Looking at the way they looked, I didn't recognize her or didn't recognize her as "Kiyohara Yukiya".

In the brief respite between the battles, Liu Quan freed his hand and casually brushed his short dusty hair and slapped the dust off the top of his head.

Then, she raised her eyes and asked so bluntly, "Soma-kun, doesn't Shimada-kun know me?"

Shimada Kui looked at her with an inexplicable look, looking at her with a look of "should I recognize you, why should I recognize you, when will I recognize you".

Soma's planner's reaction was very different from his.

The young man's emaciated face instantly appeared with a look similar to suspicion and vigilance.

However, the reaction of the two of them at this moment was enough to prove Liu Quan's previous guess

They are real, historical figures. The "Kiyohara" they recognized as a former member of the Shinsengumi was the man who later followed Kotaro Ito to betray the Shinsengumi and become the guardian of the Imperial Tomb, not her as a member of the team who disguised herself as a man.

Yanagizumi smiled lightly before Master Soma questioned him, and continued with a straightforward attitude of course.

"Because I used to be a member of Aizu's women's team. Of course, I've heard of Soma-kun and Shimada-kun from other people, but I think that Soma-kun and Shimada-kun may recognize me, or am I too arbitrary and self-centered. I'm sorry. ”

In fact, the latter polite sentence is meaningless. What Soma and Shimada Kui noticed was not that sentence.

"You're from Aizu, you're a member of the women's team," Soma's brows furrowed, as if he was incredulous and suspicious.

Kui Shimada shouted, "Eh, you said you were a member of the women's team, then you were, yes."

Liu Quan smiled, and ran his hand back at the end of his shoulder-length hair.

"If I didn't dress like that, I wouldn't be able to get out of Hakokan. She said calmly.

"When Aizu fell, I managed to escape. ”

Crafting a convincing story is already her forte, and now she's naturally free.

"The eyes of those Sacho people are all important and leading Aizu to fight to the end, and a woman like me is not without a chance if she wants to escape."

"It's not that I didn't want to live and die with Aizu like everyone else, but later, someone asked me to leave Aizu and go to the north, find Shinsengumi and Mr. Hijikata, and report to him."

Speaking of this, her voice choked slightly, and then she continued, "Everyone who stayed in Aizu lived up to the faith represented by that Chengzi flag and fought to the end."

Soma is the master

Kui Shimada

The tall Shimada stiffened his back and blurted out "Saito"

The master of Soma was also stunned, staring at the young woman in front of him, who had come here at the most critical moment in Bentendaiba, disguised as a teenager, as if he couldn't believe that she had brought them the most precious news about his former companions.

"Saito, you're talking about Saito," he asked, then reacted again and quickly changed his words.

"No, you're in Aizu, but you're hearing the name Jiro Yamaguchi. Yamaguchi-kun, is he still alive?"

When the last sentence was asked, his voice was almost cautious.

Shimada also looked at her with a look of trepidation, as if he was expecting some good news, but in this tragic battlefield, which was almost the last days of Ezo, they didn't seem to dare to expect any more good news.

The attitude of the two of them made Liu Quan feel sad for a while. She had to lower her gaze and swallow the lump in her throat.

"I don't know. She whispered.

Historically, until the final submission, these Shinsengumi members in Hakodate didn't know that the people who stayed in Aizu had survived, so she couldn't reveal this answer to them in advance, although she knew that it would rekindle their joy and courage.

"He was still alive when I left him. She reluctantly added.

But she quickly raised her gaze, staring calmly at the two men in front of her.

"However, he was badly injured and no one could tell if he would survive," her voice became hoarse with sadness, "Later, I heard that Aizu Gong was still determined to open the castle, and after that, I was never able to hear anything about him."

Shimada's eyes were all red.

"Yes, yes?"

The tall man, with a loyal face, responded in a fragile and sad tone.

Soma's planner remained calm. For him, this is not the first bad news he has received in more than a year.

"So, when did you leave him," he asked calmly.

"Why did you come here to find us?"

Hearing this, Liu Quan set his eyes on him, and then looked at his face so calmly and calmly, and said slowly

"I left Aizu at the time of the Battle of Nyoraido. ”

Soma is the master

Kui Shimada

Ignoring the shock caused by the name "Nyoraido" to the two of them, she calmly continued, "Yamaguchi-kun led the Shinsengumi who stayed in Aizu out of the castle to the Nyoraido garrison, and before he left, he told me that Mr. Hijikata led the Shinsengumi to Sendai. ”

Soma's accountant had a confused and suspicious look on his face.

Liu Quan ignored that look and said calmly.

"He told me to go all the way north to Mr. Hijikata and the Shinsengumi. ”

"I think maybe he wanted to convey his last will to Mr. Hijikata and the people of the Shinsengumi. ”

So, I listened to him. ”

A bitter smile slowly unfolded across her face.

"However, along the way, it was not too peaceful, and I finally arrived in Sendai, but I found that you had already left, and I couldn't openly inquire about where the Shinsengumi were going, and I didn't have any money on me, even if I finally found out that you had crossed the sea and came to Ezo, but at that time, I didn't even have the money to chase after me by boat."

The kind-hearted Shimada had already gasped loudly and looked at her with a sympathetic and admiring look.

Only the meticulous Soma master is still observing her quietly with scrutinizing eyes.

Liu Quan lowered his gaze with a wry smile and shook his head slightly.

"So, I can't come here until a moment like this"

Of course, she did not forget that now that the war was at its last moment, where there were ships to navigate, she calmly added a story.

"Actually, it's not like I've just arrived, I've been in Hakodate for two months, but what reason did I have to ask to see you, and it wasn't until I stood outside Gorangok that I realized that I didn't even have a token, and even if I told you that Yamaguchi-kun asked me to come, it would be impossible for you to believe it."

Shimada: "Well, you should have come to us right away, we will."

Master Soma sighed and interrupted what he was saying.

Indeed, you are right. He actually agreed with Liu Quan's statement.

"When the war is tight, it is impossible to believe your unsubstantiated claims. He looked at her calmly, his gaze deep, as if he wanted to see through the deepest part of her eyes.

"However, at this point, it probably doesn't matter what you say, or even whether you have credentials or tokens to prove your words or your identity. ”

After a brief pause, he calmly said something that seemed terrible.

Liu Quan certainly understood what he meant.

Now, even if she is a spy or an internal response sent by the chief, what does it matter

The defeat of the shogunate army was already an irreversible end. The Shinsengumi are still fighting here, but like Saito and his companions who stayed in Aizu, they are just doing their part to uphold their beliefs and their own morality and loyalty.

So, even if her true face is a fine work sent by the enemy, it doesn't matter.

Because she can't do anything anymore. Assassinating the important cadres of the Shinsengumi, leaking the firepower and personnel of the Shinsengumi or the defense plan to the new government, what is the point of doing those things now, and accelerating the collapse of the Ezo Republic by a few seconds

Although Soma's mastermind allowed her to appear for this reason, Ryuizumi felt that he couldn't just stay here with this inexplicable misunderstanding.

It doesn't matter if you want to stay here or leave here, the important thing is that you have to be treated as a companion by these people, damn it

Ryuzumi raised his head suddenly, his gaze like a fire at the pale and calm Soma master.

"I'm not a bad person. It's even more impossible to be driven by those guys in the chief. ”

She said word for word.

"Even if Saito-kun isn't here, I can't fight with suspicion. ”

"Actually, you didn't need to change your name just now."

She said something that seemed unrelated out of nowhere. Master Soma looked at her in surprise.

"I know his name. ”

"Knowing that he is Saito Ichi. It is the original leader of the third group of the Shinsengumi. ”

"He told me to go north, to come to you, so I must come. ”

Although he was doing his best to play the role in the story he had improvised up, Liu Quan felt that for a moment his throat was congested, his voice was low, and the light of water almost came to his eyes.

"Because, I have been, always have"

The lines I originally thought of were almost stuck. It took a little effort for her to squeeze the last few words out of her throat.

I reacted like this because it wasn't actually a line, but my own true words

"Look at him. ”

Yes.

I've always been watching him.

Gazing at Mr. Hijikata.

Gazing at Ichi-kun.

Look at the heroes who finally disappeared into the irreversible trend of the times, and watch how dazzling the light they can shine in the twilight of Shidao

All this, Soma-kun, you don't know

Soma's master seemed stunned.