The Weight of a Human Soul
This is a rewrite and elaboration of an abandoned story. We have been given full blessing to breathe new life into this plot idea. Aside from the first chapter which served as a basis for inspiration - everything else including all original characters, are an our own. -Matsudairaismyuncle
Edited by ProngoDee.
Chapter One - Guess How Many
"Woa! Sugoiii~ Look at all of them. Who said the Shinsengumi backyard was a field of tumbleweed where only demons dare tread?"
"Didn't you say that, Sano?"
"What? Me?! Of course not, baka." The giant spear-wielder looked over his shoulder guiltily despite his objection to the claim.
"Hey pup, half of them look even more troublesome than you did when you came a-knockin' on our door three years ago." Shinpachi exchanged a grin with Sanosuke. Tetsu scowled. "Teme. I dare you to call me that again, especially considering I'm now taller than you are. Beeehhhhh!"
Shinpachi winced at this significant blow to his self-esteem. It was true - Tetsunosuke had been growing at an alarming rate the past year, almost as if to make up for lost growth. "To me, you will always be the pup of the group! Anyway, how many do you guys think will actually make it? Hachi?"
Sanosuke blew up his cheeks thoughtfully. "I'm laying my bets on shichi." He beamed, as if proud of his random guesswork, and leaned back on his palms. "Mmmhm. Shichi should be about right."
"Eh, but we've been down quite a few men this past year... I'd think Kondo-san would want to recruit as many as possible to boost morale?" Tatsunosuke frowned, forgetting his book-keeping duties for once in the uproar.
"Ah, that won't happen. There's someone here who will insist on his way, and that's that we only take in the best- no exceptions." A delicate voice came from behind them. All four turned back to see the familiar smiling face of Souji. Saizo squirmed as his master slowly extended his right hand and then uncurled his thin pale fingers until each one was straightened. "Go."
"Hah?! You're betting on this too, Okita-san?!" Tetsu exclaimed rather loudly, causing his brother to flinch at the abrasive comment and his close proximity to the boy. "Really now, Tetsu-"
"Actually." A soft spoken voice drifted into their conversation, accompanied by a creepy sensation that crawled down each of their backs. Saito, quietly settling down on the veranda beside Soji, focused his drowsy eyes to the courtyard which was filled with chatting men. He smiled peculiarly, and lifted a hand in prayer. It seemed to them at that moment that the man was praying for the deceased - or soon to be. A strange wind caused them all to shiver. "Oho? What do you suppose, Hajime?" Souji asked good naturedly, the only one who did not succumb to the creepy aura that oozed from the droopy-eyed man. His response was blunt. "Ni...desu."
Nobody knew how it happened, but after months of advertisement for new recruits to no avail, all of a sudden men from all corners of the city streamed into the Shinsengumi headquarters one mid-summer morning. There was no sign that these people were affiliated with one another in any way, but all had suddenly developed a keen interest in joining the prestigious police force. If one had gazed upon the great multitude marching through the streets of Kyoto, one would have certainly assumed it a special occasion for celebration - and certainly not the pledging of dozens of young lives to serve their noble country. This sudden pique in interest caught the Shinsengumi unawares, and provided no end of trouble for the three pillars.
"Kch...!" Vice commander Hijikata swiftly shook the ash out of his pipe, with ten times more strength than necessary. The demon vice-commander seemed to emit venomous black flames from his whole being as he laid his forehead in the palm of his right hand in frustration. "Relax, Toushi. You never know what you'll find in a bunch of hopefuls. Maybe your future successor is in there somewhere!" The light hearted commander Kondo said cheerfully, making the dark haired man scowl even further. Getting up, Hijikata opened the door to their emergency meeting room, and stepped out onto the veranda, twitching slightly at the sight of no fewer than seven of his own men loitering around. They looked up at him with hopeful eyes. "Hn! Don't you men have better things to do than sit here?"
"Hijikata-saan~ how can we work when there's such a ruckus? Besides. This is something that determines our fate as well. We want a say in the men we may possibly receive into our ranks." The vice-commander narrowed his eyes at the seeming innocence of Okita Souji.
"Yoooosh! So all you gentlemen want to join the Shinsengumi? It's not going to be easy, you know!" Kondo sang. He looked as excited and giddy as a child who had discovered a bag of sweets. Vice commander Yamanami smiled beside him. The men in the courtyard numbered around forty, and all had lowered themselves onto their knees bowing with their foreheads barely above the ground in respect. Kondo laughed at this, and looked to his left where Hijikata was easily and swiftly unnerving a few of the potential recruits closest to him. He then turned his gaze to his right, where the more mild tempered vice commander was examining the group with curious interest. Gauging that it was probably wiser to approach the situation with the aid of Yamanami, Kondo turned to him fully. "Sannan, what do you suppose we do about this?"
Yamanami pondered this for a while. "Hm, I believe a testing of some sort is necessary. Perhaps a leg race? Or a sparring session?" Kondo nodded. "Toushi? Any objections?" Hijikata crossed his arms and turned back into the room.
"Kch...! Morons. Doubtless they'll all fail."
He was wrong. Cerainly, a vast majority had been eliminated, disqualified or simply gave up after the exhausting marathon race that marked the first stage of their testing. However, a handful stayed on, and even braced themselves and survived the taxing sparring session that followed directly after. Most surprising, however, was the fact that five of the thirty or so men they started off with had done so well in the keiko that the commander had been forced to bring out some of his bigger guns as a true litmus test of their capacity to stay on as part of the Shinsengumi. Sanosuke stepped out as the obvious choice, swinging his wooden bo with ease. They'd only have to land one hit - didn't even have to hurt, and that would count. Up until that moment, all the unit captions and commanders had simply joined in to watch as a bit of fun (and of course, to shirk their duties). After all, many wanted the glory associated with their post, not understanding the true meaning behind their work and being ill equipped for anything other than being a distraction and encumbrance. They'd give them a chance anyway, just to be polite and keep up appearances that the Shinsengumi were welcoming and non-elitist. But in the end, very few entered their ranks that way. Most of them had arrived from having been recommended, or recognized by existing members.
Yet, on that day, there were no less than five worthy candidates for serious consideration. It had ceased to be a joking matter. All the unit captains had their eyes fixed like hawks on the surviving men, watching for a potential addition to their squad. They would not be disappointed. On that humid summer afternoon, the impossible happened. Two men managed to break through the impressive offense of Harada Sanosuke and succeed in making contact. And although they were both barely a scratch, rules were rules.
Hijikata stared at the names on the parchment, ink still wet. Genji Satoki ... Hayashi Mori. "What do you think, Hijikata-kun?" The younger vice commander looked up at his counterpart. Yamanami looked as tranquil as ever. Yet there was a spark of something beneath his gaze that resounded with the same doubts that rattled his mind. "I don't like it." He replied quietly.
"Do you think they're spies?" Kondo sighed.
"There's no way to determine that at the moment without resorting to unnecessary measures." Here, Yamanami glanced at Hijikata, who understood the warning behind his words. "It is certainly surprising, but we've certainly had our share of surprises. Just look at Tetsunosuke-kun for instance."
The commander rubbed his chin quietly. "This Hayashi Mori is very skilled." Too skilled... he didn't need to add. They all recalled the manner in which he'd won his place. The only man who'd chosen a bo instead of a shinai against the notorious spear-fighter. The only fighter who'd ever thought of using Sanosuke's own advantage against him. "Have we gotten someone to run a background check on these two men?"
"Of course." Hijikata replied shortly. "Although I don't think its him we need to worry about most." Yamanami nodded.
"I agree. Although Hayashi certainly displayed far greater military expertise, I find the other one more intriguing."
"Oh? Why's that? From what I could see, the other one - what's his name - Genji. Genji Satoki. He barely made his way past the first two eliminations. I had half a mind to disqualify that last round as well, were it not for the fact that ... well... to be honest, I couldn't tell how he did it." Kondo paused.
"That's precisely why he is more of a mystery that needs to be accounted for." Yamanami mused. "It's strange, isn't it. He didn't seem to know how to properly hold a shinai." Kondo nodded at this. "How did he do it, then?"
Hijikata exhaled a stream of pipe smoke. "He used the curvature of the bamboo to slide past the smooth even surface of the bo and then simply like this-" He tapped his pipe against his left hand's knuckles.
"What an unusual move."
Yamanami smiled softly. "If it had been a spear Sanosuke-kun had been using, he would already be dead. A katana doesn't have the same dimensions to cause that sort of deflection." He paused. "Which means, there's two possible scenarios. One, this man is a lucky fool who has no experience with a sword, and merely adapted and reacted with what he was given at the time. Two, he is not a fool and decided to play up the situation."
Kondo sighed. "Who have you placed them with, Toushi?"
"Hmph. There is nobody better than Souji to tell apart a skilled warrior from a fake."
