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Chapter 14: Race to Tennozan Hill

Chizuru was panting heavily by the time they reached the bridge. She didn't understand how Sumiko could handle all this running with such grace. How was she able to keep up with Hijikata-san and the others so easily? Was it because she had slightly longer legs?

"Ah." Sumiko said quietly when she saw that there was someone standing in the middle of the bridge up ahead, causing Chizuru to glance up. "Ah!" She gasped louder as both girls' eyes widened in surprise and alarm when they saw the man's familiar blond hair and crimson eyes. Before they had any chance to warn the others, the man from the Ikedaya suddenly drew his sword and cut down the man unlucky enough to step within his reach first.

"Aaaah!" The man screamed in pain as he fell onto his back with a harsh thud. Sumiko furrowed her brow and glared at their comrade's attacker, as she, Chizuru, and Shinpachi rushed to his aid. The red-eyed bastard was smirking. He was clearly enjoying this.

"Hey, you okay?" Shinpachi asked urgently, drawing her attention back to her patient.

"Let me see." Sumiko said, moving the injured man's hand to get a better look at his wound. Fortunately he had managed to avoid receiving a fatal wound and had mostly been struck across his arm and shoulder. "This will probably need stitches later, but for now, let's focus on bandaging to stop the bleeding and keep it from getting worse."

"Ah, allow me." Chizuru said, pulling out clean cloth to rip and create bandages with.

"Those coats mean you're the Shinsengumi, yes?" The dangerous blond man asked.

"Be careful, Hijikata-san." Sumiko said, furrowing her brow. "This man was at the Ikedaya. He's the one who injured Okita-san."

"What?" Hijikata asked, glancing back at the blond man with smoldering eyes. So, he was the one…

"I was surprised to see you two at the Ikedaya that night, but to see you here again in search of more glory… Looks like you country samurai haven't had enough yet." The blond man said loftily. "No, I can't even call you dogs 'samurai'."

"So, you're one of the skilled foes that was there at the Ikedaya? Your attempts at provoking are rather sophomoric." Hijikata said calmly, almost as though he were laughing at the man.

"Hmm." The man said, frowning slightly in disappointment. "I'd heard you were a band of skilled, rogue samurai. "Seeing you like this, though, it would seem it was a lie." He said, glancing pointedly at the man he had just wounded. Sumiko clenched her jaw as she glared up at him. "Okita, huh? His skill was so meager that he couldn't be called a swordsman."

Shinpachi stood up. He'd had enough.

"If you want to speak ill of Souji, by all means do so. But before you do, tell me why you attacked this man. If I do not accept your reason, I will kill you here and now!" He stated angrily, glaring daggers at the man.

"You bastards know nothing of samurai pride." The blond man stated cynically. "All you think of is gaining notoriety. You're the dogs of the Bakufu. For what reason are you pursuing the defeated, those who've already fled the battlefield? Why can you not understand the pride of the Choshu samurai, who seek Tennozan Hill as a place to slit their stomachs?"

"So it's all right to take a person's life in the name of someone else's pride?" Chizuru asked incredulously, furrowing her brow.

"Hm?" He said, glancing at her with a piercing gaze. There was something about this woman…

"I think you're the one who doesn't understand." Sumiko said bravely, drawing his unwanted attention away from her friend. "Being protected by someone in name alone, having someone else do your fighting for you while you take the easy way out… who wants that kind of useless pride!?"

"Well, if the Shinsengumi exists to achieve such great deeds, how can it defile the pride of another?" He retorted.

"That's…" Chizuru said, stumbling for a reply.

"You had me curious, talking like a big shot…" Hijikata said, closing his eyes briefly, before fixing the man before him with a harsh glare. "Don't insult the battlefield!" He said sternly.

"What?" The blond man asked.

"Pissants who start fights for their own selfish reasons, and then, lacking the resolve to die in battle, turn tail and run don't deserve the glorious death of a warrior!" Hijikata stated fiercely. "Beheading is enough for a criminal. The honor of cutting ones own stomach is wasted on traitors who would attack the imperial palace, is it not?"

"You're saying that instigating battle should equate a readiness to be killed?" The blond man asked, clenching his fist around the hilt of his sword.

"If you instigate battle without the readiness of death, you are not meant to be called a warrior." Hijikata said, drawing his sword. "If they have a warrior's pride, then our holding nothing back would be a parting gift, yes?" As he poke and aimed his sword at the blond man, the rest of the men cautiously moved forward to surround him, prepared to draw their own blades if necessary to back their vice-commander up.

"Imbeciles! Have you bastards forgotten your own roles?" Hijikata demanded sternly, scolding the rest of the men, as he glanced expectantly at Shinpachi. Shinpachi smiled wryly and nodded in understanding, having been properly chastised.

"Hijikata-san, I'll be borrowin' command of this unit for now." He said, breaking out into a sly grin. "Let's go!" He told the men.

"Yes!" The men replied dutifully, rushing off the apprehend the Choshu warriors on Tennozan Hill, as originally planned, while Hijikata stayed behind with the girls and injured man.

"Sumiko! Chizuru! Look after him!" Shinpachi shouted, referring to the injured man, as he turned to follow the others.

"Hai!" They said determinedly.

"You pricks!" The blond man said, turning to go after them.

"Fool!" Hijikata shouted as he struck at him to keep his attention elsewhere. The man dodged, and Hijikata used the opportunity to position himself between him and the men heading for the hill. "Keep your eye on your opponent! Don't you know what a duel in earnest means?" Hijikata asked, smirking slightly, as he furrowed his brow and raised his sword slightly. "Well, it would seem that you have readiness. The readiness to strike down our comrade, at least."

"You are skilled with your mouth, at least," The blond man said, smirking. "But do you honestly think you can kill me?" He asked, lunging forth to attack. Hijikata blocked and the two of them became locked in battle.

Sumiko and Chizuru watched anxiously as the two men continued to exchange blows, silently willing Hijikata to win. Sumiko's eyes widened when Hijikata struck his opponent's blade, and the blond man loosened his grip on the handle of his sword, letting it fly into the air. Once again, the bastard was smirking. His smirk widened when he saw her eyes flash golden again in anger when she realized part of what he was up to.

"!" She and Chizuru gasped as the runaway sword headed straight towards them. Chizuru immediately threw herself on top the injure man to shield him, and Sumiko threw herself on top of Chizuru to shield her.

STAB!

"!" Hijikata gasped and his eyes widened in horror when he saw what had happened from his angle. It looked like Sumiko had been skewered by the sword. Fortunately, this was not the case. The thing the sword had stabbed had been the wooden railing of bridge. It had only grazed Sumiko's arm and part of her back, slicing open a relatively shallow wound.

"Chizuru! You're bleeding!" Sumiko said, wincing, as she quickly pulled out a clean cloth to bandage the shallow cut on her arm, but she wasn't fast enough.

The blond man's sharp crimson eyes saw the wound on Chizuru's arm heal almost instantly, before she even had time to start wrapping the bandage. He smirked, satisfied with the results of his test, but then he narrowed his eyes and frowned slightly when he noticed the wounds on Sumiko's back were not doing the same. It could mean only one thing…

"Kazama. That's enough." A deep voice said firmly.

"Hn?" The blond man said, glancing up in response to hearing his name called by a familiar voice. The tall, muscular man with dark red hair and blue eyes that had suddenly appeared behind Sumiko retrieved Kazama's sword from where it was embedded in the railing of the bridge, taking care not to cause further injury to the girls while doing so.

"You should know full well that, as we've sided with Satsuma, there's no reason to fight the Shinsengumi." The redheaded man said, tossing Kazama's sword back to him.

"Hmph." Kazama smirked slightly as he caught it with ease and returned to its sheath in one fluid motion. He then carelessly turned his back on Hijikata completely and started walking over to join his redheaded comrade. "I didn't think it possible, but… sure enough." He mused aloud to himself as he passed the two girls, glancing at them out the corner of his eye to see that they were both glaring up at him as they continued to shield the injured man and each other. The redheaded man bowed politely to Hijikata before following after Kazama.

Sumiko exhaled a sigh of relief once they were gone.

'That is one crazy bastard…' She thought as Hijikata sheathed his sword and came over to check on them.

"Are you all right?" He asked as he kneeled down beside them, concerned.

"I-I'm fine, but Sumiko-san…" Chizuru said worriedly, glancing at her friend.

"I'm probably fine." Sumiko said, smiling wryly despite the pain from her wound. "It doesn't feel that deep, but I can't actually see it, so…"

"Allow me." Hijikata said, moving closer to examine the wound on her back. His touch was surprising gentle. Chizuru noticed her friend was trying hard not to blush and smiled slightly at the sight, despite her concern. It was her first time seeing such an adorable expression on the older girl's face.

"Mn. You'll be all right." Hijikata said at last as he retracted his warm hands and started preparing a clean cloth for a bandage. "It's a shallow wound."

"Ah, thank goodness." Chizuru said, allowing herself to relax after hearing the good news, while he wound the bandage around Sumiko's arm and back, over her kimono.

—∞—

As they slowly made their way to the hill, Hijikata supported the injured man while Chizuru supported Sumiko, even though she tried to insist she could walk on her own.

"Hijikata-san!" They had just begun to walk the path up hill when Shinpachi and the others came running down to meet them. One of the other men stepped forward to relieve Hijikata and takeover supporting their injured comrade.

"We went up there, but those Choshu guys… they committed seppuku, every last one of them." Shinpachi reported solemnly.

"Eh!?" Chizuru gasped.

"Suicide, eh? They may be the enemy but that's a splendid way to die." Hijikata conceded admirably.

"That's all right?" Sumiko asked. What was the big rush for, then?

"As Shinsengumi, no it ain't right. They did our work for us." Hijikata replied glancing at her. "However, when it comes to giving credit where credit is due, things like 'enemy' and 'foe' don't matter. Do you understand?" Sumiko and Chizuru looked down thoughtfully. Sumiko smiled slightly as she looked back up.

"Yeah, I think I do." She said. It was basically good sportsmanship, showing respect for your opponent, win or lose. Hijikata smiled, glad to see that she understood.

"I feel like I do, and I also feel like I don't." Chizuru said quietly, causing both of them to smile at her honesty. That was just like Chizuru.

"Whoa, what happened to you!?" Shinpachi asked Sumiko when he finally noticed the bandages. "You didn't try to fight that guy, too, did you?"

"No, this was just an unhappy accident." Sumiko said, sweat-dropping. "Or, rather, for some reason, that bastard seemed to be aiming for us…"

"What?" Hijikata said lowly, furrowing his brow.

"The city! It's on fire!" One of the men shouted suddenly.

"!?" They all gasped, turning to see for themselves.

"Ah!" Chizuru gasped, horrified, while Sumiko furrowed her brow and bit her lip. In all the excitement, she had forgotten that the city was supposed to burn at some point as a result of this stupid rebellion. She closed her eyes and bowed her head, silently mourning the disaster and all the lives that would be lost as a result while the others looked on in shock and anger.

The leaders of the radical Choshu who attacked the imperial palace died in battle or fled to take their own lives, but those who escaped alive set fire to the capital, burning down 27, 511 homes, 1,207 storehouses, and 253 temples and shrines. Also, 22 out of 23 Gion Festival floats were lost. Following this, the Choshu were treated as rebels who had turned against the imperial court. It became known in history books as the Kinmon Rebellion.