The air of the dimly lit room was saturated with a tension thick enough to slice while Kondou sat silently, considering the patrol details Souji had just gone over. Mikoto sat beside Souji, not entirely sure why she had been brought to sit in on this meeting rather than Souji just filling her in beforehand. He had been very vague in describing the enemies they had encountered, which somehow made her uneasy. From what she had gathered, some of the men had defected from the unit. Though she could understand the severity of the situation, Souji had taken care of the men, so why were things so tense now? She shifted as she grew increasingly uncomfortable. Sensing her unrest, Souji flashed her a quick smile in an attempt to be reassuring. She nodded, but it did little to lift her uncertainty. Before anyone could speak again, the door slid open and in walked Hijikata and Sanan. Both men wore stony expressions, which was typical for Hijikata, but rather uncharacteristic for the more mild mannered Sanan.
Yamazaki explained the situation to us," Sanan stated bluntly as the two of them took a seat on either side of Kondou, across from Souji and Mikoto.
"Did you remove their coats and head protectors?" Hijikata questioned, his violet eyes boring into Souji's. He opened his mouth to speak, but then looked away sheepishly.
"Not yet. I'll be sure to do that as soon as we're done here." The commander seemed ready to berate Souji, but Sanan let out a discouraged sigh, stopping him in his tracks.
"I suppose there are still many adjustments to be made to our...medicine…" he murmured. Mikoto's brow furrowed. She wasn't sure what a group of traitors amongst the ranks had to do with any sort of medicine. As if hearing her thoughts, Hijikata's stern gaze moved to focus on her and his eyes widened slightly, as though he had just registered that she was sitting there. His head snapped back to look at Souji once more.
"Souji, what the hell were you thinking, bringing her here?" he demanded. "She wasn't on patrol with you, was she?" Souji shook his head.
"She wasn't this time, but she is a part of my unit. Under normal circumstances she would have been out there with me," he pointed out. "I think it's high time we tell her, I don't want to be the one responsible for the cleanup when I have to kill the idiot if she sees something she shouldn't." Souji's words only served to confuse her further. Hijikata raised a skeptical brow.
"She shouldn't be joining you on patrols like this one." Her eyes darted between the two men who were now staring one another down.
"You try stopping the pest. She's a fucking ass kisser, like any newer recruit." She shot a glare in Souji's direction. Sometimes it seemed he had a little too much fun insulting her in front of the higher ups.
"Souji," Kondou warned, disapproving of his feigned disrespect. He then glanced at Sanan and Hijikata. "I don't see why we shouldn't tell her. She's becoming an increasingly important member of the Shinsengumi, after all." he declared.
"And I'd say she's done more than enough to prove her loyalty," Sanan added in agreement. Hijikata let out an exasperated huff, looking at his two companions before giving a hesitant nod.
"Very well." He looked directly at Mikoto, his stare intense. "You are not to repeat a word of what you hear to anybody, not even other members of the Shinsengumi. Should I find out you have, you will be cut down." She swallowed nervously and nodded, still not quite sure what it was she was getting herself into.
It was a project given to us by the Shogunate when we first made our arrival in Kyoto," Sanan began. "There was a medicine that came from the west dubbed the Water of Life. We worked alongside a doctor who was well practiced in western medicine, Yukimura Kodo. This Water of Life was meant to make men stronger and faster, as well as give them superior healing abilities."
"That doesn't sound so terrible…" The bespectacled colonel let out a bitter scoff.
"Perhaps if it had worked as it should, it wouldn't have been. It seemed to do exactly what we wanted at first, which would have greatly strengthened the Shinsengumi, but…" He paused, his face growing pale. "There were side effects." He cast his eyes to the side, avoiding Mikoto's attentive gaze, as though he were ashamed. "The men to whom we administered the medicine did become stronger, but also developed a thirst for blood. This bloodlust then consumed the men, driving them to madness." Mikoto's eyes widened, and she found herself at a loss for words. She had no idea that the Shinsengumi...that Souji...had been involved in something so dreadful right under her nose.
"With Kodo's help, we tried to dilute and improve the medicine, but he disappeared not long ago after a fire in the city," Kondou picked up where Sanan had left off. "Sanan has since picked up the research using the notes that were left behind, but to no avail. The most we've been able to do is delay the bloodlust, but every man falls to it eventually…"
"We've named these men Furies. They can only function at night, as sunlight leaves them weakened and fatigued. We've done our best to incorporate them as members of the Shinsengumi, but it's been...difficult...to say the least. We've had many incidents similar to tonight's..." Hijikata finished. Mikoto remained silent as she tried to wrap her mind around all of the information she had just been given. She looked over at Souji, but he refused to meet her eyes. His gaze was instead focused steadily on the ground in front of him.
"I...I see…" was all she could manage. She wasn't sure what else she could say in the face of such an overwhelming revelation. She looked around to each of the men, half expecting them to start laughing and explain that it was all some ridiculous joke, but they all remained silent, wearing the same steely expressions. She finally gave a quick bow, wanting desperately to leave the suffocatingly heavy atmosphere in the room. "I won't tell a soul," she promised. Kondou's smile finally returned, though it lacked some of its usual warmth
"I know you won't. Now, it's getting late. I think it's best if you get to bed, you need your rest," he stated. "And Souji, you need to go gather those men's uniforms." His chocolate brown eyes were serious as he focused on Souji, who simply nodded. With that, the two of them were dismissed. Mikoto followed after Souji as he made his way towards one of the water basins, still in a daze.
"Mikoto-chan?" he started gently once they were out of earshot of the commanders. She looked up at him, but he could tell that she was clearly still distracted by her buzzing thoughts based on her clouded eyes. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah...Yeah, I'm fine," she said dismissively. Unconvinced, Souji raised a skeptical eyebrow, but didn't push the issue any further. They reached the well in silence, and Souji began to wash the blood from his hands. He then removed his haori and pulled his arms out of his sleeves, allowing the top of his kimono to slip off. He took a seat and stayed still, his green eyes watching Mikoto as she took one of the cleaning cloths and started washing the blood from his face and chest. As if in a trance, she began to rub absently at his cheek, though it had been long clean, but he didn't dare speak. "Why didn't you tell me?" she finally asked, breaking the increasingly uncomfortable silence. Her tone was cold, but there was no anger, which almost concerned him more. Her eyes were wide and clearly showed her sense of betrayal as she looked at him.
"For your own good," he stated simply, averting his eyes. She scowled.
"But-"
"You heard Hijikata. If you were to breathe a word of this, he would kill you. Do you really think the same doesn't apply to me?" he reasoned. "If I had told you then we both would have been killed." Mikoto thought for a moment, her expression softening as she realized he had a point. "Besides, those creatures are something I don't want you to ever have to deal with." She quickly drew her hand away from his face, her gaze hardening once more.
"Creatures? They're men. Men that you-" Souji put a finger to her lips to quiet her before she got too worked up and his eyes became stern.
"It's not a point of pride for the Shinsengumi, but that doesn't mean we can just deny the facts. Yes, they were men. Now, they're just creatures to be pitied." Mikoto's fists clenched. He moved his hand from her lips to hold the side of her face. "I'm sorry…" After a moment she relaxed, letting out a sigh before returning to washing his face.
"I just...I guess I just don't quite understand it..." she mumbled, now picking at his bangs where his hair had been matted by flecks of dried blood. He thought for a moment before taking her hand, stopping her.
"You deserve to see the results for yourself," he said decisively. She blinked, confused, as he took the cloth from her hand and set it beside him. "Come on, and stay close to me." After pulling his kimono back on, he led her by the hand to an area of the compound that she hadn't ever really familiarized herself with. It was the Maekawa house. "This is where we house the Fury corps to keep them hidden from our rank and file soldiers," he explained. She nodded hesitantly, not entirely sure what she should be expecting. They stopped in front of a small room that sat in the shadows of the backmost corner of the compound. Mikoto looked up at him expectantly. "In here are the men that...survived some of the earliest trials of the medicine. We can't take them into the field, like the members of the corps that I took on patrol tonight. We're hoping with more research we can lessen the effects. Are you ready?" She took a deep breath in and nodded. With what felt like painfully slow movements, Souji slid the door open, and urged Mikoto in. The room was dark, save for one dim candle. As her eyes adjusted, she realized that in front of her were iron bars. They were keeping the men locked up as if they were animals. She turned to look at Souji with horror and disbelief.
"Souji, what the f-" Suddenly something slammed into the bars. The noise caused Mikoto to jump and whip around. She yelped and jumped back when she saw a pale, bony hand reaching desperately for her from behind the bars. She followed the arm up until her eyes fell on the frightening face of the owner. His lips were pulled back in a wide, twisted grin and he fixed her with a hungry stare. The man's eyes glowed a bright crimson, like freshly spilled blood, a stark contrast to the snow white hair that hung in his face. His breathing was heavy as he let our bursts of deranged laughter.
"Blood...I can smell it on you! Give it to me!" he growled, his voice high pitched and pleading. She slowly backed up into Souji, unable to tear her gaze from the man, if that's what she could call him. He looked on at the scene, seemingly unphased. After a moment he took her by the arm and pulled her from the room, sliding the door closed behind them. He pulled her to him, holding her head against his chest, resting his chin on the top of her head. She was too stunned to return his affection as she stood, frozen in his arms.
"Do you understand a little better now?" Slowly, she nodded, but in reality she understood even less. How could the Shinsengumi, those meant to protect the streets of Kyoto, create creatures like that? When their hopes for the experiment had been dashed, why hadn't they just dropped it all together? "I need to go gather our blues from the men I had to take down. Our involvement in this needs to remain secret, not just for our sake, but for the sake of the Shogunate. I know you've been itching to leave the compound, and Hijikata doesn't need to know if you join me." She looked up at him, and she could see by his expression that this was a small way to attempt to ease his own guilt. "Well?"
"I'll go," she agreed softly, if for no other reason than not wanting to be left alone in the headquarters that night after seeing what truly went on there.