A/N: This takes place two years after the war so Shinpachi is 18 and everyone else is two years older. There might be Kamui x Shinpachi and side-couple Kagura x Sougo.
Also terrible with humor.
* = reference
References:
1) Sailor moon
2) The fortune teller from Episode 63 where Zenzou was paid to kidnap a little girl.
._._._.
Clouds Breaking
Tsukuyo ran with her team through the roof tops of Yoshiwara to take down a thief that stole valuable treasures of the district. They all thrusted their kunai to become a rain of death, but the thief was too quick for them. They tried to surround him, but he simply broke through the roof of the building he was stepping on, and was quick to slip through their barrier before they could react.
Once he reached the elevators, they thought that they had him, but the thief was surprisingly able to override the machine to take him.
"Stop!" Tsukuyo demanded, but the man ignored her as he entered the machine. The Hyakka tried to destroy the machine by cutting off the power, but the thief was smart enough to put traps at where those controls would be.
They thought they lost him and were really annoyed when he yelled over the intercom he hacked, "HAHAHAHAHA! So long babes of Yoshiwara! It was nice of you to leave around some extra goodies for the pour souls of men who feasts on your services! I Cockin' Dude will graciously spread such wealth to-"
BAM! CRASH!
The elevator suddenly dropped back down, completely crushed by the heavy weight that slammed into it.
"OH! No! Did I break something again! Oh no! Oh no! I'm soooo sorry! I'm really jet lagged from all the traveling to Earth to find this little place to send a message for my boss! And oh geeze, I messed up! I messed up bad!"
The Hyakka were completely dumbstruck by the appearance of a ten foot tall giant amanto that looked like the interspecies baby of a lion and boar with some peacock for the beautiful green and blue coloring for his fur.
"I'll pay for it! I'll pay for it! Oh and the message, it's a really important one! Please let me see the Cloud of Yoshiwara. My master wishes to see her once he arrives in the middle of Fall!"
Tsukuyo snapped out of her previous shock to allow this new shocking news to sink in. "The Cloud of Yoshiwara..."
._._._.
Gintoki, Shinpachi and Kagura were present with Seita, Hinowa and Tsukuyo at their home. The gigantic messenger amanto known as Hifu was also present, and the only one standing since he really didn't like breaking anything.
"The Cloud of Yoshiwara?" Seita was surprised to hear that a woman in Yoshiwara had such a title when Housen took over. For his mother and Tsukuyo to be the sun and moon respectively, it made sense, but for someone to be something like clouds was bizarre.
"Eh? The cloud?" Gintoki lazily inquired. "What? Are you guys secretly a bunch of magical girls in disguise? What's next? The stars? Don't tell me you got three lesbians crossdressing and acting like idols now*."
Hinowa explained, "Nothing like that. Around ten years ago, a woman came here of her own accord like a single cloud that drifted randomly to our skies and came to one of the big sister prostitutes to become one herself."
Tsukuyo told them, "She didn't have a name. She made everyone give her a nickname. She's been named from almost every flower to every other cute name like a pet meant to be adored. But the one name they gave her ultimately was 'The Cloud' since her very presence could dim down the sun rays of Lady Hinowa."
"Of course, Tsuki-chan didn't mean that in a negative context." The sun of Yoshiwara explained, "Cloud simply had this very easy-going personality that relaxed the people around her like a soothing lullaby being played for a child who just spent all day running around in the fields. Her very presence, when noticed, overtook mine instantly. Men, desperate to put their pain at ease, flocked to her. Even Housen, himself, fell for her charms."
Tsukuyo finished, "But she disappeared the year before I thought my master died the first time. People believe that Housen might have gotten sick of her so had her killed. Others believe she slipped away before he could do it. Either way, wherever that cloud drifted away to, she may never come back." She looked up at the clear blue sky as she blew her smoke.
Shinpachi asked, "Did she have a reason for wanting to be a prostitute? The Cloud of Yoshiwara?"
Hinowa answered, "She just thought it'd be an interesting job."
"HAAAAH!" The Yorozuya and Seita were shocked by this.
Tsukuyo explained, "She knew the fatal risks that came with the job, but she just thought that that made the job more thrilling. She spent every day ringing in customer after customer with a group of girls that she advertised herself. It made the life of a prostitute more of a game than a twisted lifestyle. A mad woman, she was, but also a friend. The only reason Seita's mother's pregnancy could've remained a secret for three-fourths a year was because of her. As the cloud who concealed the sun and the moon to create a storm, she distracted Housen and killed anyone who discovered the news. She was very clever in making sure no dots were connected. However, she could do only so much before Housen realized Hinowa was missing for more than a day or two."
Kagura questioned, "So Housen killed her for her betrayal?!"
"We don't know." Hinowa shook her head sadly. "Usually when someone dies, it's publicly known among the prostitutes since not many other news or rumors could be passed safely. All anyone knew at the time was that no one ever saw her in the palace ever again."
The Yorozuya looked at each other. That was quite the mystery.
"I-If I may speak." Hifu asked bashfully. His cheeks flaring up and body rigid.
"Of course, Hifu-san." Hinowa told him. "You did bring the news that your master plans to come here to see how Yoshiwara is doing. I feel sorry that I will have to tell him that the Cloud of Yoshiwara is no longer with us."
"Tha-That's the problem! My master still thinks she's here! Once he finds out she's not, he'll obliterate this planet!"
"WHAT?!" Everyone was on their feet except for Hinowa.
"WHY?!" Shinpachi exclaimed.
"WHO DOES YOUR CHUMP OF A MASTER THINK HE IS, ARU!" Kagura cried out!
"JUST CUZ HE CAN'T GO TO CLOUD NINE, HE'S GONNA KILL US ALL?! HOW CRAZY IS YOUR BOSS?!" Gintoki screamed.
"I'M SORRY!" Hifu became more rigid and his voice became screechy. "My master's name is Waku and he is the king and strongest fighter of the Umigame race! The second strongest fighting clan after the Yato clan!" He bows down as he holds up a picture of his master who turns out to look exactly like one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles from the first comic book. "He has been in love with the Cloud all these years, but she chose Housen, so we left to the far East galaxy away from Earth, so we didn't get news of Housen's death until the year before last! We couldn't arrive any earlier because he got mixed up on some bad deals on the way. I was sent here to give the message only! Oh, if only you knew how to find her!"
Tsukuyo reassured him, "There's no need to worry. It's why I asked these guys to come here." She looked to the Yorozuya who forgot that they were called for a job.
The next thing they knew, Tsukuyo and Sadaharu who was helping haul in a big package were right before Okuni's* home. When they knock on the door, Okuni was the one to answer. The 14-year-old stood before them at the opened door in an orange kimono. Her features have sharpened that she almost looked like a fox, and her presently long hair was tied up with a white ribbon. "Welcome everyone. Please come in. I have snacks and the latest jump prepared." The psychic obviously knew that they would be coming to see her, so it's no surprise that she was already prepared.
"Okuni-chan!" Kagura went in excitedly with Sadaharu. The two had grown close during the last few years with Soyo, Nobume and the others. The old ladies that had been taking care of Okuni had passed away, and their young replacements were a lot more relaxed to let Okuni have more friends, especially since plenty of them were deadly enough to scare off possible kidnappers.
"It's nice of all of you to visit me again." Okuni told them as they sat down at a kotatsu. They started with some small talk before they hit to business. Tsukuyo revealed that in the package was the Neil Armstrong Cyclone Jet Armstrong canon in golden form, but Okuni denied the gifts since she was open to give favors to them. "I did a prediction before you came, and I can tell you that the Cloud of Yoshiwara is in Edo and she will appear at Yoshiwara on the first night of your visitor's arrival."
Everyone was relieved to hear that. Tsukuyo's eyes widened in shock, words slipped out of her mouth without consent, "Do you know where she is now?"
Okuni sadly shook her head, "My ability only allows me to see the conclusion for certain events, but strangely enough, the woman before my sight was very young that I thought that I may have been making a mistake."
Kagura pointed out, "The Cloud may have gotten plastic surgery or drank from the fountain of Youth, aru!"
Tsukuyo inquired, "We don't have any paintings or pictures of the Cloud but I still remember her vividly. Please describe to me how she appears to you in your vision."
"Oi," Gintoki butt in, "She already said that your cloud will come so there's no need for the details."
"The Cloud is a very important person to Yoshiwara." Tsukuyo stared down at the kotatsu as the memories of her childhood came to light before her eyes, "She saved Seita's life, Hinowa's life. She even saved me..."
She closed her eyes when she remembered her fifteen-year-old self helplessly watching Hinowara being escorted to Housen's palace where she would remain for what she had believed would be for all of eternity. Her head felt a tingle at the touch of the Cloud's caring hand.
"My, my. Isn't this a depressing sight, but at least she's alive. There's still hope that all of us will be set free."
Danzo, who was right by their side, chided her, "Don't speak such foolish optimistic words. You should be ashamed to think those betraying thoughts when you are Housen's personal top courtesan."
The woman with her orange lips smirked softly at Tsukuyo's master. "I told him that if he bought that woman back, he will face his downfall because every man in power who clings to a beautiful woman will only face disaster. God created women so men could fall from grace and remain humble. And They created men so women could see their faults and rise in unimaginable ways." Her smirk lessened into a motherly smile towards Tsukuyo who blushed at the attention. The teen was surprised when the woman placed her head on her shoulder. "A sun shower is when a sunny sky can rain without clouds. All those rain drop are actually blown from the winds of a great storm. So you know what I see right now? I see a gorgeous sun still shining beyond those raindrops that will soon stop once the storm breaks."
Tsukuyo felt her heart rise from the complete, utter faith that the woman had. The darkness she felt throughout her body rose to her throat. It was suffocating as she could feel those raindrops blown her way.
"But you know," The Cloud playfully spoke, "I never heard of moon showers. When it rains at night, the sky is completely covered in darkness, but not because the moon disappeared, but because the clouds covered them as they cried." The woman rubbed Tsukuyo's back, triggering the tears to pour down onto the woman's kimono.
The present Tsukuyo opened her eyes, "She protected Yoshiwara by becoming the barrier between us and the King and Thieves of the Night. All this time, like I thought with my master, we all believed that she died, and we did nothing to show her our gratitude. If she is alive, then it is my duty as the protector of Yoshiwara to bring back our savior home."
Everyone was left speechless by such devotion and love. Okuni nodded and took out a folder from under the kotatsu. Inside was a drawing of the woman. "I hired a professional sketch artist to draw the woman in my vision and made copies."
Everyone took a look to see the painting of a frowning woman who looked suspiciously familiar (Mona Lisa).
"WAIT A MINUTE! That can't be right!" Shinpachi was the first to quickly realize. "That's obviously someone else! Did you just print this out from the internet?! Did you really hire a sketch artist?!"
But Tsukuyo with no clear knowledge of famous art took the sketch seriously. "It almost look exactly like her."
"What do you mean 'almost'?! That can't be her at all! Are you sure you remember her at all?!"
Gintoki didn't care for the joke and was disappointed if the woman look similar to the painting, "Haaaah? She looks old and plain. I thought that Housen's personal top courtesan would be a beauty."
"She was so much more than beauty." Tsukuyo insisted, "Once you meet her, you will understand."
"Oi, oi, I didn't mean to insult your great savior. Besides, ain't I the savior of Yoshiwara. I'm the one who did most of the work to get you your sun back." Gintoki didn't really mean that, which everyone knew, and it helped dropped the serious atmosphere a bit.
Okuni told them, "I'm sorry. It's the closest image that I could compare to the face of the woman I see. The truth is that I can't clearly see her face in my vision since it's raining heavily. But what I can tell you is that the woman before my vision is kneeling on a dirt road at what I believe is Yoshiwara if the innuendo signs and adult toys were a clue." It was. "The night is gone and the sun appears, but clouds immediately covers its rays. She doesn't move from her spot, even as it starts to drizzle. On her lap, she's cradling a turtle." The mention of a turtle was convincing enough. "There's also something else I see that makes me believe she is in Edo right now."
"More?"
"The kimono she is wearing, I foresee that one of you will meet an amanto wearing a full skin tight body suit, killer steel finger claws, and a mask that looks like it was sliced off a human body and sown to look like a deranged clown."
"WHAT THE HELL! Are you sure you're not telling us we'll be meeting some deranged serial killer?!" Gintoki cried out.
"No. I see him handing the woman I see in my visions the kimono that she will wear. They're near a window, and I see Edo's familiar sky scrapers."
"So she's within the city." Tsukuyo noted. Everyone thanked Okuni before leaving. Tsukuyo then went back to Yoshiwara to tell Hinowa the news.
Gintoki clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Dammit, why do we have to look for some plain Jane we don't even know looks like to appease some horny turtle."
"I bet he's only coming back because his other girlfriend dumped him, aru." Kagura figured.
"I'm worried about Tsukuyo-san." Shinpachi said, thinking that they should talk about this. "This is the second time someone she cared for turned out to be alive all these years. I hope this turns out better than before."
"There's no need to worry." Gintoki told them. "If this Cloud woman turns out to be a nut job, too, she'll have to face Yoshiwara's freaks of nature and us Yorozuya."
Kagura and Shinpachi smiled at that. They will definitely be prepared for anything, and thus for the first few days, they've asked around the city if they've seen the Cloud, and a lot of men actually fondly remembered her, but so far none of them have. They suspected that this may be because the woman hadn't arrived at Edo yet, so they just had to try every day to do it. They tried asking their friends to keep an eye out for the woman who might actually look similar to the woman in the sketch for just in case.
"Eh? The Cloud of Yoshiwara?" Sougo inquired, sipping his drink from a straw. The yorozuya and Tsukuyo were present before the shinsengumi trio with Yamazaki at their headquarters.
"Oh, I've heard of her." Kondo said surprisingly. "She's commonly gossiped among the older men who's met her at the snack shop whenever it rains outside. You've heard of her too, right Yamazaki."
The spy nodded, "She's very popular even after disappearing seven years ago. They all say that at first glance, she seemed very relaxed or bored when you enter her shop that was named 'Peek-a-boo', but once you get to know her, she's very much accepting of all men and women dirty and clean, much like your Kabuki-cho mother, Otose-san. She's a good listener, very forward with her advice, and" Yamazaki couldn't help blushing, "Quite kinky, too." He quickly added to not make this awkward, "But the one thing that really stood out about her was the arm warmers that she would wear."
"Arm warmers?" Tsukuyo didn't remember that, but then remembered, "That's right. The kimono she would wear were always too big, so the sleeves were always too long to see her arms. I only remember seeing her hand when she would raise her arm."
Yamazaki continued, "None of the men among them had ever gotten to actually see beyond the ball of her shoulder for her arms when they paid for extra for her company. They admit that she was no beauty like Hinowa-san, but in a way, it somehow added to the nightly affairs. They were very sad when Housen kept her to himself when she was only around for less than a year for the public."
Hijikata sucked in his smoke, "And now some king of a superior race of turtles are coming to visit her. We will sent out a search party for her. Do you have a photo we could lead on."
"Here." Kagura handed them the Mona Lisa painting.
"ARE YOU PLAYING WITH US?!" The mayo screeched.
"Hey, hey, our favorite psychic got a sketch artist to draw that!" Kagura whined with an annoyed expression that just annoyed others more.
"What century did she go to to get that?!"
"I'm sorry." Tsukuyo humbly apologized. "In Yoshiwara, drawing and taking pictures were prohibited since dirty business commonly took place there. The Cloud spent most of her time in Housen's palace that not even Yoshiwara's sun who spent her time locked in that palace as well could remember her face. Just like her and the rest of us, we can only remember her calming voice, booming laughter, and the rain she allowed us to pour in her presence."
The shinsengumi looked at each other, and they couldn't refuse a lady, and the fate of the Earth depended on this, so they promised to do their best, but they can't promise that they will find her. That was good enough.
They then went over to the snack shop since Kondo did mention that the men there talked about her.
"The Cloud?" Otae inquired. Her, Oryou, Ane and Hanako were sitting at a booth with them. Tsukuyo paid for their attention and bought a ton of alcohol to their table, but refrained from taking a sip. No one did since there was serious matters to talk about.
"Ah, that woman." Ane was displeased, "Matsudaira-sama would talk about her from time to time."
That was not a surprise, but it still felt like a whole new dark hole was dug deeper for a married man, "We knew his heart was black, but now it's just a void of anything good about him." Shinpachi commented.
Hanako said, "Me too. Whenever it rains or get really cloudy, the old men who request for me talks about her. I was mostly told despite how many times they visited her, they didn't really knew her. But from what little that she actually told them about herself, the reason she would never fall for any of them is because her heart was already captured by a young man."
"Oh, I heard that, too." Oryou said, "None of the men knew a thing about her, except that she was in love with a young man who had ever been given the courtesy to see her arms. She was also very dominant and hypnotic in bed, so they never got the chance to take those warmers off."
"Oh my," Otae was a little surprised by such risque detail, and then thought of what she was told, "I don't remember much, but I remember being told that we have the same eyes."
"Same eyes?!"
This was the clue they needed!
"Yes, and then I had to beat those customers to submission when they try to lay their filthy hands on me."
Everyone quickly stepped away from that subject, and left the snack shop.
They then went over to Katsura's group to see if they can get anything out of him, but that guy was hopeless as he spouted random, old jokes that nobody would find funny. But when everything cooled down, he stated that he did hear about the Cloud's involvement in dirty deals herself during her stay in Yoshiwara. Apparently, she ran some sort of assassination organization that worked outside of the district and throughout Edo, or so the rumor said. If she were alive, then she may be in Edo to get someone assassinated, but who was the question. It was best that they thread carefully in this situation.
They then went over to the Ketsuno household to ask Seimei to keep an eye out for her or to let them know if any new rumors sprung up. The onmyoji agreed since he had heard of the Cloud as well from the government. The woman had proven dangerous among them after she had several government officials killed. Considering that the government was already killing each other among themselves, her involvement led to too many drastic changes that depowered them.
The yorozuya couldn't really see the bad in that considering how corrupted the shogunate was. Their new government system wasn't the best, and was bound to be corrupted again, but that was a problem for another day.
The gang then went to Otose's shop where they performed the usual slapstick of where's the money before they went down to business, "Eh? The Cloud? What do you want to know about her?"
"You know her?!"
"Not exactly. I met a friend of hers. Her assassin who has been doing dirty business for her. He's been open to anyone about her, but never told a soul that it was the Cloud until he made his last visit before opening. Said that he wouldn't mind if I told others, but the stories were far too personal for me to share, but it looks like it could actually come in handy now." The old woman lightly groaned in pity. "She was such a tragic soul that I wouldn't mind pouring her a drink, but sadly, she had to leave due to her man getting into even worse deals."
"She could tell that Housen's end was nearing soon." Tsukuyo pointed out.
"But that was five years prior to the event happening." Shinpachi pointed out, "There must be a bigger reason than that."
Otose thought on it, "I think he told me that she was also having family troubles. She never had the best relationship with her father who I think was a government official himself who abused his position and abused her. The worse of it is that people actually knew about her abuse, but nobody lifted a hand to help her because they all believed it to be justified punishment."
"No way! How can hurting a child be justified?!"
"Can you really say that when you live in such a town where violence both straightens us out and also brings out the worse in us. A child needs a good spanking if they're out of line, but the punishment wasn't physical. At least not physically from him. Instead he would put her in solitary confinement by locking her up in a narrow room for days without human contact. When she refused to eat her meals, he stopped sending them, leaving the poor girl to starve and only have the leaking ceiling as her source of water. It truly is one thing to straighten out a kid, it's another to completely subdue them to make it easier for yourself. That's not parenting. It's abuse. Plain and simple."
Everyone was speechless of the treatment. Otose blew her smoke, "I could only imagine that she had every desire to get her bastard of a father back for all he did, but it turned out not to be so easy. I don't know the details to that, but it had to relate to the young man she loved. I don't know if he was being held hostage or not, but it's a possibility that she may have left in order to protect him. Who he is at all, I have no idea. The man who often came here before never gave a single detail."
The yorozuya and Tsukuyo didn't need to hear more than that, so they took their leave.
Gintoki lazily hummed to himself, "Young lover huh. Who knew the Cloud was such a cougar that she would leave her life behind and risk being killed for him. Who is this young lover anyway."
Shinpachi asked Tsukuyo, "Do you know anything about a young lover, Tsukuyo-san?"
The blonde shook her head sadly. "I will ask everyone in Yoshiwara if she may have told them. For now, this should be enough for today."
Kagura told her to be safe as they waved goodbye. "Mmm, will Tsuky be alright? We got all these information, but she only got sadder."
"Aaaah, after hearing that your idol had such a childhood, any fan would be sad." Gintoki taught them, "The important thing is that you try to makeup your own story so you could be satisfied with the ending, just like how many of the Boruto dad's fans are doing."
"Don't drag them into this!" Shinpachi screamed.
"Hey, it's the show's fault for adding the last chapter just to milk out money from the fans with a half-assed next generation!"
"It's already been two years! I'm also upset, but we have to let it go!"
Kagura added, "No! I will never forgive the sensei for what they did to Boruto's dad! He was the hero we all rooted for us orphans to accomplish his dreams and get everyone to accept him, only to end up still miserable because he married too early! He should get a divorce already!"
"Stop calling him Boruto's dad, and you're not an orphan Kagura! Umibouzu's still alive!"
They just dropped the joke and went home, leaving the problem for tomorrow.
On the way home, Shinpachi heard a beep. He took out the cellphone, that he was given as a gift, to see a message from Abuto who was secretly coming over during his vacation later the next day.
Shinpachi's eyes brightened by the message. He then texted Gintoki that he just walked by an ad that said that Otsu-san merch was going on sale, so he was taking the day off so he can arrive early to get it. Having done this genuinely before, his boss texted back to go ahead. There was still time to go shopping, so he quickly went to the supermarket to buy as much food as possible for the yato.
He was able to buy all this since Abuto actually sent him money from time to time to his bank account. The generous offer happened a year ago after the war. Kamui had started visiting every few months or so to see Kagura and Gintoki. Abuto would tag along, but he didn't really favor Earth, but he admitted to loving spending time in the Shimura household when Shinpachi's sister was at work. Abuto found it more relaxing to watch Shinpachi cook or clean while he lazed around than to go drink and gamble with Gintoki who seemed to get even bigger messes. Shinpachi didn't mind either. He enjoyed listening to Abuto's adventures of slaughter and war because he worded in a way that made it sound like a great shonen adventure for Kamui.
When the grocery shopping was done, Shinpachi stored them at home beneath the floor boards, and then took them out the next day after his sister left to do her morning errands. Shinpachi told her that he would be gone because of a sale, and then quickly put the groceries into a bag that could take anything inside it like the Dora Explorer bag.
He then went by taxi to a mountain where he hiked until he crossed a tree that was actually a security machine that had a mechanical come out of its hole and warn the person to not go any further or else they will be annihilated and gave directions for their hike. Shinpachi gave his identification and the bird scanned him before letting him through.
Beyond the tree, there was a two-story house that used to be a kimono shop that belonged to a prodigy who died years ago. Shinpachi used to come to this shop as a child, so there was a lot of fond memories here. When Abuto heard of that, he bought the place and renovated it into its original shape with some new additions behind his back. Abuto didn't just do it for Shinpachi but because he wanted a place to hide. He just knew that if Kamui knew about his lone travels to Earth just to see Shinpachi, the curious bunny would pester them about their relationship as if they were having a secret love affair.
The young samurai was extremely grateful for this that he promised to cook a grand meal for his arrival. There was already tiny robots who kept the place spotless, and from Tama's influence, Shinpachi always treated them like pets. He could've sworn that they actually responded to his affection.
The teen then took in the sight of the place. The front of the building had no doors since it was shaped as the store it was where clothes would've been put on display and there was a counter for the employee to sit at. It was a small since the prodigy only displayed a few of his master pieces while the walls would've been littered with paintings of kimonos.
Everything else of the building was in a Japanese traditional style except for the kitchen that upgraded western style with a few eastern parts to it. Shinpachi had been adding new things in the house. He wasn't fond of using Abuto's money that he hadn't exactly rightfully earned, but the amanto had wore him down to using his card every time he visited or sent stuff anonymously that he noticed that Shinpachi needed. It was too much trouble for the shipping, so Shinpachi had to give in so the money could be used more smartly.
The teen then walked out to the back porch where he was greeted by a river that used to also be used by the prodigy. He walked down the stairs to the stone steps of that led to an empty studio where the kimonos were crafted. There was no need to renovate this part, but it was done anyway in case Shinpachi may have plans for it later. Shinpachi didn't have any, so he left it to cook.
When the yato arrived in time for an early dinner, the two dined together talking about how their lives were so far. After the meal, the two sat at the renovated shop's porch near the river while the sun set. There, Shinpachi asked the important questions about the Cloud.
The yato surprisingly brightened at the topic, "The Cloud? I remember her! So the deranged woman is alive after all!"
"Deranged?" Shinpachi became worried at the description.
"Ah, I mean eccentric. That woman never feared to defy Housen-sama, or tease him a little. When she disappeared, ah what was it, seven years ago, us Yato thought Housen finally got rid of her, but I knew he could never do that."
"Hm? How come?"
"How do I put this, despite how much she pushed Housen-sama, I think he actually liked it. It kept things interesting for him, and she also calmed down his wild Yato ways like you do with Captain."
Shinpachi lightly chuckled at that. Kamui and Shinpachi weren't friends exactly. It was just that Shinpachi went through the effort to clean the yorozuya and prepare meals for the captain's visit since he wanted to make sure Kamui visited Kagura often. Kamui would actually be on his best behavior as best as he could as long as he was fed well and nothing provoked his anger. Shinpachi also couldn't help wanting to spoil the aspiring pirate king since he went through so much.
"How is Kamui-san doing?"
"Oh, you know the usual. Since he succeeded his dad as the best alien hunter with us running the poop deck, he's been slaughtering the enemies we've been paid to take out. He still attends meetings, and has me standing guard. Tch. Not that he needs it, but nice to know that an old man like me has some uses."
"You're definitely looking sharper for an old man. The hair cut really suits you." Shinpachi commented on Abuto's new wild, short hair. The man had also been shaving his 5 o'clock shadow.
"There's no need to be nice, kid." Abuto spoke in a genuine relaxed tone added with a lopsided smile, "My nape feels a bit chilly and it's bothersome to shave every morning, but you were right, I definitely feel more refreshed like this."
"I told you so!" Shinpachi beamed gleefully. "It's only a matter of time before you find yourself a lucky lady and continue the yato race."
"What are you saaaying?!" Abuto pretended to sound irritated. "Do you want me to smack you, huh?! You shouldn't let this old fart have any hopes."
"Mmmmmmm! But you always gripe about the endangerment of your race, but you refuse to do anything about it. Boy, for a guy who says that life is a matter of choices, you definitely are a coward in taking the one that counts."
"Oi, you're going to make this old man cry." Abuto pretended to sniffle.
Shinpachi grinned, getting a very light shove of the arm. "Hey! You're going to make me spill my tea!" The teen lightly laughed before turning back on topic, "Since you met the Cloud, then you remember how she looks like right?"
"Looks like? Mmmm." Abuto searched through his endless files of beautiful women he's seen, but when his eyes landed on Shinpachi, he found it, "Now that I think about it, you look just like her."
Shinpachi's eyes widened in shock, and was somewhat in disbelief, "Eh? Me? But I'm a guy."
"True, but compared to me, your body is lean like the captain's, and it's not hard for you to be mistaken for a female is it."
"That's true..." It wasn't hard for Shinpachi to get away with being Pachie. Especially when he would secretly dress as a female, so he could use his heroine tears to get men to discount the stuff or possibly give it to him for free.
"It's for that Waku guy right. You can just pretend to be her, and don't worry. He won't expect you to spread your legs or anything. Just take a walk with him around Yoshiwara. That's all they did there."
"A walk? I can do that, but I don't know how the Cloud acts. What if he asks me questions?"
"Waku is not the question sort of guy. That idiot's talkative and expects you to just say whatever is on your mind or who you are. I actually tailed them once under Housen-sama's orders, and the woman never got a peep in throughout their whole date. She just reacted with amusement, so it should be an easy job for you."
"If you say so, but Okuni-chan said that the Cloud is in Edo, so if you say she looks like me, then we should just find an older woman who looks like me. The men who my sister meet did say that the Cloud had similar eyes to her, so you may be onto something." But then Otose popped in Shinpachi brain, "Ah, but what if she aged considerably due to smoking and drinking? This would be easier if only we had something of the Cloud for Sadaharu to use to track her."
The two hopeless men tried to think of a possible solution to this, but it looked like they just had to try their best to find a woman who looked similar to Shinpachi, wore arm warmers, and ran an assassin organization. No problem...
"I don't have anything that's hers," Abuto rubbed the back of his neck, "But I can help you guys search for her since it looks like no one remembers how she looks like. Just let me radio in captain that I heard about the news and came here to help out. You better prepare another buffet because once he hears about Waku coming, he's gonna come even if we like it or not." He got up, walking into the house to go make the call somewhere quiet so Kamui wouldn't suspect him.
Shinpachi told him, "You don't have to."
"Nah, nah, Kamui still owns the place, and it's always news when Waku moves, so it's going to be our problem anyway. Ah geeze, even after Housen-sama died, the Cloud's giving me trouble. Everything is like a game to her that I wonder if she ever had a heart."
"...She definitely has a heart." Abuto's ears perked at the soft yet righteous tone of someone who seemed to have known the Cloud personally. He looked to Shinpachi who was sipping his tea as if he didn't speak a word. That was very strange since it seemed unlike Shinpachi to keep any secrets when the world is at stake, so he figured that he heard wrong.
Shinpachi stopped sipping his tea when he heard Abuto's footsteps disappear. He felt relieved that Abuto was staying and that Kamui was also coming, despite how disastrous that can turn out. It was the fate of the Earth after all.
After Abuto made his call, it was confirmed that Kamui was already heading there since he heard of Waku coming. He would be able to make it to Earth tomorrow. Shinpachi then gave his temporary goodbye to him and to the robot cleaners before he left. As the megane hiked down the mountain with a flashlight, he looked up at the sky to see the full moon brightly lighting up the dark blue sky, yet what grabbed his attention were the clouds that left the moon starless.
Unknown to him, someone was watching him. "It looks like Hifu delivered our message, but it looks like they haven't found the Cloud." A man in a black body suit and a deranged clown mask said while watching the screens from within what appeared to be a garden above the sky.
The person he was accompanying was a seven-year-old bald female with brown mono-lidded round eyes and fearsome bushy wing-like gray eyebrows. Her skin was flawless with a natural light tan complexion. She wore a traditional hanfu from the tang dynasty period where she wore a high-waist ruqun. Her sheer light blue shawl covered over her white blouse that was tucked under her long blue skirt that covered from her chest to the top of her ankles. The upper part of her skirt tied by a sash over her chest appeared to be a dark blue, embroidered with clouds. The rest of the skirt was lighter that it almost gave off a purplish color in the dimly lit garden.
"It's only been three days since we had uncle Waku help us with the search. There's no way mother could've been arrested by those policemen during the disaster that took place. She must be here since he's here." She looked at the screen that watched over Shinpachi as the boy waited for the taxi to come pick him up. "Mother has many hiding places, but considering how dire the situation is right now, it should've drove her to come home to the one she loves."
"And I told you before that Ike," The man spoke the woman's name, "would never think of doing such a thing without bringing you here with her, princess Yun. Since we don't know when she'll come back, you got anxious." He spoke in amusement. "You became impatient to see the one person who broke the Cloud."
"Uncle Davi, you're lucky I'm a lady, or I'd have burned that mask into your face. Please refrain from provoking my violent nature." The young woman threatened politely. She was about to turn around, but before she realized it, a hole appeared beneath her. She dropped out of the sky.
Uncle Davi chuckled, "Whoops!"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-
