* Strand DEAD*

10

by: WhiteGloves

"The country? The skies? You can have them! I'm busy enough protecting what's in front of me. I don't know how many times I failed to protect what I wanted. I have nothing left, so at least if something has fallen at my feet I'll pick it up."

~Gintoki Sakata~

(Oboro on the loose!)

~Happy reading!~

Oboro's eyes reflected Sakata Gintoki and Katsura Kotarou. The two of the last Joui Patriots. Such were the history these samurais have... and such will be the history of their end. Shouyo would definitely not rejoice to see them in the afterlife at such an age... then again—he doubted the Shiroyasha would be taken down easily.

Now as for the Nobleman of Fury...

Oboro's eyes feasted on the long haired samurai's blood on the floor and to his bloodstained clothes and messy appearance. It would seem that the death of the Amantos he sent after him won't be in vain after all. It was obvious. There will be an apparent human death that night.

Wasn't that the main purpose of this purge?

And Takasugi Shinsuke will hear about it. The idea made it more appealing to the cold hearted assassin whose eyes lingered on the Joui leader.

But then his sight of the black haired samurai was suddenly blocked by a bunch of unruly silver hair who stepped in with his wooden sword on his shoulder and with that dead fish look on his eyes.

"Oi, just where are you looking at?" the silver haired samurai said, raising his sword and pointing it toward the Naraku assassin, "are you fantasizing something weird? What is it? A piece of meat? Are you Luffy? If you want a piece of meat I'm right here in front of you. Don't go fantasizing of other people—I'm your enemy."

The Naraku agent's eyes glinted as it focused on the Shiroyasha.

Does it really matter which Patriot dies tonight?

"Get out of the way," he said quietly, "your death may suffice my thirst but it won't mean a thing than the death of that Joui leader, Katsura Kotarou. He who is bluntly leading a large group of Jouishishi must die tonight. His death signifies the power of the Bakufu. Someone like you who leads nothing has nothing to do here. Get out of the way."

Gintoki stared at Oboro with lips partly open but he did not respond. He had nothing to say to that. Then he suddenly heard the Joui leader chuckle behind him and just had to look at him sideways.

"What are you laughing about, Zura?" he asked somewhat annoyed.

"You've been denied a fight, Gintoki," Katsura answered, standing up straight and holding his numb shoulder, "But the man has a point. This is not your fight. You shouldn't really be here..."

"You—!"

"But the fact that you are," Katsura continued with a little smile, "that man wouldn't understand. I don't need to ask why either. I'm not stupid enough not to get it. You're free to do what you like."

Gintoki paused with eyes on his side, then he gave a snort.

"You're really shameful, Zura. So what are you planning? The way you are right now they'll capture you. You're already cornered."

"I'll be leaving him to you anyways," the Joui leader muttered with a sudden intake of breathe, "I've been fighting Amantos since this morning and got caught up in a lot of explosions and not to mention I'm losing all my blood faster than flushing a toilet so he's all yours."

"Why are you giving me these excuses, huh? You're already giving excuses for getting caught here?"

"I'm saying I've got other things to do."

The Yorozuya leader saw him point toward the Joui members still inside the cage and understood.

"Yeah. Do that. No need to look back."

And with all the tension building up, Sakata Gintoki focused his eyes on his enemy in the white robe. Katsura will save his men first before himself—then the Joui leader will be planning of escaping. That's how he has always done it whenever he feels he was in a pinch.

And the last battle started—with an ear-splitting, mindboggling— BOOOOOM!

The ground shook and everybody in the vicinity shouted as yet again—debris and large rocks and pieces of the roof fell down on them. Gintoki Sakata nearly fell face down the floor with a bewildered expression—

"W-what is it now!?" he exclaimed, straightening up and half expecting new opponents to come out of the blue— only to hear Katsura's voice laughing from the background

"HAHAHAAHAHAHA!"

"E-eh? Why? Zura?" he turned in time to see Kotarou Katsura still standing outnumbered in the middle of the Naraku agent with facial expression close that to a madman.

"You think I'll just let you capture me this way?" the Joui leader shouted as he raised a hand holding what appeared to a remote control, "Don't be ridiculous!"

"Oi!" the Yorozuya leader shouted back as things fell from the sky, nearly crushing him, "that guy has snapped from the tension and being cornered! He really snapped after realizing he's probably gonna die! Somebody stop him!"

"HAHAHAHAHA!" the Jouishishi leader continued as he clicked and detonated the bombs—more explosions happened, confusing the Naraku Agents who all scattered away from the falling bits of roof, "You cannot take me nor can you put me in any disadvantage for I, Katsura Kotarou am always prepared for the worst!"

"The worst thing you can do is to kill even your friends, you idiot!" Gintoki shouted all the way on his left as he avoided metals falling on his head, "are you planning to kill us too, teme!?"

"Do not worry!" Katsura hissed as he took his sword again, "my men are inside an impenetrable cage! They won't be hurt! Nah, minna?"

He looked behind him only to see his members all down the ground with eyes all white, presumably from the proximity of the explosion.

"Y-you guys!" the long haired samurai shouted in surprise.

"Go make your brain explode you brainless maniac!" Gintoki shouted as he kicked some of the Naraku Agents who fell on his way, "what kind of person would go around the whole building in his damn bloody condition setting up bombs here and there—!?"

The Yorozuya leader's eyes then widened when he saw needles sharply flying toward the back of the Joui leader— in a second he was behind Katsura and has deflected the sharp needle materials using his wooden sword with eyes glinting.

"Oi," he said, "I said I'm your opponent didn't I?" and Gintoki charged toward Oboro first—and the two clashed in between the explosions and crumbling walls. The moment they made contact, swords and fists came flying between the two—once or twice the Yorozuya leader dodged to avoid Oboro's palm, knowing full well its effect by now.

"Using the same tactics, don't you have anything original anymore?" the silver haired samurai muttered with dull eyes, "Sorry but I don't fall for the same trick twice!"

"I wouldn't expect less from you, Shiroyasha..." he said, charging again and leaning closer almost threateningly—then before Gintoki's eyes he raised his palm on the silver hair's shoulder for another attack—

The Yorozuya leader pulled himself and landed a meter away from him with a sweat drop at the side of his face.

"I've nuff of that one," he muttered with a twitch at the corner of his mouth, "I don't know what kind of air gas you've got on that palm but I won't stay longer just to watch. What's up with that hand, huh? It's coming out of the wrong end?"

Oboro looked unfazed and continued staring at Gintoki.

"Get out of the way." He repeated.

The silver haired samurai just gave him a smile.

"Don't get ahead of yourself. You ain't good enough to fight Katsura."

Another loud explosion was heard somewhere followed by Katsura's demented laughter.

The Yorozuya leader looked sideways with a look of amusement on his face.

"Oi...oi... see that? He's pretty energetic, ain't he? It's like he's far from reaching afterlife after all. It's like he's gaining extra points because of all the explosions. Is he Mario? Is he Rockman? Is he a maniac?"

He looked back just in time to see Oboro jumping at him again with his quick fists ready to strike. Gintoki saw and avoided him—then fought back with his wooden sword swinging unpredictably on his side—twice Oboro was nearly taken—and twice also, Gintoki was nearly captured by his powerful hands. Realizing it wasn't enough, he grabbed a nearby sword stuck on the floor and used it to defend himself. Whenever they clashed—explosions louder than Katsura's bombed would shook the whole warehouse.

Their speed was also not to be overlooked at—the more Gintoki tries to catch up with the Naraku assassin, the more Oboro would quicken his movements. The two were equally match for quite some time until Gintoki, who had obviously been avoiding his attacks since the beginning—stopped and looked up the falling ceiling between them. The ceiling fell—but during the confusion, two sharp objects suddenly went pass it toward the Yorozuya leader.

Gintoki deflected the needles with his wooden sword once more. The whole place got covered with white dusts. Katsura continued laughing somewhere out there.

"Simply dodging isn't enough," came Oboro's cold voice as he appeared in the dust and walked toward the samurai, "what happened to all the talk about not being good enough?"

Gintoki raised his head behind his raised left arm revealing a little crease on his usually dull expression. Oboro's eyes glinted as then he saw one of his needles attached on the Yorozuya leader's left arm.

Gintoki silently took the needle and threw it away with his jaw tightening.

Katsura blinked several times before finally deciding to shake his head. It was no good. He thought he had imagined it with all the bombs exploding and all but his head felt really light and his eyesight getting blurry. He also noticed the sudden reddening of his left side vision.

"This is bad..." he said more to himself as his enemies disappeared on the rubble and dusts, "an infection on the eye above everything..."

An attack came right behind him and he turned immediately, sending the opponent to the other world. It was followed by many more aggressive attacks and Katsura just had to commend them by how perfect their movements were unlike the Amantos he was fighting moments ago.

"Now this is a fighting style," he was saying as he stepped backwards and avoided somebody taking him from behind, "it's been a long time since I've had encountered this what with those Amantos only who kept on swinging with their brute strength... no, I knew you agents like Yhwach were really thought well. Ah. You are humans. Creatures of patience and perseverance! What an honor to exchange blades with you even though you are my enemy! I've just had enough of cutting down trolls who don't even know the purpose of their hands!"

"Katsura-san! You're not supposed to praise em'!" a Jouishishi shouted from inside the cage, "and if you have time blowing this whole place up do something about this cage!"

"Yeah! We'll fight with you, Katsura-dono!"

The Jouishishi leader didn't even have time to look at them as he was attacked by more Naraku agents again. Instead, he dodged and killed the agents with less movement than what was expected.

"Uh... this is bad," he muttered again as he straightened up, "everything in front of me is all red... now I have two sore eyes..."

"Katsura-san!" hissed one Joui member, "that's not sore eyes! That's your blood leaking from your head!"

"Hmm?" The Joui leader looked sideward at the cage again but was distracted when a loud crashing sound suddenly came on his other side. Looking at it, Katsura's eyes widened when he saw the silver haired samurai leaning backwards on the destroyed wall with a bleeding lip.

"Gintoki?" he breathed, a little surprise, but was again distracted when he was attacked by the Naraku agents—he tried getting rid of them but then felt his body falling behind it was nearly too late for him to avoid a fatal attack. The next thing—he felt his feet slip on the floor, causing him to lose his ground. Agents were upon him at once.

"Damn sore eyes!" he cursed.

The Yorozuya leader was in no better situation as he firmly planted his feet on the ground right after sliding off the wall he was thrown to. He clutched his chest and had to injure the part where his enemy struck him with his palm. That feeling of intense pain as if he broke a few ribs made him grit his teeth as well.

A shadow then appeared before him. Gintoki raised his eyes to find Oboro's own cold eyes staring back at him.

"You really got some bothersome palms there," the silver haired muttered as he straightened a little, glad that he was still clutching his sword, "well... not like they'd be working again."

Oboro suddenly felt a stinging feeling on both his wrists and there saw—his own blood splattering from the long cut he received from the samurai.

"You..." he grinded his teeth as he flexed his fingers and felt they were still functioning albeit not as better as before, "really are quite an animal."

The next thing—blade and a staff were clashing like thunder clasp, followed by flying needles. Gintoki whose left arm has gone numb, used his right arm and legs in answer to the attacks— the two warriors collided in the air with their weapons clashing here and there.

Seconds passed and then—Oboro's right palm came out of nowhere and the next thing the samurai knew, Oboro had grabbed his neck—

"Ughh!"

Oboro's eyes gleamed.

"We really need to keep an animal like you controlled."

Gintoki's eyes widened as he was pushed forcefully down from the air—toward the wooden crates lying around and crashing him there in the process.

This smashing sound made Katsura look over to his friend and his opponent again.

"Gintoki!" he shouted with all his might as he looked over the white dusts covering the area where the Yorozuya leader landed, "you're getting your ass handed back at you!?"

"You're one to talk!" the Yorozuya leader replied as he got up from the cold ground with a crease on his eyes brows, "I don't need to hear that from the bastard who's been walking around half dead! Go die! Seriously, I'll kill you!"

But then everything went silent as the white dusts subsided and everybody saw a clear picture of what had just happened. Katsura stared at the place where the silver haired samurai was on with a ridiculous look on his face—it wasn't only him. Even the Joui members had the same expression...

Gintoki blinked at them all with his dead fish eyes and then realized that he was holding something else on his hands. He was no longer holding his sword—he was holding metals. Not one metal but two metals on his hands.

"Gintoki?" the Joui leader whispered. The silver haired blinked again then looked on what's in front of him. Considering the bigger picture, we see the Yorozuya leader inside another metal cage just like the rest of the Jouishishi members.

Silence.

Katsura and Gintoki stared at each other.

Then the Joui leader pressed his lips quietly and pointedly looked away.

"OIIIIIIIIII!" the Yorozuya leader looked enraged as he shook the metal bars, "what are you smirking at?! Did you just laugh?! Did you just laugh at my face!? Stop gloating, bastard! I'll kill you!"

Oboro appeared at the top of the cage watching the progress of the other agents.

"N-no way...!" one Joui member said as they all stared struck at the ending of the silver haired samurai, "G-Gintoki-dono's caught! Now he's become useless in this fight!""

"I don't want to hear that from a bunch of useless guys like you!" came Gintoki's angry retort. "And why the hell is this cage inside a crate? HUH? How did I end up inside it?! Oi, Zura! Come here and help me out! Weren't you the one dying to free me awhile ago!? I need my freedom now!"

"If it was that easy," the Joui leader muttered as the attack of the agents came flooding on him again, "I would have taken my men out a long time ago!"

"What's that supposed to mean!?"

Katsura ignored Gintoki after that as wave of Naraku agents came at him one after another. An intense fight occurred once more with the Joui leader standing tall and with the dignity of a samurai against a dozen or so enemies.

It went like that for a few minutes with swords clashing and blood spilling on the ground.

"Katsura-san..." a Joui member whispered with an anxious look on his face—it wasn't only him, all the Joui members watching the fight felt dread as they saw their leader got surrounded again with no one to aid him any longer. "This is bad... Katsura-san..."

They watched him cut a staff in two and watch him slice his opponent in half but then—he accidentally slipped on his own blood again—

"Do something about your blood, idiot!" the Yorozuya leader shouted as five more assassins came jumping at him at once— Gintoki's eyes widened as the Jouishishi member's jaw dropped.

"ZURAAA!" and his shout was followed by another deafening explosion as a part of the wall was blown from the outside, causing bits of rocks to fly everywhere.

Katsura's life was spared when all the Naraku agents scattered away as the ground shook again and the ceiling threatened to fall. Everybody then looked at the destroyed wall where they saw amidst the smoke and dust... shadows.

"Is this the place, Elizabeth-san?" came a familiar voice of megane-kun.

"Shinpachi, I saw Sadaharu sleeping outside." same the Yato girl's voice too, "who kidnapped him here? I'll kill that person, yes?"

Katsura looked up in time to see Shinpachi, Kagura together with the white Renho standing in the destroyed wall with the Amanto carrying a bazooka.

"You guys!" he shouted with eyes wide as Gintoki also watched them come.

"We came to help, Katsura-san!" Shinpachi said with a smile toward the Joui leader whose eyes began to water at seeing his white amanto friend who came to help him.

"Yes, yes, so get out of the way!" Kagura shouted as she jumped up and then—landed a mighty kick at the head of the Joui leader who fell backwards with blood gushing out of his mouth.

"Katsura-sannn!" the Joui all cried.

"Oi! You're helping the wrong side, you idiots!" Gintoki shouted.

"L-Leader...! Shinpachi-kun!" Katsura looked up at the Yato girl and the megane boy who stood around him with fierce faces, "I—I don't think you're here for me at all.."

"Shut up!" Shinpachi hollered looking demented, "why did you do that to us back there, huh!? Did you think we'll get on your way, HUH? HUH?"

"You really deserve to sleep like that too, Zura," Kagura said icily as she raised her fists, "you look like you're about to doze off to heaven anyways so let me bring you eternal peace."

"W-wait, leader!" Katsura knelt on the ground as the two younger Yorozuyas raised their hand and sword and hit the naraku agents attacking the Joui leader from behind.

"We're not kids that deserve to be looking down to," Shinpachi said as he pulled his sword with eyes flashing, "we're the Yorozuya, bastards!"

Katsura stared at the two and then to Elizabeth who raised a board.

I've got a bad feeling something bad will happen in the future if I don't let them come.

"Elizabeth..." the Joui leader whispered. The Renho raised another board.

These kids might kill you.

"YOU IDIOTS!" Gintoki suddenly raged on with hands on the metal bars, "Why the hell did you come here? Do you wanna grow up as terrorists!?"

"SAYS THE MAN STUCK INSIDE A FREAKING CAGE!" Shinpachi hollered. "What are you doing there?! You're supposed to be fighting here too, you idiot!"

"It's okay, Gin-chan!" Kagura went on as the attacks started again, "If we're terrorists then let's do it properly! We're going to be the Joui of Yorozuya!"

"What kind of lame name is that?"

And as Kagura and Shinpachi stood in front of Katsura with the agents around them, somebody else stepped in the circle. Someone with his scar eminent and cold eyes unfazed as he gazed at all of them with only one meaning on his eyes: death.

Gintoki immediately grabbed his sword and tried to cut the metals bars but it was of no use.

"What...?"

"It's useless," Oboro said, looking back at the silver haired samurai, "you cannot cut those metal bars. Just stay there and watch your comrades die."

Gintoki's lips thinned as Oboro turned to the samurais in front of him. Katsura stared at him too as he straightened a little while clutching his sword. The young Yorozuyas looked back at the enemy with a sudden feeling of alarm.

"T-this guy..." Shinpachi muttered as Kagura posed her arms to fight beside him.

"This place is not for kids," Oboro started with face expressionless, "though I do not mind cutting one or two." And his eyes flashed—only a flying board came toward in his direction which he deflected with his staff.

Everyone looked over at the Renho who was beside Katsura.

"Elizabeth-san!" the megane boy called as the amanto raised his board.

He's dangerous.

Katsura read the message and didn't hesitate to walk in front of the two Yorozuyas to face the scarred assassin.

"Katsura-san!" the megane boy stared but was halted when the Joui leader raised a hand to hush him up. Katsura kept his eyes, which can only see red, at the cold blooded Naraku agent.

"So we really are the one to face each other after all, assassin-dono." He started. "If you were really after me you shouldn't have sent that other agent called Yhwach after me. We gave him too much screen time only to be killed in the end. Well, that really is the fate of all those who oppose me. You should have just come and knocked on my door yourself."

Oboro didn't answer to that. But he did raise his hand—and at once poisoned needles came flying toward Katsura who simply deflected them gracefully using his sword.

The Jouishishi leader's eyes glinted.

"I'm sorry but I've seen too much of that already. Even your third needle which you purposely release last won't escape my sore eyes."

"That's not sore eyes, Katsura-san." Shinpachi murmured. "That's your blood!"

And Oboro and Katsura faced each other with eyes of warriors ready to end it all.

Meanwhile, Sakata Gintoki was already grinding his sword on the metal bar like a saw.

"You just wait, you bastards!" he was saying grudgingly, "always giving me the short straw in the story! Some twisted author you've got! Are you another Gorilla? What kind of hard time is this, huh? I'll show you—just wait—I'll show you how this sword can cut you up even with its broken teeth! Likewise a samurai like me who has not yet bitten anything chew you later! Damn it all..."

He continued sawing. And then he cursed.

"I'm losing calories..."

~to be continued~

AN: Marching towards the END!

Gin-san... you aren't staying there forever are you!?

:D

Thank you for the support! Thanks you for reading!