"She said she's the one who kidnapped the Vice-Commander."
Everyone, including Chizuru, raced out the door and almost stampeded the poor soldier as they hurried to the front gate. The lone soldier stared at the crowd with a mix of horror and confusion. I thought the Vice-Commander was ill, he thought to himself as he slowly walked back to his barracks.
Souji and Saitou led the charge, ready to do whatever it took to make this woman talk. Harada, Shinpachi, and Heisuke stayed close behind them, followed by Kondou and Chizuru. As they approached the gate, Souji and Saitou found two guards pointing their swords at Satoya, clad in black. Everyone stared at this woman in amazement; no one had seen anyone except for monks with such an extreme haircut. But at this point, that thought would have to wait.
Souji unsheathed his sword and also pointed it at Satoya.
"Stand down men. We'll take it from here," Souji ordered. The two guards withdrew their swords and returned to their posts. Saitou also unsheathed his sword, his intense gaze focused on Satoya.
"So, this pipsqueak bested our Hijikata-san? You must be joking," Souji said with bitterness.
"Choose your words wisely. If we find out you hurt the Vice-Commander, we will show you no mercy," Saitou stated. Satoya lifted her hands in surrender.
"Are either of you the Commander of the Shinsengumi?" she asked.
"I am," Kondou replied as he gently pushed through the other captains. He moved in between Saitou and Souji. "Tell us who you are and where Toshi is," he commanded. Chizuru stood behind Harada, but leaned over to get a better look at this woman. She didn't expect Satoya to be so young; Chizuru thought they could even be around the same age! How could this woman possibly take down Hijikata on her own? After suddenly thinking about the possibility of Hijikata getting injured or worse, she couldn't help but glare at this woman as well.
"My name is Satoya Haru," Satoya began, "and I can assure you Hijikata-san is still alive." Chizuru let out a quiet sigh of relief.
"Where is he?" Kondou repeated.
"At a guarded manor a few miles outside of town," she answered, her hands still surrendered in the air. Kondou looked at Souji, then Saitou, who both instinctively put their swords down.
"Let's go inside," Kondou advised, leading the group back to the dining room. "Souji."
"Yes, sir," Souji loyally replied as he gripped Satoya's arm tightly and aggressively pulled her along beside him.
"Hey, what gives? I'm here to help you," she exclaimed as she tried to loosen Souji's grip.
"That doesn't mean we can trust you," Shinpachi replied angrily. Souji gripped harder and pulled her in close.
"If you try anything, I will kill you," he said in a low voice. Satoya could help but feel a little uncomfortable at that.
As the group approached the dining room, Chizuru quickly entered first to clear everyone's trays. Due to the urgency and number of trays, the best she could do was move the trays against the wall. She would clean them up later; given the circumstances, the men would understand.
Kondou followed her inside, along with Heisuke, Harada and Shinpachi. Souji forced Satoya in before him, and Saitou closed the door behind him as he entered last. While everyone took their seats, Souji led Satoya to the center of the room and forced her to sit down. Saitou guarded the door so Satoya had no chance of escape, even if she tried.
"So, Satoya-san, was it?" Kondou began. "If you really took Toshi, why are you here confessing it to us? We can kill you for abducting a high-ranking official of the Shinsengumi."
"Because I want to help him. I didn't know he would be tortured, and I don't believe anyone should be treated like that." Everyone's eyes went wide with worry.
"Tortured?"
"Is he okay?"
"I'll kill those bastards…" Everyone's fury was apparent.
"He's hanging in there for now, but I don't know what will happen between now and tomorrow night," Satoya explained. "Right now, this is the only thing I could think of to help." Everyone looked at Kondou, sitting thoughtfully with his eyes closed.
"Heisuke, do me a favor and pull out a map of the larger area surrounding the city, please," Kondou requested in his usual kind voice.
"Sure. You got it," Heisuke replied as he stood up and walked out of the room to look for the maps. In the tense silence, Satoya could feel everyone's stares as if they were swords stabbing into her body.
A few minutes later, Heisuke returned with a couple rolls of parchment held delicately in his hands. He placed them in front of Kondou.
"Thank you," Kondou smiled as he gently unfurled the parchments partway, searching for the one he originally had in mind. When he found it, he unfurled it completely and laid down in front of Satoya. The other captains, except for Saitou, leaned in to get a better look.
"Point to where the manor is located," Kondou ordered. Satoya looked down and carefully observed the map. Whoever drew this map did a pretty good job: the city of Kyoto was drawn a lot smaller, in hindsight, to incorporate the surrounding farmland and private properties. The fields she remembered passing that night were recorded well, in terms of their general sizes and shapes according to acreage. Her eyes followed the road she took out of town until she reached the edge of the page.
"It's not on here," she stated. Everyone looked up at her in shock.
"Are you sure? Pay very close attention to the details," Kondou asked.
"Yes, I'm sure. I passed by these fields along this main road all the way up there," Satoya explained as her fingertip found the tatami flooring, not far from the edge of the map. "It should not be far from where the map cuts off."
"Hey, Satoya-san," Shinpachi cut in, "what's the security like at this place?"
"Well, there is a large wooden barrier surrounding the estate, and there are men that stand guard inside and outside the front entrance. The men inside operate the main gate, which allows people in and out." Shinpachi looked up at Kondou with a gleeful look in his eyes.
"That sounds awfully similar to the estate Heisuke and I stumbled upon earlier. Kondou-san, I think she's telling the truth."
Kondou sighed in relief and turned his attention back to Satoya.
"Who owns the estate?"
"A man named Ayuzawa."
"Do you work for this Ayuzawa?"
"No, I work for a man named Bando. They're both bosses in the bakuto," Satoya explained.
"The bakuto?" Harada exclaimed.
"I guess Shinpachi was right again about those yakuza ties," Souji chimed in.
"So why would a group of gamblers and loan sharks kidnap Toshi?" Kondou asked. "It just doesn't make sense to me."
"And why would two bakuto bosses suddenly decide to work together?" Heisuke asked.
"Yeah, that's a good point," Shinpachi added. "If they're both bosses, wouldn't they be enemies?"
"Not if they're working towards a common goal," Harada replied. He pointed to the tatami square that Satoya referred to earlier. "Satoya-san, does gambling take place at this manor?"
"Honestly, I don't know," Satoya responded. "But it's possible."
"Harada-kun, what are you thinking?" Kondou asked.
"If illegal gambling takes place at this manor on a regular basis, these bosses may be looking to move their operations into the city. The manor may be private, and it's too far removed from where all the money is."
"And so to get us off their trail, they took Hijikata-san in hopes of Kondou-san committing honorable suicide, then they would kill Hijikata-san, getting rid of the Shinsengumi's top leadership," Souji added. "If I were a cowardly mob boss, that wouldn't be a half bad idea."
"Then the only police around would be the ones on their payroll!" Heisuke exclaimed as he slapped his forehead. "Damn, I should've known sooner." Satoya stared at him with a severely confused look.
"How the hell did you guys do that so quickly?" she asked.
"Let's just say, we've been doing this for a while," Shinpachi proclaimed.
"So as of right now, how many men are at the manor?" Kondou asked Satoya.
"I'm not sure of the exact number, but somewhere between thirty and forty, "Satoya willingly answered.
"Does anyone else know you're here?" Kondou continued. He wasn't going to risk Hijikata's life, his men's lives, or his own, based on faulty information.
"I swear, nobody knows," Satoya stated. Kondou stared at her for a few long moments, gauging her expression for any signs of lying. After a few more moments, he felt satisfied that she was, in fact, telling the truth. He stood up.
"Everyone, gather your most trusted men and meet me at the gate. I have a plan to rescue Toshi and take these bastards down in one fell swoop."
"Yes, sir!" everyone exclaimed in unison.
"I'll lead you to the manor," Satoya stated as she began to stand up with the captains. Kondou shot her a serious look.
"You're not coming with us. Souji?"
"Yes, sir," Souji dutifully replied as he aggressively grabbed Satoya's arm once again.
"What are you doing? Let go of me!" Satoya yelled as she futilely attempted to loosen Souji's grip.
"I'm sorry, but we still can't trust you. You'll stay here until we return. Souji, put her in one of the cells, please."
"Let's go," Souji instructed as he pulled Satoya along behind him.
The rest of the captains had already left the room to rouse their men. The only ones left in the room were Kondou and Chizuru, who crouched to clean up the dinner trays.
"Yukimura-kun," Kondou said softly, so as not to startle her.
"Sir?" she responded, standing upright and turned to face him.
"I can't guarantee your safety if you come with us, so I would like you to stay here and keep an eye on this woman. See what you can learn about her. I'll also need you on standby for when we return with Toshi. Yamazaki is out on a mission, so we'll be relying on your medical expertise. Can you do this for me?"
Chizuru was a bit surprised, to be honest. Did Kondou regard her so highly that he trusted her to guard a prisoner all by herself? Satoya may be small and around Chizuru's age, but she looked like she could be dangerous and elusive when she needed to be.
"Kondou-san, I'm flattered that you trust me that much, but I don't know if I can guard her on my own. What if she tries to escape? I'm still training my sword skills with Saitou-san. I don't know if I feel ready." Kondou held his chin in his hand.
"Is that so? Well, there's no need to worry. Souji will be staying here with you."
"What?" Chizuru and Kondou turned to find Souji standing in the doorway, keys still in hand. "Kondou-san, just because Hijikata-san isn't here, that doesn't mean you need to keep up with his 'worried mother' antics. I'm fine, really–" Souji protested before bursting into another coughing fit. Kondou and Chizuru rushed to his side as he slowly stabilized his breathing.
"Souji, you're not fine. Whether Toshi is here or not doesn't change that. I need you to stay here, hold down the fort, and take care of yourself."
Souji sighed. "Fine, fine. But only because you asked." He sulked out of the room as Kondou looked on after him. Chizuru wanted nothing more than to tell Kondou of Souji's condition, but she knew it would ultimately make things worse for Souji. Not to mention she would be signing her own death warrant and Souji would never speak to her again.
"Please be careful, Kondou-san," Chizuru said as Kondou moved to the door, swords sheathed in his hands. "I won't forgive you if you die." Kondou smiled.
"Don't you worry, Yukimura-kun. We'll bring Toshi back, just you wait!"
Bando returned with Blue and Green to find Hijikata where they left him, his wrists torn and leaking fresh blood down his forearms. His eyes were closed, chin resting against his chest. His pitch-black hair vastly contrasted with his pale skin as stray strands hung draped over his shoulders. Bando could not spoil this opportunity.
"One of you go grab some water from the well," he commanded. Blue dutifully nodded and rushed out the door. Bando and Green carefully observed their prize, noting every visible scratch and bruise they had inflicted upon him.
A few short minutes later, Blue returned with a bucket of ice-cold water and carefully placed it in Bando's hands. Bando smirked as he crept behind Hijikata, like a child about to play a practical joke. In a swift and purposeful motion, Bando slung the water at Hijikata's back, still recovering from the open wounds. Hijikata's eyes shot open, startled like a wild horse, his legs involuntarily bucking at the contact. He had no chance to stop the scream from tearing open his throat; he felt he would scream himself hoarse by the time the pain subsided.
Bando roared in laughter as Hijikata moaned in agony through the chattering of his teeth. He felt so exhausted after the sudden adrenaline rush that he could barely keep his eyes open. Bando took the liberty of peeling Hijikata's eyes open himself, as if he were a doctor examining him, and felt satisfied with his results.
"Cut him down," he commanded, and Green swiftly responded by unsheathing his katana and sliced through the rope and into the wooden pillar with one stroke. Hijikata fell face-first to the ground, an excess of rope trailing behind him, his bound hands sprawled above him. Bando leaned down and violently yanked Hijikata's ponytail. Hijikata immediately lifted himself to avoid further strain and instinctively raised his hands to release Bando's grip. Green grabbed the end of the rope near Bando's feet and pulled, forcing Hijikata's wrists out in front of him and away from Bando's grasp.
"Who said you could rest, dog?" Bando sneered. Hijikata glared at him, even as Bando released Hijikata's hair and took a closer look around the room. In between his teeth chattering, Hijikata could hear the chirping crickets and humming cicadas outside, signaling that night had fallen.
"How much…time has passed?" Hijikata managed to ask in between shivers. Bando paid him no attention.
"We need to get this place ready. The fish will be here soon. Gag him."
"The fish? Wait, what are you talking—mmmfph!" Blue obeyed his leader's instructions, forcing a twisted white fabric into Hijikata's mouth. He pulled it taut and quickly knotted the fabric at the back of his head.
"Hang him up to dry in one of the cells downstairs, then come back up and help me get set up."
"Yes, sir," the men responded as Blue grabbed Hijikata's arm and Green looped most of the excess rope around his hand as if it were a leash. Hijikata felt like an animal being led to slaughter, knowing he did not have the strength to stop the inevitable. As Blue and Green led him back to his freezing cell and once again hung him from the ceiling by his wrists, he wondered who, or what, the fish could possibly be.