"You're going to go in a battle?!" I said, frowning.
"Yup. So we're not having dinner together tonight. I'll give you yours right now," Heisuke-kun said, handing a tray to me.
It was evening of the same day, when Heisuke-kun came to my room and brought dinner for me.
"Going off and killing people... Why do you Shinsengumi have to be so violent...?" I mumbled.
"It's because we just found out that our enemy is going to meet at either Ikedaya or Shikokuya," said Shinpachi-san, who was guarding my room. "We wouldn't attack normal citizens."
"Wait—did you just say Ikedaya?!" I exclaimed, my face struck with horror.
"Hm? What's wrong?" Heisuke-kun asked.
"That's—that's right next to the clinic where I used to work, where my younger brother is working right now!" I covered my mouth with my hands. "Oh, no... What if something happens to him?!"
"Calm down, Michiru," said Heisuke-kun. "Come join our meeting and talk to Hijikata-san and Kondo-san. We should be able to figure something out."
"Yes...okay," I said, still trembling from the shock.
The three of us then went down the hall to the meeting room. When Heisuke-kun opened the shoji and Hijikata-san saw me—my face must have been as pale as a ghost—he frowned and asked, "What's wrong?"
"His brother works at a clinic next to Ikedaya, and we were wondering if we can figure something out to let him escape safely," Heisuke-kun explained.
"Next to Ikedaya?!" Hijikata-san and Kondo-san exclaimed at the same time. Everyone in the room—which included most of the Shinsengumi—looked at us in surprise.
"Well, that's a bummer," Hijikata-san said, rubbing his chin with his hand.
Kondo-san thought for a moment. He then suggested, "How about you go with the Ikedaya team? Right after we attack, you can go inside the clinic and tell your former employer and your brother to evacuate."
"That seems like a good idea," said Okita-san, who was standing next to Kondo.
"But Kondo-san, he can't kill people," Hijikata-san said.
"Can't kill people?" Heisuke-kun, Shinpachi-san, Okita-san, and Kondo-san all said in surprise.
"Well, then it would be too dangerous to take you to a battlefield," Kondo-san said, scratching his head.
"Um, I... I would like to avoid killing people if possible," I said slowly, "but if I must kill to protect myself or others, I have the resolve to do so."
"Hijikata-san, Kondo-san, I think it's all right to take him," said Okita, with his usual playful smile. "There's very little chance that he'll get into a fight."
Hijikata-san thought for a moment before he said, "All right." He then clapped his hands and said, "Okay everyone, listen up. We're going to split up into Team Ikedaya and Team Shikokuya. This guy, who is, uh...here for a certain reason, will be going with the Ikedaya team but will not be fighting with us."
"Yes, sir!" the Shinsengumi members said.
"All right, now let's go!" Hijikata-san said, putting on his coat.
And so began the long, bloody night.