He paused for a long time before he spoke.

As soon as he spoke, both Saito and Shimada seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, and immediately organized the soldiers who were separated on both sides and looked sluggish to quickly retreat, and the venue was cleared within a few minutes, leaving only two people in the hall, Hijikata and Yanagizumi.

Watching Saito and Shimada leave the hall, Yanagizumi smiled bitterly.

“...... They seem to be really worried that the deputy chief will throw me out as soon as they meet?"

Hijikata: "...... How could it be ......"

His voice was different from before, low and tired, and it sounded light, completely opposite to the roar of the demon deputy chief of the past, full of momentum and courage. I don't know if this change was due to a serious injury that had to be healed, or because what happened in Edo made it difficult for him to face her.

When facing this person again, perhaps because of the resentful thought of "this guy has shown his scumbag side to himself, so the scumbag has to accept the treatment that the scumbag deserves", Liu Quan felt that he suddenly seemed to have lost the incomparable patience and tolerance that he had to uphold in order to attack the strategy.

She was keenly aware of the faint awkwardness that pervaded them and the unnaturalness of facing each other, but she couldn't do anything about it for the time being.

Something...... It's not so easy to leapfrog and forget. For example, the embarrassing parting at the beginning, and the news that she was going to sue him next......

Although he had already made assurances to Shimada, Yanagizumi couldn't think of a better way than to [call a spade] to inform Hijikata that Kondo had been martyred.

She simply reached into her pocket, took out the letter that Kondo had given her, and handed it to Hijikata.

Hijikata didn't immediately reach for it.

He sat there, staring at her hand as it reached out to him, and for a moment his eyes seemed to widen, and the expression on his face changed from suspicious, astonished to disbelieving, and a layer of pain slowly rose between his brows.

Oh, yes. She didn't bring back the director, but she brought a letter...... In this case, there is no need to say anything at all, and Hijikata, who was cut off from news because he hid in a safe and remote place to recuperate from his injuries, and had no knowledge of the news from the outside world, should be able to guess something.

He stared at her hand for a few moments before he slowly reached forward and took the letter. His hands trembled slightly as he unfolded the letter.

Then, as soon as his gaze touched Kondo's familiar handwriting on the paper, his gaze faltered violently behind the letter.

Although the letter obscured most of Hijikata's face, and only allowed Ryuzumi to see one of his eyes, it was enough.

If she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, she would never have thought that such a complicated relationship could be revealed in a person's eyes—in those eyes with a layer of tears, there was loss, sadness, confusion, a determination that seemed to be understood, and the loneliness and contradiction that was finally left on the road ahead.

Having lost the brother, general, and friend who has been supporting each other all along, what else does he have to do to overcome this deep pain, how can he do to better complete the things entrusted to him by the other party, and how can he live and die, so as to live up to Kondo's hard work, and it is meaningful enough-

“...... Is it. That's right......" After a long silence, Hijikata spoke slowly.

He slowly lowered the piece of letter, and with great care, folded it in two more and put it in his pocket, his eyes down, looking at the ground between the two of them.

“...... So, what are you doing back here? Even before the attack on Utsunomiya, we had already heard the rumor that the so-called 'Shinsengumi Ichibangumi Acting Leader surrendered to the new government forces'......" Hijikata said slowly.

There seemed to be no hint of surprise or reproach in his tone, and his tone was so slow that it was almost like that of an old man in the twilight, as if it had taken all his strength to simply recount what they knew.

"Although I know you can't do that...... However, if there is such news, it must be because you are in a critical situation where you are unable to speak for yourself, and your uncle or someone else over there thinks that this statement on your behalf will stop you, that it will be useful......" he continued, as if this reasoning had been repeated in his mind countless times, and that nothing could go wrong.

Liu Quan was silent, not knowing how to answer him.

No language pales in the face of this painful and helpless reunion. Even with the unimaginable sacrifices made by each other, the important man never returned, leaving the two of them standing in the ruins of the world's destruction, not knowing where they would go in the future.

Then, without warning, Hijikata raised his voice a little.

"But...... Even though I know you're never going to do that, the rest of the people here won't know! Now in their eyes, you're already a betrayer of the Shinsengumi, and even if you come back here, you must have something else going ...... you."

He finally raised his eyes, staring directly at her. There was unreserved pain, anxiety and hesitation in his eyes.

"Even if I can't save Kondo-kun...... Is it not good for you to leave like this? What else is there here that is worth your desperate efforts? An incompetent leader who is powerless against anything but his subordinates? Or is it a shogunate army that has been defeated again and again, and even the shogun himself has given up resistance?"

He looked at her with a pained look in his eyes, and there was a deep sense of self-reproach and gloom in his tone.

Then, his gaze fell on her bandaged arm, which was exposed outside the sleeve of her coat. His gaze flickered, and for a moment it seemed to become even grayer.

“...... Why do you have to work so hard...... In case even you ...... yourself," he muttered in a low voice, as if countless sorrows, sorrows, confusions, and confusions had been transformed into unspeakable words that could not convey his mood well, and swirled around his lips, as if he did not know how to say them.

That expression and tone hit Willow Springs almost instantly.

The deputy chief of the Shinsengumi, who is extremely powerful and firm in the eyes of others, and who has always supported Director Kondo and the Shinsengumi, is a person who is feared by both the soldiers, the enemy, and the big men of the shogunate, but now in front of her, he exudes a rare sense of vulnerability and hesitation like a child, which is probably impossible for others to see.

Liu Quan couldn't help but take a few more steps forward and stood in front of him. For a brief moment she almost reached out to touch his head, but she resisted the bad urge and just looked at him earnestly, and lowered her voice.

"Because...... I still have an unfinished mission. Even if I am ruined, even if I will be punished by the rules of the game as soon as I return, I must come back. ”

"The new government wants to split the Shinsengumi, but I can't apologize here and now. ”

threw out the key words of punishment that the deputy chief used to give to others as an introduction, and sure enough, he raised his head in shock for a moment.

That expression immediately conveyed to her the fact that no amount of rumors from the ghost beast Nissan and the new government forces could shake the trust that this person had placed in her—even though he had heard the news a long time ago, he had never thought of making her a betrayer, because he believed that she could not do such a thing.

...... Too young, too simple You don't know that I'm actually a betrayer, you don't know that the "Kiyohara Snow Leaf" you know has never really existed in this world......

"Because I swore in front of Director Kondo that no matter what happens, even if my body may be ruined at any time, I will witness the survival of the Shinsengumi until the end. ”

"I swear to Director Kondo...... I swear I'll follow the deputy chief until the end. ”

"In the face of this vow, even if the reputation is ruined, it is not worth mentioning. She said categorically.

"It's not that I can't apologize, but at this moment, I'd rather die on the battlefield. Even if I kill one more enemy, it means that all my efforts from then on until now have not been in vain. ”

Hijikata's pupils widened slightly in amazement.

“...... That's right. After a long silence, he spoke, in the same tone as usual. It seemed that he didn't know what was going on to restore his usual composure and composure.

"Kondo-kun...... Is there anything else you want to bring to me?" he actually took the initiative to ask about Kondo's last moments. The brief emotional fluctuations and the moments of vulnerability and dazedness now seem like an illusion. The Shinsengumi Onino Vice-Captain seemed to be strong and indestructible again, just like before.

Now the person who feels a little difficult to talk about has become Liu Quan. She paused for a second before answering.

"Director Kondo has always been very calm and calm. He said to me, let me pass it on to the deputy chief......"

She took a deep breath.

"The Shinsengumi and the future, please. ”

This time, Hijikata was silent for a long time.

From the dark light emanating from the depths of his pupils, she felt his desperation with nowhere to hide.

...... Even at such a heavy price, willing to make even greater sacrifices, running around desperately, and even with all his might, he could not redeem the man he had been faithfully following since the poor dojo in the countryside of Tama......?!

After that, Hijikata did not say anything about Kondo's martyrdom. This was the end of this brief one-man conversation between them.

Saito and Shimada arranged a qiē in an orderly manner, and they had already prepared the room for Hijikata. After a brief meeting in the hall, Hijikata entered his room and seemed to refuse a visitor.

Of course, Liu Quan could understand his mood at the moment. Although anxiety filled her chest, she tried her best to keep her composure, and until her position as Ichiban group leader was officially reinstated, she continued to assist the busy Saito in completing some necessary work.

A few days passed, and one evening, she unexpectedly met Yamanan and Heisuke in the hallway.

The two of them had apparently just gotten up and were about to visit Hijikata's room.

Since she came to Shirakawa City and returned to the Shinsengumi team, she has kept a low profile because her former position and her reputation has not been fully restored due to the rumors spread by the ghost beast Nissan, so the opportunity to meet with the two of them has hardly come up before. Tonight was a coincidence.

After she greeted the two of them, Heisuke responded to her with a smile in his energetic voice as always, but Sannan had a puzzled smile on his face.

"Ahh Have you seen Hijikata-kun, Kiyohara-kun?"

He simply asked knowingly with a little malice. Liu Quan didn't know how to respond for a while, and forced an ugly smile on his face.

“...... Yes. So I won't delay you from going to see him......"

She nodded hastily at the two of them, and just as she was about to turn around and run away, Shannan's usual gentle and calm voice sounded behind her.

"After hearing the kind of news that makes people's hearts uneasy...... How will Hijikata-kun react? ”

Liu Quan's heart suddenly tingled.

"Mr. Sannan will probably find out soon. Because you're not there to see him?" she replied in a stiff tone, barely maintaining her apparent composure.

"Hey, yes. ”

Shannan maintained a gentle tone with a slight smile.

"But the way he felt when he faced you...... Probably we'll never know. ”

"Mountain...... Mr. Shannan!"

The person who spoke out to break this embarrassing and painful scene turned out to be Heisuke.

He shouted at Shannan, preventing Shannan from saying something more embarrassing.

Probably because he was not used to this delicate atmosphere and occasion, he looked left and right after shouting, as if he was not at ease.

"That...... It's also time to meet Mr. Hijikata. At night...... We have other work to do, right?"

Shannan's eyes flashed.

"Hey, that's right. He simply gave up and continued to embarrass Liu Quan for no reason, and agreed with a smile. Then, he nodded to Willow Springs and walked in the other direction.

Heisuke seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, glanced at Yanagiquan, and also chased Shannan away.