Fallen Ones

(零れ落ちるもの Koboreochiru Mono) is the eleventh episode of the anime Hakuōki: Shinsengumi Kitan (Demon of the Fleeting Blossom: The Tale of the Shinsengumi). It aired on June 13, 2010.
==Plot==
The episode begins with the battle between Amagiri and Heisuke. Heisuke gets gravely injured, everyone is worried about him but also about themselves as Sano and Shinpachi are greatly outnumbered. The fight continues but there are too many enemies, and as Sano is about to tell Shinpachi to take Chizuru and run, Saitou joins the scene by cutting down a couple of samurai. 
Eventually, the Shinsengumi seem to have survived as they are back in the headquarters. Okita keeps coughing blood when he sees Chizuru taking care of Heisuke. 
Shinpachi and Sano are discussing Rasetsu. Apparently, Heisuke's injury is too severe, hence the decision to give him Ochimizu. Shinpachi is extremely frustrated that Heisuke is about to become a Rasetsu, but Sano calmly states that it is something that Heisuke must decide for himself.
December 1867
Chizuru narrates behind the scenes that after the Abura-no Koji incident both Satsuma and Chōshū Domains prepared for war in the earnest and assembled their forces in Kyoto. To counter this, the Shinsengumi went to the Fushimi Magistrate's office and prepared for battle.
One evening, when Chizuru is busy with some chores, Heisuke appears behind her back and startles her. She is surprised to see him fully healed and acting like himself, even though he has become a Rasetsu. She apologizes because he got hit protecting her, and he jokingly says that it is his fault for not being strong enough. Chizuru dropped a glass when Heisuke greeted her, so she starts to pick up the shards and cuts her finger. The scent of blood drives Heisuke crazy but he tries to resist. Sannan approaches and advises Heisuke to succumb to his desires since he is not human anymore, and human morale should not restrict him. Heisuke refuses, and Sannan gives him special medical powder created by Dr. Matsumoto that can suppress the bloodlust. Heisuke drinks it straight away, and his hair goes back from silver to its usual color. Sannan leaves to patrol the city.
Souji wakes up coughing and remembering what Kaoru told him about Ochimizu. Kondou enters his room cheerfully and, upon noticing how chilly it is, gives him his coat. Chizuru is passing by and Kondou asks her to bring Souji some tea. Souji notices that Kondou's coat smells like him. Hijikata approaches the room and urges Kondou to leave. When Chizuru comes back with the tea, she points out that Souji looks even more like Kondou by wearing his coat. He promises (most likely in a joking way) that if she keeps talking like that, he will kill her.
While Chizuru is walking back, a flower lands at her feet. When she turns to look where it came from, she sees Senhime and Kimigiku who claim they require a conversation with the Shinsengumi commander. When Chizuru informs them that Kondou is away, they ask to speak to Hijikata. When Chizuru suggests bringing tea and giving them some privacy, Senhime stops her by promising to leave after the talk and claiming that Chizuru needs to hear this information, too. She bluntly asks when the Shinsengumi is planning to get rid of Rasetsu which irritates Hijikata who does not consider it to be Senhime's business. However, Kimigiku also reports that Rasetsu kill civilians during the night which Hijikata seems to be unaware of. Senhime asks Chizuru once again to leave with them because Kyoto is about to become a battlefield. She tries to convince her by pointing out that the Shinsengumi can concentrate on fighting if she is away, but Hijikata exclaims that she does not want to leave so she can stay. Chizuru chooses to stay. When the women are out of Hijikata's office, Senhime mentions her previous guess that Chizuru wants to stay because of a particular someone. She then adds that her ancestors fell in love with humans and followed them to the capital (which can be perceived as a proof that she is not a pure-blood demon).
On the way back to Kyoto, Kondou is riding a horse when he gets shot in the shoulder. Shimada does everything to keep him on the horse and strives back to the headquarters. Yamazaki burns the wound while all the others are holding Kondou, and he eventually passes out. Shimada keeps apologizing and blaming himself but Hijikata denies that by saying that Kondou insisted on going with no guard, and since Hijikata let him do so, the fault is his. 
Souji enters the room, sees Kondou unconscious, gets furious and goes back to his room for the sword. When he realizes that he can barely stand, he makes the decision to drink Ochimizu. 
Chizuru is out when she hears gunshots and sees Okita running to that direction. She urges Heisuke to follow him, and they both move. Okita comes to the place the noise comes from, and the samurai try to shoot him but he does not budge. Then they take out their swords but stand no chance against him. He makes sure they are the ones who shot Kondou and then kills them. This is when Kaoru joins the scene finally revealing his real outfit and gender. Kaoru mocks Okita's decision to become a Rasetsu, makes fun of Kondou going alone without protection, and admits advising those samurai to shoot Kondou. Okita does not need more to lose his cool and engage into a battle. Answering Okita's question about his goal, Kaoru explains that he has suffered a lot since being taken into the Nagumo family, and him being a boy, not a girl, causes him to be treated worse than Chizuru. He wants her to suffer as much as he did, and that is why he keeps putting her loved ones in danger. When Okita pities him, he mentions that he lied, and Ochimizu cannot cure tuberculosis. Then Kaoru jumps to a roof nearby when Chizuru and Heisuke are in sight, because there are samurai with guns in the shadows ready to shoot them. Okita sees it and runs to protect his friends, taking all the bullets. Heisuke carries him back to the headquarters and puts him down next to Kondou. The bullets taken out of Okita's body appear to be silver, which means the attackers knew about Rasetsu and their weaknesses. Hijikata decides that only Dr. Matsumoto can treat both Kondou and Okita now, so he orders to move them to Osaka Castle.
December 20, 1867
Chizuru narrates that two days later Kondou and Okita were taken to Osaka for treatment. It was 14 days before the outbreak of the Battle of Toba-Fushimi.
__NOEDITSECTION__
Category:Episodes
Category:Season 1