Chapter 61

"Genius swordsman? Well... I don't plan to become a genius swordsman..." Ms. Okita, who had already regained her original spiritual foundation, sat back in the corridor holding her sword, looking at the sunny doll hanging under the eaves. "Besides, killing depends entirely on momentum. If the sword is broken, use the sheath. If the sheath is broken, use your bare hands. No one will wait for you on the battlefield. In short, you have to rely on momentum, rely on momentum."

"In this regard, Okita-kun and Okita-san are exactly the same." Kashuu Kiyomitsu sighed helplessly, and secretly poked Yamato-mori Yasunari, who was obviously shocked by the fact that Okita-san didn't have any other swords, with his arm, while acting coquettishly towards Okita-san, "But it hurts to be broken."

Kashuu Kiyomitsu is remembered as the sword of Okita Souji. The fact that the tip of the sword was broken in the battle at Ikedaya and could never be repaired is one of the few memories of him that can be deeply rooted in people's minds.

Many inquisitors in the government of time have wondered why Kashuu Kiyomitsu and Yamato-no-kami Yasunari both wore scarves. This question even caused a huge uproar in the inquisitors' forums. In the end, the standard answer that stopped everyone's discussion was provided by a certain inquisitor, who said that Okita Souji also wore a scarf when he was alive, so the two were simply remembering their former lord.

This is the standard answer circulated among the inquisitors.

In the forum dedicated to sword men, this matter was mentioned many times by all California Kiyomitsu - but in the end, they always glossed over the matter with the same words and started discussing as usual how to get more attention from the lord.

If every judge remembered the special arrangement - when all the Kashu Kiyomitsu went to the Ikedaya battlefield, they would be reminded by the Yamato-no-kami Yasunari of the Honmaru not to be broken in the same place...

Kashu Kiyomitsu saw the scarf of Yamato-mori Yasusada hanging by his side at the edge of his vision, and subconsciously grabbed his own red scarf that was also hanging by his side, and silently lowered his gaze - unlike Yamato-mori Yasusada, who was known to almost all judges as a fanatical Okita chef, Kashu Kiyomitsu would hardly show his concern for the former captain Okita Souji except in special formations and special places.

All the judges knew that Kashuu Kiyomitsu, one of the original swordsmen, was a swordsman who preferred to be loved by his current lord rather than miss his previous lord. However, the answer that he chose to wear a scarf because he missed Okita Souji was accepted by all the judges as the true correct answer.

——Because only by dressing up beautifully can you gain the lord’s love, and scars are ugly...so, you have to hide them, hide them where the lord can’t see them.

——But, the scar is on the neck, which cannot be covered by clothes...

——That’s right, just like Okita-kun, just like An Ding… just use a scarf to cover it.

——As long as she can cover up that scar, she will still be loved by her lord, the beautiful and lovely Kashuu Kiyomitsu.

The red scarf covered up the scar left by Kashuu Kiyomitsu when the blade was broken in the past. This was also the reason why Kashuu Kiyomitsu would mention it all the time, but would just brush it off. After all, the scarf was worn to hide the scar and win the favor of the lord. If he wanted to confess to the lord...

——My lord, will you no longer love me because of the existence of that scar?

"Boy, what are you thinking about!" Ichimonji Norimune knocked Kashuki's bald head with his folding fan and glanced at Miss Okita who was sitting on the other side. "Is it because of the lateness of life? You were finally overwhelmed by the love of the previous master - don't be distracted after being coquettish to others, boy."

“…! You old bastard!! I wasn’t distracted!!!” Kashuu Kiyomitsu covered his head and jumped up, staring at Ichimonji Norimune with a fierce look, “And you even bring up something like being coquettish – you old bastard, you are jealous of me because you don’t have a previous master to be coquettish with!!!”

“Ahhhhh Kiyomitsu!!!”

"I don't need to act cute to others." Ichimonji Norimune put away his folding fan and placed it against his cheek. He smiled faintly as he watched Miss Okita trot over to comfort Kashuu Kiyomitsu who was hurt. "But, boys - those two are undoubtedly good masters. You are really lucky to meet such masters."

"...Lucky?" Yamato-mori Yasunari was stunned for a moment, subconsciously thinking about the meaning of Ichimonji Norimune's words, "Are Kiyomitsu and I lucky?"

"Although it's not nice for an old man to say this, but compared to the chaos of the entourage..." Ichimonji Norimune looked at Ms. Okita and Mr. Okita meaningfully, "Isn't it a blessing to have a master who can express his love to you so straightforwardly?"

"Need me to remind you of those cherry blossom petals that flew all over the yard, kid?"

"Shut up, you old man!" Kashuu Kiyomitsu turned around and looked at Ms. Okita standing in front of him. He put away his previous attitude towards Ichimonji Norimune like a house cat putting away its claws. "Well... I... I'm actually very afraid of pain, Ms. Okita. But in the past, when I was broken in Ikedaya--"

"Although I was just an ordinary, mute swordsman at that time, but... at that time, compared to the pain of being broken, for me -"

——Ah, this is so embarrassing, and it must be ugly to have tears all over your face... I laughed at An Ning for crying in front of Okita-kun yesterday, but now I am the same when it comes to me... But, there are some things that I must say if I don’t take this opportunity to say them...

——Maybe I will never have the chance to say it again.

"Don't cry, Kiyomitsu; Kiyomitsu, Kiyomitsu, don't cry--" Ms. Okita sighed helplessly, and patted the back of California Kiyomitsu, who was much taller than her, and used her past experience of coaxing those children who liked to play with her, "I know--you at that time, and I must have felt the same way when I was seriously ill."

——I know that I am only a half-baked player. A half-baked player who was unable to stand with everyone in the end. But if you ask me what I wish for and what I regret...

——It is not false that I want to make a wish to the Holy Grail to recover from my illness, but I hope that I can recover from my illness only so that I can fight side by side with everyone in the Shinsengumi again...

——So, the final wish conveyed to the Holy Grail is to fight until the very last moment.

——This was the sad wish that he wanted to realize during his lifetime but failed to do so. Even after becoming a Heroic Spirit, he still felt regret for not being able to fight with his comrades, and felt that he was not worthy of being a member of the Shinsengumi.

"Even after becoming a Heroic Spirit, I still feel unworthy of being a member of the Shinsengumi because of what happened in my life." Ms. Okita gently patted Kashuu Kiyomitsu's back and told him how she felt. "If only I could fight at that time; if only I could move my body at that time..."

"If only I wasn't sick."

"No matter what, I want to fight side by side with everyone." Ms. Okita felt Kashu Kiyomitsu leaning on her shoulder, and her tears had already wet her clothes. "Compared to the pain caused by the disease, at that time, what brought me greater pain was the pain of staying behind to recuperate while everyone was fighting, and not being able to fight side by side with them."

"It was indeed painful when it was broken at Ikeda-ya - but I was more afraid of something at that time." Kashuu Kiyomitsu continued sullenly after Ms. Okita's words, "Ansei would proudly introduce himself to every judge as Okita Souji's favorite sword - but I..."

"After the Ikeda House was broken, he left you."

—I didn’t even see the ending scene.

——When the blade was broken, what she feared more than the pain was that she would never be able to fight with Okita Souji again; however, the injury at the tip of the blade was doomed to be irreparable.

So after that, he left Okita Souji.

"I am the same as Anding - no matter what, I want to accompany you through the last period of time." Kashuu Kiyomitsu trembled and grabbed Ms. Okita's sleeve, "But the tip of my sword is broken, and it can't be repaired no matter what - so I left you."

"At that time, Chief Kondo was still writing letters to his family to show off his Kotetsu... But I had already been abandoned because of that damage - I know you wanted to repair me, but that kind of damage... can't be repaired, and the whole knife means it's ruined... So, in the end, you still gave up on me, Ms. Okita."

The California Clearlights dress themselves up, not because they care about the favor that the Judges will give them on the surface - although they would be happier if they had such favor - but because if they do so, even if they return seriously injured, they will have a reason to convince themselves why their current masters have not given up on them.

——Because they are dressed up beautifully enough, even if they have become tattered, the lord will try to repair them instead of abandoning them.

——Although they knew that the serious injuries they suffered as swordmen were different from the injuries they had suffered in the past when the blade was broken, this was the only way they could feel at ease.

"...I'm sorry that I chose to let you go at that time, Kiyomitsu." Ms. Okita sighed helplessly, thinking of the things that happened after she lost California Kiyomitsu in her lifetime, "But, it is true that from my lifetime to now, you have always been the sword that I use more skillfully; I love you, and this statement is also true."

Ms. Okita did want to repair Kashuu Kiyomitsu before she died. She even took Kashuu Kiyomitsu to every sword repair shop she could go to - but the answer she got was always exactly the same: the broken tip of the sword could not be repaired, and the sword had lost its meaning of continuing to exist.

Therefore, as a swordsman who still needs to fight, Ms. Okita finally put down Kashuu Kiyomitsu - even her favorite sword, after receiving such a sentence, could only leave her side sadly; then, if the sword is broken, she will use the sheath, and if the sheath is broken, she will use her bare hands...

After the California Kiyomitsu fracture, what Ms. Okita said truly became a reality.