Genre: Drama/Mystery
Disclaimer: I do not own Gintama or any of the characters.
Gintama: Sinister Arc
"I'm late!" a middle-aged woman exclaimed after taking a quick glance at her wrist watch. "Daigorou-kun is still waiting for me to be home!"
She began to take swifter steps, almost to the point of sprinting. When she approached an inter-section, the woman found herself contemplating hastily. There was a secluded alleyway to her right that will ensure a faster trip, while the street in front of her will provide a sense of safety at the cost of precious time. Hurried and hassled, she took a deep breath and headed down the shady shortcut to her right.
"It will be fine…" the woman breathed softly, clearing the length of the path with rapid strides. "I will be out of here soon-"
The corner of her eye caught something out of the ordinary. Despite herself, she began to turn her head.
The woman's face paled. She slapped a hand to her mouth to staunch a rising wave of nausea. Her eyes dilated in sheer horror and fear.
Lying right in her sight was a dead body. The corpse's throat had been mercilessly ripped out.
A terrified scream permeated the air, only the first of many to erupt on that blood-shed day.
O O O
"Gin-san!" Shinpachi yelled, bursting into the apartment of the Yorozuya Gin-chan. "Something terrible has happened!"
A silver-haired samurai was lying on the sofa, utterly deadbeat.
"A terrible thing…? Were you forced to chug down even more of your sister's fried eggs?" he asked listlessly.
Shinpachi grabbed the remote control.
"That's terrible as well, but it's not the case this time. Look at the television, Gin-san!"
The relatively small television booted up with the press of a button. An image of a cross-dressing man flashed on the screen.
"Kabukicho's very own drag queen club has successfully reached its twentieth anniversary! As a celebration of this impressive milestone, entrance fees will be deducted by eighty percent! Eighty percent, folks! You can't get any better than that! So, come on down to the drag queen club and enjoy the company of feminine ladies to your hearts' content!" the TV blared.
"That's terrible, really terrible…" Gintoki commented slowly, his eye twitching relentlessly.
The channel was switched just as the cross-dressing man blew a kiss in front of the camera.
"That's also terrible…" Shinpachi said. He had instinctively cringed when the announcement was going on. "But this is worse- look, Gin-san!"
A well-dressed news reporter was gazing at the camera, his expression very much a sombre one.
"There has been another killing just a few minutes ago," he said. "If we could go live to Hanano Ana… Hanano Ana, if you will…"
The visuals flashed to a female reporter with two short pig-tails.
"Thank you," Hanano Ana said politely before expressing a serious gaze at the camera. "We are currently at the scene of the latest victim today. His body had been found just ten minutes ago in one of the narrow alleyways that spiral through Edo."
She paused and took a deep breath.
"According to forensic scientists," she continued tautly. "The victim had been impaled through the head with a metal rod. This act complies with the all the killings that had occurred today, driving the assumption that there is actually an insane serial killer loose right now to the point of being factual."
The female reporter looked set to continue the update of news, but suddenly averted her attention from the camera. The audio was set to a low volume while she engaged with a mysterious person off the camera. It took a relatively long while before she turned to the camera again.
"I'm sorry for the delay," Hanano Ana said apologetically. "We have received an urgent notice that whoever is able to end these killings will be rewarded handsomely by the Shogun himself-"
Shinpachi looked at his leader worriedly. Plain anxiety and fear clouded the teenager's face.
"Gin-san, who on earth is committing these senseless killings?" he asked hesitantly. "That one was the ninth today… This is not a simple murder case anymore. It's genocide!"
The silver-haired samurai picked his nose with his little finger, looking exceptionally calm and composed.
"Gin-san…" Shinpachi said softly. "What if… Ane-ue or any of our friends get…?"
His voice shook. It was clear that the very thought was plaguing his mind.
Gintoki sighed and got to his feet. Yawning loudly, he proceeded to perform some random stretching exercises.
"Get ready, Patsuan," he said.
Shinpachi looked up uncertainly.
"Get ready?" he repeated inquiringly.
The silver-haired samurai turned towards the bespectacled teenager, his face lit up in a wide, twisted grin.
"Get ready to claim that handsome reward, Patsuan."
O O O
"What's wrong with the people today…" a girl decked out in a Chinese cheongsam and a pair of covering-plated buns muttered. "They seem so scared and hurried, yup."
Kagura strolled past a frantic family; they were literally dashing through the street. One of them, a middle-aged woman, paused to look concernedly at her.
"What are you doing out here alone?" the woman questioned. "Where are your parents? Don't you know that it's dangerous to be out here right now?"
"Dangerous?" Kagura repeated curiously. "Why will it be dangerous to be out here?"
The woman gripped her by the shoulders tightly. Her face was a deathly pale.
"Haven't you heard?" the woman asked softly, staring right at Kagura's eyes. "There had been a lot of killings the past few hours. All of them occurred in narrow alleyways-"
"Sekine! We got to go!" a man called, looking hastily around his surroundings. "We don't know when the killer will appear!"
The woman looked over her shoulder uncertainly, before turning back to a bemused Kagura.
"Anyways, return home as soon as possible," she said, a tight edge to her face. "It's not safe around here right now."
With that ominous warning, the woman vanished down the streets with her family. Kagura stared at their disappearing backs right to the end, a confused look on her face.
"Killer?" the Yato wondered. "It's not like I haven't seen them before…"
Lost in her own thoughts, she wandered around the area in confusing circles; way too confusing circles. When she finally consented to recognize her own surroundings, she was in some sort of decrepit area. The streets seemed to have been left behind in her dazed wake.
The red head stopped in her tracks.
"Where am I?" Kagura pondered. "I totally forgot-"
The very air seemed to crackle. It dissipated as suddenly as it had occurred.
Kagura stared at her surroundings.
"Did I imagine that?" she mumbled uncertainly. "I'm pretty sure I heard the sound of sukonbu being fried, uh-huh."
The Yato paused for a while, before advancing forward.
"I should tell Gin-chan about the spooky killer," she said slowly. "It might wake his lazy ass up, uh-huh."
Breaking into a self-satisfied grin, Kagura looked straight ahead. Two figures were standing right at the end of the alleyway, their backs facing her. As she approached, she noticed that one of them had distinctive silver-permed hair while the other was wearing a light blue keikogi.
"Gin-chan, Shinpachi?" the girl thought momentarily. "What are they doing here?"
Curious, Kagura started taking faster strides.
"Gin-chan, Shinpachi!" she yelled, waving her right arm vigorously. "What are you doing here?"
Alerted by her call, the figures turned around.
"Gin-chan, Shinpachi!" Kagura gave a wide smile. "You will never believe what I just heard, uh-huh!"
Gintoki and Shinpachi looked at her impassively for a moment, before bursting into sardonic smiles.
"What's with those creepy smiles?" the Yato demanded. "Have you finally started to notice my charms-"
Blood spurted into the air. Dark, red liquid showered her as two figures crumpled to the ground.
Reeling in shock, Kagura could only remain still while those beloved faces smiled sardonically at her.
"Gin-chan…? Shinpachi…?" she whispered softly, her fists trembling uncontrollably.
Slowly, her mind went blank as everything spiralled out of control.
The Yato's anguished scream rang throughout the entire district as the decapitated heads of Sakata Gintoki and Shimura Shinpachi gazed morbidly at her from the ground.