"If I said this was an accident, would you believe me?"
In the courtyard, Samael forced a smile onto his face, raised both hands to show he meant no harm, and coughed dryly as he tried his best to explain himself, attempting one last bit of damage control.
"How about we pretend we never saw each other?"
However, the only response he received was the inch-by-inch gleam of steel exposed from the hands of the girl in the light-blue haori, along with the cold, solemn words from her cherry lips.
"Sorry, but I'm on official duty. By the Shogun's order, all lawbreakers must be apprehended. Anyone who dares resist will be executed!"
Pale hands gripped the hilt, blade pointed forward. Though her body looked slender enough to seem frail, it faintly radiated pure killing intent.
Feeling that sharp pressure rush toward him, Samael had no doubt that this female swordsman with the adorable face would strike without hesitation.
One of the Shogunate Seven Riders—Assassin Okita Souji.
The captain of the Shinsengumi's First Division, a security organization active around Kyoto during the late Edo period, and the strongest genius swordsman in the group.
At nine, she became the disciple of Kondō Shūsuke, a Tennen Rishin-ryū swordsman in Edo. There, she became classmates with future comrades such as Kondō Isami and Hijikata Toshizō, receiving full transmission at nineteen.
After completing her training, she traveled to Kyoto in 1863 as a member of the Rōshigumi, becoming a core member of the Shinsengumi and serving as captain of the First Division as well as assistant vice commander.
Because the Shinsengumi were stationed in Mibu Village, and most were swordsmen from the countryside who had come to Edo to study and knew little etiquette, Kyoto residents looked down on them and mocked them as the