Disclaimer: I do not own Hakuoki. This amazing anime was created by Asuka Yamazaki, Kazuhiko Hasegawa and Mitsutoshi Ogura. I only created my Asuna.
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).
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Kiss Of Snow
By: Swanna
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Chapter 5: An Unfeeling Demoness
Many hours passed by since the morning's bloody incident, and soon the moon illuminated the cold winter night. It must have been late in the evening by now since Asuna couldn't hear much movements from humans nearby. A perilous tension in the air surrounded her; she was back in the same room that she'd been summoned to for questioning. But instead of having to face a full inquisition from the previous group of men, only two men, Saito and Hijikata were present.
Asuna chose to seat herself exactly opposite of Hijikata, the man who appeared to be a high-ranking leader. She was not shaken by his fierce stare but from the close proximity, she could feel this man's contained fury. He had every right to be furious for what she had done; for the harm that she'd brought to his ally.
"You said you're a full-blooded demon, how are you any different than Rasetsu?" His strident question hit her like a forceful strike.
Asuna was a proud pureblood. Earlier she had arrogantly proclaimed to this man not to group her in with the Rasetsu. In reality, she'd truly acted no different than those mindless creatures that she'd had been so determined to destroy. She was livid with herself for having to become a slave to her own desires and losing control.
When he noticed she refused to share her most private thoughts by remaining silent, he continued pressing. His voice was commanding; it was appropriate given the anger that she currently sensed from him. "After what you did to Souji, I think it's about time you be completely honest with us about your identity."
"Demons don't need human blood to live," Asuna began slowly in her usual calm demeanor. "But sometimes we have a strong craving for it so we will seek out for mortals at times."
"Is that why there were mutilated bodies drained of blood across the city?" asked Saito, his fixed stare on her was just as critical.
"We only yearn for a taste, it would be unusual for us to take lives during our feedings. Most purebloods are careful to avoid unnecessary deaths so they don't expose themselves."
"Even so, how have demons been able to conceal themselves from the world for so long with their continuous attacks on humans?" Hijikata probed further. His voice was now low and rough, as if caught on the edge of a growl.
"We have trance-inducing abilities. The moment we sink our fangs into humans, they're so overwhelmed by the sensation they become unaware of their loss of blood. Weak-minded humans would wake up the next day with the marks, but they would have no recollection of the incident."
Asuna awaited for him to grimace in disgust, just like all the other humans that she'd come in contact with since she had been a child. She still remembered the look of blatant revulsion the villagers had given her when they had cornered her in the woods like a trapped animal that one night. The way they'd looked at her made Asuna feel as if she was the personification of wickedness and sheer evil.
To her surprise, she was unable to read Hijikata since his expression remained neutral. A part of her wondered if this mortal found her presence to be abhorrent at all. He even diverted the conversation and suddenly asked, "This morning you said you don't have any family or relatives. What happened to your family?"
"Like most of the pureblood demons, my parents were annihilated by humans many years ago through a genocide." Asuna didn't elaborate, trying not to reopen the old wound the memory brought. Nothing could change what happened.
Her unfaltering answer seemed to have made him draw his eyebrows together. And that irritated her. The last thing Asuna would have wanted was pity or sympathy coming from a mortal man.
"You must hate humans then if your whole family had been massacred by our race," Saito's comment may have appeared to be casual, but his tone had an edge to it.
It was true. For some crimes forgiveness was impossible and vengeance was the only cure. And sometimes the use of brute strength was the only method to exact justice.
Perhaps if it wasn't for her guardian's intervention during her childhood, then yes, Asuna would have been led astray and be consumed by her own feelings of vengefulness towards mortals. Now she only preferred a normal, quiet and peaceful life while residing in the heart of the forest away from the outside world.
"Presently I don't hold any special feelings towards you humans. I don't care enough about the distasteful deeds enacted by mortals long ago to carry out my personal vengeance against your race if that is what you are asking."
"How did you-"
"I don't want to speak about my past anymore," she interrupted Saito, fully aware of what he'd wanted to ask. Her gaze rested on Hijikata as she spoke. "I don't see how it'd hold any relevance to you either."
Explanation was pointless. Any further discussion of her family lineage or her background would be meaningless to these men. Asuna's history served no purpose to the matter at hand, and she certainly did not want to share that part of her life with anyone.
"I have a proposition for you," Hijikata made a sudden declaration without pushing further. "I will grant you permission to stay here while you heal your wounds and search for your comrade. In return, you must assist us with the Rasetsu."
So ultimately he only wanted to take advantage of her demon powers for their benefit. How typically narcissistic of these mortals.
"Are you really so desperate that you seek help from a demon?" Her tone barely veiled her contempt. She was waiting for an outright denial from him.
"Frankly, yes."
Once again, his impetuous honesty surprised Asuna. His actions were the opposite of what she had expected of him. This mortal man's erratic behavior really confused her.
He continued, "It's not just that we have a mission to complete, but bodies have been piling up and we have yet to come across a single rogue ourselves. The longer we take to eliminate these Rasetsu, the more families will suffer."
Asuna couldn't tell if he was being sincere with his words or not. But in that instant, the face of the widowed woman flashed through her mind again. She'd been the reason why Asuna had been so keen on killing the Rasetsu despite her injuries last night.
"And you are willing to put your men at risk with me even after what happened?"
"Since you claimed you don't require human blood to survive, I can safely assume that you will have more self-restraint in the future. I'm sure that as a pureblood demon, you won't repeat what happened with Souji this morning."
His calculated response caused Asuna to press her lips tightly together. She was vexed with how this man could see through and divulge her flaws with ease. He was obviously using her own weakness as a prideful demoness against her.
"And what if I attack one of you again?" she challenged deliberately.
"Then our proposition will be off immediately and I will personally mark you as my top priority. I don't care how long it'll take me to make it happen, but I will hunt you down and kill you."
Hijikata's male arrogance was notable for a mortal. His narrowed violet eyes was cold enough to freeze a man from the inside out. Unfortunately for him, Asuna was an immortal; they failed to make her tremble. It was his domineering stubbornness that piqued her interest.
"Why should I agree?"
"I'm sure you'd wanted a place to stay while you undergo your recovery, otherwise you wouldn't have had followed us back here so willingly. Our headquarters can be your safe hideout for now. In the mean time we can also send out men to help you find the person you are looking for. It will be much more efficient compared to you wandering around an unfamiliar city aimlessly without any clue."
His offer was straightforward and practical; something that suited her lone wolf nature and she found herself appreciating it.
"So do we have a deal?"
Asuna nodded, already figuring that her cooperation with the humans would be temporary. She would forsake them as soon as she could find Senhime. She could continue taking out any remaining Rasetsu on her own before returning back to the forest. Her home.
"Due to the controversy of your real identity, the three of us will keep the fact that you are a demoness from the rest of the group. We will tell them that you are staying with us for the time being to provide support and remove the rogues within the city, since you have in-depth knowledge of them," Hijikata explained. He seemed to have already given deeper thought into the whole proposition beforehand.
"Also I am returning these to you," he handed over her swords, returning the two blades that they'd confiscated yesterday. "I'm sure you will be needing them when you face Rasetsu during our patrols."
Asuna picked up the shortsword that had once belonged to Mitsuru. She had taken it with her after she'd slayed the demoness, thinking that one day this sword would become useful.
"How is he?"
There was a momentary pause. It was almost as if her sudden question had caught them off guard and they hadn't expected her to ask about the welfare of the man she had hurt.
Hijikata then answered, "Just as you said, you didn't drain all of his blood so he will live. But he's exhausted from the amount of blood loss and is now resting in bed."
Maybe it was the sudden thickness that she felt at the back of her throat upon hearing that, but a befitting resolution came to her that could prevent her earlier mistake. And this man before her would be the best person to help carry it out.
"This is a demon slaying sword, my wounds were inflicted by it," Asuna placed the shortsword back down and slid it across to Hijikata. The look in his violet eyes indicated he wasn't quite following her.
"Injured or not, I am still a full-blooded demon and your human strength will be no match for mine. You will be able to hurt me with this blade. I won't give you a reason to use it, but you may keep it with you during my stay here," she explained further, ensuring this man understood the full implication of what he was getting himself into when he suggested a coalition with a demoness.
Hijikata moved his gaze from her to the blade. It took him a few seconds to process his inner thoughts before he lifted his head to meet her gaze again. This time, his hard eyes somehow seemed to have softened reasonably.
"We will prepare a room for you further away from the main camp so troops won't be aware of your existence," he announced, which suited Asuna just fine as she much preferred minimal contact with humans anyway.
Assuming that was all there was for them to discuss, she took her sword and abruptly rose from the floor in an attempt to leave the room. The fair amount of interaction she'd had with these humans in one day had far exceeded her comfort zone. She wished to be left alone for the remainder of the night.
"Wait, there's one more thing," Hijikata called out, halting her steps at the doorway. Asuna waited for him to finish without turning around. "You will need to disguise yourself as a man just like Yukimura so your presence as a woman wouldn't disrupt order within Shinsengumi."
"You are mistaken about something." This time, she turned around and looked at him past her shoulder; her voice was cold as stone. "I agreed to assist your men and eliminate Rasetsu for my own personal reasons. I also agreed to your arrangement of an isolated room for me because it would be my preference to stay away from mortals. But those are the limits of my cooperation. I do not take commands from neither demons nor humans. If you have an issue with this, then our agreement will be voided."
After making sure this man fully understood the fact that he was in no position to give her any orders, Asuna then promptly exited the room without a second glance.
X X X
The next morning came quickly. Asuna rose from the tatami mat that she had been resting on and scrutinized her new chamber. The layout and decoration of this simple room was more or less the same as the last one. The location was definitely much further out and more secluded, which she welcomed as it gave her more privacy. Even with her increased hearing, she could barely detect any noise from the humans' activities within the compound unlike yesterday.
Asuna walked towards the entrance and slid open the screen door. A blast of crisp cold air greeted her immediately. Perfectly aware of another presence, she took a glimpse to her right and saw a young man with long brown hair tied up in a ponytail sat against the exterior wall of her room. If she remembered correctly from yesterday, his name should be Heisuke. He looked up and his blue-green eyes met hers.
Perhaps it was the quiet, inquiring look that she'd been giving him, but he suddenly said, "Hijikata-san instructed all the Captains to take turns keeping an eye on you."
She had a suspicion that the man wasn't so much worried about Asuna breaking away as her attacking his men for blood. Asuna ventured another look at the young man with a blade strapped to his waist, but it wasn't the demon slaying sword. Wouldn't it have been more sensible and discerning of Hijikata to arm his allies with a weapon that could at least hurt her while keeping her under surveillance? Or was he simply testing her willpower and using his men as bait? No doubt he was one mortal whom she would never truly understand even if she tried.
Asuna gazed up at the cloudless, grey sky that lacked of horizon, and inhaled the chilling, cold air. Before her was the view of a scanty garden with a glaze of white snow over sleek rocks and stone lanterns. A tall, burly tree that had lost its leaves stood solemn and brilliant. It reminded her of the days in the forest when she'd ascended to the top of soaring trees as a pastime. She would take pleasure in the scenery of green and be awed by the vibrant spring and autumn foliage; she would immerse herself in the tranquility of the natural surroundings from the treetop and keep a lookout for animals that were at home in the shared forest below.
"That is a cherry blossom tree," Heisuke said, interrupting her reminiscing of days gone by. "You've been staring at it for quite a while, I thought you didn't know."
"Cherry blossom tree?" she repeated almost inaudibly as her mind tried to recall if she had ever seen one before. Even if she had, she wouldn't have known the tree species names.
"The flowers would bloom usually at the end of March or the beginning of April, it's quite a view when they bloom," he commented with a lift of his lips.
Asuna doubted she would have the opportunity to witness it since it'd be highly unlikely for her to stay with the humans for another three to four months. It would have been a pleasant experience if she could see a tree that bloomed flowers instead of leaves at least once. She wondered what color of bloom this tree would harbor when the right time came.
"I heard from Hijikata-san that you will be staying with us and give us a hand with the rogues," he studied her for a moment when she remained wordless. "Just like Saito-kun, you're not much of a conversationalist, huh?"
At the mention of the name, Saito appeared as he walked next to Kondou, whom they all seemed to respect and follow. Both men had trays in their hands and were striding down the exterior hallway towards her.
"Speak of the devil," Heisuke commented, watching the approaching men and stood on his feet. "Is that my lunch tray? Good, I'm starving!"
"How are you feeling today, Shinohara-san?" Kondou asked with a smile, wrinkles appearing around his eyes. "You must be hungry, we brought you some food."
Asuna took a quick look at the tray and grew disinterested. Not that she couldn't eat normal human food but as a pureblood, she didn't get hungry and had no basic human needs. For that reason alone, she had never consumed food and drinks from the mortal world before. As long as Asuna sated her yearning for human blood sporadically then it would be sufficient for her.
"I'm not hungry. I don't need food."
"Nonsense. You haven't eaten anything the entire day yesterday and you're also injured, you need your energy to recover," Kondou lectured her in a familiar manner that reminded Asuna of her late guardian. "And look at you. You're too underdressed for a cold weather like this. You will get sick easily if you're not careful."
"I'm fine."
Kondou frowned, apparently not satisfied with her persisting adamancy. "This morning Toshi mentioned you will be staying with us to track down Rasetsu in Kyoto. I wanted to show you my gratitude for your assistance in person. Thank you."
"You don't have to thank me. I will leave here once I find who I'm searching for whether the city would be rid of Rasetsu or not," her response was so matter-of-fact that he mistook it as resentment.
"You guys can stand here and talk all you want but I'm going to dig in first, I'm starving to death over here," Heisuke complained with a visual scowl and reached for the tray that Saito had been holding.
"You must be growing restless from being cooped up in here," Kondou commented with an exasperated sigh when he turned his attention back to Asuna again. "I don't know what Toshi is thinking locking you up in a room when you've already agreed to help us. This isn't the way to treat our guest and show our hospitality. I will definitely talk to him about it."
"Then why don't we just let her eat with us in the room? I don't want to eat alone out here either," Heisuke was the one who came up with the bold suggestion.
"That's right!" Kondou stated with unnecessary excitement. "Shinohara-san, please join us for lunch. That way you can get to know the other Captains better since you'll all be working together once your wounds are healed."
Asuna stole a glance at Saito who stood behind the men and had been watching her reaction in silence. He gave her a weak nod when their gazes met. Somehow she had a feeling that the Vice-Commander would be quite displeased to see his group of allies associating with a demoness.
X X X
Hijikata entered into the room where lunch would be served. A few of them were already inside waiting for the arrival of the others. He had expected to see Sanosuke, Shinpachi, Inoue and Sannan present, but he was far from content to see that Souji was also in the room.
"What are you doing out of your bed?" Hijikata demanded immediately, not even bothering to hide the annoyance in his tone.
Souji turned and gave him a sardonic grin, "I'm feeling much better today, so quit trying to confine me to my room, Hijikata-san."
"Are you sure you're feeling well enough to be up and about, Souji?" asked Shinpachi with concern. Hijikata took the chance to settle down at his usual spot.
"I'm fine," Souji waved his hand dismissively in the air. "Migraine's gone already."
To mask the unsettling truth of Souji being attacked by a demoness inside their headquarters, Hijikata had told rest of the group that Souji had been ill as a cover up. A part of him felt guilty for withholding information from his friends. Friends whom he had fought side by side with and gone through many situations together; life and death, thick and thin.
Some may not agree with his decision, but one reason he had decided to make a deal with the demoness even though he was still uncertain about her was because of her demonic ability. Their mission had been at a standstill for several weeks already and the progress had reached nowhere but a dead-end. As a demon, she possessed the capability to track down Rasetsu, which was proving to be more than useful for their situation. Another reason he had chosen not to disclose the truth of her true identity was because he didn't want to create conflict within the Shinsengumi.
Hijikata was very mindful of the fact that once they learned the truth about the attack, they would possibly want the woman dead. And he didn't want to kill her. Especially after last night when he had uncovered a part of her hidden past which she had seemed very reluctant to share. Hijikata had never been this close to a full-blooded demon, at least not to his awareness anyway. It seemed as if they were rare enough that they didn't mingle with humans after the slaughtering of their race had happened many years ago. Shinohara Asuna was a young demoness but there was nothing untried about her. Hijikata couldn't help but wonder if the rest of her race looked just as ruthless as she did; as cold and unfeeling.
But if she was a cold-hearted demoness that only preyed on humans for their blood then she wouldn't have cared about Souji's well-being after she'd attacked him. Nor would she have given him a weapon that could cause harm to her, putting herself at a disadvantage with them. Although Hijikata may not have been able to take her down, he was confident that he could at least inflict some wounds on her. The injuries would still have been problematic for her and she really didn't have to expose her own weakness to him like this.
Underneath all that cold exterior, could there really be nothing humane about her? Hijikata pondered to himself.
"If you're feeling fine then what's with the scarf? I've almost never seen you wear one," Sanosuke observed, his eyes were full of suspicion.
"In case I'm coming down with a cold, I don't want it to get worse," Souji gave an offhand statement as he readjusted the scarf, making sure to cover the fang marks. He had remembered the event of the attack with clarity.
Kondou, Saito and Heisuke finally entered the room, and behind them trailed the demoness. Hijikata instantly became alert. "Why is she here?"
"It's alright, Toshi. I asked Shinohara-san to join us for lunch," Kondou replied, gesturing her to take a seat.
Without hesitating, she sat down. As soon as she realized Souji was next to her, their eyes locked for a long moment. While Souji was giving her his usual smirk, her expression remained unreadable. Saito then placed the food tray down for her and took a place to her right. Chizuru came in with two more trays while everyone else got seated.
"Shinohara-san is our guest, we have to treat her more cordially," Kondou continued with his preaching as soon as he settled in between Hijikata and Sannan.
Failing to come up with a reasonable retort as to why she shouldn't be eating with them, Hijikata stayed quiet with a noticeable frown.
"That's fantastic. Now we have two pretty girls to eat with us," said Shinpachi as he barked a satisfied laugh.
"You have a change of heart way too fast, Shinpachi," Heisuke commented next to him. "It was only yesterday that you said Asuna-chan was creeping you out."
"You have to stop living in the past, kid," Shinpachi chided. "Besides, we will be on patrols together soon, we might as well try to get along now."
"Women will be the death of you one day," Heisuke shook his head at him disapprovingly.
"That would be a pleasant way to go," Sanosuke remarked with a grin before turning to Chizuru beside him. "Wouldn't you agree, Chizuru?"
The girl stuttered, evidently not as comfortable with the topic. "I…I don't know. Maybe?"
While those four were engaged in their own conversation, Sannan glanced over to the demoness. "Shinohara-"
"You can all just call me Asuna," she cut his sentence short. Perhaps this demoness not only resented the idea of submitting herself and knuckling under someone, she also disliked formality and honorifics.
Sannan nodded, his lips curved. "Asuna, I am grateful for your offer of assistance to help the Shinsengumi. Thank you."
Instead of giving a response that others expected from her, she remained naturally speechless.
Kondou cleared his throat. "Alright, food is getting cold. Let's eat first."
When everyone started eating from their trays, Hijikata noted how her gaze were fixed on hers. Interesting. He wondered if she could even eat human food. From the sound of it, blood seemed to be their strictly preferred diet.
"You don't have to eat it if this is not your standard of food," Hijikata tried to indicate with discretion, convinced that she would understand his innuendo.
"I can eat this," she gave a short reply as she looked up.
Their eyes lingered longer than necessary and she was likely aware of that. She was the first to avert her gaze and focused her attention on the tray of food again. Hijikata noticed she was studying others' hand motions briefly before picking up her own pair of chopsticks. When she tried to secure a firm grip with her right hand, the utensil fell from her hold. The clattering sound caught the men by surprise as they looked her way.
"Is everything alright, Asuna-kun?" Kondou asked, worried.
"Her wounds must be causing her pain right now," said Souji, trying to fabricate an excuse for her on the spot.
Kondou nodded as if he understood. "I see. Take your time to eat then, don't rush."
Everyone continued eating and the trio began chattering away again. Saito used the fleeting opportunity while others were distracted to teach her the proper way to hold chopsticks. His voice was deliberately low as he showed her how to pick up food with his left hand and she watched with keen interest. He lifted a piece of tofu in front of her and to Saito's bewilderment, she moved in closer and sealed her lips around his utensil, eating from his chopstick. Startled, Saito widened his eyes while others who witnessed the shocking event began their mockery.
"Am I seeing things or did Saito just feed a girl?! It's Saito whom we're talking about here, right?" Shinpachi was the first to start the teasing.
"Saito, I didn't know you have it in you to be such a gentleman towards women too," Sanosuke added, then he turned to Chizuru. "Don't worry, Chizuru. If you ever get sick or injured, then I will come to you every day and feed you too."
Chizuru blushed and looked down at her own bowl of rice.
Instead of being flustered with embarrassment, the demoness only slightly drew her eyebrows together and chewed slowly, savoring the foreign taste in her mouth. "What is it?"
"It's agedashi tofu," Saito answered quietly once he recovered from his stun.
"Looks like even Hajime-kun has fallen under your spell," Souji remarked, his wicked smirk returning again. "It's not fair that you only let him feed you. I want to feed you too, Asuna-chan."
Seeing Souji inch closer towards her with another piece of tofu made Hijikata flip with anger. "Enough! Stop horsing around and eat. You Captains still have a day's worth of duties waiting for you after lunch."
Silence fell upon the room as the men lowered their heads and turned to their meals again. Everyone except the demoness, who glanced over at him and met his gaze evenly. He opened his mouth in a wordless grunt. Suddenly he wasn't so sure if he had made the right choice in granting her permission to stay with the Shinsengumi.
X X X
AUTHOR NOTE:
At last there are more interactions between Asuna and Hijikata. Bet Hijikata is having headaches dealing with this impassive demoness, hehe. You also get a glimpse of Asuna's past but more will be revealed as story progresses.
Thank you for those of you who reviewed/favorited/followed this story, I really appreciate the kind words and gesture. It makes me happy to know readers like my story and I definitely hope you all will continue to support me!
I want to say a few words to some of the readers who left me amazing reviews as thank you:
Nakigaoyuu: Ever since you have started reading my story, you constantly wrote me reviews to encourage me. Thank you for your motivation, it makes me happy to know I have such a supportive reader following this fic. You're the best!
Waltzing Muse: My most beloved friend lol thank you for sending me reviews on my stories. I also really appreciated your help whenever I was stuck with the plots. You're awesome, love you the most!
Foxcat: I'm so glad you came across this fic and you're enjoying it so far. Hope you will continue supporting me :)
Kurayami Kazuo Riddle (I know you like to go by KKR): I want to thank you…Your review was one of the sweetest that I've ever received. I never imagined a reader would take the time and leave me a message even though English isn't your native language. Reading your review totally made my day. Glad to have met you!
ImpracticalDemon: It's really funny of how we just randomly started talking (all thanks to Hakuoki and the eye candies). I'm happy to know that so far I haven't messed up Asuna's character and she's likeable. Please let me know if there's anything you'd think I need to change to make the story to flow even better. Thanks for your lovely review.
Thanks again and I will see everyone very soon.