Transfixed on what lay before him, he knew not to look away. He could never look away. His stomach hadn't churned at the sight of such a horrible thing as this for a very long time, but this was different. This was different from everything. Instinctively, his hand cupped around his mouth, his brain unsure of if he was going to throw up or not. Gagging to stop himself from doing such a disrespectful thing in front of her body, he bit his lip. He dug his nails into the skin around his mouth and angrily ripped them away as he felt his tears collect on the rim of his palm.

The composure that he had so desperately clung to had collapsed. Gintoki desperately hoped to maintain it, for it was the only thing keeping him sane, the only thing keeping him human. His eyes widened in a monstrous fashion and all the veins and muscles in his body defined themselves. A weak gasp for the breath, which he had been holding for an uncountable amount of time, was succeeded by a scream, a scream that sounded as if it belonged to that of a creature somewhere between a human and an animal.

His knees gave out and his body collapsed into despair. Red recolored the threads of his formerly white yukata. Gintoki listlessly reached out with both hands and touched the pool of blood that was circled around him. Bringing his hands in front of him, he looked at his stained palms with horror. Terror. Disgust. Abhorrence.

With all the control left in his body, he, with an unremitting shaking of his hand, tried to gently close her eyelids.

It was in that moment that he knew that all that he had so long admired and loved in that girl had become but a memory as her ocean eyes were closed for the final time. Never again would she greet the world with a smile so kind and sincere, never again would she welcome the morning with a childlike voice, and never again would she embrace the world with a heartfelt hug. Never again.

As his shock regressed into utter sadness, he forced a weak smile to surface on his bleeding face and he leaned down. Ever so tenderly, he pushed back the girl's blood-soaked bangs and kissed her forehead. The sun, as if on cue, mockingly showed itself from behind the cloud-filled sky. Gintoki gathered his strength, took the folded umbrella that lay beside the girl, and numbly stood over her. Without hesitation, he unfolded the umbrella and placed it beside her head, so not a single ray of sunlight would reach her peaceful face.

He turned away from the body and took a deep breath in, looking up at what seemed to be a harsh sun.

"I love you, Kagura."

Subsequently, a gentle rain began to fall on the two.

"What is this, an anime?" He sadly muttered, silently wishing to himself that Kagura would make a sarcastic rebuke like usual.

But no words came from her corpse, and he cast no second glances towards her body. He slowly began to walk away from the body.

"Oh, Gin-chan, if we're in an anime, I want to be a fighter pilot!" Gintoki muttered in reply to himself in a high-pitched voice, perhaps as a half-hearted attempt to mimic her voice.

And, ever so slightly, a smile formed on her face.

Thank you, Gin-chan.