The night breeze is cold.

Hijikata followed the young girl, who was wearing only a shirt of muscles—he still didn't know whether to call her "Miss Kujo" or "Miss Yukiko"—and walked silently down the mountain path outside the camp in the dark night, suddenly feeling a sense of absurdity.

Yukiko hadn't spoken much since leaving the camp—oh no, Miss Kujo—had barely spoken.

Although she said that she wanted to use Hijikata as a hostage to deter the pursuers behind her, she didn't seem to really intend to put a knife on Hijikata's neck to restrict his freedom of movement.

Now she used him as if he were a guide to find his way, and let him walk in front of her in the night, although Hijikata could feel the knife in her hand—the same one he had before, and before he released Saigo, she ordered him to take it and hand it to her—and pointed at him in the back of the heart as if he did anything, and if he did any other, he might still stab him in the back mercilessly, but after all, it was better than the way she had just tightened Saigo's receiving. It was much better to hold the knife across his neck.

Of course, Hijikata did not fail to consider taking advantage of the opportunity to lead the way, deliberately taking her in the opposite direction or on a fork in the road that could be detoured back to the barracks. However, as if she had her own compass, she was not only very alert, but every time he took the wrong way, she would quickly notice and shout - the tip of the knife was dangling dangerously behind him, and Hijikata hated this way of being stabbed in the back, otherwise he would not have established the rule of "the attacker in the back, indicating that he has turned around and tried to escape in battle, and the priest is not conscious, and must have a seppuku" rule in the Shinsengumi era. So in order to avoid being stabbed in the back by her, he had to dispel the idea of deliberately taking the wrong way.

Moreover, walking silently on the dark mountain road, walking in front of her, he was gradually able to calm down and analyze her whole plan. The more I think about it, the more thrilling it becomes.

Her whole plan seems to be full of loopholes, but she actually took the right step at every step - this can't just be described as "luck", right?!

First, she disguised herself as a geisha "Yukiko" and infiltrated the barracks, but she did not immediately reveal her true identity and intentions, but worked diligently to help around, and successfully created her warm-hearted and pure image, which made everyone gradually relax their vigilance against her; The guests were so happy that almost everyone thought she was gentle and harmless. At this moment-

At the second or third pleasant feast, she finally got into trouble.

Since everyone is reassured of her, she will not feel that there is anything wrong when she should be left alone with her biggest guest, and this gives her the best opportunity - whether it is revealing her identity and talking secretly with Saigo, or as it is now, when the negotiations break down and the two sides turn their faces, she can still preemptively strike and retreat in this situation, she has the greatest initiative.

...... Aside from the fact that it seemed unwise to have to walk in the dark mountains wearing only a body of underpants and clogs, it can be said that although her plan was risky, there was no greater flaw.

Not today, she can put it off until tomorrow. If she doesn't work for a day, she can also hint at Saigo that his brother's letter is with her. Saigo would not have wanted the rest of the officers and soldiers to be present when he read the letter. Moreover, he must have hoped to ask her more relevant questions after reading the letter. This creates a situation where the two of them are alone.

Hijikata thinks that tonight it may be because of Satsuma's actual tough attitude that the negotiations between Miss Kujo and Saigo finally broke down, so she made this risky move. Otherwise, if the conversation was more pleasant, Saigo would have managed to send her back to deliver the message anyway - I don't know what she had talked about with Saigo Servichi, why was she so tense that she had to take the risk of hijacking Saigo to get out?

As he thought so, his thoughts couldn't help but drift away again, thinking of the pair of clogs she was wearing on her feet at the moment.

He had noticed her clogs, the soles of which were a little lower than the normal ones. He thought it was a little strange at the time, but she just smiled and said, "Do you think this is a good place to wear the 'three coins' now?"

"Three pieces of the horse" is the style of clogs worn by the ladies of Shimahara Flower Street, and the "three pieces of the horse" under the feet are very high, which is very inconvenient to walk - he seems to remember that many years ago, the Shinsengumi had to carry out the investigation of Shimahara's internal exploration, and in order to hide people's eyes, he had to let the only two women in the group at that time hide themselves as wandering girls and lurk in Shimabara's corner house; When leaving, Yukimura accidentally fell because he was not used to the "three boats" under his feet, causing a lot of confusion......

And then what? And then what happened?

That was the end of his thoughts. Hijikata took a deep breath to suppress the sudden, tiny throbbing pain in his heart.

Even now, he doesn't think his decision to leave Kiyohara alone was wrong. He had also explained to her what he had thought when he made his decision, and she also expressed full approval, and did not blame him at all-

Why, then, did she feel this throbbing pain when she thought about it now? There was no remorse, no regret, just a normal investigation, and she even carried out a death that was ten, twenty, or a hundred times more dangerous than that internal investigation......

Hijikata suddenly stopped on the mountain road. This made Miss Kujo behind him have to stop urgently, and move the tip of the knife he was holding to the side in time, otherwise the tip of the knife that continued to move would stab directly into his back in the next moment.

He heard her gasp in exasperation.

"What's the matter?" she asked, in a slightly reproachful tone.

"It doesn't seem like there's anything out of the ordinary...... So, did you think of something interesting?"

Earthwork: "......"

He couldn't tell that he had just stopped because he had thought of something, and paused a little awkwardly, and glanced back at her—

Then there was a pause.

In the dark night, the white undergarment on her body was simply too conspicuous. Of course, the few blood stains that splashed on the hem of her placket were also.

He wanted to say something, but suddenly a thunderclap rumbled through the night sky above him.

The words he was about to utter changed immediately.

“...... It's going to rain. He said calmly, looking at her as if he was scrutinizing, and after a moment of hesitation, he still said what he wanted to say.

"You, wearing only such thin clothes, are you looking for death in the rainy mountains? ”

Although he felt that he was only calmly asking her the question, she seemed to be annoyed for a moment, and her eyebrows were raised.

"If there was another way, who would want to get drenched in the rain on the mountain road in the middle of the night with only such a small amount of clothing?!" she replied angrily.

"But that's the situation just now...... Can I say I would like to go back and change into another set of clothes?!"

Hijikata choked on her, and for some reason subtly sighed to herself.

If he had been so unceremoniously cross-examined ten years ago, he would have responded to this provocation on the spot, but now that he has been in seclusion for a long time, he is getting older, and of course he does not have the imposing sharpness of the past, so he just asked:

“...... So, you and Saigo-sama didn't have a good conversation just now?—— I thought you Satsuma would try your best to curry favor with him and get him on your side. ”

He spoke carelessly, but there was a hint of temptation in his words, and sure enough, she heard it at once, and—angry.

"Watch your wording!" she snapped in a hoarse voice.

"It's not 'us Satsuma' at all! Satsuma and I are two different things!"

Earthwork: "......"

Ah, that's what I'm angry about.

He was amazed for a moment—surprised that Satsuma trusted her enough to send her alone to take on the task of being a secret envoy to persuade Saigo—and that she was saying that she herself was not the same thing as Satsuma at all—and a little funny.

He thought so, and since he was not in the barracks of the official army now, and there were only the two of them around, he didn't need to bother to hide himself anymore - so he laughed bluntly.

His laughter was not very loud, just a low chuckle that was suppressed in his throat, but because his low voice was so magnetic that it sounded inexplicably magical in the night, and she seemed to be stunned for a moment.

"What ......are you laughing at?!" she was stunned for a moment, and then she realized that she was being ridiculed by the person in front of her, and she should have responded, so she immediately raised her eyebrows, exploded, and asked.

Hijikata coughed, feeling that the part of the world that involved Satsuma was still as ridiculous as before.

In the past, Satsuma suddenly formed an alliance with Aizu and branded Choshu as an "enemy of the DPRK," and at once formed an alliance with Choshu and framed Aizu as an "enemy of the DPRK." Ten years have passed, and now they have become enemies of the DPRK, and then, they sent this young girl who kept saying that she and Satsuma were two different things as a secret envoy to send a letter to Saigo to talk to him, but as a result, she kidnapped Saigo and injured the other party's guards, and took him hostage from the barracks......

He felt like he understood.

No matter what others say, no matter what future generations say—

In his opinion, Satsuma is a joke.

They fought hard, and they will eventually export it. overthrew the general under the banner of loyalty and patriotism, and in the end he was still coerced by the scholars.

Now that Saigo Takamori is being coerced by the Shi clan and has involuntarily become a traitor, what is his own will? What is his own faith? In the end, his fate, his endgame, is not even his own choice.

The Shinsengumi came to the end with their own hearts and beliefs, and never betrayed their lord, companions, or friends.

And what about Satsuma?

Isn't it true that whoever is beneficial to them will form an alliance with? The Banner of the Brocade that they are desperately pulling over is nothing more than a false righteousness that they have snatched in order to whitewash their hypocrisy. But in the end, their interests were no longer sheltered and tolerated, and they were abandoned by the age, so they could only shout and resist like a burlesque, and make those futile efforts—

Hijikata suddenly wondered if when the war ended, would the Satsuma people fall in defeat and lose their ideals and beliefs.

Because when the Shinsengumi ushered in the final moment in Hakodate, no one gave in, everyone fought to the end, and even if they were about to be thrown into prison and face a cruel punishment, everyone's eyes burned with the light of faith support - this is the best posture.

He suddenly understood that even though the war was not over, the Shinsengumi had already won.

This time, the loser is Satsuma.

※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※

August 20:

I'm sorry, I had a day of meetings outside yesterday, and I couldn't find a chance to code the word [.

I was very tired when I came home at night, and I ended up falling asleep as soon as I closed my eyes

It's more than 5 o'clock when I wake up.,Immediately get up and code word ==.

Sorry for the late update!

Next update: this time tomorrow?

PS. Since this chapter is almost all from the perspective of the vice-chief, his view of Satsuma is also his point of view from the perspective of the Shinsengumi. It is not necessarily consistent with the objective view that is popular now, please know w

Thank you to the little angel who voted for me or irrigated the nutrient solution~

Thanks to the little angel who threw [Mine]: Gui Crane Deep, Immortal Limit, Meow Meow 1;

Thanks to the little angel who irrigated [the nutrient solution]:

ampere cc 10 bottles;

Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!