Based on the drawing of the same name by Bethany-sensei on deviantArt. Fictionalized with permission.


Late at night, Sano sat alone in the darkness. Somewhere nearby, someone snored. Yahiko, probably, or maybe Misao. It didn't matter. Snores weren't keeping him awake.

Somehow, when the city of Kyoto quieted and the dark of the evening closed in, Sano found his mind returning to smoke and fire, a collapsing bridge, and a solitary figure vanishing into the inferno. The thought drove away hope of sleep. The night wore on, creeping toward morning, and Sano sat alone in the dark.

Until a soft light filled the room.

At first, Sano thought he had actually managed an hour or two of sleep, and dawn approached. Then his weary mind kicked into motion, and he realized that the light came not from the window, but from a transparent figure standing just inside the door.

Ghost!

"Forgive the intrusion."

Sano tried to scramble away. Finding his back already planted against the wall, he sprang to his feet. Slowly, the ghost approached. An icy sweat sheened Sano's skin, and his heart raced as he crushed his eyes shut. No, no, no! No ghosts! Not here. Not now.

"Please don't be afraid."

Sano's eyes snapped open. The ghost stood directly before him, one hand lifted as though to touch him. The sleeve of the phantom's distinctive blue haori was edged in a white mountain stripe. Shinsengumi.

With a whimper, Sano slid weakly down the wall. "I'm sorry," he whispered, shaking his head. "I didn't want to leave him behind. I had no choice."

The ghost crouched beside him and, to his amazement, smiled. "Sanosuke-san, do you believe I am angry with you?" The words were polite and direct, the tone disarming. Against his will, Sano found himself replying.

"Well, I did. Now I'm confused."

"Consider me a messenger." Another smile, and brighter than the last. "Though of course, Saitou would be quite angry with me for telling you anything. Let's keep it a secret between us, shall we?"

A swift spark of anger overtook Sano's fear. "Hey, I don't need any stupid afterlife take-care-of-my-unfinished-business messages from that jerk!" he objected.

The ghost laughed into one pale blue sleeve. "No, no, nothing like that." Though dead, his eyes sparkled with unchecked mirth. "I am here to assure you that he is quite well and attending to his own unfinished business."

Sano's anger flared up again. "And he can't-"

"-be bothered to tell you himself? Sanosuke-san, you know him better than that."

It was true, but the truth still hurt. "Yeah." Deflated, Sano leaned back against the wall. "Say, who are you, anyway?"

"My name is Okita Souji Fujiwara no Kaneyoshi."

For a long moment, Sano stared at his strange visitor, the spirit of the captain of the first squad of the Shinsengumi. "I guess you know that jerk pretty well, then," he said at last.

Again, Okita's ghost laughed. "Yes, you can certainly say that. Do not worry for Saitou. I am determined that he shall die in bed like an old man." Slowly, he faded from sight. "Like I did."

"Wait!" Sano objected to the darkness around him. "Why tell me?"

Okita's voice lingered in the night. "Oyasumi, Sanosuke-san."