[ he follows hijikata as directed, weaving through the slowly thinning crowds of people as they exit from the festival street, the lantern lights growing sparser and more dim. tsurumaru talks on the way there, once the crowds lessen enough to the point where he won't have to shout to be heard. ]

But before the Saniwa summoned us to the Citadel, I was from your world. I mean, not really your world, since I was never a Shinsengumi sword, but you know. During the era of the Shinsengumi, I was... let's see... I was owned by the Date family? Or something.

When we think about it like that... you and I probably looked at the same set of stars every night.

[ almost instantly, he lets out a quiet laugh, more to hide his embarrassment, than anything else, because wow, that came out far more embarrassing than he thought it'd be. ] Sorry, sorry! That's a little too cheesy for your tastes, isn't it?

You should treat yourself more often. Maybe, if you eat enough sweet things, it'll make you sweeter than you already are, too!! [ how quickly hijikata finishes the stick, talking around the dango in his mouth like a child, makes him smile. and here he was, thinking he was the five year old... once they follow the path, they find the shrine that hijikata mentioned. seeing it brings back nostalgic thoughts, of days spent at a shrine that he once knew, and tsurumaru pauses in front of it, just for a bit. ]

You humans are fond of those, aren't you? I used to live at a shrine, too, so at the start of every new year, there would be a lot of people that gathered to visit and make wishes, and it was really nice. I was meant to live there forever, but you know...

Most humans are terrible creatures. I don't think you're terrible — I think the opposite of it, actually, but most of them are just... [ abruptly, he skips ahead a little, as if to run from the weight of the words that he'd suddenly dropped. ]

Hurry, hurry!! I want to see the lake.