Earthwork:......!!!

"I'm sorry to disappoint your expectations. As if she wasn't going to let him go, she continued. The black eyes, which were still as clear as ever, looked deeply into his eyes, as if they wanted to see the depths of his heart.

Suddenly, when Kondo said something similar at the end of Edo's dark alley, his response came to her mind.

[Please don't say that, Yukiba-kun. I'm sure you've done everything you can do for me. 】

[Yukiba-kun has been guarding the Shinsengumi like this for so long...... As the director of the Shinsengumi, I am very grateful. 】

[From the beginning, Ah Sui was a stubborn person. 】

[When I say goodbye to my friends and companions again and again, I bear a qiē like this...... You'll get the idea. 】

[Please don't give up Ah Sui. 】

Tears welled up in his eyes without warning.

Ryuzumi slowly pursed his lips into a straight line, stubbornly holding back the tears and ordering himself to continue to look directly into Hijikata's eyes.

[Snow Leaf-kun, please show your courage, as you have always been. At that time, Kondo said to her.

You have to be courageous...... This qiē must be brought to an end.

"The result...... I was finally assimilated and swallowed up by the darkness behind me. She struggled to pull herself together, trying to make her dialogue—and perhaps the forthcoming goodbye—as believable as possible, in a flat tone.

"From this point of view, Kujo Daoqing is still successful...... But I don't want to see him smirking on the side of the Santu River!"

She raised her voice slightly.

"So, if you forgive me or not, you have to live hard, live a peaceful and brilliant life, so that those bad guys who want to see Shinsengumi jokes and destroy Shinsengumi will never be able to do so at any time-"

Unexpectedly, her next sentence was such a disorganized dialogue.

...... Can you still give him a little more serious?!

He was of course in pain and angry. The anger mixed with disbelief almost made him uncontrollable in an instant.

He tried his best to keep himself calm, discerning little by little the connections and details between the so-called truths of Kujou Michikiyo's words and the words she said when she confessed them, and finally came to a conclusion that he had to accept.

That conclusion, as it sounds, sounds like a ridiculous joke -

That is, Kiyohara Yukiha's dedication to the Shinsengumi is sincere, but at the same time, Kiyohara Yukiha's dedication to the Shinsengumi is also purposeful!

In an instant, her glittering efforts, the dedication and contributions that had been done at the cost of her life, were like sweet poison/medicine, making him feel a tightening of his throat and a throbbing heart.

Her sincerity is mixed with her deception, and when she is trying, there is also spying, and the qiē, the good and the bad, the light and the dark, are gradually integrated into her and are inseparable.

He tried to figure out this qiē, to find the best and most suitable solution for both of them in this mess of truths and thoughts, but he failed. He couldn't think of anything. When he thought of how he had trusted her, how Kondo-kun had trusted her, and took care of and trusted her as the most reliable, best, and most confidant teammate, but she ruthlessly abandoned Kondo-kun in the end, he felt a tearing pain in his heart.

The words she had said and the things she had done were like a blunt sword that had been cut off in an instant, tugging back and forth on his heart, slowly slicing through the soft flesh of his heart little by little, tearing open a huge and hideous wound.

He was silent for a long time. Finally, he looked away, looked into the depths of the woods, and whispered, "...... I'm going to walk around alone. I've got to think all of these things through......"

She didn't answer.

Although he had made up his mind not to look at her for the time being, it always seemed strange that she was silent, who was usually cheerful and talkative, and he could not help but glance at her again, just as he saw a faint shadow flash across her face.

He couldn't help but be a little surprised, just wanted to say more, but couldn't help but feel that she deserved to be given a stern and profound lesson, maybe it was a good idea to be cold to her, and she also needed to seriously reflect and apologize more deeply—as soon as he thought about it, he swallowed back his urge to ask "what's wrong", and said in a slightly stiff tone: "I don't understand why you chose not to rescue Kondo-kun at that time...... You know it's going to make me miserable!"

However, as soon as this angry sentence blurted out, he choked suddenly, and almost bit his tongue.

...... What the hell is he doing?!Complaining or complaining like a procrastinating and indecisive fellow?!There is no need to say this kind of feeling! But why did he blurt it out, was it because her repeated apologies had actually shaken him a little, or was it because the shadow on her face was a little concerned?!...... He was used to relying on her in some way, and was used to telling her his true thoughts and feelings?!

Habits, it's terrible. Thinking so, he turned abruptly like a wolf, and strode into the depths of the woods, without even saying a word to her.

Behind him, however, she raised her voice and stopped him.

“...... Mr. Hijikata!"

There was a jerk at his feet, but he didn't mean to turn back.

He thought she wanted to apologize, or to explain more sincerely and deeply the danger or predicament she was facing, and the reasons behind her puzzling choice. But she just seemed to think about it for a while, and then actually said something that people couldn't understand.

"Sometimes...... There are some things, no matter how painful they are, that can only be done by sitting back and watching them happen......"

"Because, my strength alone is too small. ”

Her last words seemed to carry a deep sigh. He stood there silently awaiting her next words, but she seemed to have no intention of continuing to speak, and the awkward silence that had been before suddenly enveloped them both again.

Hijikata endured and endured, and finally stared back at her because her words sounded too strange.

However, as soon as he turned around, he was slightly stunned.

Because she was standing in front of the tomb of Kujo Michikiyo, she was raising her eyes and looking in the direction of his departure. The expression on her face was very strange, like sadness, reluctance, and relief, so complex that it seemed to contain infinite words, and it was difficult to speak.

But when he blinked because he was so surprised, he found that the look disappeared from her face in an instant. Her smile was as warm and calm as ever, and the strange look she had just now was like a dream.

“...... So, I'll go back first. She smiled gently, her eyes that remained clear and bright even after a violent storm of darkness rested silently on his face. And she seemed to be surprised and happy by his turnaround.

Tsujikata suddenly felt even more wolf and annoyed.

...... It's impossible to forgive you so simply, otherwise how will I face Kondo-kun in the future, damn it!!Don't show that happy expression of "Great, the deputy chief must have accepted my confession now"!!

Because he thought of Kondo, he recalled a few unrelated details about Kondo for a moment—what Kondo had said, to be exact.

[Okay, then let's do it!Ah Sui, you will take Qingyuan with you later...... No, how about Yukiha go outside and continue to participate in the festival?]

【Hey...... I said, Ah Sui, it's not so strict, right?]

[I am very impressed that a woman can have such courage and conviction to do this. 】

[And since she joined the Shinsengumi, she has never traveled on a business trip, and she has been exceptionally good in several incidents...... Based on that alone, I also think she meets the criteria for a qualified team member. 】

Earthwork: "......"

...... What a terrible thing to think about. Is it that you are subconsciously trying to find excuses for the other party, this is ...... Isn't that wonderful?!

Kondo-kun is a warm-hearted and broad-minded person. It is precisely because of this trait that he was able to gather so many talented people around him back then, run the trial guard hall, set up a new selection group, and become everyone's general.

Someone who can accommodate even a guy like Ito...... Even if he learns the fact that Kiyohara didn't actively rescue him, he will only smile and say that it's okay, shake his head and say that Ah Sui shouldn't embarrass her, because she's done enough for the Shinsengumi all along—right?!

Hijikata tilted his head slightly, closed his eyes, exhaled a long breath, and opened his eyes again.

The setting sun turns the canopy of the forest a faint golden-orange color. This moment reminded him of the twilight when he escaped from the Kaneko Mansion and left Kondo alone in Ryueyama.

...... It's just so light, yì smiled and said it's okay, it's all over, I don't care, is it really okay?!

His mind was in turmoil, his thoughts were so complicated and mixed that it was really difficult to make a decision for a while, and when he heard her say, "I'll go back first," he could only snort hastily, and said again in a somewhat stiff tone: "...... So, I'll go for a walk in the woods alone. ”

With that, he didn't look at her again, just turned around again, and strode into the depths of the woods.

...... However, in hindsight, everything she said had a deep meaning.

Including the phrase "sometimes...... There are some things, no matter how painful, that can only be done by sitting back and watching them happen...... Because, my power alone is too small."

— even the phrase "So, I'll go back first".

Obviously, when the night completely covered the entire mountain and the woods, he finally gave up his usual decision to go back first, and wait until tomorrow to continue thinking about how to deal with the truth of the revelation of the Kujo Qing and her confession, he returned home, but he didn't see her anywhere.

She wasn't in that house. Without warning, she left. walked neatly and resolutely, and did not even leave him a word to explain the situation.

He kept looking for her for days. When a few days later, his search for her whereabouts stretched farther and farther, and finally he found that he had inadvertently re-entered the box building, he thought it was a little incredible.

During the days when they lived in seclusion in the mountains, she also half-truthfully pestered him to teach him "superb masquerade", saying that she was proud of her housekeeping skills—even if he had no intention of learning, he still learned a little bit in her ramblings. It worked now.

If you think about it carefully, all these things she does are really very forward-looking and purposeful?!

At least, in the current Hakodate, the original shogunate and related people were basically cleaned up, imprisoned and expelled by the new government army, and no one knew what he looked like anymore, plus a little "superb disguise technique" that she stalked and forcibly taught, he was able to appear safely in Hakodate without being hunted down?!

Of course, you can't go to the key places of Golengkaku or something. However, this did not prevent Hijikata from going to Bentendaiba.

...... Maybe she'll come back to see this place that means so much to both of them?!

With this in mind, and his desire to see with his own eyes the Bentendaiba that he had never had a chance to return to since the Battle of Hakodate, Hijikata came here.

When he finally stood in Bentendaiba and looked out over Hakodate Bay, he couldn't find any trace of whether she had been here or not. Only the fierce wind on the seashore and the sound of waves rising and falling in an orderly manner made him suddenly have some kind of unreal illusion for a while.

[Your opportunity to live in this world is something that Mr. Kondo would rather give up than exchange it for. Because he has deeper expectations for you...... If you don't live well with such a person's expectations, you will fail Mr. Kondo's hard work!]

Without warning, the words she shouted to him when she evacuated the Drift Mountain resurfaced in her memory.

Ah, actually, that's what she wanted to say to him.

After so many days, she was still anxiously searching, and the unacceptable feeling after learning a series of terrible truths about her that day had long disappeared without a trace.

[Director Kondo has always been very calm and calm. He said to me, let me pass it on to the Deputy Chief...... The Shinsengumi and the rest of the matter, please. 】

...... So, calm down and think about it seriously, if you presume from this sentence, she still met Kondo-kun in Edo anyway, and had a conversation, right?!

[I swear to Director Kondo...... I swear I'll follow the deputy chief until the end. 】

...... So, at that time, regardless of whether she tried to rescue Kondo-kun or not, at least the two of them were calm, understood each other's position, and seriously exchanged their last vows with each other, right?

The thought made him suddenly feel a pound of pain in his heart. The inference that these two important people might be dead floated in his mind for the first time.

After coming down from Bentendaiba, there is a row of wooden railings on the path leading to the seaside. I was about to go to the shore to take a look at the earthwork when I suddenly noticed a white scarf tied to one of the railings. At this moment, the scarf was being hunted and fluttering by the fierce sea breeze.

He was stunned for a moment, then rushed forward, grabbed the scarf that was flying in the wind, and unfolded it in front of him.

There was a line written on the scarf. The handwriting is upright and delicate, and there is a bit of style.

[Sighing for the moon of spring/Sleepless in the narrow plains/Only the moonlight is cool]

Earthwork:!?

Almost instantly, he remembered when Kiyohara Yukiha was quoted...... No, plagiarized this haiku he wrote.

It was the eve before Ito's faction was about to leave the team to form the Imperial Tomb Guards, and he planned to arrange for Saito to go undercover among the Imperial Tomb Guards, and call her over for secret talks, so that she could cooperate with Saito's mission and be responsible for exchanging information and passing on information.

At that time, she deliberately read the haiku aloud outside his room, pretending to be there to ask him for advice, and said that this was her proud......

Then, she insisted on giving him her oil lamp, asking him to light an extra lamp when he worked at night, and the money for lamp oil was deducted from her share, and said with a smile, "I don't want to see a deputy chief who is too old to see clearly"-

Now that he thinks about it, although he had been unconsciously shaken by her many times before that, the first time he clearly realized that his mind was wavering was at that time.

It's really like that guy's style, and he suddenly left such a haiku that doesn't look like a farewell or a message at all...... What the hell are you trying to do?

Suddenly, her crisp, brisk, smiling voice rang out in his head again.

"Ah, the money will be spent quickly when it comes to me, so let's save it for me by the deputy chief, maybe I can save a lot in the future, and then I can become a rich man and return to my hometown, marry a beautiful man, and go to the peak of my life or something-"

Strangely enough, at this moment, he suddenly couldn't remember many, many things she had said, and the only thing he remembered was the answer he had recalled at the time about what to do with her salary.

He unconsciously slowly spread his eyebrows, flattened the corners of his lips, and smiled softly.

...... Later, she didn't become a rich man and returned home. He's really a big talker, huh?

However, marrying a beautiful man or something...... What girl would be so shy to say such a topic?!

Hijikata's lips trembled slightly. He bent the five fingers of his right hand and slowly tightened his grip on the white scarf with haiku written on it.

...... It's no longer possible, right......

He followed it all the way, and the only clue she had left here was this scarf.

Probably, she deliberately tied it here, wanting to leave it to him who didn't know when he would come here too, right?!

...... Did you notice anything when you walked here?

Without warning, Shannan's voice suddenly appeared in his memory.

[Because it's your own body...... I can always guess a little bit by feeling when I will use up all my strength......]

Standing on the seashore, the hunting wind shook Hijikata's body violently, blowing the horns of his haori clothes. The late autumn sea breeze blows on the face, and it already makes people feel quite cold.

For some reason, he suddenly remembered the scene in Sendai Castle, when Sannan and Heisuke finally disappeared.

The bodies of Sannan and Heisuke turned into blue-white ashes in front of his eyes. As soon as the wind blows, it will disappear -

And on the seashore where the wind is so fierce, such light and fluttering ashes will be blown to the sea in an instant, and there will be no trace of the vast and unpredictable sea swallowed up by the vast and unpredictable sea, right?!

Just like a tear that appeared in the corner of his eye at this moment, it was also quickly dried by the wind.

...... Never, it's impossible to say goodbye properly......

Just like when I was separated from Kondo-kun......

Why, always.

Why, always miss the opportunity to say goodbye to important people......

Why, do we have to lose these important people again and again?!

When all the qiē are over, only the one who is left behind......

“...... It's like a joke. He laughed self-deprecatingly and whispered.

"Original...... It is myself who is taken care of seriously and gently. He muttered, slowly untying the scarf from the railing, wrapping it around his wrist twice to prevent it from being blown away by the wind, and then holding one end tightly in his palm.

“...... So, I'm sorry, I can't go to you yet. He looked at the rough sea and took a deep breath.

"Because this life is entrusted to me by everyone...... Then, I can't be ashamed of your trust. ”

"Live well...... To pass on the spirit of the Shinsengumi, we must see with our own eyes the day when everyone recognizes, admires, and misses the Shinsengumi......"

"Then, I can tell you well, 'everyone's efforts have not been in vain, and everyone's ideals and beliefs are really the best'. ”

"Kondo-kun ......"

"And ...... You," his voice paused slightly, his voice becoming hoarse and deep.

"Snow Leaves...... Wherever you are now, you guys, just watch it. ”