Chapter 7
April 1868
As soon as he could, Hijikata began to visit as many former vassals as he could finagle audiences with, requesting clemency for Kondou. He was busy day and night, and hardly slept.
In the end, though, the former vassals were wary of upsetting the Imperial Army, and refused or outright ignored Hijikata's pleas.
On April 11th, the head of the Satsuma Domain met with an ambassador from the shogunate. As a result of these negotiations, Edo Castle was surrendered to the Imperial Army.
…But the war was not over. We'd left Edo in advance of the negotiations to meet up with Denshu Company.
…
…
Hijikata returned from his other engagements as we joined with Denshu Company, and together we headed north.
Saito had taken the main body of the Shinsengumi ahead to Aizu, in order to keep an eye on the Fury Corps. We left Ichikawa and set off down the Nikko route to Aizu.
"…"
We'd finally managed to meet up with some allied soldiers, but many of them looked at us with a strange mixture of curiosity and fear. It was…unpleasant.
Shogunate soldiers were usually sons of wealthy hatamoto families, but the men of the Shinsengumi had acquired a reputation as murderers and thugs. Many of the other soldiers looked at us askance.
"Hey, are those the Shinsengumi? The murderers?" Muttered a soldier.
The soldier nearest him nodded. "Yes, and I've heard rumors that they're savages. They kill men for no reason-even their comrades! Best not to make eye contact. You never know what might set that sort off."
It wasn't difficult to hear the gossip about us that had begun to travel the ranks.
Shimada glared at them, grinding his teeth.
"Bunch of gossipy old ladies…" He turned to Hijikata. "You want me to go shut them up, sir?"
Hijikata also seemed annoyed.
"No. They want to talk, let 'em talk."
He sounded even more irritated than usual.
"Um… Hijikata, are you all right? You don't look too well."
He responded quickly but didn't look at me.
"I'm fine."
He certainly didn't look it. His skin was a pale color, almost blue, and he looked as if he might collapse any moment.
Marching during the day was hardly pleasant for a fury, and it was easy to see that Kondou was still foremost in his mind…
I had to admit, he did have good reason to be on edge.
"Excuse me, could you please let me pass? Ah, my apologies. Oops…"
Someone was moving toward us from the back of the column, pushing his way through the rest of the marching soldiers.
"Hello, are you Hijikata? I've heard a great deal about you and the Shinsengumi."
Hijikata turned and gave the stranger a sneer that could have frozen a bonfire.
"Who the hell are you?"
"Oh, pardon my rudeness. I haven't introduced myself. I'm Keisuke Otori, the Infantry Magistrate. I command Denshu Company. I'm sure I'll be talking with the Shinsengumi a great deal in the future. It's nice to meet you."
Keisuke gave a friendly laugh and extended his right hand.
For a man who claimed to command the infantry, he looked more like the son of a wealthy merchant than a soldier.
"…"
Hijikata said nothing and stared down at the hand as if it were a week-old fish.
The strange man looked at his own hand and frowned.
"Oh… I forgot to take my gloves off."
He hurriedly plucked the glove off of his right hand and then thrust it toward Hijikata again.
Hijikata seemed annoyed by this.
"What? You want money or something?"
Keisuke smiled but didn't lower his hand.
"Oh, um… Well, it's called shaking hands. You've never heard of it? It's how people greet one another in Europe."
Hijikata snorted under his breath and turned away. Otori left his hand out for a few moments longer, before pulling his glove back on silently.
Hijikata opened his eyes again as Shimada approached.
"Do you have som business with Hijikata?"
"Ah, yes, that's right. i was hoping to hear some stories about the Toba-Fushimi from the commander of the Shinsengumi himself."
Hijikata frowned, and when he spoke his voice was like acid.
"Sure you wouldn't rather hear some ridiculous rumor from a drunk soldier? Seems like everybody here loves to gossip."
Otori frowned again.
"Oh, I apologize for the men. We've finished our training, but it appears military discipline hasn't quite caught on yet."
He gave himself a little shake, as if to clear his mind.
"At any rate, I came here to give you an overview of how our forces are being deployed. We've go 3,000 escaped soldiers from the former shogunate in the advance guard, main body, and rear guard. As the highest-ranking officer here, I-"
Hijikata blinked seeming startled by something.
"Wait… You? You're telling me you're in charge of all this?"
Otori seemed pleased that this surprised him.
"Yes, I…suppose that's true."
Hijikata looked as if he'd just swallowed something rotten.
He'd only just lost his chief, and now Otori was trying to force himself, however oblivious, into Kondou's place.
No one, no matter how skilled, could replace his friend.
Still, Otori seemed to have expected to be rebuffed, and continued, showing no sign of being put off by Hijikata's behavior.
"The advance guard is made up mostly of men from the Kuwana and Aizu domains. The main body is my Denshu Company, and the rear guard is composed primarily of men from the shogunate's New World Army. I'm thinking of putting you in command of the advance guard. What do you think?"
Hijikata scowled.
"Why?"
"I don't have much actual combat experience. You do, so I figured you'd be a better fit for the job. Besides, there isn't anyone on our side or theirs who hasn't heard the name Toshizo Hijikata. I can't think of anyone better suited."
Otori's copious praise did nothing to thaw Hijikata, and they simply stared at one another for a few awkward moments.
"Well, then, I suppose I'd better be on my way. We'll talk later, and go over some more in-depth plans."
Their conversation ended as one-sided as it had begun, and Otori disappeared into the swarm of marching soldiers.
…
…
Later that night we camped a short distance away from the rest of the force.
"Hey, Shimada, Chizuru, get over here. We need to talk."
The main bulk of the Shinsengumi, as well as the Fury Corps were headed to Aizu under Saito's command.
That meant that the only people in camp were myself, Shimada, Hijikata, and about ten other Shinsengumi.
"Remember what the Infantry Magistrate told us earlier?"
Shimada thought for a moment.
"You mean about you taking command of the advance guard?"
Hijikata nodded.
"Yeah. I've been thinking about what I want you guys to do. You can't be in the advance guard, so sooner or later I'm going to send you off to fight with the main body, or the rear guard."
Shimada frowned and glanced at his commander.
"So…what does that mean? I assume you're going to take him up on his command offer?"
Hijikata sighed.
"Yes. You were at Toba-Fushimi. You'd be a good commander for men who've never seen a real battle. These guys have the theory, but not the experience. We've got the experience, but none of their allegedly superior tactics. So I guess we'll kind of cover each other's asses. Make up for what the other lacks. You guys should be perfect."
Shimada's frown deepened.
"But…"
Hijikata's logic made sense, but Shimada didn't seem to be very excited about being separated from his commander.
They looked at one another for several silent moments, until Shimada finally nodded.
"I understand. Whatever you order me to do, I'll do. But first, I want you to tell me something. This doesn't mean you're planning to disband the Shinsengumi, does it? If I fight in this, I'll do it as a member of the Shinsengumi. Even if our standard isn't leading me into battle, it's still held hight in my heart. Are you…all right with that?"
Shimada and I felt the same way it seemed: Hijikata may have given up when we lost Kondou, but not the rest of us.
The meaning wasn't lost on Hijikata, and he looked away uncomfortably before finally mumbling a response.
"…Fine. Whatever."
He sounded so…dispassionate.
Shimada glanced at me and then back to Hijikata.
"…I should also point out that I think commanding soldiers is a little more than she can handle. She doesn't belong on the front line. She's a page, not a soldier. The soldiers wouldn't listen to a woman, even if she knew what to say. I think you should find another post for her. …All right, I'll go tell the others what you've decided."
With that, he turned and jogged off toward the rest of the Shinsengumi soldiers.
Hijikata and I were alone.
He sighed and his shoulders drooped. Suddenly he looked very, very tired.
"Um… Why did you try to order us away?"
He didn't answer.
Instead, he tilted his head back to gaze up at the stars that speckled the night sky.
That long, melancholy silence spoke volumes, but just as I began to regret questioning his decision, he spoke up.
"If I knew Kondou was coming back, then I could go out there ready to give my life to win. But…that's out of my hands now. Just like Yamazaki said, Kondou and I were the Shinsengumi. With him gone… There's no way in hell I can carry all this on my own."
Hijikata was often rude or cruel when he spoke to me, but I'd never heard him sound so defeated before. And he never talked that way about the Shinsengumi…
His shoulders sagged.
Shinpachi was right, wasn't he…"
"Huh?"
"Remember what he said when we decided to go to Koufu Castle? He said there was no way in hell Awanokami Katsu would give us money and weapons without some sort of hidden agenda. He was right. So was Harada… You know who just turned Edo Castle over to the Imperial Army? Awanokami Katsu."
"What?!"
Then that meant the battle in Koufu had been…
"He wanted to cozy up the new government, but we would've made that tough, so he had to get rid of us."
He gave a dry laugh, and kicked despondently at a rock near his foot.
"Dammit! Why didn't I see that… If I'd been thinking, there's no way that would've slipped past me. But I was desperate. I wanted Kondou to be off fighting big important battles, winning himself all sorts of glory… I let that blind me. And then we lost the war, and Kondou lost his spirit… All that for nothing."
I didn't know what to say. I had no comforting words.
So I just listened.
The Shinsengumi had put their lives on the line for the shogunate. The shogun should have come to their aid, but instead the Shinsengumi was abandoned, and because of that we'd lost Kondou.
"We busted our asses practicing our swordsmanship until we finally earned our swords. Now we're no match for farmers and peasants from Choshu because they've got guns! Aren't samurai supposed to be the masters of warfare? What the hell have we been fighting so hard for? Is anything I believed in still true?W believed there was something there for us, at the end, so no matter how bad shit got, we just ground our teeth and climbed up that hill. But now it turns out it was just a goddamn hill, and there's nothing there. What the hell are we supposed to do now? What the hell am I supposed to believe in?"
With every word he spoke, I could feel his pain.
It had been Hijikata and Kondou's partnership that had allowed the Shinsengumi to flourish.
But the shogunate had betrayed them, war had changed, and now he felt the world moving on without him.
All that Hijikata had done was fading away, and the pain of that loss was destroying him.
"I think you feel this way because you've lost what you believed in… But the men out there…the few that are left… I think what they believe in is you. They think that as long as you're there to lead them, they'll be fine, and they refuse to show fear in front of you. They want you to see the kind of men they are, and I think that because of that, they'll fight against men with guns if you tell them to."
I didn't know what else I could say to make him feel better, but I hoped that something I said might help soothe his wounded soul at least a little.
As much as I could, I said what I felt.
"To be honest, I don't really know much about thinks like the reason the Shinsengumi exists, or what you should believe in… But if somebody asked me why I was here… I'd tell them that it's because I believe in you, Hijikata. So, um…"
Maybe that had been the wrong thing to say.
He was worried about what he believed in, not me. All I'd done was probably give him yet another thing to worry about; more pressure.
After all, I was just an observer, and not even a very educated one. How could I even begin to guess what kind of troubles weighed on his mind?
Hijikata turned to look at me, but for once the light in his eyes was soft…
"…You're right. If you lose sight of something, the only person who can find it again is you. Besides, we've got a big fight coming up. Guess I sould be thinking about how we're going to win that, not whining about my problems."
With a small, crooked smile, he turned back to the stars.
We fell silent again. Worried I'd only make things worse if I spoke, I kept my mouth shut.
The only sounds were nearby bugs, chirping and fluttering in the night.
I was so lost in the calming sounds that I nearly failed to notice Hijikata speaking to me.
"…You really planning to stick around?"
I knew he wanted to go alone, but I couldn't go with Shimada, and we both knew it. He couldn't exactly send me away.
"Yes, I am."
Perhaps I didn't know how I could help him just yet, but I could hardly leave him alone.
Hijikata sighed and shifted his gaze back to the stars.
"Fine. Just stay out of my way."
His voice was cold and emotionless.
"Yes, I know."
We stood there, in the silence of the night.
I was a demon. My body healed so quickly that most wounds disappeared almost immediately.
At the moment, I wished that my body was his. …But maybe that wouldn't be enough. What Hijikata needed was a body where no scars could form: physical or emotional.
"Gah!"
He moaned suddenly, and bent over in pain.
"H-Hijikata!"
In a matter of seconds, his hair began to turn white.
"L-Let's go over here!"
I lead him into the shadow of a large tree, where the nearby soldiers wouldn't be able to see him.
…
Hopefully, no one would notice us.
"Dammit! Why now?!"
He spoke through gritted teeth, and as I watched his breath began coming in gasps.
Frustration fought for dominance on his face with pain as the bloodlust began to take hold.
"Hijikata…"
I ran toward him, pulling at my collar to loosen it. He grasped my intent and grimaced.
But he took hold of me and pulled me roughly toward him.
I felt a dull sting on the back of my neck, and then the hot trickle of blood.
Then I felt his lips.
"…"
The quiet sound of his drinking filled my ears in the silence of the night.
His warm breath came in pants across the back of my neck, but after a time I felt it begin to steady.
Slowly, his grip loosened.
I could sense the pain leaving his body.
Then, without a word, he pulled away from me.
"How long do you plan to keep letting me do this?"
"What?"
When he looked at me, I saw worry in his eyes.
I smiled back.
"Forever. As long as you need me, I'll be here."
The misery on his face only deepened.
He looked away.
"You're a stupid girl. And I'm a man who's lost sight of what makes him human… How can you just let me cut you open like that and drink your blood? What the hell are you thinking?"
I wanted to scream at him but instead I said, "It's all right, really. I want to do this."
There was nothing for him to say to that.
…
…
We were in a forest a short distance away from Utsunomiya, on the way to Nikko, when we heard the news.
"So Utsunomiya has been captured by the Imperial Army? That's…unexpected."
Hijikata and Otori had stopped to talk over their next move after the scouts had brought the news of Utsunomiya's fall. Otori looked quite serious, but Hijikata looked utterly unimpressed.
"Captured? More like they were scared enough of the Imperial Army to just bend over and take it. We show 'em we're scarier, they'll come running back. I mean, we are allowed to take castles that have capitulated, right Mister Infantry Magistrate, Sir?"
Otori pursed his lips and frowned at Hijikata.
"It's not that I'm against going into battle. We are leading an army, after all. But the main body and the rear guard are still on their way from Oyama. All I'm asking is that you wait until they catch up with us."
His expression softened slightly.
"Attempting to lay siege to a castle is folly beyond folly. We should-"
Hijikata gave a heavy sigh.
"What kind of flowery drill manual did you pull that gem from? Your favorite western artillery book?"
Otori's frown deepened into a scowl.
"I don't just study western tactics, you know. Sun Tzu said much the same thing in the Art of War. Thus the highest form of generalship is to balk the enemy's plans, the next best is to prevent the junction of the enemy's forces, the next in order is to attack the enemy's army in the field, and the worst policy of all is to besiege walled cities. In other words, we should only lay siege to the castle as a last resort. Attacking it head-on is foolish. If you're determined to be a fool, the best you can do is make sure your army is in the best condition possible, and-"
"Thus, though we have heard of stupid haste in war, cleverness has never been seen associated with long delays. There is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare. Remember that one? He's saying that it might get a little messy, but it's better to end your battles quick. Taking your sweet time just comes back to bite you in the ass."
"Hijikata… Please don't do that. I'm not asking you to wait long. They should be here in just a few days."
Hijikata was quickly growing more annoyed.
"Yeah? And what're you gonna do if we're here twiddling our thumbs waiting for the rest of your me when the Imperial Army shows up? If the Satsuma of Choshu bring out their big guns, then we're screwed, no two way about it."
"Well…"
For the first time, he didn't have a ready rebuttal, and Hijikata pushed ahead.
"You want to miss this opportunity, fine. I'll just take the advance guard and capture the castle myself."
Otori's eyes snapped wide.
"You'd have to be crazy to do that! That's suicide!"
His voice rose in shock, but Hijikata just snorted derisively.
"Suicide? Fine. Bring it on. It's easy enough to deal with a man who's fighting for his life, but try fighting a man who doesn't care if he lives or dies."
His eyes shone with the excitement of a new challenge.
…No, it was something else. What I saw in his eyes wasn't a man rising to a challenge, but the mad glint of a man who was no longer interested in living.
"Well, I guess we'll see. I'll take Utsunomiya Castle by tomorrow."
His lips pulled back from his teeth in a feral grin and he looked off toward Utsunomiya.
With Hijikata like this, could we really win?
…
…
April 19th.
Utsunomiya Castle was in turmoil.
Our forces numbered around 2,000, while the castle had barely 700 guardsmen.
The battle for Shimogawara Gate was especially intense, with 1,000 shogunate troops against only 400 guards.
Although the shogunate soldiers easily outnumbered their opponents, the guards were able to use their defense fortifications to great effect, fighting the invaders to a stand-still.
Guns cracked and bullets flew across the battlefield as men screamed in pain.
Hijikata turned to face the 200 men now under his direct command.
"We can't keep this up. I guess this is as good a time as any to attack the enemy line."
The soldiers started to speak out in fear.
"A-Attack? What are you saying?! They have guns!"
Hijikata scowled at them.
"Guns? You haven't seen guns until you've seen the ones the Satsuma-Choshu Alliance has. They can hit a man from almost 200 meters away. Those guns out can barely manage 80. Besides, taking a bullet or two won't kill you."
Another soldier spoke out in fear.
"Th-That's crazy!"
The men stared back at him, stunned. Never would they have imagined that they might be given orders like these.
Hijikata, on the other hand, stared back at them coldly.
"What the hell did you come here to do? Last I checked, it was fight a war. If you're prepared to fight, you should be prepared to die. Am I wrong? So when I give the word, you're going to charge that line!"
He pointed toward the source of the bullets raining down on the battlefield.
Hijikata's men turned pale, and many of them began to tremble. Eventually, one of them snapped.
"I-I can't do this! I don't want to die here!"
He broke, and turned to run.
Hijikata flicked his eyes to him.
"Hnn!"
Hijikata's sword leapt from it's scabbard and sliced across the back of the fleeing man.
"G-Gaaah!"
He fell to the ground, dead.
The men watching swallowed. For a few short moments, they were utterly silent.
"H-Hey! He just killed one of his own men!"
"What is this? Is he crazy?!"
Hijikata let his cold eyes slide slowly across their ranks, and slowly the mumbling ceased.
"Anyone else want to run? If you're too scared to fight, go ahead. be my guest. But anyone who runs will die by this sword. So either I kill you… …Or you take your chance out there. up to you."
His eyes were cold and dead. Not a man there believed for a moment that he wouldn't kill them without a second thought.
"That man is a monster…"
With one final scowl, Hijikata turned back to the battlefield, and took off across it.
He ran through the hail of bullets, and fell upon the men defending the gate like a vengeful god.
"Argh!"
"Gah!"
His beloved sword, the Izuminokami Kanesada, dripped with fresh blood, but he swung it again and again, oblivious or uncaring.
I hid myself in the shadows, and watched.
"Hijikata! Just a little more, and we might be able to take this gate!" shouted Shimada.
His face was smeared with dirt and blood as he ran up toward the commander.
Hijikata gave his friend a blood-smeared smile.
"Great! Keep it up! I believe in you, Shimada!"
The guards fired desperately, but as Hijikata had said, their guns were old and inaccurate.
Attacking men with guns head-on was a frightening prospect, but Hijikata seemed to be utterly unconcerned as he dodged and wove through them, his sword ending lives with each stroke.
As a fury, he wasn't likely to die from a gunshot wound unless it struck a vital organ, and he healed so quickly that bullets were largely a temporary discomfort.
Still, even if he'd been only human, I didn't doubt that he would have run into that hail of bullets just as fearlessly.
His hair hadn't gone white yet, but it was still afternoon. It should have been difficult for him to even stand…
But to watch him fight, you would never have known.
"A-Amazing…"
"Is he even human? He looks more like a demon straight from hell…"
The mood among the men watching Hijikata fight began to change.
None of them had likely ever seen a man fight so fearlessly in the face of gunfire, or even at all.
His eyes glowed out from his blood-drenched face, and his arm never slowed.
"C'mon men! It looks like they're running out of bullets! How 'bout you grow a pair and get over here!"
He took a moment to roar over shoulder before turning back to the important task of killing guards.
His fearless charge seemed to have had an effect…
"I…I think we might be able to do it… I think we might be able to win this fight!"
"Y-Yeah… Yeah, you're right! We might be able to do it! Just follow the Shinsengumi-no, follow Hijikata!"
As their morale rose, so did their determination, and the fighting along the gate grew more intense.
Then, just after the sun had passed it zenith-
"It's opening! The castle gate is opening!"
"Did we do it? Did we win?!"
The news spread along the lin like wildfire.
Hijikata also paused to stare at the opening gate.
"Took a little longer than I thought, but… Well, no, guess this's just about right."
At least he relaxed, and I saw a grin of victory on his face.
Shimada and I joined him.
"That was amazing, commander! You really are a true samurai! Watching you run straight into those bullets… I'm in awe!"
"Heh. Kissing my ass isn't gonna get you anywhere, Kai. Besides, the castle still hasn't really fallen. Can't let our guard down."
I gave a quick nod.
"Right… Huh?"
Before we'd realized it, the soldiers who'd been so reluctant to fight not so long ago had surrounded us, all of them speaking to one another in excited murmurs.
"Sir, that was amazing! It was like you were Yoshitsune Minamoto reborn! You are truly the commander of the Shinsengumi!"
"We had you all wrong, sir! We're so sorry! You only killed that man so that you could lead us to victory! You did it to insure none of us would leave!"
"Sir, it is an honor to fight under you! You are a true samurai!"
The curiosity and fear we'd seen on their faces when we first men was gone now, replaced with respect and adulation.
Shimada's eyes flicked from soldier to soldier.
"Wh-What's gotten into them?"
Hijikata gave an irritated sigh.
Now that the battle was over, Hijikata was beginning to look a little ill, and his mood was souring with his health.
I placed a careful hand on his arm.
"Are you all right?"
He'd pushed himself so hard, and during daylight hours, that his body had likely reached it limit.
Besides, he'd been showered with who knew how much blood… The bloodlust might start up at any moment.
It seemed that only sheer force of will kept him standing.
"Course I'm fine. Can't die till the castle falls."
He rubbed a fist across his face, wiping away sweat and blood at the same time, then turned back to the soldiers.
"All right men, follow me! We're going to attack the castle before dawn!"
"Yes, sir!"
…
…
Dawn came, and Hijikata led the advance guard in an attack on Utsunomiya Castle itself. Their previous cowardice now forgotten, his troops fell upon the castle's defenders with great vigor.
"They keep this up, taking this castle might be easier than I thought."
Hijikata looked at me with a slight grin just as Shimada appeared.
"Hijikata! The men we sent to the banquet hall ran into trouble!"
"What? We haven't seen any real resistance so far."
Shimada frowned.
"I don't know the details. Should I go see…?"
Hijikata slowly shook his head.
"No. I'll go. I'm leaving you in charge here."
"Yes, sir!"
I glanced at Hijikata.
"Um, Hijikata, what should I do…?"
"Come with me. Don't want you wandering around. Might get hit by a stray bullet or something."
"O-Okay…"
…
…
Even before we stepped into the banquet hall, I knew something was wrong.
Inside, our men were dead on the floor, their bodies laid out like the spokes of a wheel. And at the hub of that wheel…
Hijikata gave a heavy irritated sigh.
"What're you doing here? Decided you'd take a vacation? You do know there's a war out there, right? Or maybe you're just hiding out here, hoping you won't get hurt."
The only two men still standing in the banquet hall weren't strangers.
They were Kazama and Amagiri, the demons.
"Wh-Why are you here?"
Kazama smirked at me but it was Amagiri who answered.
"We are acting under orders from the Satsuma Domain. We are here to deliver a secret message. We did not expect to be drawn into battle here. …And we certainly did not expect to encounter you."
Hijikata seemed more amused than concerned.
"Oh, I get it. The new government says 'Bend over,' and you guys say 'How far?' Well, you're sure dedicated. You've got my respect."
Kazama sneered back.
"Well, I didn't think I'd see you again so soon, Hijikata. …Or whatever your name is."
His eyes glittered like a pair of rubies.
Hijikata folded his arms, his expression unchanged.
"Didn't think you were so anxious to get your face all cut up again. Oh, don't worry, I'm happy to oblige."
"Damn you!"
Kazama ground his teeth, and drew the sword slung at his hip.
It wasn't the sword he'd worn the last time we'd met.
This one shone in a strange, disquieting way, almost as if it simply generated its own light rather than reflecting what hit it.
I found myself unable to look away.
"Killing you will erase the humiliation I suffered at your hand. You and your minions have been a thorn in my side since Kyoto. Today, I will have my revenge. Amagiri, you stay out of this. He's mine."
Amagiri sighed and gave a miniscule shrug.
"As you wish…"
He padded to a corner and folded his arms in silence.
"Huh. Guess the face wasn't enough, huh? Maybe if I take an arm this time you'll get the message."
White washed across Hijikata's hair.
"Graaaaaaaah!"
He leapt across the room at Kazama like a bullet from a gun.
"Heh."
Kazama blocked Hijikata's strike calmly, and their blades rattled against one another.
Then Kazama pushed back and Hijikata was thrown across the room.
"You're not getting away."
In the blink of an eye, he leapt after his opponent and whipped out his sword in a quick slash.
"Gah!"
Hijikata brought up the Kanesada at the last moment, catching Kazama's strike before it could hit him.
"You're slow. You're movements lack…finesse. Don't tell me that killing humans has tired you out? I thought you said something last time about being a demon…"
"Hnng! Gkk!"
Hijikata's sword began to shake. Kazama's edged closer.
He was right, though. Even with fury-enhanced speed and strength, Hijikata was slower than before; less focused.
"Ah… I see. The sun's still up, isn't it? And you don't like the sun much, do you?"
A cruel, arrogant grin spread across his face, filled with altogether too many teeth.
"Well, don't worry. I won't go easy just because you're weak. After all, a samurai always gives all he can, no matter the situation. That is your code, isn't it?"
"D-Damn you!"
Hijikata leapt backwards, but he wasn't fast enough.
Kazama's sword licked out.
"Gah!"
The glowing blade traced a brilliant red line across his chest. Blood erupted and splattered to the floor as Hijikata dropped to his knees.
"Aaah!"
His breath came in raspy pants.
The front of his shirt began to turn red, and drops of blood fell to the floor beneath him.
But he'd be okay. He was a fury. Any moment now, the bleeding would stop…
"Huh…?"
…But it didn't. Agonizing seconds stretched on, and still blood flowed from Hijikata's chest.
"Wh-What is this?!"
"Heh… Hahahahahahaha! Ahahahahahahahaha! What's the matter?! Not healing like you should?"
Kazama's grin spread even wider, and he hefted his sword.
"This sword is Yasutsuna's Demonslayer. It was used by the legendary Yorimitsu Minamoto to kill the demon down as Shutendouji. It's been passed down through the Kazama family for generations, but… No one has ever thought to test it on a demon. This seemed like an excellent chance to see what it could do. And do you know? I get to use it to put down a fake demon."
Hijikata met Kazama's gloating smirk in kind.
"Heh… Must be getting pretty desperate if you're willing to grab your family's magic sword. Really need something like that to take on a fake demon?"
He gave a taunting laugh, but Kazama's grin didn't even twitch.
"You humiliated me for the first time in my life. Nothing is too much, if it well send you to hell. Your 'abilities' can't heal the wounds this sword gives you. You became a fury to defeat me, but now that sacrifice means nothing."
"Heh…"
If Hijikata was concerned, he was hiding it well…
He prodded experimentally at the wound on his chest, then climbed slowly to his feet.
"So…tell me if I've got this right. All I have to do is avoid getting cut by that thing? Hell, before I became a fury, all I did was dodge swords. This'll be easy."
"Does your impudence know no bounds…?"
Kazama gave a bored sigh.
"Fine. I'll put your short-lived defiance to the test."
The Demonslayer's blade flickered with a blue-white light, and almost seemed to shiver in concert with Kazama's murderous intent.
Suddenly the air seemed thick and oppressive. It was an effort just to breathe, and when I looked at Kazama, my skin began to crawl.
His sword dropped toward Hijikata-
"Hnn!"
He dodged the Demonslayer, albeit only barely, and brought his own sword up to strike back-
But when the Kanesada arrived, Kazama had simply disappeared.
…No, I realized, he hadn't disappeared: he was simply moving too fast for the eye to see. Hijikata seemed to be able to keep up, but the margin for error was slim, and getting slimmer.
"Gaaah!"
Kazama dodged Hijikata's attack with ease, and his riposte slammed into the other man's shoulder, tearing his shirt away to display a fresh, ragged wound.
"Good, good… Your mind os working desperately, trying to discover how you might kill me. Good, but… I want to see more. I want to see your face when you finally realize that you cannot defeat me! That you will die!"
"Gah!"
Blood poured from his wounds, but Hijikata brought his sword up in time to catch the Demonslayer.
"Graaaaah!"
…But he'd lost too much blood, and his body was beginning to weaken.
"Aaaah!"
Kazama Overpowered him, and Hijikata was thrown back.
Then as if things hadn't gotten bad enough…
"Wh-What the hell?!"
The white had disappeared from Hijikata's hair.
"Ahahahahaha! Reached your limit, I see! Even a false demon is better than this pathetic existence! You might as well be an insect-no, a worm!"
Kazama's maniacal laugh echoed through the room as he gloated over the nearly-unconscious Hijikata.
"Now I want to hear you cry! Scream! Beg me for your life, maggot! You and your filth have stood in my way ever since we met in Kyoto. I'll kill you, and erase the Shinsengumi!"
Hijikata's head twitched.
"Erase the Shinsengumi…? You…"
He'd lost so much blood… I was amazed he was conscious, let alone lucid, but as I watched hands dug into the floor mat like claws-almost as if he were keeping himself up through sheer force of will.
"After we left Kondou, and the Shinsengumi fell to me, I felt like there was no way I could do all that by myself. I was just about ready to give it all up."
The white rushed back through his hair.
"…But now, when you say you want to just erase everything we did… I'll be goddamned if I let you destroy the Shinsengumi!"
Blood poured from his shoulder and his chest, but still he struggled to stand.
The sight of him was so powerful; so tragic, that I couldn't bear to watch.
If he didn't stop, he would die!
I had to do something!
"Hijikata, no! You're hurt, badly! If you use your fury powers…!"
His eyes flicked to me for a moment, and I could see that his mind was already made up.
Then they were gone, and he glared at Kazama.
"You really think I care how much of my future I've gotta burn to get this bastard. I can't let him kill me here. I've risked my life for the Shinsengumi. I can't let this bastard and his damn sword get the best of me now!"
Kazama sneered.
"You're practically dead already. What do you intend to do? This charade is pathetic."
Kazama swung his sword again, almost lazily.
"Aaagh!"
Hijikata tried to lift up his Kanesada in time to block, but his right hand refused to respond, and Kazama's sword slammed into his right shoulder.
He let out a strangled scream as his arm twitched in pain, his sword tumbling from his grasp.
Hijikata's clothes were soaked in blood, and his skin was the color of paper. Only rage and pure willpower kept him upright, but even they were beginning to waver.
"…I'd hoped you might give me a little more entertainment, but I suppose it's time for me to say goodbye now. Shame you don't have enough energy to talk. I miss that dry wit."
Hijikata's shoulders shuddered with each labored breath, but still he glared at Kazama.
"What's the matter? Can't hold your sword anymore? Where's that samurai spirit, hm?"
"Gnnnh!"
He could barely even breath, but still Hijikata raised his sword toward Kazama.
The tip of the blade dipped and waved, and blood poured from his wounds, but still he stood.
Please, I silently begged, just stop. Don't die…
Just looked at him was enough to make me want to scream.
Kazama lifted that cruel sword, slick with Hijikata's blood, and smiled.
"Oh, how I've waited for his moment! At last, I can kill you with my own hands and erase the humiliation you gave me!"
Then suddenly an ear-splitting detonation tore through the building. The wood of the castle creaked and moaned, and I could smell something…burning.
"What is this…?!"
Suddenly distracted, Kazama flicked his gaze around the room, Looking for the source of the interruption.
"Fire! Fire! Those cowardly sons-of-bitches set this damn castle on fire when they ran!"
"We're dead if it catches us! C'mon, we have to get out of here!"
The fire spread quickly, and in mere moments the roar of it was deafening. Flames began to lick at the walls of the banquet hall.
"*Cough* *Cough*"
Black smoke poured into the room, rough and irritating in my throat.
The flames leapt to the dry wood and paper of the door, and then to the flammable mats covering the floor. Almost immediately the room was plunged into nigh-unbearable heat, but neither Hijikata nor Kazama lowered his sword.
Both men were waiting for a chance to strike. If either made even the smallest wrong move, he would be cut to ribbons by the other.
Tension filled the air until it was as thick as the acrid smoke.
"Gah!"
With a crackling roar and the moan of tortured wood, a section of ceiling collapsed to the floor between them.
"Urgh!"
Kazama let out a low snarl.
"Dammit… This place is coming apart. If I stay any longer, I'll be in danger as well…"
He shoved the Demonslayer back into its scabbard angrily, and glared across the flaming wreckage at Hijikata.
"Hiji…whatever your name is, I'll let you go, this time. We'll finish this duel another day. And on that day, I'll finish what we started here. You will die."
With on last grotesque, inhuman smile, Kazama disappeared.
"H-Hijikata…!"
I ran to him. His face was twisted in pain, and his skin looked like wax.
Practically forgotten until now, Amagiri walked toward us from his corner, seemingly unconcerned with the flames around him.
"The demon clan no longer intend to involve themselves in you governmental squabbles."
Hijikata looked up at him confused. When he spoke, his voice was barely above a whisper.
"Why…?"
"We owed favors to the Satsuma Domain. We feel that we have now repaid those favors. Besides, even you must know that the shogun will soon fall, regardless of whatever my kin and I do to speed that fall."
Hijikata gave a disturbingly humorless laugh.
"…"
His face curled up in a bitter smile.
"…Yeah."
"And yet you intend to remain aboard this sinking ship? The Tokugawa never gave your Shinsengumi the recognition it so desired, and betrayed you when you needed them most. Why do you remain loyal?"
The truth of Amagiri's words drove a knife into Hijikata's heart, and I saw his face fall.
He replied with a sad smile.
"Well, a samurai fights for their lord no matter what, right? What I'm fighting for now isn't Yoshinobu, or Edo Castle, or any of those cowards that call themselves the shogunate's ministers. What I'm-…No, what we're fighting for now is the shogunate in here, in our hearts, and the Shinsengumi that we made to protect that. It's not easy, not by a long shot, but… I'd feel like a real bastard if I let it die before Kondou comes back…"
"…"
Amagiri closed his eyes while Hijikata spoke. No he stood silent for a moment, then slowly opened them.
"If Kazama chooses to involve himself with either of you again, he will have betrayed the moral code that binds all our kind. He will no longer have the support of the clans. He will be on his own. I imagine this will be of little concern to him, but I ask you to bear in mind when he next assaults you that he is not doing so at the behest of the demon clans. He is, I fear, your problem now…"
Then Amagiri turned and disappeared.
"Gah…"
At last, Hijikata collapsed, although from relief or simple exhaustion, I couldn't tell.
"Hijikata!"
But he had passed out.
No matter how much I shook him, or cried his name, he refused to open his eyes.
"*Cough* *Cough*"
The fire had grown more intense, and I was beginning to sweat in earnest.
If we didn't get out, and soon, we would both burn to death. But how could I move Hijikata?! He was far too heavy for me to carry on my own.
"Commander! Yukimura! Where are you?!"
From down the hall came Shimada's voice. In that moment, it was the most beautiful thing I'd ever heard.
"Shimada! We're over here! Hijikata is…is…!"
Moments later, Shimada burst through the door, scattering sparks and burning fragments across the room.
"C-Commander?! Hang on! I'll get you out of here!"
"He just passed out a minute ago, but he's lost a lot of blood! If he doesn't get treated soon, he'll…he'll…"
"Right. Okay, I'll carry him! You'll have to follow behind me! Try not to inhale too much of this smoke!"
Without ever waiting for my reply, Shimada hefted Hijikata onto his back and set off at a jog.
"Okay!"
…
…
In the end, it didn't matter.
The castle that Hijikata had risked his own life to take was taken back by the Imperial Army only four days later, with nearly 20,000 soldiers from the Satsuma, Choushu, Ogaki, and Tottori domains.
After the battle, Otori and the rest of his soldiers set out for Aizu.
Hijikata had miraculously survived his ordeal, but he was by no means recovered. He drifted in and out of consciousness for days, hovering at death's door, and was eventually sent away from the front to Nikko, so he could recover.
…
…
Since we'd arrived in Nikko, I'd busied myself doing my best to take care of him.
As a fury, most normal medication had little to no effect on him. Most of my nursing therefore consisted of fervently hoping that his natural strength and tenacity would bring him through.
Fortunately, my prayers seemed to pay off, and in time his wounds began to heal, although those made by Kazama's Demonslayer did not do so easily, or quickly.
I found myself thinking back to the battle of Utsunomiya.
After watching Hijikata in battle, the same soldiers who had been too frightened to fight just minutes before had run to cross swords with the enemy.
Afterward, they had told him that it was an honor to fight alongside the Shinsengumi, for they were true samurai.
Hijikata… You are the core of the Shinsengumi.
Without you, there is no Shinsengumi.
So please… You can't die.
Several days later, I walked into Hijikata's room to change his bandage and was brought up short by what I saw.
"Hijikata! What are you doing?!"
He'd recovered some-enough to move and speak without pain-but he was still confined to his bed.
Or at least, he was supposed to be.
"When I said you were healthy enough to get up, I didn't mean you were healthy enough to work!"
"It'll only take a minute. I'm going back to bed as soon as I finish this…"
His voice was as dismissive as it had always been. He flicked a hand in my direction, as if to brush me off.
"You nearly died! You need to rest!"
"Died? Me? Hah. That was nothing. Barely a scratch."
"Barely a scratch?! Do you know how long I've been taking care of you?!"
He continued to write, bot even bothering to look up.
"Gaaah. Fine, fine."
I'd hoped for a little more contrition, but it appeared I was going to have to take what I could get.
"Well, at least let me put this on you. You're going to catch a chill."
As I spoke, I draped his old jacket across his shoulders.
"Hrmph. As if you'd listen if I didn't 'let' you."
"I'm glad to see you understand how this works. Now, as soon as you've finished that, you're going straight back into bed. And don't even think about working behind my back. I've got my eye on you!"
At last, Hijikata turned and looked at me, his face quirked in a small, bitter smile.
"All right, fine. Sorry for putting you through all that trouble."
He was…more polite than I'd expected.
"Huh…?"
Had I heard wrong? I stared back at him intently.
"Guess I should be thanking you and Shimada, huh? Well… I appreciate what you did. Thanks."
Hijikata's thanks were rarely unaccompanied by cynicism, sarcasm, or outright derision, but this…
What had come over him? He was strangely genuine.
"Something wrong? What… Did I say something funny?"
"Oh! No no no. It's not that…"
It was more that I'd never seen Hijikata act so…nice.
Later that night…
"So the commander's really back on his feet?!"
"I also heard he'd improved, so I thought I'd stop by and pay him a visit."
"Good evening Shimada, Otori. Hijikata is over-"
Before I could even finish, Shimada dashed past me to Hijikata's side.
"I'm so glad you're all right, sir! For a while there, I really didn't know what was going to happen."
Shimada's eyes began to tear up and he blinked rapidly to clear them.
"C'mon, don't gimme that. You really think I'd die so easy?"
"Y-You're right! You'll never die! No matter what happens!"
He rubbed his hand across his face awkwardly, trying to brush away the tears that refused to stop forming.
"Hijikata…" Otori started. "I'm going to be honest with you. You fought like a demon back at Utsunomiya. Morale is through the roof. the whole army won't stop talking about you. But… Your actions were dangerous and idiotic! You are a commanding officer, not a soldier! You don't belong on the front line!"
Shimada glanced worriedly at his commander before turning back to Otori.
"O-Otori, he's only just recovered… Don't you think you're being a little harsh-"
"Oh no, I'm going to give him a piece of my mind! I won't let this slide!"
Otori turned back to Hijikata.
"Listen to me, Hijikata. Westernizing our troops isn't just about giving them guns and new clothes. We have to change how we think about war. We have to learn new tactics. The commander charging at the front of the army does not show that we are improving our strategy! The soldiers are the hands and feet, then their commanding officer is the head. If the head is removed, it doesn't matter how much of the body remains-the war will be lost!"
Hijikata's eyes snapped wide open.
Otori continued, oblivious, but I knew what Hijikata was thinking.
He was remembering when Yamazaki had given his life to save him.
"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…? If you lose an arm or a leg, you can always replace it. But if you lose the head, you lose everything."
The day Hijikata had become a fury, Yamazaki had said very nearly the same words to him.
His lips curled into a bitter smile.
"Heh… Almost feels like Yamazaki's come back to yell at me, huh…"
His words were to himself, and there was a faraway look in his eyes.
Otori frowned, confused.
"Hey! Hijikata! What's so funny? This is serious! Don't you understand how worried I was about you? Hell, how worried the whole army was about you?!"
Hijikata said nothing and for a few moments he simply stared at Otori. Normally, he would have fired back with sarcasm, or perhaps outright insults, if he was in a bad enough mood. But this…
Otori frowned.
"S-Say whatever you want! It won't change my mind!"
It wasn't easy to seem threatening around someone like Hijikata, but he tried.
Hijikata closed his eyes and gave a heavy sigh.
"You're right, Otori. Sorry for worrying you."
He then followed his surprisingly genuine apology with a similarly surprising bow.
Otori blinked in disbelief.
"Wh-What…?"
He clearly prepared himself for a variety of reactions from Hijikata, but this had apparently not been one of them.
For several moments he simply stood there, too flabbergasted to speak.
Hijikata gave another bitter smile as he glanced at Shimada.
"My apologies to you too, Shimada. I hear you had to carry me all the way here."
Shimada blinked taken aback.
"Oh...no! No, it was nothing! Anything for you, sir…"
He seemed just as confused as Otori by Hijikata's sudden change.
I didn't understand it either, but there was no denying that he was different.