A/N: I'm not dead. What a miracle. I know it's been months since I wrote something, but...IRL takes up a lot of time. My apologies.

Here's a quick one shot I wrote. Not quite pleased on how it turned out, but I decided to post it here anyway.

Enjoy it.

The winter snow was falling incredibly thick, and yet Chizuru still insisted on going on patrol with the rest of the Shinsengumi members. Unlikely as it was, she still hoped that she would be able to run into her father one day, or hear about his whereabouts from another person. Unfortunately, most of the citizens had retreated indoors to stay warm, and for the majority of the patrols, the streets had been completely barren of life. Koudou-san was nowhere to be found, and the weather was getting worse by the day.

Saitou glanced at the girl next to him. She looked absolutely frozen to the core, as she had forgotten to bring a haori with her. Her cheeks were bright red, and she shivered from the chill. He would have offered his own haori to her, but because it was the blue haori of the Shinsengumi, he couldn't. He was the squad leader, and it was necessary for him to wear the symbol of the Shinsengumi.

Chizuru rubbed her hands together, and exhaled misty white breath on them, although he doubted that it was of any help. "We'll finish patrolling and reach headquarters soon," he assured the young woman. "You may warm yourself in the kitchen once we get back if you need to, Yukimura."

She glanced up at him and managed a smile despite the discomfort she must have been feeling. "Thank you very much, Saitou-san."

The squad turned onto the last street they had been assigned to patrol. It was completely deserted, and piled high with snow. Moreover, it was an especially long and difficult walk, with all the white pillows of chill obstructing the street. "Saitou-san," one of the men asked. "This street is completely deserted. All of them are. Could we just skip this one and go back?"

Saitou almost considered it for a moment. It was true that there had been very little people out, and the men were surely cold and exhausted. Chizuru, too. Yet...

"No," he firmly responded. "As warriors, we must be careful and precise. What would Hijikata-san say if we had let some ronin escape simply because we were too lazy to patrol a street? We must not take any chances. Understood?"

"Yes," the men grumbled. Saitou gave a brief nod. "Then, Ogata-kun, you lead."

He took the rear of the group, and scanned buildings while he walked. It was this kind of quiet that made him uneasy. Having experienced so many battles, he knew how an enemy soldier struck—and this was a common facade they used. Saitou warily placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, prepared to strike if necessary. He watched the buildings carefully, almost daring anyone inside to attack.

Something was wrong. His eyes flicked next to him. Surely enough, the girl who had been obediently walking next to him was gone. Saitou glanced ahead, searching for the familiar pink hakamashita. No, she wasn't ahead of him. He turned his head to look behind him. "Yukimura?"

She was leaning against one of the buildings, her eyes closed. Saitou turned around and began to walk towards her. "Yukimura? Is there anything wrong?"

Yet before he could reach her, she collapsed into the cold snow, her black hair fanning out next to her. Saitou broke into a run, his feet moving furiously toward her body.

"Yukimura!"

Saitou slid the paper door closed, setting the tea tray down on the floor next to him. He settled in a seiza position, and watched the girl in front of him sleep.

She was still in her day clothes. He hated that she was in wet, freezing clothes, but there was nothing he could do about it. Chizuru's face was pink and flushed; her fever was probably running high. Saitou folded his hands in his lap, his expression impossible to read from the outside.

It was his fault, he thought. He should have noticed how dangerously cold and pink-faced she had gotten. She wouldn't have gotten sick if he had been more careful. Then again, Chizuru had been going out on patrols with them every day, even when the weather was fierce enough to keep even the most determined citizen inside. She had never complained, never refused a chance to go out. The young woman in front of him had more determination and strength than he had thought could be inside that tiny little body of hers.

But even so, Saitou couldn't stop blaming himself for it.

A faint moan drifted from her, and she shifted a little in her sleep. Saitou's hand subconsciously moved to her forehead to feel her temperature. It was hot as a blazing fire.

"Yukimura," he softly said. "I'm sorry."

He took a glance outside through the paper door—darkness covered almost all of the sky, although there were still a few faint rays of light. The snow still fell heavily without showing any signs of stopping. The chill soaked through his kimono and into his bones as well, but Saitou didn't even flinch. Outside, he could hear faint voices of the men preparing for dinner. The world just beyond them was quiet and normal, but here was it was a turmoil of rage and worry. Sighing, Saitou settled back down again to sit his quiet vigil next to the sleeping girl.

He hadn't meant to fall asleep. When his eyes snapped open, darkness had completely overwhelmed the room and the headquarters was dead silent. Guilt filled his stomach when he realized he had been sleeping on his job, and he quickly blinked to wake himself up.

The only light was from the lanterns outside filtering through the thick paper from the door, and that provided only a faint glow. Even so, it wasn't much of a problem. He had had training in the dark before, and his eyes were trained to the darkness. He saw two dinner trays a few meters from him, and the tea tray he had brought had been moved over as well. When he pressed his palm to the teapot, it was still relatively hot. Someone had been here recently and had replaced the teapot and laid out the trays. Although who it had been, Saitou had no idea.

The sheets in front of him rustled. Then a sleepy moan emitted from the pile of blankets. A croaky, dry voice emitted from her—"Saitou-san?"

He was surprised that she could tell who he was in the faint light. Chizuru tried to push herself up, but her balance wavered. Saitou shook his head. "You're still weak, Yukimura. You shouldn't push yourself."

"I'm not," she answered, but she lay back down anyway. Saitou moved forward and placed his hand on her forehead again. It was cooler, although it would be a while before the fever would completely dissipate.

"Are you hungry? Or thirsty? Do you want some tea?" he prompted.

Chizuru shook her head no to the food, but she agreed to the tea. Saitou warily watched as she pushed herself up again, hoping that she wouldn't collapse. Fortunately, she didn't, and he passed her a cup of the tea. She sipped it in tiny, quick intervals, her slender fingers wrapped tightly around the cup. When she finished, Saitou took the cup back, setting it down on the tray again.

"You should rest," he said. "You will only get better if you do so."

She obediently lay back down, and pulled the sheets over herself once more. "It's cold," she murmured. "So cold."

He saw that she was shivering, despite the many layers of blankets tucked around her. Without thinking, he unwound the scarf around his neck and wrapped it around the girl's own neck. Chizuru blinked a little in surprise, but only sleepily nodded in gratitude before snuggling back into her sheets. "Don't leave," she drowsily begged.

Saitou reached out and placed his hand over hers. "I won't," he promised. She smiled faintly, before closing her eyes. Within moments her breathing evened out, and she had drifted back into her dreams.

He sat there, his hand resting on top of her small, warm hand. His mouth parted ever so slightly, and a trail of words escaped his mouth, so faint and quiet that he himself barely heard them.

"I would never leave you…Chizuru."

Hakamashita-a shorter version of a kimono to be worn with hakama. Chizuru's pink one is an example.

Haori-a jacket/coat/similar to be worn over a kimono. The blue and white mountain stripes haori is a trademark of the Shinsengumi.

Thank you for reading!