A/N: ...So it's been a while since I last posted...
Let me tell you all something. This chapter was EXTREMELY difficult to write. I can't even tell you why, because I have no idea, but for the longest time I just could not find the inspiration or motivation to get the words out for this chapter. I would write a few sentences then get stumped, and that happened for weeks! Then, literally four hours ago, I watched one of the Hakuouki musicals (Hukumyu LIVE) and all of a sudden my brain was like alright I know what to do now. That's it.
Anyway... Moral of the story is writing is dumb sometimes, I'm very sorry for the wait, and I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! And thanks to my reviewers (all two of you! I love you guys!) and to everyone who favourited and/or decided to follow my story. I hope you all continue to read and review my writing! :)
Niimi's body slowly slid off of Keiko's borrowed sword, landing with a loud thud at her feet. She glared down at his corpse, her disgust plainly written on her face. After a moment of silence, she turned her glare to her comrades of the Shinsengumi.
She tossed Okita back his sword, not bothering to even try to be gentle with it. He caught it, glaring right back at her with a look of pure distrust in his eyes. She turned her ice cold gaze away from the men to look at a small vial which had rolled out from one of Niimi's sleeves when he fell. Keiko knelt down to pick up the vial, examining it's contents. It contained a deep crimson liquid which almost seemed to glow under the pale light from the moon shining in through the door. Keiko's eyes narrowed in distaste.
"I am assuming you all knew about this." She spoke, but it wasn't a question. She didn't bother to look at the men she spoke to as she turned the vial over in her hand, continuing to examine it. "This must be that stuff. The Ochimizu." She noticed the men stiffen when she mentioned it. Sighing, she turned to Hijikata, her frozen stare now directed entirely on him, and his own heated glare directed back at her.
"Where did you hear of that?" Hijikata demanded. Keiko snorted, as though the answer should have been obvious.
"From you." She placed a hand on her hip as the two of them continued to glare at each other. "So you spied on us?!" Okita demanded, his voice raised. Keiko turned her cold stare to him and noticed that he had yet to sheath his sword.
She did not break eye contact with him, daring him to try something, as she spoke. "Yes. I did." She turned her gaze back on Hijikata before continuing. "Several times actually. After I'd heard Harada asking Ryunosuke about Niimi and the Ochimizu." Her tone was accusatory, and Hijikata did not miss the implications of her words. While he was not obligated to tell Keiko anything regarding the Shinsengumi's research, it was obscene to think that he would allow an outsider to have such knowledge. Hijikata nearly growled at the accusation, his fist closed tightly around the hilt of his sword, ready to draw it with a moments notice.
"Ibuki had accidentally encountered some men who had taken the Ochimizu," It was Saito who answered Keiko's unspoken accusation. "And as he is under Serizawa's protection, we could not dispose of him." Keiko stared into Saito's eyes, and was met with a stare equally as frozen as her own. She searched his eyes for a moment longer, before turning her attention back to Hijikata.
"What is your objective?" Okita hissed out from his crouching position on the floor. Hijikata and Saito looked at Keiko expectantly, all of their eyes filled with a potent distrust. Keiko sighed, allowing her eyes to close and her arms to drop to her sides. When she looked back at the men, her gaze had warmed slightly, and she seemed suddenly very tired.
"To be honest, it's changed quite a bit." She started, shifting on her feet in discomfort. "I… Don't think it's fair to discuss this with only you three. I feel the others should know as well." She could see Okita about to demand something of her, so she quickly continued. "In short, I was searching for something, and I thought I might find it if I joined your organization. However, I'm not so sure what I should do from here." Her stare drifted down to the vial in her palm as she idly fiddled with it. She held it out in front of her, turning to stare pointedly at Hijikata, a knowing look in her eyes.
"This is what I was looking for. I truly think that Kondo and Serizawa should be present for this conversation." She said the words with finality.
Hijikata sighed, his hand finally falling away from his sword, and nodded. Saito immediately relaxed, nodding once towards Hijikata. The only one still worked up was Okita.
"That's it? You think we can trust you just from that?!" He snarled, pointing his sword at her face. However, Saito placed a firm hand on Okita's shoulder, shaking his head slightly. "I think we should hear what she has to say. Besides, she did technically concede, she gave you back your sword." Hijikata said dismissively, gesturing towards Okita's blade. Okita grit his teeth, looking angrily back and forth between the people present, but ultimately he sheathed his sword.
"By the way, where is Yamazaki?" Hijikata turned to Keiko, eyeing her suspiciously. Keiko looked away guiltily, her eyes lowering to the floor. "Unfortunately… He was blocking my path when I tried to get here. I had to fight him before I could make it to this room. He is fine, just unconscious." Keiko exited the room as she spoke, pointing to the end of the hallway where Yamazaki lay motionless on the floor. Hijikata glared at her as he cautiously followed her out of the room, the group heading to retrieve their unconscious comrade.
The five of them returned to headquarters, bringing with them Niimi's body and the rest of the Ochimizu he had on his person. Hijikata called for Kondo, Sannan, and Serizawa to join the group in the main hall for a discussion on the night's events.
In the center of the hall sat Keiko, her arms bound tightly behind her back. She looked bored, and more than a little uncomfortable. She waited patiently for the men to settle themselves across from her and address her first, being careful not to offend any of them by speaking out of turn. She didn't want them to further dislike her. It was Serizawa who spoke first.
"So, is one of you going to tell me why I was summoned here, at this horrible hour, with a woman bound in front of me?" He did not sound overly impressed. Keiko frowned at his attitude. This was going to be tougher than she anticipated.
"Keiko spied on us and, as a result, learned of the Ochimizu. She followed us to the restaurant when we went to deal with Niimi, and intervened during the fight." Hijikata summed up Keiko's actions, and she couldn't help but to scowl at how he left out the part about her saving them. Serizawa seemed to notice the bitter expression on her face and smirked.
"Do you have anything to say about this, Keiko?" He asked, and she immediately lifted her head to look directly into his eyes.
"With all due respect to Hijikata-san, Saito-san, and Okita-san, they would have died if I had not have intervened." She replied, never breaking eye contact. Serizawa raised his brows at her statement, glancing towards Hijikata. Hijikata looked away, glaring daggers at the wall. "I can't say that she's wrong." He said bitterly. "Niimi took that damned medicine and he had full control of himself, he was completely sane. He gained unbelievable strength and speed… I hate to say this, but yes. At least one of us may have died without Ayama's intervention. However…" Hijikata then looked pointedly at Keiko, his gaze like fire. "While we're on that subject, it makes no sense that you were able to not just defend yourself from Niimi, but that you single-handedly disposed of him. You moved just as fast as him, and you outmatched him in strength. How, exactly, was that possible?"
Keiko averted her gaze, growing more and more uncomfortable by the minute. She clenched her jaw, staring intently at the wall. She was determined not to answer, this was one thing they absolutely could not know about her. She could feel the group of men staring at her, waiting, but for the life of her she couldn't think of something to tell them. The silence was growing unbearably uncomfortable, until at long last Kondo broke it with his firm yet gentle voice.
"Ayama, you know what will happen if you aren't truthful with us." His voice was firm, and commanded her attention. She looked at him and was met with pleading eyes, and in that moment she wanted to tell him everything. There was something about Kondo that just made a person feel safe, he was so honest and caring towards all of his men. Everyone knew that they could trust him with their lives, and right then Keiko felt that way too. But still, she held her tongue, her fear outweighing her desire to trust in her comrades. Kondo sighed, looking dejectedly towards the floor.
"You do realize that if you refuse to answer, we will kill you." Sannan spoke matter-of-factly. "You will try." Keiko barked back with a cold glare, but she clamped her mouth shut instantly in regret. She looked desperately between the four men, before finally finding it in herself to give them something of an explanation.
"Look… I cannot tell you what I am." she spoke, choosing her words very carefully. "I will tell you that I'm… Not exactly like you. I have kept this from… Well, people like you, for a very long time. What I am does not belong in your world, and-"
"Then why are you here?" Hijikata barked, interrupting Keiko mid-sentence. Keiko's gaze hardened as she stared at him. "The Ochimizu." She stated simply. She turned her attention back to the other men.
"I live atop a mountain far north from here. I was able to, uhm, I guess I was able to kind of sense the effects of the Ochimizu. It is something else which does not belong in your world. It is dangerous, not only to your people but to the balance of the world."
"So you seek to maintain that balance?" Sannan asked, his voice eerily calm. Keiko nodded. "Precisely. The Ochimizu is artificial power, it is a darkness which consumes a person. Once someone has taken something so dark, they can never be cleansed of that stain. It's disgusting, and in my opinion it should be disposed of." Keiko looked sad as she spoke. It was dreadful to think that most of the men who had taken it thus far, had been forced to do so. She didn't want to think about the fact that her comrades were the ones doing the forcing.
"So do you intend to 'dispose' of us who create the Ochimizu, then?" Sannan's voice took on a sudden chill, and he was staring at Keiko with a murderous glare. Keiko stared back at him with distrust, her own gaze turning just as cold. "No." She stated simply. "I joined the Shinsengumi with the intent of finding out what was going on. I have done that now, but I will not dishonour myself by killing any of you." Hijikata snorted at her remark about dishonour, but she cut him off before he could further accuse her.
"Despite what you may think of me, I consider all of you to be my comrades." She turned her gaze to Kondo, holding eye contact with him. "I joined you knowing that this may be the outcome. I know that I cannot convince you to stop production of the Ochimizu. I will ask you to proceed with caution, and to be more responsible with your experimentation. I will help you, if you need it, and if you go too far I will stop you. But I will not kill any of my comrades. It is not my place to kill people unnecessarily, and it would be very difficult for me to harm my friends. I might have secrets, but I am not untrustworthy." Her gaze had softened as she spoke, and with a smile she turned to Hijikata. "With all due respect Hijikata-san, I think I proved my worth at the restaurant tonight."
The two of them stared at one another for a long time. Keiko's cold eyes burned with determination, while Hijikata's violet gaze was just as heated as when they were facing off against each other the first night they met. Finally, Hijikata sighed and closed his eyes, raising his hand to his forehead in mild annoyance.
"Alright, alright. I admit it, you were invaluable during tonight's fight. Even though you weren't invited…" He muttered the last part, but Keiko still heard and couldn't suppress a giggle at his comment. She heard Kondo sigh loudly, visibly relaxing. Serizawa and Sannan continued to watch Keiko, Sannan with distrust and Serizawa with intrigue. Hijikata rose to his feet, moving behind Keiko to finally untie her. She immediately stretched her arms out in front of her, curling and uncurling her fingers which had lost feeling after being so tightly bound for so long.
"You know, if you want me as one of your Investigators you really should fill me in on important information." Keiko said with a bright smile on her face. Serizawa snickered at her remark.
"Trust goes both ways, woman." He stated bluntly, a smirk on his face as he casually strolled out of the hall. Sannan followed closely after him, casting Keiko one last distrustful glance as he left. Keiko turned to look back at Hijikata and Kondo, both of whom had tired looks on their faces.
"I can't stand the guy, but this time he's right Ayama." Hijikata said as he suppressed a yawn. "I understand if you can't divulge everything right away, but we won't ever be able to fully trust you if you are keeping secrets from us."
"I understand. I just... I need time." She looked away, clenching her jaw. She was determined not to say anything more on the matter. Hijikata and Kondo exchanged a look before nodding at her. The two of them stood up, and Hijikata stepped forward to offer Keiko his hand. She stared at him for a moment, but gratefully accepted his offer of assistance.
She was relieved that after the night's events, she could still remain with the Shinsengumi. She hadn't realized when exactly it happened, but she had come to love being there. She truly thought of these men as her friends, she worried about them and laughed with them and ate her meals with them. She could feel them slowly breaking down the walls surrounding her heart, steadily forcing her to open up to them. Perhaps the most amazing part was that she didn't even notice it happening, she just gradually came to accept them. She could only hope that the same was happening for the rest of them, and that they considered her to be their comrade as well.
The three exited the room, all of them sluggish and tired. Finally, after a very long night, Keiko headed for her room for a long awaited rest.