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

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 12: New Dawn

Nearly a few hours after the battle ended in earnest, the vast darkness of the night sky gradually dissipated, and the sun slowly rose. Clouds were now crimson across the horizon as the night turned to dawn, illuminating the aftermath of the battle. This sudden lightening meant that targets once covered by the darkness in the building were now visible to the Shinsengumi and the Aizu Domain. They could size up the scene with more clarity.

The Ikeda Inn had been nearly decimated in many places and in its place had sprung a bounty of death. Asuna looked around at the dead bodies and heavily wounded men spread over the building, mostly they laid where they had fallen during the battle. The air was thick with the scent of blood and it was enough to make her hunger rise again due to her predatory instinct.

"Don't worry, brothers. Today is not your day to die," Sanosuke muttered to Heisuke and Souji reassuringly as they were being carried out of the building in stretchers, back to headquarters.

"Sorry to disappoint, but I'm not easy to kill," said Souji, breathing heavily from exhaustion.

He was just conscious enough to come to terms with the fact that he wasn't going to die. Though he wasn't mortally wounded, he was likely to suffer broken ribs from the fight with the demon. Asuna could also see bloodstains on his chin; he had been coughing blood. A sign that he may also have internal injuries or something worse.

"I feel like my head is about to split open. I might as well be dead now," Heisuke's groan made the red-haired Captain chuckle.

"Deal with it, because I'm pretty sure you'll live."

"I still have a score to settle with that guy the next time I run into him," Heisuke sounded almost as if he needed revenge for being defeated and to uphold his reputation.

"Try focusing all that enthusiasm on fixing yourself first, kiddo," Sanosuke chided playfully and watched as his comrades were being carried out of the doors.

The rest of the Shinsengumi Commanders and Captains were preoccupied with checking for and aiding the injured, while the Aizu soldiers were searching for straggling Choshu parties who surrendered themselves as prisoners after being apprehended. Knowing that her presence served no useful purpose at this concluding stage and with her staggering hunger for blood, Asuna took the very first opportunity to take her leave.

"Shinohara-san, come with me quick. I need your help," said Kondou eagerly, taking her by the arm and hurrying her along. He brought her to the corner of the room where a severely wounded man was laying. "I need you to put pressure on his wound with this while I look for Yukimura-kun."

Kondou released her arm long enough to rip at his blue haori before shoving the torn fabric into her hands, compelling her to press down on the man's abdominal wound to slow or stop the bleeding.

"I will be right back," he promised before leaving her alone to care for the injured.

Asuna took a glance at the man. His pale face was drawn in pain and his breathing was ragged and hoarse. There was a lot of blood on his uniform. It would be a miracle if he didn't die before they returned with medical help. Suddenly he reached up his right hand and held hers tight as he tried to speak.

"Don't talk," she ordered, trying to get the man to lie still.

Gasping for air, the soft words came out of his mouth, "Tell my wife that I'm sorry and she really made me the happiest man alive."

Asuna noticed a growing sense of discovery when she felt a slight tightness in her chest. She was feeling what the man before her felt through her observations, triggering changes to her own emotional state.

"If you have something to say to her, then you tell her yourself," she told him while continuing to press more firmly on the wound.

A strange smile appeared on his face, as if the pain had disappeared, leaving him in a state of peaceful restfulness. His eyes began to close slowly. Driven by impulse, she brought her bloodstained hand to her mouth, grazing her palm with her protruding fangs to draw her own blood.

As soon as Asuna smeared her blood across his lips, she stepped back and waited. Several minutes passed and nothing happened. Then, little by little, the color returned to the man's flesh and he started to stir, slowly coming back to life. Within another few minutes, Kondou returned with Chizuru beside him. The man cringed in pain and he was still trembling when Chizuru reached out to touch his cheek.

"I know your wound is deep," she whispered gently. "Just lie still. It won't hurt as much if you don't move. We will help you stop the bleeding first."

Knowing that the man's life was no longer in imminent danger, Asuna moved back allowing Kondou and Chizuru to begin their work in tending to his wounds. She left the building quietly and found her way to the isolated courtyard surrounded by plain wooden fences.

She went towards the water well at the side and dipped her hands into the peg of frigid water, trying to wash away the blood and the intrusion of the foreign emotion that she experienced just moments ago. It felt as if the sensation would steal in and take possession of her consciousness, stripping away her defenses. She detested how it made her vulnerable when she was in the grip of the compulsions it brought on. When that happened, her capacity to pursue her own values and beliefs were drained away. It brought her uneasiness to the surface by thinking about the possibility of losing control in general or of being unable to control herself at all times.

Asuna looked down at her own reflection in the water muddled with blood. The metallic scent blended with the nuances of earth and cold dew as she stared at herself, though her focus was elsewhere.

"Are you alright?" She turned to find Shinpachi looking down at her, worried. But her line of sight immediately fell on his injured hand that he'd left unbandaged.

"I'm fine," she answered curtly, turning her head away as temptation tried her. In the midst of her turmoiled thoughts and appetence, now was not the time to put her self-restraint on trial. "You should get your injuries tended."

"This is nothing, I've had it worse before. I will just wash it off."

He bent close to another wooden bucket with clean water in it, and with a cupped hand, he splashed water over his injury. The sight of blood gushing from his wound was distinctly a delight to Asuna, it aroused the worst elements of her nature, especially when she was ravenous.

Finally she gave in to the powerful force of hunger.

Without a thought to the ramifications of her actions, she moved towards Shinpachi. He was caught by surprise when he whirled around and came face to face with her. He stumbled and was sprawling on the stoned well. Asuna inclined her head to one side as she closed the distance between them. He swallowed hard but didn't move away. She took his bleeding hand in hers and raised it to her lips. Just when she was about to have a taste of his blood, they were interrupted.

"What are you two doing?"

Shinpachi froze in position while Asuna turned over her shoulder slightly and found herself looking directly into Hijikata's sharp, angry stare.

"No-Nothing," Shinpachi answered as she let go of him. A chagrined smile touching his mouth. "Asuna is just checking on my injury."

Hijikata's stare drifted from her to Shinpachi and then to his injured hand. His expression darkened further. "You should go in and have your hand looked at by Yukimura now."

Although the words were mildly spoken, the authority in his tone left no room for questioning. Shinpachi nodded and walked past them to go back into the inn again.

Hijikata waited silently for him to be out of sight, and then turned his attention back to Asuna and said, "Come with me."

She followed him into an empty room without protesting, fully aware of the direction of their conversation. He closed the door, locking them both inside.

"What the hell were you doing out there with Shinpachi?" He shifted his stance as he asked the question, moving closer to her.

Asuna wanted to edge away from him but she chose not to. To say Hijikata intimidated her didn't entirely explain her reaction to the man at times. She couldn't quite fathom it herself. There was almost a magnetic pull emanating from him. Although he was a mortal, it was fascinating the way he so effortlessly held his physical power in check, just like last night when he'd stood alone to face the army of Aizu soldiers himself.

"I wanted his blood," she told him the complete truth. The truth that he should've seen clearly all this time.

She was born as a pureblooded demon and blood was something she couldn't live without. No one and nothing could change her nature. This was what she wanted and this was what she was. The chain of her new thoughts suddenly illumined by this ray of comfort. She was simply being herself despite the ugliness of the truth.

"And I thought after what happened with Souji, you agreed not to feed on their blood again," he stated, shifting nearer, his dark violet eyes on hers with startling intensity.

"I agreed not to attack your men again but I never made a promise about not taking their blood when it's in front of me," she responded, her vehemence comparable to his. "Either I take their blood or I can go out there and feed on a stranger's blood when my hunger strikes, it's all the same to me."

Hijikata's eyes narrowed, his thick lashes shadowing their depths but he showed no other visible reaction. He stared at her with the same intense look, his jaw set and his expression impossible to read.

"Why didn't you tell me you needed blood?"

"And what difference would that make?" she challenged.

"Because you can take my blood instead."

It took a second for his words to register and she was thoroughly confused. "Why?"

"You became my responsibility the moment I let you stay with us," he replied, taking another step closer to her. His breath was warm against her cheek, the words were enticing and they were disarming her. "Besides, reasons don't matter at this point. I'm offering you my blood. You can't tell me that you're not hungry anymore."

Hijikata tilted his head to the side and loosened his attire. Sensing her hesitation, he urged, "Drink before someone walks in on us."

Looking at his exposed shoulder blade, she stood on tiptoe and pressed her lips there, licking his skin to ease his pain before sinking her fangs into his shoulder. His warm, sweet blood filled her mouth. It tasted even better than it smelled. Never before had she tasted such sweet, succulent blood. She savored it before drinking each drop that flowed into her mouth. Hijikata's muscle tensed and relaxed, and tensed again. Though he stood perfectly still, his chest was heaving with slow, deep breaths.

The moment when she drank the last drop in her mouth, she glanced up and realized that he was watching her intently. Almost as though he was committing her features to memory, but his attention didn't make her feel uncomfortable. She continued to hold his gaze.

"Your heart is beating so fast," he commented as his eyes traveled down to her lips. A tiny trickle of blood escaped from the corner of her mouth and he wiped it away with the pad of his thumb. "Does blood excite you this much?"

There was a commotion outside the corridor as the sanctioning activity was moved from the building to the courtyard. But Hijikata didn't seem to react to anything going on around them. Their private silence was charged with something she couldn't quite name. An unfamiliar shiver of awareness shimmied through Asuna and she tried her best to disregard it.

Suddenly a voice was called out from outside the door. "Hijikata-san, are you in there?"

"What is it?" He answered unhurriedly, breaking their gaze as he readjusted his clothing and uniform.

Even though he showed no emotion, she could feel his confusion, his disbelief. Asuna knew it was the effect of their trance-inducing abilities as demons when they fed on mortals. Some mortals would never figure out that demons had been drinking their blood since they would hold no memory of the event. Others experienced a heightened sense of energy flow through their bodies. Sometimes, humans would even get addicted to a demon's bite because of that.

"Kondou-san wants to inform you that he and the others are returning to headquarters now."

"You can all go ahead first, I will be right out." After the footsteps retreated from the hallway Hijikata walked towards the door, and without meeting her eyes, he said, "I will go out first. You should wait a moment before leaving this room."

Not giving her a chance to answer, he dazedly left the room.

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The sun stalked across the horizon, blasting the coast with morning light and bouncing off the clear, blue ocean. The scenery was like a divine painting. The endless stretching sea was masked with a golden color, and the beautiful umber flowed into the transparent water. Through his squinted eyes, he watched as each wave overlapped one another, their crests breaking and flashing white.

The view was quite mesmerizing, but his mind was not fully on the scene in front of him. His mind was on a woman living an ocean away from Ezochi, and was well beyond his reach.

"Sake?" Shiranui asked, even though the man knew he preferred not to drink in the daytime.

Offering it was Shiranui's way of chastising him for being poor company, failing to keep him entertained.

"Sake? You know I don't drink when the sun is still up."

Shiranui snorted, surely not impressed. "Don't bullshit me. What difference does it make whether it's day or night? Given your past life as a mortal, you are a champion of pleasure, aren't you?"

"Drinking isn't my form of pleasure," he gave a brazen response.

Shiranui's arm descended upon his shoulder. "What do you want then? A kiss?"

"I'd rather eat dirt."

"Oh so you don't want me now? What, I'm not good enough for you?" There was no hiding the amusement in his voice.

With a raised eyebrow, he asked, "Do you ever doubt your sexuality? I wonder if there is something wrong with you."

Shiranui chuckled at their back and forth bantering, his fangs gleaming in the light. "I wonder if there is something wrong with you. Refusing to drink with a friend just because it's broad daylight so you can keep a clear head. You're so uptight like some old fart."

Even when he glowered at the gray-blue haired demon, he was rewarded with a solid thump on the back.

It had always been his responsibility previously. Quiet when it was wise to be quiet, active when it was useful to be active. He had to be constantly clear-sighted on the course of events, always knowing what he wanted and judging well of the future. That included leaving the only woman who had his heart captured completely and inescapably.

"When are you leaving for Kyoto?" He asked, diverting attention away from his inner thoughts.

"Tonight," Shiranui scowled. "Seems like the Choshu's plan got screwed over. I need to clean up the mess and do some damage repair."

Most of the time, his friend, almost a brother, was usually pompous and undaunted. Something must had really gone wrong if he would be as sullen as that.

"Mortals just have to make everything so complicated! I can simply sneak into the palace and put a bullet between the man's eyes, problem solved," Shiranui said as a joke, but with danger in his eyes.

"Then you'll get bored since there would be no fights involved."

"They better be worthy opponents for me," Shiranui took another greedy gulp from the bottle. "You sure you don't want to tag along? It might be fun."

"Not interested in the war, I'll pass."

He always prided himself on his ability to be objective. To do what had to be done, he thought to himself. Especially when his proximity and unrestricted access to her had always proven to be an irresistible lure. There was an ache in his chest just knowing that she was somewhere out there, and yet he couldn't go to her. It was difficult living his life without her at his side, but in the end her safety was all that mattered.

"Suit yourself, it's your loss," Shiranui said nonchalantly.

"I'd hardly call the need for rampage a loss, but who am I to judge. We pick our own poison," he smirked when Shiranui shot him a dirty stare.

"You're pitiful if you can't understand why I take pleasure in a good fight."

"I like a good fight too. When the dust settles, we'll go for another match to see who will be the last one standing."

Engaging in friendly sparring and insults was their way of renewing contact after some time apart. When all the greeting rituals were over, they would bring out bottles of sake and catch up.

Shiranui grinned to show he had full confidence in his own strength, his eyes sparking with fire. "Give it your best shot, old fart."

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AUTHOR NOTE:

I promised 'a bit' steamy and here I am, delivering my promise and I hope you guys enjoyed every moment of it! I mean who wouldn't want to bite Hijikata? Or Kazama? Or Sano? Or Souji? And the list goes on and on...

Once again, thank you for those who took time to review my chapters! You guys are so sweet and motivating, thank you for your support as always.

And lastly, work will be busy this week and I'm not sure if I will have the energy to write after I get off, but we'll see.

Wishing you guys a great night and see you all next time!