...... Not really......

...... She had also wondered if Mr. Shannan had been defeated by the madness of the Rakshasa itself......

...... He even had the consciousness that one day he had to draw his sword at him and send him on his way......

...... Even if he was already so unlucky, she was ready to end his life at any time......

...... But it wasn't until now that she realized that Shannan was really a gentle person......

He's a good, down-and-out, gentle and gentle person.

"Mr. Shannan...... He was a brave man...... He is also a gentle person...... In my mind, it has always been—" she replied, crying.

“...... It will always be someone who is admired and wants to be relied on. ”

After a moment's hesitation, she seemed to have made up her mind to say such a thing.

However, even if you say any sincere and gentle words, it is probably useless.

He said that the rakshasa is just a flash in the pan of this era.

But in fact, Mr. Shannan is the epiphany...... Lonely character, gentle personality, so beautiful but can only have a short blooming life, leaving others sad and reminiscent of the epiphany.

Shannan was silent for a moment, and the hand holding her tightened again. However, he did not respond to her words, only opened his eyes slightly, and seemed to stare intently at her weeping face, and then slowly curled the corners of his lips, revealing a faint smile.

At last, she heard his voice as gentle as ever.

"Farewell...... Snow leaves. ”

Every goodbye is a farewell. He had told her so.

But when Farewell really came, he used her first and last name to call her.

In retrospect, in the Shinsengumi, which is full of swordsmanship masters, Shannan, who is quite literati, gentle and gentle, sometimes looks a bit like an outlier.

He has always maintained a polite attitude, approachable and gentle, with a faint touch of alienation. He didn't use any other than honorific titles to address the two women living in the Shinsengumi - he used to call her "Yukiya-kun", but after the truth about her as a woman was revealed, he kept calling her "Kiyohara-kun".

On the eve of his trip to Sendai, he even said very harsh and ruthless things to her. She also thought that at that moment, she had completely lost him, the predecessor and companion whom she had always respected and looked up to.

Now she finally understands that she has never lost his predecessor and companion, but they have unknowingly taken different paths. Even though they couldn't understand or agree with each other for a while, he always stood behind her, silently watching her, never moving away, never giving up on her.

And, at the end of her life, what she believed in was still the truth - that former Mr. Shannan had always lived in this world and had always been in his heart.

When Shannan's body began to crumble and finally turn to ashes, she knelt beside him, her right hand clasping his hand, while her left hand clutched the slash he had left her.

The hand she had clenched had eventually turned to ashes, passing through her fingers, and with it her clothes, leaving nothing left of Shannan's previous lie except for the sword that had accompanied him in his battle after the "Red Heart Rush" broke.

Liu Quan stared at his empty right hand in disbelief at first, then slowly curled up his five fingers and clenched them into fists. In the next second, large tears fell from her eyes.

The fine bits of blue-white dust passed through the tears that fell from her face, and disappeared without a trace in an instant.

Hijikata sat there on his knees, his hands still holding Yamanan Heisuke's hand as before, but he couldn't even see the dust between his empty fingers.

He looked at the place where Sannan and Heisuke had disappeared, motionless.

Not a single tear welled up in his eyes. It was as if all his tears had flowed from Liu Quan's eyes.

Liu Quan's hands clutched the stalk that Shannan had left her, and she couldn't raise her head from crying.

Although she had cried because of the separation when Aizu said goodbye to Koichi, she never seemed to cry as miserable and sad as she did today.

...... Even when she was forced to stay in the streets of Edo in the middle of the night again, she shed tears of grief, and she never had the same difficulty facing the disappearance of Yamanan as she did today.

...... Is it because there are more deep bonds between her and Shannan, and they have experienced those dark moments together that will leave a deep mark on their hearts?

...... Or is it because Shannan finally regained at the last moment the familiar, gentle, kind, and courageous person she deeply missed?

“...... Although he lost his life, he ...... Mr. Sannan finally won over the madness of the rakshasa...... Sure enough, Mr. Shannan is still the same self we are familiar with, and he has not changed ......"

These are the words that Chizuru, who is trying to comfort Yanagiquan, stammers beside her.

Although she also lost her father and Shinsengumi's friends at the same time, and was in tears with the same indescribable grief, Chizuru was still the girl everyone knew and liked, and even when she was in pain, she did not forget to support her companions and friends who were even more painful - perhaps this is why everyone accepted her so quickly and decided to do their best to protect her.

Liu Quan's crying slowly lowered, but the tears had no intention of stopping.

She knelt on the ground, and the hands on her knees spasmed and grabbed Shannan's stalk so hard that the skin on the back of her hands turned white. Tears fell one after another on the place where Fang Cai Shannan had studied, and there was a small water mark on the tatami mat.

[In your heart, do you attach great importance to Mr. Shannan?]

Chizuru had asked her questions without permission, and for some reason it came back to her mind for some reason.

...... Chizuru must have remembered their conversation at the time, so he endured his pain and comforted her kindly.

...... Although the last time we said goodbye to each other, Okita said something similar to "You have to keep an eye on the deputy chief, don't let him be snatched away by other women", but maybe until now Chizuru still stubbornly thinks that in Yanagizumi's mind, Shannan is the most important person.

...... This is not the case. She respected him and looked up at him, but she never thought that Shannan would have any extraordinary feelings for her until tonight's farewell suddenly came.

For her, Shannan is actually similar to a wonderful and admirable big brother next door, when he was still an inconspicuous and unappreciated young and weak ugly duckling, he was treated and cared for gently, so he will always have admiration and gratitude, will always make people want to trust and rely on, and sincerely hope that he can always be happy and smooth.

...... This kind of affection is not the same as the affection she has for another person.

But when Shannan suddenly disappeared, and now it was impossible to even hope for the happiness of the illusory afterlife, no matter what, no matter how many times he had hurt others in the past due to the madness of the rakshasa, it was still an ending that was difficult for her to accept.

But for some reason, when all these things came to her lips, she felt extremely tired, and she no longer had the desire and strength to explain clearly to Chizuru.

We've been through the separation countless times so far. Inoue, Yamazaki, Nagakura, Harada, Kondo, Saito...... Some people left here to continue to fight elsewhere, and some people left this world to defend their spirit and faith - and now, Heisuke and Shannan.

After that, there will definitely be more separations, until the last moment, until the end of life.

Okita, who was standing silently on the side, walked over and put a hand on Chizuru's shoulder, gently taking her into his arms.

"Yukiha will continue to fight. He spoke quietly in his usual flat tone, as if he were not seeking her answer at all, but recounting a fact that had already been decided.

Liu Quan was silent for a moment.

Then she grabbed Shannan's flank with one hand, and with the other hand, she pushed the ground hard and stood up.

The tears on her face were still wet, but she felt like her tears had dried up. She blinked, feeling a pang of pain.

“...... Of course. She replied calmly.

With nostalgia for those who have departed, moving forward desperately is the most important thing to do as a member of the Shinsengumi.

"You're going to live well. She looked back at Okita calmly, "What Mr. Yamanan has been desperately looking for may be the last glimmer of hope...... For yourself, for Chizuru, for everyone who cares about you, and even for Mr. Sannan, who disappeared as a rakshasa and hehesuke-kun......"

The ** who wanted to cry was still hitting her chest, but she had no tears to run.

"Please live well, Chief Priest. Is that okay with everyone?" she looked earnestly at the tall young man in front of her.

Okita also looked back at her. His slightly sharp gaze roamed back and forth over her face, and finally, he smiled without a shadow.

"Ah, it's decided. He replied in a casual tone, looking at her nonchalantly.

"So, like me, you've agreed to fight until the last moment in order to survive well, right?"

Chizuru seemed startled and raised her head to look up at Okita.

But at this moment, Okita's eyes were not on her.

No, seriously, in fact, his eyes are not really on Liu Quan's body at the moment.

His gaze crossed over Willow Spring's face and seemed to be projected onto the face of Hijikata standing quietly behind Willow Spring.

Like Okita, at this moment, the earthwork was covered with blood from the fierce battle with the two rakshasas just now. His face was the same as that of Okita, and even though he had just lost his friends and companions who had been fighting side by side since the days of the Trial, they seemed extraordinarily calm, as if their great sorrow had been buried deep in their hearts and turned into the courage and motivation to keep going.

Hijikata's gaze fell lightly on Okita's young face.

It was as if the days of the mischievous youth who had often been furious were just yesterday, but one by one the bystanders who laughed and watched them engage in innocuous skirmishes had disappeared.

Now, it seems that no one is there.

...... No, maybe one more.

Maybe she doesn't always catch up with the pranks of the general director, but now, she is really the only one who can recall those past events with her, and she is still by his side.

In those times when his attention was not on her, when he was close to other tenderness, and wanted to give more care, she stayed there like that, conscientiously fulfilling her every job and obligation, occasionally showing her lively and playful side as a girl, which sometimes bothered him very much, but more often was so brave that even he could not help but have a headache.

She has always been one of the most reliable subordinates, even if she fails to fulfill his order to save Kondo-kun in the end. Her defeat and Kondo's execution invisibly drew a deep chasm between them.

He had never actually blamed her for her powerlessness. What he can't really face is his own powerlessness. He always thought that as the deputy head of the Shinsengumi, he should be strong and always have a way to solve problems, and even though the Shinsengumi had been suffering various failures in the later stages, he couldn't really change his mind, until Kondo's execution.

This incident made him really see his own weakness and paleness, and how small and insignificant his abilities were. Taking on the responsibility of forcing a girl back into the darkness behind her, making her risk a huge sacrifice of her own life, and making a promise that he was not really willing to save Kondo's desperate move to save Kondo ultimately failed, making him even more unable to face her who was forced by him and himself who did such a thing.

...... Can those gaps, in today's world, where too many companions and friends have been lost, be silently bridged by the pain of shared sharing and the mutual support in the midst of repeated life and death?

Hijikata looked back at Okita. This was the first time since Kondo's martyrdom that the two of them confronted each other calmly without the slightest anger or prejudice.

"Ahh He replied in a deep voice.

"That's it, Director-General. ”

"To lead the Shinsengumi to stay alive and to pass on the faith of the Shinsengumi......"

"I'm going to fight until the end. ”