The samurai and the vow to the moon

Chapter 12

- You heard me, Kill Kira, Toshizo yells. Toshizo turns his back on us, prepared to leave. Shin calls out frantically after him.

- How. How can you just let me kill her and walk away, Shin yells. Perhaps he's caught by surprise, but for whatever reason, Shin's grip on me loosens somewhat. The moment his sword moves away from my throat.

- Don't move, Toshizo shouts. There is a gust of wind as Toshizo whirls, faster than I can see, and slices through Shin.

- Ugh, Shin cries out in pain, and jabs his sword arm out wildly. The blade jags drunkenly through the air, before slicing through a nearby paper door.

- Come on, Toshizo yells.

- Okay, I say. I feel my knees get weak, but Toshizo holds his hand out for me to grab. I do, and he takes me by the arm, pulling me close to his side.

- Toshizo, I say.

- You really are fearless, aren't you, he asks.

- Thanks to you, Toshizo. I've learned to overcome a lot, I say.

- Hm. Well said, Toshizo says. He wraps me up in one strong arm, and with the other, brandishes his beloved sword.

- Keep yourself hidden, he says.

- Alright, I say. He does his best to protect me as he aims his blade at Shin. At the same time, Shin draws another, shortest blade from his hip. He readies himself.

- You didn't honestly think I'd go down that easily, Shin asks. Screaming and wailing, the wait staff flees for the exits. The ruckus alerts the ronin who've been standing on guard outside.

- Shin, the ronin shouts.

- The Shinsengumi are onto us. split up, and run. All directions. Make yourselves scarce, Shin orders.

- Hajime, Sanosuke. Silence them. The rest of you. Fortify the perimeter. I don't want a single cockroach escaping this place, Toshizo shouts. Suddenly, the place erupted in chaos. The other customers have flown into a panic, and there are people running every which way. Amidst all the pandemonium, however, two men stare each other down, neither about to flinch.

- Kira. I thought I'd finally found a woman who understands me. I was prepared to shape a new world with you by my side. Kira, if only I'd been fortunate enough to meet you first, before you were seduced by the Shinsengumi. Things would have turned out much differently, Shin murmurs pitifully, watching me from the corner of his eye.

- This is my final offer, Kira. Come with me, won't you, Shin asks.

- I won't go with you, I say, Shin looks deeply saddened.

- I am a member of the Shinsengumi. They are my family, and my fate lies with them, I say. Toshizo looks at Shin with a majestic stare.

- Ah, there is nothing quite so cruel as fate, Shin says. A trapdoor hidden in the floorboards opens up, and Shin slips through it. In the blink of an eye, he vanishes. Toshizo immediately gives chase, but there is no way to open the door.

- Damn it. He got away, Toshizo says.

- Why do they have to fight like this. It's so senseless, I say in my head. They both claim to be after the same thing. Peace. How sad that it has come to this.

- We will capture him, whatever it takes. For now, we proceed to Ikeda. Let's go, Toshizo says.

- Right, I say.

- Hajime, go and check on the Aizu. I need a status report. They were scheduled to arrive by now, but they haven't yet, Toshizo says.

- Understood, Hajime says. Just like that, there is nothing more that can be done. So, with nothing left to occupy them at Shikoku, Toshizo and his men speed toward Ikeda.