Keep it together... I told myself. That was a lot easier said than done though. As of this moment, the Shinsengumi was deciding whether to let me go or kill me. I was almost certain that I was going to die.

Needless to say, I was absolutely terrified. Sure, I'd been scared when those... things... attacked me, but then I at least had a hope of surviving. Even if I wasn't trained with a sword, I had been able to protect myself thanks to my instincts kicking in.

As the door slid open, all I could do was tremble with fear and think to myself that I didn't want to die.

(Harada's POV)

Something seemed off since we'd come into the room. We'd decided that the kid knew too much. We couldn't just let him go: we had to kill him. I hated to do it, but orders are orders. No doubt the kid already knew what was going to happen.

But looking down at him, I swore he was trembling. That brave kid who had faced us with a calm and cool attitude was clearly gone. Now, all that was there was a shaking boy who kept mumbling and whining to himself.

"I don't want to die."

That was all he seemed to say. The more he repeated it, the more I noticed something: his voice was actually quite feminine sounding. Then I heard what sounded like a sob. Was this kid actually crying?

"Hijikata..." I looked to our commander, not sure how to react to this. The boy was sobbing like a... Oh. My eyes went wide. He'd seemed a little girly, but I hadn't thought much of it. But throw in the trembling and the voice and the sobbing? Yeah, definitely seems like a girl.

I wasn't the only uneasy about this. "This just feels kinda wrong..." Shinpachi said beside me.

Souji, unlike us, felt much differently about it. "Come on and face it like a man."

The next words out of anyone's mouth weren't what any of us were expecting. "A girl isn't supposed to be manly, you jackass!" the kid said, her voice coming out as little more than a mix of a sob and a whine.

(Reader's POV)

When I'd let it slip that I was a girl, I immediately clapped my hands over my mouth. I'd never intended to tell them that I was a woman. I shouldn't have to explain how a single woman among a group of men could cause trouble...

But it was too late to take it back now. Actually, at this point, it might save my life. Right now, I didn't really care what happened as long as it meant that I wasn't going to die.

Thinking that they were going to kill me made me scared as hell. I didn't want them to do anything to me, but I didn't want to die even more than that.

"Did he just...?" one of the men standing around me said, though I didn't care to notice who. The confusion at least bought me a little more time. Right now, every second mattered. Sure, I had no intentions of running; I couldn't have escaped anyway. But still, I wanted to live. That's only normal, right?

Without a word, the men around me exchanged looks and left the room. One, however, decided to stay behind. He stood there, silently staring down at me until I felt myself calming down.

"Just get it over with..." I sighed. There was no escape from this, so I just wanted them to get it over and done with. Sure, I was still scared as hell, but what could I do? It's not like there was any chance of fighting them.

My eyes never left the floor, but I could see him sit down in front of me. "You've got guts, for a woman," the man said. "You didn't beg for us to spare your life or try to escape... Things like that can say a lot about someone."

More than a little surprised by this, I shifted my gaze upward. It took a moment, but I soon remember the man to be named Harada. He seemed like a nice enough guy, for being a killer anyway. "What point is there in running? It's not like I actually have anywhere to go." After it had already been said, I realized that probably wasn't going to help me.

Harada frowned slightly. "No family?" I shook my head. "Guess you're not from Kyoto either, huh?" Once again, the more I told him, the more I began to feel like I was just pushing myself closer to my grave.

After a while, he suddenly stood up. Harada placed a hand on top of my head, ruffling my hair like I was a child. "I'll see what I can do. But no promises, okay?" As he smiled and walked away, all I could do was hope that with him on my side, everything would turn out alright.