Gasp...gasp...

I breathed heavily as I looked down at my feet. My wakizashi (medium length sword) clattered in my right hand, pointing toward the man in front of me.

"Gah...gaaahh!" the man with white hair and red eyes moaned. Blood gushed out of his ankles, where I had struck him. However, regardless of the wound, he kept swinging his sword at me.

"Gahh!" he said, swinging his sword toward me.

"Whoa!" I said, barely avoiding it. "Haaah!" I shouted as I thrust my wakizashi in his chest.

"Gah..." the man let out a final moan and became silent. His sword fell out of his hand and dropped onto the ground with a clang.

I knelt down. I killed him, but...was he a human or a monster? If he was a monster, I made the right choice, but if he was a human, then that means I... I killed a...

Just then footsteps—most likely of two people—came from front of me. I looked up and saw two young men who were wearing the same, sky-blue coat as the man by my feet.

"Another unlucky person, eh...? Hijikata-san, we better be more careful with 'these guys,'" the man with shorter hair said.

"...I know that, Shinpachi," the man with longer hair, who was called Hijikata, said with a sigh. He looked at the dead man for a while, and then he lifted his gaze and looked straight at me.

"Hey, you. Come to our quarters. If you decline, we will kill you," he said in a calm but forceful voice.

"Wh-what quarters? Why do I have to obey you?!" I yelled, deepening my voice.

"Because you saw this," Hijikata said, dropping his gaze. "Now, put your wakizashi away and come here."

I gulped and held my breath.

They might be faster than me...no use running away. I shifted my wakizashi to my left hand and pulled out another wakizashi with my right. I looked straight at Hijikata, ready to fight.

Hijikata let out a deep sigh.

"Let me do it, Hijikata-san," Shinpachi said, pulling out his katana.

Hijikata moved out of the way. There was a tense moment of silence before Shinpachi charged towards me.

Clang!

A loud sound rang in the air as I used my left wakizashi to defend myself from the blow. Then, quickly, I turned over my right wakizashi and hit him in the side of his stomach as hard as I can.

With a loud thump, he fell on the ground

"Shinpachi!" Hijikata yelled, running to his side.

Seeing that Hijikata knelt down, I took the chance and started running.

"Hey!" Hijikata yelled. But it was too late. I ran around the corner and disappeared out of his sight.

"Ugh...I'm sorry, Hijikata-san..." Shinpachi mumbled with a painful expression.

Hijikata looked down at Shinpachi and mumbled, "Mine-uchi...!"

He hit him with the back of the wakizashi, and yet he made him unable to stand up...

"...But we can't let him go," Hijikata said, standing up as he carried Shinpachi on his shoulder, "since he saw that."

"Yeah...let's look for him...when we're on patrol...tomorrow..." Shinpachi said as he gasped for air.

Hijikata nodded. With that, he helped Shinpachi up and started walking toward the Shinsengumi quarters.