Hakuouki in its entirety belongs to IDEA Factory; Kawa belongs to me.
"I suspected he'd pull something of this caliber sooner or later, but to think he ran off with the Ochimizu…" The furrow in his brow matched her own.
She shrugged her katana against her right shoulder absently. "So what do we do now, nii-san?"
"Don't we need to hurry and find out where he went?" He chimed.
"Given the weight of the situation, I'd love to send all of the men out to look for Niimi-san… but, since the Ochimizu is involved, we can only send out those of us that know of the medicine." He informed grimly.
"That's true; the one upside to this is that he didn't take with him the men he turned into Rasetsu and experimented on." He added.
He opened a gold eye, "which means that if Niimi-san doesn't continue with his experiments, we won't hear of any trouble from him in the near future, right?"
"But wouldn't that man do whatever it takes to sell the Ochimizu?" He wondered of his fellow captain.
"There's also that issue, too; God knows who in hell he'd sell that medicine to, although as grim as this is, my money would be on the Choshu dogs." She chimed bitterly, her lip curling at the thought of more Rasetsu.
The room fell silent for a moment before he spoke up, "regardless, looking for Niimi-san is our top priority right now. Keep your eyes sharp while you conduct your patrols." He finalized.
Everyone in the room nodded. "Sir!"
:::::::x|x:::::::
"How's it look?"
"It was just one jab to the heart; must've been a fatal blow."
She gently pushed past another man, peering over his head at the felled corpse the two men were inspecting: her eyes sharpened in recognition.
Even as the men finalized the realization that the man was confirmed dead, she knew that there was no mistaking the unnaturally-colored white hair that the corpse had; she retreated to the top of the ravine, taking the offered hand of her lover and helping herself up to his side.
"Were we right?" He wondered once she was back at his side again, looking at her gray eyes.
She nodded. "Yeah, dead on. Literally." She replied, meeting his green eyes.
"Come on, we should report this to Hijikata-san." The second man present mused quietly, looking at the two of them.
Both of them nodded. "Right."
:::::::x|x::::::::
"Are you sure he was a Rasetsu?" Toshi asked.
"Hai, we believe the experiment failed and he couldn't control it, so he killed the man." Saitou informed.
"What should we do, Hijikata-san?" Souji wondered.
"Fukuchou!" The quartet perked up at the voice.
At his beckon, Yamazaki appeared at the door. "The inspectors in town just informed me that they saw a man who they think was Niimi refer to himself as Tanaka Iori enter a high-end restaurant called Yamao in Gion-Shinchi."
He looked at the trio. "Saitou, Souji, Kawa, are you up for this?"
The trio nodded.
"Hai."
"Of course."
"What're we waiting for?"
"If we apprehend him inside, we won't need a large group, so it'll just be the five of us." Toshi stated.
Kawa nodded. "Right."
"I understand." Saitou chimed.
"Let's get it overwith; c'mon, princess." Souji mused, nimbly hopping to his feet and helping the younger Hijikata up by the hand.
::::::x|x::::::
It was nightfall by the time the group made it to the front of the restaurant Yamao.
"Yamazaki, cover the back exit." He ordered, to which the inspector nodded and hurried to take his position. "Let's go." He nodded to the trio at his back before they rushed inside.
She sweatdropped on habit when he grabbed the host by the scruff and demanded to know where he'd housed Tanaka Iori. Geez, nii-san…
"Fukuchou, let's go," he advised.
"This'll take forever," he grated, dragging her after his lead by the hand into the further recesses of the restaurant; she yelped slightly before hurrying at his heels.
He dropped her hand to throw open a pair of doors to one room; she hurried past him to follow suit, the process continuing until they reached a particular room that the lights had been doused so it was dark when the quartet threw open the doors.
Bingo.
"H-Hijikata!" Niimi stammered in surprise, blanching.
"So you were here!" Souji mused.
"What're you doing in a place like this, Niimi-san?" Toshi demanded coldly.
"W-why're you here!? You realize if anything happens to me, S-Serizawa-sensei will let you have it!" He stuttered, recoiling to the farthest wall of the room away from the quartet.
Kawa snorted.
"'Serizawa-sensei' will?" Toshi drawled with a dangerous look in his eyes.
"Did Serizawa-san order you to give that medicine to national loyalists?" Souji sneered.
One of the two ronin the terrified Niimi had been negotiating with leaped to his feet in outrage, "who're these brutes!?"
"The Shinsengumi," Niimi spat.
The second ronin hopped up in likewise anger, "Mibu Wolves!?" He prepared to draw his katana.
Moving faster than the unfortunate ronin, Souji's katana stabbed into his throat, twisting in the wound. "Really, now, there was no need to rush to your death." He yanked the blade out swiftly, effectively dropping the dead ronin.
"Bastard!" The second ronin snarled, swinging his katana high.
A loud 'klang' resounded, surprising him; a snide smirk formed on her full lips as her katana's hilt blocked his oncoming swing. "Bastard roshin never learn... no matter how many times they bleed." Her concealed knife ripped his throat open, blood flying.
The ronin sputtered and fell back as she yanked the blade out swiftly and lowered her hilt-wielding hand, wiping some of the blood from her face absently with the side of her left wrist.
"Y-you're a bunch of damned fools that don't understand the political situation at hand!" Niimi cried, looking from one sword-wielder to the other with wide beady eyes, shrinking within himself as Toshi moved closer to him, the dangerous look in his eyes still in place. "You won't get off lightly if you try to hurt me!"
"Is that all you have to say?" Toshi ground out.
In a split second time froze as they watched him down the red liquid inside one of the vials.
"Fuck!" Souji and Kawa hissed as Toshi drew his sword, Saitou and Souji following suit quickly as Niimi cackled and his countenance changed, hair turning snow white and eyes bleeding red; he caught the oncoming swing from the older Hijikata sibling swiftly, knocking him back before swinging at him.
Saitou flew at him with a flurry of swipes, said blows missing as he dodged them with ease before one seemed to catch him between the eyes; his form disappeared.
"Hajime-kun, up!" Souji barked alertly before the aforementioned captain dodging the would-be body slam from above in time; he flew at him before being yanked down when he grabbed his forearm and threw him to the floor.
Niimi raised his short sword high.
"Get away from him!" Kawa snarled, her feet ramming into his chest and sending him flying back as she stood protectively infront of Souji, katana bared and held tightly in her left hand as he didn't hesitate to scramble to his feet behind her.
"You're slow, too slow! Your movements are like that of a child." Niimi cackled as he reappeared behind her; she twisted about on her heel as Toshi defended her, matching glares on the Hijikata siblings' faces.
"So you managed to maintain your sanity even after turning." Toshi growled.
"Don't you remember what I said; 'you won't get off easy if you try to hurt me.'" He drawled.
Kawa smirked again, the dangerous look in her brother's face shifting to her pretty face. "Don't count your chickens, ass-kisser." She sneered.
"This's pissin' me off; it's as if he's got the upper hand even though there's four of us. This is so not funny," Souji grated behind her.
"This is the power of a Rasetsu: the new era will be handed over to whoever possesses this medicine, Choshu, Satsuma, even Tosa… everyone desperately wanted it!" Niimi prattled.
"Then who'd you sell it to?" Toshi snapped.
Niimi turned a red eye to the two dead ronin. "Those two men had a rather tasty proposition, but you and your bitch made that a thing of the past!"
Toshi placed a hand on her shoulder as he and Souji shared a curt nod before the trio of men flew at Niimi simultaneously.
Saitou was knocked back into a collapsible wall when Niimi's fist plowed into his cheek; Toshi and Souji flew back, crashing into the wall behind her when his left foot shot out and hit Toshi's gut first, both men crumpling to the floor.
"Brother, Souji, Saitou-kun!" she barked, crouching next to her brother's side in concern.
Niimi sneered. "You're no match for me! Besides, your pack is down for the count: what will you do now, you damn she-wolf?" He demanded of the younger Hijikata.
Her gray eyes turned steely as she looked up at him; she huffed softly and straightened to her feet, her katana gripped tightly in her left hand as it hung at her side, her right foot sliding behind her by an inch or so. "Traitorous dogs like you don't deserve to live." She spat at his face, lunging at him.
His short sword blocked her oncoming strike with ease as he kneed her in the gut, knocking her back before she dug her heels into the floor and adjusted herself, his sneering chortle starting to get on her nerves.
She growled and pulled her knife into her right hand's fist, leaping at him with renewed vigor and sending her left foot into his neck, catching on him as her right fist sailed into his throat before he slapped her fist away so the knife's edge grazed his skin, his right fist crashing into her jaw and sending her flying.
Blood smudged her lower lip as she spat out a wad of crimson, panting softly as he cackled. "What in hell made you think you could defeat me when your brother was useless!?" He sneered.
"You will not…" She grunted softly as she gingerly got to her feet, moonlight glinting off the katana's blade held tight in her hand. "Ever say shit about my brother in my presence!" She hurtled forward, right fist uppercutting into his chin and twisting his neck up as she severed his sword-wielding hand from the top of his arm.
Crimson flew into the air from the open wound as she stumbled back, his agonized cries resounding loudly in the dark room; she huffed, panting as she prepared herself for the killing blow.
"You stupid bitch!" Niimi flew at her in a rage, disappearing from sight and briefly surprising her.
A battle cry sounded as blood flew.
Toshi glared at his skewered body on the end of his katana's blade, violet eyes hard.
Kawa looked at him in surprise, gray eyes widened a little. "Toshi," she murmured.
He yanked the blade out swiftly from skewering his heart, dropping the dead Rasetsu to the floor, crimson staining his face and front of his purple haori as he panted.
She smiled slightly, flicking her wrist and sheathing her katana as she helped Souji to his feet.
Souji grunted slightly when she helped him up, looking at the smudge of blood on her chin and sighed quietly, pulling her into a tight embrace. "Ya really are one hell of a woman." He praised quietly.
Kawa blushed slightly and smiled again, holding onto him as he squeezed her waist.
"'She-Wolf of Mibu' indeed." Saitou mused as he had also gotten up, rubbing his jaw gingerly as he looked at the couple.
Her cheeks warmed slightly and she smiled shyly, glancing at her brother as he went to fetch Yamazaki. "I had help." She shrugged innocently.
A pout crossed his face. "I said I was fine."
She rolled her eyes for the umpteenth time, wrapping the strip of bandage around his ribs a few times before tying it, straightening to stare at him with her hands on her hips. "Don't be so stubborn, okay? You should be thanking me for mending your ribs." She scolded.
After returning home, seeing as she didn't get the brunt of so many attacks as the trio of men did, Kawa bandaged Toshi's slightly cracked ribs, helped Saitou nurse his cracked jaw, and now had finished bandaging Souji's cracked ribs and sprained arm.
Souji scowled up at her, his eye twitching. "Geez, you can be a real strict nurse, y'know that?" He grated, lifting his good arm to scritch the back of his head.
Kawa huffed. "Y'should know by now that I ain't going anywhere anytime soon so get used to it, Okita Souji." She stated calmly, turning to put away the first-aid equipment. "You're staying in my room tonight, too; I'm not going to let you walk around this late." She added.
He pouted again at her stubborn streak, exhaling as he looked away and inwardly cursed her tenacity, stealing a look over at her curved hips; a fond smile formed and made his lips twitch upward.
She nearly jumped when he slung his arms around her waist from behind, straightening and feeling his arms squeeze gently. "S-Souji," she blushed, looking up at him.
Souji kissed her hard, feeling her arms lift to bunch in his shaggy hair, smirking widely against her lips. "Frownin' never suited you, babe." He purred, kissing her harder as her fingers tugged on locks of his hair.
Kawa blushed more before succumbing to his cheating lips, moaning softly. Damn him, she thought.
review please; thanks~ ;'D