A/N: Hello! So I am back with Chapter 3 of Scarlet Moonlight! And I know that some chapters can be really short, so if they are, I'm planning to post more. Like, my Chapter 2 was really short, so I'm adding Chapter 3 on Thursday. So if I think this chapter is short, I will update another one on Monday. Yes, yes. It is a confusing way to update stories, but I have a writer's block... So... I think I need more time. I am currently working on Chapter 6 of the story, and it is definitely going to be... Intense? Ahahaha. And some of my chapters do have gruesome scenes, like, somebody's head falls to the ground, etc. In this chapter, you will find out more about Aye's past, and how different she was... Hehehehe

Happy Reading!

Aye was now sitting next to Kazama Chikage, pouring sake into his cup over and over again. He never knew when to stop. The men in the room kept talking about the Shinsengumi, and how stupid they were. It was a concerning topic to Aye, but she was too busy trying to act neutral, and ignore the fact that she was sitting next to an Oni. An Oni who could probably sense that she was in fact, not human.

There was a splitting headache in the center of Aye's head, and she didn't know why. Was it because she was nervous? But she was snapped back out of her thoughts when she heard a clashing sound followed by screams. Her head snapped up, and realized that it was the man who was with Kosuzu raising a ruckus.

"Serizawa-sensei, please—" One of the men was cut off by a booming voice.

"Shut up!" He shouted. Then his gaze lowered to a sitting Kosuzu. "How dare you! You dare to defy me?" As he raised a hand to hit Kosuzu, she closed her eyes, but the impact did not come. Aye stood from her seat, and strode towards the man and Kosuzu, but a boy about her age was there, and he held the big man's strong arms. Kosuzu slowly peeled her eyes open, and saw the boy.

"Ibuki-han!" she shouted, surprised to see the boy blocking the man. But he was not standing for long. Before he could do anything, the man sent the boy flying across the room. There was a loud bang, and Kosuzu got up and started running towards the boy, but she was stopped when the man caught her by her hair. Then, there was a low growl. He had a dagger stuck in his arm. Aye had thrown it when he caught Kosuzu. She ran to the girl, and asked if she was fine. Kosuzu seemed to be fine, just a little shaken up.

"Kosuzu, why don't you check up on him?" she said, pointing to the boy. Kosuzu nodded and scrambled towards the boy. Aye stood, and faced the man. She could see the rage and anger burning in his eyes. But she didn't see the hand coming towards her face, and dodged a little too late. The man backhanded Aye, but she didn't move an inch. She just stood there, and spit the blood out that was forming inside her mouth.

Then she saw him. His scarlet eyes were staring at her, watching her every move. Something started pounding in her head, and she gasped and clasped her hands around them. She felt something that felt so foreign, yet familiar.

Blood.

She wanted blood. No. She needed it.

Many of the people were already out of the room, but there still were some geisha and men in the room. She couldn't let them see her as a Rasetsu. It was a secret she had to keep for herself, and the Shinsengumi.

"Get out!" Aye shouted, and this startled the big man. "All of you! OUT!" The people left in the room clambered to their feet, and ran out of the room, not wanting to take any part in this commotion. Only Serizawa and Kazama remained in the room. She scanned the room for other people, and let herself go.

Her hair turned white, and her eyes from gray to carmine red. She couldn't control her bloodlust.

She needed to kill.

She needed blood.

Aye's gaze drifted towards Serizawa as her headache faded away. She grabbed her two fans from her either side of her hip, and attacked him. The metal side of the fans hit Serizawa's arm, as he tried to unsheathe his katana. When he got it out, he sliced it across Aye's chest, and because she was not in her right mind, it hit her. The blood from her chest fell to the ground, one drop at a time. She was too busy staring at the blood, that she didn't notice Serizawa as he kicked her stomach and made her tumble to the ground. She groaned in pain as her vision blurred.

Suddenly, Serizawa was above her, raising his katana for the final blow. Aye spotted an ornament that had fell out of her hair, and she grabbed it and stabbed in into Serizawa's leg. He screamed in agony, as he crumbled to the ground. Aye felt her body becoming heavy, fighting to hold onto her consciousness. But as if someone was telling her to let go, her eyes were slowly closing.

And the darkness consumed her.

A girl with copper hair and gray eyes stood in front of the Shinsengumi's headquarters. She was standing there, holding a sack close to her body. Her body was covered in blood, some of hers, but most of someone else's. Dry tears covered her face, and specks of red masked her face. A man at the gate walked towards her, unsure if she was the one who caused all the blood or not.

"Are you looking for someone?" the man asked, keeping his distance.

"I… I was running… And I ended up here…" she said, her eyes devoid of any emotion. Her gray eyes had no focus, and remained hazy. Without knowing what to do, the man walked inside the gate, and left the girl standing there, dazed.

Then there were feet shuffling, and the girl looked up from the ground to see a boy who looked too much like a girl. He was followed by a group of men wearing blue haori's. Then, from inside the compound, the man who was standing outside before came rushing out with a man with shoulder-length dark hair and round glasses.

"Is this the girl you were talking about?" The man said. His voice was very soft, yet there was something that didn't seem so gentle.

"Yes, Sannan-san. She appears to be lost," the man said, searching for any sign of emotion on the man's face. The man with dark hair observed her for a while, and then told her to follow him. Too weakened to say anything, she just followed him into the compound. The girl was lead to a room, and the people who were outside had come in as well. Inside the room, there were 8 other men, sitting on the tatami floor.

The man with glasses gestured for her to sit, and she did. She knelt on the floor, and found her eyes too heavy.

"What is your name, and how did you get here?" A man with long black hair said, his purple eyes glazing with distrust.

"I… My name is Aye Yokota. I was… running… and I ended up here…" She said, stumbling over her words. "My parents were… killed by rogue samurais. There was fire. I didn't know where I was going…" The girl said, tears welling in her eyes.

"It's alright, it's not your fault. You have nowhere to go, right? You can stay with us. Isn't that right, Hijikata-san?" The boy who Aye had seen outside of the compound said. He flashed a convincing look at the man with purple eyes. The man next to him nodded. His eyes were intense for a moment, but softened as he answered.

"Alright, alright! But you're responsible for her," he exclaimed. The boy beamed at the man, and took the girl's hand. He led her to a room, and took the sack from her. He set it down, and let Aye sit down on the floor.

"I'm Yukimura Chizuru. Just call me Chizuru!" The boy said, smiling at Aye.

"Chi… zuru," Aye said. Chizuru giggled, blushing a little.

"I… I'm actually a girl…" Chizuru said, looking down at her hands. "Anyways, we should first take care of you and your injury." Eyeing the injury on Aye's arm, she peeled her kimono off. Chizuru stifled a gasp as Aye revealed the wound. It was red with blood, and the cut was very deep. Chizuru quickly grabbed some water and a cloth from outside, and cleaned her cut.

"You said your name was… Aye, right?"

"Yes," Aye answered, feeling a little better after cleaning the wound.

"Well, I'm going to need help with all the chores. Would you mind helping me from now on?" Chizuru asked with a polite smile.

"Of course. That's the least I can do for you."

Everything was a blur. Aye was sure she was lying down on a futon, and it was in the evening. But she had no idea where she was. When she tried to get up into a sitting position, her whole body ached. But she couldn't just stay here.

Then something flashed in her mind. A memory of last night at Shimabara. She had lost control, and there was a fight between her and a big man. She had stabbed him in the thigh, but she didn't remember anything else from there on.

Aye couldn't stay wherever she was for long, since she had things to do at Shimabara. So she pushed all the fatigue and pain away, and sat. She felt something hard at her hips, and realized her weapons were still on her.

Not having any idea where she was, Aye got up and balanced herself. Or at least tried to. She soon fell back down onto the futon. Her lungs were burning, and she couldn't breathe. Aye took long deep breaths, slowly, and regained her strength to stand. Then there was a scoff from the other side of the room. How had she not noticed him?

Kazama Chikage was sitting on the floor, sneering at Aye.

"I see, you have finally gotten up."