Genre: Humour/Drama
Disclaimer: I do not own Gintama or any of the characters, except for the unknown guy cloaked in dark robes.
Gintama: Smackdown Arc
At a remote bar somewhere in Kabukicho, a man cloaked in dark robes took a seat near the barman and ordered a glass of champagne.
"Hey," the man said, attempting to strike up a conversation with the barman. "Has Kabukicho changed in the four years I was gone? The exterior seemed to be more… organized nowadays. It used to be full of hoodlums, but there seems to be much less of that nowadays."
The barman popped the cap off a bottle of seasoned champagne.
"Sir, did you know of the the ones who ruled Kabukicho before you left?" he asked as he poured champagne into a glass.
"Of course, every single person in Kabukicho who has been involved in shady dealings will have known," the man said, accepting the glass of champagne and taking a sip. "Ah, great champagne you have here!"
"Thank you, Sir."
"If I did not remember wrongly," the man said, sighing contentedly. "Kabukicho was ruled by four individuals, each with outstanding abilities or influence."
"You are right, Sir," the barman nodded, cleaning a glass with a clean rag. "Peacock Princess Kada, The Demonic and Divine Mademoiselle Saigou, Doromizu Jirochou the Gallant and Empress Otose. To put it simply, the four devas. Saigou and Jirochou were famous for their strength and being one of the firsts to take a stand against the Amanto in the Jouishishi war over twenty years ago. Princess Kada was behind nearly all the gambling dens in Kabukicho, and holds exceptional power over underground dealings. Empress Otose was said to possess unbelievable influence, which could actually swing the balance of Kabukicho itself."
"So, those four worked together to improve the state of Kabukicho?" the man asked.
The barman set down a clean glass and took another one.
"No, just recently, all the four devas retired. I suppose you could attribute the current state of Kabukicho to their successors instead."
The man choked on his champagne. "They retired?! Why?" he spluttered.
"A few weeks ago, Kabukicho was on the verge of collapsing. There was a huge power struggle between the four devas, if I did not get the wrong information," the barman explained. "Empress Otose had even been rumoured to have died at the hands of Jirochou himself."
"Jirochou killed Otose?" the man asked. "I remember hearing rumours that he had feelings for her."
"Well, I can't confirm that, but I do know that Empress Otose's death was a mere false alarm. However, she seemed to have been injured badly, though," the barman commented. "After the entire situation had stabilized, Jirochou and Kada mysteriously disappeared. Empress Otose and Mademoiselle Saigou also announced their retirements. So I suppose something really big happened in that period of time. Sadly, my sources could only give me such limited information."
"Hmmm…" the man finished his glass of champagne and called for another one. "You mentioned successors. Did the four devas appoint the successors themselves?"
"I'm not too sure about that, but I believe that with the sole exception of Princess Kada, the rest should have been handpicked," the barman said. "After all, three of the successors had direct links to their predecessors."
"Who are the successors?" the man inquired, sipping from his second glass of champagne.
"Firstly, we have Queen of Kabukicho, Shimura Tae," the barman counted off. "I believe that if Kabukicho had ever improved, it will have been because of her. My sources have told me that she focusses on improving the image of Kabukicho."
"Queen of Kabukicho, Shimura Tae, eh?" the man said. "Sounds like a real force to reckon with."
"Well, secondly, we have Kenou Agou, the okama. I do believe that he took over directly from Mademoiselle Saigou."
"Well, seeing as Saigou was rumoured to possess monstrous strength even as an okama, his successor could hardly be weak as well."
"Thirdly, we have Kurogoma no Katsuo. He was the right-hand man of Jirochou, so he should have been the obvious choice to take over from his boss. If I'm not wrong, he has a rivalry with the Queen, though."
"If the Queen truly wished to improve the image of Kabukicho," the man said. "It makes perfect sense for her to be at loggerheads with Jirochou's successor. I swear that man only knows how to ruin the image of Kabukichou. So, I guess with Jirochou gone, Kurogama is the best swordsman in Kabukicho now?"
"Well, lastly, we have Sakata Gintoki. He was rumoured to have been selected by Otose herself."
"Selected by Otose herself? He must be a person with some real skill," the man said.
"He's more than skilled. You asked if Kurogama was the best swordsman in Kabukicho now. I'm afraid that as long as Sakata Gintoki still stays in Kabukicho, he will never be the best swordsman here. In fact…" the barman leans in closer and whispers.
"WHAT? HE DEFEATED JIROCHOU?!" the man cried out, before shutting his mouth at the barman's urging.
There was the loud noise of a table being flipped.
"Oi, you there! What kind of bullshit did you just say?"
The man turned around. Three grown up men were glaring at him, swords already in their hands.
"Our boss has never been defeated before, and never will," the one with the blue Mohawk snarled. "It will be pretty embarrassing for the Dobunezumi gang if such filthy lies spread out. Sorry, mate, nothing personal but you will have to die."
At these words, they charged at the man, yelling. The razor sharp edges of their swords aimed for his midsection, clearly intending to slice him in half.
"Geez, gonna slice me in half? Real sadistic, to be honest," the man shook his head as he drew his own sword, leaped towards the incoming figures and cut through the air three times. As he landed, he swung his sword in an arc and sheathed it.
Blood spurted as three bodies crashed to the ground. They never moved again.
"Sakata Gintoki, huh? I came here looking to fight the infamous Jirochou and I get someone even stronger than him," the man said softly. His eyes glinted darkly as he left the bar, leaving a trail of silence in his wake.