Hijikata stared at her in amazement, feeling that what he had heard today was too unbelievable.

This woman seems to have always been shy about bold confessions. But the last sentence she said today still succeeded in breaking through the limits of what he could imagine.

At that time...... She's probably only fifteen or sixteen years old at most, right......? Can she decide casually?! What's more, the other party is still a strange man she doesn't know at all?! And since she had already said that she had "just left the school" at the time, she had just been trained to be a qualified dead man, or a killer, or a secret agent, right? Just casually wavered in her will, risking the failure of the mission......

...... No matter how you look at it, I think this guy is too sloppy. How did you become the kind of reliable person you later on...... I can't figure it out?

Xue Ye probably saw the dissatisfaction he didn't say about her, smiled and pretended not to understand the wordless questioning of her behavior in his eyes, and continued: "Ah, what happened later...... That's really something I didn't expect. However, Mr. Hijikata took the initiative to stop me the next day, and I don't know how happy I was......"

...... She dared to mention this!

Blood and energy surged onto Hijikata's face and brain in an instant. He glared at her angrily, and couldn't help but burst out with a series of scoldings.

"I ...... I just want to give that wrap back to you!......" He stammered in a rare gesture and decided to skip the embarrassing topic immediately. "I also want to ask you why you were on the third day when you were on a lurking mission...... Help me in those situations......! In case you get involved in that scuffle...... What should I do if my identity is exposed?!"

Yukiha's eyes widened in surprise as she looked a little surprised, and then smiled brightly.

"Has Mr. Hijikata been worried about me?...... Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. Since I dare to make a move, I'm pretty sure I'm unlikely to get into trouble...... Splashing water is enough, and those people should be glad that I didn't bring a dart with me, and I didn't throw a stone at them with the force of a dart...... Otherwise, one or two of them will be injured?"

"Throw...... Throwing stones?!"

Hijikata captured this keyword in an instant. He opened his mouth wide suddenly, and asked as if shocked, "You...... You threw those stones, and you didn't have any neighbors like Jiro-kun who came to throw them for you......?"

"Neighbor?!" Yukiha tilted her head in confusion and thought for a moment, and quickly laughed. "Ah, of course there are no neighbors. I'm not really the daughter of a townsman who lives in that town. I was afraid of revealing my identity, and I was afraid that you would ask why I could hide in an alley so far away and throw stones at those gangsters, so I said that......"

"You're ......! you're ......!!" Hijikata shouted in annoyance, feeling like smoke was going to rise above his head.

"Do you think I'm a fool......!?"

...... Thinking about it, at that time, I was inexplicably still entangled for a moment for this neighbor called "Jiro-kun" who dared to take a huge risk to throw stones for her, and I really looked like a fool!

Xue Ye tilted his head in confusion, with a confused and slightly cautious expression, lowered his gaze, and peeked at his expression from under his long eyelashes.

Hijikata took a few deep breaths, but he still felt that his heart was on fire, and he didn't know who it was aimed at, but it burned uncontrollably.

He grabbed her by the shoulders and dragged her in front of him, shaking her vigorously several times.

"Since that time, have you been teasing me?! At that time, why did you run over to help me?! Even if I lost the battle, it was because I was not good at the past and my skills were inferior! You have your mission, and it has nothing to do with me, what good can you do if you have a relationship with me?! Are you dizzy?!......

She seemed to be stunned by his sudden anger, and for a moment let him snarl in her face, neither returning nor resisting. But when he uttered the last words, he saw her eyes roll dullly, and then, the dull look in her eyes disappeared, and a layer of water floated.

“...... Ah, yes, I'm probably just dizzy. ”

The earthwork was stunned. “...... What?!"

"I think I'm just dizzy. She repeated it again.

"No matter what kind of task or mission you have, you can always see Mr. Hijikata's existence in your eyes...... I want to help this person, I want to not disappoint him, I want to see him achieve his dreams and goals, I want to see him shine...... From that moment on, I guess it became an instinctive hope of my own. She slowly lifted her eyes and stared at his countenance, which was full of frankness and sincerity.

"Maybe I'm a fool. She smiled, her tone as soft as the white clouds floating in the clear sky on the last summer day of the fifth year of Ansei.

Earthwork:!!!

"What are you talking ......about, don't tease me!!!" he whispered in embarrassment, feeling that no matter how many times he heard it, he couldn't get used to such a blunt statement!

Really, don't you feel shy...... Why is he the one who is uncomfortable every time?! Obviously it wasn't like that when I was in Hakodate before, was ......?

Sure enough, she said something even more uncomfortable.

"Hey, doesn't Mr. Hijikata want me to have anything to do with you?...... It's a shame. She sighed, as if she really felt melancholy.

"You haven't forgotten what I said before, your dream of girlhood?" she asked with a grin, kindly reminding him, "I want to become a rich man in the future, marry a beautiful man, and reach the pinnacle of life." Vice-Chancellor, do you believe me?"

Hijikata: "...... What normal girl would dream of these things in her teens!!Hey, you! If you call me 'deputy chief', what you're doing now is teasing your boss!?"

She laughed out loud, looking very happy.

Hijikata was even angrier.

Finally, she noticed his awkward look, so she reluctantly suppressed the smile that was surging in her breast, and forcibly changed the subject.

"Ah, speaking of which...... That mission was my first time killing someone. ”

Earthwork:?!

"On the night you left that town, the order was issued...... It seems that the Changzhou side has completely handed over this matter to the uncle's family, so the uncle's family also sent the best people to ambush in that town, and intercepted the big man and his entourage in front of his family's old mansion that night...... I was ordered to take part in the operation, and, moreover, kill a man......" she recounted slowly, seemingly recalling.

Hijikata couldn't help but ask, "...... Who is it?"

Her gaze on his face drifted to the side for a moment, and her voice seemed to become rigid.

“...... It's the little surname next to the big guy. The kid was very young, about fifteen or sixteen years old, with a childish face, and he had to pull out the knife twice before he pulled it out......"

Her sigh was filled with a hint of self-reproach.

"I know he's innocent. Even if the adults he serves do something wrong, it has nothing to do with him. But I had to swing my sword at him, because there were people watching over me, and I couldn't make the wrong choice like the adults he served, I couldn't die, and I had my sister accused by them......"

Hijikata sighed, I really don't know how to react.

When the shogunate boss Ii Naobi was assassinated, I heard that Kondo-kun also followed the crowd to see the scene. After returning, I also described the scene to him.

On the snow, bright red and blinding blood flowed all over the ground. The cold corpses lay on the ground, all of them following Elder Ii's retinue and samurai.

...... Now that I think about it, maybe she was facing the same scene at that time, right?

“...... Is that the first time you've killed someone?" he asked again unconsciously.

“...... Yes. Before answering him, she hesitated for some reason.

However, she quickly and skillfully steered the conversation in another direction, naturally passing away the momentary suffocation just now.

“...... So, does Mr. Hijikata remember the first time he killed someone?"

The earthwork was choked. That night in Tama many years ago came back to my mind clearly.

The feeling of powerlessness that could only drag the wooden knife was felt for the second time.

Now that I think about it, the first time he felt this feeling of powerlessness, he asked a young woman to take risks to save herself...... When he felt this sense of powerlessness for the second time, he let Kondo-kun, the most convincing brother-like character in his life, take risks to save himself......

He smiled wryly.

“...... It's not a glorious memory that makes people boast about it. He said honestly.

"Speaking of which, it's not so much my first killing, but Kondo-kun's first killing. ”

"It was when we were still in the countryside of Tama, and thieves took advantage of the darkness to rob the neighbor's money, and Kondo-kun and I were ordered to help guard at that time, but I didn't expect the other party to bring a gun and shoot Kondo-kun in the arm...... Almost immediately, I felt a buzz in my head and a burning of rage, and as if I had lost my mind, I dragged a wooden knife and rushed out, fighting the other man......"

Recalling the scene, Hijikata sighed softly.

"Later, in the heat of battle, I was not good at swordsmanship, and the wooden knife was hit and I fell out of my hand...... In order to save me, Kondo-kun rushed up desperately and slashed at the head of the vicious thief......"

Xue Ye didn't seem to know what to say for a while, so she let out a sigh and blinked.

The expression was unexpectedly a little clumsy, and the smart and cunning look that had just now disappeared, and Hijikata coughed, looking at her expression, and somehow it didn't feel so bad.

"Later, my eldest brother said to me and Kondo-kun: In front of the sword, people are equal, and in the end, only those who have a strong desire to survive can live. He sighed and said, "Although the eldest brother can't see with his eyes, his state of mind is very clear and clear...... He himself said: I can't see with my eyes, but I also see things because of it. It's because you don't have to look at irrelevant things that you can feel the important things......"

He smiled wryly.

"But my brother probably just wanted to comfort me. ...... Perhaps, I am a person with very little power. Although the beliefs and ambitions are lofty, when it comes to the critical moment, they are always powerless—"

His words were abruptly interrupted by her.

"Nope. ”

She finally turned her gaze back and stared at him again. He was still holding her arm, and she just naturally rested her fingertips on his.

"At that time, Mr. Kondo must have felt Mr. Hijikata's determination and wanted to fight side by side with Mr. Hijikata......"

Perhaps, this is what Mr. Kondo felt, something important. ”

"Just like Mr. Hijikata's big brother said. ”

"Whenever Kondo cares about Mr. Hijikata, you can clearly feel it. A smile tugged at the corner of her lips.

"Perhaps, that's why, after we met in that town that day, even though I had tried my life to help Mr. Hijikata once, Mr. Hijikata did not hesitate to leave me and go back to Mr. Kondo—it must be Mr. Kondo's kind of concern, a more important relationship in your mind. She said half-jokingly, and for a moment brought the topic back to the annoying summer day of the fifth year of Ansei.

Earthwork: "......"

Ah, damn it! I can't talk about her at all, what should I do!

He was sitting cross-legged on a tatami mat while she knelt in front of him, staring at him with a sly smile on her face.

He felt a pang of annoyance at his inferiority, and after a moment's thought, he noticed that he happened to be holding her arm, and he had a brilliant idea, and with a force on his hand, he jerked her body towards him.

She didn't seem to expect him to make such a move beforehand, and she exclaimed, her body lost her balance, and she fell into his arms.

He grabbed her shoulders and pressed them close to her face. The aura of the two people who approached suddenly mixed together, and he looked at her with satisfaction, and the smug look on her face immediately disintegrated, and his cheeks suddenly turned red.

As if at a loss, she stammered and whispered, "Uh...... That one...... Hijikata, sir?!"

The earthwork hooks the corners of the lips.

It felt great to regain the upper hand, he thought.

If you are always killed by the soldiers, there is no majesty.

He chuckled softly.

"What's wrong?" he asked knowingly.

She was now completely on the weak side, and even her voice sounded weak.

"That...... Why, all of a sudden, ......?"

In those two soft and ruddy lips, they usually speak fluently and inexplicably able to convince and obey words, but now they spit out staccato words that can hardly be called sentences.

This thought made him feel a little funny for a moment. As if the young man who had not been deeply involved in the world for five years and was a little fond of playing tricks and tricks to achieve his goals had returned to him at this moment, he was a little wicked and close to her lips, and the tips of the noses of the two people touched together.

She did look even more nervous.

"Suddenly?" he chuckled softly, shaking his head against her lips.

"Wasn't I doing what you expected me to do at that time?"

With a bang, she literally exploded into a firework.

"I, I, I don't...... ......She stammered even harder, and with the slightest movement her lips brushed over his, almost overlapping hers, and she stiffened, and her voice sounded about to be distorted.

“...... Hmph, I don't believe it. I remember you looked at me with a strange look......"

He gently hooked her jaw with the index finger of his right hand, and his voice sank, sounding almost magnetic - and then she suddenly realized that the deputy chief was not only able to harvest the massive love letters that filled the desk of the tun house by relying only on his appearance and love of fried.

But that's the end of her thoughts. Because the next moment, his lips fell, covering hers, and gave her a long, passionate kiss.

He smiled when their lips finally parted.

"Come to think of it, if it did, it wouldn't be bad, would it?" he asked jokingly.

Her cheeks were still red as if they were dripping blood, but her eyebrows were raised when she heard the words, as if she remembered something else.

"I was dressed as an ugly girl at the time, so Mr. Hijikata wouldn't have taken a fancy to me at all. She retorted frankly.

Earthwork: "......"

One sentence killed the deputy chief who had the upper hand, and that triumphant smile bloomed on Xue Ye's face again.

“...... However, if the deputy minister doesn't take a fancy to me, I will try my best to make you like me. She smiled and thoughtfully handed the steps to the earth.

"That's what I've been looking forward to doing since then. ”

Earthwork: "......"

There was silence for a moment, and the deputy suddenly grabbed the back of her neck and pulled her face closer to him again.

"Really...... He muttered......, the tip of his thumb rubbing her smooth cheek as if unconsciously.

As if trying to get out of this awkward situation before the next blushing kiss arrived, she suddenly exclaimed, "...... I'm going to say things that spoil the scenery. ”

Hijikata was stunned. “...... What?"

Then he felt a heat on his lips - the woman came up and pecked him quickly and perfunctorily on the lips! Then she spun around like a cunning fish, found a gap in his arms, and ran until she reached the door of the room, and looked out of the door as if nothing had happened.

"Ah...... Looks like tomorrow should be a good day too. She smiled and turned her head, her eyes shining at him with a slightly stunned expression.

"So, Mr. Hijikata, tomorrow, let's dry the quilt together. ”

Earthwork: "......"

After being stunned for a moment, he suddenly lowered his gaze slightly, shook his head, smiled helplessly, and responded to her words: "...... Well, it's fine. ”

"After all, sleeping under a warm, sun-dried quilt will surely make you have a good night's sleep. ”

【Extra・Earthwork [No.2]・End】