Shinsenvember 10 - Treachery

Betrayal wasn't a single event. It didn't happen to just one side, either. What brought the Shinsengumi to the crossroads of Aburano Koji was one long chain of betrayals, some of them involving people no one present that evening had ever met. Itou Kashitarou betrayed the Shinsengumi, yes, but to his mind they had betrayed every promise they'd made in recruiting him. The shogunate itself promised the Emperor it was dedicated to expelling the foreigners, then made their own deals with the foreigners.

Itou's version of events made its own sense, enough to sway Toudou Heisuke into his own greatest act of betrayal . Heisuke knew that Itou was going to frame Harada Sanosuke for the murder of Sakamoto Ryoma. He knew that was wrong. He didn't do anything to stop it or to warn his friends.

Itou had watched him for any sign of rebellion. If he'd tried to warn the Shinsengumi, he'd probably have been killed. The fear of death, however, wasn't enough to stop Toudou Heisuke from doing what he thought was right. Instead, he'd been frozen, standing at a place where all paths led nowhere. What the Shinsengumi was doing was wrong. What Itou was doing was wrong. He paused, and before he knew it, he'd chosen to betray Sano by keeping quiet.

He followed that up by drinking the Water of Life and betraying his own principles, he reflected ruefully.

It was natural that when he returned to life, the relationship between him and Sano would be at least a little awkward. When he woke from his first long nap, he immediately realized that he owed some apologies, though he didn't know exactly what to say because he still didn't believe the Shinsengumi had been right.

Sano and Shinpachi were his first visitors that morning.

"Guess we've now seen how far you'll go to show off in front of Chizuru," Sano greeted him with a twinkle in his eyes.

"There's nothing like dying to impress a girl," Shinpachi agreed. "And now you can play the invalid for a bit while we're out busting our asses."

"I'm not an invalid, you idiots!" snapped Heisuke, sitting bolt upright. "I'm super strong now, you know. I'll thrash you both."

The other two burst out laughing. "Hey, no personal fights," Sano wagged his finger at Heisuke. "Have you already forgotten the Code while you were away?"

Heisuke's face fell. "I … Sano, about what happened …"

Sano cut him off. "None of it's worth remembering, yeah?"

Heisuke paused for a second, then nodded emphatically. "All right, let's forget it."

That was all they said about it. There was no awkwardness, no apologies, no declarations of forgiveness. They'd come last night to the last link in long chain of betrayals, and now they let go of the chain completely.

Notes: It struck me playing Heisuke's route that he admits Itou told him about the plan to kill Sakamoto and frame Harada, and that he hadn't thought it was right, but hadn't stopped it. I'm sure Heisuke would have protested it, but he definitely feels some guilt for not having really fought against Itou.

I also think the baka trio after Aburano Koji can't really talk everything out, because some things are unresolvable. Every reason Heisuke left the Shinengumi is still valid, but now he's tied to the Shinsengumi, and his continued existence is a result of the experiments he hated in the first place. Meanwhile, Shinpachi and, to a certain extent, Harada, aren't happy with that either, but do want Heisuke alive. With all these painful contradictions, they just choose to move past them.