dream lantern

I don't remember how many ronin I killed, and I don't feel how many cuts have been made on my body. I can only hear the sound of blood gurgling, accompanied by screams and shouts of flesh and blood.

The Ronin's, and his.

He wondered if he was crazy, probably.At the moment when he heard that Mr. Kondo was beheaded, all the suppressed emotions in his chest boiled up at this moment.

"Mr. Hijikata, Little Chizuru..."

Blood was splashed in the air, and time was frozen at that moment.

He suddenly recalled that night, when the bright red water in the glass bottle reflected his dilapidated shadow under the pale moonlight.

Kneeling on the side of his bed, Kaoru Nagumo covered his mocking smile with his gorgeous kimono sleeves, as if he had foreseen his miserable future since then.

The sound of flesh being torn gave him a different kind of pleasure, so he waved the sharp weapon in his hand even more vigorously.

Through Ronin's terrified eyes as if he saw a monster, he was able to observe his extremely ferocious face at this time.It is indeed very similar to a monster. The bloody figure, the sash fluttering, the white hair soaked in blood, and the blood-soaked red eyes exude a frightening coldness.

Rakshasa, it's amazing, I don't feel any pain at all.

Whether it was a knife wound or tuberculosis, it all turned into a desperate blow from the blade in his hand.

I don't know when, the night in the east began to leak light slightly, as if the canvas was wet, and spread to the surroundings bit by bit.

Standing in front of Chaoguang, he plunged the curly blade into the soil, and the blood-stained white cloth strips tied to the handle rattled in the wind. Then, facing the wreckage on the ground, he suddenly smiled softly, like After every prank, I apologize to everyone without sincerity, and then show a sly smile.

Along the corner of his grinning mouth, bright red blood kept flowing out, and finally he had to cover his mouth. The gushing blood, heart-piercing cough, and trembling shoulders... seemed to put his whole heart to rest. Shattered in general.

──Mr. Okita!

──Director...!

(Ah, don't cry, why are you crying, little Qianhe?)

(Mr. Hijikata too, don’t keep frowning, you still have injuries?)

(Also, Mr. Kondo...Mr. Kondo...)

His nose was sour, and his vision gradually began to blur.

Tick.

"Is it raining?"

Stretching out his hand to gently touch his cheek, the transparent liquid merged with the blood color of his fingertips, and diffused into a poignant color.

(This way... it's over.)

【Okita Souji, 26 years old, died. 】

☆

Everyone in the world says that dusk is the time to encounter demons.

The sky and the earth are all an enchanted blood red, mixed with an ominous deep purple.

The pitch-black crow became the messenger of the devil, screaming out evil curses with a shrill voice, and the black eyeballs reflected a piece of wrecked land.

The figure swooped down without warning, and took a mouthful of carrion that gave off a disgusting smell among the human corpses scattered all over the place. It seemed to be quite satisfied, and a low sound came out of its throat, like boiling water in hell. with.

The old farming man in coarse clothes rummaged through the corpses tremblingly, trying to find some valuable things that could feed and clothe the family.

Whoa, whoa.

There are broken arms, broken feet, and lonely abandoned heads everywhere. The soil is moistened with blood, and it seems to be breathing.

The trembling hand finally tore off a Buddhist bead from the wrist of a broken arm. The old man was about to go back with some small gadgets in his arms, when he suddenly noticed something alive behind him, and suddenly, the dimples all over his face became deeper and deeper .

He turned his head stiffly, and in the dilated pupils instantly, there was a silver-haired evil spirit who seemed to have bathed in a river of blood. His eyes shone with a bloodthirsty red light, and his face was ferocious and terrifying.

"Evil ghosts... are evil ghosts!!!"

The old man, who was stumbling and fleeing desperately while screaming, did not see that the red light in the eyes of the evil spirit gradually dimmed, revealing unspeakable sadness.

☆

When Xu heard the rumors of "evil ghosts" and came here, all he saw was a young man with bruises and bruises sitting hunched over the pile of corpses.

Holding a Taidao in one hand, covering his mouth with the other hand and coughing, every cough seemed to exhaust the strength of his whole body.

The messy brown hair was stained with blood, and after the blood coagulated, the hair was tugged and pulled. Not only that, but the clothes on his body were also tattered, and the dark spots were obviously dried blood.

As the only living creature on this battlefield, his tragic aura is like being the only one who survived this horrible war.

But he exudes an aura that doesn't belong to this world, so desperate and without nostalgia, it won't be surprising that he turns into a corpse and disappears in place at any time.

When Xu approached, the young man raised his eyes to look at him, his dull eyes were like emeralds buried by the gravel of time, unable to bloom the color of life.

Such a lifeless person, if there is no one to save him, I am afraid that he will become a victim of time just like the corpses all over the place.

Thinking of this, Xu couldn't help but bend down, lifted his hat, and smiled at the young man:

"After hearing the rumors, I thought it was an evil ghost like me, but it turned out to be Mr. Samurai."

"So, can I tell you your name?"

☆

Souji Okita woke up from the uncontrollable desire to cough. He put his hand on the ground, tilted his body, covered his mouth with the other hand, and coughed heart-piercingly. When this time passed, he would cover his mouth Taking his hand away, he was not surprised to see the red mandala blooming in the palm of his hand.

"Ha..." He blinked and suddenly smiled.He thought he was dead, but he didn't expect to drag this tattered body to linger in the world.The blood on his body was washed off by someone, the wound was tied up, and he was changed into clean single clothes.

(But it doesn't matter, anyway, it won't be long before I look like this...)

"Wow——" the bedroom door was unceremoniously opened, and a smiling young man appeared at the door, with moon-gray long hair draped softly behind his back, wearing a black kimono over a white kimono. The strange coat adds a different kind of atmosphere to the other party.

"Ah, are you awake?" The young man seemed surprised at the fact that he could still wake up. Before he could say anything, a little silver-haired boy sprang out from behind. The boy wore the same clothes as the young man, but his face His long scars and heavy dark circles under his eyes made him older than his youth.

"I'm Xu, his name is Oboro, what's Mr. Samurai's name?"

The boy named Oboro held a wooden plate in his hand, which contained a bowl of brown soup and a white wet towel. He knelt down in front of Okita Souji's mattress without saying a word, and handed the towel to The other party was stunned, and then picked up the soup and medicine bowl and stirred it gently with a spoon.

Okita Souji took the towel and wiped his bloody hands and mouth. Hearing the young man's question, he coughed a few times before replying weakly: "Okita Souji. Also, I'm not a samurai." He slightly raised the corner of his mouth and said in a sarcastic tone.

He is indeed not a great samurai, but a swordsman who always only knows how to follow Mr. Kondo and wield his sword for Mr. Kondo.

Hazy put down the bowl of soup and medicine, took the towel that was almost completely stained red with blood from the chief executive's hand, got up and went out expressionlessly.

"Well, cough cough... I'm sorry," the chief executive was a little anxious, "I'm afraid you don't know that my illness is tuberculosis, which is contagious."

After hearing this, Xu Xu was not very worried, but instead asked in a curious tone, "Consumption? Is it a terminal illness?"

"Yes." The director felt a pain in his heart.

It was because of this disease that he was forced to stay away from the battlefield. In the most critical days of the war, not only could he not go to the battlefield with a knife to fight side by side with his companions, but even in the days when Mr. Kondo and the others were desperately struggling, he hid in the small quiet courtyard Be a coward.

Now that Mr. Kondo is dead, what reason does he, a coward, have to live?Consumption pained him, dragged him, and lingered to finish him.

"You shouldn't have saved me, a dying person." The chief executive gritted his teeth, and the pain in his chest became more severe.

Xu Xu noticed the lifeless atmosphere around the opponent again, paused, and said, "Drink the medicine first."

The director lowered his head and moved his hands on the mattress, but he didn't make any further movements.

Xu didn't force him, but walked around the other party's bed, stepped forward and opened the window, the cool breeze mixed with the unique warm smell of spring came into this small bedroom, refreshing one's mind.

"I guess it would be good for your illness to breathe more fresh air."

Turning back Xu Xu, the chief executive also looked at him at this time, and saw that the other party's long moon-grey hair was gently lifted by the wind, his half-closed eyelids, and the corners of his mouth were raised at just the right angle, making his expression look gentle. Sad again.

"I'm sorry, because I can't die, so I can't understand the mood of the dying person, but, I think, this desire to die, I used to understand you."

The director's eyes widened, and it was difficult for him to understand the meaning of the other party's words.

"The mission of the crow is to save the undead and take revenge." Xu took out a black crow mask with only half a face from his bosom, and rubbed it gently with his hands, "If possible, I would like to wash off the stench of blood on my hands taste, learning together among a group of children.”

He put the mask back into his arms, "With this feeling, no matter what, I want to stick to my principles and live on. Once I violate the principles, I will definitely die."

"So, Mr. Okita," Kneeling in front of the bed, the eyes under his bangs are extremely bright, "Even if it is a trivial wish, please recall the feeling when you had this wish, hold that feeling, Please try to live."

Wish?

In an instant, many images flashed in the chief executive's mind.

Stealing Mr. Hijikata's haiku and reading it aloud to everyone, and finally being chased and beaten by Mr. Hijikata who became angry.

Cook with Yi and catch the thief cat.

Teased Chizuru, and was scolded by Mr. Hijikata, who was protecting his wife.

Drinking with his teammates at Shimaen, although he doesn't like the singing and dancing of geisha, but he likes to take advantage of the atmosphere to get Hajime drunk... By the way, Mr. Shimura and Mr. Harada's belly dance is also very exciting.

And, on the morning of the first snow, he came out of the house, yawned in the corridor, and saw Mr. Kondo leaving his footprints on the snow like a child, obviously the person who always scolded himself for being a child was Mr. Kondo.

"If you really have a wish, then," at this moment, like the morning dewdrops dripping on the emerald green eyes of the young man, and then reflected a beautiful brilliance, "I want to see that Mr. Hijikata and Chizuru can live happily .”