In the dead of night at the barracks, the shoji of you's room slides quietly open, breaking the silence as everyone sleeps. Turning around, you sees Yamazaki Susumu holding his breath in the darkness beyond the veranda. His face, lit by the moonlight, is pale, and the fingers pressing his left shoulder through his kimono sleeve tremble faintly.

Leaning slightly as if protecting the wound hidden in his side, Yamazaki continues in a low voice, still calm.