A/N: Thank you for all the reviews! I'm glad you're all enjoying the fic!

As Gintoki walked out the door and ran down the stairs, his instincts stopped him just short of running into his landlady. Otose looked at him with surprise. He was dressed more heavily than usual today; he wore a green robe and a large blue scarf.

"What makes you up so early today?" she asked, studying him. He smiled weakly.

"I'll be back later, okay, Granny?" he replied, ignoring her question.

Otose's cigarette illuminated the corner just barely. "Don't get into trouble," she sighed, and with that, he walked away. Her eyes narrowed at the sight of the plentiful layers of scarves around his neck. She paused and walked away herself, saying nothing.

As Gintoki ran through the streets of Edo, he received many stares. Perhaps it was his odd clothing in the middle of summer; who knows; he could care less as long as the markings didn't show. He had to lay low.

Suddenly, he felt a sharp twist in his stomach. Each step became harder and harder to take. His breathing began to fill his ears, and his vision was getting clouded. ****, he couldn't stop now. Gintoki clenched his teeth. He could feel the Enmi slowly advancing. Sweat trickled down his neck.

Just keep going, he thought. Just keep moving.

But his body said otherwise, and he felt his body fall to the floor. Screams erupted from all sides.

****.

The hum of nature's birds met Gintoki's ears, largely contrasting howls from before. How long had he been asleep? He looked up, ignoring the shaking in his head. The sky was beginning to let the sun take over once more. Five hours? Four? Instantly, his mind jumped into action. His eyes surveyed his surroundings; he sat in a quiet grassland with trees over his head. A small road was in the center of the area, and there was a faint scent of the sea in the air; he was probably at a park by the ocean. For some reason, Gintoki wasn't able to exactly identify where he was. His mind was buzzing too much for him to think or process wherever he was.

As Gintoki stretched his shoulders, his hands touched the unfamiliar hilt on his waist. His fingers jerked back at the icy feel of the handle. Slowly, he pulled out a blade that was definitely not his own.

What the hell did he do last night?

Fortunately for Gintoki, the sword itself was clean, and there had been no sign of bloodshed besides some tattered dirt across his lap. Looking down at himself, he found no difference from last night except a few bandages wrapped around his hands. It looked almost as if someone tended him while he was unconscious.

That was, if there weren't black words inscripted in the bandages.

His eyes widened. Frantically, he pulled the foreign wrappings from himself, ripping many in the process. The remaining bandages leeched on him harder than before, and his head throbbed once more. Gintoki found himself clenching his fists, managing to make the bandages glow purple.

Gintoki could feel his own consciousness slowly slipping away. He no longer could feel his own hands; it was almost as if they were moving by themselves. All he could perceive was the pounding in his head.

In the midst of the pain, Gintoki felt his hands subconsciously grasp the cold hilt of the sword.

He screamed against his own mind.

Stop it, stop it!

His hands lifted the sword. It's blade gleamed at the rising sun.

His dulled mind scanned the area. A single crow sat scavenging to his left, and a small child no older than ten slept on a bench to his right. His hand tightened, and he stood up and stared at the kid. The child snored away. He took a step forward.

Wait a minute. What the **** was he doing? Gintoki grasped his mind and forced his body to stop.

Hell, no way. No way. There was no way he would kill a small brat, and a sleeping one at that.

He had to stop himself. He had to stop the Emni. Who knew how long before he completely lost it. Gintoki concealed the thought and focused on his hand.

He rotated the sword to…himself. Yes, that was the only solution. There was no other way.

Oddly, time seemed to slow down. For some reason, his mind wandered off back to his memories of Shouka Sonjuku. Would Shouyou approve of him right now? Perhaps he would find out very soon.

Gintoki closed his eyes and desperately thrusted the sword into himself. He felt empty.

It was quiet.

But then it wasn't.

Gintoki felt his eyes flip back open. There was no sword in his stomach. His eyes turned to his hands. They had stopped midway, and now were resting at his sides. His sword was still in his left hand, resting like the calm before a storm.

Gintoki rose up to his surprise. "****," he muttered, resisting his own movements. He stood up once more and looked to his right. The child was still there. Maybe if he tried again, it would-

"Gin-san?" A familiar voice called. Gintoki froze. Holding a wagasa, Otae stood a few feet from the sleeping kid. A surprised look was all over her face; it was probably due to the fact he was up so early in such a random place.

No, no! Not like this, not right now, not-

Gintoki collapsed back down as if on cue. His robe draped over his bandages. He lowered his head a bit and pretended not to hear. To his dismay, Otae quickly ran over to him. He turned his head away from her and stared at the grass.

"What are you doing here? How come Shin-chan isn't with you?" she asked him.

Gintoki continued to observe the wild lawn. "Just had a few drinks," he replied, trying to sound as drunk as possible. His voice was stiff.

Otae didn't look convinced. "Are you sick?" She asked, tilting her head.

"Sick of being tired," Gintoki remarked, and it wasn't even a lie. He felt tired, and just wanted it all to stop. The ringing, the pain, the virus….

But he knew it wasn't that simple.

Otae opened her mouth to protest, but Gintoki suddenly rose up, hands in his pockets. "I should probably get going," he sighed, appearing partly hungover. He walked without another word in the direction of (what he hoped to be) Gengai.

As he walked through the dense forest around him, Gintoki observed the many benches and the playground in a clearing. His mind was beginning to finally clear; he was positive he had been to the park countless times before.

It was definitely the same park from the ridiculous time he met the Renho Fumiko or the time he found Hasegawa laying around moping once more. Or the time Kagura and Shinpachi were arguing about...something.

A soft smile escaped Gintoki. He was lucky to have been surrounded by such idiots.

A/N: While I was writing this chapter, I was actually extremely sick to the point I found it hard moving. My head was constantly dizzy and I was always tired…...so I decided that it would be a good time to write pain. Ahaha.

Anyway, I'm feeling better now. Like before, leave a review on your way out. As always, thanks for reading!