Well, since I'm on a roll right now... might as well. The last chapter took me many weeks to complete after the first one but this one kinda picked up speed. Then again, it's not like I haven't rehearsed the scenes in this chapter in my head many times before.
Chapter 3: You'd be lying to yourself if you ever said you never find any parts in any Gundam battles on TV not cool.
o
o
Otae took a long breath of air. That's it, she could do it. How many time has it been until now? Ever since that first night, when Shinpachi called for her and her hurrying over to find Gintoki with a grave injury? Which wasn't actually her first time to see him hurt—but that time was the first time that she had sincerely worried for his life. That time, as she sat beside his unmoving body for three days and wondering if she would never see him awake again. She had pretended that she never really worried that much when he did and acted the way she usually did to not make him worry about her. But truthfully? Seeing him hurt was unbearable.
She could have tried to stop him all those times, to tell him to not get involved in things that could lead him into dangerous situations but she knew what kind of a person Gintoki was. He could never look away from the people who needed his help. She knew that, so that was why she could never stop him from doing the things that he believed he should do.
What an idiotic man... right?
But that's why she respected and loved him so much.
Otae gently bandaged the left forearm that clearly looked as if Gin had used it to stop an incoming blade aimed towards him. And it was almost on the same spot as the wound he got not too long ago. When Gin and the others returned from Iga. She sighed.
"This started to be a force of habit, isn't it? Gin-san, you really do need to take care of your body better... you're not a Gundam, " Otae snickered as she hastily wiped a tear from her eye. "You can't treat your arm as if you had an invisible shield there that you could use..." she added, before cutting the end of the strip of cloth so that she could tie it around the bandaged arm.
Gintoki remained unresponsive despite she was aware that he could hear her voice.
"Boss sis..." Otae turned towards Kagura as her heart ached again, seeing her bandaged face.
"Please take a look at Gin-chan's shoulder..." said Kagura as Otae turned back to face Gintoki.
"I'll help you out, big sis..." said Shinpachi as she was unzipping Gintoki's top halfway open. Otae smiled as she let her brother help her but then she started to frown. There were multiple blade wounds all over his body. But the worst of it; was a verticle cut that was almost slightly above Gin's right collarbone. The cut wasn't too deep, but deep enough to tell her that this cut was not something that happened by accident. Or a near miss. From the direction of the blade mark, she could tell that whoever swung the blade towards Gintoki and making this mark... that person had intended to take Gintoki's head with the strike.
"Gin could have died!" Otae thought in alarm as she let out a faint gasp.
"It's nothing..." Otae turned her eyes towards Gintoki's face as he finally spoke.
"What did you mean 'it's nothing', Gin-chan?" Kagura suddenly cried out from behind her. "If I didn't stop that guy's blade... Gin-chan, you could've... you could've—!"
Ah... so Kagura was the one that saved Gintoki...
xxx
"Shin-chan?"
Shinpachi glanced up as his sister turned towards him and showed him a slightly forced smile. "Can you and Kagura ask around if there's anything you can get for us to eat?" she turned towards Kagura, smiling... almost unnaturally. "Kagura-chan, surely you're also feeling hungry by now?"
"But Boss sis!" Kagura started to say before Shinpachi pulled her up to her feet.
A part of him had wanted to ask her why, but then Shinpachi recognized that look in his sister's eyes. She wasn't really giving him that request because she was hungry. It was an excuse to get him to take Kagura away from Gintoki.
As expected of his sister...
"Sure, sis..." Shinpachi spoke out. "We'll take a look around," he added, before dragging Kagura away from the two. While taking the mind to avoid the other injured Mimawarigumi officers and Shinsengumi officers who were also lying around the room, being treated for their injuries.
"Shinpachi! What're you doing?" Kagura cried out just as they walked out into the ship's inner corridors. "This is no time to think about food—" Without warning, Kagura's stomach started to grumble. Shinpachi grinned as Kagura made a face.
"I know. Gin-san can be quite frustrating... right? But let's leave that to Big Sis. Besides, I'm getting hungry too. All this tension in the air can't be good,"
Kagura shrugged, immediately forgetting her anger towards Gin-san. "Yeah, you're right," she said before linking her arm awkwardly around his. "Let's go!"
Shinpachi laughed. "Kagura-chan, can you still eat with both your hands like that?"
Kagura gave him a fierce look. "Do not underestimate my power, Pattsan!"
xxx
After several minutes of wrapping the gauze all around Gin's shoulder and abdomen, covering every single cut she could find on his body... Otae sighed. Just as she was about to run out of them. She picked up a few more band-aids and started putting them on the few cuts and grazes on Gintoki's face.
"There you go... you're finally looking a bit more decent," she started talking, not expecting any reply to come from him. Still staring at his face, Otae smiled weakly.
"Gin-san..."
She let out another long sigh.
"Shin-chan and Kagura are not here now," Otae paused, not sure how to word her next sentence. "I—I don't know what was it that you saw back on that island, or who was it that you confronted that made you so distraught like this. But if there's anything that I could do..."
Gintoki started to lift his head to look at her properly. Otae smiled.
"You don't have to pretend to be strong all the time. The kids aren't here right now, so you can just—"
Without warning, Gintoki started leaning towards her...
In an instant, Tae could feel her heart clenched.