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Chapter 50: The Corridor of Setbacks

"When they heard that the Imperial Army had Koufu Castle, Those Shinsengumi dogs seemed rather shaken." Kaoru said as he sat on the steps of a shrine by the side of the road. They've boasted of their ironclad code, but dissention is growing in their ranks.

"Heh-henh." Koudou laughed through his teeth as he smirked leaning against the inside of the shrine door. "It would seem the time is ripe."

Kaoru smiled slightly as he stood up and left to set everything into motion.

—∞—

A few hours after Hijikata left, a man who had just joined the corps fired at the slowly advancing Imperial Army, which instigated the battle.

Even from the safety of Koufu Castle, Sumiko could hear echoes of the cannons and gunfire as she stood atop one of the ramparts, staring off into the distance in the direction of the battle.

"Are you worried?" Amagiri asked as he joined her. "About Yukimura Chizuru?" Kazama had gone out as a scout, and was keeping an eye open for Koudou while he was at it. He had asked Amagiri to stay behind and guard Sumiko since she still wasn't at her best yet, because she had wanted to go with him to check on the others despite the danger. She could walk around, but fighting was still a bit too much for her.

"Of course. A lot of good men are going to die today. This battle won't last more than two hours. But she'll be all right." Sumiko said with a wan smile. "We all want to protect Chizuru because we care about her, but the truth is she's a lot stronger than we… than she gives herself credit for. And those guys won't die so easily, either."

—∞—

All around them, bullets were flying, and cannons were going off.

"Hang in there!" Shinpachi said as he helped one of his injured men to his feet. "Don't die."

"Don't fall asleep!" Sano said urgently as he knelt beside one of his fallen men, trying to keep him conscious.

"Harada-san…" The dying man breathed his last.

"O-Oi! Oi!" Sano shouted shakily.

"Hey! Hang in there!" Shimada shouted at another fallen comrade.

"Keh!" Kondo grit his teeth and furrowed his brow as he watched the horrific scene of carnage unfolding before him with Chizuru at his side.

"Kondo-san!" Sano said as he approached them, getting the commanders attention. "Please issue the order to retreat. They're too strong! We can't beat them."

"Fool! Have you grown cowardly in the face of adversity?" Kondo asked sternly. "And you call yourself a man!?"

"!" Sano was shocked Kondo would even say something like that to him.

"Commander!" Saito shouted as he ran up, out of breath. "The enemy is… flooding in from the south!"

"What!?" Kondo said, shooting to his feet.

"They're coming from the north, too!" Shinpachi announced as he rushed over to join them. "At this rate, they'll pull of a pincher attack and wipe us out!"

"Kondo-san! Retreat isn't defeat." Sano said determinedly. "We should pull back for now."

"Keh!" Kondo grit his teeth and furrowed his brow. He wasn't giving up here. "If you are a samurai, you should value your honorable name, not your life! Main forces, follow me!" He shouted as he turned away from them and rushed into battle.

"Kondo-san!" Chizuru cried as her eyes widened. She immediately chased after him and the men he was leading in a charge towards the enemy.

"Charge! Show them our power and spirit!" Kondo roared as he personally led those who followed him into battle.

BOOM!

"Aaaaagh!" Kondo and the men with him cried out when they were thrown by the explosion of a cannon ball landing just behind them.

"Kondo-san!" Chizuru yelled anxiously as she ran toward him. The men with him were all dead. They had been hit by shrapnel from the explosion, but Kondo had been shielded by the body of the young man that had been behind him. As Kondo stirred and pushed himself up into a sitting position, he came to realize this and stared down at the dead young man in shock.

"!" He gasped and began glancing around the frontlines, taking in the horrors of the modern battlefield up close for the first time. The dead bodies of his men were strewn about everywhere many of them were still behind the barricades they had set up as protection from bullets. The smell of gunpowder was heavy in the air. The land was marred and pocked from cannon fire.

"Kondo-san…" Sano said, snapping him out of it. Kondo closed his eyes and looked up to see Sano standing before him with his hand stretched out to help him up. Just behind him were Shinpachi, Saito, and Chizuru. Slowly, as if still in shock, Kondo reached his hand out and took Sano's so he could help him back onto his feet. "The age of waging war through courage alone is no more…" Sano stated regretfully. "It's over."

"Please!" Shinpachi said earnestly, stepping forward. "Don't make any more of my subordinates die in vain." Kondo squeezed his eyes shut and bowed his head in defeat.

"Retreat." He gave the order.

"I appreciate it, Kondo-san." Shinpachi said seriously. "I'll have the men in the frontlines pull back." He told Sano before rushing off to carry out the much needed order.

"Yeah!" Sano called after him in agreement. "Naturally, as captain of the 10th Division, I'll take the rear." He told the others.

"Harada-san…" Chizuru said anxiously, concerned for their safety.

"Didn't Hijikata-san give you and Saito an important order?" He reminded her. "I'm counting on you." He added with a glance at Saito. Saito nodded, and Sano took off into the fray to help Shinpachi lead what was left of their men to safety.

"Saito-kun," Kondo said with his head still lowered, "The rest is in your hands."

"C-Commander, what do you intend to do?" Saito asked, taken aback.

"I cannot go back alive after letting so many of my men die! I have decided that I shall die here!" He shouted as he turned to run.

"Please wait!" Chizuru shouted as she sprang after him, grabbing onto the sleeve of his haori to stop him.

"!" Kondo said, surprised, as he turned to see who had dared to stop him. "Yukimura-kun! L-Let go!" He told her, trying to pull away. When did she get so strong?

"No!" Chizuru said defiantly as she kept her grip on him with a determined look in her eyes. "Kondo-san, please live! If you die here, what will happen to the Hijikata-san? To the Shinsengumi? As long as we have you, we can try again! That's what Hijikata-san told me. And I was ordered to protect you and live through this!"

"Are you telling me to live in shame?" Kondo asked as he stared down at her.

"Ah!" Chizuru gasped, taken aback. She bowed her head as she released his sleeve. "It may be considerably harder to live and atone for your actions than it is to die. But even so… no, because of that, I want you to live!" She said earnestly, raising her head. "Live for those who gathered under you and died because they believed in you."

"Yukimura-kun…" Kondo said, stunned. He closed his eyes. "Very well."

"Let's go." Saito said, relieved Chizuru had been able to get through to him.

–∞–

Shinpachi and Sano were running toward the front lines together, when they had to take cover from some gunfire.

"You see that?" Shinpachi asked as they ducked for cover.

"Yeah." Sano replied, cautiously glancing over the top of the barricade to make sure their eyes hadn't deceived them. "The enemy troops are pulling back!"

"Why? They should be pushing forward." Shinpachi said, furrowing his brow in confusion.

"Shinpachi, take advantage of this to get your men out of here." Sano told him.

"Got it!"

The two of them split up to take care of business and get their men the heck out of dodge.

BOOM!

"Nng!" Sano cried out in surprise and grunted in pain when he was thrown by the explosion of a cannonball like a rag doll.

"Yo! You're looking awfully pathetic!" A familiar voice commented with a hint of amusement.

"!" Sano managed to turn his head and saw the purple-haired gun-slinging oni looming over him.

"What a way to put those good looks to waste!" The oni teased with a smirk.

"Shiranui!" Sano said, furrowing his brow.

"I was keepin' an eye on those Tosa guys to make sure they don't steal my thunder, and then I saw you! I was thinkin' we could play." Shiranui said. The spearman would make a much more interesting opponent than any of the other poor saps out there.

"This is just perfect." Sano said with a dark smirk as he pushed himself onto his knees and grabbed his spear. "I'll have you tell me where you guys are holding Sumiko!" The oni smirked.

"Heh! You don't have to worry about that woman." Shiranui told him. "We're taking good care of her. But go ahead and try, if you think you can!"