Wake of the Slaughter (修羅の轍 Shura no Wadachi), also translated as The Trails of Carnage, is the ninth episode of the anime Hakuōki: Shinsengumi Kitan (Demon of the Fleeting Blossom: The Tale of the Shinsengumi). It aired on May 30, 2010.
Plot
January 1867
Shinpachi talking about Itou's offer
Itou is planning to make a move. Shinpachi tells Sano, Okita, Chizuru and Saitou that Itou has treated him dinner trying to recruit him. Saitou admits that the same offer came to him earlier as well. Okita wonders why Itou went to the Captains of the 2nd and 3rd Divisions ignoring him (1st Division Captain). When Chizuru asks him whether he would agree to such a proposition, Okita answers affirmatively, adding that he would probably kill him. Kaoru is seen watching Okita and Chizuru from afar and smiling when Souji starts coughing.
March 1867
The Shinsengumi protecting Chizuru from a Rasetsu
Sannan loses his mind
Chizuru wakes up in the middle of the night hearing someone's footsteps outside her room. When she asks who it is, the door opens revealing a Rasetsu that has lost his mind and is craving her blood. He jumps at her and cuts her arm with his sword, but a moment later Hijikata appears and attacks him from behind. He urges Chizuru to come with him, but the Rasetsu is not dead and he catches her ankle to stop her from leaving. Chizuru starts screaming, and Sano stabs the fallen one's wrist with his spear. Hearing the screams, other Shinsengumi captains run to Chizuru's room asking if she is okay. The Rasetsu attempts to attack Chizuru once again but Hijikata and Sano finish him off. A few moments later, Sannan joins them admitting that it is his oversight and his fault that the Rasetsu has escaped. The wound on Chizuru's arm is quite deep, and Sannan tries to inspect it, but her blood gets on his fingers and he loses control. The Shinsengumi prepare to kill him when Sannan licks the blood from his hand and suddenly comes back to his senses without remembering what happened. Suddenly Itou runs towards the noise and notices Sannan, whom he considered dead the whole time. He goes hysterical about everything but Kondou pushes him away and promises to explain everything later. Hijikata tells Chizuru to use his room for the night and to ask Yamazaki to tend her wounds which makes everyone acknowledge how deep the wound is. However, she claims that she can do it herself and runs away.
Itou expresses his wish to leave
When Chizuru wakes up next morning, her wound is almost gone, there is just a faint scar that is barely noticeable. She still makes a bandage to hide her fast regeneration from others and goes out to see what everyone is up to. There she meets annoyed Shinpachi and Sano who inform her that Heisuke has agreed to Itou's proposition and is planning to leave the Shinsengumi. Inoue also adds that Itou has claimed to move on to guarding the Imperial Tomb along with his men. Since Itou is officially part of the Shinsengumi, it is up to Kondou to decide whether he may or may not leave. When Kondou reminds him of that, Itou starts blackmailing him by saying that he cannot stay after the last night display. He is doing it in a smart way by pushing towards the fact that the Shinsengumi command does not trust him with their secrets, and they also lied to him about Sannan, so he cannot stay in such a place. However, to make his argument more solid, he adds that if Kondou lets him leave, Itou will keep everything from the previous night a secret. Kondou agrees, and Heisuke and Saitou leave with him.
Saitou being philosophical about his leave
Chizuru finds Saitou to ask him about his decision, and he gives her a philosophical answer:
Time passes, and many things change: the workings of the world, ideologies, and also the Shinsengumi. And yet, it is not as if all things change. It is those unchanging things in which I believe.
Heisuke explaining his decision
Later Chizuru finds Heisuke and enquires about his reasons to leave with Itou. He explains that he does not find Itou as wrong as everyone claims he is. Heisuke wishes to try to understand both sides and see for himself who is right. He also promises that he will not hate the Shinsengumi just because of him changing the side, but he does not give in to Chizuru's pleads to stay nonetheless.
March 20, 1867
Chizuru narrates on the background that Itou has left with 13 of his men plus Saitou and Heisuke.
Senhime and Kimiguku have come to take Chizuru with them
During dinner, Shinpachi keeps talking to himself angrily not being able to calm down and accept Heisuke's decision. Kondou reassures him that they will meet again since they are both of the same "Expel the barbarians" ideology. Shimada interrupts the meal informing Kondou that there is a female visitor wishing to speak to Chizuru. Senhime and Kimigiku enter the room and introduce themselves to everyone. Hijikata points out that he now understands the reason why Kimigiku was serving them in the restaurant before - she was trying to gather more information about the Shinsengumi.
Senhime reveals that she is an oni, a demon, and so is Chizuru, Kazama, Amagiri and Shiranui. She and Kimigiku ask Chizuru to come with them because they might be able to protect her from what is happening. They explain that Kazama is after Chizuru because Yukimura is an ancient lineage of pure-blood demons as well as Kazama, and a unit of two pure-blood demons can produce very powerful descendants. Chizuru checks her arm and demonstrates that there is nothing left from her wound which surprises everyone in the room. Sannan comes to realize that her demonic blood stopped him from losing sanity the other night. Senhime claims that the Shinsengumi have no chance against Kazama if he were to attack seriously. Hijikata denies that reminding her that they are "Wolves from Mibu" and that dealing with a couple of demons will not be a problem. Kondou tells Chizuru to make this decision by herself, and she decides to stay. Later, when Chizuru is walking the women out and taking to them in private, Senhime asks whether the reason for her to stay is someone she cares about, and Chizuru is in loss of words.
The demons have come after Chizuru
Chizuru and Hijikata protecting each other
In a couple of days, the demons raid the Shinsengumi headquarters. The Rasetsu are there to give a fight, led by Sannan. The demons show their disgust towards the "fakes" while killing them, and Kazama goes away to look for Chizuru, who wakes up because of all the noise and runs to see what is causing it. Shimada tries to stop her but Kazama instantly finds them, and, even though Shimada makes a heroic attempt to protect Chizuru, he loses instantly, and Kazama hits Chizuru in her stomach so that she lost consciousness. Then he carries her back to the entrance on his shoulder intending to leave. However, Hijikata and others interfere and start a big fight, the same pairs of warriors crossing blades as before: Hijikata against Kazama, Shiranui against Sano. Amagiri fights against Shinpachi, however, Chizuru wakes up and strives to stand between Kazama and Hijikata protecting the latter. Hijikata instantly swaps places with her and gets a grip of her sword. Kazama is shocked and asks her why she keeps staying with humans knowing that they will betray her one day. She answers that she trusts them, and Kazama claims to have lost interest, so the group of demons retreat. Seeing Chizuru's feelings on her face, Sano tells her not to worry because it is the duty of a man to protect a woman. Chizuru thanks them all for what they did.