Sorry about the constant shifts in point of view and the crappy ending, but this was based on a dream of mine so I had a little trouble recalling all the details. Disclaimer: I don't own Hakuouki or any of its characters. I do however own this story and its plot.

Love in The Dark

The sun is setting in Kyoto, bathing everything in a soft light. Two rather handsome men are patrolling the area, accompanied by what seems to be a young boy. Their shadows stretch across the ground and there is little conversation between them. All of them are oblivious to what's about to happen.

(Chizuru POV)

I watched the figures in front of me. They were having a conversation, but they were speaking quietly. It seemed that they were talking about something confidential, but I was not in on the conversation. I didn't mind though. There was a gentle breeze blowing and the last of the playing children were sent back home, yawns escaping every so often.

I remember when I was their age, still laughing and playing with someone else. A boy my age used to come and play with me while my father was treating patients or doing other work, but I barely remember that boy. I forget his name, but I vaguely recall calling him Nii-san.

Strange I've never had a brother, only my father. Which brought me back to the sad revelation that my father was missing; perhaps he was dead. I must ask the townspeople if they have seen a man resembling my father. But I need permission first.

Not really wanting to do what I was about to do, I hung back, gathering my courage and thinking through what I was about to ask. I can do this, no I must do this! For my father! I just need to ask at the right time…

After a while, their conversation grew loud enough for me to hear. They had started talking casually to one another so I was free to hear and join the conversation. Or in my case interrupt.

This would be a good time to ask about my father who had gone missing. He was my reason for coming to Kyoto in the first place.

"Um, Hijikata-san? Harada-san? May I ask about my father? I know I probably shouldn't ask this of you but, please?" I said, hoping to hear anything that might help me in my search.

"Of course Chizuru. Make sure you hurry though, we should be heading back soon," Harada said.

"Thank you Harada-san! I'll make sure to hurry up!"

I started towards the citizens, leaving Harada with a smile and Hijikata with a pleasant expression on his face.

A Little While Later

I came back feeling disappointed. No one had heard anything about my father. I know it might take awhile to find him, but not knowing anything is frustrating!

"You'll find him eventually Chizuru. And we'll be here to help you along the way. So cheer up okay? It makes all of us unhappy when you're unhappy," Harada said.

I faked a smile and said, "Okay Harada-san. Thank you for cheering me up." However, inside I didn't feel any happier than I had been minutes ago. Now I have to pretend I'm happy the rest of the night. I felt guilty for lying to Harada, but I didn't let it show.

"Speaking of which, it's time to go back now. Everyone will start to worry if we don't bring you home soon." Harada reminded me.

"Alright. Let's go then!" I said, getting a smile from Harada and a slight frown from Hijikata.

Harada walked in front of Hijikata and I, leaving us alone for the time being. Hijikata said something, but I was having a hard time hearing him. My hearing was going in and out and my ears were ringing, but what could cause this?

"I'm sorry Hijikata-san. Could you repeat what you just said?" I asked.

He sighed and said, "I said that your façade doesn't fool me. I know you're still unhappy Chizuru. Unfortunately, I'm not like Harada so I don't really know how to cheer you up. Chizuru you need to…" Hijikata stopped talking because I leaned on him suddenly. "Chizuru?" he asked.

"Hijikata-san, I don't feel well." I gasped, trying to catch my breath. "Chizuru, you look rather pale, let's hurry up and go back to headquarters okay?"

He looked at me worriedly, letting me lean on him some more before he called out to Harada.

As Harada ran towards us, I felt extremely dizzy and light-headed. My knees buckled, but Hijikata caught me before I collapsed on the ground. I heard them both yell my name, asking me if I was alright, before everything faded to black.

(Harada POV)

I heard Hijikata call my name and I turned around to see Chizuru leaning on him, looking kind of sick. I started running towards them, but I knew I wouldn't make it in time.

"Chizuru!" I yelled out. Her knees buckled, but Hijikata caught her before she reached the ground. "Chizuru, are you all right?" I called out. Hijikata had said something similar, worry evident in his voice.

"HIjikata what do you think is wrong with her? She was fine earlier." I said worried for her.

"I don't know Harada. When we get back we'll have Yamazaki look at her. I'm sure he'll be able to find out what made her feel sick and collapse." He replied.

"Speaking of which, Hijikata, how are we supposed to get her back to headquarters?"

"We can't wait here forever, and I'm not leaving her here. One of us will have to carry her."

"You can do that then. I'll guard you guys since you'll have your arms full. Once we get to headquarters, we'll find Kondou or Yamazaki. Then we can ask them what to do."

"Harada, why would I be carrying her? You would do just fine carrying her right? It's not that I don't want to, but you can carry her too."

How could I answer him? It's not like he'd take the 'we all know you have feelings for her' argument. Though it's pretty obvious to everyone else that Hijikata and Chizuru have fallen for each other. No, I'd have to come up with a 'logical' explanation, a reason that can't be denied by him.

"Yes Hijikata, I very well could carry her, but she's your responsibility. After all, she was placed in your care when she arrived. Besides, you were the closest to her tonight. She's already in your arms anyway. If I were to carry her, we'd stay out here a lot later than if you carried her."

Ha! I thought, Beat that!

"Very well Harada. I can't argue with all of that." He said, picking Chizuru up bridal style.

My plan is working perfectly! I'm sorry for taking advantage of your situation Chizuru, but he needs to make a move on you. Your little romance is developing too slowly. Though I still hope you're okay.

"Let's go Harada. I want to get her home as soon as possible. She's starting to get really cold." He said not even glancing in my direction to see if I was following him. He was looking at Chizuru tenderly, with a look in his eyes and on his face I had never seen. He seemed so gentle and caring, that I almost thought he was a different person.

"Oh right! I'm coming right now!" I called out.

(Chizuru POV)

Even though I was passed out, it was like I could still hear everything, but I couldn't interact with anything. I couldn't see anything either. It felt like I was in a dream. All of a sudden I got really cold, and had a sensation of being in the air before I was put on something nice and warm.

Someone is carrying me. They're so warm and gentle. I wonder who this is. They smell like cherry blossoms. I snuggled into the person carrying me, shivering slightly because of the cold.

Then I heard his voice say, "Let's go Harada. I want to get her home as soon as possible. She's starting to get really cold." And I knew whose arms I was in.

I heard Harada reply, "Oh right! I'm coming right now!" with that Hijikata started walking towards headquarters.

At Headquarters

(Normal POV)

"Ah! You guys are finally back! What took you three so long? Wait why are you holding Yukimura?" asked Sannan, curiosity getting the better of him.

"What's wrong with Chizuru, Hijikata-san? Did she faint because of you again?" teased Okita, though he was still worried about Chizuru.

"Hey! Why did Chizuru faint? Is she gonna be okay? Harada what happened? Oh no! Chizuru!" Heisuke rambled on, worried for the health of his friend.

"What happened to the little missy? Is she gonna be alright? Heisuke calm down! Harada, Hijikata what happened?" Shinpachi inquired, wanting to calm everyone down.

"Vice-Commander, is Chizuru alright? Should we get Yamazaki to look at her?" Saitou asked, trying to help Hijikata and Chizuru.

All the men in the Shinsengumi were crouded around the three, not giving them a lot of room to stand or to talk. Saitou noticed this and said something about giving Chizuru more space or she might not make it.

That made all the boys quiet down and step out of the way. Kondou came by and after expressing his concern over Chizuru's health, decided to get Yamazaki.

"Yamazaki, could you come here? Chizuru is in trouble and we need your help!" he pleaded.

"Where is she?" Yamazaki had arrived. Everyone pointed or looked at Hijikata with an unconscious Chizuru in his arms. He walked over and said, "Vice-Commander please carry her to her room. I'll examine her there."

Hijikata went to Chizuru's room and placed her on her bed, ever so softly. Yamazaki looked a bit shocked at his way of handling the girl, but said nothing.

"Vice-Commander, everyone else, I'm going to ask you to leave. Even though Chizuru is your friend, I'm sure she would like some privacy. After all she is a girl." Yamazaki said, eyeing the men warily.

All the men except Hijikata, Harada, and Saitou left. Yamazaki looked at them and said. "I won't do anything to her if that's what you're thinking. May I remind you that I am a doctor and you guys don't need to worry about me taking advantage of Chizuru."

"No it's not that, just don't you need us to report to you about what happened in order to make your diagnosis?" Harada asked, slightly confused that he hadn't asked what happened earlier.

"I was going to ask you guys later, because what she has could be serious and if it is, I want to get it under control before I start talking. Now any more questions? You are all making me waste valuable time here." Yamazaki said, prepping medical supplies.

Hijikata replied, "I was going to tell you to report to me once you've got this under control. I will be waiting outside this room. That's all."

"Very well Hijikata. And what did you want Saitou?"

"I came here to give you your bag of medicines. I am sorry for wasting your examining time. Harada let's go. We need to give the others something to do while they are waiting." Saitou explained, pulling Harada out of the room. Hijikata exited and Yamazaki was left to examine Chizuru.

After The Examination

Yamazaki came out of Chizuru's room and saw Hijikata leaned up against the wall, his eyes closed. Yamazaki started reporting to Hijikata after a few minutes. "Vice-Commander, are you awake?"

"Yes I am Yamazaki. What have you got to report? Is Chizuru okay? Do you know what's wrong with her?" Hijikata asked, worry evident in his voice.

"I'm sorry Hijikata, but I won't reveal anything to just you. Everyone will be here when I do that. I will say that while it is not life threatening, it isn't something we can ignore. Now, onto what I really wanted to talk about." Yamazaki said with a determined look on his face.

Hijikata looked at him confused. "What you really wanted to talk about?"

"Yes. Hijikata you may have fooled the others, but you can't fool me. I know you care for Chizuru deeply. Don't even try to deny it. I can tell with how you act around her and your body language. Though you may not want to admit it, at least not to us, you are in love with her Hijikata."

"Yamazaki I may want to protect Chizuru, but… I'm not in love with her. I can't possibly be…"

"I beg to differ, Vice-Commander. You let the girl off with things others couldn't dream of. You want to protect her and keep her out of harm's way. You actually listen to her when she scolds you for working yourself to death, no one else can do that. Not only that, I can see it in your eyes, as you look at her when she doesn't know or just when you're talking to her. Your whole demeanor changes when you are with her."

Yamazaki, I… I believe you got me. It's just that I'm filled with doubts and worries, so I could never act on my feelings. I do love her, but what if she is in love with someone else? Or what if she doesn't return my feelings? These questions plague me all the time."

"I know Souji would tease me to no end if he heard this conversation, or my hesitation, but… This is nothing like leading men into battle. Love is a battle, but it's much different, it feels so much more perilous and agonizing. However, this victory is a lot sweeter and more precious than any other battles'. I just hope I am victorious."

"That's true Hijikata, but I can't believe you don't know who she's in love with."

"Yamazaki, please tell me his name. Please tell me who Chizuru is in love with."

"Hijikata, as much as I'd love to, it is not in my place to say. Chizuru is the one who must tell you this. It is up to you to decide and figure out who she has affection for. However, right now I need to inform everyone of her condition and what I believe necessary to rid her of it," Yamazaki stated, ending the conversation.

(Chizuru POV)

I had blacked out as soon as I was set down in my bed and all traces of warmth faded. Now I was coming to, but I was sort of in a dream state, just like before. I would hear voices and snippets of conversations, but they didn't make any sense and I would just pass out again.

When I awoke, I heard Yamazaki talking to someone else outside the room.

"You need to step up, be a man, and start caring for her." The next thing Yamazaki said was a bit muffled so I only caught parts of it. "I'm saying… she is in love… affection for her."

The door to my room slid open after a little more muffled conversation, letting me see everyone in the doorway. Yamazaki stood in front of the doorway, trying to calm everyone down enough so they could hear what he had to say.

Then I felt tired, and suddenly my world went black again.

(Normal POV)

"Everyone, I have some news about Chizuru's condition. She is in no immediate danger, however to heal her she needs to be kept warm. Chizuru will stay the way she is now because her body temperature is cold. She won't get any better until she is kept warm. This needs to happen throughout the night, so I have concluded that someone needs to sleep with her." Yamazaki concluded.

Heisuke was the first to reply saying, "S-s-s-sleep with her?! How is," he blushed before continuing, "THAT supposed to help keep her warm?"

"Heisuke, since you're so young and inexperienced, you might be surprised to find that engaging in these activities doesn't just keep you warm, they keep you entertained too!" Harada grinned when he saw the younger boy's face grow red at his comment.

"Do you think Chizuru is a virgin?" asked Shinpachi, almost as if he was scared to find out the answer.

"Well I know after tonight she won't be. But how are we going to do this? I mean it'll just be one of us right? So who's it going to be?" Harada added.

"Well we all know the Vice-Commander has, needless to say, feelings for her, right Hijikata-san?" Okita teased, waggling his eyebrows.

"That is enough! I didn't mean sleep with her in that manner, I meant it as holding onto her when she's asleep. You know, just trying to keep her warm, not taking advantage of her!" Yamazaki exclaimed once he found out what the boys thought he meant.

They all replied with an "Oh" followed by an awkward silence.

"Well, this brings us back to the same argument. Who's going to keep her warm?" asked Saitou, finally breaking the silence.

"I believe the Hijikata should. After all, she is his responsibility." Harada said, breaking the awkward silence.

"I agree. Besides, he was the one who carried her here." Shinpachi said.

"Shinpachi! Harada!" Hijikata called out, obviously a bit embarrassed.

"Well she'll probably warm up the fastest and stay warm if she's with him. She always seems to get flushed every time Hijikata-san gets close to her or touches her anyway." Okita joked. Hijikata returned his comment with a glare.

"As long as Chizuru is kept warm, I don't care who does it. All I know is it won't be me. As much as I want to help, Hijikata's body is a lot bigger than mine, so he'd be able to warm her up more." Heisuke added thoughtfully.

Since Hijikata didn't have anything against this idea, the others came to a silent agreement. Tease and embarrass the Vice-Commander a little bit.

Late At Night

I was starting to wake up, but I realized I couldn't stop shaking. God was I cold! I was cold and I was alone. This thought greatly upset me, though I have no idea why. I started to cry and felt myself become colder, was I freezing to death?

Someone seemed to hear my cries and shifted under the blankets, and I felt two strong arms pull me into a muscular chest. I immediately warmed up, and snuggled into this person's chest to get comfortable.

I could almost feel this person's surprise at my movement, but they hadn't said anything so far. That got me wondering whose arms I was in and why they were holding me in the first place. I knew it wasn't Hijikata, because he has no reason to care for me.

I can't get my hopes up! And even if it was him, what would you say? 'I love you'? That won't work. He's probably interested in those really pretty women. The ones with the fancy kimonos and makeup, the women who look like they just came out of a wood print, not a girl like you.

As I pulled back from my place of warmth to glance up at this person's face, I found I was being stared at by Hijikata. He seemed to notice my open eyes and smiled at me. I shivered, half in excitement and half because I was cold, causing him to pull me close again. I felt as though I was melting into him, and relaxed my tense muscles.

"Hijikata-san, is it really you? I must dreaming, I have to be, there's no way you would take care of me and just drop everything else." I said, still cold and quite confused.

(Hijikata POV)

Chizuru, is this the impression I really give to you? I do care about you, but do I make it seem like I hate you? I hope not. I love you, but how could I say that to you when you believe you're not important to me?

"Yes Chizuru it's me. Though I don't know why you would not believe that I would drop everything to help you. I hope you don't think I hate you, because I've never felt like this before."

"Hijikata-san! I don't think you hate me! It's just, you're always so busy and I feel like I'm just a burden to all of you, and…" she trailed off, the cutest expression on her face.

"Chizuru, why must you be so beautiful?" I tenderly asked, so quiet I was surprised Chizuru even heard. I pulled her closer, just wanting to hold her and keep her safe, even if she didn't love me.

"Eh?! Hijikata-san?" Chizuru asked surprised and blushing profusely. However she didn't pull away from my embrace which gave me hope.

"Chizuru I might as well just tell you right now, I love you. You have saved me from becoming numb and not having enough emotions on the battlefield and life. You make me go to sleep regardless of my workload. You believe me and appreciate me and when Kazama came to take you away, you ran in front of me to protect me. You frightened me, I really thought you were going to leave me and Kazama would harm you. I couldn't let that happen to the woman I love. Please believe me Chizuru."

I leaned down to kiss her and after a short but sweet embrace of the lips, I said, "Aishiteru. I want to have you return my feelings, but I understand if you don't. You don't have to tell me your answer right now, just tell me whenever you're ready."

"Hai Hijikata-san, I do believe you, and well I… I… Aishiteru, Hijikata-san!" Chizuru exclaimed, blushing all the while.

"Chizuru?" I asked, surprised that she had answered so quickly and sincerely.

(Chizuru POV)

Did I really just say that? And he… He kissed me! I can't believe it! "Hijikata, I love you so please hold me close. I'm starting to get cold again and I..." I suddenly became very cold, as cold as ice and started shaking uncontrollably.

Hijikata tenderly smiled down at me, and seemed to understand the rest of my unfinished thought.

"Yes, of course Chizuru. I will always be here for you and no matter what happens I will always protect you."

Then his arms were around me, pulling me close to him as I tried to get warm. I snuggled into his chest, blushing, and I blushed even harder when he put his chin on top of my head. I smiled and started to fall asleep when Hijikata pulled the covers over us, trying to keep me warm and comfortable.

As I drifted off, I felt Hijikata pull me closer and then my world faded as I fell deeper and deeper into sleep.

When I woke up the next morning, I was still being held by Hijikata, but Yamazaki was in the room as well. Hijikata was awake and was talking to Yamazaki until he felt me stir. I blinked my sleepy eyes and saw him smile at me tenderly while Yamazaki watched and said a quiet good morning.

"Chizuru, how are you feeling?" Yamazaki asked as Hijikata glanced at me, concern in his eyes.

"I feel… I feel as if I have just recovered from an illness. This has never happened before, but Father warned me about it. He said as I get older the chances of this happening become greater. It had something to do with my heart and who I interacted with. But I feel a lot better now. I'm sorry for inconveniencing everyone."

Yamazaki and Hijikata shared a look before Yamazaki responded to me.

"Chizuru, your health is more important to us than work. You're one of us now, so please don't think or say otherwise. Besides, for Hijikata, you are more than just a comrade. Now go back to sleep, just because you feel better doesn't you're completely back to normal."

I wanted to protest, but my eyelids started dropping and I started to feel drowsy. Hijikata still held me, and seemed to want to sleep as well, for he looked quite tired. Yamazaki seemed to understand and left us alone. Before I was really falling asleep, Hijikata pulled me into a kiss.

Our lips fit together perfectly as he kissed me gently before pulling away. I then snuggled into his warm and loving embrace and drifted into a peaceful sleep held by the man I love.

Sorry about the rushed and crappy ending, but I couldn't think of anything else to do. I sincerely thank you all for reading this to the end (aka surviving torture). Please review!