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!)

Author's note: Sorry about the (2-week) late update. 8D I have a secret life and I focused too much on it. But here's chapter 26~!

"Forever" will not keep us connected

Chapter 26

In the small forest, Ren jogged for quite some time. He had no idea where everybody was located. Yuma went ahead a long time ago in the direction he was taking, so Ren hoped to see someone very soon. Now would be appreciated too.

'Come on,' Ren thought to himself. 'Even a single dead body would help.' And he wished he had not thought of that. Ren came to a complete stop as he saw Yuma knelt down by a dead body with scars of blades cut into him.

The whole field was filled with blood. But… there was only one body. What took place here?

Yuma lifted up his eyes and saw Ren, who seemed expressionless. And then Ren went to approach him slowly. "…We were too late," Yuma uttered quietly with his eyes closed. He regretted for not coming faster. As a true Oni, Yuma could have sore his muscles to come and save the dead person in front of him.

"It can't be helped…" Ren murmured. He gazed to the body of Saburo, who was only missing an arm and the rest of his body were intact. Unhurriedly, Ren kneeled down on his left knee and he stared at Saburo's motionless face wordlessly.

"Ren, is something the matter?" Yuma inquired. He noticed Ren was now smiling rather ruefully. Obviously it was strange.

Continuing to stare at Saburo's peaceful face, Ren kept his smile. "…Nothing much," he replied, still not moving his eyes away. "It's just that… I realized who this guy actually is. …I had a mission to assassinate him more than a year ago. …And I thought I had killed him because I never failed before. He should have been died back then."

'…Assassinate?' Yuma thought to himself, keeping his eyes on the human curiously. Just what kind of life did Ren lead?

"And it would appear Saburo-sama is dead for good this time," Ren shrugged. He looked to Yuma and nodded a little. "But with dignity and with a smile on his face. He must have had a fulfilling time."

Yuma grunted and moved up on his feet. "I'm going to advance forward," he firmly said. He paused when Ren moved dig his hands in the dirt beside Saburo. "…Ren?"

"You go on ahead," Ren smirked, glancing up for a second. "I'm going to bury Saburo-sama first."

That was an honest gesture. Yuma felt a bit ashamed for only thinking about the safety of Kanon. "I…" Yuma uttered, slightly looking to Saburo's lifeless body. "But Kanon can always revive her friend here… can she not? Why don't we bring him to her?"

Ren sighed a bit, "I'm not sure what happened here, but how can we carry this body and find her? The body will rot by then, don't you think?"

Besides. There was that peaceful look on Saburo's face… He had already prepared himself to depart from this world. There was no use trying to go through the trouble to find Kanon to revive him.

"It's fine, Yuma," Ren chuckled. Both of his hands dug deeper and he used more strength. "You go. I'll catch up after I'm done here. No matter what." Yuma stood there, which made Ren look back at him with a teasing smirk. "Hurry up before that girl ends up dead too."

Yuma quickly turned and reverted into his Oni form. Without another word, Yuma jumped into the sky and disappeared.

Sighing, Ren went back to digging. Dirt gone under his fingernails, pulling the dirt to the side, and going deeper. Ren then picked up the dirt with his right palm and he stared at it with his one eye. Afterwards, he slowly tilted his palm and watched the dirt fall to the ground and some spilled on his lap.

'Is there a way to start all over again?' Ren wondered as he glared to himself.

[…^…]

For some time now, Kosuzu woke up with pain around her right arm. When she opened her eyes, she realized what happened when she noted she was over the unconscious Ryunosuke. Yes, that was right. They were carried off by the strong black wind and when the wind finally died as Ryunosuke took her hand, they were falling down from the sky for a while. She could not recall for how long.

And it would have appeared Ryunosuke protected her by landing on the ground first. Blood leaked onto the dried grass from his head and the sight terrified her.

"Ryunosuke!" she moved off of him. The extreme concern in her voice proved useless. He did not respond. Kosuzu shook his shoulders, whispering and hoping he was still alive. That made her moved down to listen to his breathing through his nose.

Yes. He was still breathing. Thank goodness!

Kosuzu moved to sit up and analyze her surroundings. It seemed like they were out in the wild, still, and they were in the middle of a hill of tall dried grasses. Half of the grass seemed worn out, as if something stomped on them… And the sky was turning dark. She eased her breathing to calm herself and looked back to Ryunosuke.

Lifting up his body, she realized her power was now back. 'So, it would really seem it was caused by that odd red light in the sky,' she thought as she concluded.

Her right hand took Ryunosuke to put his arm behind her neck and her right left hand grabbed around his waist. His head limped and she easily walked off, trying not to have his feet get drag on the ground.

"Where's everyone?" she glanced around carefully.

No sign of enemies. No signs of her friends. She hoped they were all doing okay.

First, she had to find place to hide from the opened area. And then she will tend to Ryunosuke's wounds. Rushing off, she picked a spot down a hill that was nearly covered up with rocks piled up over each other.

Kosuzu tore off the ends of her kimono and wrapped around the injury of Ryunosuke's head. It was the only wound that bled. That was another good thing. Laying him down, she sighed with distress. Her head was hurting.

And now, she must think of a way to find everyone. Where were they? Kosuzu bit her thumbnail and narrowed her eyes. …Just where should she start? She was not even sure.

And then she remembered what Sanosuke said before. 'If anything happens, and if it's gets out of hand… let's meet in Edo.' She clearly recalled.

'Edo,' Kosuzu nodded to herself, quietly observing Ryunosuke's face.

Yes. Kosuzu had faith in heading for Edo would be the wise choice. That was the only lead she had and perhaps everyone else would realize it too.

[…^…]

A figure ran hastily through a forest. Emerging above the trees, Kyou leapt into the air and his eyes scanned around. The trees seemed damaged, fallen over, and he figured perhaps it was by the black wind. What else could it have been?

He was a bit lost when the wind carried him and Kyuuju into the sky. They had no idea where they were. Being an Oni, they both landed safely with their monstrous strength. But for the humans…

"Tsk," Kyou glared, biting his lower lip. 'Humans are so fragile… if any of them landed on earth…'

Just as he thought that, he came to a complete stop and scowled. In front of him, by a fallen tree, there was Hajime. He lay on his stomach and was unconscious. His clothes were a bit in a mess, possibly because of the fall.

"Great," Kyou walked over to him. He better be alive. Kyou knelt by the human and carefully made sure not to harm Hajime in case he broke a bone or two. Fortunately, Hajime was still breathing. Just a couple of bruises on the left side of his face. Maybe there were more bruises underneath his attire.

Picking Hajime over on his back, Kyou stood up with his hands holding the back of Hajime's knees and hurried back through the forest. 'I hope Amagiri found others somewhere,' Kyou thought bitterly. Anybody would do. They all have to meet up again.

Or else they would be too late when Haru start her next move. Whenever it was.

Jumping over the trees now, Kyou did not care who saw him as he revealed his leaping skills throughout the forest. And then he heard Hajime groaned softly in his left ear and his head slightly twitched. Kyou smirked to himself, 'Seems like this human still have the will to live on.' Which was good.

Once again, Kyou felt admiration toward the humans. Was this always the feeling Kazama Chikage had in the past? …Too bad that blond haired and red-eyed Oni was no longer alive.

Exiting the woods, Kyou landed on the ground and he long felt Kyuuju's presence to the right. So he turned to look.

With his arms crossed over his chest, Kyuuju was standing still as he now gazed to Kyou. Down by a tree, Sanosuke was leaned back on it and he opened one of his eyes, smiling as a greeting to Kyou.

"Oh, good," Kyou snickered, walking over to them with Hajime still on his back. "Now we just need a little more than half of the group then we'll be one big family again."

"No time for jokes," Sanosuke chuckled weakling, lowering his head. His stomach ached and his right arm was around it to keep the pain from killing him. Sanosuke had a couple of scars on his face. Tree branch marks, maybe. His clothes were also in a bit of mess.

Kyuuju glanced to Hajime, who seemed to try to get himself back together. "Shiranui, I suggest we tend to their wounds first," Kyuuju commented with a slight tone of care. "One of us will resume the search for everyone else."

"Oh, sure," Kyou shrugged purposing, waking Hajime up even more. Kyou was going to offer to leave and do the seeking, but then Kyuuju had suddenly disappeared first. "You want me to treat their wounds?" Kyou frowned to himself. Doing that would make the other Oni clans laugh at him.

Sanosuke gazed to Hajime, who was able to finally lift up his head and open his eyes. "Hajime, how are you feeling?" Sanosuke inquired, wincing a bit.

Kyou walked over and slowly moved to lay Hajime back up against the tree next to Sanosuke. "He'll be fine," Kyou said, getting up and taking a few steps away.

Coughing a bit, Hajime smoothed his chest and grunted. Sanosuke leaned to him to see if he was all right. "I will feel well soon enough," Hajime uttered quietly, closing his sleepy eyes. He remembered the harsh drop from the sky… and then the darkness when he lost consciousness.

The Oni glanced over his right shoulder and furrowed his eyebrows to the humans. They were talking for a moment while Kyou told himself, 'Seriously… I have to treat their wounds? They look fine.'

During that moment, Sanosuke tried his power. His golden eyes lit up… but he was unable to track any of the others aside from themselves. 'Damn it…' Sanosuke's eyes creased from glowing. He groaned softly and lowered his head. 'I hope everyone is safe…'

[…^…]

As time was beginning to temporary mend itself, over at Edo, Shinpachi was sulking while sitting outside and his arms folded to his chest. He was beyond the walls of the Buddhist temple, sitting in a yard of arranged trees that were lined up, and small bushes in front of him. There were six graves standing in his view too.

Starting from the left side of the stone tablet, the names were written in these orders on each grave: Toudou Heisuke, Sannan Keisuke, Okita Souji, Kondou Isami, Hijikata Toshizo, and then Kazama Chikage.

All of those names gave Shinpachi a long sigh.

He would visit them everyday. Though the bodies of Toudou Heisuke, Sannan Keisuke, Okita Souji, and Kondou Isami were never retrieved, but he knew they were long gone. However, he was not certain if Hajime had died out there somewhere. The same with Sanosuke, who just disappeared on Shinpachi one day.

From what Chizuru mentioned, Toudou Heisuke and Sannan Keisuke both disappeared due to their full usage of their Rasetsu form. Okita Souji was simply gone and considered as dead as he had left only his katana behind. And Kondou Isami was beheaded.

As for Hijikata and Kazama… well, Chizuru had already explained Shinpachi of that certain incident. And Shinpachi was lucky to have found Chizuru when he searched out for Sanosuke.

Over time, there was no hope or any sign of either Sanosuke or Hajime. Perhaps they disappeared in the ashes of war as well. Never to be seen again.

Shinpachi had to give up on looking for them. He wanted to take care of Chizuru. There was Haru too. Chizuru claimed Haru appeared after Hijikata and Kazama died. But the rest of the story about how Haru came around was still a mystery.

Although, the only thing that mattered was that he wanted to take care both of those two women. He even begun running a dojo in Edo, without Sanosuke.

A sigh escaped Shinpachi's lips again and his yearn for his friends still remain strong. Being left alone and alive left such a heavy burden. Not only him, there was still Chizuru and Haru.

"Mm," a finger poked Shinpachi's right cheek.

It caused him to stop his train of thoughts and he quickly looked up, leaning away from the hand. Haru was standing by him and smirked with wonder. "And where have you been?" Shinpachi uttered, making a disapprovingly look. But then his expression faded when he stared at the scar on her high neck.

Wearing the same smirk, she moved to sit next to him and her eyes over to Kazama's grave. Having no voice, it almost seemed normal of her just being very quiet. Shinpachi pouted and leaned further away from her awkwardly.

"Did you eat, Haru-chan?" Her eyes gazed to him and she smiled with a nod. Shinpachi glanced at her and then they both looked at the graves again. "…Chizuru-chan must be cleaning again," he rushed to get up. Rolling up his sleeves with a grin, he brought his eyes down to the blond haired woman. "I'm going to clean in Chizuru-chan's place! I'll be sure to tell her to come here and chat with you!"

Haru blinked and watched him take his leave without a gesture. He seemed excited, but his smile was forced. When he gone through a door nearby, Haru softened her face and slowly directed her view to all of the graves.

'…He doesn't know Souji's still alive,' she thought to herself and heaved a breath afterwards.

And Shinpachi's forced smile. She did not like it and the image remained in her head.

With a grin, Haru thought calmly, 'Shinpachi… don't worry. I'll make sure to get all of your friends back.' But she had an immoral way to make it work, whether he liked it or not. And it was something he would get upset over, yet she persisted on it.

Her pink eyes glowed as she used her power granted by the cursed clan. 'Kiko, Momoko, rest while you're on your way to Edo,' Haru told them with her eyes gently closed. 'And then I'll figure out the next course of action when you're both arrive here.'

'Yes, Lady Haru,' the two female's voices responded casually.

Gradually, Haru opened her eyes and they stopped glowing. She stared at Kazama's grave and smiled in the quiet wind. The leaves of the trees and bushes seemed to sing all around her. This was a moment she was going to treasure as she was by herself. 'Hakuouki…' she chuckled. 'Only you would think of a beautiful name such as that, Chikage-nii-sama.'

[…^…]

Listening to the sound of the carriage hitting on the rocky road, Souji wondered how long they have been escaping. A little while ago, Akio had stopped the carriage by a stream and tended to Souji's wounds. Now Souji had a black cloth wrapped around his head over his eyes. The two men did not exchange words. For losing Saburo back there had caused them to be silent.

Forgetting the pain in his eyes, Souji's thoughts lead back to his friends who were blown by the black wind. Were they all right? And… what was wrong with Kanon? That black wind surely came from her back then.

His legs were lay down on the carriage and Kanon's head rested on his right thigh. He lowered his head and then reached to touch her, luckily he found her shoulder. "…Kanon," Souji decided to shake her awake, but tenderly. She did not respond. He grunted in pain with his other hand softly touching his eyes. The pain was too hard to ignore.

The horses suddenly neighed loudly and the carriage stopped abruptly, causing bodies on the carriage to lose their balance. Souji fell over toward Kanon's side and he groaned when his elbow hit against the wall pretty hard.

"Sorry about that," Akio called.

"What happened?" Souji asked, slowly getting up with his hands against the ground under him.

Letting out a long sigh, Akio replied, "Nothing. Just a little mammal running by unexpectedly." The carriage begun to move again, but slower this time.

Souji sat up and went to grab Kanon to rest on his lap again. He reached some more when he could not find her body. And then his hand touched her belly… her belly…

"Hm?" Souji gave it a rub around it. There was a bump. Wait. Too much of a bump. When did Kanon have such a belly? There was a long silence and he seemed to have realized it. "…Akio-san?"

"Yes?"

"…Let me borrow your sight for a second here."

Akio glanced back and signaled the horses to stop once again. "Is something the matter?" he inquired the man who he had not learned the name of yet. Souji gestured with his hand, patting on Kanon's belly slowly. Akio raised an eyebrow, turning around in his seat and went over to them. Falling quiet beside Little Fukui's dead body, he stared at Kanon. And her belly was now visibly noticeable. "…Is she pregnant?" Akio questioned, rushing over to help Kanon up. He feared the baby inside might be hurt, so he wanted to get her as comfortable as possible.

"…Pregnant?" Souji murmured. "…How?"

"I'm not the one you should be asking," Akio told him. He took off his black cape and used it cover Kanon's body to keep her warm. His cape had a tear at the end, which was used to tend to Souji's eyes. "I only just met the two of you. And it's strange… she didn't look like this earlier."

Souji felt empty inside and had no idea what to say. He reached out again found her body and his hand ran over her belly little by little. Something vibrated for a second and he gritted his teeth. "When did she… get pregnant?" he quietly demanded.

Akio fixed his eyes at him and saw Souji was biting his lower lip. "You didn't know?" he inquired curiously. "She must have hid it very well if you didn't."

"She was fine before though," Souji raised his voice. He moved on his kneels and grabbed Kanon's forearm, shaking her. "Kanon!"

Frowning, Akio pulled on his hand and forced him to let go. "Stop it," he advised. "Let her get her rest first, lad." Souji scowled and moved back and roughly let his back touch the wall on the other side. Akio sighed tiredly and moved back to the front.

As the carriage begun to move, Souji asked himself over and over. He was confused. 'How did she get pregnant?' he clawed the ground, scratching the wood endlessly.

If she really was pregnant, no woman could have that kind of belly in this short amount of time. Just what in the world was going on?

Thanks for reading!