Notes:
I was so excited to share this chapter. I had an exam to study for, and I was so excited to write my fanfic that whenever I needed to take a break from studying, I used my break time to write this chapter.
I want to answer some of your questions. First, some of you wondered if Chizuru could ever be as tough as she is in my work. You should know that in one of Souma's routes bad endings, Miki kills Souma, and even though Chizuru knew that she is no match for Miki, she still attacked Miki He stabbed her with his sword, but she was so determined that even though she was dying, she still managed to catch Miki off guard and stab him in the heart so both of them would die.
In Heisuke's route, Kazama attacks Heisuke, and Chizuru attacks Kazama even though she knows she is no match at all, and Kazama easily strikes her.
Also, according to several of the hakuouki routes, Chizuru is capable of making risky decisions such as escaping from the headquarters into the forest in the middle of the night like she did in one of Harada route bad ending and in one of Harada route good ending.
According to several scenes in different routes, Chizuru is someone who would sometimes argue without giving up. She is capable of getting very angry and stubborn at the same time.
As for Kazama's personality, then I want you to know that I have a reason for each moment that I wrote of him in this story. If you are interested, then you can tell me about any of the scenes in my fanfic that make you feel he is out of character and I'll tell you why I wrote him that way.
Chapter Text
It was near the afternoon when Chizuru woke up. Even though she has not slept enough, due to the decision that she made before sleeping, she was now ready. Kazama was nowhere around her in the room.
She got up and looked around her room. Not only Kazama, but the clothes he wears when he is out were gone too, which meant he had most likely left the inn for some business again. But that didn't mean that he would not return at any moment. Chizure decided that she would search the inn a little. To avoid raising suspicions, she wore comfort clothes. Then She got out of the room and searched the inn a little. It seemed like none was worried that she would leave the inn's front door. Kazama was not there, but there was no proof that Amagiri was gone as well. None spoke with her, and it seemed like not many people were there either. She asked the maid for food and went to clean herself a little. When she returned, she found her food in the room. She went for the tea to get the mental alert she needed.
While drinking her tea, she thought of the stuff that she had to carry with herself. The gifts that Kazama gave her were probably enough to stay at some inns in the nights but again she was not an expert in luxury materials so she had no way to know if they were valuable enough to help her stay at inns.
She tried to eat some of the food very quickly. However, she was so nervous that she felt like she was going to throw up everything. Time was running away.
She started gathering her stuff and chose to wear something that looked simple and casual more than all her other clothes. And as the last step, she wore her boots like warm shoes and her heavy kimono-like clothes that keep her warm. She made a rope from the fabrics that she was not going to take with herself and the fabric that was a part of the room's sleep furniture and tied it around a column in the room.
Now was the time for the most challenging part as it is the very first step of her plan.
Using the rope, she climbed out of the window to outside the inn. The weather was so cold that her fingers had already started burning. There was no turning back now.
There was no one around. She used her thick scarf to cover her mouth and nose and put her hand on her sword, and began moving away from the inn.
She was only a few meters away from the inn when she had an intense feeling of someone standing right behind her and looking at her. Before she had time to turn around, he spoke.
"Chizuru chan." That was Amagiri's voice.
Chizuru was a little relieved that it was not Kazama, but she kept her guard up. Amagiri was Kazama's follower at the end.
Slowly, she turned around to face him. She kept her hand on her sword and took two steps back.
She didn't say anything and waited for him to speak.
"Please return to the inn as long as he is not back yet." He said in his usual calm tone.
'Was he going to take her back by force?' Chizuru thought to herself. There is no way that she gives up now. She managed to escape in the first place. There is no way that she will be able to escape again if she returns. There is no way that she allows them to take her now.
"I will not." she replied in a slightly shaking but hard tone. There is no way that she can overpower him, but she will not return. Even if they break her bones, she will not return.
"Chizuru chan, where do you have to go? The human world is falling apart." He asked her.
"I don't have time to speak." She replied.
"He'll catch you fast. You don't even have a horse." Amagiri tried to convince her to return.
Chizuru felt more nervous. She had little support and little time. She felt as if the whole world was against her.
Amagiri wanted to remind her that she was probably already with a child, but he hesitated out of shame. Where could she live if she already had a child?
Amagiri has not hurt her before. He stayed with her and Kazama all the time, so Kazama would not hurt her. He let her stay with Hajime before Kazama appeared.
"Then Amagiri san, help me escape." Chizuru said, and Amagiri's eyes widened in shock. Before he could reply, Chizuru continued.
"Allow me to escape. That's all I ask you."
Amagiri sighed faintly and looked away from her. It was clear from his expression that he was concerned about her but didn't have any idea on what to do.
"Where do you intend to go? The trek is full of murderers. " He asked her with a mentally exhausted expression.
"If I escape anyway, then it's better if I escape now than if I escape later. Tell me, Amagiri, do you really think that I will give up escaping completely? I accepted traveling with Kazama peacefully in the first place only and only because I was waiting for rescue." she explained to him.
She was right. If she decided to escape after she was in the Kazama clan or after she was officially married to Kazama, then that was going to be a much bigger problem. She didn't seem to be that kind of woman who would just accept her life with Kazama and forget everything else.
"Wait here, Chizuru. I'll be back shortly." He finally made up his mind.
He turned back and went to the inn. Chizuru had no idea what he was going to do, but a few minutes of waiting was not supposed to ruin her plan.
Unknown to her, Amagiri went to fill a purse for her so at least she could stay at inns at night during her travels.
It didn't take him more than a very little time before he returned.
He held her hand tightly and put the purse in it. He kept his hold on her hand tight to keep her alert on how serious she must take his words.
"do not stop unless you are exhausted to death and don't let anyone know how much you have at all. Aim to reunite with Sen and don't waste your time aiming for anyone else." Chizuru nodded her head to his words before saying a simple thank you and turned her back and started her journey.
Amagiri looked at her for short moments before he sighed and turned to return to the inn. He made a silent prayer for her safety and well-being.
Chizuru's trek was not slow. She couldn't allow herself to rest. The weather was so cold that her toes and fingers were starting to get numb fast even though she was at the very beginning of her journey. Fortunately for her, with the money that Amagiri gave her, she could pay to travel by carriage. It was a wise decision to pay for traveling by carriage because she had to first get as far from the inn as possible so at least Kazama loses her.
Chizuru didn't feel time passed as it became nightfall. She was so involved in her escape and trek that she didn't feel time. Was it possible that Kazama still didn't notice that she had escaped?
Her trek continued until it was near midnight. It's impossible that Kazama was not chasing her now. Maybe he was chasing her for hours now.
The feeling in her legs and her whole body was discomforting, but it was not hurting. This was not the first time that she was in physically difficult circumstances.
She considered if she should stay at some inn right now. She was extremely exhausted but she didn't want to waste time. She felt that she still had to continue. She decided she would continue her risky journey until she is numb or until she feels that it is a safe option to stop.
However, there was a high chance that she would get attacked by bandits or robbers. Ever since it was near nightfall, lots of men looked at her with sick intentions. With every hour passing, she noticed more animalistic gazes at her.
It was as if all of them knew that she was running away from someone like Kazama who took her by force and that she had nowhere to hide.
None disturbed her until now. It was as if they all knew that Kazama would appear at any moment. However, now that it is near midnight then it is less likely that a bandit will avoid attacking her. She had to stay at some inn.
It took her half of an hour of walking before she reached an inn. It was nothing like the one that Kazama made her stay in, but it was a safe place. At least, it was safer than the streets even if she was not sure that the workers were good people or not. Nothing was safe today. Like Amagiri said, the human world was falling apart. Anyone can be slaughtered at any time.
At the inn, all she ate was bread and some tea. It was some bread she got from the kitchen from the inn that she was staying in with Kazama and Amagiri. That was more than enough for her.
She kept her sword in her hand as she slept. She didn't have any nightmares, but she had a dream of her child that died in her stomach a long time ago and of Hajime's corpse being frozen in the middle of the forest and of all the people dying in war without their families knowing of their fate. It was a very depressing dream that was even worse than a nightmare.
She was unconsciously alert enough to wake up only a few hours later. Maybe that was because Kazama can appear at any time. Maybe he noticed her disappearance less than an hour after she escaped and started chasing her and was now near her.
She had a discomforting feeling that she must not stay in the inn for more time. She can endure the night. It was a few hours before the morning. It was a few hours before the trek was safer again. She could endure those few hours.
With those thoughts,she gathered her stuff and wore her clothes, and left the inn. As she was leaving the inn, the maid from the inn looked at Chizuru as if she were looking at a crazy human.
All her senses were the sharpest they had even been during the dark trek. She could barely see anything around her. Whenever she heard some voice from the bushes or the trees around her, she couldn't realize if it was the sound of a human or an animal.
Chizuru kept herself ready to use her sword at any moment. If she was going to get attacked, then she was probably going to be attacked from behind, and then she must be ready to stab someone who catches her from behind.
Known or unknown to Chizuru, her Oni abilities were one of the top things that was keeping her safe as she had the ability to instinctively feel the presence of anyone or anything near her or watching her. That was one of the Oni powers. That was how during the whole day she could feel all the sick gazes around her. This time, she was not feeling the presence of any human around her, and she was not feeling the eyes of any creature on her. The forest like road was unruffled.
Due to her special Oni senses, her trek lasted for two hours before suddenly, she felt the probability of him being close behind her more than any other moment during the whole day. She stopped and listened carefully to the environment around her. She had an intense feeling that she should hide. She looked around herself with unconsciously sharp senses before she spotted a very short hill-like place that looked thick with bushes more than any other spots. Careful not to tear her clothes, she went and hid in the bushes.
Several minutes passed with none showing there before there was the sound of a horse approaching. She had a feeling that it was Kazama who was riding the horse and that it was going to be some moments before she finally saw him.
Now, she gathered all her concentration to make no move and no sound at all. At the same time, she held her sword tightly.
The sound of the horse's steps became closer and closer until it stopped near her spot even though she could not see it. Now she was sure it was Kazama.
" I am not someone who enjoys humiliating a woman, so I'm not going to get down and drag you out, Chizuru. " That was Kazama's prudent and calm voice.
He knew she was there. Of course, he knew she was there. Just like how she sensed him being near, then he could sense her being there as well.
She tightened her grip on her sword and waited. She didn't think of anything. Her senses were very sharp.
She still couldn't see Kazama.
Seconds passed before he spoke again in the same voice tone.
"Are you going to pretend like you are not here?"
In those moments, she felt like time had stopped ever since she hid in the bushes.
Either he didn't know where she was hiding exactly, or he didn't want to pull her out himself. If he already knows she was hiding somewhere here, then by looking at the environment, he knows very well that Chizuru was hiding in the bushes as that is obviously the best spot for hiding around them.
Since he knows where she was, then she couldn't choose to catch him off guard and attack him. And if he dragged her out himself, then she'll have much less control and won't be able to have one last chance to attack him.
Finally, Chizuru got out from the bushes with one of her hands holding her sword and the other holding her clothes so they didn't get entangled with the thistles.
Kazama watched her with his serious expression as she walked and stood in front of him with few meters distance between them. She held her sword with both hands before she spoke.
"How will you ever trust me if I forget how I left my husband abject and unburied and accepted life with you?" This time, her tone was cold and free of sadness. She has accepted that Saitou was dead.
His expression mostly remained the same, but Chizuru could see a hint of disgust.
"Because like you said, he was dead when you accepted your new life. " This was the least topic that he was interested in speaking with her about.
"Are you not worried that I will teach my child to hate you and hate your clan?"
He only furrowed his brows and closed his eyes as he slightly looked away from her before looking back at her.
"sheath your sword, Chizuru, and get on the horse." That was an order.
Chizuru shook her head a little as she fixed her hold on her sword.
"Even if you confine me and will not allow my child to know of my existence then I'll still hold enough hate for you and your whole clan that I will transmit it by blood to my child. All my child's flesh will be made in my body with hatred for you. " she said with determination.
He can't take her like this to his clan. Kazama thought to himself.
"I'm not doing what I do because I have a problem with you." He finally spoke calmly.
"If the Yukimura clan had stronger Oni, then they wouldn't have all been slaughtered by humans in one single night." He added with disinterest.
"Your capability to produce stronger Oni can save a lot of Oni from another massacre even if they are not a part of the Kazama clan. " He continued, and Chizuru waited. He stopped speaking briefly, but it seemed like there was something that he was hesitant to say.
Chizuru only listened but kept her guard up. She was not going to accept any justification. When it seemed like he was not going to continue, then she spoke.
"I'll keep immigrating so no Oni can catch me." She said,
"That's not one of your options. The Oni information network is bigger than you think. " He replied as he took a few steps toward her. Adrenaline started pumping heavily in her head as she was sure he was going to attack her now, and she had to defend herself. He looked at her with more seriousness before he said what her ears couldn't believe she heard.
"If you don't want this destiny, Chizuru, then make yourself barren now."
She could see that he was serious, and she was smart enough to know what he probably meant.
"You are Oni. You won't die if your stomach was opened and your womb was removed for once and all." He could see all the misery in her eyes.
"I will ensure your safety as I send you back to the Shinsengumi or the Yase clan. And I'll pay for your living. You won't die of starvation, and no Oni will come to take you." He explained to her.
Chizuru's grip on her sword started trembling as she knew she really had to think of this option. So she will never have a child?
"You killed my husband in front of me, you attacked the people who are close to me and now you will ensure that I will never have a child and on top of that you believe Oni are morally better than humans?" she said. She was not going to deprive herself of having children.
And he was not going to let her go as she was, so now she only had one option.
Collecting all her strength and focus, she attacked him with her sword, aiming to kill him for once and all.
Unfortunately for her, he blocked her attack with his own sword. His hand was not even trembling. Chizuru tried to attack him again, but he blocked her attack once more like it was nothing. His expression doesn't even seem struggling. She attacked for the third time, and this time, he hit her sword with his with enough strength to send her a few steps back, but not make her fall on the ground. She was already panting.
"I'm not your enemy, my dear, you stubbornness is." He said as he watched her ready herself for another attack.
"Just look at what all humans are going through right now. Probably, half of them envy you." He walked to her and pointed his sword at her, and Chizuru walked back slowly.
"You have a little time to think of my option back in the inn. For now, sheath your sword and get on the horse." He kept his sword pointed at her.
Not giving up, Chizuru tried to attack him once more. This time, he blocked her attack and hit her liver with the handle of his sword. That was enough to make her sword fall off her hand as she lost consciousness and fell on her knees.
He got down with her and caught her so she wouldn't fall on face. That was all for tonight. He sheathed his sword and picked up her sword before carrying her to put her on his horse before he too got on his horse.
He didn't think much of anything as he led his horse to return back to the inn.