Sorry for the wait...
CHAPTER 2 - 2
May 1865
It had been three months since we'd moved the headquarters to Nishi Hongwanji.
"There's a lot more room, but…"
More room meant, well, farther to walk.
I'd walked through it nearly every day for several weeks, and I was finally beginning to learn my way around.
…
As I turned a corner near the back of the compound, I caught sight of someone sitting in the shadows.
"There you are, Sanan. Your food's ready."
"Oh, hello. Thank you."
The snow had disappeared, the cherry blossoms had bloomed and fled, and now the swallows and the heat had come.
Sanan and I exchanged a pair of smiles, and I held out my hands to let the breeze brush across them.
"It's really gotten warm lately."
"Yes, it has. Unfortunately, the heat and the sunlight aren't particularly pleasant for me."
"Really…?"
I hadn't thought the sun was particularly strong that day, but to Sanan, who had to hide in the shadows or stay indoors during the day, it must have seemed unbearable.
The night he'd...changed...Sanan's hair had turned white, and his eyes had been a thirst for blood.
But to look at his peaceful smile now, it was hard to imagine that night had even been real. If someone had taken me aside and said it was all a bad dream, I would have believed them.
It hadn't been a dream, though, and now Sanan spends his days avoiding being seen and hiding from the sunlight.
The Shinsengumi's greatest secret…
"...Here it is."
For just a moment, the sun lit on Sanan's hair.
I don't know if it was a trick of the light or simply my mind being foolish, but in that moment, his hair was a brilliant white.
"Ah!"
"Is something the matter?" he asked, "You look as though you've seen a ghost, which I hardly feel is polite."
"Oh! N-No! Nothing at all!"
He looked perfectly normal now, of course. Surely, I thought, I must have simply imagined it.
Even if I had, there was no denying that he was the same man who had gone mad with bloodlust. It was…unnerving.
…
Heisuke and I made our way through the crowded-as-usual streets of Kyoto at a brisk pace.
"You know, I haven't gone out on patrol with you in quite a while, Heisuke."
"Huh? Oh, yeah, I guess not. Edo had me pretty busy."
He then turned to me with a wide grin, "Shin and Sano didn't bug you while I was gone, did they?"
"No, they were perfect gentlemen. I'm fine."
I couldn't manage to supress a short giggle.
"They look out for me when we're out on patrol, but I still haven'y found any information about my father, though…"
He frowned and looked away, "Yeah, I stopped by your place in Edo after you told me where to find it, but...uh…"
He couldn't seem to find the words he was looking for, and instead just kicked at a clup of dirt in frustration.
"Oh… Well, thank you for taking the time to look anyway."
Heisuke looked up in time to see my face fall, and gave me a good-natured pat on the shoulder.
"C'mon, cheer up! Who knows? He might just pop up some day!"
"You're right. Besides, you're all helping me look, so I've got to find him sooner or later. But what about you? You haven't been back to Kyoto in a while…"
"Hm. Well...I sort of feel like the town has...changed. So have the people…"
"Heisuke…?"
The smile he'd put on to cheer me up a moment ago was gone.
Nostalgia and melancholy weren't like him…
"Hm…?"
Heisuke's head jerked up a fraction of a degree, and he looked across the street. He stood up on his toes and waved.
"Hey! Souji! Find anything over there?"
"Nope. Everything's normal."
Okita was out on patrol as well, although his route took him through a different part of the city than ours. He gave me a short nod of acknowledgement, then looked back toward Heisuke with a snicker.
"...Well, normal for now, at least. I'm sure things'll pick up once the shogun gets here."
"The shogun's coming to visit Kyoto," I asked.
"Yep. It's got Kondou all worked up, too."
If the shogun was visiting, that was a chance for the Shinsengumi to be noticed.
Kondou's reaction to that possibility was easy to imagine. I giggled.
"Oh yeah?" said Heisuke. "...Yeah, I bet he is…"
That...didn't seem like Heisuke.
Had something happened that I didn't know about?
I looked over to Okita, hoping that he might help, but…
"*cough* *cough*"
"Okita…? Are you all right?"
His face was tight with pain, and his coughing was getting worse. He glanced up, but his gaze swept past me and across the street.
His eyes narrowed at something behind me, and I turned in time to see a ronin stumble backwards.
"Whoa whoa! Wadda ya mean, 'no'?!"
"Stop it! Let go of me!"
"We're patriots, fightin' every day to kick those damn foreigners out of our country! The least you can do is give us a little booze! Or maybe even, heh, a little...company…?"
Across the street, a clump of men-perhaps three of four-were harrassing a young girl.
I didn't know what they were up to, but it didn't look pleasant.
"We have to help her!"
I felt Heisuke tense up next to me.
"I know! Stay here, Chizuru-"
Before he could finish, a flash of blue cloth shot past us, toward the dangerous knot of men.
"Well well well. Guess being a patriot doesn't mean what it used to if we've got men like you throwing it around."
The usual crowds shuffled away from Okita and the men as quickly as they could. None of them wanted to be nearby once words were put away and swords unsheathed.
The ronin's eyes found Okita's jacket, and the men stiffened.
"You… You're one'a those Shinsengumi fellas, ain't ya!"
"Ah, you must be the brains. So tell me chief, what's it gonna be?"
His lips curled back into a predatory smile as his hand fell to the haft of his sword. There was no mirth in that rictus grin, and the ronins' faces abruptly grew several shades paler.
They were only somewhat deflated, however-not entirely punctured-and their ringleader made one more attempt.
"Goddammit. Get outta here, ya brown-nosing son of a bitch!"
Heisuke appeared next to Okita, "Shut up. If you really wanna live, maybe you should follow your own advice."
The sight of two of the Shinsengumi's notorious blue jackets standing shoulder to shoulder was apparently enough of an argument for the Ronin. The last of the color drained from their faces, and they truned tail and ran.
"You aren't going to go after them? Arrest them?" I demanded.
"And charge them with which crime, exactly? Didn't figure you for the iron fist sort."
He was right, of course. They'd had crime on their minds certainly, but they hadn't actually committed one.
"I-Iron fist…?"
"What are you so worked up about? ...Ah, never mind. Forget about it."
I glanced at Heisuke, not sure what to make of his peculiar tone.
"Um… My name is Kaoru Nagumo. Thank you for saving me."
I watched as the girl gave Okita a quick bow.
She was so refined; so lady-like.
Even dressed like a girl, I doubted I could ever be as elegant as her. I'd only just begun to feel sorry for myself when suddenly I felt a hand on my arm.
"Woah! O-Okita?!"
"Calm down, kid. Just c'mere and stand next to her."
"Um…"
He shoved me next to the girl we'd just rescued, then stepped back to stroke his chin thoughtfully.
"U-Um… Okita…?"
I glanced nervously toward the girl, and gave her my best attempt at a smile, under the circumstances.
The smile she gave me in return was beautiful, but there was something about it that seemed...odd.
"Just as I thought. They look just like each other…"
He seemed to be talking mostly to himself, but as soon as the words seft his mouth, I realized what had seemed odd to me.
"We look alike…?"
No...no, it was more than that. We were too much alike. It was almost as if I were looking into a mirror, but a mirror witha will of its own, and wearing much better clothes.
The longer I looked at her, the more uncomfortable I felt.
I shuddered.
"Really? I don't think they look alike at all," said Heisuke.
"No no no. They're practically identical. Dress the kid up like a girl, and you wouldn't be able to tell 'em apart." said Okita.
The girl-Kaoru-was looking straight at me, as if she hadn't heard a word Okita had said.
I had to say something, but...what?
Perhaps she saw through my confusion, or perhaps it was something else-
"I wish to thank you properly, but I'm afraid you've caught me in the middle of an important errand which I must attend to. Please fogive my rudeness."
She bowed quickly to Okita.
"I hope I will be able to repay you soon, Okita of the Shinsengumi."
And with that, the girl who called herself Kaoru disappeared into the crowds of Kyoto, although the unease her presence had created in me remained.
With a mischievous grin, Heisuke drug a playful elbow into Okita's ribs.
"Hey hey hey! Looks like she's got the hots for you, Souji!"
"Ha! Oh Heisuke… Is that really what you think? You've got a long way to go before you're at Sano's level."
"What? Hey! What the hell's that supposed to mean?!"
Their back-and-forth continued, but my mind was elsewhere. Last night's rain had left a number of puddles on the road, and when I looked into them I saw a strange girl who looked just like me.
"Kaoru, huh…"
Wind caught the surface of the puddle, sending a flurry of ripples across it. My face quirked into a small smile, but the face in the puddle didn't smile back.
"C'mon Chizuru! Let's get moving," called Heisuke.
"All right! I'm coming!"
Wasting no more time on a puddle, I turned and ran toward Heisuke and Okita, already on their way back to headquarters.
...
The temple was much larger than the compoud in Mibu, as advertised. The entire Shinsengumi could gather in the new common room with space to spare.
As Kondou spoke, his voice echoed grandly throughout the hall.
"By now, I imagine you have all heard that Iemochi Tokugawa, the 14th Shogun of the Tokugawa Shogunate, will be visiting our city of Kyoto."
His grin widened and he paused for dramatic effect.
"The Shinsengumi have been asked to guard him as he passes through the city on his way to Nijo Castle!"
The Shinsengumi...guard the shogun?!
Almost immediately, the room exploded in cheers.
Hijikata smirked.
"Heh… Too hard for them to ignore us after Ikeda and Hamaguri, huh? All that work's finally paying off."
"Guess you could say the fate of the country'll be resting on our swords, huh…"
Okita let out a snort of laughter as he spoke, but there was something in what he said that put me on edge.
Then again, it wasn't as I'd be going to guard the shogun…
"Parade guards, eh…" said Itou, "If only Sanan were still with us. We have truly lost a valuable ally…"
They'd never told Itou the truth about Sanan.
In fact, the entire incident surrounding his transformation had been covered up. Only a few of the men of the Shinsengumi knew the truth.
Perhaps Kondou felt guilty for deceiving him, because I saw a breif flicker of bitterness cross his face before he spoke.
"Well, at any rate, things are going to be rather hectic here very soon, so we ought to get our assignments hashed out. To begin with, I'd like Toshi, Souji and myself to-"
"Sorry Kondou, but you think maybe Souji can sit this one out? I think he's getting sick."
Kondou looked from Hijikata to Okita and back.
"What? Souji, is this true? Are you all right?"
Okita gave a sad smile, "The Demon's just being a mother hen, sir. I think I'm fine."
Hijikata scowled at him and folded his arms, "Don't give me that crap. You just about coughed up a lung earlier."
Okita sighed, "Fine, fine. Think someone's being a little overprotective, though…"
His smile had turned a little bitter as he spoke, but he looked fine… Perhaps Hijikata was just being overprotective.
I didn't have much time to dwell on it, however, before-
"...Heisuke…?"
"Uh...Um, Kondou… I'm not...feeling so great either…"
Kondou frowned and turned to his youngest captain.
"You too, Heisuke? This is our time to shine! I was hoping to have all of us there to greet the shogun…"
Heisuke sighed and closed his eyes.
"Yeah...sorry."
"Oh, no, no, your health comes first. Always! I'm sure you'll have another chance. I'll just have to make sure you get to do something spectacular!"
Kondou did his best to simply wave it off, but it was easy to see his genuine concern for Okita and Heisuke.
Once he had finished inspecting the rest of the soldiers and sending them off on their assignments, Hijikata turned to me.
"All right, what're you going to do?"
Hijikata flicked his gaze toward me.
"...Um?"
"Don't give me that. I'm asking if you're coming with us or not."
"I-I can go too?!"
Kondou gave a bark of laughter.
"Of course! We certainly won't mind. After all, you're practically one of us. If you want, I'd love to have you come."
Could I? Could I really go…?
I hesitated for a moment, confused, and Okita and Heisuke laughed.
"You don't need to worry about yourself, kid. Nobody's gonna be stupid enough to try and attack the shogun."
Heisuke nodded and smiled, "Why don't you go? I'd be surprised if anyone did so much as draw a sword."
It didn't seem quite fair to me that I wasn't even a soldier and I could go, while they were stuck back at the compound.
Still… I'd felt drained lately, with the lack of information we'd been able to uncover about my father. Perhaps this would be just the thing to cheer me up.
"I'll go!"
Perhaps the excitement of the occasion was infectious, as I felt a steel in my spine that hadn't been there before.
If so, however, it appeared Hijikata was immune.
"Calm down. You're just carrying messages. Think you can handle that?"
…
Right, left.
Right, left.
My footsteps echoed softly through the night.
"Owww… My legs are starting to cramp up…"
I decided it was best I take a short break and stopped to look up at the castle.
In the early days of the Tokugawa shogunate, Nijo Castle had been a place for the shogun to stay on his way to the capital. It had been a while since a shogun had actually stayed in it, though.
We'd met the shogun on the road and begun our escort about thirty minutes earlier, and had arrived at the castle relatively recently.
By now, I imagined, Kondou, Nagakura, Inoue and the men were greeting the officials and other important people in the shogun's retinue.
"Well, I've got a job to do too."
More specifically, it was my job to tell all the soldiers when to change shifts, and generally carry messages back and forth.
A glorified errand-girl, in other words.
"This means I'm not totally useless...right?"
Time to get back to work, then.
Even a short walk around Nijo Castle was enough to see several blue jackets, all of them on guard, none of them nervous or anxious.
"Well, of course… After all, the castle's really well-guarded. Only an idiot would try to-"
A sudden chill ran down the length of my spine.
I froze.
"Ah!"
…I knew the feeling.
Two feet of cold steel, waiting to find their way into you.
Eyes shining with a lust for blood and violence.
I'd never hoped to find myself accustomed to such a horrible thing, but in the time since I'd begun living with the Shinsengumi, I had felt it more than once.
I suppose they would have called what I felt radiating from the shadows, "bloodlust."
My eyes were drawn up toward the roof, where no normal person would ever think to look. A large wall cast a shadow, shielding a section of the roof from the moonlight.
There they stood.
"You!"
"...So, you've noticed us. Not too slow, then…"
They looked very distinctive, unlike any soldiers I'd ever seen before, but three sets of piercing eyes scattered my thoughts and made it difficult for me to think.
I had recognized them; now I had to put names to faces…
Chikage Kazama was the one with short blonde hair and red eyes.
Kyuju Amagiri was the one with reddish-brown hair puled back in a ponytail. He appeared to be the oldest of the three.
Kyo Shiranui appeared to be the youngest with wavey black hair pulled back in a top-knot.
They were connected somehow to both the Satsuma and the Choshu, and they'd made an effort to impede the Shinsengumi at Ikeda, and again at Hamaguri.
Whoever they were, they did no belong at the shogun's castle!
"Wh-Why are you here?!"
"Hey little girl, you oughta be asking yourself how we got here, not why! ...It was pretty easy, you know. A little human wall doen't mean shit to a demon," said Kyo.
"We are here for a specific purpose," added Amagiri. "That purpose is you, Chizuru Yukimura. We are here for you."
"I...Idon't understand… A demon…? What do you mean? And why are you here for… No...no, you must be joking!"
"...How can you ask what a demon is? Perhaps you're the one joking here. After all, you are one, just like us."
Kazama stepped forward, the shadows following him like a cloak.
When Amagiri spoke, it was calm and peaceful, as if he were trying to reason with a frightened child.
"Do your injuries heal quickly? Too quickly, perhaps?"
"Wh-What?!"
"Do you heal from injuries faster than any human could?"
"W-Well, I…"
I couldn't bring myself to answer that, so I pursed my lips and remained silent instead.
Shiranui's eyes narrowed.
"What the hell? Maybe it'll be quicker if we just give her a demonstration."
Kazama gazed blankly at us.
"Enough, Shiranui. I don't care if she admits it or not. We're here for a reason, and that hasn't changed."
His eyes dropped to the kodachi at my waist.
"Her family name is a demon's and she carries the Demon of the East's kodachi. That is evidence enough."
My family name? What was wrong with "Yukimura"?
I didn't understand what he was saying, but that didn't stop the cold sweat that I could feel inching down my spine.
It felt almost as though the darkness itself was coming for me.
"Then again, it isn't as though we need your permission to kidnap you." he paused a moment, "Female demons are rare. Now, come with me…"
His hand stretched out from the darkness, pale and grasping, like the tentacle of some hideous subterranean monster-
Then, out of nowhere, a blade flickered through the night.
"Whoa there, pal. Tryin' to pick up chicks in a back alley? That's not creepy at all."
I turned and felt myself slightly relax when I saw Harada and Saito.
Kazama turned slowly, a snide look in his eyes, "…You again? The culture and the nose of a dog, I see."
"Once could say the same of you," remarked Saito.
Sword and spear glinted in the moonlight, and Kazama stepped back, momentarily stymied.
"Harada! Saito!"
My legs felt suddenly weak as if the now-shattered tension had been the only thing keeping me standing. I teetered backwards, my balance momentarily lost-
A strong, sinewy hand caught me and pulled me back, its grip hard as steel.
"Stay back."
Hijikata.
One hand guided me behind him even as the other drew his sword.
"Hnn. I figured you were here for the shogun's head. What do you want from a kid?"
"I've little interest in you or the shogun at the moment. The matter at hand concerns only we demons."
Hijikata quirked his brow at Kazama.
"Demons?"
His eyes narrowed.
"Heh… Haven't seen these punks since Hamaguri."
Harada smirked.
As he drew his spear back to a ready position, I saw Shiranui's hand move toward the gun on his hip.
"True, though I feel little at this reunion." said Saito in a bored tone.
Saito's hand tightened around his sword, and Amagiri's feet shifted into a stronger stance.
Tension hung in the air so thick I could scarcely breath.
They were a powder keg, ready to explode. Even the slightest movement could be enough to set them off.
As slowly as I could, I moved my trembling hand toward the hilt of my Kodachi.
I'd nearly reached it when a voice whispered in my ear.
"Don't worry about the commander and the captains."
"Y-Yamazaki?! When did you…?"
He'd appeared as silently and invisibly as if he had been a shadow himself.
"I've been ordered to return you to headquarters."
"Then…you're telling me to run away?"
it was true that if I remained, it was unlikely I could actually be of help to anyone.
"I…"
I glanced back the three "demons" and then back to Yamazaki.
"...I'm going to stay here."
Yamazaki's brow twitched momentarily in surprise.
"You don't understand. What do you hope to accomplish by remaining here?"
"I...I know that staying here might not be the smartest idea. And I know that I probably won't be able to help. In fact, I might even get in the way…"
I paused a moment.
"...But I have to. I'm sorry."
They'd called me a demon, and told me to come with them.
I still didn't know what they'd meant by that. I needed to know the truth.
"You have a reason to stay then, and conviction. I can admire that." He sighed, "Unfortunately, I have my orders. Just as you must remain true to what you believe is right, so must I."
"Wha-?!"
Yamazaki reached for my arm, ready to take me with him by force.
His hand had nearly reached me when I felt a bolt of lightning race up my spine. I spun around to see Shiranui; his hand wrapped tight around the grip of his pistol, and his eyes aflame with the heat of a blacksmith's forge.
"Hold on there, buddy. The princess says she wants to stay, so she stays. You gotta learn when to let the girl go!"
Harada grunted in frustration.
With his last word, Shiranui launched himself toward us, just as Harada leapt to intercept him.
Kyuju seemed annoyed.
"*sigh* There are times when quick decisions are important, but Shiranui's short temper can be problematic."
"Perhaps," said Saito, "but you seem uninterested in stopping him."
Saito and Amagiri had maneuvered nearly into striking distance of one another.
"Dammit! What the hell are you doing?!"
The brewing fight had gone from a brawl, to a set of three duels. Hijikata threw me an angry look before turning to glare at Kazama.
I wrapped my fingers around the haft of my kodachi, and looked at Kazama. There...there had to be something I could do!
"Get out of here, you Idiot! He'll tear you apart! Yamazaki, keep her out of this!"
Hijikata edged sideways, putting himself more firmly between Kazama and myself.
The other man glared at him his mouth thinning to a tight line.
"Desperate peasants. I suppose you take some joy from impeding us?"
"Says the pot to the kettle. The reminds me," said Hijikata, "I haven't paid you back for the man you killed at Hamaguri, have I?"
The air between them fairly hummed with tension.
Apart though I was, I could still feel their intensity. It was hard to breathe.
Two more steps, and they would be within the reach of one-another's swords.
"Hmph. You wish to kill me, and put my body as an offering on the grave of the man you lost?"
"Don't be an idiot. I'd rather send you to apologize to him in person."
One more step…
It begon so fast that I heard Hijikata's sword slither from its scabbard in the same instant that I heard it strike Kazama's blade.
"Ah!"
The two swords ground against one another, screaming in protest. Even from a distance away, I'd felt the impact when they'd met, but Kazama seemed unphased.
Hijikata's eyes flicked toward me, and his hands tightened on his sword.
"What the hell do you want with this kid anyway?!"
"Chizuru is too much for you," replied Kazama, "We've come to take her off your hands. Quite simple."
"And just what's that supposed to mean?!" barked Hijikata.
Their blades shuddered and danced too fast for my eyes to follow. All I could catch was the flicker of movement as the moonlight caught them, and the flash of sparks when they met.
They leapt at each other, blades flashing, and met for a moment.
The two men sprang away, circled, then leapt forward again.
The clipped strands of Kazama's hair drifted away on a cool evening breeze.
"…I see."
There were no signs of fear on his face.
Instead, I saw what I thought was perhaps the tiniest flicker of respect.
He lowered his sword.
"What the hell is this?"
Both men stepped back, their fight clearly finished.
"...Further fighting serves no purpose. We will do nothing more than attract unwanted attention."
Amagiri's voice was calm; as deep and harsh as two boulders grinding toghether.
Kyo sneered, "What, you talkin' to me? C'mon, I know when to leave a party."
Kazama looked at his companions momentarily, then nodded.
"Yes. Our suspicions have been confirmed. We've no need to stay. This time, we only came to say hello."
Saito narrowd his eyes.
"Do you really believe we'll simply allow you to walk away?"
"Then call your men. You three may survive, but how many of your soldiers will we slaughter before we escape? Would you spend their lives so easily?"
There was no doubt that Kazama and his companions were powerful. There was no edge of arrogance in his voice… Only cold fact.
They left silently, fading into the darkness, but as he did Kazama spoke to me one last time.
"I will return for you. Soon."
He was far out of arm's reach, but his words felt as if they brushed against my cheek, cold and threatening.
A shiver ran up my spine.
"Whoa! Are you all right, Chizuru?"
I took the hand Harada offered, and pulled myself to my feet.
Hijikata was still staring intently out into the darkness, but when he spoke it was to me.
"...Kid. You got any idea why they were after you?"
I hesitated.
They had said I was one of them. Kazama had invited me to go with him…
Had he been telling the truth?
I didn't know.
"Um...I'm not sure."
There was really nothing more I could say.
…
So much had happened. My mind spun, full to bursting.
Once the rest of the men returned, there was a meeting among the captains.
The subject of that meeting was the three men who'd appeared at Nijo Castle: Chikage Kazama, Kyuju Amagiri, and Kyo Shiranui.
They had called themselves demons, and their previous encounters with the Shinsengumi suggested that they were involved, somehow, with the Satsuma and Choshu.
Although it wasn't clear if the three men were members of any domain, the Satsuma and Choshu were the most vocal imperialist domains.
What was clear was they - Kazama, Amagiri, and Shiranui - were not to be taken lightly.
There was another problem, however…
Why had they come for me?
Hijikata asked if I had any idea why they would have targeted me, but I was as despereate to know as he was.
They'd called me one of them, and they'd known my last name. Kazama had pointed out my kodachi, although I didn't understand what he'd said.
I couldn't bring myself to tell Hijikata and the captains. What if they didn't believe me? I didn't believe me…
My name is Chizuru Yukimura.
I am the daughter of my father and my mother. I am a normal girl; nothing out of the ordinary.
My only memento of my mother, my kodachi, lay in my palm. I squeezed it tight.
Who am I?