For 15-year-old Tetsunosuke Ichimura, revenge is not so easily achieved. Haunted by the vicious slaying of his parents, Tetsu decides to seek out the Shinsengumi, an elite group of swordsmen sworn to protect the capital. The Shinsengumi are engaged in a brutal conflict with the Choshu rebels, the same ruthless killers who murdered Tetsu's parents. In the name of justice, and against the will of his older brother, Tetsu desperately hopes to join the Shinsengumi. But can he bring himself to actually kill a man and become a monster himself?