Gintama: It Is Love!

To You (Hijikata Toshiro)

The slow ticking of the clock, the silence in the large room. Everything seemed dull in (Y/N)'s eyes as she sat on the couch, staring blankly into the time.

With each and every passing second, her anxiety grew more and more. How many times had she been waiting in vain just like tonight? He never came home early, not once.

The low click of the door made her stand upright, a small smile appearing on her face as she grew hopeful that he had arrived.

"..I'm home."

"Welcome home!!" (Y/N) greets, running to the door to greet her husband who had just gotten home from work. "Have you eaten yet? It's late, so I cooke—"

"Yeah. I've eaten already." Hijikata coldly says, letting her take off his coat. (Y/N) paused a bit and hesitated at his answer, but then she forced a smile.

"I-I see. Would you like a bath then?" She asked again while Hijikata let out a long sigh. "Listen, I'm just tired so I'll be heading off to sleep right away."

"....Alright." (Y/N) looked down and tried to fight back the sadness filling her chest.

"You're not gonna sleep yet?" Hijikata asked when he noticed that she didn't follow him immediately.

"No, I uh....I have to take care of a few things and take out the trash..." (Y/N) smiled and put his coat away. Hijikata looked at her for a while and raised his eyebrow, but in the end he didn't say anything and went on to their bedroom without another word.

(Y/N) sighs softly, as she walked to the kitchen and threw the food she cooked into the trash. Her eyes looking at the food emptily with a hint of sadness.

"How....many times have I thrown out food like this?" (Y/N) frowns as she looked up, trying to hold back her tears as she takes the trash bag in hand.

"Stop it...." (Y/N) warned herself as she walked out of their house to go to the nearest dumpster. "Don't....think of things that will ruin your marriage!!" (Y/N) yells as she throws the trash into the dumpster with a small fit of rage.

"Ahahahaha! Hahahahah!"

(Y/N) paused, did she just hear someone laugh? While she was crying did someone just.....laugh? At her?

"Hey!! Sorry to ask of 'ya so late at night but, can 'ya help me out?" A cheery voice sounded from the side of the dumpster, near the alleyway.

"What?.....Did a dumpster just speak?" (Y/N) sighs in disbelief. "This is bad, I'm hallucinating. I better go sleep—"

"Ahahahah! Hahahah! I'm no dumpster!!!"

"....Seriously!?" (Y/N) jumped back in fear and squinted her eyes. Where had this unusually cheery voice been coming from since earlier?

"Over here! Over here!!"

Looking down, squinting her eyes even more because it was night and there was barely any light there. She finally saw a small....black bag and a head...poking out from it?

"KYAAAA!!!"

"No, no!! Ahahahah! Don't be scared, I won't do anything to 'ya! So, could 'ya please open the bag for me?" Sakamoto grins, seemingly happy despite the state he was in.

"Oh! Oh, you're alive. I thought it was a severed head!! Wait— Tatsuma!!!" (Y/N) sighs in relief as she goes nearer and unzips the bag that Sakamoto was stuck in. She instantly recognized the face of her old friend—

"Ahahahahah! Hahahaha! So it was you, (Y/N)!! Thank you!! I'd been like that for 3 days already! Ahahahaha! Hahahahah!"

"How...did you even end up in that situation in the first place?" (Y/N) dead panned as she and Sakamoto sat on a bench near the park.