[Well, if he says so. Yasusada's never really been one to shy away from talking about the past anyway.]
He was a really amazing master. Really strong, and really kind... he would've done anything for Hijikata-san and Kondou-san. And he loved us a lot. His swords, I mean. No one else could wield us the way he did. When he got sick, he... it wasn't something he could accept. He was supposed to die in battle.
[At that, Itsuki feels a pang. He and Yamato may be different as human and sword, but... there are things even tsukumogami can't defeat, huh? Just like humans. Death is scary.]
They're a different kind of enemy, huh? [...] Having to see someone suffer through that while knowing you can't do anything... I wouldn't wish that on anyone.
...It's hard for the ones who have to remain behind. But it's just as bad for the one who's leaving, I think.
[he's thinking a little, hm]
My sister was really sick before she passed. It was hard on her. She liked being active and around other people. But when she was sick... No one else was there besides me. One person can't do much when you're missing so many other people.
Itsuki's voice is soft, as if he doesn't want to disturb Yamato from his thoughts. It takes on thoughtful cadence, a little as if he's reciting a story.]
...Not sure. Maybe she was overworked, or really hungry. We lived in a brothel, so... [he taps his hand on the shelf next to them] Could have been anything.
We lived in a red light district in Kyoto. That's where the Shinsengumi's from, right?
[Ah... Yasusada nods, face softening with nostalgia. He misses Kyoto, sometimes.]
They didn't all come from there, but that's where they were formed. [The roushigumi, and then the Shinsengumi... he wasn't there at the start, but after his mission with Hachisuka, now he knows how they'd been in the beginning.] Okita-kun didn't really go to those districts very much, though.
[He was too busy trying to become a sword to be a slut]
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[he's gonna peer over Yamato's shoulder as he reads
it's really just a fluffy shoujo, maybe it's kaze no hikaru]
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...and since this is the Sad Stories day, partway through his reading, he just looks up at Itsuki very seriously.]
I watched Okita-kun die.
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...]
-- You were his sword? [the way the pieces are clicking into place,] And you... [...] You were aware that entire time?
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Yes, kind of. [mumbles in complicated spirit nonsense] Sorry, I don't know why I said that so suddenly.
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[...]
I'm here if you want to talk about it? I think some of us today have been feeling the mood to reminisce.
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Are you sure?
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Sure. [...] I never went to school, so... I kind of want to hear about him from someone who knew him.
[LIKE HIS DEATH, APPARENTLY??]
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He was a really amazing master. Really strong, and really kind... he would've done anything for Hijikata-san and Kondou-san. And he loved us a lot. His swords, I mean. No one else could wield us the way he did. When he got sick, he... it wasn't something he could accept. He was supposed to die in battle.
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I remember hearing about that. ...It's a pretty popular story.
[mostly because everyone thinks it's romantic]
So you watched over him when he was sick too?
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They're a different kind of enemy, huh? [...] Having to see someone suffer through that while knowing you can't do anything... I wouldn't wish that on anyone.
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[It's an old wound, now--still, he lifts a hand to rub at his chest, as if trying to ease the ache.]
Kondou-san and Hijikata-san... couldn't even be with him.
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[it feels less surreal to hear their names and more sad that apparently the stories are true,]
...Was it just you and Okita-san at the end?
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Mostly. The doctor was there too. Okita-kun's family came too, eventually.
[But they weren't the people who should've seen Okita die. They weren't the Shinsengumi.]
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...It's hard for the ones who have to remain behind. But it's just as bad for the one who's leaving, I think.
[he's thinking a little, hm]
My sister was really sick before she passed. It was hard on her. She liked being active and around other people. But when she was sick... No one else was there besides me. One person can't do much when you're missing so many other people.
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What happened to her?
[does itsuki have TB trauma too]
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Itsuki's voice is soft, as if he doesn't want to disturb Yamato from his thoughts. It takes on thoughtful cadence, a little as if he's reciting a story.]
...Not sure. Maybe she was overworked, or really hungry. We lived in a brothel, so... [he taps his hand on the shelf next to them] Could have been anything.
We lived in a red light district in Kyoto. That's where the Shinsengumi's from, right?
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They didn't all come from there, but that's where they were formed. [The roushigumi, and then the Shinsengumi... he wasn't there at the start, but after his mission with Hachisuka, now he knows how they'd been in the beginning.] Okita-kun didn't really go to those districts very much, though.
[He was too busy trying to become a sword to be a slut]
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I can imagine. You don't get that reputation by sleeping around.
[we're ignoring the fact that hijikata slept around]
What were his hobbies?