The sky over the battlefield was covered in thick, stagnant clouds. In the middle of the mire, Gintoki gripped his sword tighter, his breath coming in ragged gasps. The Amanto forces surged like a wave; no matter how many he cut down, there was no end in sight.

"Gintoki, behind you!"

The moment he turned at his comrade's shout, a lethal blade swung down toward a fallen ally. Gintoki's feet were caught in the mud; he wouldn't make it in time.

But before the blade could strike, a shadow lunged in. Her slender back took the blow intended for another. A dull sound of rending flesh echoed.

"—!"

Letting out a voiceless scream, Gintoki rushed to her side, but she had already collapsed. As he gathered her up in his mud-stained arms, her kimono was rapidly dyed crimson.

"Hey, don't mess with me. Open your eyes!"

At Gintoki's trembling voice, she faintly opened her eyes. Her face was distorted with pain, yet she looked at Gintoki and gave a small smile.

"...I'm... sorry..."

Those were her last words. In Gintoki's arms, the strength left her body, and she grew quietly cold. Neither the roar of the battlefield nor the cries of his comrades reached him anymore. Only the sensation of lukewarm blood on his palms was etched into his memory like an eternity.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━─ Ten years later