The samurai and the vow to the moon

Chapter 3

Much later that night. Amidst the drunken and now loudly soldiers, I stumble home to base.

- Someday soon, the whole world will belong to us. The Shinsengumi, Heisuke says.

- Yeah, some soldiers cheer.

- Oh good grief, what are you saying. The world belongs to the emperor, you fools, Kondo says. But the one doing the scolding is as merry from the drink as the ones being scolded.

- But who do we serve. The emperor. So the world belongs to us already, Heisuke says.

- Yeah, soldiers shouts.

- Soji, you return to base separately from the rest, Kondo says.

- What. Why only Soj, I ask. A sudden finger presses against my lips, silencing me.

- Hush now. Stick your neck out any further, and you're going to lose it, Soji says.

- What is that supposed to mean, I ask in my head. Whether or not his threat is legitimate, it gets the point across. As a shiver of fear makes its way through me, Soji seems to vanish into the night.

- I still don't understand why he can't return with the rest of us, I say in my head.

- By the way, Toshizo, I say. I scan the crows for him, and notice him way in the rear, walking alone.

- Why does he always have to be so cold, I ask. As the rest of the soldiers trundle loudly through the streets, villagers stop whatever they're going, eyeing the men suspiciously.

- Well, there they go. Would you just look at them, a villager asks.

- Yeah, I'm looking. Don't wanna look too close, though. Those savages might think we're trying to pick a fight, a villager says.

- I'm scared, a little girl says. As people walk past in the street, they are sure to give the Shinsengumi a wide breadth, just to be safe.

- Are they trying to avoid us, I ask in my head.

- They're having the time of their lives, not caring how much trouble they cause everyone else, a villager says.

- At this time of night, I'm sure they're all drunk. And you can bet they left without paying for their drinks, a woman says.

- That's not what happened at all, I say in my head.

- We can hear you, you know. You got some kind of problem, a soldier asks.

- Yeah, who do you think is keeping this town from being overrun by scum, a soldier says. A couple of soldiers take issue with the townfolk's harmless gossiping, and are getting quite annoyed.

- Silence, Toshizo says. A low, commanding voice comes from behind us.

- Aye, sir, the soldiers says.

- How. All it took was a single word, I say in my head. I'm so stunned, I stop moving. Toshizo catches up, and is about to walk right past me.

- I, um. Aren't you even going to try and set the record straight, I ask. Paying absolutely no attention to the jeers of villagers, he keeps walking at an even pace.

- Oh, they're just awful. Look at me. I can't stop shaking, a villager says.

- We should just thank our lucky stars that they didn't cut us down right here where we stand, a villager says.

Even after the soldiers are finished passing through, I can still hear loud, disparaging remarks being made about them.

- To the people in town, the Shinsengumi really are wolves. Meant to be feared and despised, I say in my head. To be fair, until very recently, I held the same expression. But not, the comments I overhear are starting to sound more like simple, irrational hearsay.