"Kondou-san, what's with the meeting? It's the middle of the night," Toudou Heisuke, captain of the Shinsengumi's eighth division, asked. He paused for a long yawn and petted his long ponytail as if he were still dreaming.
Nagakura Shinpachi, captain of the Shinsengumi's second division, stood behind him and roped an arm around Heisuke's neck, giving him a noogie.
"What's the rush, Heisuke? Afraid you're missing out on your beauty sleep?" he joked, taking advantage of the sleepy Heisuke.
"That's enough," Kondou bellowed, shocking the captains into alert silence. All the captains were gathered into the main meeting room, facing Kondou, who sat in his usual spot at the front of the room. Chizuru sat next to the door, quietly observing what was about to take place.
"Shinpachi, this is serious," Harada scolded.
"Harada is right," Kondou continued.
"Wait, where's Hijikata-san? Shouldn't he be here, too?" Heisuke asked, just now realizing the vice-commander's absence.
"Toshi was abducted tonight," Kondou stated, a clear solemnity present in his voice. Chizuru noticed that Kondou gripped his knees so hard, his knuckles turned white. Everyone else could imagine how much Kondou was struggling right now.
Heisuke, Shinpachi, and Okita Souji, captain of the Shinsengumi's first division, gave Kondou a shocked look. Only Heisuke and Shinpachi sat with their mouths agape.
"Abducted? What do you mean?" Shinpachi asked, already anticipating the answer.
"Earlier this evening, Toshi left the compound to take a short walk through town. Yukimura-kun and Harada alerted me after he did not return. I sent Harada and Saitou-kun out to look for him, and they found this in an alley…next to some blood spots on the ground," Kondou explained, laying the unfolded letter out in front of him. "It was specifically addressed to me."
"Well, what does it say?" Heisuke asked. Kondou took a deep breath, but Saitou dutifully took the note before Kondou could grab it and began to read:
"The Vice Commander of the Shinsengumi, Hijikata Toshizo, is now a prisoner of rebels of the Shogun and the dogs that serve him. At sunset in two days' time, come to the fields on the north edge of town. Follow the winding road until the grass stands tall. There you will die by your own hand, or the Vice Commander will die in your place. Tell no one and come alone. Death to the fake warriors in blue."
Saitou gingerly placed the letter back in front of Kondou.
"Well, we can say for sure that they're not poets," Souji mused, breaking the ominous quiet permeating the room.
"Souji, cut it out," Kondou scolded. Souji looked at him, surprised that Kondou, of all people, would speak to him like that. But Souji did as he was told and resumed leaning against the wall with his swords. Despite his playful nature, Souji completely understood Kondou's current predicament. Hijikata was one of the best swordsmen among the higher ranking Shinsengumi officials, so if anyone was able to subdue him, Souji knew they would be a troublesome enemy. However, Souji always loved a new challenge.
"So what's the plan, Kondou-san?" Harada asked. Kondou closed his eyes and gently pinched his chin with one hand.
"We should start with interviewing anyone that may have witnessed Toshi's abduction. Someone out there might be able to give us a better idea of who we're dealing with," Kondou said. "Saitou-kun, Harada, I leave this task to you."
"Yes, sir!" they responded in unison.
"Shinpachi, Heisuke," Kondou called out.
"Sir!" they responded, also in unison.
"Follow the directions in this letter to the meeting site and stake it out. You may need to take some horses with you. Let me know what you find," Kondou instructed.
"Yes, sir," they responded.
"Kondou-san, what about me?" Souji asked. "You can't keep me cooped up here forever.
"And I don't intend to, Souji," Kondou responded warmly. "I will have you continue with normal daily duties in place of everyone else. You will still go on your regular patrol tomorrow, but be extra wary of anyone suspicious hanging around. I'm sure one of these bastards that abducted Toshi will want to know our current and next moves."
"Yes, sir," Souji responded with a smile.
"If anyone asks, Toshi is ill and has been confined to his room to rest. We do not want to arouse any suspicion or panic amongst the troops," Kondou explained.
"Do we know what the contingency plan is in case we do not find any leads before the deadline?" Saitou asked. Everyone stared at him in awe, but they also knew they needed some type of plan, in case things didn't work out.
"At this point, I don't know if I have any choice but to honor their agreement," Kondou sighed. "We don't know how many men will be there, and I don't want to risk Toshi's life more than I have already."
"Well, we're sure as hell not letting you go alone, Kondou-san!" Shinpachi exclaimed. "If you go and kill yourself, we lose you, and then there would be nothing stopping them from killing Hijikata-san as well!"
"He has a point," Harada agreed. "You agreeing to this letter is like us handing them the Shinsengumi on a silver platter. We're not going to let them hurt Hijikata-san, and we certainly won't let them kill you, too, Kondou-san. No matter what happens, we're not letting you go alone." Everyone nodded in agreement, including Chizuru.
Kondou looked in amazement at Chizuru.
"Even you, Yukimura-kun?" he asked her.
"Yes, sir. I will do what I can to help get Hijikata-san back, but I won't let you sacrifice yourself for everything you have worked so hard to build!" she exclaimed. "Hijikata-san wouldn't want that, either, and you know it."
Kondou smiled and looked at the room of his loyal captains and dearest friends.
"Well, I guess I can't argue with that," Kondou said. "Everyone, get some sleep. We can't do much else tonight, and we probably won't be able to sleep much again until this is over. Let's bring Toshi home!" Kondou announced.
"Yes, sir!" everyone responded in unison, including Chizuru.
Hijikata awoke from his rest to the same room he found himself in at the beginning of this whole nightmare. He looked around and found the lanterns had been re-lit, though the room itself was still empty. He didn't know how much time had passed, but there was no way for him to discern the time of day. Perhaps his captors put a second layer of screens over the original screen walls to block any natural light from potentially penetrating into the room.
He must have been out for a while, because he felt his throat once again become dry. He coughed to clear a wad of saliva from his throat, and that's when he realized his gag had been removed. He figured Satoya stopped by while he slept and removed it, knowing he wouldn't cause any trouble. However, Hijikata refused to play the damsel in distress and not make at least one escape attempt. He didn't acquire the nickname Demon Vice-Commander for nothing, after all.
Since he still laid on his side, he slowly rolled towards the back of the room, hoping to reach one of the lanterns. Once he got close enough, he tucked his legs under him and sat up into a sitting position. From this position, his hands reached the rope around his ankles; it took him a few minutes to figure out, but he managed to untie the rope and free his ankles.
Once he stretched his legs out, he took advantage of his restored mobility to crawl over to the lantern closest to him and used his teeth to open the sliding door to access the candle inside. He then sat down again and turned so his back faced the lantern. It would be too difficult to reach his bound wrists into the open flame, so the best option would be to remove the candle from the lantern and hold it in his hands as it burned the rope.
Thankfully, the candles had been replaced not too long ago, so he did not have to worry about wax burning him as he removed the candle from the lantern. As he held it delicately in his fingertips, he slowly maneuvered it towards the ropes, feeling the heat from the open flame rapidly increase on his forearms. He figured the candle was still a bit too tall and moved his hand up the wax until he could hear the quiet sizzle of fire burning through rope. He slowly moved the candle up and down so as not to burn himself, but accidentally spilled some freshly melted wax on his open hand. He hissed at the sudden pain, but continued with his task. He periodically tested the strength of the ropes to see how much longer it would take to weaken them, and after several long minutes, he felt the tension in the rope release as he pulled the burnt rope ends apart. From there, it was easy enough to return the candle to its cradle and pull the ropes around his chest over his head. He sighed deeply at his newfound freedom.
He stood up, briefly stretched his arms above him, then made his way to the door, listening for any chatter or movement just outside. He couldn't hear anything, but he suddenly felt lightheaded and gently placed his hand on the screen to support himself. He could feel his starved body begin to shake, but he pushed those feelings down as best he could and steadied himself. He thought for a moment about how nice it would be to be back at headquarters with his comrades, eating delicious food prepared by Chizuru and some of the other captains. He would certainly risk dying now to return home to that dream.
He cracked open the screen and peered out into the exposed courtyard. He saw the mid-morning sunlight dancing into different shapes as the clouds constantly moved overhead; he felt a gentle breeze caress his face and he sighed.
He pushed the screen door further open and got a better look at the courtyard, confirming he was alone. If he wanted a fighting chance at escaping, he would need to find his swords, or any swords, in this case. However, he suddenly felt the need to relieve himself, after moving more than he had been able to since the night before. Impeccable timing as always, he thought to himself.
He walked out onto the porch and quickly made his way to one enclosed corner on the outer edge of the courtyard. A large tree shaded the small space below, allowing him some privacy and the ability to look out for incoming guards.
He ducked down next to the tree and quickly relieved himself, remaining extremely alert. As he finished up, he couldn't help but feel uneasy. Where was everyone? There weren't even guards posted outside his room, and he couldn't tell if this was terrible planning on their part, or if they planned for this, waiting to strike him when the possibility of freedom was so close.
"You know, we do have an outhouse," said a familiar voice from above, interrupting his thoughts. Hijikata whipped his head up and immediately found Satoya, sitting on a branch directly above him. She appeared to be juggling a coin between her fingers, casually lounging in the shade. She looked down at him and gave him an amused look. "If you needed to use it, all you had to do was ask."
"Satoya-san!" Hijikata exclaimed, taken completely off guard. "How long have you been up there?"
"Long enough to find you trying to sneak out," Satoya replied. "Good job for getting this far, by the way." Hijikata still wore an embarrassed look, which Satoya immediately caught. "If you're worried that I spied on you a minute ago, don't be. You may be my prisoner, but that doesn't mean I have to be indecent towards you. The least I could do is allow you some semblance of privacy."
Hijikata couldn't stop staring at her, amazed at her response. He didn't think someone as young as her would give such a resolved answer, but deep down, he felt extremely fortunate to be captured by someone who had not forgotten, nor forsaken, their humanity.
"That being said," Satoya continued, breaking his train of thought as she hopped down from the branch, "I still can't let you leave. If you promise not to make another escape attempt, I'll escort you to your room and grab us some food." Hijikata reluctantly nodded in surrender.
"You will do no such thing!" a deep voice bellowed from behind them. They turned to find a large man with ten guards standing behind him, ready to move. Satoya immediately recognized the man as her master, Bando. She looked at him in surprise, not expecting his arrival until later that day. She hated when he changed his plans without notifying her, but ultimately, she knew that Bando never truly trusted anyone, not even her. She understood the man's paranoia, but it did become annoying after years of working for him and getting to know him.
He pointed at Hijikata and yelled, "Capture the prisoner! Don't let him escape!" The guards behind him ran past him in order to quickly apprehend the Demon Vice Commander. Hijikata barely had a chance to take two steps before the guards wrestled him to the ground. One guard kept Hijikata's head pinned to the ground, while two others held his arms behind his back and held his ankles to the ground, taking away his every opportunity to fight back. Another guard pulled out a line of rope and secured his wrists once again.
"What the hell? I surrendered!" Hijikata exclaimed, grunting through the guards' harsh pulling on his limbs and consistently smacking his head into the ground. Satoya looked on, knowing there was nothing she could do. Once the guard with the rope secured Hijikata's wrists, he stood up and suddenly kicked Hijikata in the stomach twice in rapid succession. Hijikata lost all the air he had in his lungs, coughing and heaving to regain the air he lost.
Satoya immediately punched the guard and landed a knee into his stomach, sending the guard to the ground next to Hijikata. She then ran over to where Bando stood.
"Bando-san, there's no need for this!" Satoya exclaimed. "I had everything under control."
"I'm disappointed in you, Sparrow," Bando sighed. "He is a prisoner, not your friend." Hijikata's eyes widened when he heard the name Sparrow. He had heard rumors from patrols through town of someone by the name of Sparrow, allegedly responsible for several killings of high-ranking officials and nobles who benefited from the shogunate's power. Hijikata stared at Satoya in disbelief. Could Satoya really be the bloodthirsty and merciless assassin he had heard soldiers speak of, with hints of fear in their voices?
"Satoya-san?" Hijikata whispered, confused, eliciting another rough push to his head, sending his temple slamming into the ground.
"Prisoners can still be treated with respect," Satoya countered, noticing Hijikata's head once again against the ground.
"Well, either way, your services are no longer required. I will take over from here," Bando stated, taking slow steps towards Hijikata and the guards still surrounding him. The guards lifted themselves off of Hijikata; however, one guard, taking advantage of this opportunity, roughly gripped Hijikata's ponytail and pulled, forcing Hijikata to yell and send his feet into a kicking frenzy to stand in order to stop the searing pain in his scalp. Bando did nothing to stop the guards from tormenting their prisoner.
Hijikata finally managed to stand after a moment of struggle, where two guards firmly held his upper arms. He felt his headache returning with more force, but he refused to let his pain show through his signature glare as he locked eyes with Satoya's boss, Bando. He didn't recognize Bando, even as he approached further and pinched Hijikata's jaw in between his fingers, as if to examine him. Bando noticed Hijikata's confused look and chuckled to himself.
"Well, you're not much of a demon now, are you, Hijikata Toshizo?" Bando asked. He released Hijikata's jaw and looked at his men.
"Take him to the cellar. No food or water," he commanded. "And make sure to leave his face recognizable," he added, turning to walk back to Satoya as the guards led Hijikata away. Hijikata tried his best to resist, but that only annoyed one of the guards holding him; Hijikata couldn't avoid another punch to his stomach, once again stealing the air from his lungs. From that point, Hijikata could only focus on keeping himself upright as the guards continued to lead him away. Satoya looked on after the group, a pang of remorse thrumming in her heart.
"Satoya," Bando called. She turned to look at him as his back faced her. "Your services may not be required now, but don't wander far. I will have another job for you soon."