Okita Souji felt as though she had dreamed a very long dream.
In that dream, she was not a Natural Heart One-Sword Style swordsman who had joined the Mibu Wolves. Though they had still gathered together, the Mibu Wolves had merely formed a police station, with no need to think about matters as vast and complicated as the nation's survival—things Okita Souji could never truly understand.
The Mibu Police Station was only responsible for the safety of a peaceful little village.
There were no partings in life and death, no war or bloodshed. Even their work was relaxed—so relaxed that...
She could truly end up with Sakumura.
She would not have to die in Sakumura's arms while dressed in a White Uchikake. She could truly be with Sakumura.
There would be no need to wait for the so-called age of chaos to end, nor would she need to wait for everything to end.
But—that had only been a dream.
Once she woke, she had to face the cruel reality before her.
"Sakumura."
Tears slid down her cheeks as Okita Souji's body trembled faintly.
What had she seen?
She had seen Sakumura walking alone.
From Mutsu Province.
To Kyoto.
To Edo.
To Tosa, to Choshu, to Satsuma.
And finally, to Iwate.
He never stopped.
He walked across the wilderness, across a wilderness where he was completely alone.
He called out, and no one answered.
He wept, and no one comforted him.
He grew numb, and no one approached him.
There was not even anyone to pass him by.
Even as a Servant, Sakumura Anno was alone.
He had lost too much.
In that bloody, cruel era, everyone had kept losing things. To live, to keep moving forward, meant to keep losing. Everyone had lost something precious.
Sakumura had lost everything but