The Doctor Ordered Up One Bottle of Emotions
Jealousy consumes the soul. Its presence is capable of toppling entire foundations of relationships. Of all the things that can consume one's heart, jealousy is the one that is most dangerous.
Those that are most fragile are the most susceptible to being consumed by it. And when consumed comes an unstoppable beast that cannot be tamed.
Tsukuyo fiddled her hair with the tip of her kunai. Aside from the daily nuances of the task of protecting her beloved city of Yoshiwara, only one thought consumed her mind. Rather, the thought of one person occupied every space in her head. Sakata Gintoki. Was it love? Was it an obsession? She couldn't tell.
All she knew was that she couldn't stop thinking of him.
Every little detail of every encounter she has had with him burned perfectly within the confines of her mind. It was like an obsession almost.
The time she was staring death in the face and he dragged her away? One of her favorites. The time she pretended to kill him in their first encounter? She laughs every time.
Hinowa teases her constantly about their supposed relationship. She would always ignore her and find any excuse to leave the room she was in whenever Hinowa would bring up that silver-headed idiot. But Hinowa was not wrong to think so.
She often thought of what-if scenarios. What if Gintoki and her were to embark on another adventure in Yoshiwara where they fight an unstoppable foe, together? What if he proposed to her? What if they were something more?
That last one eats at her the most. What if they were more than just a tandem of skilled fighters? What if they were a couple?
Again caught twirling her hair with the tip of her kunai, Tsukuyo seemed lost as she was daydreaming about the potential scenario in her mind.
"Thinking about that Gin-san again? Huh, Tsukuyo?" a voice broke her concentration.
Tsukuyo snapped back to reality as the tip of her kunai cut off some off the hair she was toying with. A quick glance around her saw her fellow Hyakka comrades snickering at her.
"Why would I be thinking about that silver-headed idiot?" Tsukuyo stammered as her face reddened.
"You two are practically a couple. There's no use denying it," another one of the Hyakka winked at her.
"You better make a move soon too. Or else some other woman can swoop in and steal him from you," another joked.
This was not a possibility that she had entertained. She had taken for it granted that Gintoki was neutral person free of affection from any other women.
It had not occurred to her that he could be corrupted like everybody else. Would it be best if she were to profess her love to him, commanding him to make a decision on whether or not their relationship will be more than just flirtatious acquaintances?
Should she make her own move? Screw it. She'll come up with something when she sees him. It's better to improvise on the spot and rather than follow a tight regiment less room for error that way.
"I'm gonna go out for a bit. Tell Hinowa I'll be back later," Tsukuyo told her comrades.
Kabukicho
Gintoki, a man that need no introduction, was strolling the streets of his beloved town. Picking his nose while his other hand was tucked neatly in a resting position inside his kimono, Gintoki moaned in frustration. He lost all his rent money playing that darn Pachinko again.
Walking these streets, it was not instinctive of him to notice anybody in the crowd, much less acknowledge them. But on the corner of his eye, a spark that demanded an immediate reaction, a woman that he has fantasized about for many moons. It certainly was a coincidence seeing her here. Much to his own delight.
She was the woman of his dreams.
Tsukuyo had stopped by the Yorozuya household. That was where she expected to find him. But to her dismay, he wasn't there. The sheepish grin of Kagura sarcastically told her to go look for him in the streets passed out and drunk.
Why is she doing this? She thought to herself as she walked the streets of Kabukicho. Accidentally bumping into several pedestrians in her frantic search for her love, her breathing heavy, she was unsure of what to do. She didn't plan anything out. Decide when she talks to him? She was more than likely to shrivel up and blush her way out of the awkward interaction. This was a recipe for disaster.
Then she saw him.
He wasn't really that hard to notice she assured herself. He was in front of her walking leisurely. Seriously, how many silver-haired idiot samurai are out there?
"Gintoki!" she called out to him.
She saw him tense up. Did her voice scare him away? Did she seem too desperate? It's rare for her to extract such emotion out of herself. It seemed out of her own character that she perceived herself to be.
But he did not turn to her.
Instead, he turned to another. Someone other than her. Another woman.
"Ketsuno Ana!" she heard him exclaim gleefully like a child meeting Santa Claus for the very first time.
She watched him go up happily to the woman. He fawned over her. The two had known each other. She was certain of it. They must have had some sort of interaction. Gintoki must've saved her as some damsel in distress. The way he looked at her, so intimately, so carefully and full of attention.
She didn't like it.
This feeling consumed her. She didn't know how to comprehend it. An empty feeling throughout her body that made her shudder but was soon masked away with the burning passion of anger.
Jealousy. Yes that was it.
She was shaking. A tingling feeling in her fingers she could not contain. Her mouth opened from shock as she watched Gintoki talk frivolously with the woman now turned into a crooked smile. A nervous chuckle echoed from her lungs as she reassured herself.
If this Ketsuno Ana woman was not a part of the equation, Gintoki would surely be hers. She is confident what she had to do now. The goal is simple.
Kill Ketsuno Ana.