Author's Note: My interest in this story has absorbed a lot of my time recently, which is great, except that apparently I shouldn't be writing at three in the morning on a "school/work night". Life is unfair like that.

To kathryn1995 - I think you used special powers to read and review my new chapter before I actually posted it! Well, it seemed that way. Thanks! :)

To red1Rogue - Glad you like the style and pacing. Also, I like writing lines for Saitou - which is rather funny since he's supposed to be pretty quiet. ;)

To nakigaoyuu - Romance is in the air... and I'm glad you like the details. :)

To (guest) 2human - Really appreciate the nice review. Let's see: (1) The story will eventually focus more and more on one of the guys, but there will be issues along the way because life just isn't that easy; (2) Yes, Sano is awesome (you'll find the new chapter interesting); (3) I'm really happy that I'm not the only one who thought that writing Chizuru with a better defined character was worth it (SirGaap also commented on this :) and ... (4) I'll write as fast as I can but apparently I also need to sleep.

To Guest: Thank you! Hope you'll stay with us. All encouragement welcome. :)

.-.-.-.-.

Chapter 8 – Of Meals and Men, Part II

The next day found Chizuru once again eating lunch with the captains. This time she was more prepared for the antics of Heisuke-kun and Nagakura-san, and could even appreciate how Harada-san and Okita-san used apparently innocent remarks to inflame the situation from time to time. Aware as she was, she could sense that while her presence restrained the men - a little - in some ways, in also seemed to add an edge that she didn't understand.

Towards the end of the meal, Gen-san pushed open the sliding door and hurried in, looking distressed.

"Bad news from Osaka," he stated into the immediate silence. "Sannan-san was wounded while protecting a merchant caravan from a heavy raid. The attackers were driven off, but Sannan-san's left arm was seriously injured."

There was a murmur of concern from the assembled captains.

"His wounds are not life-threatening and are being treated in Osaka."

"Well, that's good," said Chizuru, relieved that Sannan-san's condition was not as serious as she had feared from Gen-san's face and voice.

She instantly realized that she had said the wrong thing. Every man in the room gave her a scornful look, and even Saitō-san showed surprise.

"No, it's not good," said Heisuke flatly. "If his left arm doesn't recover he will never be able to use a sword again, not properly."

"A katana is wielded in two hands," Saitō explained quietly, recovering his countenance. "With only one good arm, too much strength and balance is lost for blows to be truly effective."

Chizuru just nodded, feeling very small. She had failed to trust her instincts and was now paying the price in mortification. She had known that Gen-san was very upset. She had known that her companions had understood the news differently than she had – she had sensed their reactions like a ripple of fear. She had forgotten that she did not yet fully understand these men, or their way of life.

She should have known better. Her father had often told her that a doctor should not prescribe treatment without knowing the nature of an illness, and that an intelligent man should not speak until he could put himself in the place of the person most closely concerned by the subject.

"It is better to ask questions, or to remain silent and attentive, Chizuru," he had reminded her not long before leaving Edo. "Do not take part in a conversation merely for the sake of speaking your own thoughts and feelings. The wisest man listens more than he speaks."

As Gen-san left the room in search of the Commander, Chizuru suddenly missed her father and her home and her normal life, away from swords and blood and fear. She was only roused from homesickness and incipient self-pity when somebody – Okita-san? – broke into the silence with a strange statement.

"He might have to join the Corps."

"No way! We can't lose one of our leaders like that! It wouldn't look good, would it?"

Chizuru's attention was caught more by the emotions of the men around her than by their words. This time the feeling of fear was overlaid by revulsion, especially from the men nearest to her. She saw Harada-san's brows snap down and his mouth thin into a hard line; turning her head, she was surprised to see that Nagakura-san's usually boisterous expression was as dark as his friend's.

Confused, she asked timidly, "I don't understand… Isn't the Shinsengumi the Corps? Isn't Sannan-san already the Deputy Commander?"

"Ah, no, Chizuru-chan," Heisuke answered immediately, "we're talking about a different part of the Corps, see. The Shinsengumi is one thing, but within – HEY!"

The protest came as Harada leapt to his feet almost too fast to follow, sprang past Nagakura, and drove his fist into Heisuke's face. The much smaller man went crashing into the wall behind him, and when he sat up again there was blood trickling from a cut under one eye and his upper lip was also bleeding and beginning to swell.

"Sano! That's too much!" Nagakura was already between the two men, a restraining hand planted firmly on Harada's chest, which was heaving slightly. "Heisuke, you have to be more careful!"

Harada-san exhaled and finally relaxed his stance, ruefully regarding the damage he'd done to the youngest captain. His eyes, which had seemed even more gold and hawk-like for a moment, returned slowly to normal, and he absently rubbed at his grazed knuckles.

"I'm sorry, Heisuke."

"It's okay, I understand… I wasn't watching what I was saying…" Heisuke gingerly touched his rapidly bruising face. He then added, with evident sincerity, "Jeez you hit hard, Sano!"

Nagakura-san turned to Chizuru, who had forced herself to sit quite still during the altercation. She had been shocked by the sudden violence from such an unexpected source.

"I know you must be curious, Chizuru-chan, but that's as much as you can hear about this. Don't ask any more questions."

"O-okay, Nagakura-san." She was trembling slightly, and it didn't help to be once more the focus of several suspicious stares.

After a brief silence, Okita-san, who was uncharacteristically somber, set aside his tea cup and stood up.

"I'll walk you back to your room, Chizuru-chan. Saitō, come get me when it's time to get ready to go out."

They left together, and Chizuru wondered if she'd ever be allowed back. At the same time, she found it hard not to speculate, even though she knew it was dangerous. A Corps within the Shinsengumi? Something to do with the white-haired, red-eyed creatures that she had seen that first terrible night in Kyoto? They had been wearing the light blue coats of the Shinsengumi after all…

"Don't think about it, Chizuru-chan," warned Okita from beside her. "Your face is like an open book. And if you guess too much… I'll have to kill you."

The mischievous glint she was getting used to was absent from the green eyes. She realized that she couldn't read Okita-san at all at that moment. Apparently Saitō-san was not the only one who could leave that blank impression on her perceptions, although there was a different quality to the emotional silence. Of the two, Saitō-san was far more controlled, but she now knew that it was likely a matter of discipline, not ability.

For once she was glad to close the door to her room behind her, shutting out the stares and leaving her in peace to deal with her fears for her father and her future.

Once the girl had gone with Okita, Harada checked again on Heisuke and then moodily resumed his seat. Saitō exchanged a brief look with Nagakura and quietly left the room, returning not long after with sake and cups. When Kondō-san and Gen-san came in twenty or thirty minutes later, they found the four captains seated companionably together, drinking and conversing in low voices. Even Saitō had moved closer, although he contributed little to the discussion.

Heisuke's black eye was developing nicely, and he was debating fetching cold water from the well to relieve the swelling. Most of the middle-left side of his face was darkening along with the eye.

"What on earth happened to you, Heisuke-kun?" the Commander asked, puzzled.

"Nothing to worry about, Kondō-san," Heisuke replied cheerfully, despite his obvious discomfort. "Just Sano-san reminding me of my manners like always."

"Harada-kun?" Gen-san turned a surprised look on the tall red-head, who just shrugged apologetically.

"Got a bit carried away, Gen-san, that's all. But do you have any more information about Sannan-san? We only heard the bare details earlier."

The Commander and the older captain exchanged looks and decided to drop it. Heisuke was rarely without bruises of some kind anyway, and he was far tougher than he appeared. They both declined the sake and settled down to impart the other details that had arrived with Hijikata's letter from Osaka.

When everyone finally dispersed not long after, Harada was surprised to find Saitō waiting outside the door for him. Dark blue eyes met clear amber and held.

"I understand," the indigo-haired man said simply. "You did not want Heisuke to risk the girl's life. You are trying to protect them both."

He nodded to Harada and walked off, leaving the taller man staring after him.

"What was that about?" Nagakura asked curiously.

"I'm not quite sure. I think Saitō just warned me that I'm getting too attached to Chizuru. I went right off the deep end with Heisuke, just to protect her from knowing too much. On the other hand, it sounded like he kind of approved."

"Huh. Well, he's probably right on both counts," Nagakura finally said, punching his friend on the shoulder. "Having to kill Chizuru because Heisuke screwed up would suck for everyone, including Heisuke. You did hit him awfully hard though, and you probably are getting too attached."

Harada looked up at the clouds.

"It wouldn't stop me from doing whatever had to be done."

"Yeah, I know. But you'd hate it."

"Yeah, I would."

In Osaka, Hijikata stood frowning, arms crossed, as the doctor changed the bandages on Sannan's arm. The wound was long and ugly, and the Vice Commander had not been impressed with the doctor who had done the first, urgent surgery. He was becoming increasingly worried that Sannan could not feel much in his lower arm.

The Deputy Commander was ghost white, lines of pain etched into his face and marring his usually serene expression. His eyes were closed, and he made no effort to speak while the doctor sniffed gently at the edges of the wound for the first, unmistakable odour of infection or decay that could presage disaster and the loss of the limb.

"Will he recover the use of his arm?" Hijikata demanded, as he escorted the doctor out of the inn afterwards.

"I don't know," the doctor replied honestly, resolutely meeting the glittering purple eyes. "I don't dare reopen the area for fear of further blood-loss and damage to the tissue, muscles and tendons, but at the same time it is possible that something has been irreparably severed."

The black-haired swordsman scowled even more deeply, but showed no signs of turning his anger immediately on the bearer of the bad news. The doctor, who knew the violent reputation of the Shinsengumi and their former leader, samurai Serizawa-san, was relieved.

"I will come again tomorrow, Hijikata-san," he said, as they bowed politely to each other at the door.

"Arigatou gozaimasu, sensei. How soon can he travel?"

"If there is no infection, and he is able to eat enough to regain some strength, perhaps a week, more likely more. He will have to ride slowly to avoid injuring the arm further."

Hijikata nodded, and the doctor left. Wearily, the Vice Commander returned to his room to write a second letter to Kyoto. For once, the Shinsengumi's assistance had been appreciated by those they had rescued, and the lords of Osaka had been told in glowing terms of their skill and bravery. Hijikata thought that perhaps the price for this recognition had been too high.

Apparently, Chizuru had underestimated the tolerance of her hosts and wardens. Despite what had passed, Heisuke came to fetch her to lunch the next day, smiling breezily if with some difficulty through split lips. She wondered at his ability – at the ability of all the captains, really – to accept conflict and pain, deal with it, and then move on. She did not see, as some of those same captains had, that she possessed the same unusual quality of resilience herself.

Although the mood at meals was slightly more subdued than usual, Nagakura-san and Heisuke-kun soon returned to their antics, with Harada-san occasionally scolding them and more often laughing at them or adding fuel to the fire. Okita-san watched everyone and everything with his mocking smile; he didn't seem much affected by the tension of waiting for Hijikata-san and Sannan-san to return from Osaka, but Chizuru noticed that his emotions were more often opaque than previously.

Saitō-san didn't seem to change at all. He was generally there for meals, mostly unsmiling but unfailingly polite. She rarely saw him during the day, unlike the others, who often stopped by during each other's shifts or paused to talk to her when her window was open. But he always came by late in the evening to check the brazier and take his turn on guard, neat in black kimono, scarf and uniform haori. It occurred to her that while the others alternated various shifts, he always had the same watch. With newly-found caution, she didn't ask why.

Kondō-san and Gen-san continued to treat her like a welcome guest. They were both very busy in the absence of both Deputy and Vice Commander, but they would visit from time to time, even though she saw them at meals.

"Perhaps I can speak to the Vice Commander on his return, Yukimura-kun," Gen-san had told her after one of her embarrassed protests that she could easily do her own laundry, or help with cooking and other chores. "I think we would all be grateful for your assistance. However, for now, we do not wish Hijikata-san or Sannan-san to have anything else to worry about."

"That is quite true, Yukimura-kun," Kondō-san had agreed. "So we will keep you safe and in good health until we can all be together again and decide what to do next."

One afternoon, Kondō-san had come to her door late in the afternoon, carrying a smallish paper-wrapped package.

"Dango!" Chizuru exclaimed with a wide smile. "Arigatou gozaimasu, Kondō-san! Perhaps if you accompanied me to the kitchen I could also make you tea?"

"I'll make the tea," Gen-san offered from the doorway. "Please protect my share, Yukimura-kun."

"Thank you, Gen-san! Of course I will!"

Chizuru carefully laid her writing materials aside and brought over the small, low table that they had given her shortly after she arrived. Kondō-san seated himself cross-legged across from her and opened the package.

"Fortunately, Sōji and Saitō are still out on patrol," he commented, as they both looked hungrily at the sweetened dumplings. "Otherwise Sōji would be here in an instant, and Gen-san's dango would be at risk."

Chizuru laughed.

"You are all being very kind to me," she said earnestly. "I truly hope that I will be able to help you find my father."

The Commander smiled fondly at her.

"With Sannan-kun and Toshi and the others looking into it, I'm sure it will all work out for the best, Yukimura-kun. Don't give up hope now!"

"Oh no," she replied seriously. "That would be quite wrong of me. And even Okita-san doesn't seem to dislike me so much anymore."

She immediately wished she could take back the last comment, but Kondō-san didn't seem at all put out.

"He doesn't dislike you at all, Yukimura-kun," he replied, eyes twinkling at her as they sometimes did. "But he is very protective of the Shinsengumi, and sometimes he can be a little harsh-spoken."

Chizuru nodded politely, but privately she thought that threatening to kill somebody was more than just "a little harsh". On the other hand, Okita-san no longer seemed as menacing as he had in the beginning, and during the long, boring and often lonely days, she had had a lot of time to think about her captors.

"Heisuke-kun has told me that everyone trained at your dojo in Edo, Kondō-san. You all seem a little like family."

Gen-san entered with the tea, and smiled at her remark.

"Well, we had our ups and downs, ne, Kondō-san?"

"Indeed! But although we were occasionally short on food, everyone seemed very happy, and that is what is important."

They settled down to drink tea and eat dango, and Chizuru was happy to listen to the two men talk about Edo and reminisce.

"Sōji joined the dojo when he was only nine," Kondō commented at one point. "I wasn't even the owner then, just an instructor. He was really amazing."

"Yes," agreed Gen-san amiably. "Okita-kun was immensely strong and skilled even as a young adolescent. He was a bit put out when Nagakura-kun first arrived, I think, because he was no longer unbeatable, but after all, he could put that down to a significant difference in experience and size – he was four or five years younger, after all."

"Were you there when Saitō-kun turned up?" Kondō asked him curiously. "I'm sure you were a member of the dojo then…"

"I was a member, but I missed that meeting," Gen-san replied regretfully, "although I heard a great deal about it from Nagakura-kun, Harada-kun and young Heisuke afterwards."

Kondō-san shook his head, evidently recalling the incident vividly even several years later.

"It was quite incredible, you know," he said softly, eyes focussed on the past. "I was out on an errand with Toshi, and when we returned we found Sōji and a strange boy of about the same age, maybe a bit smaller, hammering away at each other like their lives depended on it. I don't think either was more than fourteen at the time.

"Apparently, Sōji had insisted on testing the stranger's skill, and the other boy wouldn't back down. Well, Sōji was already the dojo's star pupil, and Nagakura-kun told me afterward that he had been very concerned about allowing the fight. Sōji wasn't exactly restrained – when was he ever? But when the stranger insisted, what could Nagakura-kun do? He had warned the boy, advised him against it; he couldn't insult the boy's honour by refusing outright."

"Who won, Kondō-san?" Chizuru couldn't stop herself from asking, immediately reddening as she realized how rude she had been.

"According to Nagakura-kun, Sōji managed – barely – to get a hit in just before Toshi and I arrived, but the boys wouldn't stop. Both seemed to be shocked at the possibility of defeat and each needed to prove himself against the other.

"Toshi and I watched for a few minutes when we got back from our errand, then Toshi came to his senses and got the others to restrain them – well, Toshi was always good at that kind of thing, although he wasn't a lot older than Nagakura-kun and Harada-kun. But I can't blame them for watching, since I just stood there myself. It was truly impressive, although their styles were very different.

"Saitō-kun stopped almost as soon as he was told – he hasn't changed that much – so Harada didn't really have much to do, but Sōji struggled a little with Nagakura and Heisuke before he realized he no longer had an opponent. Both boys were panting by then, of course, and even Saitō was having difficulty calming down."

Chizuru suddenly discovered that she had eaten more of the dango than she had intended, having become absorbed in the story and trying to picture Okita-san and Saitō-san as young adolescents. Guiltily, she folded her hands in her lap.

"I asked if the boy was going to join the dojo, naturally, after such a display of talent," Kondō-san continued. "He was obviously wary, but I didn't know why until he asked if it would be alright for him to fight left-handed. Then it made sense, since most schools would have refused to train him unless he agreed to correct his grip and stance.

"But before I could answer, Toshi was telling him that of course it made no difference to us, because he was obviously very strong and being strong was what mattered, not being right-handed. It's funny, but I think Toshi's, rather, ah, brisk tone was more effective than anything."

"Yes," said Gen-san musingly, "I can see that. Saitō-kun would find it easier to accept Hijikata-san's blunt words than anyone's untested kindness."

The Commander suddenly shook his head, as if clearing it.

"Sumimasen, Yukimura-kun! I seem to have made a long tale of it – I'm afraid that I sometimes get carried away when I talk about our days in Edo."

Gen-san's expression was indulgent, but Chizuru bowed deeply.

"Oh no, Kondō-san, please don't apologize. I truly appreciate you and Gen-san spending time with me even though you are so busy. And I thought it was a wonderful story."

Kondō-san smiled again and stood, Gen-san following suit and collecting the tea things.

"Well, Yukimura-kun, perhaps one day you will have stories of your own to share with us," Kondō said.

"I hope so, Kondō-san. Thank you for the dango, they were delicious!"

A/N On the plus side, you get a nice long chapter, although the storyline itself is still borrowed largely from a mix of the Hakuouki game/anime/movies. I do enjoy getting to add the detailed interactions though, and it's a relief to put some genuine character into Chizuru. On the minus side... it may be a little longer to the next chapter, since I decided to keep everything I'd written together in this chapter and post it all now. I tend to be picky about my writing and editing, so a bit slow with new stuff. Plus, I'm really busy the next two days. But 20,000 words is a good milestone!

A huge thank you again to everyone who has decided to Favourite/Follow this story. I can't tell you what a boost it is. Stay tuned for Chapter 9: What Is She Doing Here?! (because Of Meals and Men Part III sounded a bit lame, although it's not my fault so much happens over meals) :)