Here we are... The final chapter before his story truly begins... Well I hope you have all enjoyed it so far...cause this is where it starts to get real interesting ^o^

CHAPTER 4

December 1867

With the new year just around the corner, the Satsuma-Choshu Alliance formed an army and marched on the capital.
In response, the Shinsengumi moved to the Fushimi magistrate's office and began to prepare for war.

…
"Hey! Bad news, guys! The chief's been attacked!"
There had been no witnesses, and the culprit had escaped unseen. Their motives could only be guessed at.

…
"We still haven't figured out who attacked the chief?"
"I'll bet you anything it's those bastards from that Satsuma-Choshu Alliance!"
I was becoming very worried.

Ever since the attack on Kondou, the atmosphere at the Fushimi magistrate's office had been tense to say the least. I felt it increase as I stepped into the meeting room, carrying tea for the captains.
"Here's you tea…"
Harada was the only one who looked up.
"Oh, thanks. Could you just leave it here?"
I seemed to have walked in on a very serious discussion. All around the room were tense, drawn faces.
Nagakura glanced at Hijikata.
"So what's your plan? The Satsuma-Choshu Alliance wants power in the court, but they're also looking to have the emperor grant them all of the shogunate's assets and holdings. There's no other way to look at it: They're trying to start a war. We'd be smart to start preparing for one."
There was an odd lack of emotion in Hijikata's eyes.
"You have a point. They've been sucking up to the emperor, and they come and go at the palace like they own the place."
He closed his eyes.
"Wasn't it just the other day that they were declared enemies of the court, and not even allowed in Kyoto?"
He turned to the rest of us.
"Now, so far as preparing for war…"
Hijikata's eyes darted from man to man, across the room, looking for someone to speak up.
It was Shimada who answered his plea.
"Sanan has been pushing hard to augment the Fury Corps."
Harada glared at him.
"I'm against that. This is war, not subduing the odd ronin. There are going to be enemies and allies everywhere in battle. I don't think we'll be able to control them. They're powerful, but it's too risky."
Nagakura nodded.
"Agreed. Besides, it's inhumane."
Saito glanced at Shimada then turned to Shinpachi and Sano.
"Then what do you suggest? If you wish to disapprove, you should offer an alternate path."
"We're working on that," snapped Nagakura. "If it was so easy to come up with a solution, you really think we'd be in this mess?"
He shot Saito a glare.
Shimada turned to Hijikata.
"What's your take on this, Commander?"
Hijikata furrowed his brow and frowned.
"…Let me think about it. We need to see what the Satsuma and Choshu are going to do, and we have to consider what the shogunate wants."

Kondou's injury had put everyone on edge, even without a war inching closer, day by day.
I wondered how Heisuke and Sanan felt about what was coming, now that they were furies.
The Fury Corps was only active after I went to sleep, so I never got to see them.

…
When I couldn't fall asleep that night, I decided to go visit Okita, who was still trying to recover from his illness.
"Good evening, Okita. How are you feeling?"
I arrived to find Heisuke had also come to visit Okita, to pass the time.
He blinked and looked up at me.
"Oh, hey Chizuru. What're you doing up so late?"
He gave me a silly grin.
"People might get the wrong idea if they see a girl visiting a man's room in the middle of the night."
I smiled back.
"Oh Heisuke… You're smarter than that. You know Okita and I aren't…you know."
He looked away.
"Yeah, I guess you have a point. That's not really your sort of thing, is it?"
I blinked and then narrowed my eyes.
"Hey… What do you mean?"
His eyes took on a sly look.
"What do you mean, 'what do you mean'? C'mon…"
He chuckled, and tossed Okita what seemed to have been intended as a knowing grin, but the older man was far too annoyed to notice.
Okita flicked his annoyed eyes to me.
"So why're you here? I assume you've got a reason for visiting me in the middle of the night."
"Oh...Um…"
His tone stole away some of my determination, but I pushed ahead anyway.
"Do you guys know that, um, Sanan wants to augment the Fury Corps?"
As soon as the words were out of my mouth, Heisuke's face clouded over.
"Yeah, of course."
Okita was a little more forthcoming.
"Well, if you were in Sanan's position, wouldn't you do the same thing?"
He suddenly looked frustrated.
"If I wasn't like…like this, I'd pick up my sword right now and go get revenge for Kondou."

Okita's bedrest was clearly rankling him. After all, he'd known Kondou for a long time-since they'd met in Edo, long before the beginning of the Shinsengumi.
"What do you think, Heisuke?"
He frowned.
"M-Me…? Well, I…hm… I did decide to drink the Water of Life, but… I'm not gonna lie, I was worried about what would happen to me. …Sanan says we should have more men in the Fury Corps. He says we'll never win, otherwise."
"Oh…"
He was so unlike the Heisuke I remembered, so stern and cold, that couldn't help but feel sad as well.
Okita glanced at me and folded his arms.
"Well, no matter what Sanan says, at the end of the day it's going to be Hijikata who makes the call."
Heisuke sighed.
"You're right, but the Fury Corps already exists. We can't pretend it doesn't."
Okita smiled.
"Then maybe Sanan's right, and we should use the Fury Corps however we see fit. …At least they can still wield swords."
His last words were cold, hateful, and filled with self-derision.
Perhaps we could use the furies as a weapon. They might help us to win the coming war. Their strength would be an undeniable military asset.
But once the war was over… What would become of them?
I was afraid to ask that question, because I feared I already knew the answer.

…
The next day, an unexpected visitor arrived.
"Oh!"
"Hello, Chizuru. It's been far too long."
"Sen…? Kimigiku? Why are you here?"
It was Kimigiku who answered.
"We've business with the Chief. Can you go get him for us?"
"Oh… Kondou isn't in good enough shape to speak to anyone. Perhaps Hijikata…"
Sen smiled.
"Then Hijikata will serve admirably."
"All right. Please, come inside."

…
"…Huh. We don't usually allow visitors in here. What do you want?"
Sen frowned.
"My apologies for intruding, but it was imperative that I speak with you today."
"Um, I'll go make some tea…"
But just as I was about to leave…
"No thank you, but that's not necessary. I shall take my leave as soon as I am finished. And in fact, I would prefer you stay. You may wish to hear this as well."
"O-Okay…"
What did she have to say that was so important, and that might be something I should hear?
I sat down in a corner, and did my best to pay attention.
"I have come to discuss your 'furies'."

When Hijikata'd heard the word "furies", I saw his face twitch.
"I will get straight to the point. How much longer will you employ them?"
"What do you mean?"
Sen frowned.
"You've kept them enslaved for quite some time. I believe you know exactly what I mean. The furies are a failed experiment. Even the shogunate has admitted to that."
She narrowed her eyes.
"They are to much for your organization to deal with. With demon on your trail, you would do well to wash your hands of furies."
Hijikata's frown deepened.
"Isn't it up to us to decide whether they're a failure or not? We've done our own research on the Water of Life. I don't think it's your place to judge us. Ma'am."
He narrowed his eyes at Sen, and they glittered like spear points, but she seemed unconcerned.
It was Kimigiku who spoke up.
"Then are you aware that the Shinsengumi's furies have been murdering people on the street to test their strength?"
Hijikata's eyes flicked to her and widened.
"What?"
For a split second, his cold mask dropped, and I saw genuine confusion and dismay on his face.
Then it was gone, and he was cold and composed once again.
"Where did you hear that?"
"I've no reason to tell you, but rest assured that it was from a reliable sourse. You have not been able to keep the Water of Life from driving your men mad. Your job is to protect the safety of the capital, correct? And yet you men roam the streets, killing innocent civilians. It disgust me. Before this becomes common knowledge, I strongly suggest you disband the Fury Corps."

Kimigiku's logic was sound. Hijikata had no counter-argument.
Everyone in the room had fallen silent.
But…was it true? Were the furies indeed cutting people down in the street for the thrill of killing?
If the Fury Corps was disbanded, then Sanan and Heisuke would…
Every one of us waited for Hijikata's answer with bated breath.
My heart roared in my ears.
But it was Sen who broke the silence.
"…I suppose we can table this for the moment. There is something else I must discuss."
With this, she turned and looked at me.
"Chizuru, will you please leave with us?"
"What…?"
Hadn't we already covered this the last time she came to visit?
"I know we spoke before, but the situation has changed. You do understand that, don't you?"
"Soon war will break out in Kyoto," said Kimigiku. "If you are going to escape, this is your chance."
I knew was was coming, but to hear the truth presented so baldly was…jarring.
"I don't believe the Shinsengumi will be able to protect you," said Sen, "once the war begins. Please, come with us."
Hijikata clearly found this insulting.
"Wait a minute. Are you suggesting we can't handle it?"
"The truth is sometimes hard to accept. If Kazama returns, can you protect her from him? What if he comes to call while you are locked in a battle elsewhere against the Satsuma and Choshu? Will you be able to protect her then?"
Hijikata scowled but said nothing.
Sen's expression softened.
"And in any event, she is a demon, not a human. She should be with her own kind. We can protect her."
She turned from Hijikata to face me once again.
"You see? You should come with us. If you leave, then they can concentrate wholly on the battles to come."
"Um…"
Her words hit like blows, but she spoke the truth.
War would soon break out, and perhaps remaining with the Shinsengumi would be dangerous for me and for them.
I would be useless in was: I was no soldier.
Even so…I wanted to stay.

I looked over at Hijikata, hoping he might give me an answer.

He only furrowed his brow and looked the other way, saying nothing.
What was I to do?
I was sure Sen was right, and I should leave, but…
The words just couldn't come.
In truth, I didn't want to leave. I hoped that maybe some day, all of the maddeness and war would end, and then I could be a human being…not a demon.
"What do you say?" asked Sen, on the verge of impatient. "You really ought to leave. You'll much safer with us…"

Her voice was kind, and I knew she had only my vest interests at heart, but I still couldn't bring myself to respond.
Hijikata, of course, saw straight through me.
"…You don't want to leave, do you?"
"Huh? Um…"
"Then stay. What's there to think about?"
I blinked and looked up to find him smiling at me.
"B-But…is that really okay?"
If Kazama came after me again…
He scowled at me.
"I'm not going to repeat myself. …Or are you suggesting the Shinsengumi can't handle this?"
"No! No, of course not! It's just…if I stay here, and I cause trouble for you guys, then…"
"Well, what proof do you have that these two can keep you a secret any better than we can? Even if he wasn't after you, that bastard'd be an enemy of ours. If we've got the same enemies, makes sense to me that we'd stick together."
He was gruff as ever, but it wasn't hard to understand what he was trying to say…
"So…I can stay?"
His expression softened.
"What the hell kind of question is that? If you were as much of a pain in the ass as you seem to think, I would've kicked you out a long time ago."
Relief flooded out across my body.
"Th-Thank you so much!"
With war set to break out at any time, the Shinsengumi was changing. I didn't know how useful I could be to them once battle was joined, but even so, Hijikata had told me it was okay to stay.

…
"*Sigh* So, you've turned me down again then, have you?"
Sen looked at me with a slightly sad smile as I walked her and Kimigiku out of the meeting room.
"…I'm sorry. It was very vice of you to offer, though…"
"Oh, it's all right. If you're so determined to stay, then what could I ever hope to do?"
She paused and seemed to be checking if Kimigiku was listening.
"…There was one other tiny little thing I wanted to ask you. When you told me before that you were, ah, interested in someone, did you perchance mean Hijikata?"
"What? Um…"
I wasn't quite sure how to answer that question.
"Um…uh… Well, to be honest, I don't really know Hijikata that well, but…"
I stumbled over my words, not quite sure how to explain to her how I felt, perhaps because I wasn't quite sure myself.
"The men call him the Demon, because he's so strict and harsh with the soldiers. A lot of people think that he doesn't care about anyone, and that he's cold, but I think he has a kind heart in there. He has a lot of responsibilities, and the whole Shinsengumi rides on his back. i don't think he has any choice but to act like that… I don't know what I can do for him, but i want to stay here and do whatever I can."
Sen had been nodding encouragingly and making "hm"s of agreement, but now she suddenly burst out laughing.
"Well, I daresay he has captured you quite thoroughly."
"…What?"
"They say that my ancestor, Suszuka Gozen, fell in love with a human by the name of Tamuramaro Sakanoue, and followed him to the capital. …I am, in fact, their granddaughter. So I suppose I know something of how you feel. Circumstance and rank mean little before the power of love."
"What? Wait, wha?! L-L-Love? I…I didn't…! I never meant-!"
She only rested her hand on my shoulder and continued.
"You may be two different creatures-human and demon-but do not think that means your love is doomed to failure. Best of luck to you, Chizuru. I shall be cheering for you!"
"…My lady, we should go."
"Oh. Yes, yes, you're right. Then I must take my leave, dear Chizuru. Do take care. You mustn't underestimate Kazama. He is terribly powerful."
"A-All right. Thank you. Goodbye…"
In mere moments, they were gone.
Circumstance and rank mean little before the power of love…
But was this thing I felt; the desire to be close to Hijikata… Was it really love?
I just wanted to be around him, and help him…
Besides, the most important thing to Hijikata was the Shinsengumi. He'd built it up from nothing, and put everything he was into it.
With war against Satsuma and Choshu brewing, he hadn't the time to think of anything else.
That being the case, as someone under the care of the Shinsengumi, I needed to think of how I could best put my own skills to use.

…
Just before the beginning of the new year, Okita's condition worsened. It was determined that he had contracted pulmonary tuberculosis.
It was not an uncommon disease, but it was incurable.
I'd suspected that he might be seriously ill when he began to lose his strength, but I'd never guessed that tuberculosis was the cause.
The entire Shinsengumi was shocked and saddened by the news.

…
Kyoto was still on high alert.
The Shinsengumi remained on standby at the Fushimi magistrate's office through the year-end celebrations.
My hope that tempers would calm and the threat of war would fade lasted until three days after the new year.
A dispute arose between the Satsuma Domain and a group of shogunate troops attempting to enter Kyoto. Violence broke out, and suddenly, war was upon us.
The shogunate army in Kyoto numbered roughly 15,000 men, while the Satsuma-Choshu Alliance commanded only 5,000.
Victory for the shogun should have been a forgone conclusion.
The Satsuma and Choshu, however, had bet their very livelihoods on this war, and determination and morale were high.
Perhaps more importantly, the Satsuma had faced the British in battle, and the Choshu had faced the British, French, and Dutch. Both domains had learned modern Western tactics.
Armed only with swords against the Satsuma and Choshu's rifles, the Shinsengumi were at a tremendous disadvantage.
During the war, the Fushimi magistrate's office was set on fire, and the Shinsengumi had no choice but to retreat from Kyoto.

…
"*Pant* *Pant* *Pant*"
Inoue glanced at me in concern as we rushed through the city.
"Are you all right? Perhaps you should rest."
"N-No, I'm fine. We can't afford to stop. I'll be all right."
I wiped the sweat from my brow, took a deep breath, and forced my throbbing feet to move.
We were on our way to Yodo Castle, under orders from Hijikata.
The Shinsengumi was doing poorly, so we'd been dispatched to bring reinforcements.
"Do they really think the people at Yodo will help us out?"
Inoue gave me a somewhat grim smile.
"They have to. We need the help. …And so does Hijikata. He can't lose. I never want to see him like that again…"

I remembered the battle at Fushimi all too clearly…

flashback

On the evening of the third day of the new year, the war began. Cannons pounded the Fushimi magistrate's office, and the ground shook with each impact.
"Hijikata!" shouted Harada over the explosions. "We can't take any more of this! That cannon up on the hill is tearing us apart!"
He closed his eyes in frustration.
"If we try and go up there, their guns will mow us down before we even get close."
Saito seemed to agree.
"Their rifles have impressive range, and the gunners are skilled. One out of every two shots find its mark, despite the distance."
Harada glanced around the room. His face paled slightly.
"Where's Shinpachi? I can't find him."
Hijikata glanced at him.
"He took fifteen men from the 2nd Division to attack the enemy line."
Harada stared at him in shock.
"Attack the enemy line?! Is he insane?! He's gonna die out there!"
Hijikata said nothing, seeming suddenly sick.
I could see muscles working in his jaw. His face was pale, although whether from fear of tension I couldn't tell.
Outside, the roar of the cannons continued unabated.
Just when it seemed certain that Nagakura must have perished-
"Hey guys! I'm back!"
"Shinpachi!" shouted Hijikata.
Cries of surprise filled the room.
Hijikata seemed to be debating whether or not Nagakura was a ghost.
"Y-You're alive?!"
Nagakura smirked at him.
"What, do I look like a ghost? Go ahead and touch me if you don't believe it."
He grinned as he wiped a thick smear of blood and dirt from his face.
"Anyway… It's impossible to bet to the enemy line. Some Aizu guys went on ahead of us, but they got pushed back too."
"…Commander," said Shimada, "There's nothing else we can do. Please, order the retreat."

Hijikata's brow furrowed, and he scowled furiously.
"Whoa…" started Harada. "What's this? Where's this smoke coming from…?"
Nagakura narrowed his eyes in anger.
"The cannon must've set the building on fire! We need to get out of here or we're dead! Hijikata, we have to retreat!"
Even Nagakura's plea seemed to fall on deaf ears.
Inoue frowned at his commander.
"Toshi…"
Until this moment, the Shinsengumi had never known defeat in battle, but they were helpless against the firearms of the Satsuma and Choshu.
The Shinsengumi was Hijikata's life. Defeat was…hard to accept.
After what seemed like an eternity, he let out a long, ragged sigh.
"…I guess this is the end. Nobody can win a war with swords and spears anymore."
His knuckles turned white.
There were several more minutes of tense, breathless silence before he finally looked up, his eyes burning with fury.
"We're pulling back. But we haven't lost. They'll pay for this."
Fury wasn't the only thing in those eyes: Behind them I could see a bitter, desperate agony.

end flashback

"I've been with him for a long time," said Inoue, "I know how hard it was for the man to admit we had to retreat."
He gazed up at the sky.
"One loss is enough. I'm not nearly as good a swordsman as Kondou-"
"What?! No, don't say-"
He interrupted me with a kind smile and continued.
"…But there are still ways for me to be of use to the Shinsengumi. So let's keep our hopes up, shall we?"
"Okay…"
The Shinsengumi, and Kondou and Hijikata, needed my help. I had to do whatever I could.
It took us several hours to reach Yodo Castle.
Hijikata's hope was to use the castle as a new staging area where he could garrison our troops and launch ambushes from. Unfortunately…
"That's weird. Why are the gates closed? Do you think they're already preparing for battle?"
There were no guards outside the castle or indeed anywhere we could see. It was uncomfortably quiet.
Inoue's current expression was one of grim intensity.
"No…"
He stood for a moment, absently rubbing his chin in thought, before finally making a decision.
"We are here on the orders of the shogun! We have come to request your help in battle against the rebels who would dare challenge this country's rightful rulers!"
His voice echoes out through the stillness, but no one responded.
I had almost begun to think the castle was simply abandoned, when-
"Oh, look! There's someone in that window! Huh? They've got something shiny-"
"Get down!"
"Huh?"
Inoue grabbed me by the wrist and pulled me down just as gunshots echoed from the castle walls.
My eyes darted around, but there were no rebels nearby. That meant that the bullets were meant for us.
"W-What's going on?! I thought the Yodo were friendly!"
Inoue gave a heavy sigh.
"Either they've already been overrun by the rebels, of they don't want to ally with the side they think is going to lose. We need to get back to the men. It's dangerous to stay here."
"B-But Hijikata told us to get reinforcements from Yodo!"
Inoue only shook his head.
"It's clear by now that they're no longer our allies. The longer we stay here, the more danger I put you in."
"But if we leave, then what's going to happen to Hijikata? What's going to happen to the Shinsengumi?! L-Let's just try to talk to them! If we explain what's going on, I'm sure they'll understand!"
I'd never seen Inoue glare at me before.
"That is enough! I want to go back to Toshi with reinforcements as much as you do!"
I felt myself wilt under his anger.
"But my job here was twofold: To ask for reinforcements, and to protect you."
His glare lessened slightly.
"If something happens to you now, then I will have failed him twice. Now come on."

There was nothing I could say.
Inoue had fought alongside Hijikata since their first days in Edo, before the Shinsengumi.
He had undoubtedly felt even more devastated by Yodo's betrayal than I had, but he had still chosen to retreat so that he may protect me.
Never before had I felt so ashamed and so helpless.
There was nothing I could do.

…
"I'm sorry… I…I'm useless… I failed…"
Tears welled up in my eyes and I brushed them away roughly.
Inoue gave me a kind smile I didn't feel I deserved.
"Don't worry about it. After all, this is Toshi we're talking about. I'm sure he'll come up with some amazing plan and turn this whole thing around."
He laid his hand on my shoulder and gave it a gentle, reassuring squeeze.
I focused on the warmth of his hand, and felt myself begin to calm down.
"…Your hand is warm… It reminds me of when my father used to pat me on the head when I was a little girl."
Inoue's face wrinkled as he laughed.
"Ha ha ha… Father, huh? I guess if I'd had a daughter, she would be your age right about now…"
I blinked and then frowned.
"Oh…I'm sorry… Did I say something wrong?"
He smiled at me and slowly shook his head.
"Oh no, no. Not at all. I would have been honored to have a daughter like you. Now, we should be going. I'm sure the men we left behind will be worried if we aren't back soon."
"Okay!"

…
"What…"
We were nearly to the location where we'd left the rest of the soldiers, but something felt...wrong.
"Weren't they supposed to be here? Did we get lost?"
Inoue shook his head.
"No, we couldn't have. It should be just up ahead…"
Then, as we rounded the corner, I noticed something lying on the ground…
"I-Inoue! There's someone over there!"
"No…impossible. The rebels couldn't have gotten here already…"
I looked more closely.
"He's wearing Shinsengumi blues! Could he…?!"
Inoue narrowed his eyes and lowered his voice.
"…Stay quiet. We don't want to give ourselves away."
I nodded.
Could the Satsuma-Choshu Alliance already have troops here? If they did, they were hiding them very well; neither Inoue nor I could sense anyone nearby.
No rebels…but no Shinsengumi either.
"Ah!" Then we came around another bend in the road and I gasped.
Warriors in the blue jackets of the Shinsengumi were piled up along the road, dead where they'd fallen.
And standing in the middle of this carnage…
"I thought these men looked familiar. You are here."
Kazama's smile was a cruel, mocking thing.
"Y-You! Why?!"
I was so furious I could barely speak.
"To see what the Yodo Domain had decided to do. It seems following tedious politics has at last paid off. …I never thought I might find you."
I felt his eyes on me, like those of a snake staring down its prey, before they shifted to take in the dead men that littered the ground around him.
"I thought they might entertain me until you returned, but they weren't even skilled enough to do that."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Inoue shake with rage.
Most of the men who lay dead on the ground in front of us were members of his 6th Division.
And now, because I had chosen to stay with the Shisengumi, Kazama had returned and Inoue's men were dead.
Kazama had taken their lives, and for what?
"I was otherwise engaged during our last encounter, Chizuru, but this time, you will be leaving with me."
"Ah!"
Kazama had demonic powers that put him in a class above any mortal man.
Two skilled swordsmen, working in concert, might be able to hold him back, but not defeat him. Inoue and I would not be able to defeat him, nor, I suspected, would he allow us to escape.
If I surrendered to him, however, then he might let Inoue leave.
I stepped forward and steeled myself.
Inoue put a hand out to stop me.
"Stay back."
He then moved forward to put himself between me and Kazama.
I blinked at him.
"I-Inoue…? What are you doing?"
"I'm sorry, but you'll have to run for it. Get back to headquarters, and tell Toshi… …Tell him that I apologize for my incompetence, and that I hope he will forgive me for not staying with him to the end. Tell him that I don't have the words to thank him for giving a man like me the chance to be a part of something. I'll never forget what he did for me."
"No! I can't do that! I won't just leave you here to die!"
I choked out a sob, and blinked away sudden tears.
"This man is after me! If I go with him, then you can live! Please!"
Inoue's smile was bitter.
"Well, well. Are you suggesting I should use a girl for a shield so that I can escape? How could I call myself a warrior, then? Besides… What parent wouldn't lay down their life to protect their child? No father wants to see his daughter die before he does."
"But-!"
Inoue had finished talking, though. He turned his back to me and drew his sword.
Suddenly I remembered the conversation we'd had on the way back from Yodo Castle.
He'd told me that he was old enough to have a daughter my age.
No, cried to myself, that doesn't mean he has to do this! How could he throw his life away?!
"Please, Inoue! Run!"
I screamed and pleaded, but his back didn't move.
"...Finished with your farewells?"
Kazama smiled.
"Then I'll give you a chance to take her up on her offer. Go on. Run."
He let his hand fall from the hilt of his undrawn sword.
"Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
Inoue launched himself at Kazama, and swung his sword down in a wide arc toward the demon's neck.
"Heh."
Kazama's sword slithered ot of its scabbard, too fast for the eye to follow.
His hand simply blurred, and the tip of his blade emerged from Inoue's back.
"Arrrrgh!"
Blood bubbled out between his lips.
"Inoue!"
He fell to his knees, the deep red stain rapidly devouring the light blue of his jacket.
Kazama's eyes flickered like sparks, and he bent down to whisper to Inoue.
"Is something the matter, human? Aren't the men I just slaughtered your subordinates? Don't you want to take revenge for them? I understood warriors put great stock in avenging the deaths of their comrades-in-arms."
Inoue glared back at him with white hot rage, and leapt to his feet.
"Yaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
He lashed out furiously at the demon, blood splattering onto the ground beneath him.
"Heh…"
Kazama simply laughed, and stepped easily around Inoue's swinging sword.
I didn't even see him strike.
There was only the momentary flicker of sunlight on a blade, and blood erupted from a gash across Inoue's chest.
"My apologies, I may have his a little too hard."
"Gaaah!"
Inoue ground his teeth, trying desperately to overcome the pain, and turned his strained gaze on to me.
"What are you doing?! Run!"
Droplets of blood flew from his mouth as he cried out, and his face was already waxy pale.
I scrambled to my feet, and turned to leave-
"My, my… Of all the humans I've fought, you are, by far, the weakest. Why would the Shinsengumi allow someone so pathetic among their ranks, I wonder? Though I suppose they are rather…eccentric."
I felt something inside me snap.
"S-Stop! Don't-!"
As I cried out, I heard the awful sound of steel slicing through flesh.
Time slowed to a crawl, and I could do nothing but watch as Inoue fell, without a cry, to the ground.
"I-Inoue… Inoue!"
Even as part of my mind screamed at me to run, I scrambled toward him, grabbing for his hand.
It was still warm…
A warmth like my father…
But Inoue's eyes no longer saw. His ears no longer heard. He had joined his men among the corpses on the road.
"Now, this pest is dealt with. There is no one else to save you. Come."
He flicked his sword clean and slid it back into its scabbard.
Then he stepped forward, and reached for my hand.
Inoue had told me to run.
Hijikata needed to hear his last words, and I was in no position to fight a demon.
I knew all this, and I could hear a part of my mind screaming at me to run, but the roaring flames of rage drowned it out.
How could I have let him die to protect me?! Inoue was so kind…
Just looking at his lifeless body sprawled in the dirt made my heart feel as though it would shatter into a thousand pieces.
But more than anything, I hated Kazama for killing my friend as if he was nothing more than an irritating insect!
I grabbed desperately for my Kodachi, and pulled it from its scabbard, bringing it up into an attack position.
"I thought you were smarter than this… …But I see now your time with the humans has poisoned your mind. You disappoint me."
"Shut up!"
Hot tears rolled down my cheeks.
"Why are you so upset? Does it bother you that I swatted this fly? He was a human, and he was foolish enough to challenge a demon. What other outcome could there have been?"
"Shut up! Shut...UP!"
Never in my life had I spoken to someone like that. But never in my life had I so wanted to kill someone.
If only I had been able to transform my wrath into strength, I would have been the strongest creature alive.
"You! I can never forgive you for what you've done!"
Please Inoue, give me the strength to strike him down!
I tightened my grip on my sword, my knuckles white, and leapt toward Kazama with a yell.
"Ah!"
Contemptuously, he slapped my strike aside. My kodachi flew out of my hands and clattered to the ground. I reached out to grab it again-
"Aaaaah!"
Kazama's foot came down on my arm, and pain shot through it.
"Enough of this stupid game."
His red, arrogant eyes burned into mine.
The eyes of the monster who had killed Inoue.
"You do not seem to understand who your master is. That is unfortunate. Perhaps I should punish you, so that you will never defy me again."
I felt the cold steel of his sword on my throat.
"Pain is an excellent tool for discipline. Fortunately your body heals very quickly."
"Damn you!"
I glared at Kazama with all the anger I could muster, but all I got in return was a cruel smile.
Inoue had told me to run…
But I hadn't, and now I couldn't. Kazama was right about one thing: I couldn't escape from him.
If I couldn't escape, then at least I could refuse to give him the satisfaction of a compliant victim!
"If all you're going to do is use me however you like, then I might as well bite off my tongue and drown in my own blood!"
"Oi! Don't remember giving you permission to do that. And I don't much care for people who can't follow orders."
The moment I heard that voice, my head suddenly cleared.
There was no way I could mistake it… It was…
"Hijikata!"
I felt tears spring to my eyes again, but for a very different reason.
This was no dream; no hallucination.
Toshizo Hijikata stood in front of me.
"Dammit… I had a feeling you guys were in trouble, but…"
He stopped as his voice was about to crack, and simply looked at
Inoue's body, his face twisted with grief and regret.
Hijikata's jaw tightened, and his breath shook as if he were about to cry. I knew what I was about to say would hurt him, but he had to hear it…
"I-Inoue wanted me to tell you something… He said that he…wanted to apologize for his incompetence. And he hoped you would forgive him for not staying with you until the end…"
There was a lump in my throat and my eyes burned, but I had to keep going…
"He said he didn't have the words to thank you for giving a man like him the chance to be a part of something, and that…that he'd never forget what you did for him!"
As I choked out the final words, I began to sob.

Hijikata said nothing.
Slowly, almost as if in prayer, he bowed his head.
When he lifted it again, his eyes were changed; they shone now with the brilliant fires of rage.
With tight, deliberate purpose, he gripped his sword, the Izuminokami Kanesada. It whispered through the air as he raised it to an attack stance.
"…Another human who wishes to throw his life away? It is difficult for me to understand why your kind is so anxious to die. I was hoping I'd seen the last of this idiocy. Very well. Let's get this over with."
Kazama's voice was bored, but as he spoke the fire in Hijikata's eyes grew into a raging furnace.
"'Throw away his life,' you piece of shit?! How dare you say he threw his life away!"
Hijikata roared in wordless fury and launched himself toward Kazama.
With all of his weight behind the blade, he struck at the demon's neck.
"Nn!"
Kazama flicked his sword up to catch Hijikata's.
For a moment, it looked as though they were evenly matched-
And then Kazama was thrown back!
"What?!"
From the look on his face, it was likely the first time he'd ever found himself overpowered by a human, and he was stunned.
Hijikata didn't let that opening go to waste.
He pushed forward, his sword hissing back and forth through the air as if possessed.
"Guh!"
Just moment ago Kazama's face had been calm and serene-now it was warped with frustration and surprise.
Hijikata, by contrast, wore a manic grin and his blade slammed again and again into Kazama's with more strength than I'd ever seen before.
"…I never though I would show this form to a mere human. Be honored, mortal. The moment your eyes behold a true demon is the moment of your death."
And with that, the battle changed.
"Gah!"
Kazama's sword hummed and flickered through the air with ease, far faster and smoother than it had been a minute before.
It was all Hijikata could do to anticipate and block his strikes, leaving him no time to try and land an offensive blow of his own.
"Where's the fire you had a moment ago?! Is this the most you can muster for the dead insect?"
Kazama's demonic strength and endurance were beginning to show: He wasn't even breathing hard.
"Damn!"
Hijikata, however, was quickly running short of breath. All Kazama had to do was wait for him to tire, and…
"Goddammit!"
He threw his full strength behind his sword, and lunged at Kazama one more time.
The demon anticipated his blow easily, and twisted to the side as Hijikata's blade swept past him.
"Gah!"
Kazama's hand snapped out and Hijikata's sword fell, clattering, to the ground.
"Hijikata!"
In my mind's eye, I could already see him, crumpling to the dirt, just as Inoue had done. A slow puddle of blood growing under his still-warm body…
I had to do something! I couldn't let him die too!
…But I was utterly and completely helpless.
Useless.

Hijikata fell to his knees, his chest heaving.
Sweat rolled down his forehead in streams, and the cloth of his shirt was soaked.
Kazama lifted his sword and pointed it at Hijikata.
"…This is the end for you."
His mouth curved up into a cold, confident smile.
"Humans are such fools. They will try to fight what they know they cannot defeat. I call that recklessness, not courage. You have underestimated the power of a demon, and chosen not to fear us. I hope your last thoughts are of shame at your ignorance."
As Kazama spoke, Hijikata dragged his tired body across the ground, toward his fallen sword.
"What's this? Trying to run?"
Hijikata had reached his sword.
With the last ounce of strength he possessed, he lifted it up once again and turned to face his foe.
"…You won't bow, will you? I've made a fool of you, and yet you refuse to acknowledge the difference between us."
…No.
Hijikata was not the sort of man to care about a difference in strength, but neither was he the sort of man that would simply abandon victory.
So why, then, had he not responded?
As I watched, he pulled out something from inside his shirt.
"Ah!"
A tiny bottle filled with red liquid.
"The Water of Life, eh? How far do you mean to take this idiocy?"
Hijikata replied with a toothy grin.
"I'm an idiot, huh? Like I give a shit what you think. We were always a pack of idiots. We shared an idiot's dream that we were all too bullheaded to give up on. And now, here we are. We're halfway up the hill. If we stumble now, we're gonna fall all the way back down."
Kazama seemed amused by this.
"Even if you become a fury, you'll be nothing more than a faded reflection of a true demon."
Hijikata's grin never wavered.
"Well, you never know till you try."
"Hijikata, no!"
My cries fell on deaf ears.
Hijikata lifted the bottle to his lips and drank.
"Shut up."
Hijikata's voice rumbled out from the fury, dark and low, like approaching thunder.
"I've had enough of those fucking cowards in the shogunate and I'm sick of you goddamn demons. So I'm not a real demon? Why the hell should I care? Never once in my whole stinking life have they treated me like a real warrior."
His eyes burned with anger.
"But hell… Where are you supposed to find a real warrior these days? Lotta men callin' themselves 'samurai' when all they do is sit behind ten feet of stone in a castle and get fat. Only thing those sons of bitches care about is making sure the side they buddy up to is the side that's gonna win. We're better soldiers than any of those bastards!"
Hijikata's words weren't just for Kazama any more…
They were for Inoue, who had died in a fight he couldn't win; for the shogunate and the counselors, who didn't have the courage to make difficult decisions; and for everyone who had ever refused to treat the Shinsengumi as true warriors.
"I believe what I believe. Nothing can change that. And I will never, ever, retreat. That's what's brought us this far. Call us face if you want, but if we push hard enough and don't give up, eventually we become what we say we are. If I can defeat you now, as a fury, then I-no, then we-can become real demons. Right?"
The predatory grin on Hijikata's face wasn't human.
When he leapt at Kazama, he moved so fast that I could barely even see him. He'd been impressive as a human, but as a fury…he was beyond belief.
"Gah!"
Kazama smashed aside the first attack, but the second followed it almost immediately, and then a third.
Blow after blow crashed against his defenses, giving him no time to even breathe.
"C'mon! That all you've got?! I thought we were just ants for you to crush! Where's your smart mouth now, demon?!"
Hijikata's eyes flashed, like a great beast closing in on its prey, and he lunged at Kazama.
"Hnng!"
With an effort, he managed to swing his blade up in time to catch Hijikata's, but he'd lost the advantage of casually superior strength.
"Gaaaah!"
His sword rebounded from Hijikata's strike, and Kazama was forced back.
Hijikata leapt for the opening.
"Argh!"
Hijikata's sword moved too fast for the eye to see: A line of blood simply appeared on Kazama's face.
He clapped a hand to it in surprise and pain, and jumped backward, trying to put space between them.
"Ah hahaha… Great. Looks like you're finally getting into it. You look like a man now. How's it feel to get cut by a fake?!"
Kazama didn't even seem to hear Hijikata's words-he simply stared, eyes wide, at the blood that fell from his face to pool in his hand.
Even as I watched, his wounds closed themselves. The stream of blood slowed to a trickle and then stopped.
"Damn you!"
Though the wound itself had disappeared, it seemed the ramifications had not.
"How dare you! False demon! Insect! scum! How dare you draw my blood!"
It must have been the first time he'd ever been wounded by a human.
Kazama's preternaturally calm face was distorted now by rage and disgust. It was the first time I had ever seen him truly look like a demon.
"I will never forgive you for this! I will torture you until you beg for death! You will learn what it truly means to feel pain!"
"…At last we get to see the real Kazama. Fine. Come at me. I dare you to kill me."
He bared his teeth in a wicked smile.
Their swords collided with a resounding crash.
"Gaaaah!"
Kazama had been strong before, but now his blows landed with all the strength of a cannon.
Veins stood out on Hijikata's neck and forehead as he strained against the onslaught.
"Damn you! You are nothing! Not even a shadow of a demon! How dare you draw my blood!"
Kazama had gone mad with rage, his golden eyes wide and bloodshot.
"Bastard!"
Every time their swords met, I could see Hijikata's chip and shake. It looked as if the next blow could break it in two.
Hijikata tried desperately to block with the back of the blade, and protect it from more damage, but Kazama's strikes were too quick and too powerful.
Hatred rolled off of them in waves. Neither of them would be satisfied with simply killing the other.
"I'll never forgive you, you arrogant son of a bitch! You're going to hell even if I gotta drag you there myself!"
His clothes were soaked with blood, but eyes alight with vigor and determination shone out from beneath his white hair.
"Ha! Go to hell if you like, but you'll be going alone!"
They leapt at each other like enraged animals, blows flying so quickly that they could only defend or attack on instinct.
It was clear that the battle would only end when one of them was dead, but it was rapidly becoming clear that Hijikata was fighting in a way that put his at a disadvantage.
"Ah…!"
Back home, he'd always been so calm, even in the heat of battle, but cool detachment he fled with his humanity.
I had to stop them. If I didn't, Hijikata would die, but awe and terror at their display of violence and skill had sealed my voice in my throat.
Even though I was a demon, just lik Kazama, I was helpless.
It was maddening.
"Yukimura!"
I heard footsteps pounding along the path and spun around to find the source of that familiar voice.
"The commander left to go see how things had gone with the Yodo, and he hasn't returned. Have you seen him?"
"Yamazaki!"
His timing couldn't have been better. In that moment, Yamazaki looked like an angel.
"W-We're in trouble! Hijikata's fighting a demon and Inoue is…is…"
I wanted to explain what had happened, but somewhere between my brain and my mouth it got all jumbled and I found myself stammering unintelligibly.
Yamazaki stared at me for only a moment before he glanced past my shoulder and saw the battle raging there. His eyes widened in shock and horror.
"…What's going on here…? That white-haired demon… Is that a fury?"
"No…those clothes, they're-! Oh my god!"
Realization began to dawn on him face, but he couldn't tear his eyes away from the battle.
"That's...that's Hijikata! He drank the Water of Life!"
"No…!"
"Hng!"
With a dull twang, the sword leapt out of Hijikata's hands and clattered to the ground.
"This battle in mine. Though I am impressed that you lasted so long with such a dull sword."
He gave Hijikata a tight smile.
"Guh…"
Hijikata kept low to the ground, and slowly began to move away.
Kazama followed just as slowly, his grin widening at Hijikata's apparent fear.
"I hope you haven't forgotten that I don't intend to simply kill you. Eventually you'll die, of course, but not before I've inflicted on you all the pain I can imagine."
The advantage once again his, Kazama's calm had returned.
"Ah, I know. When I'm finished, I'll skin you alive and send your head back to your beloved Shinsengumi, preserved in alcohol. They deserve to see you at your, ah, best. To start, though, I think I'll take off your arms, then feed them to stray dogs!"
Kazama hefted his sword, its blade still clean and undamaged.
"Hijikataaaa!"
I screamed as loud as I could, some irrational part of me hoping that might change the outcome.
A horrible, wet sound filled my ears.
"What?!"
I looked up-
Blood had splattered across the front of Kazama's shirt, but Hijikata was unharmed.
"What are you doing, Commander?! You are the mind of the Shinsengumi! We're your arms and legs! Why are you running off to face the enemy alone…?"
Hijikata stared down in pained shock.
"Yamazaki, what are you saying…?"
His voice shook.
Yamazaki smiled back, his eyes shining as I's seen them do when he and Hijikata were discussing important secrets.
"If you lose an arm or a leg, you can always replace it. But if you lose the head, you lose everything. The Chief and the Commander… They two of you make…a whole…"
With that he went limp, the last of his energy exhausted, and crumpled to the ground.
Blood pooled beneath him, turning the packed dirt a deep red.
"Yamazaki!"
I grabbed a hold of him, as if that might somehow bring him back to consciousness.
"Yamazaki… Why…?" Hijikata's hair had slowly begun to shift back to its original color, and as I watched he struggled to blink back tears.
"Hey, Hijikata! Yamazaki! Gen! Where are you guys?!"
Nagakura's voice echoed through the forest from some distance away.
"Dammit! I should just finish you off now-!"
Kazama lifted his sword and made to swing it down when, out of nowhere, a hulking form appeared between us.
"Stop. Any further battles will only lead to unnecessary casualties."
Amagiri.
"Are you ordering me to retreat?! Am I supposed to let this worm who dared to cut my face simply go free?!"
"Killing him would be easy enough for you, but to do so would go against the wishes of the Satsuma Domain. Ultimately they desire for the shogunate to fall by their hand, not the hand of a demon."
His tone made it clear how little he thought of that desire, but his commitment to obedience was clearly greater.
Kazama wasn't pleased with Amagiri's interruption, but he seemed to feel that it was pointless to argue over the matter with his fellow demon.
"Hijikata, was it…? I will not forget that name. I will have my revenge."
"Same to you. I won't be able to sleep at night until I've sent your soul to the afterlife."
They glared at one another with such hate I felt as if they might spontaneously combust.
Then Kazama spun on his heel and followed Amagiri off into the forest.
No sooner had they disappeared…
"Hey, there you- Hijikata, what the hell's going on?"
"There's dead men all over the place… Did you run into some rebels? …No, those are sword cuts…"
Hijikata glanced at his fallen friend and then at his ninja.
"…Go look at Yamazaki. I think he's still alive."
"What?!"
Nagakura stared in horror and sudden realization at Yamazaki's limp body.
"What happened here?! C'mon, Yamazaki, hang in there! Anybody got some clean cloth?! And booze! Anything alcoholic's good!"
"Here, if you need cloth take this. He needs it more than I do."
"Thanks, Sano!"
"I-I'll help too! Let me look at him…"
I desperately called up everything I could remember about first aid, and set to work next to Nagakura and Harada.
"…Commander, what happened here?"
Hijikata didn't ever seem to here the voice of Saito.
"…I…I never thought I would sacrifice my own men so that I could survive…"
Saito's eyes widened.
"Sacrifice…?"
"Inoue's body is over there. Can you give me a hand burying him? His men too…"
With that he finally looked at Saito and gave him a pained smile.
"It gets cold this time of year. Can't leave 'em out there to freeze…"
I knew that he wanted to break down and cry more than any of us, but in front of his men he struggled to grin and joke.
It was just too much. I felt myself begin to sob, but I couldn't bear to do it in front of Inoue and Yamazaki, so I buried my face in my hands and let the tears flow soundlessly.
Inoue had given his life to save mine.
Hijikata had become a fury to fight the demon who'd chased me across Kyoto.
Yamazaki had taken a blow that might well end his life to protect Hijikata…
…What could I possibly do for them?
How could I atone for my sins?
I thought about it for a long time, but no answers came.

…
That night, Sanan and the Fury Corps launched an attack in revenge for the events of the afternoon.
Once the sun set, it became harder to aim a gun, which the Shinsengumi hoped would give the Fury Corps the advantage.
At first it did, and the furies were even more successful than they'd hoped…
But then the gunners began to fire different, special bullets, and the Fury Corps were quickly driven back.
The loss was devastating, and our allies quickly crumbled.
With the betrayal of the Yodo and Tsu Domains, and the refusal of the Owari Domain to become involeved in any waym the Sinsengumi was alone.
With our allies gone, and enemies everywhere, we had no choice but to retreat to Osaka Castle.

…
"*Sigh* …Well, here we are. …Damn this place is big. What's the sense in building a place like this?"
"Hijikata, we're gonna take Yamazaki to see Doctor Ryoujun, okay?"
"Sure. Fine. Go ahead."
Yamazaki had groaned in pain all the way home… I hoped he would be all right.
I was also worried for Hijikata. Now that he was a fury, being out in the sunlight had to be painful for him…
"Um…Hijikata? Are you feeling all right? I mean…physically?"
"What, surprised to see a fury out during the day?"
"N-No… I-I mean, that's not what I… I was just wondering if anything has changed."
Even if I wasn't directly at fault, he'd become a fury because of the demon I'd attracted.
"No. So far, nothing. Still, pretty soon here it'll probably be real painful for me to even look at the sun. Might as well enjoy it while I can."
"Oh no…"
He looked away.
"I don't know what's going on in that head of yours, but only one person made the decision to drink that stuff. Me."
He glanced back at me.
"Besides, I've ordered plenty of men to cut themselves open or become furies. Can't really wuss out when it's my turn, can I? …I had a feeling this would happen eventually. Don't blame yourself."

It wasn't that easy, though. I couldn't just take him at his word, and shed all the guilt I felt.
When I looked up at him though, his expression seemed somehow relieved.
"Um…this is kind of a weird question, but… Did something good just happen?"
He smiled.
"Of course."
He looked up at the castle walls and laughed.
"Isn't it obvious? This castle will never fall. So long as we stay here, we can't lose. Maybe we'll do what Yukimura Sanada couldn't. …And maybe I'll get some revenge. How could I not be excited?"
The man I'd watched fight the demon Kazama was nowhere to be seen: Hijikata's face now was that of a man looking forward, determined to win.
I smiled to myself.
He hadn't given up hope.
"Commander! There you are!"
We both looked up to see Shimada standing before us.
"What's wrong?"
"Um… We've been ordered to put to sea immediately. We're returning to Edo."
Hijikata eyes went so wide that he almost appeared afraid.
"Edo? What do you mean? I thought we were going to stay here and give that rebel scum a little payback."
"Well…um…"
Shimada hesitated, and I sensed that it was out of reluctance, not confusion.
When he spoke, he sounded as if even he didn't quite believe what he was saying.
"…I've received word that Yoshinobu Tokugawa has already boarded the ship and is headed for Edo. So there is…little point in remaining here."
Hijikata looked very much like he wanted to throw up.

For a moment, he simply stood there, stunned.
When he finally spoke, his voice was a sinister growl.
"What the hell do you mean, he's on a boat to Edo? His army put their necks on the line for him, and he's running away to save his own sorry ass?"
Shimada swallowed.
"Well, to be honest I'm really not too sure myself…"
He didn't looked much more pleased about the situation than Hijikata.
"Dammit!"
Unable to contain his frustration, he kicked out at the nearest tree.
His eyes thinned and he kicked it several more times.
At last he stopped, slightly out of breath, and tried to regain his earlier calm.
"…Fine. Not like we were fighting for Tokugawa himself in the first place. They don't have the balls for it, fine. We don't need them. We've still got the Denshu Company, and a couple of those warships the shogunate bought from the foreigners. When we get to Edo, we'll just have to start this fight up again."
Perhaps it was the desperate exhilaration of having your back to the wall, but I saw the fire of determination light in Hijikata's eyes.

...
That was how the Shinsengumi and the last remnants of the old shogunate were forced to leave Osaka Castle and return to Edo.
During the trip, Yamazaki's wound grew worse, and eventually he passed away.
Yamazaki himself had said that Hijikata was the head, and the rest of the Shinsengumi were his arms and legs.
To me, it seemed, that was truer than even Yamazaki had realized: His death was as painful to Hijikata as the loss of a real limb.
Yamazaki was buried at sea in a ceremony presided over by Takeaki Enomoto, a one-time vassal of the shogunate who was bound for Edo on the same ship.