She loved the cold. It was a nice sharp feeling that keeps you awake. Yumi exhaled letting out a puff of air visible on that cold spring night. She wrapped her coat tighter around herself shivering at the drafts that seemed to blow right through her very soul. While her fingers brushed the dew off of the wool, they felt the cool metal of the pistol strapped to her belt. Safe. That's what it made her feel.

It had been exactly twelve months since she had gone missing. A whole year. Chizuru's neighbors had been of little help trying to find her and Yumi had been forced to embark on this seemingly endless goosechase in order to find her.

" It's my fault though." Yumi thought pitifully

She should have never left for Britain. Then maybe she could have always protected Chizuru. Been there for her as her friend had done for her. Chizuru and Yumi had been childhood friends. They practically grew up together and thought they would proceed to spend the rest of their lives together in tiny little Edo. However, when Yumi's mother passed away due to a severe case of blistering pneumonia, her Aunt from the West was quick to offer a new life.

Yumi should have stayed. Trusted that as long as Chizuru was there, she'd be alright and everything would work out. But, despite what they had gone through, she didn't.

She had graciously taken the outstretched hand of her Aunt Telula and left as quickly as the English woman had come. However, when Yumi had come back to her homeland, she found Chizuru had abandoned her house to find her father. She still remember the panic she felt upon learning from the neighbors that the Yukimura house had been empty for a whole year. It wasn't just panic though, it was also guilt. The guilt that she could have gone with Chizuru instead of her having to fend for herself in this dangerous world.

Thoughts passed through Yumi's mind as fast of lightning. Sometimes when she was deep in thought like this, everything seemed surreal. Like a dream. That she would just wake up back her in bedroom in Yorkshire and that everything didn't actually happen.

Suddenly she snapped out of her thoughts when she heard the unfamiliar taps of someone else's footsteps. It was possibly after midnight and no one would ever be walking out at this awful hour unless it was trouble.

Running a hand through her long chocolate brown hair she sighed. That last thing she needed was trouble and as her instincts told her, she started to walk faster. Hopefully she could find an inn soon and settle in for the night.

What was strange was that as her footsteps quicked their pace, the foreign ones did as well. Not even daring to look behind her to see who her "follower" was, she kept a hand on her pistol.

" A woman walking on the streets late at night is always one of the worst situations". Or at least that's what her Aunt always told her.

Suddenly a flash of curiosity and bravado surged through her as she looked behind her to see who those footsteps belonged to.

" Well well well what do we have here. A little lady walking all by herself at this dangerous hour."

A middle aged man sauntered behind her. He already had thinning hair with streaks of gray through it and his bushy eyebrows had the same hue as well. His stomach protrudes from his hakama and he had a round chubby face with small sharp eyes.

Yumi kept silent and continued walking paying no heed to the strange man. He was a creep looking to get some for all she knew. But, ignoring him really didn't seem like an option as he continued to attempt to strike conversation with her.

" Are you a foreigner? What brings you to Kyoto little lady?"

Silence.

" Come on little kitty I don't bite. Shouldn't a woman like you have some sort of protection at night when she's by herself?"

She hadn't noticed it but he had slowly creeped his way to her side and put a sneaky around around her shoulder. Without even stopping, she slapped his "wandering" hand off of her and sharply responded in perfect Japanese," I can protect myself just fine thank you. Now please leave me alone sir."

He loud out a loud raucous laugh," Oh my you do speak Japanese! Hah it's pretty good for a foreigner. Where you from?"

Starting to feel irritation boil in her veins she harshly responded," I'm not a foreigner this is my homeland. Now sir if you have any sense of honor you will back off and let me walk in peace."

This was only met with laughter as his arm returned to her shoulders now slipping down to her waist. Suddenly, he pulled her uncomfortably close to him. So close she could smell his breath which reeked of the pungent stench of alcohol. Using his other hand to grab her chin roughly forcing her to turn her head to look at him, she could see the faint rosing of his cheeks. A definite indicator of his drunken state.

Her state of agitation was raging by now as this man had the audacity to grab onto her like she was some toy. Coughing and slipping out of his "embrace" she argued in a calm voice," I don't appreciate you touching me like that. What the hell do you want? I have said Go Away more than a few times."

Once again attempting to close the distance between them he chuckled and said in a low voice," Calm yourself my pet. Aren't you lonely on this cold night? Don't you want to", he let out a contorted aroused smile," have some fun with me?"

Yumi reached her breaking point. " Get the hell away from me! No I would rather shoot myself than spend a night with you. What the hell makes you think that you can just ask some random person to sleep with you? Obviously you need another common sense lesson from your mother as you have brain of an arrogant five year old."

And that...was a mistake. Instantly, the rosing in the man's face increased blending as the rest of his race turned a shade of red. His nostrils flared as his face contorted into a dark and sinister glare.

" What the hell did you just say to me you bitch?" he growled.

Not willing to back down she stopped in her tracks as she suddenly faced him and said," I said to get away from me. Only immature foolish men would believe that sleeping with a stranger and harassing them is okay. Now please leave me alone before you get hurt."

His face only contorted more as he let out an angry laugh. He scoffed," Me get hurt? Obviously it is you who have much to learn. How dare you call me a boy."

" I will call you what I wish. Bastards like you are the worst. Arrogant. Filthy. Stupid. I can find more ways to describe the likes of you if you wish."

His thread of patience had already been stretching but at that moment it broke. He lunged at her but she nimbly stepped away. In his drunken state, he staggered and fell. Feeling especially bold and angry she let out a bought of laughter. Not caring who she would wake up, she let her loud laughter ring through the dark empty streets of Kyoto. For all to see who the hell this man was and what he did.

She was so caught up in her laughter she didn't notice him get up and lunge at her again. Unprepared she felt his hand roughly grab her wrist pulling her towards him.

" Say that again bitch? I'll teach you a fucking lesson you whore."

Roughly he got behind her and grabbed her waist attempting to slip his hands inside her dress. Thank god for the thousand buttons on this thing she thought to herself. Dressing herself and changing in Western dresses was almost like taking a nice long trip to hell.

She didn't have to time to dwell on her thoughts and she quickly threw her head back. The sharp thud of her head making skull splitting contact with his echoed through her ears. Instantly a dull sore pain spread through the back of her head as she fled. Running as fast as she could she turned into streets she didn't even know. Adrenaline pumped through her veins as she ran blindly not caring where she went as long as it was away from this man.

After what seemed like hours Yumi finally stopped, chest heaving, as she struggled to catch her breathe. The cold sharp air felt like daggers going down her throat. She looked around and found a wooden box along a wall. Sighing to herself she plopped herself down and contemplated just spending the night here. She really didn't have much of a choice as there was no Inn in sight as she was just absolutely exhausted from that episode.

Still panting she looked up at the sky. The moon was so bright and full this night. It glowed with it's light reflecting on the falling cherry blossom raining down onto the streets. Beautiful.

Yumi wasn't sure how long she just sat there and it really didn't matter. No one was expecting her and she didn't have a place to stay. However, she only heard those wretched footsteps come back.

Whoever that creep was...he was back. " Come back you bitch! I know you're hiding out there!"

Groaning to herself she prepared to leave again. His voice was decently faint so there was quite some distance between them. "Glad I don't have to run" she thoughts humorously to herself. Even so there was no time to have a laugh.

Picking up her skirt she prepared to get up when suddenly she realized she couldn't. Everytime she attempted to get up, the box would rise with her. Reaching down on the back of her skirt she felt the cool metal of a nail.

" Dammit", she mentally screamed. A nail from the box snagged her skirt and it was stuck. The man's bellowing got louder and louder. If she didn't leave soon, she would be caught.

" If I just get up quickly it'll probably rip off" she thought. Rising full force and attempting to break out in a run, she heard a loud crash.

The nail was still stuck her her skirt and she had successfully managed to knock the box over. " Great just fucking great".

However, she only realized that it gave out her clear location to her pursuer. Grabbing the thick cloth of her skirt, she yanked it hearing an audible ripping of fabric that set her free to run.

She wasted no time sprinting off before she heard a loud piercing scream. It was as rancid as a metal fork being scraped across tea china and as loud as one thousand men screaming at once. Yumi froze where she stood. "What the hell was that?!" That scream sent a sharp shiver down her back that took away her breathe.

The screaming continued with words now more audible. She could hear the never ending pleas of "stop" that sounded like her pursuer's voice. There was obvious trouble.

One thing her Aunt had always scolded her for was letting her curiosity get the better of her. No matter how badly she wanted to run, she just...couldn't. Letting out a loud sigh she turned around and ran towards the screaming. Her heart started to beat so hard it felt like it would burst out of her chest. Slowly the screams got louder and louder until it sounded like it was right around the corner from her. Then, it...just stopped. No more noise. Nothing.

Yumi took a few moments to catch her breath as she panted silently. Whatever had just happened was merely a few feet away from her. This was her last chance, check it out or just take the safe route and leave.

She mentally slapped herself," Why are you always so fucking reckless?! You'll probably end up hating yourself idiot."

Walking with the back of her boot hitting the ground first, she silently tiptoed around the corner she hid behind. What she saw was a gruesome narly sight.

In front of her, a bloody lump lay before her. The marred ripped up form of her ex-pursuer. There was blood everywhere; even sprayed onto the walls seven feet away. What was worse was that his head was missing. Teeth marks aligned his neck.

Yumi slowly backed up covering her mouth with a hand. "Whatever just killed this man, just b-bit his head off. Bloody hell?!"

Gruesome as it was, she couldn't take her eyes off the sight. The chunky flesh around where his decapitated head should have been was ripped and torn as blood continued to ooze into a sickening pile on the floor. In the moonlight, his spinal bone glowed as it stuck out of the neck.

She had definitely seen worse in her Aunt's medical clinic but having to imagine his head being ripped off would make most anyone a little sick to the stomach.

She had to get the hell out of there. Whoever had...no...whatever had done this was probably still around and she for sure did not want to stick around to see who had done this mess.

Turning around she was around to leave but instead bumped into something hard. Warm and hard. Looking up she realized in horror, she really didn't have much of a choice. A man with shocking white hair and zombie like white eyes stood before her. From his deformed lips, thick blood stained almost like poorly applied lipstick. He had a sickening smile on his lips and his pearly whites each had its own layer of what she assumed to be the dead man's blood. She was truly an idiot.

In the moonlight she could make out his haori colors. Pale baby blue with white triangles around the border. Somehow it looked familiar to her. Almost like someone had warned her about it.

She really didn't have time to think about haori choice as her main focus was getting the hell out of there. It was quite literally always her legs failing her when she needed them the most as she suddenly fell backward on her butt.

As that creature suddenly let out a strange strangled and hungry shriek from its lips, Yumi felt deer with a gun being pointed at its head. She felt frozen with fear. As it began to advance on her, she felt around her belt for the pistol. Relief flooded her senses when she felt the cool metal of the barrel. Wrapping her slender fingers around the grip she whipped it out and pointed at the creature.

Aiming at its ugly head she wrapped her index finger around the trigger as she was willing to do anything that kept her alive. Especially kill. Hadn't she done it many times in the past before?

Taking a deep breathe she didn't hesitate as she pulled the trigger that released a loud bang that echoed on and on in the streets. Slowly the creature's eyes looked down at her as it let out a loud strangled noise before slowly crumbling down into a heap on the ground. Yumi sat panting as her hands shook from the recoil of the shot. Sweat still dripped down the side her face as she couldn't contain the chill she felt from her ordeal.

Whatever the hell that was...it was dead and she was safe. How would she explain this mess? What would people think of the blood that stained her skirt? What was she going to do?

She heard hurried footsteps behind her and the next thing she knew she was staring into sharp green orbs.

A man with a sharp fox like face snickered at her. He had flowing green eyes that seemed to pierce right through your soul. His reddish brown hair was tied in a traditional top knot. What she noticed the most was the katana being pointed at her. She deserved a medal after going through was she had gone through.

" What do you want? The scenes over." she grumbled as she attempted to stand up. At the sudden motion the sword got trust even closer to her.

" I would suggest you don't move little birdy if you value your own life." he snickered.

Another man with long black hair tied up into a graceful ponytail and glowing purple eyes walked up beside the "fox man".

" Hijikata-san what should we do with this girl? It's quite obvious that she clearly saw the rasetsu and I'd like to say that she definitely had a part in its death." said fox man.

" Raset- what?" she thought puzzled," What the hell was he talking about?"

She heard the black haired man mumbled," Take her back to headquarters. Don't kill her just yet. We should know what happened."

Furrowing her brows she started again," Hey what are you guys up to?! I'm not going anywhere until someone tells me what the hell is going on. I know you all know what I'm talking about. That monster's haori looks the same as all of yours!"

Black haired man walked away to the group of men standing behind leaving her alone with the snarky looking red head. " We're the Shinsengumi and that's all we're telling you. By the way we're placing you on arrest and in our custody. Stand up."

Yumi's blood boiled. Who the hell did they think they were? They had the nerve to tell her to go with them when they didn't even explain the situation to her. She didn't even know their names.

No. She would not go. Grabbing the pistol concealed under the skirt she did the same with the creature and pointed it at the man's head. She was pissed off enough as it is and this was absolutely the last straw within her patience and mild temper. Lady like or not, she was going to shoot him if she had too.

" I wouldn't do that if I was you either. I'm in no mood for any trouble tonight and if you just leave me the hell alone nobody's gonna get hurt tonight." she growled.

She didn't know what irritated her the most. The fact that he let out a snarky laugh. Or, the fact that he had such a relaxed stance despite having a freaking pistol aimed at his head. Maybe, it was because he still had the katana pointed at her head. It really didn't matter because just looking at this man made her angry.

" That's cute but seriously you have quite a bit to learn if you think that's going to stop a Shinsengumi member. If I didn't know any better I'd say that you're not from Kyoto." he replied coolly. His smirk never left his face.

" H-hey that's-"

She never got to finish her sentence as he used the katana to smack the silver pistol out of her hand as she miserably watched it fly across the street. She wasn't out of options though; she immediately whipped out her leg to attempt to kick him off balance but...he nimbly stepped aside.

Yumi wasn't sure what she remembered last from that night. The feeling of something hard coming in contact with her head. The yelling from the men. Or the fact that her head let out a splitting pain before enveloping in comfortable darkness. Either way, she was in deep trouble.

Okita sighed to himself. That girl had sure been a handful and she was sure not normal. Any other civilian would have cowered in fear and did as they were told. But not her.

He called back," Hijikata what should we do with her?"

" Did you finally subdue her? That took a while." he grumbled back

" That's because I was playing with her." he snickered as his green eyes glowed even more menacingly.

" I'd like to doubt that Souji. Saitou can you come here?"

Saitou walked gracefully up to the girl as he mumbled," What can I do for you Hijikata-sa?"

" Carry her back to headquarters and put her in a spare room. Make sure to tie her up and gag her."

Dutifully as ever he nodded. Seemingly without any effort he picked her up as if she weighed nothing and swung that poor girl over his shoulder like a sack of grain. Souji was just about to leave as well until he heard Hijikata yell his name again.

" What is it kaichou?"

" Collect that girl's bag and her gun as well. Take it back and keep it with you for the rest of the night. We'll deal with it tomorrow."