Suddenly, the front door of a house is kicked open, and Yuki and Ogata enter. They see several stuffed and preserved animals, from birds to polar bears spread throughout the entire house. Then, carefully, the pair makes their way through the halls, checking each room looking for a certain someone.

"You've killed Maeyama, you really do what it takes no matter if it was someone you knew," Yuki said when he saw the old comrade dead. Yuki's face didn't have any expression while saying that and that made Ogata slit his eyes.

"Don't tell me you are mourning him."

"No, I'm not, really", and Yuki really didn't. There were just a few people in Yuki's life that he really cared about and would mourn if they died, and Maeyama wasn't one of them. "Anyway, you did a good shot as always."

"Tsukishima usually takes long baths, so he won't be back in a while, this gives us some time to look around" Ogata commented as he finished checking an empty room. He was armed with an old model beretta pistol, his dear Arisaka Type 30 hung over his shoulder

"You, on the other hand, don't like taking long baths…" Yuki commented out his thoughts out loud.

"What did you say?" Ogata asked.

"I said... He still does that? Hopefully it will be long enough to get that taxidermist to talk…" Yuki said as he looked curiously at the stuffed animals that were everywhere. "And with that, find out what they are planning. I don't know how Tsurumi could need a taxidermist."

The owner of the house was a young man named Edogai Yasaku, who was a taxidermist. His work consisted of stuffing dead animals for decoration, some owners however, only wished to eternalize their pets. Edogai's problem though, was that he didn't just stuff animals.

"I wonder how this guy managed to get polar bears…" Yuki said it mostly to himself. "The animals that live nearby must be afraid of getting close to here…"

Ogata found two rifles leaning against a wall while checking the house, and had immediately removed the muzzle barrel from the gun to make them useless.

"It's amazing how people are so careless with their guns..." He said mockingly.

Yuki, on the other hand, entered one of the rooms and made a somewhat unexpected discovery. He paused at the doorway, shocked at the sight. Those unaccustomed to se

being dead would run out immediately, but the two ex-soldiers didn't. Still, to be faced with several stuffed people was not something common to see. It was disturbing, to say the least.

"What is it, Hagiwara-san? Are you afraid?" Ogata debauched, walking into the room filled with stuffed corpses.

"No, I just got delighted by this wonderful sight. Look at that such beauty", Yuki said sarcastically - maybe too much -, bowing his hand dramatically to show the place. "This time, Tsurumi found a unique guy, I must say."

The bodies were all dressed in ordinary clothes, some even sat at a dining table, while others stood. From their positions it looked like as if they were a group of people talking and interacting with each other.

"Everyone around him has problems just like this taxidermist" Ogata commented, staring at all that room full of dead bodies.

"So do you have problems too? You were one of his men for years," Yuki said with a mocking smile.

Ogata didn't answer that. He just held Yuki's gaze in silence and turned his back to keep investigating the place.

The sniper picked up something strange from the floor near the dining table. It looked like and felt like human skin with a painted edge. Its rectangular shape suggested that it was just like for testing paint, similar to how clothing scraps worked.

"Oh, I see... This could be really bad." Ogata said, showing that patch of painted skin to Yuki who too, understood on the spot. "It seems that this taxidermist has something to do with Tsurumi. It won't be easy to finish him off then."

"Hm... This is worrying...This really puts First Lieutenant Tsurumi in a good position," he said, taking the small piece of skin from Ogata's hand taking a closer look at looked around, but quickly grimaced and frowned irritatedly.

"Shit!" He looked at the stuffed polar bears. Just a moment ago, there had been two. "He has escaped!" He pointed in the direction of the polar bears. Ogata turned towards the door to leave at that moment.

Yuki hears a sound coming from the hallway. "Ogata, don't...!"

But before Ogata could react, a bayonet appears, passing through the trigger guard of his beretta pistol with its blade, sticking its edge into the wall. Ogata' eyes widen in total surprise at what almost made him lose his index finger.

It was Tsukishima Hajime, a sergeant of First Lieutenant Tsurumi's. He had a bunny nose and was his superior's most loyal soldier. He seemed quite determined to hurt, and with no doubt, even kill Ogata.

With a violent kick, Ogata is thrown backwards. Yuki tries to react by advancing against the sergeant, but at the same moment, Tsukishima grabs the beretta that was attached to the bayonet and shoots at them both. They react fast, and only Ogata is hit, as a bullet slightly grazed at his arm.

With agility, Yuki and Ogata retreated to behind the bodies sitting at the dining table.

"Second Lieutenant Hagiwara?! What are you doing here with that damned bastard Ogata?" Tsukishima asked with surprise and disappointment in his voice. "Don't tell me you're after the gold too? That's why you left? I really don't believe the gold could be the reason you left, Second Lieutenant Hagiwara."

"You hurt me with your words, Tsukishima," Ogata shot at the Sergeant.

"What an unpleasant meeting, I dare say, Sergeant." Yuki was thinking of a way to get ahead, but with only a katana it would not be enough against a pistol in a cramped place like that room. "I hoped we could leave without meeting you on our way. I really didn't want our paths to cross, Sergeant."

Tsukishima narrowed his eyes, in silence, very thoughtful. First Lieutenant Tsurumi was right about Hagiwara's feelings at the end… really strong enough to do such a stupidy thing… Tsukishima thought and sighed.

Now that Tsukishima knows where Yuki is, it could be a problem for him because he will certainly tell Tsurumi about it.

"The First Lieutenant got very upset when he found out you left," Tsukishima said. His voice was upset, with disappointment in his tone. "He saw you running away with Hijikata after the bank robbery."

Yuki closed his eyes for a moment, remembering the day he left. He was with Ogata at the hospital after the jaw's surgery. Yuki sat for days beside Ogata's bed, very concerned with him. Yuki didn't leave his side until he decided he had to leave and look for who did that to him. This was the most important reason that made Yuki leave the army that time.

Yuki knew it was about the Gold, the reason Ogata got hurt. Tsurumi sent his men to investigate it in Otaru.

"The barracks' pet cat! I know what you are after, Ogata!" Tsukishima continued, angrily, now behind the wall in the hallway. "You are just waiting for the right moment! When we gain enough strength and the headquarters can no longer deal with us, you'll turn us in and move up in rank! You will turn in your own comrades-in-arms!" He screamed angrily. "You too, Hagiwara-san, the First Lieutenant had his faith in you."

As those words were being said, Yuki turned his head slightly to the side to observe Ogata. He stared at the floor, his visage expressionless, and ran his hand through his hair, smoothing it back. Ogata found Tsukishima's words interesting. He's really here on his own then… But what for? Yuki betraying Tsurumi is something hard to believe. What could possibly be the reason that made Hagiwara betray him and defect? Ogata was very intrigued.

"Your father led the 7th Division, and you want to surpass him…" Tsukishima added, still referring to Ogata. "So you are willing to betray your own comrades.

"Comrades," Ogata chuckled, "Comrades-in-arms..." Ogata said with a sarcastic smile. "First Lieutenant Tsurumi always had a talent for using those damn clichés to get young men to follow him."

"After he was hit by that explosion, Tsurumi totally lost his mind," Yuki added, his voice indifferent. "Perhaps he has always been dangerous…"

The thing is, Yuki really didn't mean those words. He said that only because of the situation. Yes, he thinks Tsurumi changed a lot after the explosion and that his actions sometimes were really dangerous and there was also his manipulative behavior but… Yuki knew him. Tsurumi had a different side no one had noticed yet and could possibly see it either.

When Ogata raised his rifle, Yuki quickly got up from where he was hiding and advanced with great agility towards the door. At that moment the sniper fires and the bullet goes through the wall very close to Tsukishima's head, who runs away soon after, determined to find Edogai first. He knew he was at a disadvantage.

By the time Yuki reaches the hallway, the sergeant is gone. "Damn…"

"He must have gone to look for the taxidermist," Ogata remarked, coming out from his hiding place. "We must find him before Tsukishima does…"

The sniper was surprised when Yuki jumped at him and pulled him back into the room, holding him as if it were a hug. Ogata looked down at Yuki's face, which was looking away in alertness. He now realized how close they actually were, he was so close that he could his face in more detail. Especially the other man's scars.

Harigawa had three pronounced scars on his face. One was horizontal and ran just below his left eye, while the other two were vertical. One ran up his left jaw, a quite very small and, and the other, larger one, ran down from his forehead to his cheek, past his right eye. Ogata thought of how lucky Harigawa must have been when he didn't lose the right eye.

"Aren't we going to go after the soldier who just ran out?" A man's voice said outside.

"No, I'm curious about this house," another man answered.

What? Sugimoto the Immortal? Another mishap…Ogata thought, looking down the hall, his face suddenly looking worried. Yuki concluded that Ogata must know those men and judging from his concern, they shouldn't possibly fight each other.

And, indeed, it was a man worthy of be worried about. Sugimoto the Immortal was not an easy enemy to face and he was obviously not easy to kill. His strong survival instinct made him ruthless in a bodily dispute, besides already having the strength of a bear. The last time Ogata fought him, he had his jaw and arm broken, and quite literally almost freezed to death. Because of this incident, he had the two symmetrical scars on his cheeks, as a result of the surgery that was done to reconstruct the broken jaw bones.

Ogata looked at Yuki and noticed that he was being stared at. Yuki let go of him, just now realizing the position they had been in because of him. For a mere instant, the sniper noticed something in the other man and narrowed his eyes at the interesting discovery.

He felt something that he wasn't supposed to feel when a man hugs another man. Ogata wasn't sure about it, but it was such an intriguing thing he actually felt silly if it was really that he felt when Yuki hugged him. If so, then Yuki fooled of the entire Imperial Japanese army this whole time. Even him.

Sounds of approaching footsteps alerted them. A shaven-headed man with sideburns and a goatee entered and looked horrified at the stuffed corpses. It was too late for him when he felt the coldness of the barrel of Ogata's rifle on his temple. Yuki appeared on the other side, staring at the newcomer.

"You are Shiraishi Yoshitake, right?" Yuki asked in a low voice. "We heard about you from Hijikata Toshizou…"

"Be careful, Shiraishi!" Sugimoto warned his companion from the other room, where a dead soldier's corpse laid. Ogata had killed that man, Maeyama, from a distance earlier. "There is a dead soldier, so maybe there is still someone inside the house!"

Sugimoto was already going to look for his companion when Shiraishi returned, visibly terrified. The King of Escapes was so nervous he sweat profusely. He had in his hands the scraps of fur that Yuki and Ogata found earlier and a Tsurumi-like doll that Edogai had made.

"S-see! First Lieutenant Tsurumi was probably making fake furs in this house!" Shiraishi said visibly shaken. "That soldier who just left should be fighting over it. We'd better go after him right now!"

"Come on, Shiraishi! If he has the skins, we have to run. He couldn't have gone far," Sugimoto said.

Yuki and Ogata waited until it was clear and safe to leave. The sniper let out a long sigh, relieved for the moment.

"Deducing from the face you made earlier, you must know the other man," It wasn't a question. Ogata smiled at that question disguised as a statement.

"Yes, that was Sugimoto the Immortal," Ogata explained.

"Oh, I think I remember hearing about him," Yuki tried to remember. So was Sugimoto who tried to kill Ogata then… He thought angrily. "Sugimoto, the soldier from the 1st Division who survived by killing many Russians as if he were a demon. If what I've heard is true, you're right to be concerned, but I don't have to…" Ogata saw the fierce smile that appeared on Yuki's lips. "Sugimoto would be a real match of a fight for me… Oh, you're bleeding." Yuki pointed at the wound on his arm.

Yuki's steps were so light and quick that Ogata didn't notice when Yuki was already beside him, checking the wound. Yuki took from his pocket his handkerchief and pressed it on the wound to aid it and stop the bleeding.

Ogata stared at Yuki while he took care of his wound, trying to distinguish the thing in Yuki's face that he just now realized hadn't been there before. Yuki cared about him enough to take care of his wound, which was something not many people have done in his life, if any. His black eyes followed every move Yuki made. The quick yet careful movement of his hands and how Yuki's eyes looked at his arm ever so focused on what he was doing that Ogata didn't feel the pain anymore.

"Done!" Yuki said as soon as he finished the aid. "Well, we need to go," he said, stepping out of the room.