[At those words, he can't help but feel a pang of guilt, though for the moment he puts off responding so that he can have a sip of his tea. Tea was always a good distraction from everything that was bothering him. Still, he knew that Hijikata deserved a proper response.

It was his fault that Hijikata was feeling this way, after all. And yet Kondou hadn't been able to force himself to choose another path. In the end, he had thought that the choice he made would be best for all of them.

He'd already made too many mistakes. Was this simply another one to add to the pile?]

For the moment, at least, I don't plan on going anywhere. So together we'll be able to figure out what we're doing. Right, Toshi?