Title: Hasegawa Taizou
Author: Rasei
Disclaimer: Rasei does not own Gintama.
Summary: Spoilers for Chapter 596. After depositing the money on Gintoki's desk, Madao had one more step before he became Hasegawa Taizou. One phone call to the most important person. Taizou/Hatsu
A/N: This is my 100th fanfic on this account. I wanted to write a fluffy Taizou/Hatsu fanfiction, but this is what came out.
"I cannot give up. No matter what pit of despair I might be standing in, no matter what vast darkness I might be stuck in, as long as I do not shut my eyes, I can see the light." - Hasegawa Taizou, Gintama.
Before, I would have kept my head down to the chaos. I wouldn't done anything to help the chaos around me, just allowing the amanto to walk over me during the day. At night I would have gone home to Hatsu, feeling pathetic about how I far I fallen since my samurai days. Hatsu knew I how I felt sometimes, but her gentle smile and the soft touches would ease my soul.
After I lost my job as the Chief of Immigration because of Sakata, I fell into a hole that I thought I could never get out of. Yes, there were times in that hole I felt like I was making a difference, but those times were always quick. But if you compare the me before I became a madao, and the me now, there is a difference. Or I like to believe that.
There were times where I felt like everything was to much, that I lost to much, that I could never be free from this hell on Earth. I walked a thin line on giving up completely, and committing seppuku. I almost convince myself to so many times, then something small would remind me why living was so important. The days I lived on the street taught me so much about the world.
Sakata taught me how to be a true samurai during this time. Not to be a thug, not to be a fighter, but what a soul of a true samurai looked like. Sakata would not give up, not when the odds were so against him. Not if a thousand swords were pointing at him. Showed me that the innocent was the most important thing in this world. That a true samurai wouldn't give up no matter the darkness that surrounded us.
After Sakata and his kids disappeared, the world felt darker than before. Maybe it was the death of the Shogun, or maybe it's how the new Shogun seemed to be gone as well. I didn't no couldn't do much. Then Amanto started the invading again. I watched the happiness of Edo disappearing fast as the Amanto just stepped on them. I waited for Sakata-san to appeared in the blaze of glory and show the world that there was still true Samurai. Yet, he and the kids never appeared.
Since I lost my job, I been storing away money even if I was starving. Part of me wanted to spend it, but I always put it to the side just in case Hatsu needed it. I would scrap under vending machine and do acts of things that I don't want to talk about for this change. Right now Edo needs a hero.
No, that is wrong. Edo needs a samurai in this samuri-less world. Someone to stand up against all odds, and fight for those who need it. To bring honor back to samurai country. There is only one person I think could be up for the job. No, there is three. Sakata and his kids.
I listen to what was going on in Edo, and finally I cannot stand it anymore. With the help of those four spat upon coins, I will bring back peace here in Edo. With every coin I had since I gotten in what felt like the last 15 years, I went to Sakata's place and hired them.
I took a few more steps but felt lost on what to do next. I heard a scream, I stepped out to see I was to late to be any help. I clinch a hand. I couldn't help as a madao, after all a madao isn't a true samurai. I looked down from the balcony, at the Amanto that were everywhere. I thought of the days before the Bakufu collapsed. Back to the terrible days of when the Amanto first appeared on Earth. Tama and Otome were right. Soon Edo will be nothing.
If my pray doesn't reach Sakata, then I need to do something myself. I need to make sure that Hatsu was okay. I searched long and hard for a working telephone and dialed a number that was more important than my name. It rang just two times.
"Hello," said Hatsu, her voice trembling with fear. I felt my hand tighten around the phone, as I said,
"Are you okay?" I didn't bother saying my name, or even hello. Her health was the most important part now. There was a gasp, then a sob. I should have called sooner, to make sure Hatsu was safe.
"Taizou, I'm fine now that you called. I thought you were dead."
Her voice was like a piece of heaven. A piece I don't deserve. I shut my eyes then open them. It would hurt, but I needed to ask her.
"Hatsu, I want you to leave town. Go to Kyoto. Edo is about to became a war field and I don't want you to get in the middle of it."
"What about you? How can I leave when you aren't with me? Come home, Taizou, please. I don't care if you don't have job or..."
Job... The word echoed across my mind and I realized something. Yes, I was fired from my position in the Bureau of Immigration, but this mess is exactly why I joined in the first place from the jobs Hatsu's father could have gotten me. To stop Amanto from just walking into Edo and taking it over. The Amanto right now was doing that. With the Bakufa collapsed, there isn't a Bureau of Immigration.
"Taizou, are you still there?" begged Hatsu's voice from the phone. I close my eyes, then open it. Sakata is gone, and he might be gone for good. I cannot just sit around and let these illegal immigrants take over my country. I need to stand on my own feet.
"Before you leave Edo, I need you to do something for me." As I spoke, I felt part of me that I thought I lost years ago stirred. This is different than the other moments. I will stop hiding in the darkness and the despair, and walk out of this hole. I will step out into the light, on my own two feet. This world needs the Bureau of Immigration. It needs help. I'm not the best person for the job, but I will try my hardest.
My tone must have carried through the phone, because Hatsu's voice changed to hope.
"What is it you need, my husband?" she asked, her own voice straighten.
"I need my work suit. Also some cigarettes. I will meet you at the edge of town."
I watch as a familiar kid from my madao days bump into a group of Amanto. I watch as the Amantos pointed guns at the child. With a cigarette in my hand, I stepped in the way.
"Who are you?" Asked the lead Amanto, soda still running down his shirt. I let out a puff of smoke, and answered.
"Chief of the Bureau of Immigration, Hasegawa Taizou."