in search of me: I won't be here anymore".

They did not avert their gaze as they disappeared in the night, leaving the young woman and her ally in solitude. Both of them exchanged a look before she squinted at the sight of her hand, cut open from side to side, and made Harada giggle. He approached to comfort her by stroking her hair, checking at the wound only to see it was giving signs of healing already; the blood wasn't pouring out as it did before. But her hair still bothered him, so he said: "Can you change back"?

Surprised, but nonetheless agreeing, Keiko searched in her for the lock that had been forcefully opened by Amagiri's touch, the one she had felt burst in her guts as she made contact with the pure-blooded oni. She found it; because she was so aware of her body as a karateka, she was able to find what was her new center of energy, a whole new power she was afraid of, but also curious. When her mane gained her natural color back, the spearman hugged her tightly and whispered over her head: "Don't you dare get killed by those monsters". She nodded vigorously even if she was held against him, being just tall enough for her eyes to arrive at his chest height.

"I need to pack".

At her last sentence, Harada recalled she had promised to leave the premises at dawn, surely in order to avoid any further conflict with the demons that could involve the Shinsengumi further. Furthermore, Keiko had found the cure for her father and needed to hurry back home. "Imagine if I were to kill Chizuru-chan by accident, next time I cut myself?" she added, having followed her friend's line of thoughts. "I'd never forgive myself".

When he finally let her go, he left her to gather her belongings alone, only after he received the formal promise she would leave before he had come back, just before dawn. She swore she would still be there, reluctantly, and finished her bundle in no time. Unable to sleep for what was left of the night, she resumed her stargazing on the veranda, her heart heavy and her mind completely blank.

She only noticed it was snowing when the cold flakes landed on her hand, bandaged with care by the spearman, and she turned her face to the pale moonlit sky for it to dry the tear that had rolled down her cheek slowly.

-/-

Back at their place, the two demons were recuperating from their encounter. This fact blew Kazama's mind as he was venting his rage on a pillar of the mansion: a half-breed had frightened his heart just as a terrible predator. HE was the predator! HE was frightening to human scum. He had powers over the common living being and a respected oni from a powerful family. Yet, he had been overwhelmed by the terrifying stench her blood emitted. A scent so strong it was actually hurting, putting his senses in disarray and making his heart throb and jump in his chest, shaming him extraordinarily. As he touched it… yes, it might kill him eventually.

Amagiri was there so Kazama decided to spill his hatred on him rather than the pillar: "And just why did you even touch her? Did you want to prove you'd be stronger than the repulsion she inspires?"

"I was testing the extent of the danger she might be to us. Touching her wasn't as terrible as entering in direct contact with her blood. Plus, it seemed I triggered an interesting reaction with my experiment" he slowly stated, crossing his arms on his chest. "Transforming her in an even more dangerous foe is not an interesting experiment, even if you didn't expect it" replied the blond oni with disgust. "Now she could just run around bleeding and all we could do would be attack from a distance and hope she doesn't die in a geyser, spilling out her rotten essence".

Although his voice had the calm and sliding tone he'd always use when talking, it seemed concern had gained a little place in his speech. Even though Amagiri had noticed, he made no further comments as he knew it would aggravate Kazama's foul mood.

I am sorry about all these very short chapter, but at least like this I can post every week. When i'll go throught the reviewing, I will add some lenght when necessary. But this is pretty much my style I guess, so please hang on with me :). Next upload on december 4, 2014.