It was the sudden sound of a careening voice that disturbed a perfectly perfunctory meeting. Normally, disturbances like this were often left to the sentinel within the compound to subdue; however, this noise was so warped; it was as if death itself was ringing from a set of putrid lungs.

"Is that Nagakura-kun?" Kondo questioned as his eyes traveled across the ceiling trying to pinpoint the origin of the caterwauling.

"I think he may have just stabbed himself with his own sword," fumed Hijikata through a taunt jaw. The incessant noise grated on his ears causing him to flinch.

"That's not Seppuku, Hijikata-san," Sannan intoned with a shake of his head, "I think that's our Shinpachi-san trying to...sing."

Hijikata offered him the most incredulous look.

"Your nights as a Rasetsu must have twisted your cultural taste, Sannan-san, if you consider that singing." The oni-fukuchou glowered sourly. "Why the hell is he not on duty? Rotations should have occurred by now."

"He and Harada-san received urgent orders to report to the south central barracks earlier this afternoon." Inoue informed over the rim of his tea mug. "Something about Yukimura needing assistance with her training."

A muscle twitched in Hijikata's throat, and he raked his daunting eyes over Inoue instead.

"What was that?" He asked.

Realizing that he had just frolicked head-on into hazardous territory, Inoue lowered his mug from his lips and coughed.

"Ah well yes, the kunoichi approached the pair of them with a message this afternoon."

The Demon Vice-commander's gaze slivered like crescent moons.

"And the message was from whom, exactly?" He drawled in a chilling decorous voice.

Inoue rubbed his neck with a grimace. "From Miss Senhime-san, sir."

Inoue could have inflicted the most horrendous insult in the history of insolence, and Hijikata still probably would not have reacted quite as strongly as hearing the name of his female adversary.

An audible tsk sounded in the back of his throat as Hijikata drew to his full, intimidating height.

Hadn't it occurred to Inoue that the demoness had probably intended to use his men - his men - as test subjects? It was not enough to entangle Chizuru into her mischievous plans, but she had to start harassing his high ranking officers too?

Shinpachi's painfully crooning voice filtered into the room once more, and the oni-fukuchou bared his teeth. Instilling a sort of wordless threat upon the other occupants of the room, Hijikata stalked through the doors like some dark antihero set on a path of self-righteous vengeance. The palpable cloud of hatred left with him.

"Kami."

"Shit."

"Almighty cripes in hell."

"I thought you said that Okita spoke with Hijikata the other night? Why is he still harboring so much hatred?" Sannan reprimanded the Head Commander with steely eyes.

Kondo raised his hands in self-defense. "He did. Souji even went as far as to gloat that Toshi had given in to his advice and approached the girl."

Inoue dropped his head into his hands. "It's not Yukimura he's angry with, its Senhime-san. I shouldn't have said anything, Kondo-san. It's my fault."

"Don't trouble yourself over Toshi's tantrums." The Head Commander reproved. "Senhime-san has already proven to be a capable young woman. If anything, we should allow this little rivalry to run its course. It's for the best."

"I'm not sure I quite agree with you, Kondo-san, but I guess we'll figure out the outcome sooner than later." Sannan sighed with a thin smile. "More tea anyone?"

. . . . . . . . .

Things had managed to escalate to such a point that Chizuru started to feel smothered by the sweets and silks of Senhime's drawing room. Hex Gaze had proven to be a sport that required control, aptitude, and tremendous amounts of manipulation that somehow didn't sit quite right on her virtuous constitution.

She needed some fresh air to reflect.

Withdrawing from the barracks, Chizuru lifted her nose to the fragrant air of the outdoors and sighed. Sunlight streamed across the veranda in the late afternoon hour, and she contemplated vaguely about whether or not she could get away with dozing off near the edge in her heavy silks.

Kami, she was tired all of a sudden.

Drifting away from the room that still harbored two fully entranced captains (she had left Senhime the responsibility of breaking their trances before Shinpachi shredded his throat to pieces), Chizuru meandered along the eaves of the terrace toward the north part of the building - hair chimes tinkling and kimono fluttering in the light breeze.

It wasn't Hex Gaze that had troubled her conscious for the past hour. In fact, it was quite the opposite. Gaining the ability to manifest and control her demon power had not only given her an opportunity to burn away some excess energy- as was evident with her sudden exhaustion - but a sense of authority she never knew she was capable of exalting.

The way Sanosuke had bended to her every command...Chizuru had enjoyed it a little too much. And this was the source of her concern. Hex Gaze was a potent and lethal weapon if she chose it to be; to find enjoyment in such a dangerous power was not entirely ethical.

As if to prove this assessment true, Chizuru's aimless wandering ceased abruptly as she found herself in the company of morality himself.

"What are you doing here?"

Hijikata stood with the eminence of a war lord - eyes cold, shoulders broad, and a voice as chilling as early morning frost. Bands of golden sunlight ran through his hair and along the ridge of his cheekbone giving him an otherworldly glow that stilled the air in Chizuru's lungs. It was a glorious warmth, but a warmth that could not diminish the severity in his expression as he regarded her like a stranger.

Chizuru's eyebrows lifted in surprise. Could he not recognize her at all?

"Hijikata-san, it's me, Chizuru." She answered with a weak smile. Her heart was pounding with the force of a hummingbird's wings, but she managed to suppress her increasing feelings of hysteria.

Hijikata's eyes tapered. "Chizuru?"

Dropping his gaze to analyze every inch of her lavish attire, he started with her linen tabi socks and ended with her dark, solid red lips. The motion was slow and dangerous eliciting a strange sensation of heat in Chizuru's belly. She began to swelter in her layers of silk. Normally a stare of that magnitude from a man would clear any justifications for a slap to the face, but Chizuru was in the wake of the formidable Demon Vice-Commander of the Shinsengumi and he was looking at her as if she were a vision he had never seen before.

To reject her feelings of elation at having his undivided attention would place her in a state of unnecessary denial. And if the First Deadly Virtue had taught her anything, it was that nothing was unnecessary. Every word, every move, every glance had a purpose.

Unknowingly, Hijikata had just revealed everything in that single look.

"Yes, it's me." She confirmed. The metal hair chimes tinkled delicately as she tilted her face.

Three things could have happened immediately following this moment. One, Hijikata could have scowled at her in disapproval at the amount of face paint she was wearing. Two, he could have scowled at her in disapproval for ditching her lesson. Or three, Hijikata could have just scowled in general.

What Chizuru had not anticipated; however, was his sudden siege of her right wrist as he whisked her into one of the unused rooms behind her.

"Hijikata-san!" She protested breathlessly.

"I can't have you walk around the compound like this, Chizuru. You would upset the men." He explained as he scanned the complex for any signs of unwanted spectators.

Chizuru caught the small endearment laced in his otherwise indifferent words, and felt the corners of her mouth tug into a playful grin. Placing the blame on the side effects of Hex Gaze, she boldly asked, "Am I to take that as a compliment, Commander?"

Hijikata froze.

That familiar voice had certainly come from Chizuru, but it resonated in his ears with an attractive ring that subsequently matched the fiery shade of her lips. Turning around to face her, the lieutenant found his ward standing with hands clasped in front of the green sash wrapped around her thin waist and the majority of her weight placed on one foot while the other curved gently against her frame. Her current stance was much more feminine and relaxed than the one she usually maintained in order to keep her façade as a young soldier, and he was blatantly reminded of how lovely she was.

Without taking his eyes from her face, he slowly drew the shoji screen closed behind him.

Chizuru gulped.

She caught the slightest conflict smolder beneath those lavender eyes of his as he gazed at her with some unspoken emotion. She instantly began to regret her daring words.

Hijikata took a deliberate step forward, his gaze slivering diminutively.

"Do you wish for a compliment, Chizuru?" He drawled in a voice that set her on edge. The tone was just dark enough to send shivers down her spine.

Honestly, she did not. His eyes had already expressed his thoughts of her appearance, but that didn't mean she wasn't curious to know what he had to say.

"The art of kimono is an arduous task," she responded, "to know the nature of your approval would make the effort all the more worthwhile."

She didn't enlist the help of her demon power, but let the slanted angle of her shoulder blades do her hypnosis for her. The motion was not lost on the oni-fukuchou as he drank in the shadow of her thin collar bone and took another step forward.

"You are acting...unusual" He voiced his thoughts out loud with minor vexation. "I had originally come here with intent of liberating my captains from your mentor's grasp, but you have succeeded in momentarily distracting me."

Those weren't exactly words of flattery, but Chizuru knew that that was as close to an honest compliment that she would ever receive from the stoic lieutenant. The ivory powder masked the blush that crept across her cheeks, but her small step of retreat alerted Hijikata that her poise was faltering.

He smirked inwardly. Chizuru had probably chosen the worst time to provoke his more wicked temperament.

"Why are you so dressed up, Chizuru?" He interrogated as he drew closer.

Without her chikara, she realized that her teasing had backfired and that Hijikata was an uninhibited serpent ready to strike (in the context of snake charming, of course).

Glancing around the room, she quickly realized that she had trapped herself in a corner.

"It is part of my training, Hijikata-san." She answered with false levelness. "Osen-chan and Kimigiku-san believed it would be a nice change of pace to dress up in kimono. I'm not sure I can tell you precisely why I'm dressed up though."

The oni-fukuchou considered her words with a clench of his jaw.

"Is that so?" He murmured. "You broke another one of my rules, Yukimura. Or have you already forgotten my conditions?"

"N-no, I haven't." She stuttered. Chizuru's chest began to rise and fall rapidly as her breathing became shallow.

"Then unless you give me a good reason for this breach in conduct, I will have no choice but to administer some manner of punishment." He threatened in an eerily soft voice. Lifting a hand with deft grace, he trailed a finger along the hair chime by her left temple making her startle.

"Why was Shinpachi screaming?" He asked.

Cornered, trapped, and defenseless Chizuru realized that he was leaving her no room for evasion. His face was so precariously close to hers, she could differentiate the bands of indigo and purple in his irises. At such a range, it would be simple for her to employ Hex Gaze on the lieutenant, but she knew the attempt could be suicidal. Panic was not an agent of proper chikara control which meant she could either risk placing him into a coma or completely compromising the intel of her training. Either risk would ultimately result in disaster.

As if sensing her dire plight, her body acted of its own accord by initializing her most recent safety mechanism.

She burst into flames.

"Whoa!" Chizuru gasped as her vision swam with cobalt. Wrapping her arms across her torso, she prayed that the flames would cease immediately. It was the first time she had lost control in front of Hijikata.

"Calm down, calm down, calm down." She chanted in mortification.

The Demon Vice-commander regarded her with silent astonishment as he took in the physical manifestation of her demon power for the first time. He had overheard Shinpachi's account of the incident that occurred yesterday in the courtyard, but it was something entirely different to witness first hand. Unlike natural fire, Chizuru's demon flames were devoid of any heat and curled around her body like an intense aura.

It was something so compelling, he found himself unable to look away.

"Are you alright?" He asked as he watched her brace a hand against the wall.

Chizuru had dropped her face into her other hand as if overcome by embarrassment.

"I'm fine." She answered after a moment. "Osen-chan says this is typical of demons when they first awaken their power. It will take time in order for me to control it."

A small frown touched his lips. "Does it hurt?"

Chizuru peeked at him through her fingers curiously.

"No." She responded with a troubled expression. "It's just very hard to suppress once I've lost control like this."

Pressing her back against the wall, Chizuru closed her eyes and tried to find her equilibrium - something that would be very difficult to do with Hijikata standing barely two feet away. The random combustion must have spurred his curiosity for he continued to ask her questions.

"What causes this to happen?"

"Osen-chan believes certain emotions have the ability to stimulate the manifestation process. She calls them 'enabling factors'." She explained as she recollected her late night discussion with Senhime after the first few times she combusted. The demoness had assured her that it was a perfectly normal phenomenon for young oni, and that it would not harm her in anyway. As long as she kept her emotions in check, it would be less likely to happen.

Senhime had also asked her to refrain from revealing information of her training, but Chizuru felt this was unavoidable due to the fact that two officers had now witnessed the physicality of her akuma no chikara. As much as she wanted to abide by her mentor's orders, Hijikata had also made if perfectly clear that he wasn't leaving this room without some answers.

Resigning herself to temporary acquiescence, she indulged his curiosity.

"The more potent the emotion, the more liable my power is to burst."

She could tell the gears in his mind were working, because he always drew his brows downward in a slight frown whenever he was heavy in thought.

He stared at her questioningly.

"And what emotions would those be?"

Chizuru found it strange but not entirely surprising that he would want to know the specifics. Perhaps if he had the right information, he could help her find a remedy to this unfortunate habit.

"Oh you know: fear, stress, anger...l-lust." Chizuru faltered at the mentioning of that last word and found herself unable to meet the lieutenant's gaze.

She knew exactly what had caused her to spark.

Clearly, Hijikata did too for his lips spread into an unmistakable smirk.

"Am I to take this as a compliment, Yukimura?" He echoed her words from earlier with a voice as rich as silk.

Her flames betrayed her resulting in a large flair of light.

"I'll take that as a 'yes'." He intoned as his smirk spread into a wolfish grin.

A small sound of anguish escaped her lips as Chizuru hid her face in her hands once more.

"You're mean, Hijikata-san." She mumbled.

Whatever resentment the oni-fukuchou had felt prior to running into Chizuru evaporated amid her blue fire, and was replaced by something much more devious. Unable to help himself, Hijikata marveled over the amount of influence he had over his ward. It was obvious he made her nervous to some extent. She was like a coiled spring whenever his presence was near and she always struggled to remain calm if he fixed his gaze on her for too long. After the callous way he brought her to the Shinsengumi as a prisoner, Hijikata almost expected it.

What he did not expect; however, was to find her outside of the barracks alone wrapped in a rich kimono with an uncharacteristically alluring disposition emanating from her taunting gaze as she asked him for flattery, no less.

Did Chizuru - perhaps - harbor feelings of affection for him?

The manner in which her power completely engulfed her told him yes, yes she did.

Hijikata frowned, unable to decipher the strange sensation running through him. Sweeping his gaze over her once more, he suddenly had the incessant urge to define the precise nature of Chizuru's affection.

The deadly swordsman hooked a finger under her chin to draw her close and smelled the sweet perfume of her hair. Idly, he wondered if she washed her hair with crushed lilies to achieve such a palpable fragrance.

"On the contrary, I can be quite nice." He argued in a honeyed voice that made her visibly tense. "For instance, I'll have you know that you look lovely in that kimono, Chizuru."

Her eyes unwillingly locked with his, and he marveled at how elusive they shined against the azure light. It was like peering into pools of copper.

"Thank you, Hijikata-san, but that isn't helping." She admitted with a frown.

She was hiding something from him. He could tell because she was going through the motions of donning her tranquil façade. Another one of his nasty habits, he thought with an inward sigh. One of these days, he was really going to have to break her of his bad habits.

Tilting his head, he intentionally played ignorant as he asked, "Would it help if I continued?"

Chizuru strained against his hold to shake her head. One wrong move and her mouth would brush his.

"No." She pleaded. "I-it would be best if you didn't talk at all."

He watched her lips move as she spoke.

"Then perhaps I should move closer?" He taunted without lifting his gaze.

Held suspended in a moment of time, Chizuru was at war with herself. Hijikata was just a breath away, practically teasing her with his nearness, and her chikara was beginning to reach out to him in turn. She wanted to give into him. She wanted to so badly, but the principle of the situation was that she was the master of her power, not the other way around. To allow her chikara to grow so uncontrollable was almost shameful. She should be better than that.

But, gods he was so gorgeous! There right in front of her with eyes as luminous as freshwater pearls and a head of hair that promised to be glossy to the touch. Chizuru faintly wondered what woman alive could refuse the Demon vice-commander, and have her wits about her?

With her chin perched on his index finger, all he had to do was angle her face a fraction of an inch, and it would all be over. The tension, the anxiety, the angst... But being the iconic gentleman that he was, Hijikata was allowing her the honor to bridge the gap.

It was a silent challenge of personal will.

Chizuru began to imagine Senhime and how she would react to a situation like this, but the attempt was futile. Sounds of a shoji screen being drawn open captured their attention and they immediately withdrew from each other. Peering at the intruder, Chizuru discovered Senhime, Kimigiku, Sanosuke, and Shinpachi all staring with a collective amount of shock.

Chizuru sighed.

This would not bode over well.