Author's Note: We're entering the endgame of the Joui War and starting in this chapter, there's a bit more violence and death on-screen than in previous chapters. I don't plan to write it in gory and disturbing detail, but I thought I should warn my readers beforehand.
When a hero fails in his purpose his acts are then regarded as those of a villain and a robber. - Yoshida Shoin
Chapter Fourteen: How Did People Live Before They Invented Ice-Cream?
1867 – Edo:
Katsura returned to the warehouse break room, mopping his brow. "Nishiko-dono, I am mortified at Elizabeth's behaviour. She's still unused to this planet, I'm afraid."
"Katsura-san, where did you find this creature?"
"She's not a creature. She's Elizabeth."
"Where did you find Elizabeth?" she said, trying to restrain her impatience.
"I didn't find her, Nishiko-dono. Sakamoto sent her to me."
Sakamoto was involved in this too? Nishiko's heart fell. The situation was becoming more complex every moment. She still had to end her relationship with Katsura, but this alarming new Amanto companion meant she'd soon be sending an emergency message to Shinsuke, just in case he wasn't already aware of this development.
"Why would Sakamoto send you this . . . Elizabeth?" she asked.
Katsura drew his brows together. "Before he left for space, he promised he'd keep an eye out for something that could help the Joui cause," he said thoughtfully. "Maybe that's why he sent me Elizabeth?"
"Does Elizabeth help the Joui cause?" asked Nishiko skeptically.
"Elizabeth has saved me from some very challenging situations, Nishiko-dono. She's my right arm in all our operations."
"What about Gintoki?"
"Gintoki?" Katsura looked at her oddly. "You've never asked about him before. But he's still as lazy as ever, most of the time."
"How often do you see him?" she asked.
Katsura seemed to hesitate before answering. "I run into him from time to time, Nishiko-dono. I haven't given up trying to re-awake his patriotism."
Shinsuke hadn't asked her to investigate Katsura, she reminded herself. He'd ordered her to cut off ties with him completely. She couldn't put it off any longer.
"Katsura-san," she began. "There's something I need to tell you."
1861 – Osaka:
The large banquet room into which Gintoki led them was filled with seated soldiers and geisha.
"Sakata-kun!" a large, burly man with a scar across his face greeted Gintoki. "I was beginning to think you were ditching us - " He broke off as he caught sight of Nishiko. "You brought your own woman to a tea-house, Sakata-kun?"
The men were all staring at her.
"Oi, you want me to rearrange your face for you, Miyamoto-kun?" Gintoki snapped. "This girl here is the brilliant surgeon Tanaka Nishiko."
"Oh, the Kiheitai medic!" said one of the men, seated near Miyamoto. "Excellent! We've all wanted to meet her."
"Forgive me, Tanaka-san," Miyamoto addressed Nishiko. "If Sakata-kun had hinted he was bringing a lady to this banquet, we'd be better prepared to welcome you." He motioned to the place beside him. "Please sit down."
"That's my spot," said Gintoki quickly, to general laughter.
Once they'd settled the seating arrangements, with Nishiko sitting between Gintoki and the geisha Mineko, one of the men spoke up, "Tell us how you rode into Osaka, Shiroyasha-san."
"Why? Didn't you see me?" Gintoki asked. There was more laughter. But then anything Gintoki said would have this audience in stitches.
"It's no use trying to overcome Sakata-kun's natural modesty," Miyamoto said loudly. "I'm far more interested in how Tanaka-san got stuck chaperoning our shrinking violet."
"I promised her ice-cream," said Gintoki and downed another cup of sake.
"What?"
"There's no ice-cream left in this city," Gintoki explained. His cheeks were becoming quite flushed. "You bastards ate it all."
Miyamoto rolled his eyes. "Who comes to Shinmachi looking for ice-cream?"
"We've given up on the ice-cream," said Gintoki sadly.
Miyamoto grinned at Nishiko. "Were you much disappointed, Tanaka-san?"
"Oi, stop trying to flirt with her, you low-life," Gintoki ordered him. "She's got friends in high places, haven't you heard?"
Nishiko briefly considered jabbing Gintoki in the ribs to make him shut up, but in this condition he'd probably loudly ask her why she was doing that. She couldn't tell him in front of everybody that he made it sound like she was some important man's mistress. "I think Sakata-san is referring to my family's connections," she said stiffly.
"Yep," said Gintoki. "That's exactly what I'm talking about. Her family's much too high and mighty for a hill bandit like yourself." He wagged a finger at Miyamoto. "So forget it."
"You probably think Sakata-kun's joking," said a man sitting across from Nishiko and Mineko. "He isn't."
"Are you trying to scare the ladies, Koga?" Miyamoto demanded.
"How could we be scared with Shiroyasha-dono at our side?" asked Mineko, giving Gintoki another of her bewitching smiles.
"He's not the only one at your side, Mineko-san," Miyamoto told her.
Nishiko heaved a sigh of relief. It was high time that these men pay attention to the women who were actually paid to put up with them.
"I can't forget any of our gallant rescuers," said Mineko lightly. "You've brought honour to us and this establishment."
Another of the geisha chimed in. "Are you really a bandit, Miyamoto-san?"
"Well, the Bakufu called me one," Miyamoto replied. "I was a Joui leader -"
"No, he was a bandit," Koga interrupted him. "There's a price on his head back in Tosa. That's the real reason why he joined up with us. Too many people back home trying to collect the bounty."
"I was a bandit with Joui principles," insisted Miyamoto. His friend snorted.
"You know, I'm sure Sakamoto told me you two were dead," said Gintoki suddenly.
"He could have waited to make sure," said Koga. "But we were very close to having our heads mounted on sticks. We spent a pleasant two months as guests of the Bakufu this past winter."
"Why was the Bakufu keeping prisoners?" asked Gintoki.
"They meant to transport us back to Tosa and execute us as an example to the people back home," Miyamoto explained. "But they hadn't got around to it before we escaped."
"That's a lot of effort for them to go to, just for you two," said Gintoki.
"They're getting smarter," said Koga. "The Amanto are doing everything they can to help the Bakufu intimidate our people."
Gintoki shrugged. "My sword cuts through a clever Amanto as well as through a stupid one."
Koga smiled. "Glad to see you're as bloodthirsty as ever, Sakata-kun."
"Bloodthirsty? The only thing I'm thirsty for is more sake." Gintoki's face suddenly lit up. "I smell food! Finally! Bring on the Takoyaki!"
1867 – Edo:
The words stuck in Nishiko's throat.
"Nishiko-dono?" Katsura prodded her.
"Katsura-san, I'm afraid of my Joui background being exposed."
Katsura gasped. "Nishiko-dono, are you in danger?"
"No, Katsura-san, it's not that at all. But I'm worried. I know the Bakufu has some information about my activities during the war."
"I thought your mother's family had smoothed everything out?"
"Yes," she admitted. "They bribed the right people to have some files sealed for me. But Katsura-san, all that would go to nothing if I was discovered associating with you."
"You want to turn your back on our fight?" said Katsura, his voice disbelieving. "You want to live a pointless life like Gintoki's? I can't believe that!"
"Katsura-san, I'm not living a pointless life. I'm an emergency room doctor, for goodness sake. That's my fight now."
Katsura sighed. "It's true that it's a nobler vocation to save lives than to take them," he said slowly. "I respect you for that, Nishiko-dono. You never gave in to despair and hatred."
Nishiko said nothing. Katsura was wrong. She'd had her fill of both. But if Katsura believed her to be the paragon of virtue he'd dreamt up, he might decide to do the noble thing and agree to let their friendship sleep.
"But there's so few of us left to fulfill the duty we owe our country," mused Katsura. "I thought only death could take my companions from my side. But now they walk away."
"Katsura-san, I still believe we'll expel the Amanto from our soil," said Nishiko.
"Yes, you were always faithful, Nishiko-dono. . ." He paused. "Even though he doesn't deserve it."
"Katsura-san, what are you talking about?" she asked, feigning puzzlement. In all the years since they'd found each other in Edo, Katsura had never once spoken about Shinsuke.
"Nishiko-dono, would you tell Takasugi what you've told me?" Katsura asked.
1861 – Osaka:
As far as Nishiko could tell, the banquet was living up to Gintoki's expectations. He ate and drank enthusiastically, laughed at everyone's jokes, and it was only with great difficulty that he was persuaded to stop singing, after an earsplittingly horrible rendition of a child's lullaby.
"I have a friend who plays the shamisen," Gintoki said suddenly.
"You should have brought him along, Shiroyasha-dono," said Mineko.
Gintoki shook his head. "Not a good idea. He'd ruin any party. He's the gloomiest bastard you've ever met. But I don't mind his playing. At least he has to shut up when he's playing."
Koga grinned "Are you talking about who I think you're talking about?"
"Must be," put in Miyamoto. "He can't have too many gloomy shamisen-playing friends. Ah, Tanaka-san is frowning at you, Sakata-kun." The men around them dissolved into laughter. Nishiko said nothing.
"Well, I didn't say he was bad at playing, Nishiko," Gintoki addressed her. "I've got to admit he's damn good. Even if it's a girly instrument."
"Oh come off it, Sakata-kun, you sound like my old grandfather," Miayamoto said.
Koga waved his hand. "No, Sakata-kun's raised an interesting point. How on earth did Takasugi learn to play in your backwater?"
Gintoki snorted. "Backwater, fah, you lived in Edo for a few months once and now you're putting on airs?"
"How did he learn to play?" asked Nishiko impulsively.
"Oh, all right. I'll tell you." Gintoki closed his eyes. "It all began long, long ago during the Great Expedition to Kyoto."
"Which was?" Miyamoto prompted.
"A school trip," explained Gintoki. "I told you how we got into trouble for sneaking into Shinmachi."
"No, you didn't," said Miyamoto.
"Shut up! I'm not talking to you!"
"Please do continue, Shiroyasha-dono," said Mineko, filling up Gintoki's cup again. "I'm eager to hear a story of our own quarter."
Gintoki's face lit up at her interest. "We were fourteen and snuck away from the inn where we were staying, just to see your beautiful quarter. We walked the streets and took in the lights and smells and music. But when we started back towards our inn, we met Sensei looking for us. Zura had turned us in."
"Zura was another friend of yours, Shiroyasha-dono?" asked Mineko.
"It's not Zura, it's Katsura Kotarou," Gintoki said, chuckling.
"Zura is Katsura-san's nickname," said Nishiko quickly, wishing that Mineko would stop pouring sake for Gintoki.
"We all started apologizing and beating our breasts. But not Shinsuke. You know what Shinsuke said?"
"No," said Mineko, smiling.
"He said, 'I wanted to hear the music.' And Sensei didn't even blink. He asked Shinsuke, 'And did you?' What do you think of that, Mineko-san?"
"Your teacher sounds like a very remarkable man."
Gintoki's eyes grew distant. "He was. You know, sometimes I remember - " He cut himself off suddenly.
"Never mind about that," he said with uncharacteristic sharpness. "My mind was drifting. Anyway, Shinsuke told Sensei that he wanted to play the shamisen like he'd heard it played here. So we all laughed at him, of course. But Shouyou-sensei took him seriously. He said we must look out for a good instrument for him. Shinsuke bought a shamisen in Kyoto, and kept practicing it when everyone else was trying to sleep. It was torture."
"I'd say that's a mark of distinction for our quarter," Mineko commented. "We inspired Takasugi Shinsuke to take up the shamisen."
"Nah, you don't want to be associated with him. Trust me. It's not worth it." He turned to Nishiko. "That goes for you too," he said earnestly.
"Isn't it a little too late for Tanaka-san to avoid associating with Takasugi?" said Koga.
Gintoki scrunched his brow. "Is it too late, Nishiko?"
"Gintoki, I'm a medic in the Kiheitai, remember?"
Gintoki groaned. "Why'd you have to go do that? You and your brother should have stayed in Hagi and kept out of this mess."
"Do you think I didn't tell him that?" demanded Nishiko. "Ichiro was all fired up to follow you."
Gintoki said nothing. He was staring at the floor.
"There isn't anyone left for me to go home to, Gintoki," said Nishiko quietly. "My father's dead, did you know?"
"Shinsuke told me before I went to Kyoto," said Gintoki. "I'm sorry."
"You two are still alive," said Mineko softly. "And I'll thank the seven lucky gods for bringing you here tonight."
"Well said," Miyamoto interjected. "I wouldn't have missed out on meeting you two tonight for anything. It's just a pity you never got your ice-cream."
"If Shiroyasha-san wants ice-cream so badly, I could probably make some for him," said one of the Tosa men.
Gintoki sat up straight, suddenly alert. "How long would it take?"
"Five minutes," replied the man. "All I need is some milk, cream, sugar, vanilla, and liquid nitrogen."
Nishiko wasn't the only person to gasp at the last ingredient.
"Are you trying to poison the Shiroyasha?" demanded Miyamoto.
"Can you add strawberries too?" Gintoki asked.
"Absolutely," the self-proclaimed ice-cream maker replied. "If you can get them for me. And it's completely safe. Once it's made, that is. It's the fumes from the nitrogen while you're making it that you'd have to look out for."
"Sakata-kun, let me introduce to you Goto Daisuke, our expert in improvising explosives," said Koga drily. "Do you really want to entrust your taste-buds to him?"
Gintoki was already on his feet and halfway to the screen. "I'm going to get the ingredients," he called back over his shoulder. "Nishiko, wait for me here."
"It is safe," insisted Goto, meeting the glares of the other samurai.
Koga sighed. "I'll go with him, make sure he comes back." He stood up to follow after Gintoki.
"Good thinking," said Miyamoto. "We don't want to end the evening with Sakata falling into a ditch somewhere. He sure can hold his liquor, though, can't he?" He turned to Nishiko. "And with Sakata-kun gone, we can finally get acquainted."
Nishiko's thoughts involuntarily lept to the dagger Takasugi had given her, tucked beneath her sash.
"I wouldn't try anything with her," another of the men warned. "Takasugi will kill you, you know."
Miyamoto laughed uproariously. "Oh, I wouldn't dare, anyway. You don't need to worry, Tanaka-san. You're as safe with me as with that empty-headed perm boy."
"That's a relief, said Mineko. "I thought I might have to remove Tanaka-san from your company." She spoke sweetly, but her comment seemed to carry a warning.
There were cries of protest. "No! You can't take her away!" and someone said, "Miyamoto, behave yourself!"
"I am behaving myself," protested Miyamoto. "I'll never be one of these fancy samurai, you know that. But here's a question, Tanaka-san, if you're really so high and proper, what are you doing with Takasugi-kun?"
Nishiko's cheeks were aflame, but she steadied her voice. "Miyamoto-san, you're the only person who's ever asked me that to my face. But I know everyone else is wondering this. So I'll give you the full truth. Takasugi Shinsuke was my dead brother's commander. After my brother died, he asked me to serve the Kiheitai as a medic. He values me because I've done a good job in that role. Do you have any more questions?" She willed herself to stare him down.
Miyamoto lowered his head. "I'm sorry, Tanaka-san. I humbly beg your forgiveness."
"I accept your apology, Miyamoto-san," she said stiffly. Nishiko was shaking uncontrollably now. She had spoken directly and indecorously, and the ingrained feeling of shame was rising up inside her. She knew that her father would have been stricken to the core to hear such a speech from his daughter's lips. But then he would have been heartbroken for the situation in which she found herself. She didn't really regret a word.
The conversation began again slowly and awkwardly, with talk turning to the feasibility of Goto's ice-cream experiment. She sat quietly and tried to regain her calm, breathing in deeply. When Gintoki finally returned, she had mostly regained her composure.
She put on a smile for him. Later, she would give him a piece of her mind. But that could wait for when they were together in private, and for when he was completely sober.
"I've got everything for you," Gintoki informed Goto. "Absolutely everything, even the strawberries."
"Where did you find liquid nitrogen, Sakata-kun?" Miyamoto asked.
"Someone got me some from a warehouse," Gintoki replied. "I think they use it to freeze stuff."
Goto nodded. "That's how the Amanto can transport fresh food across the galaxy."
"You aren't going to make this ice-cream in here, are you?" asked Mineko.
"No, of course not!" said Goto. "We need to do this outside where the fumes will dissipate."
"No trampling all over the garden," said Gintoki. "Looks like someone did already."
"That was you and Miyamoto, Sakata-kun," Koga reminded him. "When you were throwing out those unwelcome guests."
Gintoki scratched his head. "Oh yeah, now I remember. Oh well . . . it's not the worst damage I've done to Osaka."
"The garden was much more loved than the Terminal," said Mineko slyly. "But don't worry, Shiroyasha-dono. You've already spent a fortune on this establishment."
"We'll still go out to the street," Gintoki told them. "More room out there."
"You can hardly move a step out there," Koga objected.
"So, we'll move the crowd." Miyamoto got up. "Let's go."
They emerged out into the crowded street following Miyamoto.
"Stand back, everyone!" Miyamoto shouted. "In honour of the Shiroyasha, we're about to perform a demonstration of technological expertise for which we need a clear space. Six meters of street should do. Move back, please." Miyamoto continued harassing the crowd while Goto and Koga set up the experiment.
The crowd obeyed slowly, then a bit more quickly when Miyamoto warned them that they could all die from the fumes if they crowded in too closely.
Nishiko stood beside Gintoki, who had pilfered a strawberry from the supplies and was rapturously licking the last bit of juice from his lips.
"Who's the girl with the Shiroyasha?" she heard someone whisper.
"Those are geisha on the doorstep."
"No, not them. Look, that's a girl beside him wearing boy's clothes. Does Choshu have women soldiers now?"
"Nah, that's Takasugi's woman."
Gintoki whirled around, "Shut your mouth. She doesn't belong to anyone, and she certainly wouldn't have the bad taste to belong to him."
"Now if everyone will watch quietly, we'll begin the demonstration," Miyamoto declared. "What are you doing, Goto?"
"I've just finished mixing the ingredients in the bowl," Goto explained. "Now I'm blending in the strawberries."
"What is this? A cooking show?" shouted a heckler.
"And now we add the liquid nitrogen," said Goto loudly. He opened a metal canister, releasing billowing white clouds of gas. "Koga-san, if you'll stir the ingredients, I'll pour in the nitrogen until it's frozen properly."
There was complete silence as the two samurai worked, enveloped in clouds of gas. A few minutes later, Goto pronounced it done.
"But we need to wait a couple minutes to make sure all the nitrogen's evaporated. Otherwise, it'd burn a hole in your stomach, Shiroyasha-san," he explained.
"You're really going to eat this ice-cream?" Miyamoto asked Gintoki.
"After Goto-san tastes it for me," said Gintoki.
"Food taster for the Shiroyasha, there's a promotion," said Miyamoto. "Or a demotion, maybe."
"I'm honoured to serve you on this one occasion, Shiroyasha-san, but I think I'll stick with building explosives," Goto replied. "It's probably safer than working for you." He was ladling the pink ice-cream into a bowl.
"It looks good," Miyamoto admitted. "If you survive, Sakata-kun, I'll try a taste."
"Hey, get your greedy hands off my ice-cream," snapped Gintoki.
After counting out two minutes, Goto finally took a taste. He didn't scream in agony or clutch his stomach. Instead, he grinned and said he didn't think Gintoki would be disappointed.
"Shiroyasha-san will now taste the ice-cream and give us his opinion of it!" Miyamoto shouted to the crowd, while Goto handed Gintoki the bowl and a spoon.
Gintoki scooped out a big soonful of ice-cream. As he put the spoon to his mouth, he closed his eyes, and sighed with delight.
"Heavenly," he pronounced at last. "The smoothest consistency I've ever -" Gintoki's elbow knocked Nishiko off her feet. A second later, she was lying on the ground beside a bowl of ice-cream, and staring up at Gintoki's back. He was turning with his sword raised in his right hand and his bloody left hand clasping the blade of another sword.. Pulling herself up from the ground, she saw that Gintoki was standing with his sword to the throat of a young man, who stood just behind where Gintoki and Nishiko had been standing. The man's arms were pinned back by two of the Tosa soldiers.
"STAND STILL!" Miyamoto was roaring again. "We have the assassin held fast IF NO ONE MOVES."
The attempted assassination had happened so quickly that the crowd hadn't had time to panic. There was a murmur of surprise up and down the street, but the men largely stayed still.
"Shall we cut his throat, Sakata-san?" asked one of the soldiers quietly.
"No," said Gintoki.
He lowered his sword then let go of the blade he had grasped in his bloody left hand. Nishiko instinctively went to his side.
"It's not a deep cut," said Gintoki, as she took his left hand. He was still looking fixedly at the man who'd tried to kill him.
"No, it's not deep," Nishiko agreed, ripping a strip from her haori. She started wrapping his hand with the impromptu bandage.
"If he's a Bakufu agent, someone should question him," Miyamoto told his men. "Bind his wrists and -"
"I'm not a Bakufu agent." The young man spat the words at Gintoki "My name is Kobayashi Hitoshi. I am a samurai and I've come to avenge my father's death at the hands of this demon!"
Nishiko finished bandaging Gintoki's hand. She finally focused on the young man. His face was pale, but he was holding his head high, with a look of pure hatred on his face.
Gintoki drew a deep breath. "I killed your father?" he asked woodenly.
"Does that really surprise you, Gintoki?" The familiar, mocking voice pierced Nishiko's heart. "You've killed a fair number of men in your life." Takasugi pushed through the last ranks of the crowd.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Gintoki snarled, turning towards Takasugi
"I came for my medic, of course. Nishiko, is that all Gintoki's blood?"
Nishiko nodded. She hadn't realized how much blood she'd got on herself. But it looked as though she'd done a good job on Gintoki's hand . There was no blood seeping through the impromptu bandage.
Gintoki turned back to his would-be assassin.
"In what battle did I kill your father?" he asked quietly.
"Battle?" Kobayashi laughed. "It wasn't any battle. My father was a flight controller in the Terminal. That wasn't war, that was murder."
Gintoki said nothing. His face was unreadable.
"Finish this, Gintoki," Takasugi prompted him.
"No," said Gintoki. "There have been enough deaths already. Take him away but keep him safe."
"I don't want your mercy!" screamed the man. "If you have any honour left, Shiroyasha, give me this fight."
There were murmurs of outrage from the crowd. The soldiers' mood was turning ugly. Nishiko sensed that any moment now someone would decide to strike down this man who dared to defy the Shiroyasha.
"You think life is something to throw away so easily?" Gintoki demanded. "You really think our mothers suffered all that pain and morning sickness bringing us into the world, just so that we can die whenever we feel like it?"
"Since when have you held life so dear, demon?" retorted Kobayashi.
"Go ahead and fight him, Sakata-kun," Miyamoto said. "Everyone's honour will be appeased, including this young fool's. Takasugi-kun, what do you think?"
"I think I'm going back to Kiheitai headquarters. Come along, Nishiko."
"All right." Gintoki stirred. "I'll fight you, Kobayashi-san. Miyamoto-kun, give him back his sword."
The crowd watched with bated breath as the Tosa soldiers let go of Kobayashi and he and Gintoki took up positions opposite each other, swords drawn.
"He's planning something stupid," Takasugi said softly, almost to himself.
Just as Nishiko had expected, the fight was over in seconds. Kobayashi ran at Gintoki, and Gintoki dodged the blow and brought his sword down on the man's arm. Kobayashi fell to the ground. He was bleeding but it was only a slight wound. Gintoki had obviously fought to keep him alive.
Takasugi gave a short gasping laugh, then turned away to leave. Nishiko started to follow after him.
"I've defeated you in honourable battle, Kobayashi-san," Gintoki was saying behind them "Now you - NO! LEAVE HIM ALONE!"
Takasugi and Nishiko turned around to see Gintoki crouched over Kobayashi's body. Blood was pooling around him.
"Nishiko!" Gintoki screamed. "Help me!"
Nishiko started to run towards Gintoki, but suddenly felt Takasugi's hand on her arm, restraining her. "What is this, Gintoki?" he asked.
"I spared his life and one of these cowards stabbed him!" Gintoki was pressing his haori against a wound in the man's chest. "Nishiko!" Gintoki called her. "Help me stop the bleeding!"
Takasugi only held tighter to her arm.
"No, Gintoki. She'll do nothing of the sort. If you really feel pity for this man, let him die."
"I won't give up on another person," said Gintoki bitterly.
There was jeering from the crowd.
Takasugi bent his head to whisper in Nishiko's ear. "This needs to end, Nishiko. Gintoki won't let me near. You have your dagger. Will you do what needs to be done?"
"Yes," she whispered back, feeling the dreadful necesssity weighing down on her shoulders.
Takasugi let go of her arm. She stumbled forward and fell to her knees beside Gintoki, whose haori was now soaked through with blood. Gintoki looked up at her with bloodshot eyes. "Please, help me."
"Gintoki, he's dying. Isn't this for the best?"
"Who are you to judge what's best?" snapped Gintoki.
Her head swam. "Gintoki, I'll do what I can for him. Give me some space."
Gintoki nodded, then backed away a little. Looking down at the young man, Nishiko could feel Takasugi's gaze burning into her back. She reached into the sash where she kept her dagger, quietly slid the blade from its mount and looked down into the man's eyes.
"I'm sorry," she mouthed, then pulled out the blade and cut through his neck with all the force she could muster. In that moment, she wasn't thinking of Takasugi or Gintoki or even the man whose throat she was cutting. She was only afraid of making too shallow a cut and failing to cut the arteries. She knew she had succeeded when a jet of blood hit her face. The man would die painlessly within the minute.
She heard Gintoki's shout as if in the distance. Her hand let go of the dagger involuntarily, then Takasugi pulled her to her feet, putting his body between her and Gintoki. But Gintoki wasn't looking at them. He was kneeling in the mud, drenched with blood, his head bent towards the ground, and a retching sound coming from him.
Gintoki was vomiting.
And the crowd was cheering for her.
Takasugi let go of Nishiko and bent down to pick up the dagger. Calmly, he began to wipe it clean on his coat. His aide would have another challenge trying to clean his commander's uniform.
Gintoki slowly lifted his head and looked up at Nishiko with dull, red eyes. "You'll do whatever he tells you to," he said flatly. She didn't answer him.
Someone handed Nishiko a cloth. "For your face," they whispered.
Nishiko dabbed her face a little, then stopped. "It's no use. I'm covered in blood," she said quietly.
"You can clean up at headquarters," Takasugi told her, giving her back her dagger. "Gintoki, we're leaving."
"Suit yourself," said Gintoki, trying to pull himself up by Takasugi's right trouser leg. "I'm going to have another drink."
Takasugi shook Gintoki off his leg. Gintoki collapsed again in the pool of blood and vomit. "Maybe you can keep your next drink down," said Takasugi drily. He turned to the crowd. "If you value your lives, you'll get back to your billets. A lot of you are marching out tomorrow, and you'll make good targets for Amanto sharpshooters if you're hung-over."
The crowd parted for Takasugi, and there was silence as they walked through. Neither Nishiko nor Takasugi said anything until they'd passed through the entrance of the pleasure quarter.
"Thank you," she managed, once they were alone in the street outside and Takasugi had let go of her arm. She didn't dare look at him.
"Next time you want to go haring off with Gintoki, do remember to get your commander's permission."
"Yes," Nishiko said meekly. "I'm sorry."
"But this was more Zura's fault than yours, wasn't it?" mused Takasugi.
Nishiko stared at her feet.
"I wish I could tell you to stop torturing yourself, but that heart of yours doesn't take commands, does it?"
"Takasugi-san, I never expected . . . I know your heart is filled with a greater passion. There isn't any room there for softer loves."
Takasugi laughed shortly. "Not in this life, anyway, Nishiko. If the Amanto had never come, who knows? Our lives would have been very different."
Nishiko finally looked up at his face. He was smiling at her. "We might have died from measles or smallpox," she said.
"True enough. Whereas now we'll die at the hands of the Amanto. That's progress for you." His lip curled. "I don't idealize the old days, not like Katsura does. The same petty-minded cruel men have always ruled the world. I once imagined it was different. Do you understand that?"
"Yes," said Nishiko, remembering her happy childhood in Kyoto.
He nodded. "Yes, I think you do."
He started to walk again, then turned to see if she was following him. "You did very well," he said. "Killing your first man."
"I didn't want to."
"That's not what matters. Do you know what I really prize about you? Your loyalty."
Warmth flooded her tired, cold body. She ran to catch up with him.
Author's Notes: On to Kyoto! But is it too late?
Murayama-Tsuru: Yeah, Gintoki was a bit angsty, and I felt bad putting him through the wringer in these two chapters, but his happy-go-lucky mask had to slip eventually. Gintoki in the present day is recovering from a lot of trauma.
bakasalamander22: I hope you found the recommendations I sent you useful. I love the period, and I love fitting Nishiko into it, with the twist that her upbringing has been changed in obvious and subtle ways by the Amanto invasion. Same goes for the boys, of course.
ScotSniper: *laughs* I only meant that you'd compared yourself to a high school girl with a crush, and Nishiko really would be one in a kinder era. So don't go shopping for lady's underwear yet ;-)
an .co. xx: They probably got back at Zura for telling on them afterwards, as well.
jester's pen: I'm glad you like the opening lines. I spend a lot of time picking them out and they're usually related to the theme of the chapter.
Haitch: To answer your second question, I spend a lot more time researching than writing. But I'm not really researching just so I can write. I love history and I'm a very fast reader, so if it wasn't that Hakuouki and Gintama got me into Japanese history, I'd be madly in love with some other era. There are a lot of little details I look up specifically for the fic, though, like how shamisens are stored and made, how to smoke a kiseru, and in this chapter, how to make instant ice-cream with liquid nitrogen.
As for your previous question, about writing Takasugi, I don't think it's a vague question at all, though it's difficult to answer. But I do have some strategies I can share.
Because Gintama is a TV show, the reader already has an idea of what the character looks like, sounds like, even moves like. And I think the important thing about making the character seem realistic is figuring out how to convey those recognizable qualities so that there's a flash of recognition. So in Takasugi's case, I mentally compiled a list of those qualities: for example, his laugh, his odd smile, the languid manner, and figured out how to describe them. The laugh is really hard to describe, since it's not an evil villain's laugh, it's more like a sobbing giggle, and 'giggle' just doesn't sound right forTakasugi.
I'm not really very good at writing description. I often have to go back after writing a scene and force myself to add it in. So having those characteristics firmly thought out and figuring where they would show is really important.
As for his voice, people have all sorts of interpretations of Takasugi, which is fine, but one I never get is when people say he's not funny/ doesn't have a sense of humour. It just seemed so obvious to me that he has a dark sense of humour: particularly an appreciation for irony And last but not least, he can seem aloof and reserved, but we've seen that he can also pour out his emotions, as in his interactions with Gintoki in the Festival episode, and with Katsura before the Harusame arrive on the scene in the Benizakura arc.
A lot of people seem to think that sentimental, emotional Takasugi is out of character, but I think what's important is when and to whom he shows it, and he has this odd, very human relationship with his Kiheitai companions that I find mesmerizing.
- Yoshida Shoin's opening quote comes from the letter he wrote after he was imprisoned for the first time, for trying to travel abroad by sneaking aboard the American "Black Ships" of Admiral Perry. red-bird dot org/ meiji2/ yoshida-shoin/ shoin-later-years/ (this site doesn't allow me to type the address properly) has the whole letter.
- The shamisen was considered a woman's instrument until the nineteenth century, when it became fashionable in certain sections of Edo society. Takasugi Shinsaku probably picked it up when he was studying in Edo. Young men returning from Edo shocked their conservative hometowns with their shamisen-playing.
- In real life, Sakamoto came from Tosa domain: which was mountainous wild country, isolated from the rest of central Japan, and was known for producing rough, uncultured, hardy characters. Like Sakamoto and, in this chapter, his friends.