Hakuouki in its entirety belongs to IDEA Factory/ Yone Kazuki-sensei; Kawa belongs to me.

The loud 'clack' sound of the shinai clashing hummed in the training hall.

She blocked his oncoming swing, shoving him off with a grunt and lunging from the side, both hands gripping the hilt of her wooden sword as she slammed her 'blade' down onto his, the 'clack' sound screeching and making her teeth hurt.

He huffed, smirking into her steely gray eyes, her frame shaking softly with her labored breathing his green eyes took in leisurely. "You're startin' to get faster after all, love," he mused.

She blinked at his compliment before huffing, smirking widely as she shoved her weight onto him using her arms, a cheeky light in her pretty face. "Cut the crap and just fight," she purred, grunting when he shoved her off rather hard.

Okita Souji flew at her with a flurry of swipes from his shinai, his blows unrelenting as he forced her back and onto the defense.

Hijikata Yasakawa gritted her teeth and growled, finally catching one of his oncoming swings and shoved him off, returning the volley of swipes and sending him on the defense, breaking the monotony once she saw he left his right side open for a blow.

With a quick block from his right hand's swinging 'blade' with one of her own from her right wrist, she thrust the shinai in her left hand forward, jabbing his ribs as the wooden sword sailed beneath his armpit and came out behind him, making him freeze at getting hit.

Both combatants panted, one pair of green eyes looking where the other had struck as the pair of gray eyes lifted up to the former's green gaze, sizing up his response to her winning strike.

Shoulders slumping, he sighed. "Point." He admitted defeat patiently.

She grinned and pulled her shinai back, detangling to face him properly.

They bowed respectfully before she lowered the shinai to the floor, stretching her arms to the ceiling with a yawn, and flopping back onto the cool wooden floor of the training hall with a tired moan.

Souji smirked down at her tired form and plopped down next to her, grunting softly at the creak in his tired muscles. "Shit," he muttered.

"Am I really getting faster… or were you just saying that to get me to lose focus?" Kawa wondered quietly, perking his ears.

He looked back at her, a soft light in his handsome face, as he leaned back onto the floor, shuffling to lie on his side and look at her. "Hmm, ta be honest, it was a bit of both." He hummed, brushing strands of hair from her face lazily.

She blushed softly and looked away, huffing quietly. "You're so predictable," she grated with a sigh.

Souji chuckled, green eyes glittering. "Y'think so, hnn?" He wondered coyly.

Kawa squeaked in surprise when she found him ontop of her in the next second, blinking back confusion as she stared up at his cocky green stare, before she blushed brightly and tried to shove him off. "S-Souji," she declared.

He smirked again and lifted a hand to hold her right wrist gently in his grip, surprising her, looking down at the narrow cut on her skin and the smudged blood stain around the menial injury. "Yer one reckless woman, y'know that?" He chided quietly, getting off her to retreat to his spot next to her.

She punched him reproachfully, sitting forward a little and lowering her gaze to her wrist, huffing. "And you're a pervert." She rebutted.

He blinked at her thick-skinned response, sitting up slightly to raise a hand and stroke her cheek, seeing her stiffen at his touch; he smiled wryly, leaning in to press his forehead to hers. "Quit frownin', it doesn't suit you. Yer too beautiful to look like that," he urged softly, perking her ears.

Kawa blushed again, prettily this time, looking away shyly from his penetrating green eyes. "Don't think you can charm me so easily, you overgrown, cocky, sadistic…" The rest of her insult was quieted when he tipped her chin upward to capture her lips in his own, kissing her softly.

Souji felt her stiffen like a board at his sudden kiss, keeping her chin in his fingers' grasp as his eyes slid closed; he was surprised to feel her fingers bunch in the fabric of his haori, bringing her mouth up to meet his a second time and kiss him slowly.

He felt like grinning like the idiot he was and used his free hand to encircle her small waist, bringing her closer as he released her chin to curl his fingers in her black hair she'd kept up in a ponytail, hearing her make a small noise in the back of her throat that made him grin softly.

She pulled away rather reluctantly, blushing still and panting a little, ignoring the hurt expression on his face at the break in their kiss; she cleared her throat and offered him a sheepish smile. "I've never kissed anyone before… um, I wasn't bad, was I?" She asked hesitantly, her gray eyes hopeful and shy at the same time.

He blinked at her question before his green eyes softened and he smirked gently, running a hand through her hair. "Nah, you were good, considerin' y'never kissed before." He replied.

Kawa beamed, blushing again and chuckling in relief, shuffling to her feet and picking up her discarded shinai as well as his own, offering a hand of aid to him.

Souji took it, helping himself to his feet and watching her go put the wooden swords away on their perch nailed to the far wall, green eyes following the slight sway in her curved hips with a fond smile on his lips.

"C'mon, Souji," she beckoned, perking his ears.

He blinked again before smirking and trotting after her exit of the training hall, slinging his arm around her shoulders as they walked out into the mid-morning day.

:::::::o|o:::::::

"I thought it was weird to hear Hijikata-san sound so excited." Both men blinked at the familiar voice, looking to see the lanky brunette smirking at them from the courtyard with his usually-cocky green stare; his smirk widened. "Well, if it ain't Hajime-kun!"

The second man blinked. "Souji!"

"'Hajime-kun'?" The younger Hijikata repeated, poking past her companion to look at her brother and the second man that was in his room, her gray eyes falling on a raven-haired man wearing mostly black garb save a white scarf around his neck; his blue eyes looked at her gray in curiosity.

Souji elbowed her gently. "That's right, I forgot you never met. Saitou Hajime, Hijikata Yasakawa." He informed, smiling from one to the other.

Saitou nodded and dipped his head a second time in respect, seeing her bow slightly in response, before the name registered in his mind. "'Hijikata'…? I had no idea you were hiding family," he turned to the older of the two black-haired siblings.

Toshi exhaled and smirked, slightly sheepish on leaving his old friend out of the loop. "Kawa is my younger sister, half-sister, actually. Our father entrusted me to take her in." He explained.

Kawa smirked as well and huffed. "Don't make it sound so boring, nii-san." She chided.

Saitou looked between them again and smirked a little. "Now I see the resemblance." He mused thoughtfully.

Souji snickered before being jabbed in the ribs by her elbow, hearing her huff.

"Now there's a face I haven't seen in a while!" Everyone blinked once when Sano's voice came in before the aforementioned tall captain came forward, smiling lightly.

"Oh, Saitou!" Shinpachi chirped in surprise, poking his head past his friend into the room to see if his proclamation held true.

"Hajime-kun, dang it's been forever!" Heisuke piped up happily as the trio piled into the room.

Kawa rolled her eyes, smiling patiently. "Honestly," she muttered.

"C'mon, let's join the party." Souji urged, squeezing her hand in his as he dragged her with him to talk with his old friend, making her yelp slightly.

::::::o|o:::::::

The two shinai clashing repeatedly hummed in her ears.

Having decided to come watch the spar, Kawa sat on the stone steps of the front of the training hall, left elbow on said knee supporting her chin as her right arm fell unceremoniously into her lap.

So far she was impressed.

Saitou Hajime, despite being welcomed warmly by the boys into the Roshigumi, was one hell of a warrior.

She was a little jealous even, mostly because his skill with using a blade left-handedly outmatched hers by a longshot.

Her gray eyes followed the mad swinging of the wooden blades; the 'clack' of wood clashing against each other made her ears hurt a little with the intense blows the two men shared, both trying to outdo each other and go for a vital spot on the other's body.

Time froze and seemed to come to a halt when they went for the killing blow, both combatants' swords raised high overhead.

She smirked wryly, drumming a couple of fingertips against the bottom of her left cheek.

'One thing you will learn from what I have to teach you is to never lift your sword over your foe's head. Not only is it just plain reckless, but it also leaves your chest and abdomen wide open for a likewise-death blow from your foe. Remember that, Kawa.' Her sensei's words echoed in her head as she thought back to her old dojo days in Edo.

Katsumoto-sensei was right.

Her eyes widened slightly: Souji stood stock-still, frozen in place with his shinai raised overhead, green orbs wide.

Saitou had dropped to a kneeling stance, landing accurately next to his opponent: the sharp end of the shinai's blade touched the left side of the brunette's ribcage, earning her attention.

Well, I'll be damned, she thought, the smirk being replaced with a slow smile. Saitou-kun is definitely no push-over.

The surprise faded slowly from the lankier of the two men's face and his green eyes closed with a slight sigh of defeat. "You got one in."

She shuffled to her feet, blinking as she noticed a familiar bluenette had stayed to watch the match from the opposite end of the stone courtyard; her eyes softened and she smiled a little, securing her katana at her right hip before moving closer to the two men as they pulled away to bow respectfully, signaling the match was over.

"Neh, Hajime-kun, have you changed your style; you didn't go to a different dojo, didja?" Souji's question caught the stoic man off guard for the briefest moment as surprise flitted across his handsome face.

Saitou's blue eyes calmed and he met his friend's green stare. "No, I don't believe I have." He replied simply.

"Hm," he hummed quietly, deciding to let the subject drop; knowing Hajime-kun, if he didn't want to push a certain subject, then it was left moot.

"Both of you did well; though I'll bite, I'm kinda jealous that Saitou-kun is much more skilled at being left-handed than I am." The thoughtful female voice stirred their attention away and to the black-haired Hijikata woman moving towards them.

The brunette's face split into a gentle smirk, inwardly touched that she had praised him (albeit not directly, but he was fine with it), lifting a hand to ruffle her black hair gently. "What's to be jealous over? Yer just as good as Hajime-kun, and that's just bein' left-handed!" He chided.

Kawa's cheeks flared pink at his praise before she looked down shyly, hearing him chuckle softly. "Honestly, Souji," she mumbled.

Saitou blinked at seeing the unfamiliar gentleness that shone in his old sparring partner's green stare that fell on her, his own eyes softening at the sight before a slight smile formed on his lips. Well this is a first, he mused, vaguely wondering just how long of time he'd spent away from the Sheikan group he had called his friends to not see such a change in the ever-cocky and charming Okita Souji.

"I appreciate your compliment, Yasakawa-san," he mused, bowing his head a little out of courtesy.

She blinked once before smiling a little and shrugging. "S' nothing. I prefer 'Kawa', by the way. Only nii-san, Sannan-san, and Kondou-san call me by my full name." She offered sheepishly.

He nodded and smiled back. "I'll keep that in mind then, Kawa-chan." He saw her smile lighter than before.

The lanky brunette smirked to himself at seeing them get along, slinging his arm around the girl's waist and making her squeak in surprise at his sudden gesture. "C'mon, need to cool off." He urged her, perking her ears.

Kawa nodded and smiled up at him, looking to Saitou's slightly curious blue orbs and feeling sheepish again. "I guess we'll see you at dinner then, Saitou-kun." She offered, seeing him nod back and smirk faintly at his old friend (who was probably smirking like a Cheshire cat for all she knew), letting the couple walk away as he went in his own direction.

"Serizawa-san said somethin' nuts like that then?" He wondered rather expectantly.

She clicked her tongue and huffed. "Lowly old dog. Kondou-san shouldn't be thinking he's beneath him: they're on equal standing for God's sake. That man should just die in the streets like a drunken dog should." She grumbled, still pissed from that night where she'd stood at her brother's side out of loyalty as well as to uphold his name with honor, crossing her arms at her chest.

The lanky brunette next to her huffed as well and nodded. "You've never been more right, Kawa-chan," he mused, perking her ears.

She looked at him out of the corner of her eye and smiled fondly, smirking a little instead of letting her fondness show to the rest of their party gathered.

"Anywho, it looks like that old geezer seriously hates our guts. He's prolly still sore about the Honjo Inn incident." The younger brunette relented with a sigh of exasperation.

The bluenette next to him cocked a brow in confusion. "The 'Honjo Inn' incident…?" He repeated.

He blanched and spluttered nervously at spilling the beans, waving his hands frantically as his friends –aside from the latest face added to the mix—sweatdropped at his animated fluster. "W-well, um…"

The green-eyed brunette exhaled. "'Might as well fill him in; Hajime-kun don't know about it either." He offered patiently, seeing the only female present bristle visibly at the memory.

His teal-colored eyes dropped to the ground as if in shame and he hesitated to start the tale. "'Kay…" His retelling of the horrid tale became noiseless sound to her as she remembered that night, the night that blazed orange instead of being filled with bright stars… Her hands that were burrowed into the crooks of her elbows balled into fists at the sight of Kondou-san on his hands and knees begging for forgiveness from that man…

The man she hated.

Noticing her companion had stiffened as well, she stole a glance up at him to see he was staring into space, the slightest twitch in his jaw muscles showing if she looked closely; his green eyes were darkened in reminiscing.

She lowered her arms and lifted one to take his sleeve in her grip, gently pulling on the hem.

His hand lowered to grasp her own, his larger hand covering her smaller one perfectly; the stiffness in his body evaporated when her smaller hand squeezed on his, silently relaying the message that she was worried for his sanity.

Souji looked at her and smiled, albeit strained, but he smiled nonetheless.

Kawa returned the smile and let him pull her to his side, folding her arm on his back as he squeezed her shoulders with his long arm.

Even if they weren't really lovers, she did feel something for the ever-cocky brunette, she would admit.

But she realized that his actions alone spoke volumes, and for that she was very grateful.

::::::o|o::::::

He glanced at her as she kept her gray eyes on the tall straw dummy set before her, sunlight glinting off the sharp edge of her katana. "Neh, Kawa-chan, what're ya waiting for?" He wondered calmly.

She smirked at his comment before she lunged, pretending for the briefest moment that she was striking at Serizawa's fat neck and sharply swinging her left hand out, katana's blade catching more sunlight as it bounced off the silver color of the blade.

Straightening calmly a few feet away from the dummy, she flicked her wrist. The dummy split into two parts, both flopping onto the ground and leaving the stump as a memoir.

"Timing is everything, love." She sighed, smirking over at him and returning her katana to the black scabbard at her hip fastened by the blue sash around her small waist.

Souji smirked back and found that he liked the playful twinkle in her gray eyes; he had the sudden urge to kiss her infront of Saitou and Sano who were also practicing but hesitated in doing so, knowing she would not only scold him for it but also sucker-punch his nose later while blushing furiously.

He inwardly snickered; he loved seeing her blush, she was so cute when blushing.

A yelp sounded, jarring him from his rather lewd thought trail, making both left-handed members of his group perk up too as they watched Sano drag a protesting Ibuki further into the courtyard by the scruff of his haori.

Kawa deadpanned and exhaled, lifting a hand to run her fingers through her black hair. "Sano, honestly…" She muttered.

"C'mon, Ryunosuke, let's practice together." Sano ignored her muttered complaint –which earned him a pout from the younger Hijikata—as he finally stopped pulling the boy and let him stand before Souji, Kawa, and Saitou, seeming proud of his actions.

Ibuki snorted, "I gotta go shoppin' so I'm gonna hafta pass." He piped up a defense.

Souji snickered. "What now; did Serizawa-san send you out to buy more booze?" He wondered dryly.

Kawa elbowed him gently, sending a reproving look at the taller brunette present. "Both of you, let him be. If he doesn't wanna practice, don't force him. Besides, I'd imagine that old dog would be more pissed than a bear awoken from a nap if he didn't get his daily dosage of alcohol." She declared patiently, looking at the bluenette and smiling kindly. "Am I right?" She didn't need to know the answer, given she already figured it out, but still.

Ibuki blushed a little at having his honor being defended by a girl, nodding dumbly. "Y-yeah, you're pretty spot-on." Maybe Kawa-chan isn't as thick-skinned as I first thought she was, he mused inwardly, shrugging away from Sano to take off walking in the direction he'd been dragged from.

"Oi, it's dangerous out there, ya don't want me to come with you?" The aforementioned man wondered behind him, further irritating the bluenette.

"I'm not a kid; I can go by myself!" He snapped without looking over his shoulder.

"Really, now…" Sano deadpanned.

"Let 'im go. If he wants to die, let him go die." A gruff voice declared, making the young woman perk up in slight surprise at seeing him present.

Ibuki lifted his head and opening his eyes from the scowl they'd shut in to see a familiar stern face locking his violet gaze with his orange eyes that widened a little in surprise.

"Nii-san," she began quietly.

The boy bristled. "It's not like I want to die or anythin'!" He snapped, putting up a rebellious front that she knew would get his ass kicked by her brother if he wasn't the kind man he was.

Toshi's violet glare didn't waver. "You're not skilled with the sword and neither do you train; you can't even draw your sword to defend yourself! If you can't even do that, then why get into fights with rogue samurai on the street?" He stated sternly.

Heisuke, that rat, Ibuki mentally cursed his friend, gritting his teeth in annoyance.

"You can't blame me for thinkin' you're ready to die." He added in the same stern tone.

He glared at him now, "like you're one to talk! You came to the capital knowing you could get killed by ronin! That seems like enough of a death wish to…" His fiery rebuttal was silenced when the older man grabbed his scruff and glared hard into his surprised orange stare.

"Don't lump people trying to accomplish something with someone racing to his death!" His patience, however thin it was (the quartet beyond his reach could testify that it was indeed very thin), was starting to slip through his fingers as he felt that if his sister wouldn't brain him with her scabbard for doing so, he would've decked this idiot for being such a bull-headed wuss. "At the very least, you're not desperately trying to live!" More surprise made the boy's orange eyes widen as the truth of his words sank in like a knife. "If you don't wanna die, throw sand or mud in your foe's face and book it!" And with that, he dropped him at last and turned away to the rest of the compound.

Ibuki shuffled to his feet, looking at the retreating fukuchou before Sano planted a hand on his head and patted his hair.

"That's his only way of showin' he's concerned for ya; s' his one way of expressing himself." The tall man mused.

She looked at her brother's retreating back and her shoulders slumped in a quiet sigh.
"He means well, but as Sano said, he doesn't express himself in a… non-confronting way. Please forgive my brother." She added, looking at the bluenette and offering an apologetic smile.

He blinked at seeing it was his little sister that was asking for forgiveness, not her brother; he nodded a little.

review please. thanks~ ;D