« Saito ! What the hell are you doing here ?! » yelled Nagakura when i penetrated the common room, following Hijikata-san and Kondou-san.
They all opened wide eyes, except for Chizuru who was distributing cups of tea to everyone and Yamazaki, arms and legs crossed, who was standing up, leaning against a wood panel. Inoue was the first to smile at me.
« Hi, Saito. It's been a while. What happened to the Guardians of the Imperial tomb ? »
His casual question made the other captains erupt and everyone talked at the same time, asking me explainations for my presence in this room.
« Everyone just shut up, all right ! » ordered Hijikata-san in his commanding voice.
The silence slowly filled the room but the tension was still in the air, palpable. I had the feeling that if i extended my hand, i just could just feel it on my fingertips.
« Starting today » announced Hijikata-san « Saito's back in the Shinsengumi. Anyone who opposes this decision can step out now but he won't get another chance. »
No one stepped forward but i could see embarrassment and concern on every faces. Eventually, Harada opened his mouth to voice his opinion.
« Hold on a second there, Hijikata. We're glad to have a fellow friend back, don't get me wrong but... What happened with the Guard ? With Ito ? »
I understood quite easily that his concerns were directed towards Toudou more than myself. I decided to explain the reason of my return.
« You are mistaken. I was never one of Ito's supporters. »
« In fact, Saito was fulfilling a mission on behalf of the Shinsengumi under Toshi's direct orders and joined Ito and his men as a spy. » said Kondou-san, rescuing me before things could get out of hand.
I heard Souji snort in disdain and his eyes were burning with anger when he spoke.
« And no one estimated the captains should know about it ? » he said in a harsh voice « Are we not worthy of your trust, Toshi ?! »
« Souji... » started Hijikata-san in a threatening voice, frowning.
« It was also my idea. » cut Kondou-san « It has nothing to do with our trust, Souji. »
Kondou's words seemed to calm Souji a little and he just crossed his arms and closed his mouth, eyes still filled with anger.
« To fool his enemies, one needs to fool his allies first. » i said, bowing to the rest of them to ask for their forgiveness.
I heard Souji snort again but when i lifted my gaze, i saw that his usual smirk was drawn on his face.
« All the fun is always for Hajime-kun anyway... » he said with a playful grin and I knew that I was forgiven. I wasn't sure about the « fun » aspect though.
« Man... » added Nagakura « Not cool, Kondou. You just scared the shit out of me... Is Heisuke all right ? »
I nodded and both Nagakura and Harada let out a sigh of relief.
« It is too early to feel relieved. » i said in my toneless voice, getting their attention back. « Ito has ordered Toudou to lure Kondou-san into a trap and kill him. »
Silence fell once more on the common room, letting my words sink in every one of them. Souji stood up with a grin.
« Well, I guess it's time for the Sword of the Shinsengumi to pay a visit to the Guardians. »
« Souji. Sit. Down. » ordered Kondou-san and like a kid, he obeyed instantly but his deception was painted on his face.
« Ito Kashitaro... » muttered Hijikata-san as if he was speaking to himself « it wasn't enough for you to try and get your hand on the Ochimizu... You had to try to kill Kondou too... » he sighed and when he started speaking again, his voice was the one of a commander once more « he leaves us no choice. Ito dies. The sooner the better. »
I nodded and thought a moment about asking his permission to do it myself but i kept my mouth shut, waiting for my orders.
« Saito. You go back to the Guardians for the night. If it looks like you left and came back, it wouldn't take long for Ito to put two and two together. »
I bowed, accepting my duty. I had to bear with Ito and Miki a bit longer but that wasn't a problem. I just had to avoid their attempts at murdering me, not a big deal.
« Here's the plan. We are going to lure Ito into giving him informations by inviting him to Kondou's second home. There will be only Kondou and me. Once he's dead, we will use his body to lure out the rest of the Guardians and kill them. » explained Hijikata-san. « Nagakura, Harada, you and your divisions will be the ones taking care of it. »
« What about me ? » asked Souji « who am I killing ? »
« No one. » answered Hijikata-san « you still got that bad cough. You stay here, in bed. »
« So I'm supposed to just pretend to ignore that someone wanted to kill Kondou-san ?! » he yelled, hands clenched into fists.
« After we killed Ito, probably tomorrow night if he accepts our invitation, Saito will stay here as well, so you will have someone to play with. » he said in his commanding voice, like he was talking to a kid.
I saw Chizuru's eyes lit at the mention of me staying in Furudo and Souji smirked when he spoke again.
« I highly doubt that Hajime-kun would want to play with me. » he said playfully, insisting on the « me ».
I frowned to mark my disapproval of his snide comment and Chizuru tried to hide her face that was already blushing. Fortunately, the captains were too focused on the matter at hand to pay any attention to her.
« This will be the end of the Guardians of the Imperial Tomb » i said like a death sentence, reporting all attention on me « If we are going to return Toudou to the fold, it has to be now or never. »
I heard Chizuru gasp. She probably hadn't realized before that if we were to murder the Guardians, it did involve Toudou.
« Hijikata-san... » she asked « what is gonna happen to Heisuke ? »
« It's obvious ! » answered Nagakura with a big smile « we are going to save him of cour... »
« No. » cut Hijikata-san « He fights us, he dies with the rest. »
« Wh... What ? » said Chizuru with her hand on her mouth, shocked. « No ! You can't mean that ! You can't kill Heisuke ! »
Tears started to invade her eyes and her voice was shaky when she spoke again.
« You're lying, right ? Hijikata-san... He's your friend... »
Hijikata-san just ignored her and left. He had spoken and his words weren't open to debate. Chizuru reported her attention to Kondou-san and came grabbing his kimono.
« You're really gonna do it ?! » she cried « You're actually going to order them to kill Heisuke ?! So, just because he left the Shinsengumi, you no longer care if he dies or not ?! »
« Of course we care ! » answered Kondou-san with a harsh voice but he didn't try to detach her from his kimono « and Toshi cares too ! Do you imagine how it feels to give the command to kill a comrade who was part of our family for years ?! »
She let go of Kondou-san's kimono and bowed her head, still crying.
« Pardon me, Kondou-san... »
« No, don't apologize. » he replied, his kind expression back « it makes me happy to see you care for Heisuke... » he turned to Nagakura and Harada « I'm asking you this not as your commander but as Kondou Isami, let Heisuke live and... if you can... Try and convince him to come back. »
« Got it, chief. » said Nagakura and Harada agreed with him.
It was settled. The end of the Guardians of the Imperial Tomb. The end of Ito. I bowed to everyone and got back to the Gessin In temple for, i hoped, my last night as an imperialist.