Faced with this powerful spirit, Hijikata blinked as if at a loss.

Liu Quan didn't mean to let him go so lightly.

"Since you can solve all the problems alone, what are we, the subordinates of the Shinsengumi!"

"We...... What is the person who is willing to follow you all the time?!"

"Could you please think a little bit about the feelings of the bystanders?!"

As she spoke, she felt a burst of anger, so angry that she almost wanted to catch him and shake him violently!

"You're going to bear all the pain just by yourself and leave me alone?!"

"What problems do you think can be solved by yourself? Dismiss your subordinates? I have been following you since Kyoto six years ago, drawing my sword without hesitation, supporting and trusting you without hesitation, and carrying out your every order without hesitation...... Is this qiē just to make you self-righteous to dismiss me at such a time?!"

Hijikata gasped softly in surprise. For a moment he seemed to want to say something, but he swallowed it back.

"I didn't argue at the time because I thought you would treat me like an ordinary Shinsengumi member, and I naively thought that you would one day figure it out and know that the faith and courage that the Shinsengumi had given me was engraved in my body and didn't change because I was a man or a woman......"

Willow Springs pressed forward step by step.

"I thought you could feel this mood one day. ”

"What you asked me to do was to overturn the best life I had always relied on, and give up the things I was not willing to give up even if I risked my life......"

“...... Then I finally understood that you had given me orders that I must not follow. If I accept it like this, I will flee from the battle. ”

“...... I don't want to be seppuku because of this, damn it!"

Liu Quan shouted, gritting his teeth, disobedient tears rolling in his eyes. She had to use all her strength to keep it from falling now.

A fleeting wry smile appeared on Hijikata's face.

“...... There is no rule in the game anymore, what are you still stubbornly following......

His tone was like a mumble.

"So many people have left, why...... Why did you want to come back?!"

Liu Quan folded his hands at his side and clenched them into fists.

“...... I'm not following the rules of the game, I'm following the faith that Mr. Hijikata brought me!"

"Those who are so lightly shaken can let them go if they want to!" she yelled at him with great courage.

"All I know is that I have to come back, because what Mr. Hijikata and you have always represented is the ...... of my faith!"

"So I have exhausted all my means, and I must also come back to merge. ”

She stared at him urgently, her unyielding eyes firmly met his.

"I can ask for a hundred and eleven copies of the letter of appointment. In fact, Big Bird-kun was still worrying about whether he should give me a higher position earlier. ”

"But it doesn't really matter what position or power of attorney you have. I disobeyed your command to come here because I wanted to follow my heart. ”

"Because the courage and faith I gained from the Shinsengumi will not disappear forever because you let me go away. ”

"You asked me to be a woman and live peacefully for the rest of my life. This kind of command, even if I respect you, will not be able to obey it. ”

"Because I didn't live in this world in order to be an ordinary woman calmly. ”

Earthwork:!!!

He seemed to have been completely silenced by her growing momentum.

In the past, in meetings with the big names of the shogunate, and now with the high-ranking people of the newly established Ezo Republic, he had been fighting and insisting on his beliefs without caring about the faces and taboos of the other party, but now he was defeated step by step by a former subordinate of his own with just words, which is a very rare thing for the deputy head of the Shinsengumi Onino.

"Ordinary women don't dress up as men to join the Shinsengumi. I won't draw my sword again and again.,Accept a mission like Death.,Fight to the end for faith with the people of the Shinsengumi.。 ”

In her heart, I don't know if the original [Qingyuan Snow Leaf] kind of character has been integrated with her current self. Liu Quan heard his own voice and substituted the setting of [Kiyohara Yukiba], but he spoke very smoothly and naturally, without the hardship and suffocation of [having to improvise in order to brush up handsome lines].

Perhaps, that is the highest sincerity she can come up with.

"You said you couldn't give me happiness. But you probably don't know that the happiest years of my life were spent in Shinsengumi. ”

“...... The time spent with everyone, even if it was difficult, felt so beautiful...... No matter how seriously injured you are, you don't feel like it's painful. ”

A smile that resembled nostalgia slowly appeared on her face.

"So, I've come to my senses. Whether it's as a junior surname or as a team member, this time I will never take half a step back. ”

"I will never leave Mr. Hijikata's side. I will always support Mr. Hijikata. The direction that Mr. Hijikata is working on is also my direction. What Mr. Hijikata wants to witness, please let me witness it together. ”

"You can kick me out of this room now. But I will never leave again. Maybe you'll wake up tomorrow and find me in the places where you might be there, in the office, in the training grounds, and at those banquets you hate...... Oh yes, and the battlefield. ”

“...... In short, there is only one thing, and I will not listen to you. ”

"Because this is the assignment I received from Director Kondo. ...... No, if Mr. Kondo hadn't agreed with me, I would still have done so resolutely. ”

"Because my heart tells me that if I don't do this, my life will have no meaning. ”

“...... If I don't, my life won't be worth going on. ”

She pursed her lips stubbornly, her eyes staring directly at the earth, her body tensed, her hands clenched into fists, as if to show her strong determination not to look back.

...... It's still the same woman who fought bravely like a man in the face of the ronins who drew their swords without hesitation on the streets of Kyoto.

Although he has weaknesses in himself, his body is inferior to man, his swordsmanship is inferior to man, he is thinner than his body, he is weaker than his physique, he has a dark past, he has incomprehensible secrets, and he has unspeakable truths...... The woman who still struggled to move forward.

She stood in front of him with her back straight, her eyes flashing with strong conviction and unhesitating determination, as if silently saying: I don't need you to protect me, I just need the same opportunity as before, to be able to fight side by side with you, to defend our hearts and common ideals, to witness the last flash of the Shinsengumi.

Hijikata's face was tense, and his facial features were condensed into stern lines. For a long time, there was not much chance for others to reverse his opinion about what the Shinsengumi deputy chief had already decided.

But Kiyohara Yukiha will not be deterred by this.

She didn't know what kind of woman he really needed and what kind of woman was really suitable for him in his heart. She didn't know if she met the standards of such a woman in his mind.

She didn't know if in his heart she was qualified to stay like this.

But she has absolute tenacity—the tenacity of being a member of the Shinsengumi, and she wants to continue the kind of attachment to her beliefs and what she believes in to the last moment of her life.

But it's just another rejection. However, since the past, although she has the appearance of a [sous chef], she has never been a 100% obedient and docile subordinate, right?

Even if he is rejected again with indifference, he will never take half a step back.

Even if she is left behind again, she will never be numb and calmly accept the life he has arranged for her in his own right.

A wry smile slowly appeared on Hijikata's face, and he sighed softly.

"I knew ......"

His tone softened.

"Fearless eyes have always been my hard hand......"

Suddenly, without warning, he walked up to Willow Spring, as if hesitating, and then stretched out his hand to her.

The fingertips that were rough because of the long-term grip of the knife gently slid over her cheeks, resting under her eyes, gently rubbing the delicate skin under her eyes.

This gentle touch almost instantly made Liu Quan's nose sore.

She gritted her teeth and looked directly at the Shinsengumi deputy head in front of her, who had never been so close to her.

"Such courageous, powerful and sincere eyes......" he said gently.

“...... I can't help but want to listen to you. ”

His words below hit Liu Quan's heart.

Liu Quan felt as if he had been hit hard.

"Earth, earthwork...... Sir?!"

In the next second, his hand slid down her face, swept over her shoulder, and took her tightly into his arms.

"Really...... Do you only call me 'Mr. Hijikata' if you want me to grant you any request?" he said with his cheek resting on her hair, and a gentle smile in his tone as if joking.

"The rest of the time, they call me 'deputy chief' in all seriousness...... Even after making such a bold decision, when you chase here, you still call me 'Deputy Chief'-?!"

Liu Quan opened his mouth and stammered, his face was red and his ears were red, and his brain was a mess for a while.

...... Is that so?!

She didn't notice such details. It's—it's just a habit after all...... Right?

Details that you didn't even notice...... And when did he see it?

Could it be ...... Didn't he reluctantly agree to it because she was so desperate and desperate, and there was really no way to refuse her position of coming to join the stream as a team member......?

The next moment, Liu Quan felt him tighten his arms a little more, hugging her tightly, as if he would never want to let go.

She felt as if her body had sunk completely into his broad, warm embrace. In this moment, the distance between them, which had always seemed to exist as if it had existed for nothing, seemed to have completely disappeared.

This kind of body language says a thing in a flash.