I have written 24 chapters of this story and, including this one, have six more chapters to go before I finish my first story! I've been writing this story for two years now and the idea that I will have completed it makes me happy and sad at the same time; in any case, in this chapter we see Nanako and Heisuke get together with a tiny bit of Hijikata x Chizuru thrown in so enjoy!

Chapter 25: Stubborn Lovers

"Heisuke, look out…!"

Heisuke whirled around as a sai flew by his head and imbedded itself in the chest of a Rasetsu; he winced when he heard the creature's pain-filled screech as it was electrified and turned into ashes.

"Thanks Nanako-chan…"

"Next time, pay attention Heisuke! I can't save you all the time and…"

Heisuke blinked as Nanako trailed off, her cheeks turning a bright red; Heisuke's mouth turned up in a small grin as he spoke in a cheerful tone.

"Ah, Nanako-chan are you worried about me? It's sweet and all but—"

"Shut up!"

THWACK!

"Ow!"

Heisuke moaned as he fell to the ground, a large bump on his head with a pissed off Nanako standing over him; she opened her mouth to yell at him when she froze, her ears pricking up as she listened to her surroundings closely.

"Nanako-chan what's…?"

Heisuke trailed off as a blur moved past him, knocking Nanako into a tree; she let out a cry of pain before whimpering and falling unconscious.

"Hey what's the big idea?"

Heisuke demanded as he pointed his katana at the blur; his eyes widened when he saw the blur turn into Izumi, a smirk crossed the woman's face as she spoke in a low, conceding tone.

"If it isn't Heisuke Toudou, it is nice to finally meet you…"

"Who the hell are you and how do you know my name? Why did you attack Nanako?"

Izumi made a tsk, tsk sound, her eyes conveying her disappointment as she walked towards him.

"Ah, such a shame; did my dear little sister keep something from you?"

"Sister?"

Izumi laughed, her blue eyes glimmering as she watched Heisuke rush to Nanako's side; her kusarigama appeared in her hands as she walked over slowly.

"What is it about you, I wonder, that makes my sister so willing to protect you? My sister is a well-bred Oni, you are a pathetic, weak little human yet she puts up with you…"

"I—"

Heisuke was cut off as Izumi charged at him; he blocked her kusarigama with his katana, grunting as his feet slid a bit.

"Hm, it would appear I have underestimated you; perhaps my sister isn't as idiotic as I thought…"

"How the hell could you hurt your sister and insult her?"

Heisuke demanded as he used all his strength to push Izumi back, she let out a soft grunt as she slid backwards; her piercing blue eyes began turning gold as she stood to her full height.

"You are truly foolish if you think you can beat me…!"

She howled as dark energy began to surround her weapon; she flung it at Heisuke, smirking as he let out a gasp of pain when the dark energy pulsed and sent him flying.

"Humans need to learn that fighting an Oni is a death sentence; we are stronger than you, we are faster than you and we possess abilities that give us an advantage over your little weapons."

"There's no damn way I'm losing to you…!"

Heisuke exclaimed as he charged at the dark-haired Oni with his katana; he swiped his katana, slicing Izumi's shoulder and causing her to scream out in pain.

"You son of a…!"

Izumi cursed as she threw her weapon at Heisuke; the chain wrapped around his arm and pulled him towards the Oni, causing his katana to fall to the ground.

"I wonder how your blood would look as it spills on the ground…"

Izumi mused as she brought the blade of her weapon close to his throat; a feral grin forming on her mouth.

"Leave him alone!"

Izumi's eyes widened, letting out a high-pitched scream as she was hit with a ball of electricity; she was thrown into a nearby tree and knocked out.

"Heisuke-kun…!"

Nanako exclaimed as she appeared at his side; she helped him up and quickly began moving, her Oni strength helped her carry him to a nearby cave.

"Nana-chan…why did…your sister…try to…kill…us…?"

"She joined the New Government, believing they would help restore the Oni to power."

Nanako explained in a bitter tone, her eyes darkening as she checked his wounds; her eyes widened when she saw burns from the energy sent at him.

"I thought the New Government was responsible for-Ow!"

Heisuke stopped, letting out a moan as Nanako dapped at the burns with a cloth she had soaked in the cave's small pond; Nanako sighed, her voice turning soft.

"They are, but it would appear Izumi believes that a few lives lost are worth it if it means we can rise above the humans."

"But you said that she was kidnapped by the New Government, the same people, I might add, who murdered your parents!"

"I…I don't know, maybe they brainwashed her or something; she was held captive for six months…"

Nanako mused as she finished cleaning Heisuke's wounds; the two sat in silence for a few minutes, it was broken when Nanako shivered.

"Nanako, are you cold?"

"N-No…"

Nanako whispered, avoiding Heisuke's worried eyes; she heard rustling and looked over her shoulder, her eyes widened in shock, slightly turning red when she saw Heisuke remove his shirt.

"H-Heisuke what are you…?"

She trailed off as he covered her with his shirt; she looked up at him, her face still bright red as she clutched the shirt tightly.

"A-Arigato…"

Nanako muttered, her face turning back to its normal color; the sound of raindrops falling caught the girl's attention, she turned to see it was pouring outside.

"Looks like we might have to spend the night here…"

"Yeah…"

Heisuke looked at Nanako, he slowly reached his arm out to grab the girl around the waist and bring her to his side; he winced when he heard her gasp, fearing she would hit him, but to his surprise she curled into him.

"Nanako…do you ever wonder what you'll do after the war is over?"

Nanako looked up, her blue eyes wide; she had never thought of what she might do after the war, but now that it was brought up…

"I…I'm not really sure, I mean Reina will probably stay behind with Saito as will the rest of girls; I'm pretty sure Hijikata and Chizuru will get married but…"

"Why don't…you stay with me…?

Nanako felt her face heat, her mouth open in shock as she stared at Heisuke; his face was also red and he began to stammer.

"B-But if you don't want to, that's okay because—"

"Why? Why did you offer?"

Nanako demanded as she stood up quickly, her sapphire orbs sharp and calculating; Heisuke gulped, his eyes falling shut as he took a deep breath, letting his eyes open and wander to the fiery Oni before him.

"Why do you think I offered Nanako? I don't want you to leave."

Nanako froze, her eyes wide as Heisuke slowly stood up, being cautious of his wounds; he met her gaze carefully as he took a few steps forward until the two were nose-to-nose.

"I care for you, a lot; I don't want to have to watch you leave, worrying about you finding some Oni bastard to settle down with,"

Heisuke took another deep breath, he knew he might have jeopardized his relationship with Nanako but he honestly didn't give a damn; he had these feelings bottled inside for too long.

"I know a samurai, let alone a ronin, can't offer you much; we won't have stability, there's always going to be a risk of enemies coming to get us but…I love you too much to let you go."

Heisuke closed his eyes, fearing what he might see in Nanako's eyes; fear, hate, resentment…anything, because an Oni like her couldn't possibly be—

"Heisuke you idiot…!"

Heisuke let out an internal snort, opening his eyes to brace himself for a slap only to be completely surprised; Nanako threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him in for a passionate kiss.

His eyes wide, he was motionless for a few seconds before he relaxed; he wrapped one arm around her waist, the other tangling in her hair as he pulled her closer for a deeper kiss.

The only sounds were the rain falling down, heavy panting and breathing in the cave as the two pulled apart; a sudden cough made the two jump and whirl around.

"Well, this is certainly a surprise…"

Heisuke felt his cheeks heat when he saw a smirking Shinpachi standing outside with a shocked Yukiko next to him; Yukiko shook her head.

"Come on, we better get back before Chizuru-sama breaks free of Hijikata-san and comes looking for you; she was quite concerned and frantic when she learned you had yet to return."

Heisuke and Nanako's embarrassment vanished as they ducked their heads down, guilt filling in; how could they have worried Chizuru, a girl who has lost so many people she loves already?

Nanako looked at Heisuke, quickly giving him a peck on the lips before vanishing; Heisuke walked over to Shinpachi and Yukiko, his cheeks still red as he grasped Yukiko's hand and ignored Shinpachi's knowing look.

"So…did you and Nanako—"

"Shut up Shinpachi!"

Shinpachi's howling laughter bounced off the cave walls as the three vanished in a swirl of air, leaving behind a good memory for two new lovers.

Hijikata sighed, his violet eyes tracking his lover's movements as she paced; Yukiko and Shinpachi had left a few hours ago to collect Nanako and Heisuke and had yet to return.

"Calm down Chizuru, I'm sure they're fine."

"How can you say that? They could be dying, or they could be being tortured or—"

Chizuru was cut off by Hijikata grabbing her wrist, pulling her towards him and dipping her for a kiss; her eyes shut as his hand went to her hair and hers around his neck.

"Oh come on, at least wait until you get in your room first!"

The two jumped apart, Hijikata glaring at Okita as he walked in with a smirk on his face; Chizuru's eyes widened when she saw Nanako and Heisuke enter, she quickly moved towards the young Oni and pulled her into a hug.

"Oh, I was so worried about you!"

"Sorry Chizuru-chan, we're ok though."

Nanako apologized as Chizuru released her; Chizuru quickly took notice of the looks Nanako was sharing with Heisuke and beamed.

"Oh you two finally got together, how wonderful!"

Heisuke and Nanako blushed, Heisuke quickly glaring at Okita as he teased him; Hijikata sighed, shaking his head with a smile on his face as he put an arm around Chizuru.

"It is late, we should all head for bed."

"Agreed."

Chizuru surmised as she left with Hijikata in tow; the other three followed the lead, though Heisuke and Nanako didn't stop smiling at each other until they entered their rooms.

I have a lot of apologizing to do…

I know, I know it's been five months since I updated; admittedly I've been doing a horrible job, I don't have a lot of excuses (mind you in June I had exams and got sick twice, as well as two weekends ago I was in BC without my laptop for two weekends ago I was in BC without my laptop for my sister's soccer tournament) but other than that it was a combination of procrastinating and not having inspiration/energy to write.

I am so sorry to all of my reviewers and followers, I let you down and I don't blame you if you stop reading my story, I won't; however I will try to do better, I want to finish this story, to finally say I've completed writing something and I promise I will do my best even with school starting up soon for me.

Now that I'm done grovelling, some points about the story: I realised as I was writing this that Heisuke not knowing Izumi is Nanako and Reina's sister might not be correct considering I wrote that the Bakumatsu was aware Nanako and Reina's sister had joined the New Government but I'm saying they never mentioned her name as it brought up too many bad memories; another thing is I probably could've used Heisuke's speech for Hijikata when he proposed to Chizuru (there's no point in keeping that a secret anymore) but I decided to do something different.

Other than that, I'm so so sorry (probably should stop with that) and I'm not going to ask for reviews as I have no right.