Disclaimer: I do not own Hakuoki. This amazing anime was created by Asuka Yamazaki, Kazuhiko Hasegawa and Mitsutoshi Ogura. I only created my OC!

Editor / Beta Reader: Waffle (Thank you)

Rated Teen for violence, blood, coarse language and / or sexually suggestive scenes (rating may change to Mature in the future as story progresses, readers have been advised).

Slight alteration to Hakuoki plot - Demons in this story are actual pureblood vampires and Rasetsu are humans who were turned by purebloods.

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Kiss Of Snow

By: Swanna

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Chapter 2 – Winter Snowfall

The sun was already dipping behind the crest of the mountains; the sky to the west was engulfed and spread with a ruby red afterglow. She exhaled deeply, a visible puff of warm air rising skyward in the frigid atmosphere. The wintry breeze was much colder today, it would snow soon. After dwelling in the heart of the desolate woods in the past decades, she had become perceptive of the passing annual seasons and the changing weather.

Her gaze shifted from the sky to the residential area becoming visibly closer. It was a small village with old, barely habitable huts that were occupied by mortals and their families. Aware of her current physical condition and the fact that it had only been two days since she had sustained the severe injuries from the battle, it would have been a wise choice to avoid contact with humans. It wasn't only her body that was deteriorating at a fast pace from the vast amount of blood loss through the unhealed wounds, her mind had begun to slowly crumple from the growing thirst for blood.

The one thing that had prevented her from succumbing to the thriving hunger and transforming into a feral predator was the vow she had made to Senhime. She had promised to find her once the threat to her safety was eliminated and she intended to keep her word. She was uncertain of how she knew, but she had an unexplainable feeling that Senhime would be crying again if she didn't make an appearance soon. The sight of Senhime's tears had always brought on the knot she felt in the pit of her stomach. It was a rather strange sensation that she preferred to abstain from and not experience again.

"No! It can't be! You're mistaken! My husband isn't dead," a woman's voice reeled her attention to the group of mortals gathered around in front of a hut. "That can't be my husband under that cloth!"

She stood a few feet away from the commotion and looked on as the woman unveiled the corpse. The woman must have had recognized the dead man when she threw her arms over his unmoving body and cried out loud. "No! Why?! He said he was going to Kyoto to do some trading and then he would return home in three days…Why?! How did this happen?!"

"We have to wait for the physician to perform an autopsy and find out more since there weren't any wounds on him," answered a man who stood next to the body, his head bowed low. "Except for the two holes on his neck but we're not sure how he got injured there."

The abrupt revelation spurred her into action and she moved towards the group for a closeup inspection of the corpse. A few heads turned to her when she gently made her way to the front and stood with the crowd. She pulled the hood of her black shawl closer to hide her pallid countenance that emphasized her demonic features. She did not want to draw undue attention to herself, and since the mortals couldn't see her face they shortly redirected their attention back to the woman on the ground.

There it was – two small puncture wounds on the neck of the woman's husband. She knew they were deceptively deep and went all the way to the veins. She recognized the mark of demonic fangs; this man had been murdered and his blood had been sucked dry.

Pureblood demons drank human blood, but it was never a necessity for their survival. It was more of a yearning; a desire that occasionally needed to be sated. It was uncommon for purebloods to take lives during feedings. Most demons regarded humans as nothing but aliments, but they were also wary of exposing themselves to the world that was now dominated by the mortals. Above all since humans had decimated the vast population of demons decades ago, the remaining survivors considered the best course of action was to live disguised amongst them.

"I'm very sorry for your loss, but you should take a good care of yourself," the man continued, breaking her train of thoughts. "Your husband wouldn't want to see you grieve for him like this."

"What am I supposed to do now…? I still have our two children and an infant at home…How am I supposed to tell them that their father…their father has…" The woman's words trailed off, her hands cupping the dead man's face.

"What a poor woman, her husband died so young too," commented a man near her within the crowd.

"I heard this wasn't the first time they've found a body with a wound like this. Lately there were many victims who died in a similar death. Rumors had it that their bloods were drained and some bodies were even mutilated with multiple wounds," his neighbor stated. Deciding that she had heard enough, she gave one last glance at the woman still clinging onto the body of her husband and turned to leave.

Not that purebloods would never kill when they fed on the mortals, but to slaughter in such an inefficient and unmethodical way was highly unlikely. One bite to the major blood vessels in the neck would have sufficed for the execution without wasting a drop of blood.

That meant this may possibly have been an act from a Rasetsu; beings that were once mortals but were turned by a pureblood to become mindless bloodthirsting creatures. They possessed the strength and speed of a demon but in return for the endowed gifts, they had to consume human blood to live on. Their lust for blood was so overpowering that some Rasetsu had relinquished the last thread of their humanity and went rogue. Once Rasetsu reached that phase of their transformation, they were too far gone. They were reduced to nothing more than self-destructive slayers and continued killing every human in sight for blood unless they were destroyed.

Pureblood demons almost never turned a mortal. They were familiar with the fact that humans were weak-minded and they couldn't reign in their emotions. They were very susceptible to the powers that turned them in the first place so demons rarely converted a mortal into Rasetsu. It was a fact that had been ingrained into her by her late guardian, and more importantly she had experienced it herself two winters ago when she had turned a young man into one. That event of her life had broadened her insight of the mortals, it had reformed her shallow understanding of them.

However, there were some purebloods still held the belief that mortals shouldn't be allowed to coexist with them because they considered them lesser beings. Thus demons like Mitsuru had held no restraint and turned humans to Rasetsu solely for their personal amusement. They wanted to witness the mortals slaughtering one another as a form of vengeance and punishment for the mass extermination of their race.

As she continued striding in the direction of Kyoto, her mind unconsciously shifted back to the vulnerable woman from the village. Her expression had been warped in sorrow, it was the very same haunting expression that she had seen on the faces of the couple from two years ago. She glanced up at the now dimmed sky. Darkness was fast approaching but she should arrive at Kyoto before nightfall. If the people there were infested with Rasetsu, then she would most definitely come across them tonight. If that happened, then she had the intention of exterminating every last one them right then and there.

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From above the roof, she could see the lively town was now vacant and bare. Streets were swallowed by the encroaching darkness of shadows. Through the clear nightfall sky, the moon shone brighter. Her guardian had once said even in the darkness there was light; she didn't understand the implication then but perhaps there was some truth to it.

Breath pale against the cold air, she blinked. Soft, dusty flakes of snow fell and sat heavy on her eyelashes. She brought up her hand to catch the snowflakes before they melted away in her palm. She was captivated by the falling snow as they blinded the night with ice white dust.

The sound of a sudden scream carried through the quiet of the night followed by the scent of fresh blood. She silently leapt across to the adjoining rooftops and raced to the source of the disturbance to a secluded alley.

There were her targets standing above two human bodies.

Three Rasetsu were dressed in similar attire; a blue haori with a white cord crossed from front to back and matching white headbands. Two of them had already lost their minds completely to the madness. She could tell from the savage way they were stabbing the already dead man with their blades and sinking their fangs in places that lacked major arteries. The remaining one hovered over the second corpse as he drank the last drop of blood from the neck.

The intoxicating metallic scent of blood raised her own hunger that she had been attempting to keep under control; her heart was drumming hard against her chest, and she could feel the tips of her canines threatening to protrude from inside her mouth. Her excitement for rampage was climbing rapidly.

Sensing her presence, the Rasetsu snapped their heads up, their blood red eyes glowing fiercely in the dark as they advanced towards her. She dashed up to the two frenzied creatures. Once she closed enough distance between them, she unsheathed her sword in a swift motion and swung the weapon in an arc. The blow landed on one of the Rasetsu, causing him to stumble backward. With a quick whirl of her body, she thrusted the sharp blade into the other approaching Rasetsu. The strike hit a critical mark and pierced him right through the heart. His body instantly turned to ash and was blown away by the windy breeze. Without turning around, she made an immediate twist of her wrist to rotate the sword and stabbed it into the other Rasetsu that had moved up behind her. The creature shared the same fate.

She turned to the last standing Rasetsu, who stared back with his large eyes. He had transformed back to his human form, no longer carrying the distinguished red eyes and silver hair of a Rasetsu. At this point, it would not matter even if he still had traces of humanity remained inside. For him to feed until his victim perished, it meant his willpower was slipping and he no longer had any self-control over his mind when he was in the transformed state.

He would have to die.

She started approaching him slowly like a predator ready to pounce on its prey. Fully aware of the fact that whether he was in his Rasetsu form or not, he was clearly no match for her level of strength. He spun around quickly and sped away, trying to escape. The chase was short-lived when they reached the fork of the alleyway and two mortal men dressed in the same uniform appeared. The Rasetsu hurriedly scurried behind the shorter man with indigo hair loosely tied into a side ponytail, shielding himself for protection.

"Sa-Saito-san…! That man killed the two innocent people over there! I witnessed the murders and then he started chasing after me. He's trying to kill me too! Please save me!"

Ignoring his distorted accusation, she charged towards him but the mortal man stepped in the way, barricading her. In the swift moment, he drew out his sword and swung it across her abdomen in one blinding speed of motion. Even with her demon agility, she barely evaded the powerful blow when she lifted up her sword to meet his blade. In the next instant, he was already swaying his weapon at her, his speed almost inhuman.

The clash of metal echoed across the dark city as she parried and blocked each of his attacks. She made a mistake and exposed an unguarded opening for her opponent when he managed to throw a kick to her injured shoulder. The ferocity of the hit sent her sliding backward but she crouched low with support from her feet and free hand on the snow covered ground. Her reflex was almost feline-like and she caught her balance immediately.

"Now that's a rare sight. Someone can actually block your special technique, Hajime-kun," said the other mortal man with reddish brown hair when he moved to stand beside her opponent. He had been silently observing the combat from behind, as if he had been analyzing her movements. "Either your skills in swordplay are becoming rusty or this man is just that good."

Having both men's backs facing him now, the Rasetsu's feigned look of terror vanished and he stared at her blankly. The brown-haired man smirked, pulling out his weapon from the scabbard and pointed the end of his blade at her as he continued, "Now let me be the judge of how good you really are."

With her head dipped low, she pressed her left hand against the injured shoulder. The sharp, piercing pain of the wounds had intensified and she was bleeding again. She could smell the pungent scent of her own blood seeping through the inside layer of her clothes beneath the black shawl. Her anger grew, the sudden surge of energy ruptured through her body. She was determined to take the life of this Rasetsu, and she would not allow these humans to stand in her way. Taking in a deep breath of wintry air, she lunged towards the men again with a burst of fervor.

The Rasetsu was marked for death. And he must die tonight.

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Wet snow crunched under the weight of Hijikata's black boots when he ran across the empty streets covered in a delicate blanket of white. Ever since the Shinsengumi had accepted the classified mission straight from the Emperor to eradicate rogues in Kyoto two weeks ago, they had been on nightly routine patrols. The lack of knowledge on the nature of these rogues made their duty even more challenging.

Rumors had it that these rogues were mindless ferocious monsters that preferred to expose themselves after dark to prey on humans. They had yet to encounter one during their rounds, but in the past few days bodies drained of blood had been slowly surfacing and piling up at every corner within the city of Kyoto. The abominable situation was becoming quite chaotic for the townspeople. The government had decided to step in before things became even more unmanageable.

Orders had come down to the Shinsengumi, as they were commanded to guard the city and execute any rogues they came across on the streets. Although they were given this valuable opportunity because their group was recognized for their meritable bravery and exquisite swordsmanship, Hijikata still couldn't help but to be concerned for his men's welfare.

Hijikata inhaled sharply and hurried in the direction of where he heard the noise of battle. Judging from the loud ringing sound of metal blades colliding, he knew his friends were engaged in a fight nearby. Although Saito and Souji both were excellent swordsmen, Hijikata couldn't shake off the sense of unease that he felt up his spine. Especially when he had not the slightest clue of what exactly their clan was up against and dealing with.

The lives of his men rest solely on his hands. One wrong judgement or mishap from his end would get them all killed. It was the kind of responsibility Hijikata did not relish, but not because he was afraid of being held accountable or being seen as an incompetent leader. Far from that. He knew he just simply wouldn't be able to live with himself if he ever put his friends in unnecessary danger. His guilty conscience would never cease to plague his soul until the day he passed on to the next world.

Hijikata rushed around the corner to another isolated alley. He saw the two Shinsengumi Captains, along with the subordinate from third division, Juro there. The men were currently having a standoff with a mysterious man who had his face under a hooded cloak. The crouching man suddenly struck like a fierce storm towards Saito and Souji with alarming speed and knocked them both back with his sword. In that instant the mysterious man could have caused serious damage to either of them, but he only forced them to disperse with the relentless swings of his weapon. As both men were driven off in different directions to parry the attacks, their opponent took the opportunity to bolt forward and thrust his blade into Juro's chest, pushing the shocked man up against the wall.

Souji stormed up and swung his weapon at the man from behind, who dodged the assault effortlessly as he bent his upper body backward. That agile movement caused the hood to slip off from the attacker's head, revealing long locks of raven hair being blown in the cold wind. Saito and Souji both froze, evidently startled to find that their opponent turned out to be a young woman. Their surprise turned to confusion the moment she pulled out her sword from Juro's chest and his body instantly disintegrated into dust.

Hijikata retrieved his blade and pointed it sharply at her. "You make another move and I will cut you down."

She turned to him wordlessly, her expression was stolid. The two men approached closer to examine the pile of human ashes.

"What happened?" asked Saito as he picked up the Shinsengumi uniform lying on the ground.

"Why did Juro turn to ashes?" Souji queried, he was just as curious by the mind-boggling circumstances before them.

Hijikata had no doubt that all three of them had that very same question dancing on their minds. In fact, there were simply too many pieces to this puzzle that didn't seem to quite fit together. He expected this woman to provide a satisfactory explanation for all these unanswered questions.

Souji turned to Hijikata. "And what are we going to do with her?"

The men's eyes were locked on the woman. Her face did not show any hints of fear. She seemed to be unconcerned with her own current state of affairs even though her fate was about to be decided by three unknown men.

"We will take her back for interrogation in the morning," stated Hijikata with calmness.

Hijikata watched her intently when Saito came up to her, he would strike her down if she tried to pull a stunt on them. She may be a female but she was definitely an abetting killer who was more than capable of murder without so much as showing a frown on her face.

Confident that she wouldn't pose a threat anymore, Hijikata sheathed his sword after Saito confiscated the weapon that she held in her hand and the shortsword that was strapped by her waist. Souji then picked up the white cord from Juro's uniform and stood behind the girl.

"That's too bad, I thought I would have the pleasure of killing you," Souji grinned as he bound her wrists with the cord securely behind her back. "But it would be such a shame to kill a pretty girl just like that. What's your name?"

"Enough," Hijikata raised his voice in annoyance. Only Souji would make light of their present intricate situation and still have the mood to flirt. Hijikata, on the other hand, only wanted to get to the bottom of this uphill commotion, and he would. After he got some answers from their captive. "Time to head back to our headquarters."

Hijikata and Saito began walking ahead while Souji kept watch on the girl from behind. She suddenly spoke up, surprising them.

"Asuna."

The men halted and turned their heads to the young woman. Her cold gaze met Hijikata's in the darkness when she spoke in her soft, feminine voice again.

"My name…is Shinohara Asuna."

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AUTHOR NOTE:

Hi readers, thank you for the great feedbacks and positive responses so far! I'm glad to see that some of you enjoyed first chapter. As promised, I will try to update as often as I can and so here is chapter two!

Dear Ren7720: You were quite close with your assumption of the situation! Both types do exist but both would be Asian. Rasetsu could live among the humans as long as they didn't go rogue. Hope that helps…at least that's what I'm trying to portray in this fic :x

Dear SuperWolf1967: Thank you for your compliment! Glad you liked chapter one so far (by the way, I love your name lol).

Lastly, I hope it was an enjoyable read for you guys because all the fight scenes drove me crazy to write them lol.

See you guys in the next chapter!