Warning: War; Death, death everywhere...
Disclaimer: Where's the Gorilla nowadays.
Turning Points
Story of Life -21
Gintoki
He wasn't sure what had just occurred in the last few seconds.
He remembered that he almost reached that stupid-looking purple-robed Amanto commander. As he prepared himself to aim for a decisive kill, a force struck him from the back and he felt himself toppling down from the impact. He heard Takasugi's cry and initially he thought that it was from pain because an arrow had grazed Takasugi's shoulder. But he had soon then realized that it was a repetitive cry of his name as he hit the ground with a thud.
It took a while for him to form the words, I'm fine. And for a second he thought that the words had materialized and was heard by those around him, but the truth was that the soldiers had only heard the gurgle of blood reverberated from his mouth.
It was only five days later that Gintoki returned to consciousness and saw the familiar makeshift wardrobe in his tent. He was laid on his stomach; the wound on his back sent jarring pain when he stirred to reposition his body.
There was no one beside him, and ridiculous notions entered his head as he wondered what had happened in the battlefield. For a moment, fear threatened to creep in as he entertained the thought that everyone is now dead. The rustle that came from the tent's opening betrayed his paranoia.
'You've come to, Gintoki.' Zura entered with a basin of hot water and cloth to wipe him down.
'Zura, how long has it been…' He tried to get up but the excruciating pain forced him down. Katsura rushed to stop him.
'Don't do that. You'll reopen the wound,' he scolded. 'It's only been five days and it's not Zura. I'm Katsura.'
'Zura is Zura. Where's Bakasugi?'
Katsura frowned at the insistence of being called the nickname that he wasn't pleased with. 'Outside. He was seen talking with the people managing our weaponries.' He wrung the cloth from the basin. '…and I'm not Zura.'
Gintoki ignored the last remark.
'So how did I get into this state again? Bakasugi stabbed me from the back?'
Katsura looked at him in shock. It seemed as if Gintoki had said something completely preposterous and as if the very notion of Takasugi to backstab did not even occur to him.
The frown between Katsura's brows increased. 'Is that what you believe, Gintoki?'
He shrugged. 'I don't necessarily believe it. Just tell me what happened.'
Katsura stopped his task at wiping Gintoki's back. He put the cloth to the side and fiddled with the fabric of his yukata.
'You're not quite off with the guesswork, I suppose.'
'Then,-' Gintoki started but was not allowed to finished.
'-it wasn't Takasugi. It was one of the soldiers that Nagakura-san had brought with him.'
Gintoki took it in silence.
Katsura was not sure what kind of reaction he had wanted Gintoki to form but nothing was betrayed in his expression.
'You're not going to ask why he targeted you?'
Gintoki glanced up from above his futon. '…out of hatred?'
The tone that he used was joking but the face that had stared at him contradicted the feeling.
'He was blackmailed. His family was taken as hostages by the Amanto and he was forced to spy on our plans for the Amanto.' Katsura stood up from his chair to fetch drinking water for Gintoki. He poured the water into the cup and handed it off to him. 'Nagakura-san said he's sorry for not being able to prevent your injury, Gintoki. Just know, that he was already taken care of.'
Gintoki lifted his head with Katsura's help and sipped the water slowly. '…and his family?'
'…sorry?' Katsura answered, not understanding.
'What about that soldier's family that was taken as hostages?' Gintoki handed the cup back to him.
'…they were discovered by our scouts several kilometres away from here. They were already long killed. I doubt the Amanto had any intention to keep them as live hostages in the first place.' Katsura murmured darkly.
Gintoki fell silent and Katsura detected his change of mood.
'And how is the current situation of the battlefield, Zura? They know our counter-attack strategies, right?'
Katsura sighed in relief that Gintoki did not seem to hung-up on the death of the soldier and his family. He ignored the mispronunciation of his name and answered readily.
'After you lost consciousness, we managed to drive the Amanto back slightly. However, the major factor in pushing back the Amanto was due to the capability of a certain soldier. In his time here, he had managed to create a weapon that might be able to imitate the Amanto's firepower.'
Katsura looked at Gintoki with a hint of excitement.
'We may be able to win with Hiraga Isaburo's help, Gintoki.'
A/N: Firstly, let me apologize for my sudden disappearance. The beginning of 2016 hasn't been kind to me and on top of my writer's block, I find that real life kept me busy with disappointments. Thus, forgive me for the lack of updates. I'll try to improve for future updates.
Secondly, forgive me if my style of writing is now different. I try to keep it consistent but due to the time gap, I find it slightly hard to remember how I used to do this before. So I hope you would overlook the flaws.
Lastly, in case you don't remember, Hiraga Isaburo was Hiraga Gengai's son. Yes, our beloved old inventor's son.