~Day Two: Mid-Morning~
[written in calligraphic style Japanese, word order switched to keep people from reading it. Written on a random page]
I asked my nurse to retrieve my journal so I might record the poems written on the board, but that was a lie. I needed to write this before I became distracted.
I have confirmed it. The other Shinsengumi members are not here. I posted a bulletin today (anonymously) asking for poetry, but so far no one has called me on it and no poems I recognized have been posted. I had hoped that you were here and we had just missed each other somehow, but it seems that we are still separated by the barrier of time. I wonder how long has passed since I left Mibu. Is the war already over? Have you already fallen with the others? I have vital information for you and when I get the chance, I must send this:
Hijikata-san,
Toba Fushimi is where it all ends for us - the combined forces of Tosa-Satsuma-Choushu overwhelm us and many die. Afterward, the Shinsengumi fall and the revolutionaries destroy the Bakufu. We must route Tosa from joining with Satsuma and Choushu. Prevent Sakamoto from leaving Kyoto. Cut him down where he stands.
-Okita
When that chance will come, however, is another matter. Of all the things that came out of my bulletin today, this is perhaps the one I will record for now.
Ivy and maple
Cover the outer walls, but
It's not what I thought -
There are no ascetics here
To carry my messages.
I asked my nurse to retrieve my journal so I might record the poems written on the board, but that was a lie. I needed to write this before I became distracted.
I have confirmed it. The other Shinsengumi members are not here. I posted a bulletin today (anonymously) asking for poetry, but so far no one has called me on it and no poems I recognized have been posted. I had hoped that you were here and we had just missed each other somehow, but it seems that we are still separated by the barrier of time. I wonder how long has passed since I left Mibu. Is the war already over? Have you already fallen with the others? I have vital information for you and when I get the chance, I must send this:
Hijikata-san,
Toba Fushimi is where it all ends for us - the combined forces of Tosa-Satsuma-Choushu overwhelm us and many die. Afterward, the Shinsengumi fall and the revolutionaries destroy the Bakufu. We must route Tosa from joining with Satsuma and Choushu. Prevent Sakamoto from leaving Kyoto. Cut him down where he stands.
-Okita
When that chance will come, however, is another matter. Of all the things that came out of my bulletin today, this is perhaps the one I will record for now.
Ivy and maple
Cover the outer walls, but
It's not what I thought -
There are no ascetics here
To carry my messages.