Chapter 10 ~End of the line~

He could remember it all. The moment he held his baby's shoulders while Chizuru pushed him out. The moment he become a father.

Now he was faced with his worst challenge yet. Can he stand up to his son, his own flesh and blood?

Those thoughts plagued Toshi's mind for what seemed like forever while the doctor tried to save the lives of those who survived the attack. Once again, he was reminded of how Kazama and Sen had declared themselves his allies, there for them whenever they needed help.

Toshi stared at the crackling fire. What was he doing? Since when was he such a weakling, doubting himself this way? He always stood by his sister if anyone dared to insult her. What would Chizuru think of him now? It was like he was at the bottom of a steep hill, fighting to see what was up at the top.

Like those words sobered him up. He took a breath and stood, determined to deal with this problem. This was his son, his responsibility to help - not anyone else's.

"Are you feeling well, sir?" the woman asked.

Toshi's lips formed a slight smile as he answered. " I thank you for your help. I must go now."

She handed him a canteen and urged him to be safe - this dark would not be going away anytime soon.

Toshi stared at the dark road, wondering what kind of nightmare he would face ahead. But with everything that he was, he would stop Kondo. So he borrowed a torch and started off toward the other village where he resided in the past.

Deep down, he hoped beyond hope that he wasn't too late.

…

The skies were blood red, and the paths were soaked in gore from several travelers that had been eaten by demons, these poor people tried to run.

He was the only living being out here, the only sign of warm flesh and blood. The closer to the village Toshi got, the higher his anxiety flared. He wondered what he would find. Was he too late?

He could see the featureless black base was now splattered crimson. That was his sign to run down to the valley, fear consuming him like poison. The air was thick and eerie. Beside him, lodged deep within a house at the start of the village, was a large piece of debris from a ruined bridge.

Toshi ran forward, deeper into the village, and started calling out.

"Anybody here?!" His voice echoed as if he was speaking in a ghost village.

A door to his right opened, and an elderly man peered at him. "What do you want? Get out of here while you still can! Death is coming."

"I'm here to help," Toshi replied. "Please, gather your family and go to the shrine immediately."

A faint glimmer of hope shone on the old man's face. "Alright, I have nothing to lose anymore. Other than my life." He went back inside, calling his family.

Slowly but surely, Toshi convinced everyone to come out of their houses and gather around him. At first, there was opposition and fear, but he assured them he would help.

"It's your son who started this! I don't trust you."

"You are the reason this nightmare has come for us!"

"It's like you killed us, and now you are walking through our funeral."

Their words hurt, and he turned that hurt into determination. They didn't have time to argue.

"That's enough!" he snapped. "I'm trying to think of something to save all your lives right now! Hurry! Take shelter at the shrine!"

They realized he had a point, and their personal feelings about him could not matter at that moment. They carried their children as they made their way to the shrine while Toshi followed behind to ensure no one was left behind.

When they reached the courtyard, Toshi heard shifting feet and claws in the distance, followed by a loud screech in the sky, a high-pitched sound that almost felt like the glass of the shrine would shatter. The villagers shrieked in fear as they crowded around the entrance, pushing each other in a panic.

"Get inside! Hurry," Toshi cried as he went out toward the village, hand at the hilt of his sword, ready to stand his ground.

The demons were like a company of soldiers walking in an organized formation. Their taloned footsteps vibrated through the ground in the valley. Further In the lead marched his son.

Kondo.

He had large black horns curving backward, veins spiderwebbed across his pale face, and his eyes were shining red like bloodlust. His arms were elongated and there are claws instead of fingers. Toshi's heart hammered in his chest at the sight.

His beautiful boy was gone. Kondo had died with Chizuru that day.

Toshi's hand tightened around the hilt of his sword as the company grew closer to him. He must be strong.

Kondo was the first to stop and motioned for the rest to wait. His smile vanished as he saw his father standing in the middle of the path in a defensive stance.

"Father, what are you doing?" he asked.

"That is my line," Toshi replied. " It's time for this to end, this instant."

Kondo chuckled, amused. "Don't make me laugh, Father. You won't pick some random humans over me. You should be happy! No one will disrespect you again - you will be a lord."

Toshi shook his head sadly. Again with this talk of pride. He raised his sword up to his cheek and pointed directly at Kondo. "No, you have completely lost sight of yourself." He was silent for a second before he opened the wound he knew would hurt: "This isn't what your mother would want."

The sight of his father raising his sword was enough to make Kondo break, his mask slipping to the terrified child he really was. "How fucking dare you point your weapon at me," the boy sputtered. " I'm your son."

The demons backtracked from them and started looking for a meal to feed on.

Those words were enough to send Toshi over the edge. "Don't you swear at me, you little shit. I'm your father," he snarled as he stepped closer to him. "Do you understand? I know you are in pain. I know you miss your mother, and I wish I could take that away from you. I wish I could take away the knowledge of what you had witnessed."

Kondo gritted his teeth and charged with his bare hands at his father, angry beyond belief. Tears streamed down his cheeks. Toshi jumped to the side with his sword raised, avoiding his son's claws, but Kondo managed to swipe at his side. There was a flicker of movement, then a click as Kondo parried his father's charge with his claws. Toshi slid sideways to miss them.

Turning around, he slashed backward, swinging the blade at his son's claws. They traded metal sparks while Toshi used everything he learned as a samurai, and Kondo relied upon the fundamentals of his demon powers and what he learned from his training. Amateur parries were useless against the harsh tactics of Hijikata of the Shinsengumi. Toshi simply blew past the twisting turns and stabbed at his demon son's flesh repeatedly.

Kondo grunted as he was forced back further. He summoned a small fire and hurled it at his father. Toshi gasped and, at the last second, avoided a ball of fire that went straight to the house, setting it ablaze. The dark son leaped forward when he'd cleared past Toshi's rough offense, claws slashing forward against a vertically held sword and driving Toshi's blade downward. His other clawed hand aimed for Toshi's neck.

It was a marvelously delivered strike, but it would never come close to how gracefully Toshi could wield a weapon.

"Well done, son." Toshi heaved the words. "But not enough."

The two rushed at each other again, with no weapons or tricks. Just the will of one nature versus another - human versus demon. Kondo threw his clawed fist forward as Toshi's serious face phased to the left. Kondo had no time to scream, no time to thrash away, realizing too late what was happening. He felt his father's hand punch his shoulder, sending a painful burning sensation through him. He fell with a thud on his back.

At first, there was silence while the boy stared at his father. Neither knew what to say to the other.

"Go ahead, kill me. Everything would work out fine for you." Kondo's voice broke his rough exterior vanishing. "No one ever wants me; I'm just a monster."

Toshi clenched his hands into fists, so many emotions bubbling to the surface. "How could you say that?" he hissed, pinning his son to the ground. "Don't you dare tell me I would be okay without you! Did you think I would kill you? I couldn't do it even if I tried." He began to strike him in the face again and again, assaulting him with blows from both fists. "But I will beat you until your face is red and your eyes swelled shut. Until your true self is back."

Toshi's vision blurred as tears ran down his bruised cheeks. "I blame myself for what you have become, but this has to end. You are my son, no matter what. I'm not the kind of man to walk away from family, and I will never be." He paused to catch his breath.

Kondo was crying silently under him. His eyes were puffy, and his face was bruised. There he was, his innocent child.

Shaking, he lifted his son into an embrace. "I'm so sorry about your mother," he whispered in his ear. "Not a second goes by when I don't miss her smile and warmth."

The two didn't realize that the demons had retreated since the village was empty, and fire ate at the houses around them.

Toshi held his son's face, looking at him with compassion and understanding. He was wrong for not trying to help him deal with his grief. The nightmare would've never happened if he was a better father than this.

Kondo's eyes returned to their natural color along with his human visage. The child was shaking all over.

"Now, let's go back home," Toshi said. " After we rest, we will go to Kazama and stay there for a time."

In a split second, anger returned to the boy's face. Toshi didn't know what happened - it felt like he was pushed into cold water. His whole body felt numb, and nothing moved. Looking at Kondo, he could see his right hand was dripping blood…

His own son had stabbed him.

"Why?" Toshi whispered.

Kondo's face was twisted in a nasty grin. "Because you are pathetic. I am not simply your son anymore - I'm the king."

Thanks to Toshi's fury powers, his wound slowly healed enough to give him back some strength. His hair turned bright white as he changed to his demon form. He must try again.

Kondo launched a stream of fire from his hands, intent on burning his father alive. It struck the ground, spreading across it like an ocean.

Toshi leaped off just in time. He twisted backward in mid-air. His sword sparked white as the katana sliced the invisible force Kondo created around himself, almost shattering it. He landed in front of his son, intent on talking.

The boy yelled animalistically, followed by brutish solid strikes despite his slight frame and the fact he only fought with claws. Grabbing hold of Toshi's forearm, Kondo flung him around. He threw him to the ground in a slam, then stomped down on his side. His insides roiled.

Toshi took the kick in stride, followed by another. He heard a crack and realized one of his ribs had snapped in half. He couldn't breathe; however, his fury powers helped him recover slightly. He grabbed Kondo mid-charge and sent a punch to his stomach. A shockwave and saliva burst out. Dealing bone-breaker after bone-breaker, he inflicted several punches, fragmenting every one of Kondo's ribs. He felt his son's body slowly go limp.

"Enough," Toshi heaved. " I beg you, stop this."

The two separated, finally. Blood trailed down his back, and Toshi trembled. Something was wrong; he could feel it. He fell on his knees, desperate to breathe. He raised his arms to inspect. Obvious cracks had formed from his elbows to the back of his hands.

He was dying, he has utterly spent his energy in this fight.

"You chose humans over me."

Kondo stepped closer to his father. "They ruined our family forever. You are not my father anymore."

"Kondo...ther."

The boy cut him off immediately." I'm not Kondo. My name is Michaelis."

That was the last thing the boy said before he went on to join the demons.

Those words replayed in Toshi's mind. His son had turned his back on him because he didn't want the innocent who had nothing to do with Chizuru's death to be caught in the chaos.

' I'm not Kondo.'

As if in a trance, he stood and started walking home, to the hidden valley. He didn't even realize the demons had unleashed an attack on the shrine, the villagers' screams filling the tainted air.

…

There was a cool breeze outside.

For the time of year nearing renewal, the world felt grim. The air felt devoid of moisture which added to how cold everything felt. The window had a clear view of the change outside.

The hardwood floor creaked as Toshi walked out of his son's darkened room. In his hands was the first outfit of baby Kondo that he bought shortly after his birth. Holding it helped him remember the past.

A shudder ran down his spine. Glancing around with sorrow, he saw the portrait he paid someone to make for his family, a frame he hung inside his bedroom. It still felt like they were staring at him from behind layers of dust, and they seemed to look into his very being, of what he used to be.

Both of them were young, Chizuru holding baby Kondo, asleep in her arms, smiling the smile he always loved.

Cold, hesitant light streamed through the cracked window, casting eerie shadows on the walls.

What have I become?

As he walked forward, he couldn't help but feel shattered. Turn back, the portrait seemed to say. He swallowed a nervous whimper and continued through the darkened house until he was outside. There, he went on into the forest.

Toshi sighed deeply, knowing what he had to do. He had come to this place for one purpose and was determined to accomplish it and end it all before he lost his mind. There was nothing left for him in this world.

Chizuru's grave was before him, still filled with flowers his farmer friend had planted in the past. They never weathered.

"I'm sorry, my love. Our son has gone and won't listen to me anymore." He whimpered. "I cannot do this anymore. I'm not strong enough."

He recalled his sister and how she patiently awaited for a word from him. ' I'm sorry Aiya.'

He pulled his sword from its sheath and raised it high, allowing it to glisten in the light of the candles. His hands trembled as he hesitated for just a moment. Then, with one last breath, he slammed it into his stomach with all the strength he could muster. A muffled scream he couldn't hold back gurgled with blood as it seeped from his mouth.

With a thud, he fell to the ground. A single tear slid down his cheek as he took his last breath, and his eyes lulled shut.

His blood painted Chizuru's grave. At a glance, it seemed like the flowers had turned into spider lilies.

...

Kazama buried Toshi's ashes near Chizuru.

This had been recorded by Chikage Kazama, and he would send it to Aiya and his former Shinsengumi teammates. At least he knew of them from the opened letters he found in the house.

People must know the tragedy of Toshi Hijikata and his beloved wife, Chizuru Yukimura.

It was a terrible disaster he couldn't comprehend. Toshi had always held his head high, had fought for life and his personal values, and no one could shake him. How troubled was he to end it like this?

Kazama placed his hands together and whispered, "May your soul reunite with your beloved. May you find peace and happiness on the other side."

His wife, Sen, was standing next to him, sobbing for the friend she had lost. At the valley entrance stood Haru, Sara's bodyguard, and two other guards that escorted the family there.

They had traveled from home, hoping to catch up to the family and form a plan... but they were too late. At first, the couple didn't realize what had happened. They saw only a sword left on the ground. Then they checked the blood-covered grave, and everything became clear. Hijikata committed suicide, and they never understood why.

"Mother, Father," Sara called as she walked out of the house. Her face was red from crying. "Kondo is not here; I cannot find him."

Kazama faced his daughter and opened his arms for her. The girl embraced him, shaking and wondering what had happened exactly.

"Where is he, Father? What happened to him?"

"I'm sorry, my dearest. I wish I knew." He patted her on the head. "We must go back home now and be prepared to protect ourselves. I promise if we can find any clues about Kondo, I will search for him. He is a Yukimura."

Sen fell to her knees and covered her face, her cries growing louder. Kazama knelt over his wife and rubbed her shoulders.

"I'm sorry," he whispered to her.

Thank you for reading.

Thank you Samantha Novak for your help.