January, Keio Year 4. Edo.
Okita Souji dashed through the night-shrouded streets, her squad in tow.
The prolonged sprinting had pushed her body past its limit. Her already fragile lungs were on the verge of collapse under the violent physical exertion.
But she couldn't stop. The nights in Edo had inexplicably transformed into something akin to a demonic realm. She had originally been returning to Edo with a small escort, but upon entering the city, they were ambushed by strange enemies.
She felt they should be called "specters." No matter how she swung her blade, she couldn't inflict even a sliver of damage on those monsters; at best, she could only knock them back.
Of the ten or so members of the First Unit who had accompanied her back to Edo, only four remained.
Splash—
The sound of someone falling came from behind.
She and the other soldiers skidded to a halt and looked back. A man had sprawled face-first into the muddy earth. It had rained in Edo the night before, and after a full day, the roads were still a quagmire. The fallen soldier, covered in filth, struggled to pick himself up.
"I-I'm sorry, Captain Okita... I really... can't run anymore..." He gasped for breath, apologizing as he tried to wipe the sludge from his haori.
Even with the mud wiped away, the pale blue haori was no longer pristine.
Okita's left hand gripped her scabbard in silence. Her gaze shifted from the fallen man to the others. They had been running through Edo for a long time and were exhausted; they were using this forced stop to gasp for air, trying to steady their breathing and recover a bit of strength.
"Let's move," Okita said softly.
She knew they couldn't keep this up, and she wasn't much better off herself. But they had to at least reach the headquarters. It would be safer there than remaining on these Edo streets thick with an eerie atmosphere.
Okita Souji didn't start running immediately, opting for a slow walk instead. They were only three alleys away from the headquarters; even at a walking pace, it wouldn't take long.
But just as the young First Unit Captain took her first step, a gust of wind blew past, carrying a disturbing scent. Her left thumb nudged the tsuba, clicking the blade slightly out of its sheath, while her right hand gripped the hilt, ready to draw at a moment's notice.
The unpleasant wind whistled through the back alley, which was wide enough for three or four people to walk abreast, making Souji's haori flap loudly. The moon slipped behind the clouds, and the light grew even dimmer, making it hard to see.
"Captain Okita!" a soldier cried out in alarm.
Souji had already seen them. She held her breath, focusing her mind for the coming clash. Choosing this alleyway as a shortcut had been a mistake. She and her men were surrounded—front and back—by floating specters that resembled skeletons.
Without a word, Souji drew her long blade.
Due to her worsening health, she had left the Shinsengumi's main force while they were heading to the front lines at Toba-Fushimi to return to Edo. She never imagined that she and her escort would encounter such a bizarre situation in the city at night.
To think this might be my burial ground, she thought silently.
The specters gradually closed in, tightening the circle. Souji and her men stood back-to-back, facing these monsters that neither blades nor spears could harm.
The soldiers were already breaking into a cold sweat from fear and tension. Finally, one of them couldn't take it anymore and rushed forward, swinging his sword with a desperate cry at the skeletal creatures.
His blade struck true, but it didn't wound the monster at all. It merely pushed the creature back an inch before it continued forward, swinging its bony claws.
The battle erupted, but it was entirely one-sided. Souji struck the monsters' necks and chests several times with ease, but her blade passed through the white bone fruitlessly. It was extremely difficult to even knock them back enough to carve a path for escape.
The combat zone shrank step by step, soon becoming so cramped that swinging a sword became difficult, as they had to worry about hitting their own comrades.
The sound of the first man falling became the final straw that broke the soldiers' spirits. As the first man's chest was pierced and he hit the ground dead, the remaining soldiers were slaughtered one by one in despair by these unkillable monsters.
Their blood soaked into the mud, staining the soles of Souji's shoes red.
As the last survivor, Souji was struggling. She felt the strength leaving her sword hand, and her lungs felt like they were going to explode, throbbing painfully within her chest.
One last time, Souji unleashed the fastest strike she could muster. It collided with a monster's bone claw, but the impact sent her reeling back. Weakly, she retreated several steps and collapsed to her knees, using her sword as a crutch.
Death was imminent. Souji's only regret was her inability to understand what was happening to Edo.
Just—
In the moment before those bone claws could drop and crush her skull, a slash tore through the air, cleaving the attacking monsters in half.
"...?" She struggled to lift her head, trying to see what had happened.
The monsters that had seemed invulnerable were all cut down within a few breaths, dissolving into dust.
Unable to comprehend the situation, Souji saw a tall figure slowly descend before her. The man, his back to her, let out a low sigh.
"There's only this kind of trash here too... I lost the trail..."
The youth's voice spoke to himself as he turned around.
The wind continued to blow through the street, the clouds shifted, and the hidden moon revealed its face once more. The moonlight spilling into the alley illuminated a youth dressed in a black kimono and a white haori.
Souji couldn't make a sound; it felt as if her time alone had stopped. The agonizing pain in her heart and lungs was suddenly forgotten. Now, there was only this youth in her sight.
Because it happened so suddenly, she couldn't process reality; she didn't know what to say. It was also because the youth before her was so handsome. His white hair shimmered under the moon, and his azure eyes sparkled in the night.
In those eyes that looked like an extension of the sky, a flash of surprise appeared, then quickly vanished.
"Are you alright?" he asked softly.
Souji was indeed alive—barely—but her companions had all perished. The monsters attacking them had been annihilated by the youth and the danger was gone. Souji's body relaxed slightly, but the lungs she had been trying so hard to restrain finally lost their inhibition.
She broke into a violent fit of coughing. Sweet, metallic blood overflowed from between the fingers covering her mouth, dripping onto the ground.
Her consciousness began to grow hazy. Souji finally lost her grip on the sword supporting her and slumped powerlessly to the side.
The expected sensation of cold mud never came. Instead, it felt as though she were falling from a great mountain peak and landing in the clouds.
Catching a faint floral scent that seemed to come from a foreign land, Souji lost consciousness in the youth's arms.
"Luuud—! I lost the trail on my side. How about you?" A boisterous female voice rang out.
"Not great. I picked up a survivor," Ludwig replied. "Let's head back to the base, Musashi-chan."
"Roger that~"
Miyamoto Musashi answered cheerfully.
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