Denial of Interest
Author's Note: And chapter 4. I actually have all of chapter 5 and part of chapter 6 written, but I won't be uploading them just yet - just wait and see!
Disclaimer: I don't own Gintama. It belongs to Hideaki Sorachi.
Kyubei thought of only one thing as she walked home; the conflict between her and Katsura had grown even more pointless. Even though she, too, craved conflict - it was the only thing that kept her life as a celebrity anything but dull - she wanted a fight with reason.
Katsura was a good rival, but for the most part, he was blind to reason. There was no point in fighting over popularity and personality... Kyubei preferred the thought of fighting because of the difference in their social status, but it was obvious enough that such a thing had never crossed Katsura's mind.
Would she ever be able to just talk things over with him? He attacked her or challenged her every time they met - and she was not one to back down from a challenge.
"Yagyu."
Kyubei glanced back, surprised by the sudden address; she was tired, and she wanted to get home as soon as possible, but if the voice was any indication, she had a long conversation ahead of her. And sure enough, Hijikata stood some distance away, his back to a chain link fence and a cigarette between his lips - and furthermore, he did not look to be in a good mood.
"...What is it, Hijikata?" the Yagyu heir demanded, narrowing her eye. "Are you here to warn me again?"
"Hardly." Hijikata crossed his arms over his chest and grimaced. "We caught the leader of one of the Joui factions that's responsible for these bombings. Sougo almost killed the guy, but we managed to take him alive. I'll be interrogating the bastard tomorrow."
Kyubei raised an eyebrow. "...Are you sure you should be telling me these kinds of things? Isn't that supposed to be confidential?"
"It concerns you," Hijikata muttered in response, glaring at her. "Besides, it's not like this kinda stuff needs to be kept secret."
"How does it concern me?" Kyubei blinked twice, a bit surprised by this statement; the hostile Joui did concern her, but Hijikata shouldn't have known that - or believed that it was necessary at all to inform her. "I can fend for myself. If they attack me-"
"Katsura."
Hijikata didn't attach any more words to his response; he just looked at Kyubei, his expression flat as he inhaled the noxious fumes from his cigarette. He knew of their connection, and it was possible that he even knew of the escalating conflict between them... but wasn't Katsura Hijikata's enemy? Why would the vice-commander of the Shinsengumi reveal possibly confidential information to someone on account of Katsura?
Kyubei decided to conceal her shock for the time being; Hijikata wasn't so unprofessional as to do something like that without a reason. Instead, she just stared at him and asked, "What about him?"
"He's low priority," Hijikata responded, his tone as flat as his expression. "He hasn't done much lately... and the other Joui have. When we have bombings and other random attacks to deal with, people like Katsura just aren't worth the effort... and aren't you friends with him?"
This time, Kyubei did not respond; as much as she wanted to talk to someone about the conflict between her and Katsura, Hijikata was the last person she should tell. They were already treading a fine legal line - even if Katsura was low priority as Hijikata said, he was still a Joui, and thus still a target for the Shinsengumi.
"...Well, I won't tell you to pick your friends more carefully," Hijikata continued. "All we know at this point is that his faction isn't part of this whole mess. And even if he's been causing problems for a while now, I've got my orders... tch. We still don't have anything concrete, but there are rumors that the Kiheitai are behind this."
"The Kiheitai...?" Kyubei mulled this over in her head; she'd heard of the Kiheitai before, although she didn't know that much about them. They were often considered the most extreme of the Joui factions, seeking utter destruction of the country rather than just expulsion of the Amanto - and their leader was, purportedly, an old comrade of Gintoki's. Of course, Katsura had been the source of that information, so she didn't know whether or not to believe it... but either way, if the Kiheitai were involved, this situation was one that even the Shinsengumi would have trouble handling.
Hijikata shook his head and stepped away from the fence. "They're just rumors. We won't know for sure until the asshole we caught coughs something up. Would be a real pain in the ass if it was true, though... I guess Kondo's right. We don't have time for Katsura right now."
At this point, it became obvious that Hijikata was mostly talking to himself; Kyubei was little more than a bystander to him at this point, and she wasn't even that interested anymore. So, with an irritated sigh, the Yagyu heir turned to leave - there had been little point to this conversation from the start, and even though she did know a few more things about the Joui conflict, that information didn't matter to her anymore.
She and Katsura were enemies now. Even if she didn't understand why, they were enemies... and his well-being was of no concern to her.
Or, at least, that's what Kyubei tried to convince herself of. There was still a part of her that rejected the notion of them being enemies... although that, too, was something she did not understand.
Katsura was quite familiar with the feeling of waking up beneath cold rain; his way of life didn't allow for much shelter, and he was lucky if he slept with a roof over his head. His luck had changed for the better in the past few weeks, but his last hideout had been rooted out - and he didn't want to put Ikumatsu in danger, not with everything that had transpired as of late.
It was the low rumble of thunder that first woke him. At first, he mistook it for the sound of Shinsengumi artillery - but that notion was quickly discarded when lightning flashed across the sky, bringing with it another rumble.
Why had the weather waited until morning to turn inclement? Katsura would've loved to have a dramatic background for his fight with Kyubei... but all there'd been to accompany them was a bit of fog.
With a sigh, Katsura picked himself up and trudged out from within the alleyway he'd taken shelter in the previous night. Now wasn't the time to think of Kyubei; another event from the previous night was far more pressing.
He knew that the Shinsengumi had spotted him. There was no man other than Toushirou Hijikata that had a gaze as piercing as the one Katsura had felt... and yet, despite that, they hadn't pursued him. They had focused entirely on the other Joui... but why? Katsura had been a threat - and their enemy - for far longer than these mutinous factions, so why did they ignore him?
The more he thought of it, the less sense it made. Just like his friendship and rivalry with Kyubei-
Katsura shook his head and tried to refocus his thoughts; now was not the time to think of her. There were more important things to worry about, such as the reason for the sudden outburst of hostile Joui activity... and why they had targeted him. There was only one person among the Joui that Katsura knew to have this deep of a grudge against him - and yet, for some reason, this incident didn't have the stench of Takasugi about it.
If it wasn't Takasugi, then who was it? With the Shinsengumi's attention diverted for reasons beyond his comprehension, Katsura could investigate this matter; he needed to know why the other Joui were targeting him. And he also needed to know why they were so persistent about it... he knew without being told that none of them would listen to a word he said.
There was only one man who could help Katsura with this undertaking... and that man had already discarded the mantle of the Joui, never to return in spite of his old friend's pleas. And Katsura couldn't even trust his own faction anymore - he was alone in this.
And so, as Katsura trudged along the drenched city streets, with nothing but an umbrella to protect him from the pounding rain, only one question crossed his mind; would anyone even care if he died?
Author's Notes: You may have noticed a pattern with character focus thus far. Well, I did, at any rate... that doesn't matter much, though.
Something big is going to happen next chapter - be forewarned!
I've decided to stop worrying about chapter length and number of reviews. It's not getting me anywhere XD
