I'mback! I didn't receive as many reviews as I would have liked but then I realized I should probably write a bit more to get people interested. Thank you to those who did review: Bandit-sama and sumperson. Love yas! Here's another chapter!

Chapter 2: A Night At the Shimabara

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Seven years before Hijikata was to be taken to the Shimabara by his father, a few days before the death of Hijikata Yumi, a little girl was found stealing food on the street. Her name was Sara…Aoki Sara.

Her parents had died when she was very young, leaving her with nothing and nowhere to go. Her home was the street, and she stole what little food she could to get by. Only this time, she had been caught.

"Little girl! You must pay for that! Come back here!" cried the shopkeeper as he saw the girl make off with one of his fresh dumplings.

Sara dashed out of the shop, unaware of the route she was taking and crashed into a middle aged woman who was accompanied by two beautiful young girls. Sara fell to the ground and the dumpling was lost. The woman she had bumped into dusted off her kimono with graceful flicks of the hand and she looked down her nose at the girl on the ground.

"Watch where you're going brat!"

Sara cringed at the harsh tone and got to her feet, looking up at the lady with tearful eyes. The woman narrowed her eyes and bent closer to Sara. The girl's heart pounded with fear. Was she going to be punished?

The lady grasped Sara's chin with her long fingers and peered at the dirty little face in front of her. What she saw were large grey eyes, a little nose and a delicate heart shaped face framed with tangled black hair that needed washing. She saw potential, and she saw herself making money.

"Hmmm…" the woman said, "This girl…I suspect that when the filth is washed from her face, she could be quite pretty. She has a certain…natural beauty. Don't you think?" she asked the young women that stood by her. They both nodded. The lady grabbed Sara by the scruff of the neck and pulled her roughly along.

"Come child, we will scrub all that grime from you and then you will work. You will work hard and not cause any trouble. Do you understand?" She said severely, shaking the girl slightly. Sara nodded, her eyes wide.

Sara was only eight, but she now realized that this woman would make life difficult for her, she knew this from the moment she mentioned the word 'work'. Sara had never worked in her life, all she did was sleep, steal and wander. But this life was over, a new future was on the horizon.

The woman and her two female companions walked briskly and Sara had trouble keeping up since her little feet were bare and the dirt from the ground had stones that bit into her heels. But she didn't complain, she had endured worse in her short life.

They reached a big house and as they entered, an atmosphere of drunken bliss greeted them. The front room was filled with men, drinking sake by the jarful and chasing women around. Sara was unused to this behaviour and she unconsciously hid behind the middle aged lady. But the woman pulled her out and led her across the front room and along the corridors to the wash rooms. Inside she had one of the girls there strip Sara of her rags and scrub her clean of the filth that covered her little body. Then the lady left.

Sara shuddered as cold water was poured over her head and she winced as a rough cloth was passed over her body. The teenager who was washing her gave her a sympathetic smile.

"I'm sorry if the water's cold, I'd warm it but that would mean wasting good firewood." She said as she scrubbed. She smiled at Sara warmly. "My name is Yuki but everyone calls me Nee-chan. What's your name?"

"S-Sara."

"Well, nice to have you here with us, Sara-chan."

"Wh-who i-is th-that lady?" stuttered Sara, teeth chattering.

Yuki stopped scrubbing and poured more water over Sara before wrapping her up in a thick cloth.

"Oh, her? We call her Kaa-san."

"Kaa-san?"

"Yes, because she's like a mother to all of us here."

"Here?"

Yuki looked at Sara, blinking. "Don't you know where you are?" she asked. Sara shook her head. Should she?

Yuki smiled. "This is the Shimabara, and you're the new addition to our family."

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For seven years she had worked, slaving away for Kaa-san during the day, and serving drunkards at night. She had gotten used to this life and it would have been difficult had it not been for Nee-chan. Yuki had indeed been a like a sister to her and she greatly appreciated all of her help.

Sara knew all that went on in the Shimabara. She knew what was in store for her in the near future. She knew what Kaa-san was preparing her for and why she had been plucked from the street and into that house.

She was to entertain men and all of their fantasies. That was why the Shimabara existed, it was a house full of women to fuel men's desires. Sara had accepted this as something that had already been laid out for her. She knew of no other life than the one she was living. At times she would feel something akin to despair, a growing frustration that she couldn't express out loud. When she felt like this, she would usually 'borrow' pieces of paper and using Nee-chan's ink brush she would write small verses that embraced nature but consisted in things she was experiencing, greatly appreciating Nee-chan for taking the time to teach her how to write. A person who read the verses would imagine the author to be one who greatly appreciated scenery and life in general but only Sara understood the underlying significance of her poems. She had first learnt of haikus when she overheard a conversation between one of the regular clients, who was a poet, and Nee-chan while they were in a room. Sara had absorbed all this information and put it to use, often looking to the moon for guidance and inspiration. She would always stuff the papers inside her kimonos and folding the garments meticulously before storing them in her wooden chest, not sure what anyone would think if they found them.

She turned fourteen that year and her body was already blossoming into that of a young woman's. Her curves were becoming more and more apparent with each passing day and her face held all the promise of youth. But she was still a child and therefore not ready for the real world. The real world of men.

She could not help feeling apprehensive of them, ever since she had seen a man leave Nee-chan's room during the early hours of the morning and hearing whimpers of pain escape the open shoji screens.

Of course what a man and a woman did together had been explained to her but she had no idea that it was supposed to hurt. Nee-chan never complained though, she would hide it carefully and say everything was fine. But Sara knew everything was not.

It was strange, Nee-chan acted like a happy adolescent around Sara but late at night when the men were getting drunk she would see a different Nee-chan, an older Nee-chan who would bat her eyelashes and smile alluringly and seduce. This Nee-chan had her face painted white and her lips red and was dressed in an extravagant kimono with floral decorations in her hair, making her more attractive to men. Sara understood that in order to stay at the Shimabara, with a bed and regular meals, it was necessary to have clients who were willing to pay for a night of…enjoyment. The money would go to Kaa-san and it would be used for expenses like food, clothing and the like.

Sara was well aware of the whole business at Shimabara, yet she was still innocent. A lot of men had caught glimpses of her and had asked for her but Kaa-san firmly told them no. Well, not yet anyway.

One afternoon however, when Sara was bathing herself in the washrooms she spotted a trail of a dark red substance swirl down the drains. She realized that she herself was the source and had become very frightened. Wrapping herself in a cloth she ran to Nee-chan's room and amidst sobs, told her she was bleeding to death. Nee-chan seemed alarmed for a moment and then understood that Sara was going through her first menstruation and she comforted the near hysteric girl. After Sara was dressed in her kimono, Nee-chan took her to Kaa-san and left her there.

Kaa-san was told about Sara's menstruation beforehand and she stared at the young girl kneeling in front of her.

"You know what this means, don't you, Sara."

Sara didn't nod or anything, she was well aware of what it meant but too scared to admit it because it made it more real.

"You are ready."

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Hijikata was growing increasingly more anxious as the day went by and as he walked closer to his house after training he could almost taste his own dread. The sun had set, the stars were in the sky and Kyousuke was probably waiting inside for his son to arrive.

Hijikata took smaller steps, delaying the trip to the Shimabara as much as possible but it was of no use because his father had already heard him and was already coming out to greet him.

"Have something to eat my son, you'll need your strength."

Hijikata almost said 'for what?' but he refrained, and he entered the house in silence. After his meal he went to his room and changed his kimono, tying his small katana to his side because he knew his father would approve. He was about to leave the room when he remembered his haikus. He went to his futon and pulled out the only book that his father hadn't found and burnt and he tucked it inside his kimono for good luck.

He met his father outside the house and together they travelled to the Shimabara.

Hijikata's anxiety grew as he and his father approached the entrance. They were greeted by a young woman with her face painted white and her hair done up with elaborate decorations. She welcomed them inside and asked if they had made a previous appointment. Kyousuke told her that they hadn't and she asked them to wait in the front room while she fetched the woman that owned the business, Kaa-san.

Hijikata stared at his surroundings, men getting drunk and acting outrageously, chasing after the women who were no better, giggling and moving provocatively. Finally the young woman returned with Kaa-san.

"You have made no appointments, am I right?" Kaa-san inquired.

"Yes." Confirmed Kyousuke. He then nodded in his son's direction. "But I'll be in need of one girl…for my son, you see."

Kaa-san looked Hijikata up and down. She had just the girl for him.

"Yes, I believe we have one girl for him tonight." She said shortly. Hijikata was not happy when he heard that.

"Tell me," said Kyousuke, "Is she experienced? Because my son isn't."

Hijikata burned with embarrassment, why was his father doing this?

"She's just starting tonight actually."

"Ah." Said Kyousuke. "Aren't there any more-"

"None of the other girls are available right now." Kaa-san said brusquely.

Kyousuke recognised defeat and he nodded. "Very well then. Toshi, go with her. I'll be waiting outside."

"Father, you really don't expect me to-"

"Yes I do Toshi, and I'll be waiting outside." Kyousuke said in a final tone. Hijikata sighed and watched his father leave.

"Come with me." Kaa-san ordered. Hijikata followed her up the stairs to the second floor and walked behind her as they passed the rooms. They reached the second to last room and Kaa-san told him to wait there for a moment. He nodded and she slid back the shoji door, let herself in and closed it behind her.

"Sara, I have a client waiting for you out on the corridor."

Sara looked up from her kneeling position. Her face was white, like the others and her lips looked like a budding rose. She was dressed in a simple silk kimono and her hair was adorned with a trail of small white flowers. She looked very beautiful…and afraid.

"Kaa-san, I don't, I 'm not-"

"Nonsense Sara, just remember what we've taught you and you'll be fine. In any case, the client I've brought for you is young. That will make it a little easier for you."

Sara fought back tears. She really didn't want to do this. She was still a child and no matter how young the client was it would never make things any easier. She lowered her head and waited for Kaa-san to bring him into the room.

"This way, young man."

Sara slowly looked up and in the dim light of her room she gazed upon the figure of a sixteen year old boy, with long brown hair that was swept up into a ponytail. Even in the faint candle light, she could tell he was handsome, after all, she could see he was already very tall and well built.

Hijikata stood awkwardly in the doorway, not knowing what to do or say. All he did was stare at the young girl kneeling beside the futon in the middle of the room. He hadn't expected her to be so young, he had been sure that he was being taken to the room of an older woman, one at least in her twenties. He couldn't say he felt relieved, he just felt a little more at ease.

Kaa-san retreated from the room and closed the shoji screen, leaving the two alone in the room. Hijikata just stood there for a while, wrought with nerves. He watched the girl, who had her head lowered, making it difficult for him to catch a glimpse of her face. He wondered what she was thinking, was she as nervous as he was? In any case, he decided to make the first move.

He took tentative steps towards her and he knelt down before her. He noticed she was trembling, as he was. Wanting to keep his mind off what they were about to do, he tried to engage her in simple conversation.

"My…father brought me here. I didn't really want to come but he is so obsessed with making me a man that he forced me."

The girl lifted her head to look at him and Hijikata's breath caught in his throat. In the darkness of the room he saw she was beautiful, despite the fear that lay in her large grey eyes. She looked no more than fourteen or fifteen years old and Hijikata wondered how anyone with such promise could willingly work in a place like the Shimabara. Seeing that she didn't want to speak, he continued.

"Is this…your first time also?"

She gazed at him with terrified eyes and nodded.

"I think I'm as scared as you are." He said and he began to fidget with the small katana at his side. He saw her looking at it and he untied it from his kimono and showed it to her.

"My father gave me this. He wants me to become a samurai." He said, placing the katana on the floor and sighing. "I don't know what I want."

"Maybe you should tell him what you want, then he might understand." Said the girl in a quiet voice. Hijikata looked at her in surprise. He then nodded.

"Maybe."

They sat in silence, listening to the footsteps out on the corridor. Hijikata heard the girl give a shaky sigh.

"We should…probably…" she began, unable to finish the sentence. Hijikata nodded.

"Yes. My father is waiting for me outside."

Sara moved closer to Hijikata, trying to ignore the somersaults in her stomach and gently touched his kimono. She had a feeling he wouldn't want to disrobe completely so with slow movements and trembling fingers, she parted the lower section of his kimono.

Hijikata held his breath as her cool fingers brushed over his manhood. No one had ever touched him there before and the feeling was making his blood rush to places he never knew blood rushed to. He was astounded at how his body was reacting to her touch, astounded at how his member was twitching and coming to life beneath her fingers.

Sara heard him begin to breathe harder as she repeated the movements and when she stopped he let out a strangled groan, wanting her to continue. She lay back upon the futon and gently pulled him down with her. She didn't want to remove her kimono so she merely opened the lower part instead, as she had done with Hijikata. She was aware of the fact that she was the only one in the room who knew what to do, given that she had been taught by experienced women. She would have to guide Hijikata through the whole process.

Preparing herself for the inevitable, Sara gripped Hijikata's waist with her thighs and reaching down, she guided his stiff member towards her opening. Hijikata gasped at her touch and buried his face in her neck to muffle his groans as he began to feel himself enter her. Her hand released him and found it's way around his neck to grab a better hold. He slowly pushed himself in, clenching his teeth at the tightness and the pressure and closing his eyes. He suddenly felt his member break through some kind of barrier inside of her and he heard her cry out in pain. He opened his eyes immediately and looked down at her in concern. Tears were streaming from her eyes and her expression was one of extreme pain.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you." He said, genuine regret in his tone. Sara shook her head, her sobs subsiding.

"Please, just finish." She whispered, gripping his waist tightly and shutting her eyes to try and forget the pain.

Hijikata wasn't sure what to do next, but something told him he should move. He gently pulled himself halfway out of her and then slowly thrust back in. Almost instinctively he continued the movement, aware that he was causing her a lot of hurt and wanting to get it over with as soon as possible.

He groaned at the tightness, feeling pressure build up inside him, threatening to explode but he kept going despite the moans of pain and the whimpers that escaped Sara's lips. He wanted to end it quickly, more for her sake than for his. He felt the pressure reach his peak and then he experienced something he never had in his whole life, an exploding of sensations that almost blinded him with their force. He groaned loudly and his arms nearly gave way but he was careful not to collapse on top of Sara. The sensation was over as quick as it began and he very carefully slid out of her, earning a gasp from the girl and he rolled to one side of the futon trying to get his breath back.

When his pants had subsided into steady breaths he turned his head to look at Sara. She was lying with her back to him, curled up and with her shoulders heaving ever so slightly. He could tell she was crying. He reached out to touch her and the feel of his hand made her wince as though it were something red hot. Hijikata pulled his hand back.

"I'm sorry."

Sara slowly turned to face him, wincing as the pain between her legs made itself felt.

"It's not your fault." She told him quietly.

They lay like that in silence for a few moments. Hijikata slowly raised himself into a sitting position and adjusted his kimono, while Sara lay there staring at him.

"I must leave…My father will be waiting for me."

Sara nodded in understanding. Hijikata got to his feet, as did Sara but she immediately experience a terrible shooting pain in her lower abdomen and inner thighs, making her knees buckle and she stumbled into Hijikata. He grabbed her firmly, preventing her from crashing to the floor and she just fell against his chest.

"Are you alright?" He asked, peering at her face which was barely visible in the dimness of the room. He felt her nod and he slowly let go of her, almost hesitantly, as if afraid she would keel over.

Sara was grateful for his concern, she could tell he was a good person and good people were hard to find. However painful the event had been, she was glad it was with him because he had been gentle and careful with her. As she had often heard from the other women, first encounters with clients could be excruciatingly painful, especially when they were drunk. But this one was just a boy and he had been as scared as she was, he was concerned for her and this made her feel strangely warm inside. She had been told not to expect kindness or indeed gentleness from clients, they were only there to have a good time.

Sara walked towards the chest where she kept her kimonos and as she passed the open shutters she glanced up at the moon. She was aware of Hijikata's eyes following her and she gazed out the open shutters for longer. She moved to the chest and she bent down to open it when she heard his voice.

"May I ask your name?"

She purposefully didn't answer his question, remembering the very first thing Kaa-san had taught her. Never reveal yourself to your client, it will make them become attached to you and before you know it I'll have one girl less to work for me. What she meant was less money coming in and more girls running off to get married to their clients. Sara was determined to at least do her first job right. She rummaged through her kimonos until she found a small scrap of paper with one of her verses. She stood up and walked up to Hijikata.

The candle lit lamps were burning out, only the faint light of the moon illuminated their faces and Sara held out the piece of paper to Hijikata.

"What is this?" He asked, receiving it. Sara watched him. He was indeed handsome, and just looking at him was making her feel things that she had never felt before. She concentrated instead on the piece of paper. It was something she had written one warm spring day as she accompanied Nee-chan to buy some groceries. She had been staring at the cherry trees and their branches laden with light pink blossoms sway even though no breeze was present. How could she not feel inspired by something that she felt was bursting with beauty?

"I…I wrote it." Sara said, feeling a little timid sharing something so personal with him. She then realized that she had already done the most intimate thing a person could do with him so showing him one of her private verses seemed like something so small and trivial in comparison.

She sensed his eyes on her and she concentrated harder on the paper.

"You wrote it?"

"Yes."

Hijikata moved to the open shutters and let the moonlight shine on the verse so that he could read it.

Hisakata ni

Hikari nodokeki

Haru no hi ni

Shizu kokoro naku

Hana no Chiruramu…

(This perfectly still spring day

Bathed in the soft light

From the spread out sky,

Why do the cherry blossoms

So restlessly scatter down?)

Hijikata raised his head and turned around to look at Sara. "This is beautiful."

Sara blushed and gazed at her feet, giving thanks that it was dark and that he wouldn't be able to see. She saw him move away from the shutters and walk closer to her, pulling something out from his kimono. She heard a ripping sound and felt him take her hand and place a piece of paper in her palm.

"What is-?"

"You don't have to read it now," he said hastily, wanting to leave already because he had just spotted his father on the street below looking very impatient and he didn't want him to be angered any further. Hijikata moved to the shoji door and looked back at Sara with an expression impossible to identify in the darkness.

"It's just something small, it's not much but I want you to have it to show that I'm really sorry about afflicting you so."

Sara opened her mouth to tell him not to worry and that she was fine but he was already sliding open the shoji screen and stepping out onto the corridor. As soon as the screen was closed she hurried to the open shutters and watched him leave the Shimabara with the man that was apparently his father. The young man looked back at the house for a moment and then continued onwards.

Sara sighed. She held up the piece of paper he had given her and squinted at what was written on it. It's a poem! She thought excitedly, lifting it up into the moon light.

Hana wa chiri

Sono iro to naku

Nagamureba

Munashiki sora ni

Harusame zo furu

(The blossoms have fallen

I stare blankly at a World

Bereft of colour;

In the wide vacant sky

The spring rains are falling.)

Sara's heart pounded in her chest. No one had ever given her anything before and especially not poetry. She decided that she liked this boy very much. She walked over to her futon but not before placing the piece of paper in one of her kimonos inside the chest. She sat down and began to organize the bedding for a chance at sleep that night when she heard a clatter as she shook out the sheets. She grabbed one of the few candles that were left with flame and searched for the source of the noise, finding a small katana.

She gasped and stood up, about to make a dash for the shoji screen before she realized that she had no knowledge of who the boy was, not his name nor his whereabouts. She clutched the knife to her chest and returned to her futon, wondering what she should do.

Nothing. She would do nothing. She knew the chances of seeing him again were close to none but she would keep the katana in the meantime. She laid her head upon the pillow and gazed at the small sword. She carefully drew it out from its sheath and in the dim light of the candle and of the moon she stared at the blade. Holding it closer to her face she made out a word that was engraved on the part of the blade nearest to the hilt.

"HiTo." She said out loud. Was it a surname? His surname? Or maybe initials? She had no way of telling. She carefully sheathed the katana and lay it down beside her head. She wanted to see him again and she didn't know why, she just hoped their paths would cross some time soon. She turned to her side, ignoring the tweaks of pain between her legs.

She stared at the katana for a long time before she finally fell asleep.

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A/N: I know Hijikata is extreeeemely OOC but I absolutely promise that will finish by the next chapter. Anyway I doubt he was a demon when he was young, isn't it? Please read and review!