On The Side Of The Pitch With You

Edo Period IV

"Raimon can only stand around dumbfounded before Zanark Domain's fierce charge!"

"Not yet!" Fei yelled.

"We won't lose!" Tenma added.

"You guys..." Sakamoto narrowed his eyes, watching Okita move up with the ball. "Tenma and the others are doing their best! I can too!"

He managed to make a cut and sent the ball out of bounds. But then, Okita fell to his knees, clutching his heart again.

"H-Hey!"

"Okita-san!"

"Hang in there!"

"Okita-san!"

While Tenma and Sakamoto were trying to help, Tokugawa Yoshinobu faked a yawn. "How pathetic. Is that all the captain of Shinsengumi's first unit has to show? Will we be able to win this match, I wonder?"

Okita immediately stood up. "Sir, there is no need for anxiety! I swear to protect the Bakufu with these very hands!"

Again, Tsurugi saw that image overlapping. And again, he couldn't tear his eyes away.

"He has very strong willpower, that Okita-san." Fei said from behind him, worry clear in his tone.

"Just like nii-san." He slipped out.

Fei seemed to back off from him at that, which he mentally thanked him for. As they moved into position, his eyes met with his friend's. She gave him a small smile, which he replied to with a nod.

When Okita was given the ball, he ran up to him. "Okita-san! If you're risking your life to fight, then I'll answer you by not holding back either!"

Okita smiled at him. "Just the way I want it!" And immediately ran past him.

What determination... Is that how much you wish to save the Bakufu? He chased after him, almost matching his speed, but then the man moved even faster.

"That is power number six!" Daisuke the stone said. "A speedy striker as quick as lightning, who cuts up the field like a lightning bolt. As I thought, it can only be Okita Souji!"

The man passed it to Zanark, who gave the ball to Rasetsu. The purple haired boy used Ogre Blade, and it got through even Shinsuke's Keshin Armed. That was how the first half ended.

When the conch shell was blown, Okita fell back to his knees. He tried to insist to keep playing, but Zanark refused.

"You're done, Okita." And he left him there.

Tsurugi was first back to his side. "Are you okay, Okita-san?"

His head dropped. "I am a failure..."

"Eh―"

"Is my power not enough to protect this country?"

Amber eyes narrowed at that. "Please listen, Okita-san. You're wrong. Protecting the Bakufu won't protect this country!" The man looked up at him in surprise. "You may not believe this, but... Making the Bakufu accept the idea of restoring imperial rule will protect this country's future!"

"What do you mean?"

"We're from this country's future. So we know."

The man's eyes grew even wider.

"He speaks the truth." Sakamoto said, walking up to them. "You know for yourself that preserving the Bakufu won't make this country a better place, don't you? Yet you turn your eyes away from the truth and act stubborn! Even if you kill me, nothing will change! What really needs to change is Japan's hesitancy and its tendency to stay isolated inside its narrow-minded comfort zone!"