My personal opinion on Gensokyo

"Look, Edo Tower (note: this world's Tokyo Tower)."

"...Why on earth are you playing cat's tangle so nonchalantly, Shang Jun, Miss Shana?"

Turning around and sitting down, Yamazaki Tai, who had also met Shang Yang several times during this period, complained.

"Ms. Okita Mitsuha is still in a coma."

“I became idle before I knew it.”

Hearing this, Shang Yang shrugged indifferently and said something meaningful.

"Maybe someone absorbed all our tension."

“It seems to be true.”

After hearing Shang Yang's words, Sakata Gintoki turned his gaze to the Shinsengumi's vice-captain who was leaning against the door frame smoking, and spoke in the same meaningful tone.

"Although he appears expressionless on the surface, tension is already swirling around him completely and thoroughly."

"But, you fainted just by seeing your face. It seems that a lot of things happened between you, Hijikata-kun."

After hearing Sakata Gintoki's complaints, Hijikata Toshiro just kept smoking and had no intention of responding for the time being.

Shana, who had only played cat's tuck a few times, thought for a long time about the "Edo Tower" in Shang Yang's hand, but couldn't think of the next solution. She sighed softly, stood up, turned and walked towards the room where Okita Mitsuha was placed, while speaking softly.

"I'm going to go see Ms. Okita."

"Ah... not yet, Ms. Shana, Ms. Okita Mitsuha is still unconscious..."

Seeing Shana stand up and push open the door, Yamazaki Tai hurriedly spoke out to persuade her.

However, seeing that Shana ignored him and walked straight into the room, Yamazaki Taiya sighed.

"Forget it, I'll ask Miss Shana to help look after it..."

After entering the inner room where Okita Mitsuha was placed, Shana closed the door casually. After confirming that the doctor and nurse invited by Kuraba Touma had left through another door, Shana walked slowly to Okita Mitsuha, who was lying flat on the tatami and was still unconscious. She knelt down, raised her slender white jade right hand, covered the unconscious Okita Mitsuha's right shoulder, and gently closed her eyes.

The gentle magic power penetrated into Okita Mitsuha's body through Shana's right hand, and circulated continuously along Okita Mitsuha's blood vessels. With the supply of Shana's magic power, the unconscious Okita Mitsuha, whose face was originally pale due to blood loss, gradually showed some color.

"As far as humans are concerned, this body will soon reach its limit."

Taking her hand back, Shana looked at the still unconscious Okita Mitsuha and breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's okay. If you had come to Edo later and we had gone back to Gensokyo, it would have been dangerous."

PS1: Kaguya-sama: Love is War Season 2 has ended, so I can’t use the title to link it to the new show. (Sigh)

PS2: I'm really looking forward to Season 3. Given the production team's style, they should be able to finish the Bōshōsai and Our Mask arcs. It would be incredibly satisfying to hear Aoi Koga (Kaguya's voice actress) read Bōshōsai and Our Mask's lines. Hopefully, this will be realized before I finish writing the modern Japan arc of this book.

Volume 4: Edo Chronicles: Chapter 214: Familiar Strangers

At the same time, in the living room outside the inner room.

After a brief silence, the Shinsengumi's oni vice-captain spoke calmly without even turning his head.

"It has nothing to do with you."

"Ah, I'm sorry. As an outsider, I'm sorry for butting in on matters between men and women."

After hearing Hijikata Toshiro's answer, Sakata Gintoki deliberately apologized insincerely.

"I'm so sorry..."

"You can't say that, Yorozuya boss."

Hearing this, Yamazaki Taiya couldn't help but take over the conversation and said with a smile.

"Don't be fooled by the deputy director's appearance. He's actually quite innocent."

"I see, where's the pure love..."

Shang Yang also took over the conversation and said with a smile.

"That's truly beautiful. It must be one of those memories filled with youth. I never thought that Vice Captain Oni would have such memories..."

Hijikata Toshiro was already in a very anxious mood, and now these guys were instigating him. He could no longer hold back his anger, and a huge crossroads suddenly appeared on his forehead. He picked up his samurai sword and was ready to chop down Sakata Gintoki.

"Didn't I say it was none of your business? Why are you here? And you next to me! I haven't come looking for you about the underground fighting arena incident yet, and you actually showed up here!"

"Deputy, Deputy Captain, please calm down!"

Yamazaki retreated, who had rushed forward to try to stop Hijikata Toshiro, and hurriedly persuaded him.

"Miss Mitsuha is still in a coma!"

"Such a noise! ​​And why do you have an afro?"

Just as Hijikata Toshiro was desperately trying to break free from Yamazaki Tai who was blocking him and cause trouble for the two guys in front of him, the door to the corridor was pushed open with the sound of the door being pushed and pulled. Shang Yang and Sakata Gintoki also turned their eyes to the man sitting in the corridor outside the door.

"Everyone, please forgive me for my poor hospitality."

A man with thick eyebrows and big eyes... cough, sorry, a mature man with a square face and a very upright and honest look bowed to thank Sakata Gintoki, Shang Yang and others.

"Thank you very much for taking care of Mitsuha."

"I'm a trader, a karaoke baron who runs a karaoke shop."

Yamazaki Tai, who had been stopping Hijikata Toshiro, now leaned close to Hijikata Toshiro's ear and whispered an explanation.

"Deputy Director, he is the man who will become Miss Mitsuha's husband."

Similarly, when Shiroyasha, who had fought bloody battles on the battlefields of the Anti-Foreign War, saw the seemingly upright man in front of him, Sakata Gintoki, the owner of the Yorozuya, he frowned slightly.

...This person doesn't seem to be exactly what he appears to be now.

Of course, although Shang Yang on the other side already knew what kind of person this Tibetan farm owner was, when he saw the guy in front of him, Shang Yang could still intuitively perceive that this person was a truly pure businessman, a businessman who would even sell his relatives as goods as long as the price was right.

Kurama had no idea what Sakata Gintoki and Shang Yang were thinking at the moment, but he still expressed his gratitude politely in a grateful tone.

"Although I've reminded her several times that she's not in good health and can't move around too much... Mitsuha is really causing trouble for everyone this time. Looking at your uniforms, are you all members of the Shinsengumi? Then you must be friends of Mitsuha's younger brother, right?"

“They are not my friends.”

A calm voice came from outside the door, and with this voice, Okita Sougo also walked in from the corridor outside the door.

"Oh, Sougo-kun."

When he saw Okita Sougo, Kuraba Touma's expression did not change.

"Sougo-kun, you're here too. Mitsuha..."

Although Touma Kuraba wanted to show Sougo Okita his concern for his sister Mitsuha, Sougo Okita did not react. Instead, he walked straight to Hijikata Toshiro and spoke expressionlessly.

"...Isn't this Mr. Hijikata Jushiro? Meeting you here is truly a fortuitous encounter."

"It's amazing that you still have the nerve to come see my sister."

Although he was ridiculed by Okita Sougo, Hijikata Toshiro did not intend to refute at all, as if he had not heard anything.

"You're mistaken, Captain Okita. We're here because..."

Yamazaki Tai, who knew the details, originally planned to tell Okita Sougo that Kuraba Touma was the suspect who might have smuggled a large number of illegal weapons to the radical anti-foreignation ronin, but before he could say anything, he was kicked away by Hijikata Toshiro.

Yamazaki fell to the ground and before he could react, Hijikata Toshiro grabbed him by the collar and dragged him towards the door.

"…Excuse me for disturbing your family."

"Hijikata Jushiro-san!"

Yamazaki, who was being dragged, retreated and turned his head with difficulty and asked.

“Is this really okay?!”

"..."

Hijikata Jushiro said nothing.

Because they had to pass through the corridor in front of the next room to go out, Hijikata Toshiro dragged Yamazaki Tai through the corridor in front of the room where Okita Mitsuha was sleeping.

At this moment, Okita Mitsuha, who had regained some spirit thanks to Shana's help, reluctantly turned her head to look at the man walking in front of her. Although her mouth was slightly open, she said nothing in the end. Hijikata Toshiro just glanced at the lying chestnut-haired woman with the corner of his eyes, then retracted his gaze and walked towards the gate without looking back.

As she watched Hijikata Toshiro walk through the corridor, Okita Mitsuha could no longer resist the fatigue of her body. She didn't even notice Shana who was still sitting next to her, and she closed her eyes and fell asleep.

Similarly, seeing this scene, Shana sighed softly, stood up, opened the door and returned to the living room where Shang Yang and the others were.

Just as Shana turned her gaze to Shang Yang, Shang Yang also turned his gaze to Shana.

Their eyes met, and the young man and the girl nodded slightly at the same time.

"Oh, so you are Mr. Shang, the owner of the Shangwu?"

Zang Chang Dang Ma, who didn't notice Shang Yang's actions, still wanted to talk to Shang Yang.

"I've long heard of the great reputation of the Edo Merchant House. Many prominent figures have procured goods they've been pleased with with your Merchant House, goods rare and precious even in space. And for the goods pledged to your Merchant House, you always offer a very reasonable price... In short, your Merchant House's reputation in Edo is truly unparalleled."

"No, Mr. Zangchang, you are too kind. We are just doing some small business."

Hearing Zangchang Dangma's praise, Shang Yang naturally agreed.

"It's no comparison to a big trader like you, Mr. Zangchang."

"Ahahaha, Your Excellency Shang Jun is too polite."

Kurama Touma also smiled and said politely.

"If there's an opportunity, I'd love to work with you, Your Excellency, and make a big deal that's profitable for both of us. Do you have any interest in this?"

"Of course, since Mr. Zangchang has such thoughts."

Hearing this, Shang Yang glanced at Sakata Gintoki who was picking his nose out of boredom, then looked at Shana again, then turned his gaze to the big trade businessman in front of him, narrowed his eyes slightly, and smiled.

"We are naturally happy to 'cooperate'..."

"...After all, there aren't many 'excellent' traders like Mr. Kuraba in the entire Edo. If we don't 'cooperate' with Mr. Kuraba, who else can we 'cooperate' with?"

"I hope we can have pleasant cooperation with each other in the future."

Volume 4 Edo Chronicles: Chapter 215: Memories of Each Other

That was a long time ago. At that time, whether it was Kondo Isao, Hijikata Jushiro, or Okita Sougo, they were just country samurai living in remote villages in Bushu and honing their kendo skills in rural dojos.

Although the Celestial Beings from outer space have been infiltrating Edo and the entire samurai kingdom for more than a decade, because the Celestial Beings only focus on Edo, which has a space transmission device, other parts of Japan outside Edo have not been affected by the alien civilizations from outer space, and still maintain the rural life that has been the same since the Kamakura period.

In Mushu, Okita Mitsuha, who had just reached adulthood, met Hijikata Toshiro, who was taken back to the dojo by Kondo Isao and was practicing kendo in the dojo.

During the long, peaceful days of playing with the idiots in the dojo every day, the two people with similar personalities gradually got to know each other, became familiar with each other, and were attracted to each other.

A few years later, in order to lead his fellow dojo members to a bright future, Kondo Isao resolutely decided to lead his fellow dojo members to Edo, the center of the country, to start a new and grand career there.

On the night before departure, Okita Mitsuha blushed and asked her beloved Hijikata Toshiro to take her with them to Edo.

However, upon hearing Okita Mitsuha's shyly expressed wish, Hijikata Toshiro simply turned around expressionlessly, left without looking back, and spoke lightly in a nonchalant tone.

"What does it have to do with me? I don't care about your business."

Such memories once again resurfaced in Okita Sougo's mind.

Shaking his head, Okita Sougo seemed to want to get rid of these unpleasant memories from his head. He stayed up all night with Okita Mitsuha at Kuraba Touma's house. After watching Kuraba Touma send Okita Mitsuha to the Oedo Hospital, the premier hospital in Edo, Okita Sougo returned to the Shinsengumi headquarters, picked up a wooden sword for practice, and walked straight to the training ground in the headquarters.

He knew very well that the annoying guy must be there.

Walking to the corridor outside the training ground and leaning against the door, as expected, the guy was swinging the wooden sword repeatedly in the training ground. Seeing this scene, Sougo Okita spoke without hesitation and expressionlessly.

"Mr. Hijikata, can I ask you for advice?"

Hearing this, Hijikata Toshiro, who had not slept all night and had been swinging a wooden sword here all night since he came back last night, stopped practicing sword swinging, took a breath, glanced at Okita Sougo who was leaning against the door frame, and didn't intend to say anything.

Meanwhile, in the ward of Oedo Hospital.

"I'm sorry, it's because of my health."

Sitting on the hospital bed, Okita Mitsuha gently apologized to Kuraba Touma who was sitting beside the bed in a very apologetic tone.

"The wedding ceremony has to be postponed again."

"It's okay, don't worry, just focus on recovering."

Hearing what Okita Mitsuha said, the mature man in front of her with a kind face comforted her in a nonchalant tone.

"The ceremony is just a formality. I have already made up my mind to become husband and wife with you."

Hearing Kuraba Touma's thoughtful words, Okita Mitsuha also smiled softly and thanked him gently.

"Thank you, Mr. Touma."