[Hakuouki Doujin] The Tide of Fallen Leaves

In the end, Nue Ye, on the recommendation of Saito, bought a knife that Duan Ye was excellent, but no one cared about because it was too simple.

Looking at Saito who couldn't hide the satisfaction in his eyes when he walked out of the knife shop, Nueno chuckled in his heart, bowed slightly, and asked, "Thank you for helping me choose a good knife today, if it wasn't for your sake Now, the merchant will not give me more discounts, can I buy you a cup of tea and express my gratitude?"

"...No need to be too polite, I also have to thank you for your company." Saito shook his head and refused, "It should be me who invited you."

Nueno raised a smile on his face, "Then, treat it as a friend, I wonder if you have time to accompany me to the tea table?"

Facing the smile of the man in front of him, Saito noticed his heart beating slightly faster, and nodded: "Thank you for the invitation."

The two strolled to a tea house by the bridge. Nue Ye saw the frown on the other side's face when he saw the sweets, and smiled and ordered a pot of tea and two cups. For dessert, he chose the less sweet Baiyudanzi , sprinkle some sesame powder, exudes a light rice and sesame flavor.

Seeing the refreshments brought to him by the clerk, Saito nodded indistinctly, "Thank you."

"Hehe." Nueno didn't say much, he ordered yokan himself, cut out translucent cubes from a small bamboo stick, and put them into his mouth casually.

Saito took the teacup on one side, and warm and mellow hot tea had been poured into it, and the dense water vapor attached to the skin, making the whole body warm.

People coming and going in the market pass by the window, and the hustle and bustle is heard, but the shop is full of people drinking tea and talking softly, forming a space of its own, which seems to separate the mundane world.

"Speaking of which, I haven't asked you yet, how is the cat I raised in the village before? Did you move with you?" He poured another cup of tea for himself, and Nueno started the topic.

"No, but I'll visit them when I have time." Saito replied, holding a bamboo skewer with one ball missing.

"Really? That's great." Nueno raised the corners of his lips, "It seems that they like you very much. I feel more at ease with you taking care of them. If possible, can you tell me about their current condition? member?"

After thinking for a while, Saito said slowly: "The last time I went to see it, it seemed that there was an older cat... the color of the cat was black and white."

"Oh? I seem to have seen that one at the beginning, but I didn't expect it to come back after a while."

"It...will come to eat after all the kittens have finished eating, but the group of kittens is not small now, and each of them is much bigger than before."

"Hehe, when I see you, I will definitely meow meow meow, right?"

"……Yes."

"It seems that you dote on them too, otherwise you wouldn't have acted like a baby with you so intimately." Nueno smiled, swallowed his tea, and then ate the last piece of yokan. "Thank you."

"……Won't."

"So what's going on in the group now?"

Holding the teacup in his hand, this time, Saito spent a longer time organizing his words than before.

"...That's it...it's noisy...everyone is always making Deputy Hijikata angry...But the Shinsengumi is getting more attention step by step, so it should be considered a good thing..."

Asking someone to refill the pot of tea again, Nue Ye silently filled the teacup for the other party and also filled his own, "If it's a good thing, why does it look so unhappy?"

Saito looked into the other's eyes in surprise, only to see Nueno pointing between his brows, and he touched his own with a sudden realization.

The touch under his hand reminded him, unconsciously, his brows furrowed.

"……This is……"

"If you still don't know the reason, let's put it down for now." Nue Ye interrupted the other party's thinking, and said loudly: "After all, now is a time for me to rest temporarily, there is no need to continue to entangle in those unsolvable things... Give yourself some space."

"...Is that so..." Saito turned his head, looked at the scenery outside the window of the teahouse, noticed the difference between the inside and outside, after a little thought, he relaxed his expression. "I see."

Nue Ye saw that the corner of the other party's lips curled up unconsciously, and the unsmiling person showed a gentle smile, his brows and eyes became gentle, which made it hard to move his eyes away. When he recovered slowly, he bowed his head and took a sip of his tea, sighing secretly.

He is obviously the same age as Hirasuke, so why is this one so old-fashioned?

The two sat for a while longer, chatting about the trivial matters of the capital in the past few days, enjoying a moment of peace.

After the words came to an end, Saito raised his head, stared at Nueno and asked, "Neno, are you used to wearing two knives?"

"Yes." Seeing that the other party rarely took the initiative to ask questions, Nueno responded in a good mood.

"But I don't seem to have seen you pull out this knife."

Nueno turned his head, looked at the counter clerk, and said softly: "If possible, I don't want to have the opportunity to pull it out."

Sensitively aware of more vague and unfinished words below, Saito remained silent, took a sip of the tea that was gradually cooling down in his hand, and fell silent.

"Are you scared?" Suddenly, Nueno asked in a relaxed tone.

"……No."

"Really? What a pity." Nueno shook the teacup, then drank the remaining tea in one gulp. "It's almost time, I have to go back to the dojo, so I'll leave today."

After finishing speaking, Nueno quickly stood up, said something to the clerk, and the clerk came over with a small cloth bag.

"Thank you for being with me today. I'll give this to others."

After paying the exact amount of money, Nue Ye left without looking back.

Just as he was about to take out the change, he found that the other party had already taken the first step. Saito could only hold the small bag that Nueno had delivered before he left, and watched the other party's figure submerged in the crowd, retracted his movements, and walked away silently.

Stepping firmly on the way back to the settlement, Saito looked at the clear blue sky above, and the tip of his nose was still lingering with the aroma of sweets and tea in the tea house just now.

The feeling that there was a figure missing by his side made him lower his eyes slightly.

Falling into Nueno's kind eyes with a slight smile several times, I couldn't help but say more words than usual.

Even if I showed my concern for the sword in front of the other party, the other party only accepted it gently, without asking too much, and followed my words carefully.

Next, guide yourself to rest without any trace...

The icy blue in the eyes precipitated and became a deep ocean.

When something is thought out, it seems that more possibilities are seen.

At the same time, Xuecun Qianhe was staying in the garrison, carefully placing the hot tea beside the earthwork coffee table, and then quietly exited, waiting for the paper door to be closed, then secretly heaved a sigh of relief.

The deputy head of the Shinsengumi Oni once again stayed up for two days and nights over the desk full of documents. No one dared to provoke the big devil who was in a bad state of mind. Accidentally interrupt the other party's work.

In the past few days, the deputy chief who is not good at drinking even asked someone to send a glass of wine in, in the name of refreshing, but in fact, it has indeed reached the point where it needs to be stimulated by alcohol.

Qianzuru came to the kitchen, holding the tray in her hands, thinking sadly how to solve the current situation.

People who are soft-spoken are bound to find other people to help persuade them.

Qianhe walked, didn't notice the obstacle in front of him, and bumped into it.

"Ah...Mr. Saito..." The girl called out to the other party in a panic, holding her forehead.

"Are you all right?" The young man asked against the light, standing at the door of the kitchen.

"It's okay." Qianhe put down his palm and said awkwardly, "I'm really sorry... I didn't pay attention..."

"It's okay." Facing the girl in front of him disguised as a man, Saito thought for a moment, then handed the candy he just got from Nueno to the girl, "Here you are."

"This is……"

She asked in confusion, and then the girl heard the young man in front of her answer in a calm tone: "Powdered sugar citrus peel."

"Hmm..." Qianhe blinked after hearing this, looked at the calm young man in front of him, and couldn't help asking: "Mr. Saito... are you... very happy now?"

"?"

Immediately receiving the other party's confused gaze, Qianzuru lowered her head in embarrassment, hugged the tray in her arms tightly, and said timidly: "Probably an illusion... I just feel... Mr. Saito seems to be different from usual. ..."

"Really." Saito left ambiguous words, walked around Chizuru, and started preparing dinner.

"That, that! Let me help too!" Seeing this, Chizuru immediately volunteered to step forward.

"Then please."

The author has something to say:

Almost missed. (big gasp)

So there are two more~~www

Calculated in this way, there are still four days of daily updates... I hope I can hold on... (Hide face)