"So this is Kyoto…"

I have to admit I was more impressed by my own fear of the place then I was with the place itself. It wasn't the people I feared per se but what I might do to them should they ever find out the secret that I harbored. At least the simple hellos between people passing in the street seemed warm and friendly. They didn't seem to even notice me as I meandered through the crowd.

They just nodded and smiled to one another almost as if they were family and not strangers about on errands. Family, I glanced at each person as they continued to ignore me, I wonder what that's like…

Still…

There was something else as well. Something that made the hairs on my arms stand on end. Something that made the city feel strangely cold and uninviting. Almost as though there were a great invisible wall shutting out anyone it felt didn't belong.

"Um…"

I had to admit, it wasn't particularly comfortable.

I grumbled in frustration with my own paranoia.

"…No. No, that's all in my head."

I had no idea how far I had to walk to reach Kyoto, but it suddenly occurred to me that both my mind and body were very tired. Even so, exhaustion was no reason for me to stand about feeling sorry for myself. After all, I couldn't afford to.

"Um, excuse me!"

With new – albeit forced – resolve, I attempted to stop a passerby.

" I'm sorry, but I seem to be a bit lost, could you…?"

"What the heck am I supposed to do now?"

Once again, I was lost, but in a more frustrating sort of way.

I sighed in annoyance, and found myself looking up at the darkening sky. The sun was beginning to set. Well hell!

The people I'd spoken to hadn't exactly been unkind, and they had given me the directions I'd needed, but...

"Couldn't he have chosen a more convenient time to leave the city?!"

Apart from my father, well to be quite honest my father was pretty damn useless unless you were wounded and dying, so really the only person I could rely on in the city was a man named Dr. Matsumoto.

My father was a doctor as well but he seemed to be the kind that only cared about his patients and about his family rarely at all.

According to my father, Dr. Matsumoto was a doctor in service to the shogunate.

I had never met the man myself, but my father put a great deal of trust in him which in itself did not make me feel all that much better about my current trek through the city of Kyoto.

Father had told me that if I should run into any trouble during his absence, I was to contact this Dr. Matsumoto. I mean honestly what's the worst that could happen, the guy couldn't possibly be worse than my father.

Unfortunately…

The doctor was apparently out of town on business, and would not return for some time. I know...typical absence of the doctor. Something I knew all too well.

"Was I too hasty? Perhaps I should have waited…"

Or perhaps I should have run away instead of coming to a city that had more danger than it was worth to search for a man who was more trouble than he was worth…!

But hey no one ever said that life was going to make sense…ever.

However, it is rather rude to visit unannounced, which was why I had sent a flippin letter ahead of me. Of course, if he'd been gone for very long, then he had most certainly not read my letter.

Now, a smart person would have waited for a reply before traveling alone to a city they've never even seen, but let's face it, I'm not nearly patient enough to be that smart.

"But…"

Oh, forget it! There's no point in reasoning with a mind that's this impatient. Besides, there was trouble even I didn't trust my father not to get into.

"Chizuru…"

"Is something wrong, father?"

I gave him the most convincing concerned face I could muster.

He paused for a moment to glance at me.

"I… it would seem that I must go to the city of Kyoto for a time."

"Work again?"

This would be like the 4th time this month what the heck does he do that takes him away so often, it couldn't possibly just be doctor stuff.

Father had been leaving the house often then, sometimes for several days at a time. However, whenever he would sidestep the question of what he was doing while he was away, I never prodded further to get the real answer. After all my mother never did, or so I was told.

"How long will you be gone, this time?"

I tried to sound more disappointed than annoyed though I wasn't exactly sure I had succeeded.

If he had noticed it didn't show which only fueled my annoyance further.

"… I'm afraid I can't say. A month, perhaps. Maybe two."

"…Oh."

There was no hiding my disappointment. No, I wasn't disappointed that he was leaving, only that I was being left behind…again.

Nevertheless, I was no longer a child and therefore could not beg him to take me along or some other foolishness. Yes, I'd be lonely. And honestly that's all I could think about at the moment. The constant and never-ending loneliness that swallows me up every time he leaves.

I knew it was probably immature for me to get this angry but he was supposed to be my father first, doctor second. And even though I wanted to strangle him at that moment the words came flowing out of my mouth like some kind of sick habit.

"Please, Father, be careful."

I remember saying these words back when I actually meant them and even now that they no longer held any meaning for me I still found myself saying them.

"They say that the city of Kyoto is dangerous."

And as usual, he said nothing. He only smiled and nodded.

But then he surprised me by suddenly saying, "You needn't fret. I will be sure to send you letters as often as I am able, so that you will have no need to worry this time."

I was so entirely caught off guard by his kind words that I couldn't stop my next question.

"Do you promise?"

…

I couldn't believe it, father had actually kept his promise.

A new letter arrived everyday, and I scarcely had the time to respond before another would arrive. Each letter revealed that he was worried about me, home all by myself. I had a sudden vague memory of something similar my mother would do whenever she would leave me home alone. Though, if I was honest with myself, my mother had died before I could build any concrete memories of her. So, it was really more like a dream than any true memory.

But then the letters stopped and I couldn't help but wonder if all letters he had sent had just been some kind of fluke.

A whole month passed with no word from my father and I began to strangely worry about the old man.

…

…

"Father…"

They say Kyoto is full of ronin. It is not a safe place for those of us who wish to keep our secrets hidden. If we were to run into some sort of life-threatening danger - if I were to - I didn't want to think about what I would have to do, even if it was in self-defense, to the person foolish enough to put my life in danger.

Usually, a Samurai is paid by their house, but…

Ronin with no house to report to often robbed people in order to make ends meet. They're nothing more than vicious animals who hide behind the image of the Samurai.

Such is the state of the city of Kyoto, the city of the apparently psychotic.

Small wonder, then, that I worried about my father's safety. My mind would concoct horrible possibilities and I inevitably found myself depressed and tense.

"Hmm…"

My stomach made a sudden embarrassing gurgle noise followed by a yawn erupting from my mouth.

"First, I suppose I need to find a place to eat and stay."

Lost in thought, I hadn't noticed that night had already fallen. If I was honest with myself, which I wasn't nearly enough, I hadn't the first clue how long it might take to find my foolish father.

I'd taken some money with me but not nearly enough. I hoped it would last me a month if I used it wisely.

If I could find the old man in that time, so much the better. If not, hopefully Dr. Matsumoto would return before my funds ran out. Should I be unable to find either of them then it seems I'll be forced to return home. Though, if I was using my head instead of my heart I'd just run away and never look back. But there had been something stranger than usual about my father this time before he left, like he was hiding more secrets than he usually did... darker secrets.

I sighed in annoyance with myself.

"Well, at any rate… I should try and be as frugal as possible."

And so I quickened my pace and set off down the street. Fortunately for me, men's clothing was much more conducive to such a pace than women's clothing would have been. Not that I ever really wore women's clothing. I've always been partial to men's clothing, I mean, let's face it, it's more comfortable.

I decided early on that a girl from the country exploring the city of Kyoto alone would draw far too much attention, and someone would most likely end up dead.

My disguise, such as it was, had proven successful, and I'd made it all the way to Kyoto without anyone attempting to molest me...as if they could…ha.

Perhaps that success a gone to my head and let me think a woman dressed as a man could explore Kyoto as she pleased.

Though, it would appear fate had other plans for me.

Kyoto is not a safe place. I should have remembered that.

Instead, I had convinced myself that whatever dangers the city hid did not apply to someone like me.

"Hey, kid."

I was about to discover otherwise.

I mumbled under my breath.

"Well hell."

I slowly turned to the owner of the voice, prepared to do whatever it took to continue my search. In the street in front of me were three men. Ronin. I rolled my eyes.

"Fantastic," I grumbled.

"Can I help you?"

I did my best to make my voice appear innocent as I reached in what I felt was a nonchalant way for my katana.

My father had made me take lessons in self-defense as a child. I'd kept with them and had actually done better than he could have ever hoped. There were very few attacks that my skill could not defend against. Then again…

Perhaps it was my confidence in my skills that had put me in this situation in the first place.

I'd messed up and let my guard down, my fault. There was no doubt in my mind, however, that I could take them on and win. But would taking three lives really truly help me in this seemingly pointless search.

One of the ronin glanced at my Katana with a hunger in his eyes.

"Pretty nice blade you got there, kid."

I sighed and rolled my eyes again.

Only then did I realize they were far more interested in my sword than they were in me.

"Looks like a bit much for a pup like this one, am I right?"

"Give it here, okay? We'll use it to defend our country."

This one seemed to be the most clueless and therefore must be the leader of the idiot group.

For a moment, I contemplated unsheathing my sword and slaughtering all three of them, but then it occurred to me it might be more fun to mess with them a little considering it was only my sword they wanted and not my life.

However, the sword wasn't just some random blade I'd picked up: It had been passed down through my family for generations, my mother had left it for me. So I would have to make them pay just a little bit for attempting to take it from me.

I would play the part they so desired, the part of the innocent victim. I would retreat run and then when they least expect it…

I gave them an innocent smile as I removed my hand from my katana and then turned and ran as fast as my legs would carry me, but not so fast that they would lose sight of me.

"Hey! Get back here, you little bastard!"

Hysterical laughter tried to force its way through my mouth but I stifled it immediately. No point in letting on, too soon, that it wasn't I who was the victim here.

"Huh, they sure don't give up easily, do they?"

Though, in truth, I was actually kind of glad since now I would have an outlet for my previous frustration.

It seemed like I'd been running for quite some time. I worried my prey would soon tire, but I could still hear the ronin behind me cursing loudly.

I quickly ducked into an alley and flattened myself against the wall. Growing somewhat bored with this and worried that they'd be stupid enough to pass by the alleyway, I knocked over some plywood so they'd know exactly where I was.

I suddenly sensed a presence other than the three ronin and myself coming from the other end of the alley and decided to venture further into it.

It occurred to me I had sensed this presence once before when I was a child, it had terrified me then. And now it occurred to me that I should be more cautious with this particular presence closing in.

Someone had left a couple sheets of wood leaning against one of the houses. It was a perfect spot to hide. I wasn't particularly frightened but I also wasn't foolish enough to go up against something that could very possibly end me.

With luck, I thought as I knelt down to shuffle under them this will get me out of this mess…

…

…

"…Wtf?"

Something wasn't right. I had at least expected to hear whatever else was following me and the ronin to shriek or yell at each other, but…

Seconds turned into minutes, and I heard nothing. I was about to give up and continue my search, when…

"EEEEEAAAAAAAGHH!"

…they began to scream. The presence I had felt earlier grew exponentially.

"Wh-What?!"

For the first time since I was a child I felt fear seep into my very soul.

My plan to continue father searching was immediately halted.

Remaining silent and hidden was clearly more important.

Still…

One of the ronin cried out in anger.

"Damn you!"

Intense fear flowed through the words that fell from the third ronin's lips.

"What is this?! Why won't you die?! Dammit! We gotta get out of here!"

I'm not sure why but true fear began to seep into my own mind.

There was something out there something very, very dangerous. Something quite possibly even lethal to me.

The possibilities were… Well, my imagination conjured up no shortage of gruesome theories.

Even so I could feel caution being stripped away… I needed to know what was out there.

Slowly, carefully, I edged up to the corner and looked out. Cold Moonlight glared back at me from the bare blade of a drawn sword. My right hand instinctively flew to my own and before I knew it my own sword was drawn in an attempt to block theirs. My eyes then followed the blade up, to the arm that held it, clad in a coat of light blue.

The thing look down at me and let out a high pitched laugh.

"Ehehehehehehehehe!"

Clearly this, whatever it was, was not here to save me.

Now realizing just how much danger they truly were in the two surviving ronin began to slowly retreat.

"H-Help…!"

I glared at them, I mean, what the hell did they think I was doing?

The ronin pathetically begged for his life as he stumbled back and glanced at me as though I were the monster attacking him. That's when the second whatever it was stepped forward, clad in the same blue coat as the other, his sword raised.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!"

"Aaaaaahahahahahahahahaha!"

A high, screeching laugh cut through the man's scream.

The ronin's eyes pleaded with me once more and for a moment I hesitated; the man did after all try to kill me for my sword. But then the more gentle side of me won over, and as the blades fell through the air, more like a butcher's Cleaver than a sword, I felt something ancient surge through me, a long-forgotten power forcing its way through my veins, and I no longer felt afraid. Whatever those things were they apparently could sense it as well for they halted their attack on the two remaining ronin and turned to face me: their new prey.

I slowly looked up and narrowed my eyes in such a way I hoped they would find threatening. There was no need for anyone else to die needlessly. It was annoying enough to have witnessed one murder take place; if anyone else was going to die it would be by my hand.

I narrowed my eyes further and growled at them not really sure if they even knew what that meant.

Whatever fear these creatures had instilled in me was suddenly gone.

The hunger in their eyes was almost animalistic. But I also knew that my own eyes were probably equally frightening. This part of me was not something I made a habit of showing but then I hardly ever came up against an opponent stronger than myself. In order to fight them I would have to draw strength from the part of me that I usually tend to ignore.

The two ronin began to whimper again, drawing the attention of one of the creatures back to them.

A third of the creatures came up from behind the two men and this unfortunately took all three of us by surprise. What happened next was too quick for me to even react. The two ronin had died with the first blow but as I watched the blades kept falling carving deep lines into the Corpses.

The soft slip of a blade through flesh; the crack is it struck bone; the silent creep of blood across the ground. I sensed nothing from them but madness. They're only desire was raw, animal violence. I was now positive they were not human.

They were…broken.

The smell of the blood, there was so much of it that even I couldn't bare it.

"Hgkk…"

I could feel my throat closing up but I forced myself to remain standing and alert. The warm dark smell brushed against my face, causing an icy bolt of fear to run down my spine. Now, a smart person would be terrified, but like I said before, I'm just not patient enough to be that smart.

But what was I going to do…? The strength of the creature pushing their sword down on my own was becoming more intense with each passing moment. What could I do…?

I thought about running, but somehow I knew that as soon as I stopped pushing up on the sword of the creature that was standing behind me it would cut me down. There had to be some way to survive this.

I forced my jaw open and drew a ragged breath.

The other two creatures were still mutilating the bodies of the three dead men; I did not think I could handle hearing the noise of bones being crushed over and over and over any longer.

I drew in one more unsteady breath and yelled at them.

"Hey, uglies!"

The creatures turned, their blue coats drenched in blood. Hideous animalistic grins split there inhuman faces, and they shook with animal excitement at finding fresh prey to slaughter.

Well hell!

"I can see that you're going to make this one of those nights."

I didn't know what else to do so I just bantered at them.

It occurred to me that I made a huge mistake venturing into this narrow alley seeing as though I had no route of escape. My arms were becoming tired and I desperately searched for any gaps I may have missed through which to escape. Dying now would be unacceptable.

But I couldn't get off my knees. The power behind the sword of the enemy was much more than my own. Then that hideous cackling laughter began again and I couldn't help but wonder if I was going to die after all.

My body was now frozen with terror. I couldn't even scream. This was it. Well life it was nice living you.

As they all raised their blades I finally let both of mine fall to the ground…in defeat.

A sudden whoosh of wind and a spray of something wet hitting my skin, forced my eyes open and I quickly surveyed my new surroundings.

"What the…?"

There was a flash of light and another soft splash of blood. I could feel it, warm and sticky. The smell of this Blood was far more pungent than that of the three men who had died at the hands of the creatures' blades. Bile began to rise in my throat, but before disgust could take hold I heard a voice…

"Really…?"

The words suggested disappointment, but the voice sounded…happy.

"And here I was, planning to take care of them all on my own. Couldn't you have picked another day to work so quickly, Saito?"

As he spoke, the strange man smiled, almost as if he were enjoying himself. And don't think for a moment that I didn't notice these strange men were wearing the same clothing as the creatures had worn.

"I only did my job. Unlike you, I take no pleasure in battle."

That's not how it looked from here, I thought, bemused.

"Well, that's not a very nice thing to say."

He laughed, clearly more amused than insulted.

The other man rolled his eyes and then said, "…You don't even bother to deny it."

The man called Saito sighed with the air of a long-suffering companion, and looked over at me.

"Maybe, but if you'd just sat back and let them kill the kid you could have saved us some trouble."

I narrowed my eyes at the snarky one and struggled with the urge to smack him across the face. I don't know who he thought he was but three creatures that could very well have been his companions for all I knew had just tried to kill me only to be slaughtered by them. And now he regrets not having let them kill me as well?! What a jerk.

"Perhaps. That decision is not ours to make."

"huh…?"

So… there was someone in charge of these two. The conversation seemed to suggest they were part of an organization of some sort. (Organization of thugs no doubt.) Though, as I thought about it, I remembered hearing stories of a group of men with blue coats…

"Ah-!"

My thoughts were rudely interrupted by a dark shape sliding into view. But when my eyes met his I no longer cared.

"Oh…"

I swallowed hard and prayed to any god that would listen that he could not see the sudden flush in my cheeks. The Moonlight shone off his smooth, dark hair. For reasons I couldn't fathom, in that moment the light on his hair made me think of fluttery flower petals… Almost as if the cherry trees were blooming out of season.

He's gorgeous, I thought to myself and then immediately felt even more embarrassed. The guy had a freaking sword pointed at my throat and here I was enamored by his unnatural beauty.

"Luck is not your friend tonight."

His voice was cold and quiet like a blade of ice. The glow of the blue white moon lit his young slender face and shone from the blade he held pointed at my throat. However, it wasn't the sword that made my breath catch in my throat. It was his alluring amethyst eyes. They were Fierce and hard, but somewhere behind them I could catch a glimpse of...something else. There could be no doubt that he was prepared to kill me, and yet he looked troubled. Not kindness, but perhaps...mercy?

"Run, and I will end you. Do you understand?"

I nodded. There could be no doubt that he'd meant every word he said. But yet he stared at me for a moment his eyes lingering where my breasts would have been had I not had them tightly bandaged up. He didn't strike me as a pervert yet his eyes still lingered near my chest as though he wondered why it wasn't there.

Well hell. You don't suppose he knows you're a girl?

If he did, if he had somehow seen through my pitiful disguise, would he change his mind and show me mercy or would he still kill me?

I let my gaze linger within his for a moment longer, but then he turned and grimaced, and with a sigh put his sword away.

"Wait-what…?"

I was too surprised to stop myself from speaking, and it quickly became apparent that I wasn't the only one.

The snarky man was the next to speak.

"What? Wait, Hijikata, are you sure about this? This kid saw...well, everything. That can't be good."

As he spoke to the man he'd called Hijikata, his eyes narrowed at me. The man called Hijikata glanced at me as well but with a frown instead. But then he quickly averted his eyes back to his companion.

"Shut up. If you keep that up, you know what we're going to have to do."

… I wasn't quite sure what they meant, but it was clear enough that what I'd seen was something they wanted to keep hidden. Should I slip up and say anything about this to anyone it would most likely be the end for me.

Still, the more they said, the more I understood, despite the fact that none of us wanted such a thing.

"I really think it's going to come back to bite us in the ass if we let this kid go."

The way the snarky one looked at me as he spoke made me feel as if he'd read my mind, though I was seriously becoming fed up with his attitude and his obvious dislike of me.

However, perhaps it would be best if I didn't think too hard about things I wasn't supposed to think about.

The man named Hijikata scowled at his companion as though he found it hard to believe that anyone could be so cruel. Though it was clear that he knew only too well just how cruel people could really be.

"So we should just kill people so they don't bother us later? No. I'll decide what we're going to do with this kid when we get back."

Saito, who had been previously silent, finally spoke.

"I agree with the commander. If we remain here, we are likely to be seen. Again."

He spoke with quiet confidence. He then glanced around, possibly looking for other Witnesses. Finally, he looked down at the creature he'd killed, almost as though he'd forgotten the whole ordeal.

What was wrong with these people?! Three men were just killed followed by three more. Granted three of them had been complete dirt bags and the other three were well I wasn't quite sure what they were, but still! The point of the matter was that there were now six corpses all around us on the ground and these three men we're acting like this was some kind of everyday occurrence!

"If they have this sort of reaction to blood, then they don't seem like they'll be very practical."

Now what were they babbling about? Blood? Reaction? What the heck was I getting myself into?

Hijikata gave a heavy sigh before saying, "…Damn. I didn't think they'd gotten this bad."

He peered down at the corpse, his face an emotionless mask. When he looked back up at his companions, however, his eyes narrowed.

"As for you two… drop the 'Hijikata' and 'Commander' stuff. We're supposed to be keeping a low profile."

The snarky one seemed to think this was the most ridiculous thing he'd ever heard.

"What?! Come on, you cannot be serious… You don't think our blues are a bit of a give-away already?"

He was right, though… Even I had heard stories about a gang of cruel men in blue coats who cut people down in the streets.

But—

"No…no. Don't you dare start thinking about any of this again."

I just wanted to go and continue on with my search for my father but I also knew that as soon as I turned my back on them I would most likely be killed by them. My mind swirled with thoughts and worries. I was being drawn into their world…

…A world where there is nothing strange in carrying on a normal conversation in the dead of night, with corpses for company.

"What shall we do with the bodies, then? There doesn't seem to be any physical signs, but…"

Hijikata glanced at Saito then to the bodies before he responded.

"Just take their blues. Yamazaki can deal with the rest."

Saito gave an almost imperceptible frown.

"As you wish."

The 3rd and still nameless one in the group looked down at the corpses; a smile that I could not read swept across his lips.

"Another man cut down in the street, huh? Doing a great job, aren't we?"

He gave a derisive of bark of laughter. I wanted to vomit, again. Though, the cause was no longer the blood of the creatures, but my disgust with this jerk.

"What the hell is wrong with you?! Three men were just killed tonight by those things and...and all you can do is compliment their handiwork?!"

Well, at least that's what I wanted to say and was just about to when—

"So long as we keep our mouths shut I don't think anyone will connect us with this."

Hijikata looked directly at me when he spoke, and I got the distinct feeling that his words were meant for me and not his companions.

I knew it was common for people to be murdered in Kyoto. It was a dangerous city, after all. But to see it happen to not just one but three people? That was something else entirely. If death was such an easy thing in Kyoto, I thought, then the city itself must surely be mad.

The man whose name I had yet to learn suddenly turned to me, his arms crossed and a smirk gracing his lips.

"Ah yes… We did save you, didn't we? Aren't you going to thank us?"

I walked straight up to him and placed a daring hand on my hip and yes I did dare look him straight in the eye.

"You expect me to thank you. I don't think so."

I smirked at him as he blinked several times clearly in a state of confusion.

I then veered past him and up to the person who had actually done the saving, whether it was intentional or not, and then bowed to them.

"Thank you, kind sir, for saving me." I spoke in a way I hoped would convey sincerity.

I glanced up at him, tentatively. The man called Saito was showing some confusion of his own. His eyes were wide, and he had an expression I couldn't quite place. I then turned to Hijikata who looked as though he'd taken a bite of something sour.

…

Feeling suddenly stupid, I found myself wondering if I had done something wrong.

…

Well, hell…

Desperately thinking of something, anything to say, I turned back to Saito.

"I know it's completely inappropriate to say, considering," I glanced down at the victims of the earlier nightmare before returning my gaze to Saito and the other two. "But, whether it was intentional or not, you all did save me, so I—"

I narrowed my eyes as the events of that night continued to surprise and annoying me. Saito and Hijikata we're both looking pointedly at anything but me, and the third man was shaking with laughter!

…

"Ha! Oh man… My apologies but you are just too much!"

He then broke out into laughter...again. So much so in fact that he was forced to wipe a few tears from his eyes as he was straightening up.

When he was finally done being a jerk and was able to speak in a calmer voice, "Well, you're welcome, I'm Okita Souji. Nice to see a kid who knows how to be polite."

…

I had no response for that, not a one. He just got done laughing at me like some kind of psychotic jackal and now his two companions were looking at us in what I could only hope was complete embarrassment with him.

Against my better judgement I found myself turning to him and bowing a second time, this time to Okita.

"Thank you for helping me…"

Not sure what else to do or say I bowed one last time before looking down at my shoes as though they were suddenly the most interesting thing in the world.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Okita?"

Hijikata narrowed his eyes as he spoke in a low voice.

Saito then turned to him, an unreadable gleam in his eyes.

"Commander, I understand your concerns, but we must move."

Hijikata nodded in agreement. Whatever mirth I may have inspired was now clearly gone.

The man who'd called himself Okita grabbed hold of my wrist, gave me a smile, and began to lead me down the street. His grip was a touch too tight to be friendly; his fingers like iron cables around my arm. He may have had appeared to have been unruffled by my earlier behavior, but clearly I had struck a nerve. Yep. There was no question about my current situation. If I ran, I would die, though not without taking at least two of them down with me.

Even if I did exactly as I was told, my life was still in the hands of these strange men, one of which might actually be insane and the other two, well, I suppose I could tolerate them for a little while.

I set my jaw and stood up as straight as I could. Wouldn't want them to think that I was some kind of puppet that they could just pull along by a string. And then I wanted to kick myself as I realized that that was sadly what I had temporarily become. My eyes met those of Saito as he looked up from the blood-stained coats he had folded in his arms.

"It would be best if you prepared for the worst. I doubt this will end well for you."

His words were like a dagger in my stomach. I could feel anger and hurt start to boil inside me again as I looked him square in the eyes.

"So, wait, you saved me just so you could condemn me later?!"

If my words had bothered him at all, he hid it well. He said nothing as he turned back around and continued down the street. Okita chuckled to himself as he continued to lead me through the silent night.

"I'm so glad my turmoil amuses you."

As I spoke to him I struggled to release my wrist from his hand only to have him tighten his grip.

I sighed and gave up and allowed him to continue to lead me through the darkness.

What was going to happen to me?

Well hell, I'm going to die, aren't I?

As we walked through the cold Kyoto night I felt horror begin to crawl its way up my spine once again. The cause of my horror wasn't the gruesome end that almost certainly awaited me, but something else entirely. I'd spoken to these men, and watched them speak to one another, not feet from still-warm corpse soaked in blood. That I had done such a thing terrified me in an altogether different way.

Perhaps, I thought, this is what it is to go mad.