Disclaimer: I do not own Hakuouki or the characters of Hakuouki. Nevertheless, I own some of the characters as well as the plot of this story.

A/N: Lo and Behold. Here is the final/epilogue of this story. Oh my God, I'm in tears. How many years had I taken to complete this story. I'm glad that I continued. I had to when I have readers like all of you still supporting this story. Thank you so so so so much!

You guys are the best and I can't stop repeating my gratefulness towards all of you.

Please enjoy this final piece of crystal of mine~

Crystal 25: Epilogue - You and I Belong to One

The surrounding was serene, as if time had paused when it reached the most enchanting moment of a lifetime. The sound of birds singing near the glassy window that poured the goodness of the glowing medallion in the sky into the dim room, driving the nighty shadows back to their Pandora boxes before they were set free to wonder again as God's glimmering silver ring blanketed the sky when the fiery globe was hidden from the world.

Chizuru woke to the tickling breaths at the hollow of her neck. Her eyes fluttered open, slowly adjusting to the brightness of the room and her eyes rested on the figure between her arms. Their limbs were entangled in a way if any of them were to disconnect the strings, their warmth would be at stake.

She released a soft breath, drinking in his innocent features and peaceful sleeping face. Long gone were his tension, bitter masks; leaving only his smooth radiant appearance, bare and pure for her orbs' gratification.

Chizuru carefully peeled one of her arms that was lazily thrown over his wide shoulder and caressed his auburn hair, feeling his silky strands with her fingertips. As she tugged a stray hair behind his ear, the man stirred in his sleep and nuzzled closer to her warm body, burying his face into the valley of her breasts.

She shivered at the sensation of his breaths and the little circles his fingers made along her small back that travelled to her hips and squeezed her ass.

"Good morning, Chizuru," he breathed sheepishly, nipping the soft flesh of her skin, devouring the hardened nipple.

"So-Souji!" she cried in return, running her fingers in his hair, luxuriating in the pleasurable commotion and deeply flushed with his actions. He looked up at her who was clamping her hand over her mouth, winding down her moans as he moved to place trails of kisses higher to her neck. Staring ardently at the bashful girl below him, he groaned and chained her hand at her side and crushed his lips against hers, greedy and blazing, unable to contain his craving.

"You're so tempting," purred the man as he released her swollen lips and nibbled her ear, sending chills down her spine. Listening to her sharp gasps was pushing him over the brink, killing his sentient, leaving only his wildest being, unveiled in front of her.

Chizuru screwed her eyes shut, aware that her cheeks and ears were burning in fire. She wanted to drown herself in the idyll, fondness towards the man before her, with every piece of her skin painted and marked by his touch. But, it was too much for her, for her body was still aching from the love makings the day before. Gingerly, she nudged him with her face and captured his lips with hers, slowly biting and pulling down his bottom lip while whispered, "n-not now, Souji. I'm still very sore."

She gazed timidly into the sparkled emerald orbs which were cooling down, and the curve that formed upwards at the lips of her lover. As if his smirk was indirectly mocking at her lack of experience in the game, she fired punches repetitively at Souji's body to ease her ire.

Unable to draw his own conclusion, the man locked his gaze with his girl who was pouting and silently scolding him in an inaudible voice. He caught her slender wrists in his fists, dove back into the bed beside her, with her glassy eyes still plastered on him.

"What's wrong, Chizuru?" he asked in a low, vibrating voice, almost melting the walls in her. She shook her head to chase away the thought to surrender to him. No, she was not going to give in.

"I-I'm not as experienced as you. It was my first time yesterday and we did- we did more than once and I was trying to adjust to it…" Chizuru's voice trailed off as she started hiding her face behind the blanket, attempting to calm the blood from bursting from her head.

Souji's ogled the diffident girl and a snort escaped his mouth while he ruffled her hair messily. "Silly girl, it was my first time too."

The girl's eyes widened to the extent that she thought her orbs were going to fall off anytime. Her mouth parted as she slowly crawled out from the blanket with her rigid body, partially in denial shock.

"You're lying," she articulated in a suspicious tone.

"No," Souji replied with a gentle grin.

"It's impossible. You had been with Kimigiku-san for a long time and you didn't cross that line?" Chizuru uttered her concerns distinctly as she pursed her lips. She eyed him as though her bullshit meter was ticking alarmingly in the red zone.

She patently remembered the way Souji acted whenever he heard that person's name. His fervid gazes, distinctive behavior, protective measures, all evoked solely for that person. She could vividly recalled her presence was supremely insignificant as compared to Kimigiku which created a green face of jealousy in her that she wanted nothing but to erase her memories about him, about them. She was never coated in such hideous feeling before, not even when she was with Hijikata and the foreignness of the sentiments made her sick.

Souji sluggishly brought his hand to Chizuru's face, tenderly stroked her cheeks with his thumb, before pulling her closer for a chaste kiss. When they broke the kiss, he peered into her skeptical orbs with poised look.

"Kimigiku and I never had a chance, or possibly that we were never stable and ready with that. You're my first, Chizuru. I love you so much until it's driving me up the walls. And I want you never to doubt me from now on," Souji said in a velvety yet firm voice, thick with hope and unyielding faith.

They lapsed into silence again.

Chizuru studied him, scrutinized him with her limited knowledge about this man. She surrendered herself to him, fully aware that she would revert to the dispirited girl if she were to cast him away again. It was his magic effect on her, as if he was an addictive drug that poisoned her veins, malice her mind to the extent she could not breathe without the elixir.

Defeated, Chizuru let out a deep and long sigh. "Alright, I believe you." She finally responded with her honey-dipped voice, enlightening the tension atmosphere.

Souji's heart that was thrashing against his chest throughout the whole moment finally found its peace. He cupped her face gently and their lips found each other. The man kissed her sweetly and she kissed back tenderly, slowing savouring each other's natural fragrance and united in their circle of fantasy. Suddenly he bit her bottom lip hard, rough to leave a bruise but not enough to draw blood. As soon as he released her lips, he plastered his forehead against hers and growled in a hoarse voice, "I hope you know you're mine now. Don't you dare to be any closer to another man. Are you clear?"

That possessiveness and haughty tone was Chizuru's ultimate weak point. She lowered her head, breaking contact with his glazy emerald eyes, hiding her rosy cheeks and kissed pink ears by lightly pushing him away from her. All she could do was to nod and hum, her gaze slid to the side.

A smirk played across his face. If she needed more time, he will respect her. But, he will approach her with another game. It was her melodious voice, angelic beauty, innocent display that awaken his hunger. He pulled her against his chest, trapping her with his finely-toned arms. He dipped his head by her ear and licked her florid earlobe. Hearing her gasps and squirms under his touch blew his arousal to an unhealthy level. In a husky voice, he tipped her chin to cage her hasty gape, "quench my thirst, love."

She summoned all her courage not to break the sparkling chain that held between their gazes. Hers turned smoky when his usually playful smile had drawn into a hard line across his face, his perfect lips ripe for kissing, his breathes husky and deep, his strong arms encircled her tiny body. She leaned into his touch and brushed her lips against his parted ones, slowly sucked and glazed his bottom lip with her tongue experimentally.

Feeling her body slowly molded into his, he hissed gravelly and pushed her deep into the bed, and crushed his lips to hers.

"Chizuru, you're impossible. And you're mine. You're mine," he parroted, voice like dark brown velvet. He chanted her name like prayers. For the first time in his life, he thanked the unseen godly power from the Heaven that brought this girl to him. A girl worth more than his life even though he already had everything in the world in his fingertips. Without her, his world will break in pathetic pieces of trash that will sink and disappear in the harsh merciless ocean.

"How should I do this? I'm so afraid that I'll destroy you. I can't. I can't live another day without you." He caressed her cheeks and gave her a pained, restrained look. He could not afford to watch her turned her back against him again.

"I'm all yours. You can have all of me, Souji. Unless you decided to push me away one day."

Her melodic voice rung beside his ear. He widened his eyes, fearing that his ears were playing tricks with him. Souji's breathes hitched in his throat when she leaned in to him, her glassy eyes pinning his frozen figure. She planted longing kisses on his forehead, cascaded down to his temple, cheeks and finally settled down on his lips.

"Never." He dragged his hand into her smooth hair, entangled her brown strands in his fingers and deepened the kiss. Slowly, gently and sweetly wrapping her in his embrace, keeping her as close to him as possible, as if she would scatter into petals of flower buds and vanish in thin air.

They stayed in the bed until finally Chizuru's phone rung. Souji reluctantly removed his arms from her and grabbed the device from the night stand. He growled lowly at the name of the caller ID and stared closely at the girl who was still asleep beside him.

"Hi, Chizuru-chan. How're you feeling? I hope everything is fine at your side. Do you need me to plan a short gateway for our little group?" The manly voice spoke lively through the other end of the line, thick with warmth and anxiousness. It was something Souji was not happy to listen at that moment.

"I could sue you for sexual harassment, Harada-sensei," he deadpanned, rolling his eyes in the process.

The voice gasped in bewilderment as if Souji had dropped a bombshell at his face. "S-Souji-kun? Where the hell were you?! I swear that I could push you off the cliff if I were to see you again for killing Chizuru's smile those few days! Ah-wait. Why the hell are you holding Chizuru's phone? Is she hurt or something?" Harada bombarded the young man with a string of questions in a speed of lightning. In the background, Souji could hear several hysteric voices of his classmates, namely Senhime and the rest of the names forgotten. Senhime's voice was the loudest amongst all when she yelled that she would skin him alive, kick his ass, hang him up for public canning and so on. Souji narrowed his eyes, wanted nothing but to smack his teacher at the back of his head to shut his irritating mouth.

Agitated, Souji grumbled in a hoarse tone, low and hushed, in order not to wake the sleeping beauty. "Harada-sensei, Chizuru is with me and she's safely guarded under my watch. She's perfectly exultant without the need to meet you out of the school compound."

"Ah, and, she's mine. My. Girl. I hope that you will not contact her personally or I'll come to you and end your life in a harsh way. See you next semester, sensei." Souji cut off the line before hearing his teacher and classmates' protests as he irksomely gritted his teeth and murmured curses under his breath.

A light stir of the girl snapped him from his dreadful reverie. He quickly placed her phone back to its original place after offing it and nestled close to the hazel haired girl, with his free hand combing her lustrous hair.

Chizuru hummed comfortably and cracked opened her eyes, staring blankly, groggily at the auburn haired man. Her lips curved into a beautiful and radiant smile as she blinked away her drowsiness.

"How long was I asleep?" she asked with a voice as soft and murmurous as wings, her head leaned into his warm palm as he drifted his fingers along her cheeks.

"Only about an hour," he answered while swirling her hair in his fingers playfully.

"Did my phone just rang? I thought I heard the ringtone…"

"No."

Chizuru eyed him suspiciously and pried, "are you sure?" He grabbed her hand that stretched out to her phone, pulling her towards him in a rushed force.

He let out a soft sigh, knowing that she was able to read him like a book. I'm so screwed, he thought with a snort.

"Yes, it was Harada-sensei and his gang of happy-go-lucky students which included Senhime. Well, I've told him that you're with me, that we're together, that he's not allowed to harass you anymore. Are you happy with this answer, my princess?" asked the cheeky man as he lifted the girl's chin and licked her chapped pink lips.

His sultry action made her ears burnt as she widened her eyes to register his warm breath against her face and skin while he moved his lips down to her neck, implanting an invisible trail of moist liquid along the way.

She shivered under the sensation. Although they had made love for several times the day before, still, she could not help but feeling delicate and sheepish towards the profound touches. Thus, she made a mental note to herself that she will try to get used to this man, otherwise, she could never have a sensible talk with him.

Then, she made another quick note to message Senhime as soon as she had access to her phone as she knew that Souji's statement might had freaked her best friend out of her dear life, same to Harada-sensei who had been supportive to her throughout her dark period. She smiled to herself when she recalled both of them had the urge to camp in her house during an incident a few months back after she had an appalling fight with Hijikata. They took turns in brightening her blue mood by cracking jokes, circling her with amusing gestures and becoming a great listener. She never failed to feel appreciative to both of them.

Souji pulled away shortly after the short tease when he noticed that his girl was tensed up. He chuckled softly as he laid a perk on her forehead, drawing her over for a tight embrace.

"What do you want to do today?" he asked gently.

She shrugged. "I've no idea. Perhaps you could work a plan?" Chizuru flashed a warm smile to her lover who had started crawling off the bed.

"Yea. I will do that. But first, let's take a bath. Together." His slurry voice rung charmingly in her ear as he scooped her off the bed and marched to the bathroom.

Pervert was all she could articulate before crimson painted across her cheeks and she buried her face at the crook of his neck, mildly nipping the firm skin, hoping to leave her mark on his body again.

They spent the rest of the rest exploring around the hotel, the stunning sculptured garden, the mysterious forest above the hill behind the hotel. They waltzed along the stream, observed the sparkling water splashed onto the shiny stones, smoothing the hard rock surface. Their eyes trained on the naked trees swayed with the wintry breeze, and they hustled back their suite when the heaven's tears started falling with a touch of light white flakes as the sky had coated itself with a velvet black cloak.

The couple patted the flickers off their coats and removed them and boots, casually placed them on the clothes stand and shoe rack by the entrance before strolling to the balcony.

In the serenade of the black, the river was brought to life with the sparkling shadows of the stars and glittery lantern lights. Droplets of snow decorated the nearby buildings and trees pearl white, although hardly visible without the presence of the white king of the night who decided to stay behind the milky curtains.

Souji laid on the long bench, with Chizuru safely tugged in between his long legs and his arms loomed around her waist. They breathed in the icy air and blew misty smoke playfully for a moment until she blurted, "what's your dream, Souji?"

"Trap you in my crystal cage. Make you mine." He stroked her hair and gave her a sly smile.

She pouted lightly and shifted to straddle him. "Please be serious, Souji."

"Force you to marry me and be my wife, my woman, my only companion for the rest of my life." His lips stretched into a smile as he pulled her closer to lay a kiss on her dry lips. "I'm serious," he added in between their intimate kisses.

She pulled back and growled lowly. Her patience was wearing thin but it could not hide the grin that was creeping to her face, drifting her self-conscious to her dreamland which she only allowed to dip herself in when she was dozing off.

Chizuru violently shook her head and shot a murderous glare at her lover, who was still skittishly kissing her hair, knuckles, fingertips, and wherever his lips could reach.

Sensing the girl's impatient snarl, the man pressed his forehead against hers and released a soft sigh. "You are my dream. Freedom. Home. I will never achieve anything without you. I can't imagine having a future without you. It might be too early to say this aloud, but it's my way in putting a reservation on you. You're everything I ever wanted," Souji entreated in a warm and silky tone. His fingers gently entwined with hers, bringing her smooth skin to his lips for a long, firm kiss.

"I'll propose to you once we graduate from high school. And you will be engaged to me. After university, you will be married to me, your one and only Okita Souji."

He was at the end of his rope, and he was absolute clueless how he ventured to that dangerous spot. Jealously? Maybe. Desperation? Perhaps. Restlessness? Fairly. Love? Likely. Possessiveness? Very likely.

She was an iconic walking spotlight at her age. Every trait a man desired from a girl existed in her and he was sure, if she was labelled 'single', the men would risk almost anything to get her attention. Kazama Chikage was one of the perfect examples. A world known influential businessman, willingly threw his prideful being out of the window just to have her. Souji had an awful feeling that he would be edgy until he officially claimed her as his in ink.

Chizuru's eyes slowly widened, her pink lips parted as she watched in awe at the stern Souji and she swore she saw a blush flashed across his face. He saw tears pooling around her dazzling eyes as her hand clamped over her mouth to hide her soft gasps. He saw the shock registered on her face and she did terribly poor in hiding it. A smile danced on his lips as he enjoyed his moments of truth, unveiled before her naked ears.

She did not expect this. Marriage was way out of her league for her young age, but now, she wanted to say yes to this man badly.

"I'm looking forward to that day," she hummed tunefully as she cupped his face gently. A tear threatened to fall. It was a tear of overwhelming joy, bliss, and rapt.

There was a delicious moment where Souji's face washed blank with disbelief, like his brain cogs decided to halt their progress for their owner to take in the information from his ears and eyes. Every muscle of his body froze to the extent where he thought he was buried six feet under the earth.

Carefully examined the man before her, Chizuru waved her hand in the air to catch his attention. To her dismay, he had failed to react. Only dumbly staring into her hazel orbs.

"Souji?" she tried and he blinked to the sweet sound of his name rolling out from her tongue.

A grin crept onto his face, a genuine one, and it soon stretched from one side to the other, showing every single pearly white tooth. He eagerly crushed his lips against hers, greedily and hungrily ate her. His desires soared sky high. He watched her whimpered under his kisses and her form illuminated by the night king whom peeped a glimpse from the dark clouds.

She was so beautiful. So, so, so, magnificently enchanting.

"Let's go inside, my dear."

He struggled to pull away from her lips and hurriedly carried her into the suite in one smooth motion. Together, they disappeared behind the door and curtain into their sanctuary, leaving traces of an everlasting romance, a pair of unbreakable valentine for the world to taste.

Fin.