WARNING: This is angsty GinHiji. Not that much angst, however. Just a tiny bit more than Gel and Cigarettes. Tiny. Small. You won't even notice. This is a gay fic. No likey, then sorry, the door's right there.
DISCLAIMER: All the characters here are the glorious by-products of Sorachi-Sensei. All worship Sorachi-Sensei.
Shiro Sakura
Hijikata had a dream.
He had a dream where the gloomy grey clouds did not hang over the blue sky, where the shards of the broken Terminal did not lay on pathways, where the a silver permed idiot hadn't disappeared and left them all to their doomed devices.
He had a dream where he drank sake under a large sakura tree, filled with all sorts of colours. A rainbow sakura tree.
Some of the sakura flowers shone brighter than the rest, their scents familiar and comforting.
Two black sakura flowers emerged, dotted with bright yellow. He smiled, as he thought of a certain gorilla and a young sadist. He took a drag of his cigarette, as traced the tiny black petals with a finger.
As he traced, the smaller of the two flowers began to grow, turning into a blood red. Shock enraptured Hijikata, followed by the familiar feeling of seeing someone grow older. And stronger.
The other of the two began to turn grey, slowly withering. Hijikata hastened to pick it up, but before he knew it, it was gone. Instead of feeling shocked, the notion that the greying flower would come back, that it was not out of his reach, comforted him.
A pleasant scent washed over him, as he sipped some sake. When he glanced back to his surroundings, he found himself sitting on a sakura branch. He was in the rainbow sakura tree, seeming to have shrunk in size. The flowers now seemed larger and their aroma stronger.
As his eyes glazed over the flowers, he swore he saw two sakura bloom above him, one dark blue, another light pink. He clambered up the branches towards them, in a mad urge to touch them. To touch before they faded away.
But no matter how fast he ran and climbed, he could never come close. He watched in desperate sadness as the dark blue sakura wilted, followed by the light pink.
He dropped to his knees, hand outstretched. His eyes glazed, as he clenched a fist in frustration. He furiously wiped the tears away, rubbing his eyelids till they burned.
When he opened them again, he found himself on a leaf, facing a white sakura. It sat on the top of the sakura tree, its petals curled at its edges. The leaves around it were torn, burnt, battered, stained with Amanto bloods of sorts, but its edges remained sharp.
He reached forward for the white sakura, feeling a comforting warmth spread through him as he touched the petals. A trusting warmth. A strong, firm warmth that he wanted to hold onto and never let go.
But then the sky turned grey, holding an aura of harm and decay. A shard of white fell from the sky, piercing right through the Shiro Sakura.
Hijikata screamed.
A strong wind began to whirl, picking up the fallen white petals. The large petals began to whirl around Hijikata, surrounding him in a white inferno. He felt the warmth slip away from him, shoving him right into the freezing cold.
Hijikata flailed his arms as he tried to grab onto the white petals, in a desperate attempt to bring the warmth back. They grew smaller and smaller, as they flew further and further.
But as he reached out, the flower's leaves, flying in the wind, slashed him, as if warning him to stay away. As if the pain he felt from the sharp leaves was nothing compared to touching its petals.
That it was now stained by the treacherous snow, and could no longer be touched.
"NO! NO, PLEASE!" Hijikata screamed. "COME BACK! COME BACK, YOU PERMY BASTARD!" His cries echoed amongst the fragile branches.
"HOW DARE YOU, YOROZUYA! YOU SILVER PERMED BASTARD!" Hijikata sobbed, grabbing onto a branch.
"How dare you disappear without a trace. How dare you die before growing old." His sobs quietened, as he spoke in hoarse whispers.
A flash of a pair of orange and blue sakuras appeared at the corner of Hijikata's eyes, carrying the same sorrow. They held on tight to the former branch of the white sakura, grieving.
The other colourful sakuras had seemed to have grown around the white sakura, attracted by its shining warmth. But as the Shiro Sakura was mercilessly ripped away from them, they quickly turned white.
White?
Hijikata looked up, to find more shards of white snow piercing through the grey clouds. Sakuras were struck one by one, turning a melancholy white. They ripped from their branches, whirling right up into the clouds.
"How dare you leave us in this wasteland." His thoughts echoed amongst the countless white petals, as they latched onto the Shiro Sakura's deadly path. They followed where he went, attracted by his scent. As they did alive, as they did in death.
The sakura tree seemed barren, its branches sripped of its colourful beauty. However, a black sakura still grabbed on tight on a branch, sitting beside where the white sakura once was.
"How dare you leave me alone."
And so a darkness enveloped Hijikata, blanking out his vision. His last sight was a silver permed, dead fish eyed idiot bastard sitting right across him on the branch, picking his nose.
Usually, I deliver one-liner endings. That's my thing. However, this seemed a bit more appropriate. Hope you darlings enjoyed this fic. Do leave me a review so that I can stop biting my already bitten nails in anticipation of praise/ranting. Oh, and a favourite if this actually managed to captivate you. Cheers :).