[ Everything really had changed in the span of just a few years. Her normal life with her father had been completely thrown upside down. After all, her father wasn't alive anymore and she knew she couldn't exactly live a normal human life anymore - she discovered she has been a demon all along, after all. And then on top of that even her new friends, the Shinsengumi, the men she had spent years with and who had done so much for her even though she had been little more than a stranger at first.. they were all gone as well.
But there was one thing left. An invitation.
When you are ready, come to me.
Even though it's been a little while since she heard the words, Chizuru still can't quite put them out of her mind. Sure, she knew she first needed some time to herself to come to terms with everything that happened and the fact that some of the kindest and bravest people she had ever met in her life were utterly gone, but time at least numbs wounds a little even if it might not entirely heal them. So after a while of mourning, Chizuru does find herself more or less ready to finally live up to the invitation.
Because deep within herself she knows that this is the new path in her life she wants to take. A few years ago she might have called herself an idiot for it, but it's different now, she's seen different things then when she first met Kazama for the first few times and couldn't think of him as anything but frightening. She's seen him protect her, she's seen him help her get around all over the place just because of her selfish request - she's felt his lips (almost surprisingly gently) against hers. She's seen him show a genuine interest in her rather than it just being her getting claimed like it was at first.
Not that it's exactly easy to find out where the demon clan resides. After all, they're trying to stay away from human eyes, especially after their involvement in the whole Bakumatsu mess to begin with. But Sen is ever helpful (even if the girl had asked Chizuru at least five times if she was absolutely sure of her decision to a point where Chizuru herself couldn't help but giggle a little at it before replying that she really was) and helped her out with finding the domain of the remaining Kazama.
The place where he's waiting for her.
(Since Chizuru knows that for all his shortcomings, the man is at least honest. And he does have a sense of honor.)
There's maybe a slight part of her that still feels a little nervous, but somehow at the same time she feels herself strangely looking forward towards moving on with her life. (It's what they would have wanted too, she's sure, even if it makes her heart feel a little heavier again.)
It's almost as if every single other person here already knows who she is and why she's here, since no one stops her while she makes her way to find the other demon, only to find him calmly lounging on the porch of what must be his house. Chizuru stops at a distance and stares for a moment before speaking up. ]... I'm here.
[ And looking a lot more feminine than before, thanks to the fact that she no longer has to hide her true identity. Because it's Chizuru, though, she can't help but add (despite the fact that she's telling it to him of all people)-- ] Um.. sorry that I took a while.
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