Kirino Toshiaki knew that the soldiers protecting Shinsaku Takasugi were no match for Okita Soji. Still, when the guy on the roof appeared, he no longer had the energy to stop the Shinsengumi guy.
Zhang Heng's presence alone had placed him under tremendous pressure.
Kirino Toshiaki could not remember the last time he felt this tense. Even the slightest distraction amid the ensuing fight might cost his life.
On top of that, he was also a little nonplussed that he met two of "his own kind" on the same night.
Never mind the Shinsengumi; vassals of the Bafuku, who had been chasing down and killing anti-bafuku samurai—even Kido Takayoshi nearly lost his life in the Ikedaya Incident. Sure, Okita Soji was still young, but he was the Shinsengumi's best swordsman—he couldn't have spilled less blood than Kirino Toshiaki. The other person, on the other hand… The name Yuta Abe was unknown to Kirino Toshiaki.
