With a deep nasal voice, a small gust of wind suddenly rolled up in the room.

The wind ruffled her sideburns and the corners of her clothes, and the papers and papers on the large desk in front of her rustled.

However, this strange gust of wind came and went faster, and it only lasted for a dozen seconds before it suddenly stopped. The moment it stopped, Willow Springs, suddenly heard the rhythmic footsteps of the soles of his boots tapping against the floor in the hallway outside the house.

She jerked her head back and saw a man striding in from outside.

He was dressed in a black dress, with a pocket watch chain on the placket, and the same handsome face was different from what she remembered, but there was something indescribable that seemed to make people feel familiar. He stopped at the door, stared at her standing in the room in amazement, and asked in a deep voice, "Who are you?"

Willow Springs' mouth opened as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she only said the one thing that could not be wrong at this moment.

"I was asked by Soma-kun and Shimada-kun, who were guarding Bentendaiba, to break through and come to Goryokaku for help. ”

The man was stunned, and his face sank suddenly.

"Bentendaiba"

He repeated the name of the place, and the look in his eyes that was heavy and suspicious did not disappear.

"Who are you, then?" he asked calmly, striding into the room, going straight around the large desk, and standing behind the desk in the place that belonged to the master.

"How could Soma and Shimada entrust you with such an important matter"

Yanagizumi smiled bitterly, but he didn't take his eyes off him, and replied in a straightforward and calm manner, "My surname is Shinoda and I used to be a member of the Aizu Domain's women's team. ”

Sure enough, the two keywords "Aizu" and "women's team" played a role.

The man's furrowed eyebrows seemed to relax slightly.

"Aizu," he muttered, turning his suspicious gaze back to her.

"Since you're a member of the Aizu Girls' Team, why are you here now?"

In the same way that Soma and Shimada thought of Koichi's safety as soon as they heard the keyword "Aizu", Yanagizumi noticed that although the man in front of him had a small light in his eyes when he heard the keyword "Aizu", that light was soon obscured by a deeper haze.

Sure enough, it's the real one.

Putting emotions above his feelings, the first thing to consider is always the big picture and background, and whether there is a deeper conspiracy or plan after these words, although he must also want to know Saito's whereabouts, right?

Liu Quan deeply knows that the time has come to show his highest acting skills. Because the person in front of her is the real person in history, she has no second chance to tolerate mistakes in front of this person who doesn't know her at all and doesn't have special feelings for her beyond normal.

She took a deep breath.

"Because when I was in Aizu, I once met Yamaguchi-kun of the Shinsengumi. Later, before the fall of Aizu Castle, we also participated in the battle of the Nyorado Raid together."

After the man in front of him heard the more crucial words "Rulaitang Attack", the expression on his face finally fluctuated even more.

"Rulaitang," he repeated the name in a low voice, and suddenly raised his gaze to stare at her, his eyes burning.

"Well, after that, the Shinsengumi who participated in the battle of Nyorado, all"

His voice suddenly stopped.

Yanagizumi remembers that at this time in history, the people of Hakodate Shinsengumi did not know that a large part of the Aizu Shinsengumi had miraculously escaped death in various ways during the Nyorado Raid, and that the fact that all of their companions who remained in Aizu had died in that battle could not be changed.

So even though she wanted to comfort him by telling him "Ichi-kun is fine, he survived", or "It's great that many people miraculously escaped death despite the terrible battle", she could only repeat the lie in vain.

"I don't know. Under the heavy artillery fire of the new government army, the trench was blown up and I crawled out of the soil, I don't know what happened to Yamaguchi-kun"

The man in front of him let out a heavy sigh.

"Is it?"

However, the sentimentality seemed to be only a momentary thing, and he regained his composure.

"So you've come here despite the distance," he asked, the suspicion in his voice unabated.

Liu Quan couldn't help but smile bitterly, and a hint of gloom appeared in his expression.

"Actually, because when I was in Nyoraido, Yamaguchi-kun once saved my life. ”

Her tone was more frank, and there was a hint of sadness in her voice that was reminiscing.

"At that time, the Yasuke cannon brought by those guys of the new government army went off, and the shell happened to fall above the hole in the trench, if it wasn't for Yamaguchi-kun who knocked me down in time, I might have died a long time ago."

Although the result of "death" is fictional, the fact that the real person in Saito's history once saved her like this in Nyolaido is real.

"At that time, in between a brief period of artillery fire and attacks, Yamaguchi-kun recalled to me his companions in the Shinsengumi. ”

"He said you went to Sendai. Let me go to you," she said, using ambiguous statements.

"After I got out of the Nyorai Hall, I was thinking, then, as he said, go north and look for you. When I found you, I would like to tell you that the Shinsengumi Shoji Banner has been flying to the end in Aizu."

Her voice choked uncontrollably, and she couldn't speak again.

Perhaps it was such a true outpouring that finally made the real earthwork in front of her feel the sincerity in her words.

He looked away and sighed.

"You just said that Bentendaiba needs rescue," he stiffly changed the subject.

Because thinking of the next result of this problem, Liu Quan felt speechless for a while.

However, it is not okay not to answer, it will arouse the suspicion of the earth, so she has to hold her breath and nod vigorously.

Hijikata's brows slowly furrowed. He slumped forward, his hands slammed apart and slammed down on the table, staring down at the huge sand table on the table.

"Is it?" he replied with a sigh, as if in deep thought.

"At this point, it's already hard to hold on?"

Willow Springs""

She had no idea what she was supposed to say at the moment. Because Hijikata's expression looks a little strange.

It was as if the final victory of something he wanted, the perfect plan, was in front of his eyes, but at this moment, the news she brought abruptly erected a barrier between him and what he desired, and without breaking through this barrier, he would never get the victory he wanted, or that he would choose to abandon it for the sake of victory, which was not what he wanted.

Now his face was full of grimness, and his frown brow contained some kind of pain that was difficult to decide for a while. He stared intently at the huge sand table on the table, and moved a small flag representing the new government army from the top of Mt. Hakodate and wedged it into the surrounding area of Bentendaiba, and when he inserted the last small flag into the edge of Bentendaiba, he stopped, and did not immediately let go of his hand, and a faint green tendon formed on the back of his hand that held the small flag.

Suddenly, he said without looking up

"I originally thought that Kuroda's base camp should be empty at this time, because they had already put most of their forces into the battles all over Hakodate."

Willow Springs "Eh"

She was stunned for a moment.

Deputy Chief, this is to tell her his original battle plan If he didn't have an OOC, why would he tell such an important thing to Pingshui Xiangyu, who didn't know her before today, because he wasn't the deputy commander she knew, he was a real historical figure, a real deputy head of the Shinsengumi, and a real Ezo Republic Army

Unless, he's thinking it doesn't matter if he tells her that's now

Thinks that even if she leaks this plan, it will not be relevant now

"Mr. Hijikata," she shouted.

As if startled by her shout, Hijikata finally raised his head and glared at her fiercely as if dissatisfied.

"What are you shouting?" he asked dissatisfiedly, suddenly raised his hand, threw the remaining small flag in his hand on the sand table with a snap, and then lowered his head and opened a drawer of the desk, fumbled in it for a while, took out a small box, and solemnly placed it on the table.

During the whole process, he also muttered, "I don't know why that guy Saito sent such a person as you here to report the news, although he said that he was from Aizu, he was as difficult as a woman in Edo."

Liu Quan was stunned, and then for some reason, the corners of his lips slowly and slowly curled upward.

Edo woman, sure enough, no matter which deputy chief it is, can't avoid this kind of old stalk

She bent her eyebrows, not stupid enough to say this emotion, but quietly watched as Hijikata opened the lid of the small wooden box. When her eyes fell on the items in the box, the faint smile on her face disappeared for a moment

Because what was in the box was a piece of light onion cloth painted with a white mountain pattern

Hijikata reached straight and picked up the piece of fabric. Now Willow Springs can see it in its entirety. It looked like it was indeed cut from some piece of Hanori from the Shinsengumi, and Hijikata held it and looked at it for a moment, then folded it a few times, folded it into a long strip, and then tied it across his forehead and tied it to his head.

Willow Springs

She couldn't see what Tsuchikata had in doing so by tying a strip of cloth that appeared to have been cut from Shinsengumi's light onion feather weave in this pattern on her forehead. She couldn't help but widen her eyes, staring at the light green strip of cloth painted with mountain patterns on his forehead, and asked "Aren't you a death squad's binding method", but she didn't dare to say anything.

Perhaps it was Hijikata who sensed her strange gaze and glanced at her very indifferently. But after that, he paused suddenly, and the next second, he burst out laughing.

"Hah, what is it, your face. He said.

Willow Springs

Maybe it's because her face is full of stupid question mark expressions, and Hijikata has a miserable look.

"You, with envious eyes, are you. He added, patting the light onion cloth tied to his forehead with his right hand, and asked with interest, "Why do you want to get such a one?"

Willow Springs""

She thought about it for a moment and decided to tell the truth.

"That's true. She replied honestly, her gaze still resting on Hijikata's forehead.

Hijikata raised his eyebrows slightly, revealing a little real interest in his expression.

"Aren't you afraid, after all, this is the feather weaving that the wolf of Mibu used to wear. To be honest, people who hate this light onion feather weaving may be everywhere. ”

For a moment, before answering, Liu Quan suddenly felt his throat constrict and his voice choked.

"There's nothing to be afraid of. ”

She struggled to overcome the sudden and powerful sadness in her breast, and replied loudly in a snarled voice.

"For Aizu, it's something that people strive for and indulge in."

As if he was very surprised to hear such an answer, Hijikata was slightly stunned.

"What"

After shouting this sentence, Liu Quan had quickly sorted out his thoughts.

In fact, there is no need to think too much, because the words of the other deputy chief and the one she is familiar with are enough to answer now.

"Of course, there are people who hate the Shinsengumi, but there are more people who will use that light onion Haori and the Seiji flag as a signpost to move forward."

"Mr. Hijikata just needs to lead those people forward."

"Those who don't understand now will one day understand the meaning of your beliefs and perseverance."

Yes, that's what happens after that. Unfortunately, she couldn't really tell him that she could only tell him what would happen in the future with the help of this wishful thinking-like "prayer" tone.

"The spirit of the Shinsengumi will be passed on for a long time. ”

"That's what I thought. ”

A look of real surprise appeared on Hijikata's face. He stared straight at Willow Spring, as if for the first time it had only been until now, he had looked squarely at the young woman who had suddenly appeared in his deacon room, whose origin and identity were suspicious.

Then, his surprised expression slowly softened, and a smile curled at the corner of his lips.

"Oh, you, you dare to say it. He commented.

He strode around his desk and into hers.

He stared at her for a moment, and the smile on his lips seemed to widen a little.

"No wonder Saito asked you to come to me. Now I can probably understand his thoughts a little bit. He said with a smile.

Willow Springs

"He must have thought that your stubborn wishful thinking would be quite admirable. The deputy chief said.

Willow Springs""

Ah, it sounds like an appreciation, but for some reason it always feels subtle

However, the deputy chief did not expect any good reaction from her. With that, he looked straight over her shoulder and out the door.

"Really, those guys were messing around before I got down to business," he grumbled, the smile on his lips slowly disappearing.

"Then let's go and get those former companions out first, and then go and take Kuroda's head. He continued to speak in a relaxed tone, and before he could finish speaking, he walked around Willow Springs and continued to walk towards the door.

He didn't ask Ryuizumi if he wanted to go back to Bentendaiba with him, where he rescued the Shinsengumi who were fighting. Maybe it's a miracle that she, as a woman, can come all the way to Hakodate, and she shouldn't be asked to do more things that are difficult to achieve.

Liu Quan didn't mean to keep up with him.

She was standing in the middle of Hijikata's office, and as he strode out of the door, his figure about to turn and disappear into the shadows in the hallway, she suddenly raised her voice again and blurted out "Mr. Hijikata"

Hijikata stopped in the hallway and turned to look at her with a strange expression.

"You, what else do you want to say?" he asked.

Liu Quan opened his mouth. At that moment, she rushed out of the Fushimi office, and Hijikata stood in the middle of the hall with a sword in hand, and the memory of roaring behind her, "Hey, don't die, let me come back alive" was revived again.

Her eyes filled with tears in an instant. Fortunately, the real deputy had already walked into the corridor at this moment, and there was a distance between them, and it was probably impossible for him to see her show such weakness.

However, if you want to say anything, say to him, "Hey, don't die, let me come back alive".

However, no matter how much she wanted to say this, she couldn't.

He will not come back alive. That's history.

That's the reality.

That's fate.

Seeing that she looked like she wanted to speak and stopped, Hijikata suddenly spoke.

"If you want to say anything, don't die, forget it. He said.

Willow Springs

Her eyes widened uncontrollably, staring at Hijikata's figure in astonishment.

He stood there in the distance, as if he was about to melt into the shadows in the next second.

He seemed to smile.

"Because of course I'm not going to die. The battle has just begun. He said aloud.

Then, he turned away, not looking back, and strode out.

For some reason, when Liu Quan chased him to the door and watched his figure disappear at the end of the corridor, her nose was inexplicably sore, and the tears that had been in her eyes fell on her cheeks.

She just stood there, the light shining from the room on the floor in front of the door, stretching her lonely figure for a long time.

She looked at the empty hallway, squirmed her lips, and said silently

Don't die, Mr. Hijikata

Such a small wish can only be said slowly in this kind of no-man's land, little by little. It cannot be heard, nor can it be known

Mr. Hijikata, don't die, come back alive