XXXVI
Manga: Lesson 77-80
Anime: Episode 51-52
"PLEASE forgive me."
Kusahara and the others walked through the large hallways of the enormous company building as they listened to the tale of the woman that they saved.
After Kusahara had a short one to one fight against Nizou the butcher with his teal hilted katana, he wordlessly helped the others climb up the roof and tricked the enemy into thinking that they had run off to their deaths after slipping and falling. However, they safely landed on the extended roof of the building. There, they listened to the story that woman had to say to explain what was happening. It was also then that they were informed that Hashida's son – and the father of the child that is with Gintoki and Shizuku – also had teal hair and dead fish eyes. That explains the baby's appearance.
Kusahara had his own theories about the baby and admittedly, he is about seventy percent correct with his theory.
"I feel sorry about what I did." The woman continued as they walked. "I got you guys involved in this for my own selfish reasons."
"Ofusa-chan, you're a young woman whose had a tough life, huh?" Hasegawa asked, probably in attempt to sympathize with the woman.
"But don't worry." Kusahara added without looking back as he continued to walk. "You'll get through it, eventually."
"Really, thank you." Ofusa, the woman, said to the tall male. "I really didn't want to drag you into this."
"It's nothing." Kusahara smiled as he looked over his shoulder to meet the woman's eyes. "I'm a police officer, so this is my everyday job. Don't worry about it. If I had kept quiet, I'd be butchered, myself and I tell, you the girl who will strangle me to death will actually do it."
"Will Shizuku-chan do that, though?" Hasegawa asked with a tilt of his head. "She doesn't seem like that type of girl. She seems sweet and nice."
"Trust me." Kusahara replied with a shuddering sigh as he looked forwards, already feeling the phantom tip of a blade at the back of his head. "She will definitely do it." He said as he gave another sigh.
"But, Kusahara-san, I've been meaning to ask, where did you get your katana from?" Shinpachi asked as he walked behind the tall man leading the group. "I thought you left it with your uniform back at Otose-san's bar?"
"I never leave my katana behind." The teal haired male replied without looking back. "But I do suppose it's right for you to question its appearance because we really haven't explained it, right?"
"Right." Shinpachi replied. "What exactly is that blade of yours?"
"It's a bit complicated." Kusahara hummed for a while, thinking of ways to explain. He has only explained the matter when Shizuku is there and he always had a hard time explaining it accurately because as he said, it's a bit complicated.
After thinking about what to say for a while, he just settled for the explanation that he told to Shizuku when he first met her.
"To put it simply, this is me; it's literally my soul."
He said as he gestured to the blade strapped on his waist.
"I can materialize and dematerialize it at will, see?"
With one wave of a hand over the hilt of his katana, the whole thing – including the dark blue scabbard – disappeared with a small teal flame. Another wave of a hand over the same area and another flash of teal flames a second later, Kusahara was already holding the katana by the scabbard.
He has done the same thing a million times before, but he did so a lot lesser when he entered the Shinsengumi.
Of course, the Captains and the Chief and Vice-Chief knows that he can make his katana disappear because Shizuku explained it to them. They haven't told the lower officers about anything aside from the fact that Kusahara is tied to Shizuku and they plan to let it stay that way. Because they know little to nothing, until now, the officers still ask where he gets his blade when he runs off in a chase, clearly without any weapons with him to make himself faster, only to pull a blade out of nowhere and strike the suspect who was caught off guard.
Despite his appearance, Kusahara is not entirely human. That much, people know. His consciousness and his soul are separate. Kusahara's soul is bound to Shizuku's by the katana that he holds and she can summon the blade at will when Kusahara's in her range. His body is only a materialization of his consciousness. When Shizuku calls him, both his soul and consciousness will come to her, but with Kusahara alone, he can materialize and dematerialize his soul (his blade) at will. It's fairly easy to understand, in all reality, but because Kusahara refuses to disclose any further information even to Shizuku, it becomes a little complicated after that.
Because once people realize that if they break the blade of Kusahara's katana, he, too, will die.
Luckily, the sharpness and strength of his bladed depends on his will and strength to live and fight, that's why his blade is quite different from all the other normal blades out there. It all depends on him and given that he still has someone he needs to watch over, it won't be easy to kill him.
"Wow!" Hasegawa, Ofusa, Shinpachi and Kagura gaped at the same time after Kusahara's small display of his ability and his small explanation. "That's so cool!"
"It's nothing." the teal haired male chuckled as he strapped the blade on his waist with the cord. "If Shizuku could materialize my blade with one call of my name, I can do it with one wave. Though, we can't do it at the same time because my katana is literally me and there's only one me. I wish there could be two, though." He said as he looked over his shoulder again with a small laugh.
"I would appreciate if you don't tell this to anyone, okay?" he smiled at Ofusa, who gave a sharp nod, indicating that she would keep her mouth shut about the topic. Kusahara knows that he doesn't need to warn Hasegawa and the two teens with him because they already knew that everything about his abilities and Shizuku is strictly confidential. Of course, Shizuku told them to keep quiet.
"Let's find your son so everything will end quickly." Kusahara said after a while. "I'd rather get this over with without anything else happening. It'll lengthen my report on it later and I don't like paperwork, contrary to popular belief." He sighed.
"It sounds like that bastard Kahei is a real lowlife, doesn't he?" Hasegawa asked just as they turned into a corner.
"That woman is the lowlife!"
The door at the end of the hallway behind them suddenly opened, prompting Kusahara to move towards the back of the group to stand in between the hoard of Joui Roushi and Hashida, who appeared through the door.
"That wench killed my only son." The head of the company yelled with a scowl as he and the others walked forwards. "If it weren't for her, my company would be secure."
Kusahara ushered the Kagura and the others to stand behind him as he wordlessly stepped forwards, his hand subtle on the hilt of his katana for easy access when things get messy.
"I planned for Kantaro to become my heir and then my life's work would've been complete." Hashida scowled again. "But that vulgar, lowborn woman ruined everything." By that time, a hoard of thirty or more men crowded behind the man.
"Do you have any idea what I endured for the sake of this company? I groveled in the mud, I hobnobbed with human scum, I even betrayed my own conscience. Can you understand my feelings?!"
Kusahara suddenly scoffed, cutting the air with his sudden laugh and slightly startling the four people behind him for his uncharacteristic display.
"Man, you people at the top really are the same, aren't you?" He chuckled as he looked directly into Hashida's eyes. "Heads of companies, Heads of powerful clans, Heads of families. I hate those things. You all work the same and it's kind of annoying." He said as he gave a low sigh.
"Who are you to criticize how I work?!" Hashiday yelled lowly.
"Well, I'm a nobody, but I that doesn't mean I don't have a say it all the fucking pointless shit that you try so hard to preserve just to keep your title." Kusahara replied with a calm voice but with obvious rage in his olive eyes. "You people make plans and carry them out, groom the heir, and when things start to go south, you blame it on whatever made your puppet falter. You don't even consider what the heir feels and you have the audacity to talk about your feelings? What a joke. You're making me lose my hair with how frustrating you people are."
"You speak like you've been in the same situation." Hashida suddenly growled. "But you are merely samurai for the Bakufu. What would a mere, uneducated, samurai pleb like you know about those things?!"
Kusahara chuckled again as he ran a hand through his teal hair.
"Let's just say that I've met someone like you before and I don't fucking like him. He's much worse than you, just so you know. Honestly, I'm surprised that I didn't rebel and slash his throat on the night that I met him. Well, kudos to me for having an iron wall around my self-restraint, I guess. On another note, I don't think I wouldn't be able to hold myself have if I met him again."
Hashida scoffed loudly. "It seems that you aren't just a simple samurai, huh?"
Kusahara smirked widely, his pupils narrowing as his eyes widened slightly.
"Bold of you to assume that I was ever normal."
"No matter." Hashidaya gave a chuckled before a look of mania covered his face. "You will go down with the others. Go!"
The hoard of Joui Rhoushi suddenly pulled all of their blades out from their scabbards and dashed forwards. It didn't take long for the people behind Kusahara to take cover behind the tall man who stayed still in his spot, looking directly at Hashida's eyes.
The smirk on the teal haired male's face grew wider.
Suddenly, the hoard of thirty or more samurai blasted out of the way with a cloud of smoke, all men in the hoard suddenly laid unconscious on the floor.
"Excuse me, is this the President's office?"
Kusahara smiled and slightly sagged when he heard the all too familiar voice of the girl that he has been accompanying for the past seven years.
"So, this is what...." A male voice called from a few feet away. "We kind of need to see you, right?"
"Took you long enough, Shizuku." Kusahara said from behind the girl holding a katana in her hand. "I felt you enter the building almost ten minutes ago."
"Yeah, well, it's a long story." Shizuku replied without looking up at the taller male. "Don't ask about the apples in Gin-san's hands, by the way."
Kusahara sighed at the sight of red apples on the older male's hand.
"I never was going to ask, anyways."
"What?!" Hashida suddenly yelled from the other end of the hallway. "Bastards! Who the hell are you people?!"
"Huh?" Gintoki blinked as he walked towards Hashida with his bokuto in his hand. "Who are we?"
"We're babysitters."
"Kanshichirou!" Ofusa called by that time, they all knew that she called the baby's name. The same baby that Gintoki was carrying on his back.
"Nori-san, please explain in thirty words or less." Shizuku suddenly called as she, too walked forwards to stand beside Gintoki.
Kusahara sighed and opened his mouth.
"That old man is try to steal the kid. His son knocked up the kid's mother. And now, the old man's knocking her down. He wouldn't accept the tyke while his son was alive, but now that his son's dead, he wants the kid to become his heir."
Shizuku hummed. "We came here to return the child, but I guess we'll have to change plans, huh?"
"This is nonsense!" Hashida yelled with a growl. "He's my grandson. He's the heir to the Hashidaya. Hand him over."
Everyone watched as Shizuku wordlessly untied the baby from Gintoki's back and gave him to the mother.
"Sorry, I don't think a baby should be separated from their mother." The girl said with a nonchalant stare at Hashida.
"Do you think you can outrun us?" the old man asked with a scowl. "We've got an ace up our sleeve."
The door behind the group suddenly crashed open, revealing Nizou on the other side, drawing his katana back into its scabbard.
"Although he's blind, he's master of Iai. He's also a master assassin who can kill anyone with one unstoppable blow."
"Nizou the butcher, huh?" Shizuku muttered without looking behind her. "Why didn't you say anything from the start, Nori-san? Do you want me to lose an arm?"
"To be honest, I almost forgot that he's still here." Kusahara muttered back, also without looking at the newcomer. "And you won't lose an arm. He's quite.... Let's say... weaker than I anticipated."
"His name is Okada Nizou. Otherwise known as Nizou the butcher. You have no id-,"
Hashida's words were abruptly cut off when he saw the two teal haired people's expressions.
Shizuku sighed heavily.
Kusahara smirked widely.
"Sorry, but your ace is no match for our Queen."
Gintoki doesn't really know what to think when he saw the next sequence of events that happened right before his eyes.
One second, Shizuku and Kusahara was standing next to him.
The next, they were colliding their blades against the newcomer's own blade.
It happened so fast that he, the stable and practically immovable Gintoki, wavered and stopped dead in his tracks.
He watched as Shizuku and Kusahara both jumped back after landing an initial hit at the newcomer's – Nizou? – blade. All of a sudden, there was a deafening sound of metal against metal as Shizuku kicked herself off of the floor and towards Nizou, her blade cutting the air before she jumped back again and went back beside Gintoki, who was gaping at the sight of his best friend fighting.
"He got me." Shizuku muttered under her breath as she wiped her cheek.
The sight of blood flowing down from a large gash on the side of Shizuku's white face was enough for Gintoki to snap out from his trance.
"Stop fighting." He scolded – more like ordered – as he placed a hand on top of his best friend's shoulder and held on tightly, silently sending her a message that he doesn't want her fighting and getting hurt.
"Really, Gin-san, I appreciate the thought." Shizuku softly chuckled as she continued to look forwards.
"But I'm fine."
Gintoki's eyes went forwards and glanced at the man that was standing in front of the group.
Nizou also had the same cut on his cheek, but his wound seemed to be a lot longer than Shizuku's and it was bleeding out a lot more as a look of pain contorted his face.
"What a skilled little girl." Nizou gave a chuckle as he placed a hand over his wound on the left side of his face.
"To be honest, I don't know who's stronger, her or the other man named Kusahara."
"If I was a prideful bastard, I would have lashed out and tried to kill you right here and now, but I totally agree with you, so I'm not going to do that. We also don't know who's stronger between us and believe me, we tried fighting a few times before." Kusahara gave a shrug as he stepped in front of Shizuku and shielded her from upcoming attacks as the younger girl tried to get her bearings back together after the blow that she received.
"We never won against each other, though, just saying. But I'm pretty sure there's one person here who's stronger than the two of us and I have to tell you, he's not happy that you hurt Shizuku."
Gintoki clenched his fist around his bokuto.
Kusahara's right.
No one hurts his best friend and gets away with it.
Nizou gave a chuckle as he felt pain erupt from the left side of his face.
The girl is good. Had she stepped a little more forward, Nizou would've completely gotten his head chopped off by the girl's blade.
"So similar." He muttered to himself as he concentrated on his surroundings to get an advantage because he knows that he is at the lower end of success at the moment.
He needed to change that.
Realizing that the baby from earlier is unprotected because the fighters of the group are condensed in one area, Nizou took the opportunity to dash forwards to take the baby. But on the way there, someone had flung a blade at him – he doesn't know who, exactly – but he pulled his blade out and hit the same person, he took the baby, and he went towards where Hashida was waiting.
Another wave of pain erupted from the same spot on the left side of his face, indicating that he was hit again.
"You should've held on tighter to your baby." He taunted, despite his wound. "Eh, Okaa-san?"
"Kanshichirou!" emotion was evident on the mother's scream of her baby's name.
Nizou only gave a chuckle.
"Good job, Nizou." Hashida praised when the man gave the baby to him. "That was quick and fearless! I'll just sit back and enjoy the show."
"I'm sorry, Danna." Nizou replied with a small pained smile on his face. "It seems that I won't be able to put these guys away as easily as I thought. Sorry, but you'd better take the child and go." He suddenly smirked.
"Especially the girl. I want to get to know her more. There are a lot of things that I want to ask before I finish them all off."
Hashida immediately dashed off to who knows where.
There was a chuckle that erupted in the air and it made Nizou stand on edge at how menacing it sounded. Whether Kusahara intended his voice to sound like how it did, Nizou doesn't know.
He's not sure if he wants to find out.
If tall newcomer is a beast and the girl is a whole other being on a whole other level, Kusahara is an unknown for Nizou.
He doesn't know which of the three terrified him even more.
"You know, Nizou, I would say that I can be the one who will end your life right now." Kusahara's voice suddenly entered his hearing as he stood at his spot.
"But I don't think that I can beat Gintoki-san in a fight."
"Shinpachi, Kagura, we'll be fine." Nizou heard the newcomer's voice – Gintoki? – say. "You go after the kid and the old man."
"But!" Nizou heard Shinpachi yell.
"Just go!" Gintoki replied lowly.
"I promise to meet you later."
A second later, Nizou felt people pass by him and by the sounds of it, five people passed.
That must mean that Gintoki and another person was left with Nizou.
"Are you sure?" the man asked with a deep frown on his face. "A samurai shouldn't make promises he can't keep." He taunted.
"No sweat." Gintoki replied. "I'm more dependable than I look. I'm the type of guy who arrives for a date thirty minutes early."
Nizou gave a chuckle. "I'm assuming that it's Kusahara who's left with you, then?"
"Wow, good for you. Do you want a cookie?" Kusahara's voice filled Nizou's hearing, confirming his thoughts.
"That's too bad." The grey haired male replied. "I wanted to fight with the girl."
"Oh, she'll kick your ass and pull your guts out from your hole." Gintoki commented. "Believe me, she'll actually do it."
"Have you ever seen what comes out of a man the moment he dies?" Nizou asked as he started to walk towards the two males. "I wonder if it's his soul. It's released at the same time I kill a person. And it's such a beautiful color. So I kept chasing it, and people started calling me the butcher."
He suddenly cocked his head up, feeling adrenaline rush through his veins as he smirked.
"So, what color is your soul, Gintoki-san, Kusahara-san?"
"The color of either of their souls are nowhere near the color of yours."
A sudden pressure came from behind Nizou as he heard the strong girl's voice from behind him, sending chills down his spine as he felt a blade come out from nowhere. He was quick to block, but he heard the unmistakable sound of iron breaking and before he knew it, he was cut across the chest.
"H – How?!" he managed to ask as he jumped back. "I thought that you left with the others!"
"I never did." Shizuku's voice filled his hearing. "It was Nori-san who passed by you and he stayed behind before the doors closed. I'm surprised that you haven't felt him."
"How...." Nizou muttered. Being able to feel someone is his pride. There was simply no way that he wouldn't be able to feel someone's presence with him.
Unless he disappeared and reappeared in thin air.
"You talk as if you can really see the color of someone's soul." Shizuku talked once again, this time, her voice low and sounding like she was never a nice person that would spare Nizou's life when she was given the opportunity.
The mere sound of her voice sent chills down Nizou's spine once again.
He doesn't even notice the pain from his cut anymore.
"Forgive me for saying this, but someone without eyesight like you has no right to say that you can see the color of someone's soul. There's simply no way for that to happen."
Nizou chuckled as he kneeled on the ground with one knee. "Oh? So you're saying that you, too, can see?" he asked in a slight taunt.
"The colors of a soul differ for everyone. Sometimes, it changes, sometimes, it doesn't. Do you want me to tell you what's yours?"
"Do enlighten me, little girl."
"It's funny, because it's the color of shit. I'm not even lying."
Nizou suddenly felt three bodies around him with overwhelming presences as they all raised their arms above them in unison, as if getting into a stance to swing down a blade. The man in the middle didn't even have that much time to think of an escape option as he felt his heart pumping so fast that he was afraid that his heart would burst out from its case.
He abruptly heard someone's voice whisper in his ear.
"As someone who had her soul ripped away from her body, making her see souls, touch them, rip them away and pull them back, hearing someone like you talk about seeing the color of someone's soul is just insulting."
Before Nizou knew it, a sharp pain erupted from the back of his head and his face was planted on the concrete flooring below him, making the surface crack and break his face.
He doesn't know what happened next.
All he knows is that he was hit on the head with a bokuto and two sheathed swords.
Standing at the highest peak of the Hashidaya corporation, Shizuku sighed with a smile on her face as she watched the exchange of soft words between daughter-in-law and father-in-law.
"I guess no one can beat a mother. It's like 'Mothers are strong,' huh?"
"Hasegawa-san, why are you wearing a diaper."
"Don't look at it, Shizuku-chan."
"Well, that went well." Shizuku sighed as she stood by Gintoki.
"It's scary to watch you fight, Shizuku." The white haired male replied as he looked down at the younger girl. "Seriously, stop lying and tell me, what did you do these seven years that I didn't see you?"
"Travelled." The teal haired girl shrugged with a sheepish smile on her face. "You pass by a few interesting people along the way. They would want to fight you when they realize that the person you're with is quite strong."
"Are you sure that you're alright?" The older asked with a small frown on his face.
"Yep!" Shizuku chuckled before they heard the familiar sounds of police sirens in the air. By that time, the family that was at the center of the commotion had walked towards where the group was standing.
"The police?!" Ofusa slightly shrieked. "They're not going to take him away, right?!"
"Don't worry." Kusahara's voice filled the air as he walked towards the others from his position at the far back of the roof that they were standing on. "I just called them for a clean-up. If you explain everything, they'll think of lesser punishments for you. To be blunt, with your power, I doubt that you're not going to get anything more than a measly payment."
"Are you an officer?" Hashida asked as he carried his grandson in his arms.
"Oh, yeah. As part of the protocol, I have to introduce myself." Kusahara sheepishly rubbed the back of his head before pulling out his badge from inside his kimono. "Kusahara Noriyasu, Second Division Captain of the Shinsengumi."
"A Captain, huh?" Hashida muttered as he looked at the brightly shining badge that was presented to him. His eyes suddenly looked at Shizuku.
"I'm assuming that you're the girl that they call Shizuku?" he asked with a slight frown on his face.
"Yeah." The girl answered as he gave a small nod, a little confused why the old man was slightly frowning at him.
Hashida suddenly scowled.
"Be even more vigilant starting today. Your names are spreading throughout the underground. I don't know what they want, but you two are being closely watched by a number of Joui factions. I'd be careful if I were you."
Before either Shizuku or Kusahara could answer, the door from the back flung open and a number of uniformed Shinsengumi officers came through, immediately fussing over how Shizuku and Kusahra got hurt. Hijikata and Kondou were among the officers who came and they immediately ordered an ambulance for the two of them, including one for Gintoki, who was also hurt. Everyone was escorted out as an investigation was started almost immediately – luckily, the officers weren't planning to kill Gintoki anymore.
No one but the two teal haired people heard what Hashida said.
Regardless if the trusted the old man or not, they immediately knew that they are in deep trouble.
Deeper trouble than they had originally thought they could handle.
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