Torture

~~~
The groaning of men could be heard from inside a large dungeon.

The only light coming from the outside world was through a tiny barred window 8 ft high. Iron bars ran vertically and horizontally across the entrance of the dungeon.

Five men were inside, their wrists chained above their heads to a rusty hook, legs tucked in, and breathing heavily.

Their torn pants hung loosely at their waist, whip marks streaked across each of their bare chest.

The man in the middle had on a mad face of an animal. His violet eyes twitched with the lack of water the soldiers gave him and his comrades, hunger gnawed at his thin stomach.

He slowly raised his head, the chains above him rattled.

"Hey. You guys alive?" he managed to gasp out.

The man to his right shifted slowly. "Y-yeah. We're a-alive-" the man coughed "Vice-commander."

One by one, the prisoners shuffled and moaned.

The man in the middle couldn't take it any longer.

They were held here for 5 days and still no sign of an attempt to rescue them.

"Damn those Bakufu..." he muttered under his breath.

The man on his left looked at him. "Hijikata-san, you think we'll die here?"

The man called Hijikata clenched his teeth. "Like hell I'm gonna die in here!"

He pulled on his chains, making it grip tighter around his wrist.

"Damn..."

The man on Hijikata's right coughed again, this time spewing out blood.

"S-Saito! Are you okay?!" Hijikata gasped out.

Saito nodded his head weakly. "Don't worry about me Vice-commander."

The man next to Saito leaned closer. "Hey! Don't die on us Saito!"

Saito gave a soft chuckle. "This isn't enough to kill me Sano."

Hijikata looked at the other man stationed to his right. "How are coping, Souji?"

"It'll take more than starvation to break me, Hijikata-san. But I'm worried about Heisuke."

Souji looked next to the boy who was barely making a sound.

"He's getting weaker everyday."

Hijikata swore again.

The Bakufu betrayed the Shinsengumi when they found out that the Ochimizu didn't grant the user healing abilities.

Embarrassed by the humiliation from other clans, the Bakufu took revenge on the Shinsengumi and killed Sannan; the man who tried to improve the Ochimizu but made it worse.

The leader: Kondou, was shot in the chest while trying to escape the Bakufu.

Shinpachi was forced to join the New Government army, days before the Ochimizu incident.

Chizuru luckily escaped with Kazama and was never heard from again.

The Ochimizu was no longer called the Ochimizu. It is now an unknown substance call LP. Why it is called that, no one knows, but it won't look good for the Shinsengumi.

To get payback for their humiliation, the Bakufu are testing the LP on the captains.

Hijikata looked up at the ceiling, memories forming in his mind on how they all got captured in the first place.

It was an ordinary day for the Shinsengumi at headquarters. Everyone did their usual routine, Hijikata yelling at Heisuke to stop lazying around, Kondou having a conversation with Sannan about the latest activity with the Bakufu, Okita asking Saito to spar with him, Harada helping Chizuru with her chores.

Another ordinary day... The day when everything went wrong.

Chizuru and Harada were sweeping the front of HQ when they noticed a strange fog swept in.

Suddenly, Chizuru yelled at Harada to get inside and round-up the others. He didn't ask twice and ran in, yelling for Hijikata or Kondou.

Chizuru looked back at Harada's retreating form and activated her oni powers.

Two small horns grew from the top of her forehead and her usual black hair begun to turn white.

The gas surrounded her, she breathed it in but nothing happened.

That's because her oni powers prevented it from happening. She sniffed the air.

It was identified as Sleeping Gas, one of the New Government's latest weapon. She knew she couldn't make it in time to save the captains, but she still went in any way.

Each of the captains were pushing the soldiers into the nearest building they were next to.

Chizuru saw Sannan lying in a pool of blood, his own katana stuck in his chest.

Her eyes widened and she called out to Hijikata. He saw what she had seen and told Kondou to escape immediately.

He stubbornly refused and Hijikata threatened to chase after him with his katana if he didn't escape.

He looked at him pity in his eyes and agree to go.

He fled the HQ, while the rest of the captains shut all the buildings. The captains nodded to each other and tried to run to the common room but the gas had already made it into HQ.

Chizuru yelled the captains names but they slowly dropped down, one by one.

Chizuru ran over to Hijikata and desperately tried to wake him up.

He looked up at her and told her to get out of here. She refused but when he said it was an order, tears streamed out of her eyes.

He told her to look for Kazama, for he is probably the only person left she can trust.

She nodded her head and with her oni powers, disappeared.

The Bakufu filed in and disarmed all the captains.

They picked them up, threw them into the back of a wagon, and then rode off.

Hijikata heard a whip-lash out and a scream.

He jerk his head towards the sound, Sanosuke had a brand new red mark across his cheek. A Bakufu soldier towered above him, smirking with a disgusted face.

Souji growled at the soldier.

"YOU LEAVE HIM ALONE YOU BASTARD!"

The soldier glanced at him with the corner of his eye. "Well, well, the famous Okita Souji dares to insult a high-ranking warrior such as myself?"

Okita glared at him. "I DON'T GIVE A SHIT ABOUT YOU DAMN BAKUFU!"

The soldier walked over and gave Okita a hard kick in his gut and Okita coughed up blood.

"HEY! STOP THAT!" Hijikata tried to move closer to Okita but the chains kept him in place.

"Damn it..." he muttered.

The soldier laughed wickedly, a dark shine shown in his eyes. "YOU DOGS DISGUST ME! AFTER EVERYTHING THE BAKUFU DID FOR YOU, YOU STILL MAKE A FOOL OUT OF US!"

Saito glared at him silently, his mouth in a thin line.

Harada clenched his fists and gritted his teeth.

Hijikata said nothing, looking at the soldier with disgust.

Heisuke looked up weakly and frowned at the sight.

Okita continued to cough, fire burning in his eyes.

The soldier laughed again. "Oh by the way, we're starting the experiments tomorrow. Better tell you now before you get killed."

"After taking the medicine, for two days, one of you will be placed in a vacant house, where we will have surveillance on you in secret. But here's the catch, you cannot leave there and we will give you a servant to tend to your every need."

Then he put on a crazed look. "If the experiment is a failure, you know what happens next, riiight?"

Hijikata looked at him with pure hatred.

"Heh... Y-you'll be... KILLED!" He laughed maniacally and then stalked out the door.

Silence filled the room.

No one uttering a sound.

Then Heisuke spoke. "Hijikata-san, w-what do we do now?"

He looked over at Heisuke. "Who ever they pick to try the experiment on, let's just hope it's a success. Then, that person will escape."

Heisuke nodded weakly. "But what about saving the others?"

Hijikata closed his eyes.

"It's best to save himself and carry on the Shinsengumi name."

A creek was heard from the entrance and every captain looked up.

It was the soldier from yesterday.

"Well, good morning dogs! Had a good night sleep?"

No one said anything.

"Anyways, this young lady will pick one of you to try to perform the experiment on. She will also tend to your every needs."

He looked behind his shoulders. "Well don't be shy! You know you'll be helping the Bakufu a lot with this experiment."

A tiny voice spoke. "Of course."

The girl walked into the room and the captains gasped.

"CHIZURU?!"

She stared at them in astonishment. "Y-your alive..."

A waterfall of tears poured down her cheek. The captains looked at her, disbelief in their eyes.

She was dressed in the clothes when she escaped to Kazama, but this time, chains held her wrists together as well as her ankles.

The soldier laughed. "WELL THIS WAS UNEXPECTED!"

Hijikata tugged on his chains. "YOU LEAVE HER OUT OF THIS, BASTARD!"

The soldier ignored him and placed a hand on Chizuru's shoulder.

"Don't just stand there! Who do you choose to experiment with?!"

She stared into the eyes of every captain.

If I choose one of them, maybe I can help him escape!

She breathed in slowly.

"I-I choose..."

Be on the look out for "Love Potion" and my other fanfic (which you should totally read!) "Eight Wolves, and a Human". :3