Late January 1864

Haruka and Shota were sitting on the side in the common room, between Kondou, Sanan and Hijikata and the captains she's become familiar with during the Serizawa incident. All she was told was that there was a witness to last night's events. Some Furies had escaped and Hijikata, Saito and Okita had gone on patrol to look for them, unfortunately they had killed some ronin and were hacking them to pieces.

That was when the witness was noticed by one of them, about to be attacked, when Saito arrived and killed them all. Soon after Okita and Hijikata joined Saito and eventually the witness was brought to Yagi late at night. Now they were just waiting for Inuoe to bring them to the common room.

Haruka looked over at Hijikata. "You're saying they saw them?"

"I'm saying they could have. I'm not sure what they saw."

Okita smiled. "They certainly saw Hajime-kun cut someone down." Saito just tried his best to ignore Okita's comment.

Haruka sighed. "So you say. I do want to hear what they have to say before anything is decided."

"But it's just a kid, right?" Heisuke said. "Did we have to bring him here?"

"Child or not, we need to know what they saw." Sanan replied.

Soon the door slid open and in front of Inoue was a young person in a pink Kimono and gray Hakama. Both Haruka and Shota's eyes widened. This was-

"Chizuru..!" Haruka said suddenly.

The young person's brown eyes widened in surprise when she saw Haruka. "Shinomi-san?"

Hijikata's eyes narrowed to Haruka. "You know them?" Haruka looked at Hijikata before focusing back at Chizuru. "I thought I told you not to come here."

"I..I couldn't just..stay in Edo by myself…"

Haruka's eyes narrowed. "You don't know what you got yourself into.."

"Shinomi-kun?" Sanan got her attention. "Who are they?"

"Well…They are..Kodo's daughter."

The room got silent. A lot of the men had wide eyes at the realization that the kid that saw everything was related to Kodo and was a girl.

"Oh dear.." Inoue said as he untied the rope around Chizuru's wrists. "I'm sorry for the way you were tired overnight."

Chizuru looked a bit nervous but nodded her head in thanks, too afraid to say a single word. Her eyes then turned back to Haruka and bowed. "I'm really sorry, Ane-san! I just-!"

"I know. You were worried about your father." Haruka sighed. "But now we're just in a bigger mess."

"A-A big mess?" She repeated.

Haruka looked over at Hijikata, Kondou, and Sanan. "I'll say a couple things. For one, she knows nothing about that. She's completely in the dark, save for last night's accident. Two, I'll see what I can do about her situation. She's my responsibility now."

Hijikata raised an eyebrow. "Your responsibility? She stumbled into Shinsengumi affairs."

"I know that. But she's…my ward, I think is the right word. My father made a promise to hers to protect her if something happened to him. Obviously, that got passed down to me."

Kondou had a very decisive look on his face. "Well, if the young lady doesn't know anything..It wouldn't be wrong to let her go."

Sanan just closed his eyes. "But if something were to happen to her, she may reveal something to get out of trouble."

"Then we're at a standstill." Hijikata said.

Okita decided he'd try somehow to lighten the mood since things were getting too suffocating. "Damn." He looked over at Chizuru. "You got an Okuzume vouching for your life. Guess killing you isn't an option anymore." He grinned.

Heisuke looked over at Okita. "Was that supposed to be a joke?"

"What? It's true. If Haruka says she doesn't know anything then what's the problem?" Okita said, leaning his head onto his propped up hand on his leg.

Sanan spoke. "The problem is we can't simply let her go after last night."

"Look, I'll find somewhere for her to stay while I figure out what to do." Haruka said.

"Why not have her stay here?" Nagakura said. "We'd be able to keep our eye on her."

Haruka shook her head. "You already have Shota and I. There's no way we can take another room from you."

"Nagakura-kun does have a good point. Shinomi-kun couldn't possibly keep an eye on her all day. Neither can Sasaki-kun." Sanan said.

Haruka raised an eyebrow at Sanan. "We're perfectly capable of-"

"But you still are looking for Kodo, are you not?"

"Sanan-san." Hijikata looked over at him. "Are you really okay with them staying here?"

Sanan looked back at him."Considering she is Kodo's daughter, I figure she knows his face better than any of us. She may help us find him faster."

"Sanan-kun also brings up a good point." Kondou said. "I think there may be one room available if we clean it up…"

"So, now there'll be two girls staying with us?" Heisuke looked at both Haruka and Chizuru.

Haruka shook her head. "Okay, if this is really going to happen we are setting rules."

"And what kind of rules would that be, Shinomi?" Hijikata looked at her.

"First off…" Haruka's eyes looked over at Chizuru, that made the young girl freeze up at her gaze. "Chizuru, I'm sorry to say this but I need you to keep dressing up as a boy."

"A boy?"

Haruka nodded her head. "I trust the men in this room to not really mess with you, but the rest of the soldiers will have no idea about who you are or why you are here. And as a girl…I really don't trust them to not pull something."

"I-I see…"

"Second, you are going to be my page."

"Huh? Your page? Aren't you giving yourself a lot more work?" Okita said.

"It's also to keep the others away from her. If they mess with her, they mess with me."

"Makes sense." Harada just smiled. "I mean, they're already afraid of you anyway, so if they mess with your page, they probably expect a world of hurt."

"I'm still not okay with this." Hijikata said.

Haruka looked over at him. "If you want, you can have a rule."

Hijikata thought for a moment before looking over at Chizuru. "You do not walk around by yourself here. Understand?"

"Y-Yes! I understand!"

"Alright. Then you'll share a room with Shinomi till we clear out a room."

Chizuru then bowed quickly. "Thank you so much! I promise I won't say anything or be in trouble!"

Kondou smiled at her. "If you need anything, Yukimura-kun, just tell us."

Chizuru gave a nervous nod at Kondou. Shimu came over to Chizuru with his tail wagging. "Oh. You're here too, Shimu." She crouched down and scratched behind his ear. Shimu's tail wagged faster as it was his favorite spot to be scratched.

Kondou suggested that everyone introduced themselves to Chizuru. Each of the captains did just that and Kondou, Hijikata, and Sanan did as well. When it was over Haruka and Shota both got up.

"If that's all, I'd like to help Chizuru settle in." Haruka said.

"Yeah. That's fine." Hijikata said. The three of them, and Shimu, left the common room and went down the hall to Haruka's. Haruka opened the door to Shimu running inside followed by Chizuru.

"Can I really stay here with you, Ane-san?" She asked.

"It's fine." Haruka looked over at Shota. "Shota, can you go into town and buy a futon and stuff for Chizuru."

Shota smiled. "Sure thing!" He then whistled. "Come on, Shimu! Time for a walk!" Shimu barked and followed Shota as they ran out.

"Ane-san?" Haruka turned to look at Chizuru. "Can..Can you tell me why my father is being looked for by the Shinsengumi?"

"Ah." Haruka nodded. "Like I said in my letter, I'm looking for him on request of The Aizu. He was working with the Shinsengumi on something ordered by the Shogun."

"Really? What is it?"

"I'm afraid I can't tell you, Chizuru. It's better for you if you didn't. Maybe one day will be the right time to tell you but it's not for your ears."

Chizuru looked down a little. "I see…Then I won't push anymore.."

Haruka put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry. We'll find your father. Now why don't you rest on my futon until Shota gets back."

"Alright."

Haruka left her room, closing the door, once she knew Chizuru was comfortable. She walked to the courtyard to clear her head. She looked up at the sky. There were some scattered clouds but it was a blue sky either way.

"I wouldn't mind if it snowed again.." She muttered out loud.

"Ane-san, huh?" Haruka jerked out of thoughts as she turned around to find Okita and Heisuke.

"Souji! Don't do that!"

He just smiled at her. "Then don't space out."

"Ka-san. Are you and Chizuru related?" Heisuke asked.

"No. We just happened to meet as kids and since I was older, she's been calling me Ane-san."

Okita crossed his arms. "Really? Could have fooled me. You looked like siblings."

Haruka just shook her head. "We share not a single feature, Souji."

"Yeah, but you basically treat her like a younger sister."

"Oh!" Heisuke looked at Okita. "That's because Ka-san had a younger brother! So she's good with younger people!"

Okita tilted his head. "You got a little brother?"

"Well…yeah."

"Where is he? Is he good at fighting like you?"

"He's back home. He doesn't train like I do, but he's actually around your age, Souji."

"Huh." Okita put a hand on his hip and smiled. "I wanna meet him one day. See how different you two are."

Haruka just stared at him. "Souji..Seriously?"

"Which reminds me, can we have that rematch today?"

Haruka sighed. "How about another day? I have a situation on my hands, remember?"

"Oh that's right." Okita said. "Fine. But eventually, we will have that rematch!"

Haruka smiled a bit. "I promise we will."

February 1864

It was only a week later as Shimu walked around Yagi. He had developed a routine of picking someone for the day to hangout with. Usually, he'd pick someone at breakfast, but today he took his time choosing.

When this happens, it means he's usually looking for Hijikata or Sanan. However, the two had gone off to Osaka that week, leaving Shimu free to choose who he wants.

On his little adventure, he found a stick. Excited, he barked and picked it up in his mouth. He then trotted along with it, passing several soldiers as they looked at the Shiba Inu. It's just a normal occurrence around Yagi now, and seeing a cute dog raises their spirits when they pass by.

Shimu then found a door slid open, stopped, and sniffed the air. His eyes lit up and ran over to the door. Inside there was someone, so he dropped his stick and person looked up from their sitting position.

"Oh, Shimu.." Chizuru got up and knelt down next to him. "Have you come to visit me?" Shimu just barked up at her and picked up the stick in his mouth, his tail wagging excitedly.

"O-Oh, you found a stick?" She kept looking at him as he continued to wag his tail. "Did..you want me to throw it?" Shimu nodded his head. Chizuru reached out to Shimu as he let the stick go. She picked it up and then stood up.

"Okay, ready, Shimu?" He barked, and Chizuru tried to throw it as hard as she could. It wasn't that far but Shimu ran for it. She smiled a little as she saw him come back. "Good boy. Again?"

Shimu barked repeatedly before Chizuru threw it again. She giggled when he went after it as it got stuck behind a bush and he dove into it. Then she heard footsteps from her left.

"Having fun, Yukimura-kun?"

"Kondou-san!" He had come over with a tray of tea and sweets. "Can I help you with something?"

"Well, I was wondering if you would like some tea. I even found some sweets if you are interested." Chizuru looked at the tray and saw that the sweets were Konpeito.

"Ah!" Her eyes sparkled. "Konpeito!"

Kondou chuckled. "Seems I made the right choice. So, will you have some tea with me?"

"Yes! Of course!"

They sat down on the veranda just as Shimu came back. He was looking between the both of them, still excited. "Here, let me Shimu." Kondou extended his hand and Shimu dropped it in it. Kondou then looked around and tossed it far to the right. Shimu happily followed it as it landed in another bush.

"Ah…Sorry, Shimu!" Kondou said.

"I think he likes looking for it." Chizuru said.

That just made him laugh a bit. "Well, you might be right about that. But it seems he has chosen you today."

"Chosen?"

Kondou nodded his head before grabbing his cup. "Shimu tends to pick someone at random to spend the day with. Shinomi-kun says it's to become familiar with the people around him. But I think he just wants some company when she's away."

"Oh." Chizuru muttered out. She took a sip of her tea as they watched Shimu go around the bush trying to find the stick. After a moment, Kondou cleared his throat. "That reminds me, how do you know Shinomi-kun, Yukimura-kun?"

"Ah…I think she came around when I was younger with her father. But after she got her role, she came to visit at least once anytime she stayed in Edo." Chizuru looked down into her cup. "She even escorted my father to the port to make sure he got on the boat safely to Kyoto."

Kondou nodded along. "So she had more responsibilities than I thought."

"Is Ane-san really that busy?"

Kondou gave a bit of an awkward laugh. "To be honest, we only reunited a few months ago."

"You knew her before?"

Kondou had a nostalgic smile on his face as he watched Shimu rolling around on the ground. "She came to the dojo I used to run when she was a child."

He glanced over at Chizuru. "Well, I wasn't the head of it yet, I was just an assistant. But that was when she met me and Souji."

"Okita-san knows her too?"

"Hm-mm." He looked up to the sky as clouds passed by. "They had a match between the two of them and I believe it ended with Souji barely winning. If they had a match now…Well, I can't tell you who would win."

"You all are good with a sword.." Chizuru instinctively touched her own sword. "I just have basic training. I could never stand up to any of you."

Kondou could hear the slight disappointment in her voice. "Yukimura-kun. Why don't you try asking Shinomi-kun? I'm sure she wouldn't mind."

"Do you really think so?"

Kondou put on a big smile. "She's cold on the outside but I'm sure she'd be glad to teach you. Her style was unique from what I remember."

"I will ask her then!"

They both then heard a bark, looked down, and saw Shimu covered in dirt and leaves. "Ah! Shimu! You're all dirty!" Chizuru said as Shimu wagged his tail happily. Kondou gave out a laugh at the still energetic dog. "Yukimura-kun, let me help you wash him."

"Oh! There's no need! I-I can do it."

"It's no problem to have a little help. Shimu is well behaved but with water..He's either playful with it or scared." He looked over at the Shiba Inu. "Right, Shimu?"

Shimu barked several times at Kondou in confirmation. Chizuru admitted defeat and nodded her head, accepting Kondou's help, as they went to clean Shimu of his playful adventure.

It was dinner time, the common room lanterns were lit, and food was on was sitting next to Harada, Nagakura, and Heisuke. Haruka was sitting opposite of her with Saito and Okita. Shota had gone off with Yamazaki on his rounds, and both Gen and Kondou had other stuff to do and would be late. Shimu was just laying on the floor sleeping. Of course things can't be quiet at all, as Nagakura was trying to steal Heisuke's food.

"Hey! Shin! That's mine, back off!" Heisuke yelled as he tried to keep Nagakura from reaching it.

"Well, I need it! I'm a big guy! I need more food!"

"And I'm still growing so find some food somewhere else!"

The two stared at each other intensely. Chizuru just gave a small strained laugh at the sight. Haruka just sighed. "Seriously, you two…Can't you just eat your own food?"

"You've been here six months and you still aren't used to it, Haruka?" Okita grinned.

"Shut up, Souji." Haruka stared at him, but he kept grinning. She then turned back to the scene in front of her. "Shinpachi! Leave Heisuke's food alone and eat your own damn food! Do it again and I'll make your portions smaller."

"Eh!? Haruka! How can you be so mean!" Nagakura said.

"Then stop going after food." Haruka said deadpanned.

Heisuke just grinned. "You heard, Ka-san~. Stop taking my food."

Chizuru couldn't help but smile at their interactions, the Shinsengumi basically felt like a huge family. Harada, noticing her smile, leaned over and grinned.

"Sorry, they are this way."

Chizuru shook her head. "I'm slowly getting used to it."

Haruka glanced at Chizuru. "Just don't let them influence you too much, Chizuru."

Okita decided to add some chaos by teasing Chizuru. "You know, you should smile more, Chizuru-chan."

"H-Huh?" Chizuru was caught off guard.

Okita just leaned a bit forward. "You kinda got this mopey vibe about you lately. But when you smile it's kinda uplifting." He then grinned a big smile. "I don't mind if you smile all the time in this place. Gets boring with all the serious stuff Hijikata and Haruka do all day."

Haruka sighed. "Souji, leave her be. Not everyone needs to smile like a maniac." She then proceeded to look pissed off as she held her cup in one hand and hugged her knees. "Seriously, Hijikata-san and Sanan-san left me in charge of you idiots like I'm some babysitter."

Saito took a sip of his tea. "That's because we listen to you."

Haruka's eye twitched. "Saito...That includes you too! Don't make me count how many times you get distracted by a sword shop on rounds!" Saito just looked stunned for a minute as a faint blush appeared on his face before clearing his throat.

"T-there's no need for that, Shinomi-san..."

Chizuru couldn't help but giggle at the exchange during this eventful dinner. Haruka noticed Okita and Harada were just drinking and not eating. She took a bite of her food before speaking again. "Sano, Souji, can you please eat tonight and not just drink sake?"

"But I'm alright with just a little Sake.." Okita said.

"Yeah, I'm alright with just this, Haru." Harada added on.

Haruka sighed. "I didn't want to do this.." She looked over at Nagakura. "Shinpachi, if you're really that hungry, I'm offering those twos plates since they don't wanna eat. Just leave Heisuke's food alone."

Okita and Harada were both stunned at her words. Nagakura's eyes lit up. "Really, Haruka!?"

Haruka just looked done with everything. "It's better than wasting food. Go ahead." Nagakura then quickly took both of their trays over to his side. Usually, they would fight over the food protectively but Haruka was already at her limit with their antics.

"Damn..You're a different kind of scary than Hijikata.." Okita said.

Haruka just moved her eyes to Okita. "What was that, Souji?"

"Nothing~" Okita grinned. "Just enjoying this sake." Haruka just shook her head before picking up a piece of fish and eating it. Then the door slid open and Inoue took a step inside.

"Gen-san, finally going to join us?" Harada asked.

But Inoue had a troubled face as he held a letter. "Toshi-san sent a letter from Osaka. However, it seems there was trouble with some ronin and a merchant. Toshi-san and Sanan-san fought them off. Sanan-san though suffered an injury to his left arm."

"Is he okay?" Chizuru asked.

"He's alive, but we don't know if he will be able to use his arm at all." Inoue saw that everyone in the room was worried and gloomy. "I have to go tell Isami-san." He slid the door closed and the room became silent. Everyone was looking down, either they stopped eating or quietly sipped their drink.

Okita spoke up. "If it doesn't heal properly..and he can't use his sword…Guess there's only one way to fix that…" He took a sip of his sake as everyone glanced at him. Nagakura spoke up quickly.

"Don't jinx him, Souji. Captains can't start joining them like that."

Chizuru looked confused. "Them?"

Haruka gave a hard glance to both Okita and Nagakura. "Shut up and eat or drink, both of you." Both of them tensed up at Haruka's words. Of course they can't talk about them with Chizuru in the room. Haruka tried to shut them down before Chizuru asked any more questions, but she caught onto how serious Haruka's tone was. Something was up but she'll have to put it in the back of her mind for now.

The dinner went on quietly in a somber mood before everyone left to either clean up or to their own rooms to take in the news.

Hijikata and Sanan arrived back at Yagi a few weeks later. Sanan still had his arm in a cast and shut himself in his room since he returned. He'd hardly touched his food, if at all, when it's brought to him. Everyone was getting worried about this, how it might affect his healing.

One morning, Haruka and Chizuru were in charge of cooking the morning food. Haruka was watching the stew while Chizuru cut vegetables. Shimu had made himself a little resting spot near the door, chewing on a stick as Heisuke came into the kitchen.

"Morning, Chizuru, Ka-san." He yawned.

"Oh! Good Morning, Heisuke-kun." Chizuru said.

"Morning." Haruka said as she prepared a tray of food on the side. "Heisuke? Did Sanan-san eat his food last night?"

"I brought it to him but…He didn't touch it."

"That so?" Haruka picked up the tray and faced him. "Well, I'm going to try and see if I can convince him."

"Good luck, Ka-san." Heisuke moved out of the way so Haruka could go to Sanan's room. Heisuke then noticed Shimu by the door. "Oh, morning Shimu!" He crouched down and gave him a few pets.

Chizuru then noticed the fire was a little low and turned to Heisuke. "Heisuke-kun? Could I ask you to get more firewood?"

"Hm?" Heisuke looked up. "Oh, sure!" He then looked down at Shimu. "Wanna come with me, Shimu?" Shimu barked in agreement. "Okay! We'll be back soon!"

Heisuke and Shimu went off to get firewood, leaving Chizuru alone. She made sure nothing burned or over boiled, keeping herself busy. As she did she didn't hear the footsteps behind her.

"Who are you?" Came from a deep voice.

Chizuru turned around, wide eyes at the towering figure before her. A tall man, with long hair, grey patterned kimono and a black haori. "I don't remember ever seeing you before…" He said as he got closer.

"O-Oh…I..um..work for…Shinomi-san.."

"Shinomi?" The man blinked for a second and then grinned. "Ah. That's right. You must be that Okuzume's page…"

Chizuru kept calm as the man stared down at her. "Tell me, what do you know of Shinomi?"

"O-of her?"

"Yes. Anything I should know about her. A strength. A weakness. Even something she likes."

"Well…um.."

He didn't like how Chizuru wouldn't speak up or quick enough for his liking and stepped closer to her, making her back up into the counter. "Do you know nothing of who you serve?"

"What? N-No, I just."

"Do you even have any idea who you are speaking with at this moment!"

"I-"

"I'm-!"

"TAKEDA!"

They both turned around to see Haruka in the doorway, her face pissed off as she walked up to Takeda. "Leave him alone and get out of the kitchen. If you actually need something, you talk to me."

"Hmph." He backed away from Chizuru. "Actually, I was wondering if you knew where Kondou-san was."

Haruka raised an eyebrow. "Kondou-san?"

"Yes. I have something important to talk with him about."

"I assume he'd be in his room and not in the kitchen. Why the hell would you want to come ask me about it?"

Takeda smirked. "Well, since you are seen around him and most of the captains, I assume you'd know everyone's wearabouts as a high official."

Haruka put a hand on her hip and stared at him. "Just leave, Takeda. I'm not in the mood to fight and I need to finish up breakfast."

"Then I'll take my leave." Takeda gave Haruka a stare back as he walked out of the kitchen. Haruka gave a sigh and looked over at Chizuru. "You okay, Chizuru?"

"Yes..I'm fine, Ane-san. You came before he did anything…"

"Good." She then crossed her arms. "Watch yourself around Takeda, okay? I don't know what he wants but I don't like him and the way he acts. If you find yourself alone with him, just sound for me or any of the others." Chizuru nodded her head. "Okay, then let's finish up breakfast."

June 1864

Shota was on watch around Kyoto. He stuck to high places usually but today he'd just stick to being a normal person walking around wearing a Kasa on his head, a beige shawl, and a black kimono. This was on Haruka's orders due to Chizuru choosing to go out with Hijikata on his rounds today.

"For being the vice commander of the Shinsengumi, you'd figure he wouldn't have to go on rounds." Shota said to himself. "Or maybe it's because no one else tolerates sharing a shift with Takeda…" He wasn't that far from them when he saw them stop in front of a tea shop. He then saw Yamazaki approach Hijikata and whisper something to him.

"Trouble?" He kept glancing over at them before deciding to act normal and enter the tea shop they had stopped at. Well, at least as discreetly as he could to only signal Hijikata that he'd be keeping watch.

"Yukimura, stay at this shop till I return. Ask about your father while I'm here." Hijikata said.

"Yes, sir!" Chizuru said before Hijikata and Yamazaki left. A few minutes had passed before Chizuru gave up asking questions outside and she finally came inside for some tea. Shota was facing away from her with some tea and sweet bean jelly in front of him. "Finally, she came in.." He said before taking a bite of jelly.

She started to ask people who came in and out of the shop now about her father. Shota looked back at her for a second when his eyes widened at what he saw coming through the door. "The Shinsengumi are here to conduct a search!"

"Takeda! Shit!" Shota quickly turned around to look at the window. He really hoped Chizuru also made herself unnoticeable. Of course, Takeda wouldn't make this a normal search. He threatened the owner, to extort him of money to make things easy. Honestly, it got under Shota's skin. But he can't do anything!

The owner hadn't done anything wrong but Takeda wasn't taking any of his words as truth that he eventually ordered for him to be arrested. Shota was about to do something when he heard a voice. "Excuse me. You are with the Shinsengumi, are you not?" It was a bit soft and calm. He took a quick glance over to where Takeda was standing.

"No way, Iba-san is here? Why? And why didn't I see him before!?" He looked over to where Chizuru was and she was hiding behind a shelf looking at Iba and Takeda. "Okay, good she's still hiding."

"What does that matter to you if I am?" Takeda asked.

"Well, it's clear that the owner here has stated that he doesn't allow Imperial extremists into his shop. What charges could you possibly pin on him if you arrest him?" Iba said.

Takeda had a scowl on his face. "Oh? And you know this as fact? Or are you one of them covering for this man?"

Iba just smiled. "Solely because I question you about it makes me an extremist? I see fair judgment is not on your mind then."

"And you are impeding my investigation and justice." Takeda stared at him.

Iba kept smiling. "Well, if that is the case…May we take this outside? I think we've scared the women here enough, no?"

"Hmph. Sounds like you don't want your face bloodied up. Fine." Takeda walked out of the shop and Iba followed him. Shota saw Chizuru go out the door also. Quickly, he paid for his tea and sweets, along with Chizuru and Iba's, before running out and hiding in the nearby alley to watch what happens next.

When the two men faced each other, Takeda had taken an offensive stance and reached for his sword. However, Iba had blocked him from doing so. "Let go or I'll-!" Takeda blurred out at what Iba had done.

"You didn't really think you were going to draw your sword, did you?" Iba still had that smile of his. "If you were, you wouldn't be ready for how serious I can be." That smile might look gentle, but there's certainly a bite behind it.

"Compared to Haruka-nee, Iba-san definitely picked up on something she taught him…He's threatening in silence while she's out in the open with it." Shota said to himself as he kept watch. "Still…Is that gonna work on Takeda?" Shota then noticed a crowd had started to gather around them.

"What are the Mibu Wolves doing?"

"Are they starting trouble again?"

"Why can't they just leave?"

"Seems we've drawn a crowd. Are you still insistent on drawing your sword?" Iba asked. Takeda's only response was to angrily grit his teeth and shake Iba's hand away before stepping to the side.

"I won't forget your face, bastard. You are going to regret this one day." Takeda said before he left angrily with the rest of his division. Shota just sighed in relief as it was finally over. He then saw Iba and Chizuru go back into the store.

"Ah…I can't go back there anymore, can I?" He looked around the street and saw a bench outside a bookstore. "Oh! Perfect!" He went over and purchased a book and sat there on the bench. Occasionally, he'd glance up over to the tea shop to see if they had come out yet. Flip a few pages here and there, and repeat the cycle.

Eventually, he saw the two come out of the tea shop. He saw them talking for a bit but he couldn't exactly hear anything. "Too far away…" He turned to look down the otherside of the street and saw Hijikata making his way back to the tea shop. When he looked back at Chizuru and Iba, Iba had begun to make his leave.

He watched Iba leave before focusing back on Hijikata and Chizuru. They then had also started to leave the shop and continue rounds. "Well…Guess I'll just continue my duties.." Shota closed his book after a minute and continued to trail the two on rounds.

July 1864

It was the afternoon and Haruka was sitting outside a room. Inside, Hijikata was interrogating a person that was arrested earlier in the day. "I can't believe this actually happened…At least Souji didn't let Chizuru get hurt.." Chizuru had been insistent on going on rounds despite things being tense in Kyoto lately. Haruka made it clear to Okita to protect Chizuru while they were out. But a situation happened that ended up with them separated when Chizuru got a tip of her father being at Masu.

However, that ended up with Okita and his division making arrests in the shop before they could get to Chizuru since she was seen with the Shinsengumi and the shop was full of Choshu ronin. At the moment, both Okita and Chizuru were getting scolded by Sanan as that shop was under surveillance by the watch. "It was getting hard to actually get info from there anyway, I guess."

Haruka looked up at the door when it slid open. Hijikata came out of it and closed the door. "Got something?" She asked.

"Yeah. Where are the others?"

Haruka stood up when she answered. "Probably still in the common room. Sanan is…scolding Souji and Chizuru…"

Hijikata let out a sigh. "Well, let's go. This information is much more important."

The two headed to the common room where they heard Sanan loudly yelling. "What kind of captain can't keep track of one charge!?" Hijikata opened the door and went inside with Haruka.

"Sanan-san. We approved of this, so don't take it all out on them."

"Hijikata-kun, Shinomi-kun…" Sanan's eyes soften a bit, with anger still in them.

Harada looked over at them. "If you two are here, you get something out of Furutaka?"

Hijikata nodded his head. "They were planning to burn Kyoto on the day the winds picked up."

Everyone's eyes widened. "Wait, they were gonna what!?" Heisuke shouted.

"Besides that, they were going to have a meeting tonight." Hijikata continued.

"A meeting, huh?" Nagakura said. "Does this mean what I think it means?"

Hijikata nodded. "We're raiding tonight. Go. Get ready!" The captains were excited and quickly started to gather men and equipment. Shuhei was sent as a messenger to inform the Aizu about the situation. By the time it got dark, they found they had no response from the Aizu yet and that they only had around 34 men available.

"Only 34?" Haruka said.

Saito nodded. "The rest are sick with food poisoning."

Haruka looked at Hijikata and Kondou. "Can you really do a raid with such a small number of men? Do you want me to help?"

Kondou shook his head. "I would like you to stay here with Sanan-kun and Yukimura-kun."

"Ah..Okay."

Sanan then spoke up. "Then what do we do? There's only two possibilities where the meeting could be. Ikedaya is where they usually hold them. But they could switch to Shikoku due to what happened today."

"Then it's a 50/50 shot?" Shota said.

"In that case…" Kondou spoke up. "I'm sending Toshi to Shikoku with 24 men."

"Huh? Kondou-san-"

Before Hijikata could argue, Kondou continued. "In exchange, I'll take Souji, Nagakura, Takeda, and Heisuke." He smiled at Hijikata.

"Ah…" Hijikata understood his plan now. If it was Ikeda, Kondou would have some of the best men of the Shinsengumi with them. That seemed to convince Hijikata enough to go along with it.

"Alright. Then let's move!" Hijikata ordered. Excitedly the men made their way out of Yagi and into the Kyoto Night. Haruka, Shota, Chizuru, Sanan, and Shimu found themselves watching them leave.

"Will they be alright, Ane-san?" Chizuru asked.

"I'm sure they'll be just fine." Haruka kept looking out at the men that left while Sanan made his way back to the common room. She looked back to see him walk away. "Chizuru? Let's make some tea. Might calm everyone's nerves on this long night."

"Alright." They made their way to the kitchen as Haruka signaled to Shota to watch over Sanan. Shota nodded and left for the common room with Shimu. Sanan noticed Shota enter alone. "Where's Shinomi-kun and Yukimura-kun?"

"Haruka-nee thought we could use some tea, so they went to make some." Shota sat down as Shimu went over to Sanan. He looked down at the dog and sat down himself to pet him. "I see…I suppose it will help pass the time."

The time passed but the air in the common room was awkward between Shota and Sanan. Even when Haruka and Chizuru arrived with tea, they drank it in silence. An hour passed by. And then another. After a couple of minutes the door slid open and Yamazaki stepped inside.

"They're at Ikedaya. Kondou-san and the other's are fighting." Yamazaki said.

"Seems we still aren't good with luck.." Sanan said.

"So what do we do?" Shota asked.

"Did the Aizu arrive?" Sanan asked but Yamazaki just shook his head. He then closed his eyes and thought. "Yamazaki-kun. Go and see if you can tell them again." Sanan then turned to Haruka, Shota, and Chizuru. "I need you three to go and tell Hijikata-kun and his group that they are at Ikedaya."

"M-Me too?" Chizuru said.

Sanan nodded his head. "There may be people going after messengers, Shinomi-kun and Sasaki-kun can distract them and leave you to get the message to them."

"But.."

Shota just gave Chizuru a smile. "If you're worried we might get hurt, don't worry about it. It's something we do a lot! We'll catch up with you right away!"

"Yamazaki-kun, show them where to go before you go to the Aizu." Yamazaki nodded at Sanan's order. Soon the four of them ran out of Yagi, into the Kyoto night, separating at a crossroads as they headed where they were going. At one point, Shota turned around and blocked a knife headed their way.

"Go you two! I got this!" Shota yelled as Haruka and Chizuru ran on. They were close but Haruka sensed something. She stopped in her tracks and blocked an attack that came from an alley.

"Ane-san!"

"Go! I'll be fine!" Haruka struck down her attacker before blocking an attack from another. Chizuru looked for one second before running forward. She ran with all her might until she saw white. She bumped into something and fell down on the ground.

"Chizuru?" She opened her eyes and saw Harada extending his hand towards her to help her up. She accepted it and got on her feet but she's still out of breath. "What are you doing here? Did something happen to the headquarters?" Saito asked.

Chizuru nodded her head before catching her breath for a second. "They are at Ikedaya!"

The group of men's eyes widened. "What? Are you sure?" Hijikata asked.

Chizuru nodded her head again. "Sanan-san sent me, Ane-san, and Sasaki-san to tell you this! They're already fighting!"

Hijikata grit his teeth. "Okay. We're heading to Ikedaya!" The men started running towards there as Hijikata looked at Chizuru. "Where's Shinomi and Sasaki?"

"They..They were protecting me…"

Hijikata nodded. "I'm sure they are fine. Let's go." Both of them ran after the group on the way to Ikedaya. Meanwhile, Haruka and Shota had met up at Ikedaya. They could hear the fighting going on inside. Outside were two dead Choshu Ronin on the ground and Takeda had been arresting and restraining another one.

"What do we do?" Shota looked over at Haruka.

"Stay out here. I'd rather not go into an active sword fight in a tight space."

"Shinomi!"

They both turned around when they heard Hijikata call out to Haruka. The group stopped in front of them. "How is it in there?" Harada asked. Haruka just shook her head. "Haven't gone in. But it's certainly a heated fight. Heard there's some injured in there too."

Hijikata looked at Harada. "Harada, take half and go to the back." Then he looked at Saito. "Take the rest and go through the front." The two captains nodded and went their separate ways. Hijikata took a look to his left, followed by Haruka, Shota, and Chizuru.

"What is that?" Chizuru asked.

"So The Aizu finally arrived…" Hijikata said. He looked back at Haruka. "Stay here and watch everything."

Haruka crossed her arms. "Oh? Not wanting to use my power, huh?"

"This time I'm not holding back." He then walked his way towards the Aizu group headed their way. Haruka just shrugged and focused back on the Ikedaya entrance for Choshu soldiers looking for a way out. Chizuru kept looking, wondering what Hijikata was going to do. Shota saw a Shinsengumi soldier wounded and helped them sit down next to a wall, looking over his wound.

Hijikata just stood in the way of the late group, making them stop in their tracks. "The Aizu Clan is here to take over the situation. The Shinsengumi can leave now." The main leader of the group said.

"The Shinsengumi, under orders of Lord Matsudaria, have full control of the Inn. Your help isn't required."

"What!?" The leader said. "We are the ones who will handle the Choshu ronin in Ikedaya!"

"There's no need for that."

"And you're just going to stand in our way!?" Another person in the group said.

Hijikata just stared at them. "This is for your own safety." The Aizu and Hijikata continued their stare down as the fight continued in Ikedaya and getting louder.

Chizuru turned to Haruka. "Ane-san…What is Hijikata-san doing?"

"Fighting for first right." Haruka said, still looking at the entrance.

"First right?"

"Whoever gets first right, will get the credit for the arrests." Yamazaki said as he appeared next to Chizuru. She took a step back as he startled her coming from nowhere.

"Y-Yamazaki-san…"

"Basically, it's a fight for victory." Chizuru looked back at Haruka who continued to explain. "If The Aizu went in, they would claim all the glory to themselves having done nothing up to this point. All the work the Shinsengumi did will have been for nothing and no one would know. That is what Hijikata-san is trying to prevent."

Chizuru looked back at Hijikata, while Yamazaki continued. "The Shinsengumi isn't liked in Kyoto. Our reputation is bad enough, but if we get this, we might be looked at in a better light. But most of all, he's protecting everyone inside Ikedaya by preventing them from entering."

"If you entered that building right now, you may be struck down since you are not wearing our uniform. You'd look no different from a ronin and will be assumed as back up for the Choshu. Is that what you want for your men? To be senselessly struck down?" The leader grit his teeth listening to what Hijikata had said to him.

Two soldiers came out of the Ikedaya, one of them was Inoue, supporting the other wounded man. Chizuru noticed and ran up to them. "Are you okay, Sakai-san?" She asked.

Sakai looked up at her and nodded. "This isn't much…but there are other's inside worse than I am." Chizuru looked at Sakai's arm before looking at the entrance to the Inn. She had this confident look on her face before she ran inside. "Yukimura-kun!" Sakai yelled.

"Yukimura-kun!" Inoue said at the same time. Haruka saw her run inside and ran after her. Chizuru stopped as she saw the fighting going on around her. Even if it was night time, there was still a lot of heat from everything going on. She then saw a ronin coming at her. She stepped back and closed her eyes in fear. But nothing hit her, she had heard metal hit metal but when she opened her eyes again, she saw Haruka in front of her, her sword drawn.

Haruka pushed the ronin backwards before cutting him down. "Think twice before you run in somewhere again!" Haruka yelled at her.

"I-I'm sorry!" Chizuru yelled.

Nagakura then saw them. "Hey! Chizuru! Haruka! There's injured up there! Can you help out!"

They both noticed his left hand was bleeding out. "Shinpachi, your hand!" Haruka said. Nagakura blinked before looking at his hand for a second and then grinning. "This is nothing! But seriously, Souji was coughing up blood up there!"

"Okita-san was…?" Chizuru looked worried. Haruka nodded and signaled Chizuru to follow her up the stairs. More ronin were up there and were coming down but Haruka killed them or pushed them off the railing over the stairs. When they got up there they saw a huge mess of debris of broken doors and pillars.

"What the hell..?" Haruka muttered. They then both heard a groan coming from one of the piles. They quickly figured out which one it was and started to pull away some of the debris. When they did they found-

"Heisuke-kun!" Chizuru yelled.

"Heisuke? You okay? Are you awake?"

"Chizuru..? Ka-san..?"

Haruka helped him sit up when they both noticed the wound on his forehead. "That doesn't look good.."

"Y-Yeah…some ronin punched through my headguard…"

Haruka's eyes widened. "Did you say punched..?"

Heisuke's eyes then widened. "Wait! Ka-san, there were two of them! I fought one and Souji is fighting the other! They were in that room over there."

"Damn it. Chizuru, look after Heisuke." Chizuru nodded as Haruka dashed off to the room Heisuke pointed out. She got there and opened the door to see Okita kneeling on the ground and the so-called ronin near the window with a grin on his face. Their eyes met, his red eyes and her pink eyes. They both looked down, her at his sword and his at her family crest.

"What's the Shogun's Demon doing here?" He said.

"Making sure a friend of mine isn't dead." She replied.

Okita then started to get up. "Hey, get out of here, Haruka. I'm fine."

"Like hell, you are…" She kept looking at the ronin at the window.

"I'd like to play with you too, but I'm afraid I have to go. The Shogun dogs here messed things up." He took a step towards the window, turning to jump out of it. "Wait!" Haruka shouted as she ran to reach for him. But no matter how fast she was, he had already jumped out the window to the street below. Haruka bit her lip as she saw him grinning at her before disappearing into the night.

She then quickly turned around when she heard a thud. "Souji!" She helped him sit up against the wall. "Souji! Hey! Can you hear me?" She noticed the blood spilled from his mouth to his blues and his kimono. "Souji..?"

Okita opened his eyes a bit. "Haruka…He got away?"

"Yeah…Sorry…" Haruka noticed that the fighting had stopped and people were running up stairs, probably having heard her yell before. "Just don't move. Help is coming." The ones that burst into the room were Kondou, Hijikata, and Saito. They saw the condition Okita was in.

"Souji!" Kondou yelled before running over to him.

Hijikata looked back at Saito. "Get stretchers for both Heisuke and Souji." He looked back at Haruka. "What happened, Shinomi?"

"When I got here, Souji was already like this. But there was a ronin who escaped and leapt out the window."

"You get a good look at him?"

Haruka was silent for a moment before speaking. "One sword, short hair, black kimono with a yellowish haori over it. Otherwise, it was fairly dark when he faced me."

Hijikata looked at her for a moment before nodding. "I'm sure Souji had a better look, having actually fought him."

After a few hours, things were sorted out. Arrests were made and carried out, the dead were taken care of, the wounded were patched up and placed on stretchers if they couldn't move. The night changed into morning and the Shinsengumi were making their way back to Yagi. They marched all the way there, with Hijikata and Kondou leading them. Haruka, Chizuru, and Shota were the last in the line, offering protection if any that got away came back for more in broad daylight. People were now awake and just watched them walk through the Kyoto streets. The wolves of Mibu have done something good for once.