A/N: Hey guys, so this chapter is quite long (compared to the others) so I won't be updating a story on Thursday. Sorry! And I also kind feel bad that I'm making Aye go through all these horrible things... But I really like it when my female characters are really strong. :) Anyways, So I know that my story may not be the best, but I am trying with all my strength to make it a fun story to read. If you guys have anything to ask, anything to suggest, please, PLEASE tell me. Thank you so much!

Happy Reading!

Aye hated being so vulnerable and weak against Kazama Chikage. He was towering over her, despite her standing. She quickly reached for her dagger on her arm, but was stopped by a surprisingly warm hand.

"I'm not going to hurt you, fake," he hissed, emphasizing the last part.

"Why…" Aye said, somewhat frustrated and confused at the same time.

"You are merely a… matter of my interest."

"A matter?" She whispered, baffled by his response. Too tired to speak while standing, she let herself drop to the ground. Although she was sitting, she didn't let her guard down. She lightly placed one hand on her hip, and felt for her fan.

"Where am I?" Aye asked, disliking how he was looking down at her. But she was too tired to do anything.

"You are somewhere safe. There is no need to be alarmed," Kazama said, his crimson gaze lingering on her. His next move surprised her. As if tired of looking down at her, he sighed and sat down in front of her. She gave him a sickened glance, but he just ignored it.

They just sat there, a little awkward, in the silence. Then Aye got a shattering headache, just like the one she got last night at Shimabara. Aye stood, wanting to get some fresh air, but her knees buckled under her, and she fell. But before she hit the floor, an arm caught her. There was a piercing scream in the room, and it took a while before she realized it was hers. She held her head with the palm of her hands, and closed her eyes.

Then, everything turned red.

Everything was a blur of red and black. There was a figure, one that was pinning her down by her shoulders. She shouted, but all the came out was an animalistic growl. Then the face of the mystery person cleared.

It was Kazama Chikage.

He was here to take Chizuru. Aye had to kill him. She had to make him bleed.

But before she could reach for her dagger, the fog in her vision cleared, and found herself panting. Her hair stuck to her face because of the sweat.

"Wha… What happened?" Aye said, still out of breath.

"You lost control of your Rasetsu side." Kazama said, a hint of annoyance in his voice. His blonde hair was disheveled, and there was blood on his hand. Then the pain came all at once. Her chest started burning, and when she touched her wound, there was blood. Too much blood. Her vision was intruded by specks of white, and and she struggled to keep her eyes open. She slumped onto the futon, not caring if the blood stained it. She was too tired.

"You are injured, human," Kazama's resonant voice said.

"Yeah…" Aye said, before drifting back to her memories.

It has been almost a year since Aye first arrived at the care of the Shinsengumi. They had been kind enough to let her stay, and live. A year ago, she had no hope of living, or even meeting these kind people. Saito-san had even been kind enough to teach her the history of the katana. Okita-san had been teaching her about how to wield a katana. Chizuru and Aye would always be together, either working, or chatting.

One day, Aye was called to a meeting. It had been days since Kazama Chikage had visited the Shinsengumi and threatened them. He almost took Chizuru, and if it wasn't for Hijikata-san, Chizuru would be long gone by now. Because of this incident, everyone was on the edge, trying to find a way to keep Chizuru safe.

Aye arrived at the meeting room, and she knocked and let herself in. Everyone was inside already, except for Chizuru.

"You called for me, Kondou-san?"

"Ah, yes, Aye. We were discussing on a way to keep Chizuru safe from the Oni. I called you because you know her best, and maybe you had a suggestion." Kondou-san answered, missing his usual smile. "We currently came up with the idea that someone be with her at all times. Someone who could protect her."

"But… Wouldn't Chizuru not want anyone looking over her? She would say she feels too much like a burden," Aye commented. This earned her a downed look from everyone else in the room. "But it is a great idea."

"So, back to where we were," Sannan-san said, glancing at everyone. "Who wanted to volunteer for this 'job'?" Heisuke, Hijikata-san, and Yamazaki-kun raised their hands. Not many people wanted this job.

"Um… If it's alright, could I take the job, please?" Everyone turned to look at Aye. "I may not be as skilled as any of you, but I do know the basics. I also know Chizuru well, and she might feel a little more comfortable with me…" She said, scanning everyone's faces.

"That could be an idea, if you could train a bit more. Isn't that right, Kondou-san?" Sannan-san said, directing his gaze at Kondou-san.

"Hmm… It would be. Aye-san, are you sure about this? It is a dangerous job."

"Yes. Besides, everyone can think of it as me repaying by dept. This is the least I can do for the Shinsengumi and Chizuru. I may need a couple more weeks of training, but I can do this."

As the days passed by, Aye started training harder and harder with Okita-san, Saito-san, Harada-san, and Heisuke. Her skill in handling the katana improved day by day, and she learned how to use short daggers as well. She also started training with the fans that had been a present from Harada-san. It was custom made for battle. It was plain, yet had its own beauty. Its sides were made of metal, and there was a slide, which contained a blade. When slid, the blade would come out from the top, and could be used as a sharp edged weapon. Nobody taught her how to use the fan. Aye found her own way of using her own unique kind of weapon.

After a week had passed, Aye's fighting skills had improved so much she could beat most of the Shinsengumi members. And thanks to her personality to never give up, she always got injured, even during practice.

The Shinsengumi were going out on a patrol, and Aye had to go with them, since Chizuru was going as well. But Chizuru went running into an alley, and she picked up something.

"It's an Ochimizu vial," Chizuru said, holding the vial up. The contents of the vial were gone. It would be suicidal to stay here, since the Ratsetsu could appear any moment.

"Chizuru, I think we should—" Aye was cut short by a group of laughter. They weren't normal laughs, but mixed with shrieks. From the dark part of the alley, the Rasetsu appeared, and they unsheathed their katanas. Aye did the same, she pulled her sword out.

"Are… Are those…" Chizuru didn't need to finish her sentence. As Chizuru backed away, she stumbled and fell.

This was bad. If Chizuru stayed here with Aye, then she would definitely get hurt. So she yelled at Chizuru to get the hell out of there.

"Chizuru, you need to get out of here. Get the others. NOW!" Aye said, and Chizuru scrambled to her feet, and ran off out of the alley. The Rasetsu were still cackling and shrieking, the sound deafening to Aye. As Aye neared them, she noticed they had shreds of what was left of a blue haori on. Wanting to finish this business quickly, she lunged at the Rasetsu, but they dodged easily. As she kept attacking, she finally killed two of them, but realized that they had formed a circle around her, so that she couldn't escape.

Each one she killed was replaced by another, and it never seemed to end. Running out of her burst of adrenaline, she let her guard down, and a Rasetsu came and stabbed her shoulder. She hissed in pain as blood started to drip down onto the floor.

"BLOOD!" The Rasetsu screeched, and they all lunged for her. Throwing her daggers at a few of them, she attacked the nearest Rasetsu. It howled in pain, but it still had a smile on its face. After taking down twelve more of them, her vision started blurring, and there was a buzzing noise in her ear.

Taking this time as an advantage, the Ratsetsu drove their katanas into Aye. She could feel it as one of them took their swords out from her abdomen, and one from her chest. Losing grip on any strength she had left, she crumbled to the ground.

The group of Rasetsu peered down at her with their blood-red eyes. They started stabbing her chest over and over again, but she didn't feel a thing as her eyes started to close.

A splatter of blood on her face let her eyes back open, and she saw the Shinsengumi killing the Rasetsu. Chizuru was above Aye, tears welling in her eyes, and as Aye reached for her hand, she squeezed it one last time and let her eyes close.

The light was unbearably bright when Aye opened her eyes. Her body was sore, and she couldn't get up when she wanted to. She just lay there, staring outside. Then there was a foot in front of the door. Aye looked up to see Harada-san, wearing a shocked expression. Since Aye couldn't do anything, she smiled at him.

"Aye!" Cried Harada-san, sitting on the ground next to Aye.

"What happened? My whole body feels like hell," spoke Aye, her lungs burning from the effort.

"The Rasetsu you were fighting with, they attacked you." Harada-san smiled. "You were out for almost a month."

"A month?" Aye said, trying to sit up. But when her body kept telling her to give up, she sunk onto the futon.

"Yeah. Your injury is real bad." Harada-san stated. He let Aye lie back down, and he smiled a bit sadly. "The thing is… The doctor says you won't be able to heal. There is no way you can survive this injury, unless…" He stopped mid-sentence.

"Unless?" Asked Aye, gesturing him to continue.

"You drink the Ochimizu." He said, cringing at the word. Aye was in shock. She didn't want to become one of those monsters. She would never take the Ochimizu.

Never.

When Aye felt better and could walk with someone's help, she was called to the meeting room of the Shinsengumi. The captains were there, discussing something with a serious mask on. Then Kondou-san noticed Aye coming into the room, and smiled at her, although it was not a happy one.

"Ah, Aye-san, how are you feeling?"

"To be honest, not good. But I guess I feel better than before." Aye said, smiling with effort. "So, why did you call me here, Kondou-san?"

"That… That is because… You see, while you were asleep, Chizuru… She was kidnapped."

"By Kazama Chikage?" Asked Aye, frowning.

"Yes…"

Aye was furious. Partly at the Shinsengumi, but more at herself. She clenched her hands into a fist, and then winced at the pain.

"How long has it been?"

"About a week," Hijikata-san said with a stern expression.

The Shinsengumi were discussing a way to get Chizuru back, and they had tried, but only got dead or injured soldiers in return. Aye's head was spinning, thinking. She kept thinking, and only got one solution.

"I'll take it." Said Aye, and everyone in the room gave her a confused expression.

"Take what?" Asked Heisuke.

"The Ochimizu."

Aye jerked awake as the nightmare died away. She was breathing in short breaths, and her whole body was slick with sweat. She looked around her, her surrounding somewhat recognizable, but strange. Where was this place?

The door of the room slid open, and a man with blonde hair stepped into the room.

"Have you had enough sleep now?" Said Kazama Chikage, smirking.

"Wha—" Said Aye, but stopped as she remembered what had happened. She had lost her mind, and blacked out. Hadn't she blacked out twice already?

Aye sat up, and grimaced as the pain in her chest grew. She looked down, and saw that her chest was patched up unlike before she was conscious. She felt hot, thinking about who could've bandaged her. He would have had to undress her… She shook her head, earning a startled gaze from Kazama.

"So, how long have I been out?"

"Seven nights,"

"A week?!" Shouted Aye, with her hands in the air. Ignoring her chest that was screaming at her to get back down, she got up, and looked up at Kazama.

"Thank you, but I have to go. I've rested for way too long." She grabbed her katana and her outer clothes from the side of the futon. Kazama Chikage didn't even try to stop her.

But she wasn't going to just leave. She had the upper hand here. She could use the element of surprise. She would leave with Kazma Chikage's head. As she walked to the door, she felt Kazama behind her, not far but not close. Aye put her hand on her katana, and unsheathed it so quickly that Kazama didn't have time to even flinch. But he was still wearing that confident and smug look on his face.

"I am not going to fight against an injured person," He smiled, his red eyes staring right through her.

"Oh, now you include me in the category of 'people'?" Aye said, holding her katana as hard as she could, trying not to show her shaking body.

"You can either leave now, or die here." Kazama said, the humor in his eyes fading.

"I would rather die trying, than run away like a coward."

"If that is your choice," said Kazama, unsheathing his katana. Without waiting another moment, Aye charged at him.

The world turned white.