The Last Lonely Wolf
"It's raining," she thought. Sumi closed the shoji doors and headed out. "It always rains on days like this." As she turned, she opened a paper umbrella, and lifted her head to see that her three guests waited for her to show them where they would be going.
It had been so long since she had seen all of them. Kenshin. Sano. Aoshi. All strong men. All were allies now. And she had called upon all of them for a reason unbeknownst to them as of yet. Each had received an invitation to Mibu, where Sumi now kept her residence. The invitation read:
I ask for your presence this first day of November in the 15th year of the Meiji. I ask that only you come. Do not bring the others.
Taki Sumiko
None knew the reason. But they each had some idea of what may be. Kenshin read his invitation, and then merely told Kaoru that he would be going to Mibu to see an old friend. Sano read his thinking of perhaps a free meal. Aoshi's invitation was read by Misao first seeing as it had been delivered while he was out. He had to convince her that he'd be all right, and then promise that he'd come back.
But none knew the real reason except Sumi.
"Hey, Sumi, what's this about?" questioned Sano, "And are we ever gonna eat?"
"The journey is now. I'll let you eat later." The trio slowly followed Sumi into a small wooded area. They walked further and noticed an empty patch. Or so they thought. Along the ground in a strait line were nine smooth stones.
"I see now," said Kenshin.
"I still don't understand!" cried Sano.
"Hush," stated Aoshi plainly. "You must show respect. It is a place for the dead."
Sumi agreed, "Correct. I brought you here because of Captain Saito."
"What about Saito?" snarled Sano.
"I won't say it again: respect the dead."
"You mean he's--"
"Yes. That is why I brought all of you here. This is the final resting place of nine of the captains of the Shinsengumi. They called me "Shinigami", for I have buried the ashes of so many of the Shinsengumi. I made it my personal duty to bury all of its captains with honor. Takeda, Yamazaki, Inoue, Hijikata, Eikura, Shimada, Harada, Kondo, Okita. And now Saito. He will be tenth. You are all here because you knew at least one member each. Takeda Kanryusai- he was an honorable soldier during Bakumatsu, but forfeited his honor when the samurai were no longer needed. Okita Souji- may he rest in peace, for he fought for his country with no regard to his own health. And now, Saito Hajime, who fought for this nation from beginning to end, even to ridding the government he despised of evil."
"Rest in peace," said Kenshin.
". . ." Aoshi prayed quietly.
"Y'know, if the guy even makes it to heaven, it'll drive him crazy not being able to kill anybody," chuckled Sano, "It's a shame we never had our rematch."
As the rain continued to pour, it also hid Sumi's tears. All of those men, in some sense were family. Like brothers, and fathers. For heaven's sake, she had been married to Okita.
"There is one other thing that I must do. There are no more Shinsengumi, save for me. I am its final member. As its sole heir I hereby disband the Shinsengumi as of today. We fulfilled our duty and protected this country. Even to the bitter end." As she spoke the final words, Sumi shed her striped haori, worn by all Shinsengumi, and buried it next to the stone that was Saito's. "We are no more. We are free. Rest in peace my friends- no- my brothers. My family."