XLIII
Manga: Lesson 98
Anime: Episodes 62
HIJIKATA sighed heavily, accepting that he was getting too old for shit like this.
In front of him were stacks upon stacks of papers regarding the incident that happened only a few days ago. He's got them organized on the nature of what happened, how it happened and who were involved with what happened. Hijikata was never the type to be so organized like that – it was Kusahara and Yamazaki who were, though, but seeing as both of them were currently not in the station, it landed on Hijikata's hands to organize shit.
Normally, he doesn't really mind all the paperwork as he knew from the start that it was all part of the job when he got it. By that point, only four years into the job, he was already used to all the paperwork and the processes that he needed to go through – although he still gets annoyed at the sight of the paper stacks on his desk, sometimes.
With an exasperated sigh, he looked around, "What the hell is happening?"
Honestly, he's not really sure.
While he's not really one of the smartest people around, he knows how to piece things together really well.
He's seen a lot of things already, he's been to a lot of places where a massacre happened, he's been with people who died at the end of a mission and he's already numb to all of those things – either that or he's just choosing to ignore them all together.
Yet, despite all of those, Hijikata still found himself scrambling for information through his head at contents of the stacks of papers in front of him.
From everything that he's read so far, he only got three things certain, and that's the presence of the Kiheitai members on the ship that took off from Edo Bay, Katsura's faction fighting them off, and the arrival of the Harusame space pirates in the conflict. Everything else was a blur and Hijikata's having a hard time understanding the course of action throughout the whole event and who else were involved.
There were reports of a man with white hair arriving at the scene, accompanied by two young teens, one boy and one girl. It didn't take a genius to know who those three were. Hijikata's had had enough being with those three and they've been together long enough to know that it was them who came to the center of the conflict on their own – seriously, does the Yorozuya even have friends?
Whether or not they were there because they were tied to the three groups who were at the center of it all, Hijikata doesn't know, but he can't rule out them being accomplices to either three. That's one thing that's been going on inside Hijikata's brain lately.
Another thing is something that he absolutely cannot dismiss, but knows that it is impossible.
A bunch of other reports have stated seeing a tall man with teal hair holding two katanas on his waist. On all accounts, witnesses stated that the teal haired man was with Katsura the whole time, even talking alone with him and Takasugi at one point. The witnesses stated that he was very skilled with almost God-like speed and reflexes in his movements. Now, there's only one person that Hijikata knows who fits all the descriptions that he was given through all of the reports.
But there was no way that it was Kusahara who was there up in the fight because one, he's a proud officer, Hijikata knows that – he'd rather have tea with Okita than to fight side-by-side with a Joui Roushi – and two, Kusahara was injured and in critical condition only the night before the incident over Edo Bay, barely making it out of intensive care when morning came. Added to the fact that Hijikata strategically placed officers around the younger male's room and the hospital, there was no way he slipped out unnoticed. At least, not with the level of injury that he obtained. Had it been Hijikata in that state, he'd even consider it a miracle that he even regained consciousness mere hours after his surgery. Added to that, Shizuku was with him the whole time. None of the officers have reported that they've gone missing, none have reported any anomaly, and none have reported them trying to escape from the hospital.
Even someone as questionable as Kusahara and Shizuku wouldn't be able to be at two places at once, right?
Again, adding to the lineup of (headache-inducing) things, when the incident happened, when Hijikata ordered Okita and Shizuku to go back to the hospital after what they have witnessed happen over the bay, they have reported back – with picture proof – that Kusahara was still there, lying on his hospital bed with his IV tube still stuck on the crook of his elbow. He was raising a peace sign up while looking at the camera, similarly posed like both Shizuku and Okita – both of which were also in the frame. With that alone, Hijikata easily concluded that Kusahara was there the whole time and never left.
The only logical explanation that Hijikata could come up with is that the man in the ships with Katsura was different from Kusahara, even though the descriptions match him down to the last teal hair on his head.
Either that.... Or something was going on that Hijikata didn't know.
He doesn't want to doubt any of his officers – even Okita, oddly enough – but if they really did let Kusahara slip past Hijikata's barriers, something's going on.
Ruffling his hair in frustration, Hijikata sighed heavily, looking out of his office room and seeing the moon up in the dark veil over the station. It was already around ten in the evening, he could tell, even though he hasn't seen a clock in hours. He really should start asking Kusahara some things that he's been dying to know. After all, it was the younger who told him that it was alright to ask, but he doesn't guarantee that he'll answer everything. Shizuku said so, as well.
Really, those two are still a mystery that Hijikata has been dying to uncover since the day that he laid eyes on the two of them together, back when Kusahara came to the station for his trial admissions. That was already a few months ago, at least. Kusahara's mysterious strength and skill in swordsmanship, Shizuku's knowledge and connection to things that normal people don't have, the two's ironically – but only occasional – sinister frivolity, and their otherworldly abilities, Hijikata understands none of them. There's still a lot more that Hijikata wanted to know; who they really are, where they really come from, what's with Shizuku's connection to Gintoki, and even something as simple as Shizuku's real last name. Maybe he'll get lucky if he asked the two on a good day, or maybe things will backfire on him, Hijikata doesn't know.
He just wanted to know what and who those two really are and he'll finally be at peace with his thoughts.
The question is how he was going to do that. He has no files on them. He's got a sinking suspicion that the lack of material has something to do with Matsudaira. It's not really uncommon for police to hide things but to hide something about someone who was clearly with Hijikata and the others on a literal daily basis is certainly suspicious. Maybe Hijikata just needs to push. But maybe not now.
Again, Hijikata sighed as he looked out.
"I wonder how Yamazaki's doing with his investigation?" he muttered to himself. While the older was investigating on the Yorozuya, Hijikata was on a mission to go through all his paperwork and make his way through decoding the mystery surrounding that teal haired swordsman that fought back-to-back with Katsura. If his calculations were right, Yamazaki would come back tomorrow morning and half of the paperwork would be done in an instant.
Hijikata looked back at his desk and picked up his brush to start writing again.
"I haven't seen Sougo anywhere today. I wonder where he's gone to this time?"
"Nori-san, you really shouldn't move around too much."
"Yeah, I would listen to her if I were you."
"Same goes for you, Gin-san. Don't pretend you that that statement wasn't for you too."
Shizuku sighed when Gintoki pretended not to hear her. He simply moved to his side, away from where Shizuku was kneeling on the tatami mat. Shizuku had half the mind to smack him on the head but just with his injuries, she knew that she was going hate herself for hurting him even more. Behind the girl, Kusahara laid under his futon, looking too exhausted to move out of his futon, but not enough to hinder his head movement.
"You can still move with those injuries?" Kusahara asked, his question obviously directed to Gintoki, who still faced away from them.
"And you can't?" Gintoki asked back, looking over his shoulder, his face looking a little goofy, as if he was mocking the younger but was still being playful with him. "You have no idea how much damage I took from Nizou."
"In my defense Gintoki-san, the wounds I got from Shizuku are far worse than the ones I acquired during the Kiheitai raid." Kusahara replied, smirking.
By that point, Shizuku already stood up and carried the box of used and bloodied bandages that was beside her. She had just finished dressing and changing the bandages of the two idiots' wounds and she really didn't have the patience (or mood) to deal with their bickering at the moment. She could already feel the headache coming and the signs alone are threatening to destroy her (already rotten) mood.
"I'll be in the living room if you need me, okay?" she said to the two, who paused from their bickering to look at her.
"Hey, don't leave me with this guy." Kusahara called, actually sounding like he didn't want to be in the same room as Gintoki. Though, Shizuku heard only mild seriousness in his voice.
"Move me to another room, Shizuku." Gintoki called right after the younger.
Shizuku huffed. "Even if I want to move you, Gin-san, I don't have the strength to." She said as she started to move towards the door. "I'll leave the doors open so you can call out at any time. Try not to cause any more noise than you already are. Headaches are contagious, just like stupidity."
Then, she walked away, ignoring the calls from the two males behind her.
It has been two days since the issue with the Benizakura and after spending only a day in the hospital, both Gintoki and Kusahara were permitted to recuperate at home. Normally, when things happen to Kusahara and Shizuku, they would be under supervision of the Shinsengumi and the military – upon Matsudaira's orders because of obvious reasons. But because Shizuku asked the Chief-of-police very nicely to send them home, it was granted. But of course, since no one will take care of Gintoki in the Yorozuya office, he came home along with them. Hence, why they're both in the same room in the Shimura household. But maybe going home together was a bad idea. Even from far away, the bickering from the room that occupied the two was still heard.
Normally, Shizuku would be fine with this. After all, she has served as a medic in the war and she was only eight then. Surely, she could handle things a lot better now that she was fifteen, right? But, with everything that was going on and with what she had heard from the reports of both Kusahara and Gintoki, just thinking about the events was already making her head hurt even more. Added to that, because of what Katsura said after he had snuck into Kusahara's – unguarded – hospital room the night before, Shizuku found herself cursing a lot of things and a lot of people.
Mainly two very specific people but she'd rather not talk about them.
She currently didn't have the patience to even think about saying their names.
So much has happened in so little time that Shizuku's having a hard time keeping up with the information, so much so that she could actually feel her head throbbing, every pulse it made was sending painful shocks throughout Shizuku's body. She would've easily repelled the stinging sensation in her head – she's done so many times before – but that with everything that has happened, she just couldn't do anything for the pain.
She's exhausted, basically.
Sighing and making her way towards the kitchen to dispose of the box that she was holding, Shizuku suddenly started to feel her arms grow tired. Maybe it was because she was carrying the slightly heavy load for so long so she just didn't mind it at first. The slight pain slowly eased away when she neatly placed down the box that she was holding. Sluggishly washing her hands then drying them, she went out with the intention of going to the living room, just as she said to Kusahara and Gintoki before she left them in their appointed room.
"You're looking a little pale, Shizuku-chan. Are you alright?"
Upon hearing Shinpachi's voice, Shizuku looked up and instantly met his concerned eyes. He was standing a few feet away from her, cautiously swaying from side to side as if he didn't know what to do or was just nervous. Shizuku smiled at the display of concern. It was rather sweet of him.
"Yeah, just tired." She attempted to give a smile to reassure that she was fine but based on the slightly frantic expression on the older boy's face, it seemed that she failed in her task to make him feel better.
"I think you should lay down for a minute." The older said, cautiously placing his hands on Shizuku's shoulder, stabilizing her.
The sound of bedrest seemed nice, Shizuku thought to herself. She has been up since yesterday night after all – and she blamed Katsura for that, him and all his.... Concerning reports – and because the two idiots at the end of the hall weren't helping with her getting rest as they were constantly bickering with each other and Shizuku had to clean their wounds up every once in a while, as they kept accidentally agitating and opening them by moving around and yelling over each other over trivial things like bacon or ham. Needless to say, Shizuku really, really needed some rest and time with herself.
"I'm sorry, Shinpachi-kun, but can you please lead me to my room?" Shizuku managed to say, already struggling to keep her footing stable but she knew that she could still at least walk. However, maybe not without support.
"Of course!" Shinpachi immediately agreed, already positioning himself to help the younger. "We could go slow if you can't walk that fast."
"It's fine." Shizuku smiled. "It's only a few steps away."
"If you're sure. We'll take it easy."
"... Thanks, Shinpachi-kun, I really appreciate it."
As soon as they arrived inside Shizuku's room, Shinpachi helped the girl settle down under her futon. He did so with outmost care, as if Shizuku was glass. And while the girl appreciated the thought, she didn't like being treated as such, but then again, she didn't have the heart to refuse or to correct the older boy. She was just that nice.
"I'll be in the living room if you need me, Shizuku-chan." Shinpachi smiled at the girl. "Just give a yell if you need anything at all."
"Thanks again, Shinpachi-kun." Shizuku gave her own smile, tired but genuine and sweet. "Please check on the two idiots down the hall if you have time."
"No problem." The older said as he stood up and went towards the door before pulling it open. He gave one last wave behind him before he went out into the hall and disappeared completely when he closed the shouji behind him.
Again, Shizuku was left alone by herself.
She didn't know if she actually liked that or not.
She slept anyways.
Kusahara stared at the ceiling of his shared room with Gintoki, the older male beside him doing the same as they kept quiet.
While the silence was admittedly a little comfortable, Kusahara could feel that was growing tension in the air. And he also knew that it was for a good reason.
"How are you feeling, Gintoki-san?" he asked when the silence was already too much for him to handle.
"Quite alright, honestly." The older replied, his voice as emotionless as ever. "But I think it was a mistake going here."
"Why do you say so?" asked Kusahara, genuinely curious as to why the older would say such a thing.
"I think you know that Otae's trying to kill us both."
"Ah, I do think that's true."
"See? She's one misstep from actually doing it."
Then silence came right after. The growing tension was starting to get thicker and thicker by the second, not suffocating, but thick nonetheless. Kusahara's good at noticing those things. The thickness of the surrounding was there as if there was an unspoken question that lingered in the air, quietly looming around, waiting to be noticed by anyone that would willingly answer it. Slowly, Kusahara was beginning to take notice of it and he could be overthinking things, but he thinks that he knows what that particular question was.
And he also knew that it wasn't him who will bring it up.
"Oi, Kusahara," Gintoki called after a while, breaking the barrier of silence between the two injured males. Kusahara only hummed a response, already predicting the situation to come.
"Did you tell her about anything that happened with your talk with Takasugi?" the white haired male asked.
Kusahara completely expected the question. Maybe not with that phrasing but close enough.
"What would I even tell her?" he asked back, his voice monotonous, greatly contrasting to the usual light tone in his voice. While he didn't actually mean the emotionlessness of his voice, he couldn't help it. It was him they were talking about so it wasn't his fault that he was feeling murderous right now.
"It wasn't like Takasugi and I even talked about anything significant. Trust me when I say I don't even remember much of what happened because I was too busy restricting myself from killing him on the spot."
"Is that so?" Gintoki hummed, his voice low... and knowing.
"Are you telling the truth or is that because you didn't get anything out from Takasugi at all during your short talk? It's the latter, isn't it?"
Kusahara was quiet, looking at the ceiling with dull eyes as he placed his hands under his head, ignoring the pain of moving his limbs. He knew that the older was right.
It was true that he doesn't remember much of what happened. But he remembered all the answers that Takasugi gave him when they had their talk. Maybe it was his mind being selective but maybe it was Kusahara choosing to be selective. All of Takasugi's answers, he already expected because he already knew who that man is even before he came to meet him in person for the first time.
The reasoning behind how he knew everything about him is obvious.
It was because of what Shizuku told him.
"Well, you're correct when you say that I didn't get anything from him." Kusahara sighed heavily, feeling the pressure from his fractured rib slightly hinder his breathing. He chose to ignore it. "He didn't directly answer anything. Heck, he didn't even say anything at all to some questions."
Gintoku hummed. "That's so like him."
"Yeah, I've heard." Kusahara nodded.
"But he did acknowledge Shizuku, right?"
At that, Kusahara nodded again. "Yes, yes, he did.... But again, indirectly."
"... again, that's so like him."
"Was he always like that?" Kusahara couldn't help but ask, genuinely curious of the answer. "He didn't like to... talk about Shizuku? She seems to be the opposite of him, if that's the case."
Gintoki took a while to answer, his eyes still glued to the ceiling. For a while, Kusahara thought he was already asleep – which wouldn't be a far-off thought, to be honest. But eventually, the older opened his mouth.
"Actually.... When we were younger than we were when we entered the war.... He wouldn't shut up about her."
At that, Kusahara raised a brow. He had a hunch, but he didn't actually think that it was true. "Is that so?" he asked, glancing at the white haired male.
"Yeah." Gintoki nodded. "When we were kids, still running around in school... they always stuck with each other and when given the chance to talk, they would talk about each other. For Shizuku, it was understandable. She talks about us nonstop even now."
Kusahara could second that. He has lost count of the long hours that he would listen to the younger girl talk as they stayed up all night, her just talking and him just listening. On the rare times that her friends would be brought up, Shizuku would talk nonstop. Well, it wasn't like she had anything else to talk about other than her friends.
"But for Takasugi?" Kusahara asked, once again, glancing at the older.
"It was shocking...." Gintoki replied lowly.
"But again, it was understandable. They have known each other the longest, after all. She and Takasugi has been together since the very start, and since Zura is Takasugi's longest known acquaintance, the three of them has known each other the longest. I only came into the picture when she was two. Those two could've very much been present when she was born."
Kusahara hummed. "I've heard," he confirmed, remembering what Shizuku had told him. "And yet, you still seem to be her best friend, not them."
Gintoki scoffed loudly, as if he had just been mocked and he had the perfect comeback for it. "As if she would accept those two as her best friends." He said as he looked away and out the open shouji doors of the room that they were staying in. The night sky seemed to be calm that night.
"If anything, it won't even be enough to merely call them her best friends. They're so much more to her than just that."
Gintoki was silent after that, as if he was thinking to himself. What he was thinking about, Kusahara doesn't know and he doesn't know if he likes to find out what it was.
Kusahara didn't pry. He knew better than to ask about anything else.
Takasugi isn't really a completely welcome subject. Shizuku preferred to talk about Sakamoto, Gintoki and Katsura, but never about Takasugi and her relationship with him. She always caught herself when she was about to say his name and Kusahara has learned to not bring him up unless it was absolutely necessary for him to do so.
There were certain parts of Shizuku's past that she prefers to be buried deep under the inner chambers of her brain, wanting to keep them locked in there forever even if it meant that she could forget them eventually. The problem with her is that she never forgets things, going so far as to remembering memories that happened long before she could even talk properly.
That ability of hers is both a blessing and a curse.
Kusahara has watched her cry herself to sleep more times than the number of times she has called his name.
"That guy's an idiot."
Gintoki's voice snapped Kusahara out from his raging thoughts, calling him back to reality just in time to prevent him from thinking of ways how to murder a twenty-five-year-old purple haired terrorist.
"He always has been an idiot and he always will be an idiot." Gintoki continued with a sigh. "Kind of like Shizuku. The only difference is that she actually knows how to think properly."
"I agree with the last part." Kusahara gave a sigh of his own, already feeling Shizuku's slap across his arm because he just said that she's stupid. "But from what I've seen of Takasugi, he's not really the idiot type." He said as he stared at the light brown ceiling, taking note of the slightly flickering bulb in the middle of the room.
"I think he's the type to be so smart he's so stupid to see what's in front of him."
"Are you sure that that's not just Zura?"
"They can both be."
"Or maybe that's Souichirou-kun?"
"Okita-kun? No, that guy's just a plain idiot."
Both men chuckled, bringing a little life into the small, dull room. But even with the subtle laughter that were coming from both of them, the tension in the air still remained. However, it was a little more breathable compared to before.
"Should we say something at all to Shizuku?" Kusahara asked after a while of silence, for the first time, at a lost at what to do to the younger girl. Admittedly, he knew that he was with the only person that could help him with his problem. But maybe Gintoki could provide a little suggestion to nudge the gears in Kusahara's brain.
"I don't think it's necessary." Gintoki replied, sighing right after his statement. "If we did say anything, she'll never let go of it. She's already tired with dealing with us, dealing with him will stress her out even more. To be perfectly honest, I don't think I like seeing her get even more hurt than she is right now."
"Even if we both know that she will have to eventually meet with him anyways?"
"Even if we both know that she will have to eventually meet with him anyways."
Silence followed after that.
Kusahara secretly wished that it would last longer so he wouldn't have to think about anything anymore.
It was already way past anyone's bedtime and Gintoki couldn't sleep.
Meanwhile, Kusahara on the futon beside him, was sleeping like a quiet baby.
Gintoki didn't even think that it was possible for Kusahara to be so unguarded like that. He always thought he never slept, using some sort of magic bullshit to morph his appearance to look as though he was healthy.
Based on Kusahara's sleeping features, he didn't seem to be feigning sleep at all, looking like he was actually resting. The features of his face were relaxed, his limbs looked like they were loose, his breathing sounded as even as the perfect measurements of the tatami mats that they were on. Really, who would've thought that Gintoki lived the day to see Kusahara not look like he was about to murder someone.
Thought, that murder face of his only shows when Shizuku was involved, Gintoki noticed.
He has never thought about it before, Kusahara's relationship with Shizuku. Gintoki would be stupid if he said he didn't see something with the two of them. The question still remains and he knew that he wasn't the only one asking it.
Who really is Kusahara Noriyasu?
The first time Gintoki saw him, he was outright ready to murder him. What he said to Otose before about Shizuku not having any family who still wanted her is true and the fact that they said Kusahara is related to Shizuku is certainly suspicious to say the least. Him looking like Shizuku never sat right with Gintoki at all.
Does Gintoki really trust Kusahara?
To be perfectly honest, not really.
But Katsura and basically anybody else that they come across seemed to fully trust this man. It was only Gintoki who didn't. Really, he couldn't. But why, exactly? He doesn't know.
Maybe if Kusahara showed more about himself, who he really is and what he really wants, maybe that's when Gintoki will start actually trusting him wholeheartedly. Currently, he only trusts him enough with the knowledge that he wouldn't put his best friend in any danger. If Kusahara even does one slip up and knowingly puts Shizuku in a situation where she couldn't handle herself, best believe Gintoki will go blades out and katanas swinging on Kusahara.
He's sure he can handle him alright.
There was a footstep on the floor and it's what snapped Gintoki out from his murderous thoughts. There was someone on the door and the next thing Gintoki knew, Shizuku was slowly entering.
"Nori-san..." she called in a sleepy voice, dragging the syllables of her words as she talked. "Nori-san...." she called again. Gintoki took a glance and saw that she was rubbing over her eyes with her hand.
"Huh?" Kusahara groaned, sounding as if he had just woken up. That shocked Gintoki because he seemed to be sleeping like a log only seconds ago. He must be a very light sleeper – Gintoki's surprised he didn't wake up to Gintoki staring at him. The white haired male didn't move from under his futon and made it seem as though he was still sleeping, keeping his breaths leveled.
"Can't sleep?" Kusahara asked, also dragging the syllables of his words a little.
"No...." Shizuku answered. The shuffling of sheets was heard behind Gintoki. Kusahara must've sat up. How he did that with the extent of his injuries was beyond Gintoki. "It's cold in my room. Shinpachi-kun, Kagura-chan and Otae-san aren't there in the living room."
"They're probably sleeping already. It is nighttime."
Shizuku groaned lightly, sounding like she was whining a little.
Kusahara sighed. "Come here, then."
There were soft footsteps on the floorboards and suddenly, there was a presence behind Gintoki.
"Don't wake Gintoki-san," he heard Kusahara say, sounding a little more awake now. There was more shuffling of sheets then it grew quiet.
"Better?" Kusahara asked.
"Yeah..." Shizuku hummed, her voice a little muffled.
There was silence again. Gintoki actually thought that the two had already fallen asleep again but there was suddenly a muffled voice that sounded in from behind him.
"Thank you, nii..." came Shizuku's sleepy voice, sounding like she was on the verge of passing out.
"For the last time, Shizuku, I'm not your brother," Kusahara answered, his voice sounding just as loopy as Shizuku's.
"Still...."
"Got it, kid. Now, go to sleep."
Silence came again and a few minutes passed with no movement. When Gintoki was sure that the two were already asleep, he gently maneuvered himself under his own futon and turned around, seeing Shizuku's back towards him with Kusahara's arms around her, pulling her close as they both slept.
Kusahara's face looked so peaceful and Shizuku's back looked so relaxed.
Gintoki couldn't find himself hating the sight.
Maybe Gintoki was wrong to doubt Kusahara, after all.
Just a little.
"Fukuchou, there's someone for you at the door."
Looking at the door to his office, Hijikata raised a brow, seeing the Tenth Division captain poking his head through the small opening.
"Someone for me?" The Vice-Chief asked. "At this hour? It's almost midnight."
"Yes, Fukuchou." Harada nodded, stepping inside the younger male's office. "I found it odd, too. The Chief is outside talking to him right now. I'm not really sure what they're talking about, but he asked for you."
Hijikata hummed as he stood up, reluctant but curious nonetheless. If he knew the person directly, they would have just called him on his phone, or if they just wanted something from the Shinsengumi, they would have just called the station or Kondou would have been enough for their inquiry. Hijikata found it odd that someone was looking for him at that hour when he doesn't know anyone that would do that. But then again, he doesn't know that many people to begin with. Maybe it was a stranger, after all.
"What do they look like?" the dark haired male asked as he and Harada started to walk out of the offices.
"Your average good-looking man in a suit." Harada replied after a second of thinking. "He kind of looks like those rich people you see in dramas."
"Is he an official or something?" Hijikata frowned, glancing at the older walking next to him.
"I don't think I've seen him anywhere before, to be honest." Harada shook his head. "But he looks like a business owner. That's how fancy he looks."
Hijikata nodded. "That's.... suspicious...." He said, his brows furrowed. Just as they turned the corner and saw the front gates, Hijikata frowned even more when he didn't recognize the dark haired man chuckling and standing outside the gates talking to Kondou, who was also laughing.
"Ah, Hijikata Toushirou-san, I presume?" the suspicious-looking man politely asked when Hijikata came into his field of vision.
"Who's asking?" the Vice-Chief asked back, standing next to Kondou. Behind him, Harada stood, also listening in to the conversation.
"Ah, yes, of course." The man bowed before pulling out a card from under his clothes. "I'm Yoo Gong, a simple businessman."
The card that Hijikata received seemed oddly familiar, like he has seen it somewhere recently, but he didn't think too much of it because he saw the name of the company and immediately, it sent sparks flying inside his head.
"Ah, you're one of the people I helped a couple of months ago?" Hijikata asked, looking up at the man, who nodded brightly at him.
"Yes, yes, that would be correct." Yoo answered politely. "Thank you again for your work. We really appreciate it."
"What did you do, Toushi?" Kondou asked, keeping quiet only until then.
Hijikata hummed, recalling the events of a few months ago. "I was walking on my patrol and there were these guys fighting over something. I'm not sure what, but it seemed serious, so I stepped in. If I hadn't, it looked like there will be bloodshed. They were wearing the same suits and the same pins that said Royal Battle or something. To be honest, I thought they were men from Battle Royale Host at first, but I asked and they said that they're not related to the restaurant."
"And at that you're right, Hijikata-san." Yoo replied with a nod. "Please do not worry about us anymore, the conflict is resolved."
"Good to hear. When I saw you guys, you were holding hatchets with saw teeth. I think you bought those things from the store that you were fighting in front of." Hijikata hummed again as he pocketed the business card in his back pant pocket. "So, what brought you here?"
"Ah, I just came to apologize in behalf of the company and to say my thanks once again." Yoo replied. "We know the police doesn't really accept anything from people so we thought that we could at least say our thanks more than once."
"You didn't have to do that." Hijikata sighed. "Really, it was no big deal. Even if we could accept anything from other people, you really shouldn't have gone out of your way to do that. We're police officers, it's what we do."
"Again, thank you, Hijikata-san." Yoo bowed again. "That is all that we wanted to do. I'm sorry to have bothered you all tonight and at this hour. We work late shifts; you see. It is the only time I can come out to do anything for myself."
"Don't mention it." The dark haired male sighed again, waving the man off. "Now off you go, the people in your company are probably looking for you. Or maybe someone from home's expecting you soon. The trains will stop running soon and you still have to walk."
At that, Yoo looked at his watched and gasped. "Oh, yes! I must be going!" he said as he looked up at the trio of officers present in front of him. "Well, then, I must go."
"Take care now!" Kondou waved at the man. "Stop by you need anything from us!"
"Of course!" Yoo called back with a smile. Then he turned around and started to walk away.
Hijikata could be imagining it but he thought he saw Yoo's smile immediately drop once he was out of eye range.
That alone was a cause of concern.
Then Yoo suddenly stopped in his tracks.
"By the way, are Kusahara Noriyasu, Okita Sougo and Kusahara Shizuku here?" he asked, keeping his back towards the three officers that were standing by the Shinsengumi gates.
"Oh? Kusahra-kun, Sougo and Shizuku-chan, huh?" Kondou replied, humming and looking up at the sky. "Kusahara-kun got hurt during his past mission so he's recuperating right now. Shizuku-chan's looking after him. As for Sougo, I'm not really sure; he wonders off into the night on random days and it's hard to find him sometimes. That reminds me, I should give him a call soon."
"I see." Yoo nodded. For a moment, Hijikata heard his voice grow lower. But when he talked again, it was back to its previous light tone. "Oh well, I guess I'll be taking my leave now." Yoo said over his shoulder before he started to walk again.
Instinctively after feeling a bad churn in his stomach, Hijikata pulled out the business card that Yoo gave him.
"Hey, where's your company located at?" he asked out loud, looking up towards the road. "The address isn't-,"
And Yoo was gone, as if he wasn't there in the first place. There was only silence in the road, not even the hoots of the owls were there.
There weren't even any traces of footsteps on the leaf-filled concrete path of the road.
"Huh?" Kondou and Harada asked at the same time. "Where did he go?"
Hijikata would like to know that as well.
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TELL US, SHIZAKURA-SENSEI!!
Alright everyone, we have questions from-,
No, wait, that's not it-,
Shizukakura-sensei, come over here and lead for us!
"Hai, hai! Shizakura-sensei, here. I know it's a bit sudden but we have a few things we need to say before we start today's lesson.
In behalf of everyone in the Sharp Wings staff and cast, I would like to apologize for the lack of updates and the unannounced hiatus that we went through for the past six months.
The author experienced a bit of hardship along the course of the second half of her freshman year and she ended up rolling uncontrollably on the floor under her bed for a few months. Does that equate to being sick? Probably not. She's fine. Probably.
Well, she's doing alright now but Sophomore year will end up crashing against her again like Truck-kun sending another insignificant person to a story where they either have to run from the other protagonists or get close to them in order for them to not risk dying from their hands like EVERY. OTHER. ISEKAI. STORY. OUT. THERE-,
I mean, Sophomore Year Truck-kun might send her to who knows where. Hopefully to Gintama so she can fight Aliens or die. Who knows?
Please understand that she's trying her best to write a lot. She's got a packed schedule and she can't keep updating in a scheduled pace BUT she WILL continue to keep updates coming, albeit slowly.
She will start to treat acts as seasons so in between new acts will be months long breaks to write more chapters and to keep her sanity from reaching below the temperature of the arctic. Additionally, a few arcs from the Gintama manga will be omitted either for insignificance to the main story or because they are either too short or too long to be in here.
For this particular act, the major arcs to be expected are the Yagyuu Clan arc, Okita Mitsuba arc, and the Shinsengumi in Crisis arc, along with a few in-between chapters. Then the author will take a break for Act IV - Us Two, Whoever You Are.
Additionally, the Popularity Poll Arc will be here in this act.
However, I have sad news.
Due to the circumstances - this includes the possible longevity if the story - the future Popularity Poll arcs will be dropped. Having said this, there will no longer be any voting for future polls BUT there will still be a form below for Questions, Suggestions and Requests.
Nothing will change but the omission of the voting section for future Popularity Poll Arcs.
I hope you understand.
Anyways, that will be all for today. To reiterate, updates will come slowly and there will be breaks in between acts. Additionally, the author's tumblr will start to update. And who knows, maybe you will get a few teasers or snippets from other or future projects. She has a lot, from other manga, manhwa, even crossovers.
There are a lot more to be said but unfortunately, that's all the time we have for today.
Thank you for waiting and thank you for staying.
Please look forward to the next parts of this story and we'll see you soon!"
Alright, that's the only time we've got, so see you all in the next chapter!
Remember, some of your questions will appear at the end of chapters so ask away in the form provided in the comments.
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For QUESTIONS, SUGGESTIONS and REQUESTS, check the comments section.
I commented here.
Thank you!