Unlike the tense and chaotic situation outside Goryokaku, when Yanagizumi rushed into the building inside Goryokaku, the Hakodate Headquarters, he felt a trance for a while.

Perhaps because she had chosen a wonderful infiltration route based on her previous knowledge of the building, she entered the Hakodate Lodge through a small window, and then crept along the corner of the wall, until she touched the staircase as she wished, and no one noticed anything wrong, so she walked in such a big way, with a natural aura of "I'm also a staff member here", and none of the people she met along the way were suspicious of her origins.

Moreover, since they hurried over and over, busy with orders, reports, gathering intelligence, and so on, in today's army pressing, there is no longer any heart to carefully interrogate a young man who looks completely harmless in appearance and knows the terrain inside the Wulengku.

Although he had already learned from the previous guide that "Mr. Hijikata was not in the executive office of Enomoto-kun or Otori-kun", "Mr. Hijikata was not in the conference room", and "he could be found by turning three corners and going up a staircase", Yanagizumi had to go through the second floor one by one.

Finally, as she stood outside a half-hidden door, she glanced inside, and felt as if all the blood was frozen at once.

For a moment, she could only stand in the doorway, trying to calm the overly intense heartbeat and the resulting shortness of breath without a trace. Her left hand rested on the hilt of the knife at her waist, and her fingers gripped the handle spasmodically, and the back of her pale hand was faintly bruised.

She hesitated, for the half-hidden door blocked most of the familiar figure, and she had to push it open to see him alive and well on the last day of this cruel fate.

She stared through the crack in the door at the figure standing in front of the window with her back to the door, as if she were looking out of the window. Her right hand seemed to rise up involuntarily, high enough to reach the door that blocked them, and the next moment, she gritted her teeth and made up her mind, condensing almost all the strength of her body to the fingertips of her right hand

Push the door open.

The man in the room, with her back to the door, stood in front of the opposite window, looking into the distance, as if she heard the creaking of the door, and turned slowly.

For a moment, Liu Quan's eyes widened uncontrollably.

He just stood in front of the window, and the black dress he was wearing made him look handsome and imposing. His gaze fell on her face for a moment as if it shook for a moment, and then he said quietly

"Kiyohara, what are you doing here?"

Willow Springs

She opened her mouth.

At that moment, countless words rolled through her chest. In the end, however, she couldn't seem to say a word.

"Hijikata, sir," she murmured.

This reaction seemed to make him feel a little confused. He leaned his back against the window frame, clasped his hands around his chest, and looked her up and down as if he were scrutinizing.

"Hmm," he replied, frowning slightly.

"Is there something going on over there in Bentendaiba when I ran back at this time? He guessed, the look on his face made even more grim by the inference.

"Shimada and Soma sent you back to report to me on the movements of the new government forces or any special new information," he asked slowly, and then said as if he was not at ease, "Didn't you say that you should keep an eye on the situation on the other side of Hakodate Bay in the near future, didn't the people over there report the situation to your side properly?"

Liu Quan was silent for a moment, opened his mouth, and finally shook his head.

If she could ignore the truth of history and willfully fulfill the entrustment of Shimada and Soma, she should have said now, "The new government forces crossed the sea at night and attacked Bentendaiba, and the Shinsengumi are absolutely inferior in numbers and weapons, and it may not last long, so please think of a way now."

Or, if she was a little more cold-blooded, she should have delayed a little longer, until he was destined to rush to Bentendaiba for support, but would never get there, then tell him about the critical situation in Bentendaiba, and finally sit back and watch him fall on the way, dying on the way to where his companions were

If everything could be done from the heart, she would have said, "I was entrusted by my companions to come back here desperately to ask for support."

Or she should say, "Even if the future is bleak, we have never lost faith in Mr. Hijikata for a minute."

I should say, "No matter what happens, I believe that Mr. Hijikata will be able to make the best choice."

I should say, "It was like a dream for me to be able to meet you again like this to this day."

It should be said, "Whenever I think of what you have taught me, those memories can inspire me to keep going."

But she couldn't say anything.

For the sake of a higher goal, the goal of maintaining history and truth, she can only sit back and watch him fall again and again on the road of pursuing his companions.

However, if this is really going to be the case forever, then she has temporarily put aside the real task assigned to her by the government of the time today, not to preserve history by fighting against the time-traced march, but to bring back her colleagues who have fallen in the shadows and choose to obey the desperate entrustment of her former companions in danger, overcome all difficulties and dangers, and return to this building.

She squirmed her lips and finally squeezed out a few syllables.

"Mr. Hijikata Bentenodaiba, over there"

The calm expression on Hijikata's face faded away. His face sank, and his voice was terrifyingly serious.

"What's wrong over there in Bentendaiba" He left the window and walked in front of her in a few steps, his voice an octave low.

No way.

Now is not the time to be able to tell the truth.

If she had told the truth that Bentendaiba had been besieged by enemies many times her size, would the deputy chief leave Goryokaku ahead of schedule and go to Bentendaiba to support the Shinsengumi?

At the moment when the general offensive of the real new government army began in history, there was no deputy commander in Goryokuri, and when the time came, what should I do?

The last time the new government army launched a general assault on Hakodate, she thought that the moment when the time-retrospective army had moved Mr. Hijikata from Goryokaku-ri and his whereabouts were unknown would be repeated

Or, if she chooses to tell the truth at this moment, the distorted history of the last time she went out to Hakodate will be the future she will face

She caused that distortion

Because of the thought of such a terrifying inference, Liu Quan shuddered almost immediately.

She reflexively shook her head fiercely.

"No, no. Everything, normal" She struggled to spit out the syllables, but the five fingers of her left hand subconsciously tightened again, and the fingers holding the handle of the knife at her waist seemed to have a spasm.

Hijikata looked even more surprised.

"So, why did you suddenly run back at such a time?"

Before he could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by her slightly rudeness.

"Mr. Hijikata. She called his last name again.

earthwork

He frowned, looking suspiciously at one of the most senior members of the Shinsengumi in front of him, wondering why she had so recklessly left Bentendaiba at the most critical moment of such a battle, and suddenly appeared in front of him, and what she wanted to say to him.

Before his limited patience ran out, she finally spoke again.

"I, today, was originally going to crusade against someone. ”

Earthwork "who"

He was just about to ask what it was that could make her run so solemnly to report it, when he saw her smile that looked like she was about to cry.

"One, a former friend," she said.

earthwork

"Former friend," he couldn't help but repeat her adjective, and asked in surprise, "Your former friend, what is he doing at this time when he came to a place like Hakodate, since you plan to go on a crusade, then he is working for the new government army?" ”

She was silent for a moment.

"Maybe. She replied in a low voice.

"After a dispute, she fled last year, and I haven't found her whereabouts until today. She said slowly.

Hijikata: "Ah, yes, isn't that good?" ”

She told what had happened in such a vague way that he couldn't guess what the situation was, but the deputy chief of the wise and martial arts couldn't afford to lose it, so he had to respond so ambiguously.

Luckily, she didn't intend to stop here, but continued to explain.

"At that time, there was a fierce dispute between the two sides, and in the end there was a fight, and I won"

Hijikata: "Oooh. ”

Ah, I also know that with her skills, if it weren't for a very tricky opponent, or if the opponent used a new firearm as a weapon, she should still have the upper hand.

However, she fled again. I don't know where I am until today. She continued.

Earthwork ""

So, this guy rushed in like he was in a hurry and the situation was urgent, and he looked clumsy about to cry, it turned out that he was forced to crusade against his friends who had become hostile.

He coughed heavily, slightly embarrassed by not being used to discussing such complex emotions and the like with her.

"I'm busy. He said in a rough voice, thinking for a moment before adding a word of concern.

"So, what are you going to do after you win, what are you going to do with the friend who betrayed you?"

She looked a little shocked. But she quickly reacted and showed a wry smile.

"She didn't know. She said.

"Actually, I don't want to know if I can, I don't even want to crusade against her, because it won't help at all"

earthwork

He was so surprised that he couldn't help blurting out "what"

As a result, her shoulders shook almost immediately.

She raised her gaze to look at him, and for a moment a look on her face was akin to a look of weakness.

That look made him guess almost immediately, maybe she was going to let go of the "old friend" when the time came

This conjecture made him almost want to sigh.

If it had been placed in Kyoto in the past, her unnecessary kindness could have been regarded as a mistake, and it was worth yelling at him, "Shidao is not enlightened, go to seppuku".

But now, what else is there to talk about?

His face sank for a moment, and he smiled bitterly again.

Cut or not, they always have to meet their end here.

Because that's their fate.

As a samurai, he came to the end of his fate. The only thing to consider is how to be active with faith and dignity until the end

"Yes. He sighed in response, and instead of asking too much about her motives and reasons for doing so, he turned to the large desk in the middle of the room.

There was a huge sand table on the table, and the military situation on the sand table was almost exactly the same as the correct situation.

Her gaze also fell on the sand table. After a moment, she asked suddenly

"What would you do if I told you that Bentendaiba needed your support, Mr. Hijikata?"

Hijikata seemed a little surprised, glanced back at her, pondered for a moment, and replied categorically

"When that happens, I'll go there. ”

She looked a little surprised, a little emotional, and finally, she seemed to breathe a sigh of relief

However, Hijikata's next sentence shocked her to the point of froze.

"But now, it's not the time to strike," he said. I have to stay here. ”

Liu Quan raised his head suddenly, and even took a step forward unconsciously

"Mr. Hijikata," she shouted.

Hijikata seemed startled by her sudden shouting. He glanced at her again, as if slightly dissatisfied.

"Didn't you just say it all, those are all assumptions," he said a little angrily.

"Hypothetical questions, dare to ask me to answer them at this time, wasting my time," he said with a grunt, grumbling as if to walk to the table, touching his chin, bending down, and carefully observing the part of the terrain on the sand table that belonged to the Bentendaiba.

"How dare you say it. Without raising his head, he said again, frowning, and moved a few small flags to the heights of Bentendaiba.

But almost immediately he shook his head again, and put the little flags back in their original places.

"You can't mobilize these people," he thought, muttering to himself, as if completely immersed in his own thoughts.

Then, standing behind him, she said "Mr. Hijikata" quite naturally

Hijikata casually replied, "Hmm"

She asked, "Do you know what the punishment would be if I didn't finish my mission and went back?"

Hijikata was engrossed in studying the sand table and replied casually, "I don't know." ”

Then, as if she hadn't given up, she asked a little long-winded.

"Mr. Hijikata's Honmaru, why is it abandoned?"

I was about to move another small flag from elsewhere to Bentendaiba to look at the earthwork, when my hand suddenly stopped.

After his movements stopped for a moment, he threw the small flag in his hand into the sand table very simply, and slowly turned around to stare at Liu Quan standing behind him.

"What strange things are you talking about, Kiyohara," he asked slowly.

Instead, Liu Quan showed a faint, confident smile.

"Mr. Hijikata, you know me. ”

Hijikata frowned.

"What a stupid thing to say. Of course I know you, you are"

As a result, she interrupted him a little rudely before he could finish.

"I'm Yukiya Kiyohara, a member of the Shinsengumi Ichiban Group. She said aloud.

"You should only know me as a Qingyuan, don't you?"

Hijikata's brow furrowed even tighter.

"What are you talking about? There shouldn't be a second person in the Shinsengumi with the surname Kiyohara."

No, there is. She said silently inwardly.

Historically, the real Shinsengumi soldier "Kiyohara" was a traitor who not only followed Ito Koshitaro out of the Shinsengumi, but also became a member of the Imperial Tomb Guard and the new government army

You don't know anyone like that, do you?

The expression on her face became very strange for a moment. As if confirming some of the wildest and most improbable conjectures in her heart, she tried to suppress the unseemly ecstasy and excitement, which made her expression stiffen slightly

However, since the government of the time can even get Genyoshitsune, who should have died in Hiraizumi Kokan, to be the judge of the gods, then in this crazy and chaotic world, there is nothing crazy enough to completely subvert thinking and unexpected

The corners of Liu Quan's mouth slowly opened to reveal a huge smile.

"Mr. Hijikata. She whispered the title again.

Earthwork ""

It was as if he had been overwhelmed by her freewheeling conversations.

"Ahh He scribbled, looking impatient with the cascading confusion she had caused.

"What the hell are you going to say?"

She was silent for a long time.

As the air in the room became dull, she suddenly let go of her left hand, which was holding the hilt of her knife, and suddenly took a few steps forward.

In this way, she came to him.

She walked straight to the point where she was only a step away from him before she stopped, looking up at him slightly.

Such a distance is undoubtedly too close in terms of the relationship between the "deputy commander" and the "team member", but in terms of the other relationship they have ever been with, such a distance is just too subtle.

Hijikata didn't really look surprised or offended. He narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze fell down on her face, and he waited quietly for her to continue to make moves or rather, to speak.

Liu Quan smiled.

"Why the hell are you here, Mr. Hijikata?"

Earthwork was slightly stunned.

"It's to continue the fight with those guys. Do you still want to ask about something so obvious. A look of displeasure was evident on his face.

As a result, the woman in front of her just smiled, as if she wasn't sorry for it at all.

The next moment, standing in front of him, her shoulder-length half-short hair turned snow-white without warning