[At age seventeen, after many years, you finally returned to Edo.]
[You headed to the Shieikan, the Tennen Rishin-ryū Dojo.
Even though you weren’t a student here in this life, you still subconsciously chose to return there.]
[When you arrived before the courtyard of the Shieikan, you saw that familiar figure.
As if she knew you would return today, she was standing there quietly…]
Mitsuyuki’s finger brushed over the text of the Heroic Spirit Training Manual.
Sharing the sights and sounds from the projection.
Edo.
As Mitsuyuki walked toward the Shieikan, the originally noisy surrounding sounds gradually quieted down.
Cherry blossoms fell from both sides.
At a corner, as if sensing something in his heart, Mitsuyuki paused his steps slightly and raised his eyes from beneath his bamboo hat.
Ahead, a person stood beneath a blooming cherry blossom tree.
She was holding a broom, sweeping up the cherry blossom petals that fell with the gentle breeze.
Sunlight bathed her body; she was wearing a beautiful pink kimono.
She seemed slightly absent-minded, and a few beautiful cherry blossom petals were drifting onto her shoulder-length hair, which was as lovely as the blossoms themselves.
Just as Mitsuyuki was looking at her, she seemed to sense his gaze as well, and she raised her face, which had gradually shed its childishness.
Her golden eyes showed a hint of confusion.
But that confusion was quickly replaced by joy.
Even though Mitsuyuki was wearing a bamboo hat, she still recognized him.
Mitsuyuki came before her and took off his hat, revealing his handsome face.
And because of his current half-demon state, his eyes, which had turned an eerie red, even gave him a bit of a wicked, charming aura.
“Long time no see, Souji.”
She smiled, looking at the Mitsuyuki before her.
A gentle breeze blew, and the falling cherry blossoms danced with it, adding a touch of ethereal beauty to her.
“You’re back?”
“Yeah.” Mitsuyuki nodded slightly, then added after a slight hesitation, “It’s just…
I seem to have returned a bit late.”
Mitsuyuki gave a very faint smile that Okita Souji didn’t understand at the moment.
Indeed, he had returned a bit late.
After all, this was already the second simulation.
Then Mitsuyuki’s hand naturally reached out to brush the cherry blossom petals from her head.
Okita Souji didn’t resist at all, simply letting him do it as she tilted her head and smiled, saying, “It’s okay…
welcome back, Mitsuyuki.”
“Hmm…
Saisou, would you say their relationship is that good?
Didn’t that girl Souji always seem to dislike Mitsuyuki?”
Not far away, Kondo Isami, who had been standing in the corner of the courtyard in his samurai outfit for some time, rubbed his chin and spoke to the serious-faced Hijikata Toshizo, who was known as the Demon Vice-Commander. This story is hosted at g.com.
“Oh, come to think of it, I was wondering why Souji has been so strange lately, always looking restless and insisting we come back from Kyoto to visit Teacher…
speaking of which, her Intuition has always been quite accurate.
But isn’t it only supposed to be useful in battle?”
Hijikata Toshizo didn’t respond to the words, but simply stared fixedly at Mitsuyuki, who had taken off his hat, and frowned deeply.
“Also…
it really is strange.” Kondo Isami continued, looking at the two of them again.
“The two of them standing together like that doesn’t feel out of place at all; I even feel like they’re just meant to be like that.
Oops, we’ve been spotted.”
As he spoke, Kondo Isami flashed a hearty smile and walked toward Okita Souji and Mitsuyuki, who had turned their gazes toward them.
[You returned to the Shieikan and saw your former teacher, Kondo Shusuke.
After many years, you found that he clearly looked older than in your memory, but his sword stance had not weakened in the slightest.]
[Everything was like back then.
After you were welcomed back, you noticed that Okita Souji had disappeared, but you didn’t look for her because you knew what she was doing now, and you…
felt a sense of anticipation!]
[The next day, when the morning light tore through the curtain of night, she found you.
She had shed the cherry blossom kimono she wore daily and changed into that Shinsengumi Haori, transforming into the sharp blade recorded in history!]
[Regarding this, your choice is…]
[A: Fulfill the promise, B: No need, C: Intervene personally]
“The promise, huh…”
Mitsuyuki smiled.
Even in the projection, it had always been hard for Mitsuyuki’s gaze to shift away from Okita Souji.
After all, the reason he came to this era was because of her.
His swordsmanship talent and his Minds Eye (Fake) were all obtained from her.
Thus, it was normal for Mitsuyuki’s gaze to be drawn to her.
And on this point, Okita Souji was actually the same.
Although she didn’t know everything, her naturally powerful Intuition made her unwilling to lose to Mitsuyuki deep down, and she had been chasing after him.
In the original records, she received her menkyo kaiden certificate from Kondo Shusuke at age nineteen and became world-famous in the following years.
But here, she achieved menkyo kaiden at sixteen.
At seventeen, the same age as Mitsuyuki…
a Sword Hero!
A hero among swords.
This was the threshold for swordsmen, an extraordinary realm.
At the same time, only by stepping into that realm does one have the qualification to be recorded by history!
Mitsuyuki, who had slowly closed his eyes, opened them once more. Visit g.com for the full chapter.
Moving from the general perspective of a ‘God’ or an ‘Absolute Observer’, Mitsuyuki arrived before Okita Souji.
Sitting on a chair inside the room,
His eerie red eyes gazed at Okita Souji, who had shed her usual gentleness and become the calm, clear-headed executioner recorded in historical annals.
The corners of Mitsuyuki’s mouth curled up slightly as he said, “It seems you’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time.”
“Yes,” Okita Souji replied with a smile.
Those pale gold eyes carried the clarity and determination Mitsuyuki was familiar with.
Beneath the sword momentum that was about to unsheathe, there was also a leisurely intent emerging.
Feeling all of this, the smile on Mitsuyuki’s face gradually vanished as he said, “Souji, can you…
give me the answer once more?”
Okita Souji did not speak; her pale gold eyes remained fixed on him.
“Thirteen years…
no, actually even earlier, I reached the realm of a swordsman, but now several years have passed, and I haven’t taken a single step forward.”
“And I’ve long had a feeling about this.
My Sword Intent…
has run into a problem,” Mitsuyuki said.
And indeed, that was the truth.
Otherwise, Mitsuyuki wouldn’t have gone looking for other methods later to obtain the power to slay that Great Youkai!
The so-called Sword Intent is, in fact, when a master of swordsmanship infuses their own will into their sword.
By hiding one’s will within a sharp weapon and then, at the moment of the swing, condensing essence, energy, and spirit into the blade’s edge, one can cut through everything.
One can even slash out the legendary Sword Qi!
And the so-called will, to put it simply, is the reason for swinging the sword—the thoughts and convictions the wielder carries through.
Mitsuyuki’s Sword Intent originated from that small city back then.
It was the accumulation of those several years.
At the moment of his final departure, it transformed into his Sword Intent with the thought: “This world’s sword shall be swung for your sake,” allowing him to reach the summit of the swordsman realm.
But this remained his bottleneck.
“Regarding this, I have asked many teachers, including no lack of Great Swordsmen, but none could satisfy me.
Thus, I realized…
only you, Okita Souji.”
Because everything up to now originated from you.
“Only you can give me the answer!”
“That is why I returned at this time…
with only one year remaining, I have come before you!”
Mitsuyuki stood up from his chair.
At this moment, Onikiri was already fastened at his waist…
Mitsuyuki knew what Okita Souji had been doing yesterday.