Disclaimer: Hakuouki is a visual novel game by Idea Factory. (They make a bunch of cute guys! Drools. So I always look up new series just so I can stare at them~) Hakuouki then was adapted into an Anime by Studio DEEN. And today, the Anime series is licensed by Sentai Filmworks in North America. (I got this information from Wikipedia and I believe the information is accurate. I wouldn't know though!)

To Aen Silver Fire: I cherish our time together. I hope you will feel better soon. This chapter and story is inspired by your kind words.

Enjoy reading.

"Forever" will not keep us connected

Chapter 13

In the room where Kosuzu was, Ryunosuke had just visited with the door opened. She was sitting up on her bed as if she was waiting for him. When she smiled to greet him, in that very moment, someone had crashed into though the paper window with loud thud. With a startled look on his face, Ryunosuke rushed forward as the moonlight was reflected on the presence of a long katana. "Kosuzu!" Ryunosuke reached for her.

The sound of the blade cut through the heavy, cool air. Kosuzu let out a short cry, but then Ryunosuke tackled her down to her side on the ground and the sharp edge cut the ends of his bangs. Ryunosuke's arms covered her body as he saw the katana turned back around for them in an instant. He stared at the man, who appeared to be in his thirties, and he wore light black-armored clothes. His brown hair, tied up in a long ponytail and his bangs pulled back in the tie. His serious, deep eyes were orange, revealing a sign of devotion in his stare.

"Ryunosuke!" Kosuzu shouted under him. The katana pierced into Ryunosuke's left arm. He was not able to dodge in time, but he kicked the man in the black armor's hand, which was holding the katana. "You're bleeding!"

The katana flew out of the man's hand when Ryunosuke gave it a good kick. The man ignored his katana because Ryunosuke got up to punch at the man. Catching Ryunosuke's fist, the man pulled on the fist and he faced to Ryunosuke closely. "Why the hell are you attacking us for?!" Ryunosuke shouted in his face, glaring with demanding eyes.

The man did not answer. His strong grip took Ryunosuke by surprise, pulling him over and then flipping Ryunosuke in the air once. As Ryunosuke fell on his back, the man saw Kosuzu moving toward his katana. She quickly stopped to stand up when the man walked to his katana calmly. "Who are you?" she narrowed her eyes to the stranger, her hand over her chest. She was feeling more ill because of the attack the man attempted.

Ryunosuke reached and grabbed for the man's leg. "Kosuzu, get out of here!" he shouted.

Before she could retort, a black wind burst out from the floor. It was right under the man, but then he kicked Ryunosuke away and evaded it in time. While Ryunosuke rolled away and Kosuzu backing a few steps as she covered her eyes, the wind carried Ayumu into their room from the lower floor and his eyes glared at the man who looked right back at him, carrying an unfazed expression on his face.

As the wind from nowhere disappeared, Ayumu spun in midair to kick the man in his face. But the man rushed backwards and kicked up the handle of his long katana, catching it in his right hand. "They didn't say you were awake," the man's deep voice frowned. And what was that black wind?

Ayumu's feet landed on the ground, but he trembled down on his left palm. "Who are you talking about?" Ayumu glared. Kosuzu rushed to Ryunosuke's side and helped him up. "Are you working for Haru?"

The man walked backwards, slightly lifting up his chin to look down at Ayumu. "Since the plan failed here, I have no use to stick around," he stated. And then he turned around, heading out of the broken window.

Glaring harder, Ayumu pushed himself up. He wanted to go after him to get answers, but Ayumu only fell on his knees and he groaned in pain as he touched his left leg. "God, damn this shit," he cursed, wincing.

"H-Hey," Ryunosuke went to his side. Kosuzu coughed in the background as Ryunosuke helped Ayumu. "How did you get up here?! …Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Ayumu glared to the window. He started to hear voices and felt trouble was brewing. He even saw smokes in the sky. "We… have to get out of here," he mumbled, lowering his head and shut his eyes. He was about to tell his wounds were bleeding again and staying here would mean danger to them.

"But, what about others?" Kosuzu walked in front of them, looking at the two of them with concerned.

Ryunosuke nodded, "We still have to wait for Saito's return too!"

"But we're out numbered, right?" Ayumu frowned, sweat running down his face. He remembered in his sleep that they were talking about bandits were around the town. They would not stand a chance. Especially when Ryunosuke was injured and Kosuzu looked sick. With a pause, Ayumu had an idea and he grunted to himself. "Let me heal the two of you," Ayumu said, looking up at them to see their eyes.

"Eh?" Kosuzu blinked to him.

Recalling back, Ryunosuke knew of what Kanon was capable of. "Wait, you're going to give us powers?" he inquired, very surprised. His arm still have the fresh wound, and it hurt, but he wanted to be a man about it and pretend the pain was not there. "You're just starting to recover yourself, so forget about us!" Ryusnosuke told him.

Ayumu grabbed for Ryunosuke's shirt and he slammed his forehead against his. Shocked, Kosuzu stared at them quietly and she saw a beautiful white light glowing around the two men. Within a few seconds, Kosuzu could see the wound in Ryunosuke's sleeve. His flesh closed and she was completely awed. When Ayumu pushed Ryunosuke away very forcefully, he grabbed for Kosuzu's hand and dragged her forward.

"Wait a second!" Ryunosuke glared, almost tripping backwards. He ignored his healed wound when Ayumu pressed his forehead on Kosuzu's. Ryunosuke was furious as he stepped forward. "HEY!"

Another short moment passed and Kosuzu felt the warm light leaving. Ayumu let her go and he wobbled to the side, but Ryunosuke caught him rather unwillingly. "Huh?" Kosuzu traced her fingers on her forehead. She felt better now. "…What was that?"

"Who gave you permission to do that?!" Ryunosuke angrily frowned. He was worried for Ayumu's safety and mad for Ayumu touching Kosuzu in such a way.

Groaning, Ayumu touched his chest and studied the two of them carefully. And then a smirk spread across his face. "Good," he mumbled. The couple blinked to him cluelessly. Their powers were useful in their situation. "For now, we have to leave the town," Ayumu informed them. "Sano can always find us later. Hurry, if you don't want your woman to get involved in our mess. We'd only be in our friends' way."

"Ryunosuke?" Kosuzu looked at him, concerned. He was blushing when Ayumu said 'his woman' and she stared at him seriously. "What's going on here?"

"I don't know!" Ryunosuke messed up his own hair, trying to keep himself together. Though, Ayumu was right they should not be around here for long. What if the bandits attack the hospital where other patients were? That entire loud ruckus they made must have woke them up too. Ryunosuke nodded to Ayumu and his eyes over to Kosuzu. "Let's get into our wagon for now," he said.

Kosuzu wanted an explanation but she agreed, "Alright. Let's make haste."

[…^…]

Inside the storage house, Kyou found bullets for himself and reload his gun with pleasure. Behind him was Saburo, who merely looked around without much interest. Over on the other end of the table Kanon picked up light, straight, double-edged short swords and swung one around with her right hand. The handles were golden yellow. Souji picked out one of the many katana laying around and placed it between his body and the waistband. Hajime and Yumeko were keeping their eyes out at different windows for the storage, even if Sanosuke was using his power to keep track of the bandits around them.

"Not good," Sanosuke glared. He was standing by the door, looking out with his glowing eyes. In his left hand was a black spear. "Ryunosuke, Kosuzu, and Ayumu are leaving the hospital."

"What?" Saburo snapped his head to him, completely shocked.

Almost tripping, Kanon rushed to Sanosuke's side. "Is Ayumu okay?" she inquired. Her two short swords were in the sheaths that were under her waistband.

Sanosuke saw the bandits moving all about, which seemed bad. There were a lot more of them than he thought. "Ayumu's fine," Sanosuke nodded, his eyes stopped glowing. He smiled to her and added, "It's seems he's moving around too, but his injuries are not healed yet."

She pouted with watery eyes, "Then I'm going to go off to them first!" She got her weapons. They were ready to fight. "Should we forget about the boss of the bandits and just get out of here?"

"That's actually a good idea right now," Sanosuke nodded, narrowing his eyes. "It's us against troops of bandits… we can't handle them ourselves."

"Oh, but we have Yumeko-chan's flames," Souji smirked, walking over to them. "And Hajime-kun can control water. I think we'll put an end to them just fine."

Kyou snickered, holding onto his gun closely. "Yeah, I say we crush them too," he commented.

"No violence!" Saburo preferred, going to Kanon's side. Yumeko and Hajime quietly approached them too.

Sanosuke frowned and rubbed his right eye. He was using his power too much so it was wearing out. "I can't keep up with this forever," he mumbled. Blinking his eyes, he gave them a serious stare. Before he said anything though…

"You guys aren't going anywhere," Ren called with a light laugh. Glaring outside, Sanosuke opened the door wider. Ren was just right outside and behind him were about thirty men. The fire in the sky was still going, making Sanosuke concluded that the fire did not faze them. Ren snickered, "We'll make sure to take the Time Healer's power tonight."

"You're taking no one," Yumeko glared, walking outside. Sansouke grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back. "Where's Yuma?" Yumeko glared, a knife falling down her sleeve to her right hand.

Ren shrugged and lied, "I don't know." While everyone else walked out of the storage house, Ren raised his hand. The bandits behind him all grinned, pumping to dye the earth with blood. "Alright, get 'em, boys," Ren smiled. Right the moment they all took a step, Yumeko used her left hand and caused a streak of a fire wave. Ren snapped his eyes opened, rushing backwards as the flame devoured the bandits within an instant.

"Yumeko-chan, stop it!" Sanosuke pulled on her shoulder harder.

She slapped his hand away, but then Kanon grabbed her left hand that was still burning hot. Yumeko quickly stopped her powers and the flames disappeared before them. "Yumeko, please stop the flames around the town from spreading," Kanon pleaded, worried about the quiet hatred in her friend's eyes.

Yumeko lowered her eyes and nodded slowly. Saburo walked to her and Yumeko blinked to him. Even he was concerned. "I'm sorry," she told Saburo, lowering her eyes.

He smiled and shook his head, "As long as you're the Yumeko I know, I understand."

Souji walked forward as the bandits had fled from the flames. Even Ren was gone. There was the sound of a strange horn in the air. Everyone looked up and wondered if the sound meant for the bandits to retreat. "Ah, great," Souji had a frown. "There's no one to fight with."

"Totally," Kyou made a face, using his gun to hit his tensed shoulder. He stared at the ashes on the ground and the wind blew them into the air. 'Yumeko's power is really scary…' Kyou thought, his eyes looking over the houses. The fire across the town seemed to have stopped when he laid his eyes on them. How far can Yumeko control her power?

Hajime was also observing the smokes. It seemed Yumeko did not need his aid for now. After a moment, Hajime glanced to Sanosuke, whose eyes glowed to the north. And he did not seem pleased. "Sano, what do you see?" he inquired.

"Yuma and some bandits are chasing Ryunosuke and the others out of the town!" Sanosuke glared, his eyes still glowing. He saw horses, but soon Sanosuke lost sight of them due to them going too far. So he also said, "They're all on horses."

"Ayumu too?!" Kanon exclaimed, rushing to Sanosuke.

Yumeko was angry again and she walked toward north. "Then we must go after them," she said, her voice becoming low.

And right away, Souji went with her, begging to meet Death or something. Saburo was making a childishly pout and he called, "But we won't be able to catch up without horses!"

[…^…]

"Are you kidding me?!" Saburo slapped his own face.

The group was at a closed store that sold fine horses. Yumeko paid what she could with the last of her money, and surprisingly Kyou had money on him too, so he helped out a little. Afterwards the male owner of the store dismissed them, fearing to be involved with them. There were only six brown-furred horses that they were able to afford. But there were seven of them. That meant two people had to share one horse together.

Everyone got on their horses beside Saburo and Kanon. "Hurry up or I'll go first," Yumeko glance to them and then to the last horse.

"Fine, Ayumu-san is more important right now," Saburo frowned and Kanon grabbed for his arm.

Hajime and Sanosuke blinked when Yumeko went ahead on her horse first. "Geez, wait, Yumeko-chan!" Sanosuke grunted, kicking his horse from the saddle while holding his spear tightly with his left hand.

While Sanosuke took off, Kyou hurried off without saying anything. Hajime glanced back to Souji, who was watching Saburo and Kanon getting on the same horse together. Kanon put her arms around Saburo's waist and Souji almost looked annoyed by it. "Souji, everyone, time to leave," Hajime told them. Souji's eyes blinked and he gazed to Hajime quietly.

"Hang on tight, Kanon-san," Saburo said earnestly, gripping on the reins. She nodded and their horse walked off quickly and started to run, passing Hajime and Souji, who just started to move too.

Souji's eyes were on Kanon and Saburo and they all made their way on the streets of the town. The gates were soon in sights and it appeared some bandits were left unconscious by it. Of course, the only thing that bothered him was how close Kanon and Saburo were. Souji found himself thinking too hard and let out a sigh.

Hajime galloped the horse to Souji's side and he said, "Souji, focus."

"I know," Souji retorted. He shook the reins to signal his horse to go faster. Souji got the feeling Hajime must have noticed the change in Souji's attitude and Souji just wanted to leave him in the dust. 'It's not like that,' Souji lied to himself, even though he continued to be bothered with Kanon and Saburo together.

When Souji's horse caught up with the two, he glanced to them. Saburo seemed to be focusing not to lag behind and Kanon's eyes were filled with anxiety. She did not even look at Souji when he smirked, hoping to get a reaction from her. But she had none and seemed like she did not even notice him there. And then Souji turned his eyes to the front, but he looked at them at the corner of his eyes. Her arms around Saburo ticked him off.

Why did Kanon and Saburo suddenly look so closed to each other? They almost looked like a couple that would go against the world if something happened between them. With that thinking, Souji even more frustrated. The feeling was obvious. He knew what was wrong with him and why he seemed to really dislike what he was seeing.

'Do I like Kanon?' Souji queried himself, glaring about it. Maybe it was just a crush. Those happen all the time. On the other hand, Souji never had a 'crush' on anyone before. Maybe he had a little for Chizuru, but her eyes only wandered to Hijikata. Just thinking about it over and over again, he believed he was crushing on Kanon harder than he realized. 'Damn.'

Thanks for reading!