December did not bring anything better to the Shinsengumi as November had not. Tora listened out of sight as Kondo declared the orders from the Bakufu, which were to make the Fushimi magistrate's office the headquarters of the Shinsengumi, who were to battle against the Satcho army. Tora felt her heart deflate, touching her chest with a bow of her head as she thought of all those she cared about going into battle. It disturbed her and she wanted nothing more than to protect them all from the danger, but how could she? She was just one person.
Shaking her head Tora moved away, picking up her broom to go to the backyard and continue her chores. The sun was starting to set and she could see Chizuru by the well, however when she dropped something on the ground, Tora noticed someone watching her. She frowned, observing as the figure emerged and handed something back to Chizuru who did not appear alarmed, so she reasoned that Chizuru must at least know the woman, however something about this stranger seemed off to Tora. The way they carried themselves, it was not all that…feminine. Her instincts told her that Chizuru was in danger, however she did not move forwards until the stranger had grasped Chizuru by the wrist and started to pull her away.
Immediately Tora made to tear after them, however a firm yet gentle hand rested upon her shoulder, making her stop and turn to see Hijikata standing behind her, also silently observing. "Hijikata-san, Chizuru needs us." Tora urged him and he nodded his head in agreement.
"We must tread quietly. We cannot allow ourselves to be seen, this might be an opportunity to discover something." He said to her in his mellow voice so Tora took a deep breath, calming herself so that she could do her best to keep Chizuru safe but also not betray her presence. Setting her broom aside, Tora hurriedly retrieved her sword from her room before she followed after Chizuru and the stranger, keeping a fair distance away with Hijikata not too far behind though he had paused to call the others to surround the place in order to take Chizuru's companions by surprise.
Tora was led a little way out of town into the forest, however she did not allow herself to lose them until finally, they stopped at an old abandoned shrine where Chizuru finally pulled away, demanding an explanation as to what was going on. Tora concealed herself in the shadows, watching and listening without being noticed. As Tora observed, another figure appeared on the scene, one that she recognised immediately. It was Chizuru's father himself, Koudou Yukimura. Tora quickly pressed a hand over her mouth to keep herself from making a sound, staring as the old doctor looked at Chizuru with a slight tilt of his lips.
"It's really you." Chizuru breathed, staring in awe as Koudou nodded his head in confirmation. Chizuru blindly rushed towards the man she called her father, smiling breathlessly as she embraced him. "I'm so happy to see you! I really am, I was so worried about you." Tora's eyes narrowed suspiciously. To appear now after all this time? Something was at play here, no ordinary father would abandon his only child for such a long time without just cause.
"I know I haven't been in touch with you, Chizuru, I'm sorry about that." He apologised and Chizuru merely nodded her head, smiling before suddenly, a thought occurred to her and her tone became a little more desperate.
"I have something I need to ask you. The Shinsengumi need your help! Can you find a way to reverse the effects of the Water of Life?" Chizuru requested just as Hijikata arrived. Tora cast her eyes over to him and he pressed a finger to his lips, urging her to stay silent so she nodded her head to reassure him, looking back to where Chizuru stood with her father and the stranger who looked almost identical to her.
"I'm afraid it can't be done." The doctor said before turning away from Chizuru, lowering his head slightly. "You had to already know, didn't you Chizuru? The purpose of that drug was to create more Devils like us. We can't regain the power our people used to have without the right number of people in our ranks exercising their own particular powers." He explained to her simply, though as Chizuru tried to reach out to him the doctor moved further away from her.
"Who are we?"
"You and I, we're descendants of a race of Devils who have been in the world of men since ancient times, and you are the last survivor of our greatest bloodline. I've been doing this all for you and our family, my child." Although he spoke, Tora could detect no warmth in his words, no fatherly love that she remembered her own father using whenever he spoke to her. It just did not feel right, it was not the same as she recalled it from long ago.
"What are you…trying to say?" Chizuru was trembling and Tora had to fight the urge to run to her and pull her into her embrace, to comfort her and try the tears that were threatening to spill from her closest friend's eyes.
"Isn't it obvious? We're here to help you reclaim your freedom." The person who had dragged Chizuru to this place answered her, smiling rather deviously and Tora grit her teeth, clenching a fist as she forced herself not to move.
"The Shinsengumi who became Rasetsu are nothing but primitive failures. Thanks to the domains of westernised Japan, there is hope for my research. The shogunates are failing, Chizuru, leave the Shinsengumi and come join us." The doctor invited, all the while speaking with his back faced to Chizuru, not looking her in the eye as she faced the ground, struggling to come to terms with what she was hearing.
"That's impossible, I won't do it." Chizuru answered refused and Tora felt a glow of pride within her, silently cheering her friend on.
"They'll betray you Chizuru, they always do."
"That's not the truth and you know it! My friends, I've always been able to trust them. You're a doctor aren't you father? Why would you do this to people who trust you?" She demanded to know, her fists trembling at her side until suddenly, she relaxed, her voice growing calm and strong as her shoulders tensed. "What about Tora?" Koudou jerked slightly, head turning to look at Chizuru with a frown.
"What about her?" Tora listened intently as Chizuru's voice raised in anger, glaring heatedly at her father.
"What did you do to Tora-chan?! I know you did something to her, it's the only explanation that makes sense for why she suddenly became something like a Rasetsu!" For a while there was silence and Tora waited with baited breath, listening with such utter focus that she did not notice Hijikata glance her way. The doctor sighed slowly, shaking his head before he once more turned his back on Chizuru, speaking in a flat tone.
"That girl is not who you think she is, Chizuru. Her real name is not even Matsumoto. She was adopted into the Matsumoto family when I found her abandoned as a child and passed them into their care. They raised her well, but I knew there was something strange about that girl." Tora's eyes widened in horror, once more clasping her hand over her mouth to keep from speaking out as she started to tremble. She was…adopted? "When I found her, she was just a newly born child, however her eyes were golden and her hair was white. I knew she had the blood of the Devil inside her, but later when I tried to confirm my suspicions, all of my tests returned negative." Koudou continued to explain as Chizuru stared in horror at him. "She's a half breed, a disgrace to the Devil name, so I tried to turn her into a full Devil."
"No!" Chizuru gasped, hands jumping to her mouth in horror as Tora slid silently to the ground, still shaking in shock. "Please tell me this isn't true, you experimented on my childhood friend? Tora-chan is like my sister!" Chizuru cried out but the doctor merely continued on, no emotion evident in his voice.
"My experiments were predominantly a failure, however I was able to condition her with psychological experimentation. Have you ever wondered why she is so desperate to protect you, Chizuru? Why it is her only purpose in life to keep you from harm? It is because I made her that way. Through experimentation and progressive medicine which I used on her, I was able to create a little Devil who only had one goal. To protect you, I had be sure that you would be safe whilst I was gone. That's why, when I left for Kyoto, I returned only once. To burn down her home and push her closer towards you. The loss of her family was slightly tragic, but all humans die eventually. I had hoped that the traumatic experience would be enough to trigger her Devil blood, however it appears that she could only activate her true powers as a last resort before death."
When Tora heard the news of her family, she had to stuff her fist into her mouth to silence herself, pressing her eyes shut as tears began to flow of their own accord, for once losing her control as she sobbed in utter silence. He had murdered them? The kind doctor whom she had watched nurse her little siblings back to health time and time again, who always smiled to her, who had assisted with her mother's deliveries to bring her little brother and sisters into the world. It felt impossible, but the words came directly from his mouth and Tora felt like her world was crashing down. "She should be able to access her true blood at will from now on since she has awakened, however it still makes her a half breed. I supplemented some of your own blood into the medicines I used to give her and it seems to have increased her strength and powers, which also helped me to condition her to be your guardian. It was a perfect result in the end, though eventually she will get herself killed for your sake. It is best if you forget about her, Chizuru, she is not worthy of you."
"No! I won't ever leave Tora-chan, she's my friend and she's important to me! I don't care what you say about her, I don't believe you! Tora is more than just a tool for you to use, she is…she is…she's Tora-chan!" Chizuru exclaimed desperately, tears streaking down her face as the stranger stepped around her, smirking darkly.
"Come on Uncle Koudou, let's take her and get it done with. You know she's not going to change her mind unless we do it for her, right?" The slightly masculine voice made Tora awaken from her sobbing, turning her head to see the boy in the kimono reaching out for Chizuru who leaped away from him and reach for her sword.
"Get away from me! Don't make me do it!"
"Oh my, you're going to hurt me?" The boy teased, however before Tora could rise to her feet and jump forwards, Hijikata spoke from where he had concealed himself, calm and authoritative.
"She said she doesn't want to go with you." Chizuru gasped and called out with relief as Hijikata stepped forwards, Tora also joining his side with unforgiving eyes, her face now dry from tears which she had wiped away into her sleeves. "It's been a while since we've seen each other, Koudou-san." His cold tone was biting as they both faced the doctor, Tora wanting nothing more than to rip him to pieces with her bare hands for what he did to her family.
"It certainly has Hijikata-san, fancy seeing you here."
"And what you just said. Is it true?" Tora also wanted to know, her hand already resting on the hilt of her father's sword, fingers twitching to draw it free and slice off his head.
"Eavesdropping, Hijikata-san? That's not very honourable." The doctor teased darkly, however Hijikata was not amused as he approached like a dark storm cloud, Tora only half a step behind him.
"Neither is using the Shinsengumi as a test subject, but on top of everything else, you're saying that the Rasetsu are a failure that can't be saved." Finally the doctor turned around to face them both, fearlessness shining in his eyes as he looked towards both Hijikata and the woman who looked just about ready to bathe in his blood.
"That may be true, but it's a little late for you to have reached the right conclusion."
"That's quite enough out of the both of you. I wouldn't interrupt again if I were you." The boy warned however Tora merely bared her teeth as Chizuru ran to her side, gripping onto Tora's sleeve as she stood behind her, ready to run or fight depending on what Tora or Hijikata commanded her to do.
"Oh really? We weren't planning on butting in, but this isn't a family reunion." Shinpachi said, appearing from the shadows along with Saito and Harada.
"However, there's only so much of this we're going to watch." Harada stood very casually with his spear slung over one shoulder, smirking slightly as he stood beside Shinpachi. Chizuru called out their names happily, overjoyed to see them all as the boy and his uncle glanced around them, surprised and greatly annoyed that they were outnumbered.
"What do you know, it looks like we were having company all this time." Koudou announced with amusement, smiling still. "It appears that you have won this round and it is time for us to exercise the better part of valour." The boy protested but Koudou insisted, making him pout further.
"Before you scurry away to your filthy rat holes, tell me this." Tora commanded, stepping forwards with her hand still ready on the hilt of her blade, eyes lifting to fix solely on Koudou. "Is it true what you said about my family? You burned them alive in their own home just in the hope that I would turn back into a Devil?" Koudou never said a word, still smiling as he nodded his head once. Tora felt enraged, eyes flashing bright gold and her hair began to turn pure white. "I'll slay you myself! Your blood will be spilled by my hand in vengeance! I swear on my family's souls!" She roared, baring her fangs however before she could tear forwards, the boy had revealed his sword which bore an exact appearance to the one Chizuru carried, making Tora pause slightly to look at it, however in her hesitation, the boy flicked out his wrist and a large plume of smoke surrounded them both, allowing them to escape so that when Tora sliced her sword, it met only open air. "No!" She bellowed, spinning around in search however her now acute senses could not trace them, they were gone. "NO!" She sliced through one of the pillars in her rage, effortlessly carving through the wood before all at once, she dropped to her knees and fresh sobs began to wrack her body.
The sword clattered to the ground and she pressed her head into the cold stone, hot tears sliding down her cheeks as her shoulders shook. It could not be true, it could not be true. She did not want to believe all that she had just heard, yet in her heart she knew that the doctor had not lied. He had killed her family and experimented on her, turning her into something that was not human. "Natsuko…Narumi…Daichi…I'm so…so sorry…" She whispered, chest clenching uncontrollably as she released all of her pent up emotions, sobbing freely as the others hurried to search out the doctor and his nephew.
Chizuru bowed her head, uncertain of what to do as she watched Tora sob and wail on the ground, her tears collecting in a pool as they flowed endlessly. Hijikata turned away, wanting to give her privacy but Chizuru went and picked up Tora's fallen sword, carrying it to her before she knelt down. "Tora-chan? This is all my fault. If it weren't for me, you would still be at home with your family, safe and sound. What my father did to you is unforgiveable and I don't expect you to forgive me either, but I promise I will make amends somehow. Ask anything of me and I'll do it for you, Tora-chan." Chizuru said in a deeply mournful voice which struck at Tora's heart, making her slowly rise to a sitting position before all at once, she pulled Chizuru into her arms, knocking aside the sword carelessly.
Eyes wide and misty with tears, Chizuru clung onto Tora as she held onto her smaller friend, not wanting to let her go as she continued to weep, struggling to regain her breath. When she eventually found the strength to speak, Tora pushed at Chizuru's shoulders so that she could look into her eyes and Chizuru was shocked to see so much emotion in Tora's usually stoic face. They were bright from the tears and creased in pain, yet there was a light held deep within them that she was trying her utmost to express as her strong fingers gripped onto Chizuru tightly.
"Know this, Chi. I don't stay by your side because I've been conditioned to do so by some sick experiments and twisted medicines, I stay by your side because I love you Chizuru! I want to protect you because you are my sister, I want to see you happy, I want to see you fall in love and get married. I want to see you grow old by my side where we sit in the afternoon of spring and share our favourite memories of our life together!" Tora spoke desperately, continually crying as she did so and her words made Chizuru begin to spend her own tears of emotion. "You are precious to me, not because of the things Koudou said and not because he made me be your friend, you are everything to me! You make me who I am today, you were always there for me when I was a child, you nursed me when I was sick, you were the only person in the whole word who could make me laugh! Chi, I don't care what your father says, or what either of us might be. You're my Chizuru, and that's exactly how you're going to stay!"
"Tora…Tora!" Chizuru finally broke down, flinging her arms around Tora who pulled her closer as the two of them cried, sharing their emotions within their embrace as Hijikata shifted uncomfortably, feeling that he was interrupting an important moment for them, however as they pulled away from one another, Tora swept away Chizuru's tears as they smiled lovingly at one another, Chizuru doing the same for Tora until they were rosy cheeked. "I love you too Tora, when I'm with you, I know what it feels like to have a big sister!" Chizuru beamed, making Tora chuckle a little weakly, tired from all of her spent tears and the raging emotions inside her as Chizuru gripped her hands. "I promise, my father will pay for all that he's done to you and the Shinsengumi. If it comes to it, I'll destroy him myself!" Seeing the raw determination in Chizuru's eyes, Tora knew that she meant it so she nodded her head in acceptance, exhaling slowly before looking out to the golden glow of their surroundings.
The breeze was gentle, cooling their flushed cheeks as they helped one another to stand, walking side by side as Hijikata escorted the both of them back, returning to headquarters where he took Chizuru aside to speak to her. The moon was almost full and the stars were effortlessly clear, however Tora wandered around lost, uncertain of where to go or what to do. She felt the crushing guilt of her family return, yet after hearing that her mother had not even given birth to her, it made her feel all the worse to think that she had been abandoned as a child. Were her parents even alive still?
Looking down at her hands, Tora found herself standing in front of the cherry blossom tree. The branches were bare and it looked rather cold under the moonlight, however she continued to gaze upwards, seeking answers that continued to elude her. Who was she to ask? She doubted Koudou knew anymore about her than what he had revealed, it all seemed so utterly hopeless. "Tora." Lifting her head when she heard Saito call to her, Tora turned her face to look at him, unable to muster even the smallest of smiles. "You appear to be in great distress, would it ease your mind if you were to share some of your burdens with me?" He offered quietly, coming to stand before her.
"I don't know, Hajime. I don't know anything anymore." Tora answered, looking away. "I do not even know my real name if it isn't Matsumoto. I do not know if I have the right to carry the sword of the man who raised me. If what the doctor said was true, then I am not truly of his blood, therefore I have no right to carry it with me on their behalf." Her hand travelled to her side where her sword usually rested, ghosting over the phantom hilt as she took shallow breaths until Saito gripped her hand and pressed his palm to hers, lifting up her hand to place them between them, eyes focused on hers as she blinked in surprise.
"You can be certain of your skills as a swordswoman. These hands know how to wield a blade with deadly accuracy, these hands know how to comfort those who are in pain and in distress. You can trust in your hands, Tora, always." Saito said to her firmly, his voice never once rising. "And you know that you can trust us, the Shinsengumi. You…" He blushed slightly, looking away before he took a deep breath, closing his eyes. "You can trust me, also. You know that too, deep down." His blush fading, Saito returned his gaze to hers, his larger hand still mirroring Tora's as she looked to where her fingers slowly slid to entwine with his, feeling a little more reassured by his words.
"You always know when not to speak, Hajime-kun." She whispered, stepping a little closer and placed her hand over his other, relaxing into a smile as she closed the distance between them. "And you always know what to say." Saito closed his eyes instinctively, welcoming the brush of her soft lips against his before they sealed themselves to his, drawing comfort from his peaceful presence as their hands remained entwined together, bathed in moonlight. Tora felt her heart soar for him, lifting high on pure white wings though she felt herself falling deeper and deeper into an endless ocean. All at once she wanted to be closer to him, to feel the warmth of his skin and learn every shape of his body for herself. She wanted to offer him all of her, to commit herself to this one man out of however many others that existed in the world. She would choose Saito over all of them in a heartbeat.