[Nothing to hide from anyone - Souji wished he knew what that felt like. Skill, bloodthirst, and his penchant to strike to kill even in a fight were things widely known by most people. Everyone knew about the demonic murderer of the Shinsengumi and Souji had never minded that.

It was the other part that he could never talk about. And even now, he wasn't sure if Cliff's invitation wasn't just an open door to disaster.

He watched his friend for a moment, wondering why he could lay his life down for Cliff without a moment's thought but couldn't do the man the simple act of trusting. He wavered for a moment, then crouched down in front of him, balancing on the balls of his feet, looking up into his face.]

I envy you, Cliff-san. Your honesty and trust, your straightforward nature. Your hope. Your future.

[Once, he could have had that. He trusted, he had tried to live normally and with hope. But then he'd read books and learned the truth. Then he had died and learned that he would not live much past a year at home. He couldn't imagine how difficult it had been for his friends, who had come here long after their own deaths, to return to that nothingness with their mission still unfinished and doomed to fail. He'd never been the strong one in the group. That had been Hijikata, Kondou, even Tetsunosuke, but never Souji. And all of them died on a battlefield or were executed without Souji even knowing, all while he wasted away in a back room in Edo.

He smiled faintly and rocked back onto his heels, ready to stand up.]

Thank you for letting me have a family for a short time. I should go now.