Disclaimer: I do NOT own Hakuouki or anything related to it.

Kazama sat outside at a café table with Amagiri and Shiranui, watching his future bride sit several feet away at a different, much larger table with her disgusting, pathetic friends. Well, friends wasn't the right word to describe all of them, given the fact that she was holding hands with one of those men and resting her head on his shoulder.

One week. Seven days. 168 hours. 10080 minutes. 604800 seconds. All of those time amounts described how long he had been watching the youngest of those dogs be very close to her. What angered him even more than that watching Heisuke or whatever his name was touch Chizuru was how happy she was to accept and reciprocate the contact and even initiate it sometimes. The nudges and smiles of fond exasperation from their friends whenever they witnessed these interactions made him want to throw up. Or commit murder. Perhaps both.

"Kazama, this is not healthy behavior," Amagiri stated.

"Or legal," Shiranui added, taking a sip of his drink.

"Shut up, both of you!" Kazama growled, then returned his attention to the group when he noticed Kondou asking the waitress for a check. Sighing, Amagiri gestured to another waitress to do the same for them.

The moment the group stood up to leave, Kazama got up from his seat and followed them.

"You do all realize we are being followed, yes?" Sanan asked. After seeing the way Chizuru's head snapped up and her eyes widened as she looked around the place, he smiled and added,"Well, almost all of you."

Hijikata sighed."How much you wanna bet that it's him again?" He ran a hand down his face.

Heisuke tightened his grip on Chizuru's hand and flashed her a brief smile that she returned before he turned to the other men."How long do you think he's been following us?" He directed the question to Sanan.

Sanan tilted his head."Since we left the cafe."

"Perhaps he was at the café while we were there too," Yamazaki suggested. "I could have sworn I experienced the feeling of being watched since our arrival there."

Saito nodded in agreement."As did I."

Sanan hummed thoughtfully."You both may be right about that."

"What should we do?" Chizuru asked nervously, not eager to see her "ex" again.

Her uncle and adoptive father, Kodo Yukimura, was a rich doctor who'd taken her in after her parents died in a car accident when she was very young. It was in the family bussines to be a doctor, with the exception of her twin brother Kaoru, who had gone to other relatives after the accident, and Chizuru intended to carry on that tradition despite one obstacle.

The Yukimura and Kazama families were well-acquainted for generations and there had been talk about convincing their children marry for a long time, but no one attempted to fulfill those intentions until she was born. Her parents and Chikage's parents had discussed the matter before the formers' deaths and Kodo continued those talks. Chizuru wished no one ill, but she did not want to marry the Kazama heir. It unnerved her how he immediately took to referring to her as his bride from their first meeting when they were children and that he refused to stop doing so as they got older did not help her unease regarding him.

Kodo had arranged dates between them, all of which included Kazama threatening any man who so much as looked in her direction and acting as if he knew everything she wanted. Kodo tried to make her change her mind, assuring her that the marriage meant she would be well taken care of and not have to worry about working herself to death and could live in luxury. She refused, and Kodo complied, though he did express hope that she would reconsider.

Kazama took to stalking her after their "relationship" ended. Her best friend Sen accompanied her everywhere she went so he couldn't get her alone and corner her. Even after she moved away to go to college, the stalking did not cease. He had gone after her and at one point followed her to a store and would have gotten her if she hadn't bumped into Heisuke, who was there with Harada and Shinpachi. Noticing how uneasy she was as well as the nearby stalker, they offered to walk with her and they kept in touch afterwards, resulting in her befriending them and their group.

She wasn't sure what to call her relationship with Heisuke. Since their last movie night, where they'd stayed up late talking in his room afore falling asleep with their fingers entwined, their physical interactions became more intimate. He didn't force her to hold his hand unless she assured him she didn't mind or initiated the contact herself, nor did he flirt with her. They were comfortable with each other at least, which was good enough for her after her bad experiences with Kazama Chikage. She was in no rush for these types of things and was grateful that Heisuke respected her feelings on the matter.

Before anyone could answer her question, Saito pointed toward a familiar trio that was approaching them. She easily recognized Kazama, along with Amagiri and Shiranui. Amagiri's family had long served the Kazamas, so his presence was not surprising. She wasn't taken aback by Shiranui being here either, though she always wondered why he accompanied Kazama as often as he did.

As usual, Kazama's companions sent her apologetic looks that she acknowledged with a nod. On the few occasions that Kazama brought them with him, they had restrained him from going too far. That wasn't to say she liked them, given their connection to the man who'd been making her life difficult for many years now, but she didn't hate them. It was better than nothing, which was what Kodo had done in response to the stalking, causing her to cut off contact with him.

"Hello, my bride," Kazama greeted, crossing his arms."Such a pleasant surprise to see you again, and here of all places."

Frowning, Chizuru stepped back. Heisuke gently urged her to stand behind him, and she obeyed. She kept silent, both out of trust that her friends could handle the situation and refusal to acknowledge Kazama for fear that any kind of response would encourage him.

"The lady doesn't want to talk to you," Harada said."Never has, never will."

"So quit wasting your time and beat it," Souji said with a fake yawn."We don't have time to waste on your broken heart and bruised ego."

"Yes, please leave," Kondou agreed."We do not want any conflict, but we will not allow you to bother Yukimura-kun."

Chizuru sighed."He has to show up while we're on our way home so I can pick the movie for tonight," she muttered to herself, though she did not go unheard, especially by Kazama.

"Oh, what was that?" Kazama smiled with interest. Chizuru imagined the lightbulb going on above his head."It just so happens that we are on our way home for our movie night. I am certain it will be much more enjoyable than wasting your time with these cretins." Chizuru fought the urge to yell at him for insulting her friends for the hundred time now. She wasn't exaggerating; she actually counted it like she'd counted the times he threatened another man during their dates.

Kazama ignored the looks of confusion and exasperation on Amagiri and Shiranui's faces. He extended his hand, fully expecting her to take it."Come with me, my bride. Be smart and do not waste your time with these fools anymore."

Chizuru added another number to her count of insults he directed to her friends. She shook her head."I'm not going anywhere with you, Kazama-san," she said politely but firmly."Please enjoy your movie night, without me, and we will enjoy ours, without you."

Amagiri grasped Kazama by the arm."We should leave now." Normally, Kazama would have told him to shut up and though he was obviously displeased, he did not argue and turned to leave.

It seemed that Heisuke, Harada, and Shinpachi got an idea at that moment, because they suddenly looked at one another with grins. Harada gestured for Shiranui to stay put, and he complied.

"Are you coming, Shiranui?" Amagiri called when he noticed Shiranui was not moving. Shiranui replied that he would catch up with them a little later, and the other two men soon walked out of sight.

Hijikata raised an eyebrow at the trio."What did you three think of?"

"You remember the last movie we watched?" Shinpachi asked.

"You are referring to the horror film I chose that frightened you and Harada-kun so much that you jumped into each other's arms?" Sanan's tone was wry.

"Yup," Heisuke said before his now red-faced friends could respond.

Chizuru's eyes widened in realization. She had mentioned to them that Kazama loathed horror films. She had wanted to watch one once out of mere curiosity and while the film had frightened her, it wasn't anywhere near as scary as the film Sanan had chosen and Kazama had been more affected by it than she was, if his trembling hands and jumping at the slightest sound during the weeks following their viewing of the movie could be considered proof. Of course, whenever she asked about it, he denied being afraid and came up with an excuse or way to change the subject if the topic come up.

If he were to see the film she had seen recently…she felt a mix of pity and amusement at the thought.

"Go get it. I'll wait," Shiranui said, popping his knuckles with a grin."I need something to amuse myself tonight."

"No need," Souji said, pulling something out of his coat pocket.

"Why do you have that, Souji?" Kondou inquired as he took the DVD from the younger man and handed it to Shiranui.

Souji snickered."I overheard Hijikata talking about what movie he'd pick when it's his turn next, so I was gonna switch the boxes to give him a nice surprise." He winked at Hijikata.

Hijikata scowled."Why, you little-" Yamazaki and Saito grabbed his arms to restrain him while Sanan told him to calm down and Kondou claimed he was overreacting. Souji watched this all with a smirk.

"Ha! I've seen this one. Kazama's too proud to reject this if I hit his ego enough times. He'll be up all night for sure after watching this," Shiranui remarked after reading the title on the DVD.

"Most of us certainly were," Harada muttered under his breath.

Shiranui put the DVD into his coat pocket."Well, I look forward to laughing about this later." He waved at Chizuru and turned to leave."See ya later. Have a nice night."

An hour later, they were all enjoying the historical fiction film Chizuru had selected.

Chizuru had her head on Heisuke's shoulder and his arm wrapped around her waist. The comfort of this position and her enjoyment of the movie made her reluctant to look at her phone when it vibrated on the table next to her. She looked to the others for their opinion and they all nodded. She nodded back, paused the movie, and picked up her phone.

She had gotten a message from Shiranui with a picture and a caption. The picture was of Kazama sitting on the couch with his eyes wide and mouth wide open in response to the most frightening moment in the movie. The caption read: 'He's been like that for half-an-hour now.'

She then received another message that read: 'He just hugged Amagiri'. This was followed by a picture of what the message described.

Chizuru showed it to her friends, causing all of them to either smirk or laugh. Heisuke, Shinpachi, and Harada exchanged smug looks which Chizuru tried and failed not to giggle at. She put away her phone and settled back into Heisuke's embrace to enjoy the rest of the movie.

Despite the brief interaction with Kazama earlier, it was one of the best nights of her life