DO NOT READ UNLESS YOU HAVE READ CHAPTER 534. IT CONTAINS MASSIVE SPOILERS.
They were climbing up the jagged cliff with grim determination and only one goal in mind: to rescue their comrades. With the relentless terrain and the gruesome fact that they were on the radar of both the Mimawarigumi and the Tendoshu, this rescue mission was nothing short of suicide. To put it frankly, their immunity to death, due to being recurrent characters in Gintama, meant nothing at this point. If the Shogun could die, so could they.
And so could Kondo and Katsura.
Hands tightened their grips on the sharp rocks - relishing in the way its edges cut into their skin and reminding them that they were still alive as of this moment - as the Yorozuya and the Shinsengumi scaled the cliff with renewed vigour. They've flirted with death frequently enough to know that the only time your life is truly lost is when you've given up fighting for it. And when it came to those two, "giving up" was not in their dictionary.
However, their revived hopes took a nose-dive at the sight of a whole row of archers, bows and arrows poised, atop the cliff they were climbing. If they weren't in deep shit before, they certainly were now.
There was no verbal cue given to fire that he could hear but, given the deafening tumult of his blood pumping through his veins, Sougo figured that he would have missed it even if there was. Instinct told him to unsheathe his sword at the sound of the first arrow being released and if it weren't for that surge of adrenaline in his system he would have immediately felt the physical strain he'd placed on himself by using one arm to balance his body.
"Don't scatter!" He vaguely heard in the distance, "Form a tight group using the cliffs as a shield!"
But at this point instinct had surpassed thought; adrenaline had pushed him beyond the limits of even the most extraordinary amantos. All rational thoughts flew out of the window the instant he felt his blade in his hand, and his primal instinct as a samurai, as a murderer, was to let it sing. Without hesitation Sougo sliced through the barrage of arrows gravitating towards him, only to realise that all of the arrows seemed targeted towards his left.
Curiously, he looked up and inwardly reeled from surprise. A few metres above him and slightly to his right was the China girl, muttering cuss words even sailors wouldn't dream of while using her umbrella as a shield from the onslaught of arrows.
"You dumb shiiiiits! What a dirty move!" She rearranged her footing on the cliff to a position that only sprinters take before lunging into their race. Given that whatever ground China would have been racing on was vertical, Sougo found himself - not for the first time - questioning any existence of logic in this woman's mind. "Everyooone, follow after me!"
He smirked to himself, it would be such a shame if she suddenly lost grip and plummeted to her death after that brave speech.
"KAGURA-CHAAAAAAN!"
And although that wasn't quite what happened, the arrow that detached her from the cliff made him wish the thought had never crossed his mind. Everything seemed to slow down for him as he watched the rock she held onto dislodge itself from the body of the cliff; all the while his mind was frantically looking for a solution that wasn't there. He knew what would follow, yet it took the sight of Kagura in free fall for him to actually register that she was seconds away from being completely and utterly out of reach.
Instinct had never hit him harder than at this moment.
Immediately thrusting his blade between his teeth - rendering him incapable of defending himself further - Sougo dug the heels of his feet into the cliff and grabbed her hand with his, clenching his teeth on the sword slightly harder at the addition of another weight. It took several moments before he realised that his right hand was not grasping air, but rather, holding on to the wrist of the last person he'd ever pictured himself saving.
"A second wave is coming!"
As he gazed down at the girl who was literally hanging by a thread, he realised that this was not the first time someone's life was in his hands. Yet never had he gone to such measures to preserve a life, never to the extent of sacrificing his own. Logic was creeping back into his mind as he marvelled at the idiocy that drove him to this decision. In choosing to save her, Sougo had foolishly left himself completely exposed to incoming attacks, a rookie mistake that even the most amateur of samurais instinctually avoided making. What's more, there was no guarantee that his left hand wouldn't lose its grip on the rocks, which would inevitably lead them both to their demises. Yet, with this growing list of unbecoming consequences presenting themselves in his mind, he still couldn't bring himself to release her hand. And it looked like she knew that as well.
"Let go…" she quietly whispered. When his gaze remained resolute and his hand tightened its grip, her eyes shimmered with a silent question which he found himself unable to answer, 'Why?'
Despite their numerous battles against each other Sougo had never considered the possibility of his rival dying, let alone being defeated. The first time he'd ever witnessed Kagura almost lose a fight, he had rushed to her aid under the conclusion that only he should be granted the honour of defeating her. The second time he protected her was simply because he loathed the notion of being indebted to her. She was his rival after all, owing her something would give her future leverage over him. But the truth was, he would never win against Kagura.
"LET GOOOOOOO!"
Because his instinct would always choose to save her before himself.
I'm not going to lie. I wasn't planning on writing anything until after June 20th. But THIS CHAPTER OMFG. THOSE FEEEEEELLIIIIINNNNGGGSSSSSSSSS. I'm shocked nobody else has written anything about this yet!
But yeah. It's almost 1am and I've got a hike at 6:30am today so I'm really pushing my energy levels with this one. Sorry if the fic reflects my lack-of-sleep.
Hope you enjoyed! :)