The next day, all the cheerfulness that was once inhabiting the castle was gone. News reached us and they weren't good. Utsunomiya castle, successfully reconquered by Hijikata-san and the Denshutai had to surrender to the massive force the imperialists sent against them. Hijikata-san had been badly hurt in the process and we had no further informations about his condition or his intentions to come back. The news was sent to me through a letter by Otori Keisuke, the Denshutai commander. Apparently, it was a shoulder injury but we had no idea of it's seriousness.
The other news we had was even more heartbreaking. Kondou-san had been executed by the imperialists on the Itabashi execution grounds. All Shinsengumi was in utter shock. Kondou Isami, our commander had been held captive for twenty days and even the most high ranked loyalists asked for his release, even Katsu-sama. Yet, they killed him. From what I heard, even if he had a daimyo title, they refused him the right to seppuku and take away his own life with honor. They said this was for samurai, not farmer's sons and they laughed at him. Fools. Kondou-san was probably a truer samurai than any of them. And yet, they beheaded him like a criminal. Kondou-san took the insult with honor though. They expected him to cry and beg but he just smiled and closed his eyes, resigned. His last words were « then, time has come. », whispered just before the blade landed on his neck, cutting deep and making his head roll in a single blow. The execution was public, that's how we could have so many details.
I was heartbroken, just like the rest of the men. Kondou-san was like a father to me. He took me in, he respected me, he trusted me and I served him with proudness and dedication all these years. None of my services could ever be enough to repay him for the kindness he showed me at the Sheikan, at Kyoto and even in my marriage. He supported me all these years just like I supported him. His loss was leaving an emptiness in my heart, a gap that could never be filled.
Chizuru cried at the news. Kondou-san was how much as a father to her than it was to me. He sheltered her for four years when she had nowhere else to go, without asking anything in exchange. He offered her a home, meals and even trained her. He gave her the right to study medecine and hired her as a doctor. He allowed her to marry me and to stay with us, even pregnant, to keep working for the sake of the Shinsengumi. All this... And never did we do anything for him. Worse, when he started to feel down, we criticized him, some of us insulted him, some of us left... and now never would we get another chance to tell him how much we respected him.
To add to the insult of his beheading, the imperialists gave only the body back to his family to be incinerated. They kept his head and salted it so it would last longer. They were currently bringing it to Kyoto to expose it. How indecent. How obscene. I refused to imagine it. Kondou-san's head on a pike, watching at the city he protected for so long now under imperial law with all their red and golden flags in the wind. That was the real insult. They weren't even capable of respecting him in death. All these samurai, proud of a title they got by birth... They never had to work to prove their worth, they never had to show they deserved their title and yet, they felt insulted that someone like Kondou-san lived a more honorable life, followed the Bushido a lot better than any of them. By insulting him in death, they were bringing shame on themselves and they weren't even realizing it. Fools. Idiots. Maggots.
But we knew. We knew who Kondou-san was. We knew what he believed in and we would keep on fighting. That's what I told the men. Kondou-san's death wasn't the end for us, it wasn't a defeat. If anything, we should fuel our rage with it and fight with even more wrath and fury. Let them be witness that Kondou-san died a warrior even if they tried to strip him from his honor and let them be witness that all of us shared with the commander the same passion for the Bushido. We wouldn't surrender and we would fight for Kondou-san even if he's not there anymore.
New fights were upon us with the defeat of Utsunomiya. An imperialist army was marching our way. According to our intels, this force was about 700 men while we were still a solid 2500 so I wasn't that worried even if the SatCho had advanced weaponry. Our camp had the higher ground and the defense of the castle walls. Although the Shinsengumi would keep being in the front lines outside, in greater danger than other divisions, I was confident in our chances of defending the castle.
Chizuru was getting more distraught with every news we were getting. She wasn't sharing my confidence and I knew she would rather have me on the castle walls rather than outside it but what good would I do up there ? I was a terrible shooter. My purpose was to swing a sword.
« Saito-san » I heard as I was repeating my moves in the courtyard « Could you come with me please ? We have an issue. »
« An issue ? » i frowned « What kind of issue ? »
« Just come with me, please, Saito-san. » he bowed « it won't be long. »
I nodded and sheathed back my sword to follow the Aizu warrior who led me to the castle prison. I met some Aizu commanders there and inquire about the situation but they just requested me ask a few questions to a prisoner. I knew what that meant. They didn't want to get their hands dirty, they were honorable warriors. I was a ronin, an honorless warrior without a master so my hands weren't worth theirs. That was a common misconception about our corp, sadly, so I didn't set them straight and just agreed.
They slid the heavy wood pannel after unlocking it and I found a boy in a blue kimono waiting in a corner, his head in his knees. His hair were ebony and short with only a small bun to tie them. The boy wasn't much older than my own daughter. Was he a spy ? The kid lifted his head when I got in and plunged its saphir gaze into mine.
« Otousan... » she said, tears filling her eyes.
« Haruhi ? » I gasped.
What was she doing here ? Let alone in a prison cell ?
« Souji... and Kondou... » she said in a low voice and I closed the distance between us to take her in my arms.
« I see... Souji too... » I whispered as she dug her face in my coat to cry heavily.
I stayed there until she calmed down which took several minutes. I couldn't cry. I was in shock both of Souji's death and the sight of Haruhi in a prison cell. When she stopped crying, I stood up and her little hands came clenching to my coat again.
« Don't leave me ! » she yelled.
« I have to talk to the Aizu commanders and ask for your release. Wait here. » I ordered in my toneless voice.
She let go of me and I got out the cell to meet the commanders outside.
« Have you learned something, Saito-san ? » one of them asked me.
« Did you know it was my daughter ? » I asked with icy eyes and their expressions softened.
« She indeed introduced herself as such but we couldn't believe her on her own word. That's why we sent you. » he explained.
« Can she be released ? » I asked.
« Are you sure she isn't used against you and us ? There is an army coming our way and your daughter is found wandering outside the castle, armed to the teeth and trying to find a way in. Admit that this is disturbing. »
« She lost her tutor. » I said calmly « It was only natural to come searching for her father. »
« And what about her weapons ? » he said, showing me a real arsenal « a katana, a wakizashi, two kaiken hidden in her obi and this small modern gun with a reserve of ammo... »
« The wakizashi is hers, I can attest. » I said « I offered it to her a few months ago. »
« And the rest ? » he asked.
I looked at the katana. It was a blade of excellence, far better than my own, marked with a chrysanthemum kamon and it was the first time I was seeing it in my entiere life although I could identify the blacksmith. The kaiken weren't familiar either and the gun was an imperialist weapon, probably american. I already encountered a few Satsuma or Tosa warriors using them like Sakamoto Ryouma. He used to have a gun similar. We also had one or two given to us by the Bakufu when we renewed our arsenal but they weren't weapons fit for organized army and we prefered to use the riffles.
« I guess she found them. » I stated « One needs to protect oneself during these troubled times and my daughter has been trained in kenjutsu. »
« Alright. » he said « Then if you can take responsibility both for her and her weapons, you can take her out. »
« Thank you. » I bowed « My daughter will not be a nuisance, I will make sure of it. »
I slid back the shoji and grabbed Haruhi's swords. She stood up and waited for me to talk.
« Grab the rest. » I ordered « Let's go. »
