Katsura watched the Wolf of Mibu as he took off easily, Himura looked distinctly uneasy as he and Rin helped him off the roof top. It was interesting to see him back at the Ikeda, and Kategai looked relieved to see him alive.

"Things have gone from bad to worse, several of our top assassins have been brutally slaughtered lately," the man informed them as the three of them entered his room.

"We need to find this traitor immediately, I'm not sure our forces can take much more of this," Katsura looked at the red head, he still looked uneasy, "what is it Himura?"

"Keep your men off the streets, leave the assassinations to Rin and myself," Himura explained, "we can handle it. Focus your energy on finding the traitor, word is that the wolves are also having traitor issues." He cracked his neck from side to side with a fond smile.

"Speak for yourself Himura, they've got me on double shifts as it is. I can barely keep up with what they are giving me," Rin whined. It was true, they had been giving the young man extra assignments, a lot more than they should have. Himura's load was even larger, he had about six times what they gave their normal assassins. Currently he was doing triple what they were giving Rin.

"I'm afraid that we have done all the rearranging that we can without giving you a book's worth Himura," Kategai frowned, "we know it isn't you because of the way the bodies are being left. It has gotten worse since you left."

"Kategai, Himura isn't to blame for our troubles," Katsura chided, "please, return to us when you can Himura. Things were far simpler when you were here."

"Indeed they were, but alas things have changed. I should be back in camp sometime after the full moon," Himura looked at Rin and Kategai, "could the two of you excuse us?" Rin nodded, and Katsura signaled to Kategai that it was okay to leave.

"What is it?" Katsura asked, "something has been bothering you all night."

"I ran into some trouble a while I was gone, that past I told you about… its coming back to find me. When it does all hell will break loose," Himura answered, "and honestly I'm not sure if I'm more afraid of what they will do or what I will do if they do find me. As you are aware I am very capable of defending myself, at the time when I last encountered them I was not so capable..."

"The Jigan festival is in a few months, please make sure you and your contacts are prepared to deal with Miyabe and his madness at that time," Katsura asked hopefully.

"It will be taken care of," Himura responded with a shallow bow, "now if you'll excuse me I have assignments of yours to attend to."

Saitou was unsurprised when Kiirie came in long after dawn looking rather ragged. He laughed when she reached for a clean set of clothes and paused at the door. She looked at him expectantly then shook her head before leaving again.

"If you are going to the local springs I would be more than willing to accompany you there," he said following her out, "there are some questions that I have for you."

"Well then you'll have to wait until I have had some sleep for that," she yawned, "assassinating people is hard work, you know?" He would have laughed if he hadn't heard just how many people the Battosai had dispatched last night.

"I still can't believe you never get any blood on you when you do that, regardless the amount I heard about for yesterday night… It's no wonder you are tired," Saitou grinned, "but a more pressing question I have is this… how can you even walk in the sunlight?" She just grinned at him like a moron, like it may have been the most obvious thing ever.

"You should be able to figure that out, but I'll give you a hint. I picked up the vampiric traits after I was already centuries old," she whispered, "much the same way that my hair recently became the hue it is now. I no longer remember what my original hair color anymore." He followed her out the door only to be stopped by Okita.

"Who is this?" the younger swordsman.

"I am Kiirie, it is nice to meet you, but I would like to get a bath in before I fall asleep," she answered with a smile, "do I need to leave my escort here with you?" Okita smiled warmly and shook his head with a laugh.

"Nah, but perhaps I could go with the two of you? A bath sounds nice after all the work I just got done with," Okita looked to Saitou for an answer. Much to Saitou's amusement he looked surprised when he pointed to the Battosai.

"It is up to Kiirie san," he responded with a grin of his own.

"As long as I get a nice hot bath I don't care," she responded, "make sure I don't fall asleep in there Saitou san."

"I'll be sure to do so," Saitou smirked.

"I'll be there to make sure he actually does," Okita added.

Kiirie was enchanting figure, or at least Okita certainly thought so. He watched her sleep while Saitou was out doing something related to his festival. She was inhumanely beautiful, her dark locks luscious curls in deep crimson hue of blood, her eyes of amethyst… Saitou had said to watch over her, but he had also warned him against messing with her. That she was the key to everything that goes bump in the night, and that if anything happened to her Kyoto would unravel at the seams.

"Don't you know that it's rude to stare?" Kiirie mumbled as she stirred, "you said your name was Okita right?"She was even more alluring than he remembered, and her stare much heavier than he realized.

"Yes, why does that matter to you Kiirie san?"Okita looked confused.

"You're dying, it's in your scent. I apologize," Kiirie placed a hand on his shoulder, "did you tell Saitou about your lungs yet?"

"How do you know about my lungs?" Okita murmured.

"That is not the point, I can offer you a way to cure you Okita," she spoke softly and waved her hand gently towards the door, "I have seen too many die from what you have. It is a slow and painful death that I would not wish upon any foe. I do not know what causes it, but I can say this… I know one thing that cures most things I have come across, and it isn't death."

"You have seen people die from it?" Okita asked quietly.

"The leader of the Choshu Kiheitai is currently nearing his final moments from it, but he has long since resigned himself to that fate. I can see that you haven't, I can also tell that you don't let it control you," Kiirie's words were laced with a bitter sort of sadness, "the cost is rather high I'm afraid. I don't know if it is something you would accept."

"Will you take me to meet this man? The man dying of the same thing I have?" Okita questioned her.

"You wish to know if the cost is worth it? I suppose that is a fair thing to ask, I will discuss it with Saitou," she answered, "it is up to him if I kidnap you for a day to do this. I will not offer this to him now though Okita, the deal is for you alone."

"I think I can respect that Kiirie san, but what would you ask of me?" Okita watched her eyes, the sadness of her tone didn't reach them.

"You must understand what the cure is to understand the price young one. The cure is made from my blood, which if it was as pure as it once was would be no price at all. In the long years that I have lived it has slowly become tainted with the different creatures of the night I have hunted and dispatched. I was no vampire to start with, I was something far more… let's say interesting for now," she explained, "the vampiric taint of my blood is the price to cure that which will heal you. Saitou's wolf blood nor a regular vampire's blood can cure this disease, it is my original blood that will."

"How can you be so sure it will heal me when theirs can't?" Okita looked at her skeptically.

"If you decide to take it I will tell you, and only then. I buried that past long ago and something is trying to uncover it now," Kiirie's eyes danced with passion, "it is that blood that allows me to walk in the sun without fear of turning to ash. Should you chose to accept the offer I will reveal my secret to you, but if you do not I'm afraid you'll suffer more than you can imagine from this illness you carry." She waved her hand again by the door and Saitou stepped in, he looked rather irritated.

"You locked me out of my room," Saitou's tone was harsh, but he looked more concerned than anything. She offered him a soft smile and gestured for him to sit.

"It had to be done, I was speaking of something I only intended for Okita to hear. It pertains to him, not to the rest of you," Kiirie patted his head as she walked past to shut the door again.

"Captain Saitou, I humbly request permission to accompany Kiirie san to meet someone," Okita blurted as she sealed the room off again with her chi.

"Just who is it you would be taking him to see? And why all the secrecy Battosai?" Saitou asked noticing the wards, "you wouldn't be attempting to sway Okita to the Imperialists would you?"

"Not at all, it is however a trip that will take us deep into the Kiheitai. I would be disguising him, and it is Okita's choice on whether or not he tells you why," Kiirie offered by way of explanation, "Normally I don't meddle in the affairs of men, but your friend here has a kind soul. I have made him an offer, if you catch my drift."

"Did she offer you blood?" Saitou's head snapped back to Okita so fast she was sure he should have been dizzy. Okita nodded slowly, "whose blood, and why would she offer it to you?"

"Okita, you may tell Saitou what I told you. I will not be offering it to him," she watched the young captain of the first squad squirm under his heavy stare.

"She offered me her blood," he answered looking at the floor. Kiirie watched the shocked look form on Saitou's face, clearly he had some idea about what she had offered. He kept his mouth shut as the young man continued, "I have known for some time that my lungs are not as strong as they should be. Kiirie san told me she has watched others suffer horrifically from what I have. She also said that her blood can cure me." Saitou sighed, and looked at her for a moment before turning back to Okita.

"What else did she tell you, I sense there is more," he asked realizing that there was a reason he had held something back.

"Your blood cannot cure what is wrong with me," Okita repeated firmly, "she also said that no vampire's blood could cure it either. It is only her original blood that can."

"Her blood is very special Okita, even I know that much. If she says that it can cure you, then it most likely will," he turned to face her again, and saw the serious look in her eyes, "what will it cost him if he takes it though?" She sighed taking a seat in front of them, she ran a finger through her crimson hair as she contemplated.

"It is hard to say what it will do to him, I have never exposed a human to it before, and I don't plan on making it into a habit," Kiirie answered, "my blood is rarer than you can possibly imagine Okita san. The problem, much as Saitou and I suspect, lies with the vampiric taint of it, it might shred that innocent soul that you have with what you may have to do to survive."

"Vampires have to drink the blood of humans to survive, where as Lycan can live off livestock just like humans can. What did the vampire blood do to you Battosai?" Saitou's eyes lingered on her, and she felt her cheeks heat up.

"That is neither of your concern, what is my concern is the young one's free will," Kiirie responded, "I am the master of no one."

"Actually… you are. You just happen to treat your… people seeing as your being touchy about it, as friends rather than slaves. It's part of being the heir," Saitou explained making her uneasy, "if you are concerned about him being bound to you like that then his free will is safe. Will he need to drink blood like a vampire?"

"More than likely, it depends how often he uses the abilities granted to him by my blood. If he only uses his abilities that he already has then he won't need to feed as often as you, but if he uses them constantly he will need to feed more," she explained, "I don't have to feed seriously because of my… job. If I wasn't in it I would say that once a week would be sufficient so long as he isn't over doing it."

"Out of curiosity how often do you feed when you aren't in… psycho killer mode?" Okita asked finally.

"Who says that I ever leave that mode?" Kiirie responded with a sardonic smile.

"Now that sounds like the Battosai that I know," Saitou answered, "the Lunar festival begins tomorrow, but the part we ask that you attend is in two days time. Take Okita and let him see what you can prevent, I have your assignment to relay to my elders in the mean time."

"Okita, we leave once you are ready to journey to the Kiheitai camp," Kiirie placed a hand on his shoulder, "but your answer for now is unnecessary."

"Battosai, if I may?" Saitou looked at her curiously.

"You may, I have preparations to make now that I have a plan. I need to have Katsura send word that they are going to have visitors," Kiirie answered excusing herself.

"Saitou, what am I getting myself into here?" Okita looked at the captain of the third squad of the Shinsengumi wearily.

"When were you going to tell me about your lungs?" Saitou countered concerned, "the Battosai as we know him is murderous individual, but as the heir he holds the keys to many things Okita. He is the most powerful supernatural creature on the island, and more than likely the mainland. I don't think he's going to ask you for anything other than your trust to cure you Okita."

"I didn't know it was such a serious issue Saitou, honestly. What I do know is that I am in over my head and that Kiirie claims to be able to cure me of some aliment that most people have no idea exists," Okita felt how young he was in that moment. Normally this didn't make things a problem, but with something as complex and unknown as the supernatural it sure did.

"Kiirie, the Battosai is the heir. His word that he can cure you is as accurate as his killing abilities, and those are very impressive. He doesn't want anything from you, he just doesn't want to see you die," Saitou informed him, "which that coming from him is ironic. It would also make you one of the most powerful supernatural creatures. It would make you more powerful than most vampires and most lycan, probably including myself Okita."

"Why do you keep calling Kiirie a man?" Okita was confused, Kiirie seemed as female as they came. How could she be the Battosai…

"I'll have him show you sometime, it's just a disguise for while he's here. Battosai has authority issues that are distinctly male," Saitou laughed.

There's an updated version of this on AO3 for all of you I can't reach through the reviews you've left. This would be the end of chapter 8 on there if you wish to continue on there before I finish updated the copy here of Same title and author name if you are interested.