Willow Springs: ......!!!

With a hint of relief, a hint of relief, a hint of relief and joy that "this person really didn't disappoint me, it's great", mixed with the incomparable hardships along the way, and the grievances, sadness, anger and disbelief she felt when she heard the deputy chief's almost difficult request, a thousand feelings surged into her heart at that moment, and almost at the same time, weak tears quickly rushed into her eyes.

In order to hide that feeling, she turned her head away fiercely, and deliberately choked hard to insert the [Mass-produced Longquan Sword] back into the scabbard.

Saito only glanced at her for this somewhat childish approach, and said in a very calm tone, "Go back with us first." And then I talk about other things. ”

Saito, who has been in charge of the entire Shinsengumi since Hijikata was wounded, is undoubtedly very authoritative in the eyes of these team members. Now that he has made his choice, the other team members, even if some of them still disagree, will not express it at this time.

As a result, the rest of the team continued to carry out the task of arming and guarding the mountain path here, while Yanagizumi followed Saito to Shirakawa Castle, which was not far away.

Along the way, through Saito's concise explanation, Liu Quan finally made up for the lesson of [Current Trend] that he was missing after being placed under house arrest by Kujo Michiyo.

After the bloodless opening of Edo, dissatisfied with the new government's attitude towards the extermination of the Aizu domain, and later because of the new government's staff officer from the Choshu domain, Sera Shuzo, who was sent by the new government to pacify the Ou domain, not only ignored the Sendai domain's hope that the new government would punish Aizu lightly and mediated the efforts, but also strongly advocated that the Aizu prince Matsudaira Yoho and his adopted son must "sacrifice their heads", and also threatened in a secret letter that "Ou is all enemies", which aroused the anger and vigilance of the Ou domain.

More than 20 feudal domains, including Sendai, Yonezawa, Matsumae, Morioka, and Nihonmatsu, as well as the "Six Hokuetsu Domains" of Nagaoka, Shibata, and Kurokawa, formed the "Ou-Etsu Domain Alliance", and the Aizu Domain and the Shonai Domain, which had been declared "enemies of the DPRK," were determined to fight side by side against the new government forces.

So, now they are going to Shirakawa Castle, which has recently been captured by Aizu.

"You came back by coincidence...... The deputy commander is scheduled to arrive here tomorrow and rejoin the Shinsengumi main team. Standing in the hall of the tunsho, Saito said sternly to Yanagi Quan.

"The battle of Utsunomiya was extremely fierce...... It was at that time that the deputy commander suffered a serious injury and had to temporarily leave the team to recuperate. He continued, seemingly hesitating, before asking the heaviest question that lay before them.

"About the martyrdom of Mr. Kondo...... If you find it really hard to speak, I will tell Deputy Chief Sù about it tomorrow. ”

Liu Quan: !?

After saying this, Saito took back the gaze that had been looking out the window and calmly cast it on her face.

"I can put it mildly - just call him the Director and he'll probably understand. ”

He took a deep breath.

"The deputy chief will understand that from now on, it will be his job to lead the Shinsengumi. ”

“...... There will be no more Director Kondo's deposit. ”

Although his tone was very calm, Liu Quan read some indescribable pain in it. This affection pained her, but at the same time stirred up her courage.

“...... No, thank you. Yijun. ”

As if surprised to hear such a response, Saito's eyes widened slightly.

Liu Quan tried to curl the corners of his mouth and give him a smile that would make him feel relieved, but failed.

"This is the task I received from the deputy chief. If I fail to do so, I must personally go before him and receive the punishment. ”

"Director Kondo was a true samurai until the end. As his subordinate, I should be the same. ”

After she explained so briefly, Saito was silent for a moment.

For a few seconds, the only thing that echoed through the hall was the slightly heavy breathing of the two of them as they endured their grief.

Then, Saito said quietly, "If you think that's better, do it." ”

He turned and walked outside, "I'll ask Shimada to arrange a room for you." Rumors from the new government that you have surrendered to them are already raging in the ranks, and you better be careful before meeting the deputy commander and clarifying the matter. Moreover, there are forces gathered here, and everyone has their own plans......"

Liu Quan looked at his black-dressed, handsome and tall back, although she was still troubled by the martyrdom of the director and the pain of not being able to explain to the deputy chief, she still slowly pursed her lips, and her eyebrows relaxed slightly.

...... Still as always, in a strict way of preaching, he cares about the companions he values, Yijun.

That's fine.

In this case...... Let her know that in these turbulent times, there is always one person who has not changed. No matter when, when he encountered any difficulties, even when others refused to believe in himself, or when he couldn't even believe in himself, he always stood there calmly, trustworthy and dependent, and the most loyal companion and friend.

This is the advantage of the primary one.

......

After accepting Koichi's advice and sleeping in his room all day - in fact, it was also because of the accumulation of hardships from house arrest to escape and then to the journey along the way, which made her extremely tired, and she took this opportunity to rest - and then, in the evening of the next day, the deputy head of the Shinsengumi Toshizo Hijikata finally arrived at Shirakawa Castle and joined the Shinsengumi main team.

Shimada came knocking on the door and called Yanagizumi to the hall. While walking in the corridor, the loyal Shimada stopped talking several times.

Shimada is a good old man who "if you are sincere in clarifying the facts to him, he will immediately and sincerely believe it". And such a simple good old man is now looking at her, which can only show that the situation on the deputy chief's side is really not good.

Finally, when he was about to arrive at the hall, Shimada couldn't help but remind Yanagiquan: "Kiyohara-kun...... The deputy chief was injured and told him about the director...... When the director is in the final situation, he must ...... Uh......"

Ryuizumi stood outside the hall and looked at Shimada, not knowing what to answer for a moment.

Do you say, "Don't worry, I'll say it to the deputy chief?" Or do you say, "The long pain is better than the short pain, so I still threw out this explosive news as soon as I came up, saving it a long time, and finally I still have to say it"?

...... The way to inform the other party of the bad news of Kondo's martyrdom is not a good way to revere and admire Kondo like a father and brother.

This question is not a sub-question, but a proposition.

Liu Quan sighed.

“...... Rest assured, I'm sure I will...... It's a bit measured. She could only say this ambiguously.

Shimada nodded silently, then turned sideways and asked her to enter the hall first.

Liu Quan took a deep breath and walked through the door.

At a glance, she could see the earthwork sitting on a chair in the middle of the hall.

I heard that he was injured in his right foot in the Battle of Utsunomiya, and it was difficult to walk for a long time. In an age where there is no tetanus vaccine and no antibiotics, foot injuries can kill people. So now he looked simply haggard, with a sense of exhaustion on his face, a little thinner, and his face was not good, his cheeks were completely bloodless, and there were deep dark circles under his eyes.

Perhaps because of the unhealed foot injury, he could only sit there to avoid causing more unnecessary burdens on the injured foot. When he heard footsteps at the door, he raised his gaze slightly, and his gaze locked on her gaze in mid-air for a moment. At that moment, there was a fluctuation in his gaze.

And when he saw the person who was in the dust, for some reason, Liu Quan's chest was not only excited, but also fearful.

Yes, fear.

The last time they were so hasty, they were mixed with unbelievably sharp pain and embarrassment, and each of them had unspeakable guilt and helplessness for each other in their hearts...... And now, they are reunited in a place far away from Edo, but at this time, the person he wanted to save even if he didn't care about it was no longer in this world.

He did not hesitate to lower his stature and sacrifice all his affection and admiration in her mind—and perhaps the first feelings of the beginning—to save the man, whom she had not succeeded.

What will the future of the Shinsengumi look like? What will the two of them look like? Between the two of them...... What will it become? There is no answer to this qiē question.

And now, what attitude and expression should she have to face him?!

Liu Quan walked up slowly step by step, and finally stopped a few steps away from the earthwork, looked directly at him, and whispered, "...... Deputy Chief, it's nice to see you're alive. ”

Without Chizuru's little girl by his side, he was not entangled by that handsome ghost Kazama in Utsunomiya Castle like in the original game's deputy long line. So now all the wounds on his body fell during the siege.

Moreover, she doesn't actually look very good, she just doesn't know it.

That night, she fought alone against more than 20 people on the streets of Edo, and although she had three days and a moon sect close to the battle, she couldn't give full play to his superb strength as a five-flower sword, and could only help with long-range attacks;

Until now, several days have passed, and her exposed arms are still wrapped in dense bandages, all the way to the back of her hands—although she has been mixed with modern technology to apply special wound medicine for external and internal use, but it always takes a little time for the wound to heal, and even washing is very inconvenient.

Hijikata's gaze fell on the tightly wrapped white bandage on the back of her hand hanging at her side, and a look of surprise flashed in her eyes.

Then he answered her.

“...... No kidding. ”