Previously:

"Yukimura-kun, please look after… Hijikata-kun." San'nan said in a quiet voice.

"I will!" Chizuru promised.

"Chizuru…" Heisuke said, getting her attention. "Please keep a close eye on him. Don't let him rush through life." Chizuru bit her lip as she let out a mournful cry. "Don't look at me like that. Please smile… like always." Chizuru let out a couple more sobs as tears streamed down her face, but she forced herself to calm down and smiled as brightly as she possibly could for him in that moment. Heisuke smiled. "That's the one. Stay like that…" He told her. His eyes moved to Sumiko next. "Sumiko… take care of them…"

"I will." Sumiko promised seriously, smiling down at him as her tears continued to fall. Heisuke closed his eyes with a smile on his face.

"!" They gasped as he began to turn to grey and ashen.

"Heisuke-kun!" Chizuru cried. They quickly glanced over at San'nan, who was also beginning to fade and turn to ash. Hijikata and the girls watched sorrowfully as Heisuke and San'nan's bodies were enveloped in that mysterious blue flame-like light as they disintegrated, and what remained of their hands crumbled and slipped through their fingers like sand in an hourglass.

Thus Sendai Castle was freed from the Rasetsu Unit's suppression.

Chapter 60: The Blooming Hepatica

But the Sendai Domain's allegiance with the Imperial Army remained unchanged. Only Hoshi Juntaro and his western-style unit joined them. A few days thereafter, the former Bakufu army met up with them, filling the soldiers with renewed bolster.

Chizuru and Sumiko were making onigiri for the troops when Hijikata stopped in the open doorway of the kitchen. Sumiko had her back to the door while she cooked the rice at the stove. Chizuru was so focused on shaping the rice balls that she had yet to notice his presence. The atmosphere was quiet and calm. For a moment, he just stood there, watching them, enjoying the peace of the moment. Seeing the two girls working together again reminded him of happier days, before everything had gone to hell.

"Oh, hello." Sumiko said when she turned around, a little surprised to see him there.

"Hijikata-san!" Chizuru said, lighting up when she looked up and saw him. But Sumiko furrowed her brow slightly when she saw the expression on his face as he crossed the room to stand directly in front of her friend.

"Chizuru." Hijikata said.

"Hai!" Chizuru said, still smiling.

"I want you to stay here." He told her seriously. Sumiko frowned while Chizuru gasped, taken aback.

"By herself?" Sumiko asked dubiously.

"No, not by herself. You'll be staying with her." Hijikata said firmly. "Get away from all this fighting."

"No way!" Sumiko refused flatly, deeply troubled by this turn of events. How was she supposed to keep an eye on him if he sent them away?

"I will not allow you to accompany us to Ezo." Hijikata stated sternly as the crease in his brow deepened. This matter was not up for debate.

"W-Why not?" Chizuru asked, upset.

"Don't let us bind you down more than we already have." He said solemnly.

"We're here because we want to be!" Sumiko said earnestly. She still had to save him!

"No!" Hijikata snapped harshly, startling them. He hadn't meant to scare them. He had lost enough people already. He couldn't stand the thought of them… He just wanted to protect the girls. "No." He repeated more gently. "Go search for your own future… and live." He would never forgive himself if anything happened to Chizuru. The girls would be fine so long as they had each other.

"No… Hijikata-san!" Chizuru cried, hurrying after him as he turned and left.

"Wait! Hijikata-san!" Sumiko yelled, right on Chizuru's heels as they followed him out.

"That's an order from the Commander of the Shinsengumi." Hijikata said firmly without turning back to look at them, using a tone of such finality that the two girls were forced to realize that there was nothing they could say or do to change his mind. Sumiko placed a hand on Chizuru's shoulder as they watched him walk away, and held her close as her own thoughts began to wander. Now what were they supposed to do?

—∞—

October 1868

Hijikata and the others set sail for Ezo. A harsh wind was blowing as Sumiko and Chizuru stood together in the cold to watch the ship sail away from the harbor until it disappeared into the distance.

Once again on their own, the two girls took solace in the each other's company. They mourned the deaths of those they had lost, and Sumiko did her best to comfort Chizuru in Hijikata's absence. Over the course of the month they finally had a chance to stop and take some time to catch up. They each took turns filling the other in on what had happened on their side during their period of separation. The news of Sumiko's engagement to Kazama shocked Chizuru greatly, but she had the grace to be happy for her friend, despite the complex relationship Kazama had with Hijikata, and Sumiko did her best to reassure Chizuru that she wouldn't let any harm come to him. They decided to stay in Sendai for a time, since that was where they had buried Koudou, and they didn't have much money of their own left. To keep busy and earn some income, Sumiko began making house calls in the area, while Chizuru spent most of her time caring for the graves of Koudou, Heisuke, and San'nan. But they never stopped listening for news of the war and were always on alert for any information about Hijikata and the others.

—∞—

November 1868

After Hijikata and his troops took the castle of Matsumae, the Matsumae daimyo who had ruled Ezo fled for his life, and the former Bakufu army took port without a fight off the coast of Esashi, which was west of Hakodate. Between the harsh Ezo elements and someone relaxing a little too much, the flagship Kaiyo and the cargo ship Shinsokumaru crashed on the rocks and sank. Thus Hijikata-san and the others lost the two main ships that had made their naval power superior to that of the Imperial Army's.

"Look here, Youta-kun…" Sumiko said with a sigh as she inspected his injured arm. "…It's great to hear that you're so lively after recovering from that nasty case of pneumonia you had last month, but you shouldn't be jumping off of roofs!" She scolded him with a frown, giving him a flick on the forehead.

"Ow!" He said grumpily, rubbing his sore forehead with his free arm. "I've never heard of a doctor who injures their own patients before..." He grumbled in complaint with a pout.

"Be quiet!" His mother said sternly, in no mood for his lip after the crazy stunt he had just pulled. "If it wasn't for Miyagawa-sensei, you wouldn't even be here right now!" He had been near death when Sumiko started treatment for his last illness. "How is it, Sensei?" She asked worriedly, hoping it wasn't too serious.

"Sorry, Ueda-san... but it's definitely broken." Sumiko informed her with a wry, sympathetic smile. This kid was such a handful.

"Oh, no!" Ueda-san gasped. "I-I'm afraid we might not be able to afford the treatment for that…"

"Don't worry." Sumiko said with a wave of her hand, giving the fretting mother a reassuring smile. "I'll give you a special service in exchange for the news you just gave me about the war."

While Sumiko was setting and binding Youta's broken arm, Chizuru made her routine pilgrimage to visit the graves. As she climbed the long stairs leading up to the temple, she cradled a bouquet of white flowers in one arm, while she carried a bucket and ladle in the other for sprinkling water on the tomb. When she reached the top, she saw that the priest was sweeping up the fallen leaves.

"Oh," he said, looking up as she approached, "you're most admirable. Are you here to visit their graves again?"

"Thank you for tending to them." Chizuru said respectfully, bowing to him before continuing on her way. As she walked, it started to snow. The white flakes had already begun to pile up a little bit on the side of the road and many of the tombstones by the time she reached the graves she was seeking. Chizuru stopped short, and her eyes widened in surprise when she saw that someone unexpected was already standing in front of her father's tombstone.

"Kazama-san…" She said, wondering what he was doing there. "Are you… here for Sumiko-san?"

"Yes. I see Koudou is dead." Kazama stated calmly as he continued to stare down at the humble grave. It was far too small for someone who had caused so much trouble. "So that is the fate of any who stray from the Oni's path." While it was a relief for himself and many other Oni to know that Koudou would not be making any more rasetsus, he had no doubt of the pain this outcome must have caused Sumiko, since she had wanted to save him. "Come to think of it, that guy said he would protect you, but in the end, he betrayed and abandoned you." He said as he glanced up at Yukimura Chizuru, referring to Hijikata Toshizo.

"!" Chizuru gasped as a pained expression flickered across her face for a moment. "You're wrong!" She said determinedly. "Hijikata-san isn't like that. I… Hijikata-san was doing it for me…"

"Really?" Kazama asked. Chizuru looked up, startled. She furrowed her brow and looked down as she remembered what had happened that day Hijikata-san left them. He had said that they should choose their own future, yet he had refused to let her choose a future with him… Her silence told Kazama everything he needed to know. "That is why I told you not to trust humans." He said.

"It's not as though I followed them because I wanted their protection." Chizuru said, raising her head. "I wanted to stay with Hijikata-san and simply couldn't leave his side. Even if he never acknowledged me, I… just being with him was enough for me." Her eyes were shining with the beginnings of tears.

"You are such a pitiable woman." Kazama remarked without malice. Chizuru squeezed her eyes shut and lowered her head. When she opened them again she saw that Kazama was now looking out at the sea that stretched beyond the hill.

"Do you plan to fight Hijikata-san again?" She asked.

"Supposedly I will stray from the way of the Oni if I meddle with him any further." Kazama replied, closing his eyes.

"So you won't?" Chizuru asked excitedly, immediately perking up.

"Female Oni, why does that make you so happy when the man abandoned you?" He asked, opening his eyes as he turned his head to look at her again. "You are so pitiful that it is funny."

"Ah." Chizuru said, looking down as her eyes shined with the threat of tears again.

"Hmph." Kazama said with the ghost of a smirk. He looked up as he sensed another familiar presence approaching. Sumiko paused when she caught sight of them, looking surprised to see him there.

"Kazama…" She glanced between him and Chizuru, furrowing her brow upon seeing the look on her friend's face. "… What are you doing?" She asked pointedly.

"I came to get you, as promised." He replied with a smirk, glad to see she was unharmed. It had been a while since she looked at him with that komainu face.

"That's not what I meant. You'd better not be bullying Chizuru." Sumiko told him with a frown in a tone that let him know he was going to be in huge trouble if her friend cried. Chizuru was surprised to see that Kazama actually looked a little nervous now.

"She asked if I was going to fight that man again." He said with a slight frown.

"Are you?" Sumiko asked.

"An oni keeps his promises. I will finish things with him." Kazama answered seriously, looking her straight in the eyes. "I swore that I would."

"…" The crease in Sumiko's brow deepened as she stared back at him. His resolve was clear as day. He was determined to do this, even if it meant losing his status with his clan. There was nothing she could say or do to change his mind. She let out a heavy sigh. If that's how things were going to be, then she would need to start taking steps of her own. She had loitered around here long enough. "I see." Sumiko said, closing her eyes for a moment before walking over to Chizuru and gently talking her friend's hands in her own. "Chizuru, I'll be going with Kazama now. You should hurry up and go to Hijikata-san."

"!" Chizuru's eyes widened slightly in surprise. "Sumiko…?"

"Don't worry." Sumiko told her with a soft smile. "Whatever happens, I'll always be on your side. We're friends aren't we? More than that, we're family. This goodbye isn't forever. We'll see each other again. I'm sure of it. Hijikata-san may think he's doing this for you, but the truth is he's just afraid to lose any more of the people he cares about. I know, because I've been there myself. But life doesn't work that way. Unexpected things are always going to happen. But that's why it's so important to hold onto the ones you love and be with them as much as you can, while you can. We can't let fear keep us from living. Being deeply loved gives you strength; loving deeply gives you courage. So go to him, and this time, don't take 'no' for answer!" She finished determinedly, giving Chizuru's hands a light squeeze of encouragement.

"Sumiko-san… Hai!" Chizuru said, nodding her head as she smiled with renewed determination.