Disclaimer~ We don't own Hakuouki Shinsengumi Kitan, or anything relating to it. Zan nen desu ne?

Chapter Eight
A Romance Blooming

Asaji screamed, startled by the unexpected intruders. "Sayo-sama!" Her eyes moved up the sword at her sister's throat to the man holding it, Hajime. "Please, don't hurt her… she's already injured."

"If you move I will kill you." Souji stepped out of the shadows, holding out his sword, stepping closer to Asaji.

"What are you doing out here?" Hajime demanded, not removing his eyes from Sayo who stood frozen, eyes glistening with fright.

"What were you too thinking," Souji shook his head, allowing his hair to move across his forehead. "Don't you know it's dangerous to wander around in the woods at night?"

"As far as I can tell you two are the only danger to us out here…" Asaji took her sisters arm, trying to keep her steady.

"What do you mean you're already hurt" Hajime looked Sayo up and down, his expression not softening.

"It's nothing… tripped," Sayo finally spoke, though her voice was shaky.

"Where were you planning on going? Did you really think you could slip away from us so easily?"

"It seems they don't think very highly of us…" Souji said.

"Please… don't hurt us," Sayo pleaded, leaning on Asaji.

Hajime hesitantly lowered his sword realizing they were in no position to move forward any further. "I suppose you couldn't run away even if you wanted to."

Sayo looked away.

"What should we do, Hajime-san? Hijikata will not be pleased…" Souji looked at Hajime but didn't retract his blade. "The one time Shinpachi isn't being a pervert, and this happens."

Asaji looked at the ground awkwardly, avoiding the sword directed to harm her. She didn't like seeing this version of her friends.

"Are you two going to come with us quietly? Or are we going to have to take care of you now?"

Asaji eyes flashed back up to Souji's face. "We won't run anymore. Sayo-sama is just going to get hurt again if she tries…"

"We can move back to the Shinsengumi grounds, once you understand that this is unacceptable behavior. Please do not run away again. We will not be so kind next time…" Hajime said, though he was tired of all the second chances. His kindness would not last much longer.

"I… promise, we will not try and run again. But please understand that we only tried this time because of our unfinished business… I couldn't stand the thought of sitting idly by while those men—" Sayo apologized, trying to justify their actions, but was cut off by Hajime.

"I … understand."

"Eh, Saito-san?" Souji questioned, surprised.

"Sayo-sama…" Asaji whispered before turning back to Hajime and Souji. "I'm very sorry that we tried to run away…but, please, punish us later for this… Sayo-sama needs her ankle fixed. It's only going to get worse the longer she tries to stand on it."

"Yes, I agree, let's discuss the punishment later; please sit down Sayo -san." Hajime sheathed his sword and carefully helped Sayo to the ground.

"Your ankle, huh? Do you think it needs a splint, Hajime?" Souji asked.

Hajime looked at Sayo's foot, taking it gingerly in his hands, examining it before nodding at Souji.

"Come Asaji; let's go find something to tie it to."

"M-me?" She squeaked.

"Hajime is going to stay here with her. I could use your help. Or do I have to convince you further?" He smiled and held up is sword in a way that allowed the blade to catch the moonlight, making it seem even more foreboding.

"No, no… I will go."

Asaji kept her blue eyes to the ground as she walked quietly behind Souji, careful not to step on his flowing blue robes. "What exactly are we looking for?"

"A stick about this big." Her turned slightly and held up his arms to gesture the length of about a foot. "We can tie it with something so it stays straight…"

"Got it… It's so dark and hard to see, but we can find one no problem."

"You're not afraid of the dark, are you? Do you want your hands held again?" Souji laughed softly.

"No." Asaji glared at him.

A small animal ran through the foliage, making the bushes and dead leaves rustle slightly.

"Ah!" Asaji screamed, and ran forward, grabbing onto Souji's billowing sleeve without thinking.

"So I was right again?" He smiled down at her.

"N-no…" She looked back at the bushes nervously, neglecting to let go of his robe.

"So, whose idea was it to skip out on us while bathing? Don't tell me you thought of that?"

Asaji didn't answer.

"Whoever came up with it won't get any more 'punishment' than the other… I just would like to know," he tried to reassure her.

"It was… an obvious time to try and escape."

"Your sister, huh? I have to admit, it was a good idea… Just not good enough." Souji pushed some unruly plants out of their path with his sword as they walked further. "I'm having a hard time understanding why you left though… I know we gave you the occasional death threat, but over all I was under the impression we were treating you fairly."

"You were, please don't misunderstand our reasons for leaving… if we didn't have things to do, I would love to stay… but, that doesn't change the fact that we made a promise, Sayo-sama and I."

"And I assume this is how both you and your sister feel?"

Asaji nodded before pausing thoughtfully. Souji gave her a curious, allowing his eyes to linger.

"Hey, Souji-san, can I ask you a question?"

"Un."

"How do you think Hijikata is going to punish us?"

"Well… Knowing Toshi, he'll probably tie you up and stick bamboo skewers under all your finger nails, maybe force Sano to commit reverse seppuku on you both." He shrugged.

"Reverse… seppuku?" Asaji gulped.

"You don't wanna know." Souji smiled teasingly.

"Oh… well…" Asaji took a deep breath. "If that's the case, then I will take all the punishment… Sayo -sama has already done so much for me… I can't possibly…"

Souji turned to look at her again. "I don't know if that's your decision."

"I'll convince him… I have to…"

"You're such a determined little girl, aren't you?"

A blush crept of Asaji's cheeks though you couldn't see it in the dim light. "I'm not that little… And I have to keep up with Sayo -sama… I don't want to hold her back."

"As little as I know about your sister, I doubt she feels that way."

"Well, I don't want it to become that way… Enough of me talking about myself… "She looked at the ground, still searching for the perfect stick. "Tell me about yourself."

Souji laughed, ignoring her question, and stopped walking, squatting down to pick up a fallen branch. "This one looks good, ne? Let's head back; hopefully your sister hasn't broken Hajime-sama," he mocked her.

"Or the other way around…"

XXX

"You should keep your foot elevated," Hajime suggested, looking over at Sayo who sat next to him against a thick stump. Her face showed the pain that she was trying desperately to hold inside.

"My leg will get tired if I hold it up in the air."

"You can use my… never mind," Hajime dismissed the idea.

"What?"

He looked forward silently, keeping a blank exterior as a soft breeze moved only his hair.

Sayo hugged herself, pulling her knees up to her chest.

"Are you cold?"

She shook her head, but shivered involuntarily.

"They should be returning soon."

"Yes… I hope so."

Hajime watched her shiver a moment before he gave in and began to move closer to her, filling in the gap between their sitting bodies.

"Oi, Hajime, we found a stick, do you have something to tie it with?" Came Souji's interrupting voice.

Hajime moved back away from her. "Yes…" He untied the white ribbon from his hair.

"That should work fine." Souji tossed him the stick, coming better into view with Asaji scurrying close behind.

"Don't hurt her… she's the only sister I have…" Asaji flinched as Hajime looked at Sayo's foot, stick in hand.

"May I?" Hajime gestured toward Sayo's leg.

She nodded and he gently pulled up the hem of her kimono, exposing her bare calf. He carefully took her now swollen ankle in his hand, placing the short stick against it with his other. "Can you hold it there, please?"Hajime asked.

Sayo did as she was told, and reached down, brushing her fingers against his as he let go. Hajime removed her shoe, and starting with the bottom of her small foot, wrapped the silk ribbon expertly around her ankle tightly. Sayo flinched slightly as he tied the ribbon, with final hard pull so it would stay in place.

"It should heal in a few days though you should have Yamazaki look at it for you when we return. Shall we continue now?"

"Yes… but I'm still not sure if I can walk."

Hajime stood up silently, ignoring her comment.

"Hajime, just pick her up already! It's starting to get cold."

He blushed slightly, though his face was silhouetted against the moon, hiding it from view.

Sayo tried to push herself up off the ground, but couldn't keep the pressure off her injured foot, and failed. Hajime reached out a hand to her, and pulled her effortlessly to her feet, placing her arm around his neck so she could use him to limp against.

Asaji watched Hajime as the four began walking; she slowly fell to the back of the group and followed silently.

"Should we go back and meet everyone else?" Souji suggested.

"How do we explain this?" Hajime nodded to the two girls.

"I'll come up with something. " He waved his hand in dismissal and looked back at Asaji. "Just go with whatever I say. If you don't, I will kill you, got it?" He smiled.

She nodded and stared at the ground, focusing on not tripping.

Sayo hobbled awkwardly next to Hajime, she was grateful for his help, but was having trouble adjusting to the height difference.

"Where are we going?" Asaji asked, glancing around nervously; they were not heading back in the direction her and her sister had traveled.

Hajime, noticing Sayo's trouble, hunched his back slightly to make it easier on her.

Souji sighed. "Just pick her up, Saito."

"I don't see how that will hel—"

"You both will actually be able to walk correctly."

Hajime sighed this time, and in one swift move, bent over and picked her up, without missing a step.

Sayo squeaked in protest. "I can walk."

Hajime didn't say anything, but instead kept moving. Sayo gave in, not in any position to argue further, and wrapped her arms around his neck to hang on.

"I smell smoke, we must be getting close," Souji said.

"… Smoke?" Sayo questioned. Where were they talking them?

"Is something on fire?" Asaji looked around for a fiery glow.

Souji turned to smile at her.

"Are you sure you know what you're going to say?" Hajime asked Souji.

"Shinpai shi nai de kudasai." Souji smirked.

The four walked into a clearing, where a large fire sat burning, and crackling invitingly. To Sayo and Asaji's surprise, the rest of the Shinsengumi captains sat around this fire, happily talking and laughing.

"What… is this?" Sayo asked, surprised.

"Ah, how nice of you to join us… in the arms of another man," Shinpachi spoke bitterly, looking up to see Sayo clinging to Hajime.

"She's been injured," Hajime defended.

"What? How? What'd you do to her?" He demanded.

"What are you two doing bringing them out here? It's dangerous," Hijikata spoke harshly.

Hajime and Souji looked at each other as if secretly agreeing on what to say.

Souji spoke first. "After their bath, they were at a loss of what to do. They happened to see us pass by and asked if we would help them come up with something. We figured why not take them to see everyone else?" he lied, and then side glanced at Hajime, giving him the queue to finish the tale.

"They wanted to take the long route because they wanted to see more of the surrounding area. On the way Sayo-san tripped and fell, hurting her ankle."

Sayo looked at Hajime, but he continued to look forward.

"Well, they're here now, why don't you join us, and have some dango mochi?"

"There's plenty left… Shinpachi got impatient and ate a hot one." Sano laughed, holding out a skewer with three mochi balls over the fire.

"My mouth hurts too much to eat more…" Shinpachi frowned.

"Come sit by me Asa-chan," Heisuke beckoned, and she happily ran over.

Hajime carefully set Sayo down next to Sano, ignoring Shinpachi's jealous glare.

Heisuke took his skewer from the fire and handed it to Asaji. She blew it off before popping the top mochi into her mouth.

"See, Shinpachi." Sano pointed to Asaji. "That's what you do before you eat it."

Shinpachi turned his glare on Sano.

"So did we miss anything?" Souji asked, walking around to sit on Asaji's other side.

"Nothing out of the ordinary," Hijikata said, watching Asaji eat the mochi like a happy child; she was around Heisuke's age, but sometimes had moments where she seemed younger than she actually was.

"Did you guys see anything suspicious?" Sano questioned.

Hajime and Souji exchanged glances.

"No," Hajime answered first.

"Tonight seems just like any other boring night on patrol." Souji shrugged.

Asaji leaned to Heisuke. "Do you guys often do lookout-type stuff?"

He nodded. "There isn't as much fighting as these guys would like…" He gestured toward Shinpachi, who was sitting bored watching Sano eat his dango mochi.

"You're making me self-conscious," Sano said, looking at his friend nervously.

"Just continue, I'm tasting the mochi through you."

Sano put down the mochi. "I'm not hungry anymore."

Shinpachi sighed then looked at Sayo hopefully.

She simply said, "No."

"You really should try some, it's good," Souji offered.

Sayo looked at Shinpachi who was still watching her hungrily. "No thank you."

Asaji took another bite of mochi and glanced at Hijikata who was staring at the ground, seemingly in deep thought. She leaned into Heisuke again. "Hijikata-san looks distracted…"

Heisuke shrugged. "He's probably got a lot of things on his mind."

"Maybe this campfire will loosen him up…? Unless you have these things often."

"Nah, we only have these once in a while, but when we do, its fun." He paused. "Unless someone brings sake."

"I could use some right about now…" Sayo reached down to grab her ankle in pain.

Shinpachi jumped up. "I'll go get some!"

But Sano was quick to pull him back down. "Not tonight big guy." He laughed.

"Hijikata-san, you should tell us a scary story," Heisuke suggested.

Hijikata looked up still kind of spacey, "A… story… hmm."

"Ooh, I love stories…" Asaji smiled excitedly.

"Hijikata-san tells the best ones." Souji turned to her. "But if you get scared, you can hold my hand." He held out his hand, palm up.

"That's okay, Souji." Heisuke took Asaji's hand. "I've got it all covered." He smiled at Souji before turning to her. "That's what friends are for, ne?"

"Hai hai." Asaji smiled trying to hold back her blushing.

"Well, the offer still stands." Souji turned away, to look at Hijikata.

Hijikata raised an eyebrow before starting. "Once there was a master-less samurai, Iemon, and his wife Iwa who lived who lived in Yotsuya. Even though Iemon didn't have a job, Iwa was happy because she carrying a baby. However, Iemon was depressed due to unemployment…"

"That's not scary!" Heisuke shouted.

"Let me finish… One day Iemon met a man who told him that he would look for a master for Iemon, on the condition that Iemon would marry his granddaughter after he got a job. Iemon accepted the man's offer and decided to kill Iwa together with the man. And so Iemon killed his wife, Iwa…"

"That's terrible! How could he kill his wife and his child…?" Sayo gasped.

Shinpachi shrugged. "Was the guy's granddaughter hot?"

Sano laughed. "Please continue Hijikata-san."

"Iemon was not happy after he carried out the plan because he was tormented by Iwa's ghost. It appeared everywhere around him. And he would be…"

Sayo grabbed onto Hajime's sleeve tightly and he looked down at her a moment, startled.

"He would be what?" Shinpachi yelled.

"He would be…" Hijikata attempted to continue.

"That's sad he only wasn't happy after Iwa started to haunt him… does that mean he felt no remorse for his actions other than they had to suffer? What about her and the child? They didn't deserve to die…" Asaji commented thoughtfully

"That's how things are sometimes." Souji shrugged.

She sighed. "I hope this isn't based on a true story…"

Hijikata glared at them. "Are you finished?"

"Sumimansen!" Asaji bowed.

"Please continue, Hijikata-san." Souji waved his hand.

Hijikata cleared his throat, "As I was saying… he would be… haunted until he was no longer living… During the rest of his years, his servants would mysteriously die due to the vengeance of Iwa. Iemon held up his end of the bargain though and married Oume, the man's granddaughter. But it is said that because of Iwa's jealousy she poisoned a face cream and set it out for Oume to use, causing her face to disfigure as if she had been burned to a bloody mass."

Sayo covered her face with Hajime's sleeve.

Heisuke squeezed Asaji's hand tightly.

"That was a good story, ne Shinpachi?" Sano looked over at his bestie.

"I've heard scarier…"

"Then may I ask, why are your knuckles white around your sword handle?" Hijikata smiled at Shinpachi.

Everyone laughed except Shinpachi who released his sword, embarrassed.

Sano popped another dango mochi in his mouth.

"That was a good story…" Asaji complimented.

"Yeah, looks like Heisuke got kind of scared there…" Souji teased.

"Only a little…" Heisuke looked down at Asaji and his hands before letting on. "Oh, sorry Asa-chan …" He rubbed the back of his head and blushed.

"It's fine! What are best friends for, ne?"

Hijikata sat back and smiled at everyone, glad to see they were enjoying themselves.

Sayo realized she was still holding onto Hajime's sleeve, and let go quickly.

"I don't mind, you know," Hajime said barely audible.

"What?"

"Nothing…"

Sayo smiled looking away.

"Ah, looks like there's a romance blooming over there." Souji smiled, making both of them blush.

Asaji looked over at the two of them and smiled before taking a bite of mochi.

"Okay, I've regained my appetite!" Shinpachi announced and took the dango mochi out of Sano's hand while he was in mid-bite.

"Hey…" Sano turned and glared.

Translation Notes:

Seppuku - Honorable suicide
Oi - Hey
Shinpai shi nai de kudasai- Please don't worry
Dango Mochi - Balls of mochi (sweet dumplings made of rice flower) on skewers
Sumimasen - Sorry