Enjoy!
Chapter 50: Having a weird-looking sword is not natural
Kagura was on a walk with Sadaharu. They decided to go on a walk, because the weather was cooler than a few days ago. Kagura refused to walk when it was too hot; otherwise she probably would've gotten a heat stroke (Even though that was very unlikely).
The female Yato petted Sadaharu on the head while giving him a smile. She asked, "Are you ready to head back to Gin-chan's, Sadaharu?"
"Arf!" Came Sadaharu's response.
The smile on Kagura's face grew wider. She briefly nodded, "I'll feed you tons of dog food when we get back, uh-huh!"
Sadaharu barked once again; happier this time.
As the two of them were heading back to Gintoki's house, Kagura suddenly spotted a weapon in an alleyway, next to a garbage can.
The girl halted in her tracks; Sadaharu gave her a look as if asking her why she stopped.
Kagura started towards the alleyway – with Sadaharu following her – and saw what looked to be a squiggly sword. Raising a red eyebrow, Kagura grabbed the handle of the sword, and picked it up from the somewhat rocky ground.
The girl began examining the weird-looking sword. She gently touched the tip of it with her index finger, and stared at her own reflection as she asked herself, "What the hell is this? Is this some rejected sword or something? 'Cause it looks like it, uh-huh."
Obviously, Kagura had never seen a sword like this before. Sure, she'd seen Gintoki hold a sword with a dragon on it, but not a weapon that looked like somebody threw huge, heavy rocks at it.
She furrowed her brows as she puffed her cheeks up. Was this sword supposed to be like this? If so, did it even have a name? All weapons required a name, so perhaps this one was named "Squiggly McJagger".
No, that name was nonsensical. Besides, that didn't sound Japanese at all.
Kagura scratched her scalp, and decided, "Sadaharu, we're gonna take this to Gin-chan, uh-huh. Maybe he'll know what it is. Then again, he's an idiot, so I don't expect him to know the name of it."
The inugami barked, and soon, they went back to Gintoki's.
A few moments later, they walked up the staircase, and Kagura petted Sadaharu again before sliding the door open. She announced, "We're back!"
Everyone was in their natural habitats. The only people who greeted her were Shinpachi and Sean. Gintoki was rereading his JUMP magazine, and Christine was taking a nap on the couch.
As Shinpachi was sweeping the hardwood floor, he peered up, seeing the odd weapon in Kagura's hand. One corner of his lips tugged down, and he decided to ask, "Kagura-chan…what is that in your hand?"
After closing her parasol and taking off her slippers, Kagura lifted up the squiggly sword, and answered, "Some weird ass sword, uh-huh. I found it in an alleyway."
"A weird sword, huh?" Gintoki asked before spinning his chair around. He gazed away from his JUMP, and then gaped at the sword. He blinked multiple times as the atmosphere in the living room began to change. It wasn't an awkward atmosphere, but it was definitely a little heavy. Why was the room in utter silence all of a sudden?
Finally, Gintoki broke the silence by saying, "Yeah, it looks weird, alright."
Kagura walked to the couch Christine was napping on. Since Christine's whole body was on it, Kagura – without warning – sat on her butt.
Christine immediately snapped her eyes wide, and yelped, "Eep! Who's sitting on my ass?!" She swiftly turned her head to the side, seeing the Yato. Glaring at her, Christine commanded, "Kagura-chan, get off of me! This feels very uncomfortable!"
"You shouldn't have lied down then," Kagura replied nonchalantly. Christine automatically pushed herself up, forcing the younger girl to get off. Christine eventually sat up, still glaring daggers at the redhead.
Kagura paid no mind to the angry girl; she explained about the weird weapon, "Anyway, while Sadaharu and I were on our way back here, I saw this. At first, I thought someone damaged this, but then I began to think that maybe somebody made it like this on purpose, uh-huh."
Christine arched an eyebrow up, and muttered as she held her chin, "You know, that looks like the sword from Mulan." She narrowed her eyes, creasing her brow, "So perhaps the Huns made it."
"There are no Huns in Edo! Huns are from China!" Shinpachi exclaimed as he finished sweeping.
Sean gawked at the weapon, and asked, "What're you going to do with it, Kagura-chan?"
"Hm," Kagura hummed, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. Then, an idea sparked her mind.
A wicked grin spread across her face; Shinpachi immediately knew that she had an idea…a really weird idea.
Kagura finally responded, "I'm going to fight sadist with it!"
"Sadist?" Sean repeated, feeling a bit confused.
Kagura clarified, "Okita Sougo. He's a sadist."
"Oh, right."
The girl hopped off of the couch, and said, "Before I find him, though, I'm going to test this out, uh-huh."
"What do you mean?" Christine asked.
"I'm going to see if this weird sword is sharp enough to cut stuff." For some reason, she headed over to Gintoki.
As soon as she was beside the samurai, Gintoki eyed the girl, and uttered in a flat tone, "What?"
"Let me see your JUMP for a second, Gin-chan," Kagura told him. She held her palm up as if she was expecting him to give her his favorite magazine.
Gintoki held the biggest frown ever. Was Kagura actually going to use his JUMP as a target? Because if she didn't have that sword, then she wouldn't have asked him that.
The silver-haired man held his JUMP protectively as he sneered, "I'm not giving you my JUMP!"
"Oh?" Kagura smirked. Without alarming him, she grasped the top of the weekly JUMP, and pulled it away from Gintoki's arms. Gintoki gasped loudly as a bead of sweat trickled down his cheek.
He jumped out of his chair, and shouted, "Oi! Give me back my JUMP right now!"
Instead of obliging, Kagura lifted the squiggly sword to the middle of the magazine. Then, in a split second, she sliced the JUMP in half.
For a moment, Gintoki could've sworn his jaw hit the floor. He bellowed, "WHY DID YOU JUST RIP MY JUMP APART?!"
"I wanted to test this sword, uh-huh," Kagura replied.
"You could've used anything but my JUMP!" Gintoki growled. "Now I got to get another copy!" He stomped towards the door; the angry man slipped into his boots, and as he grumbled gibberish words, he exited out of his house. Even after he closed the door, everybody could hear him stomp on the stairs.
Shinpachi heaved a sigh, and said to the blue-eyed girl, "Kagura-chan, that wasn't very necessary."
"Sure it was," Kagura dropped the ripped JUMP to the floor. "I wanted to test this out, as I've already said." She looked at the weird weapon again, and added, "And now that I know that this is definitely sharp, I can go and fight sadist, uh-huh."
"Kagura-chan, you got your umbrella," Christine pointed her forefinger at her lavender parasol. "Besides, just because Okita has a sword, doesn't mean you have to have one as well in order to fight him."
"That may be true, but I want to show off my new glorious weapon," Another smirk crept up Kagura's features.
"You're officially claiming it to be yours?" She asked, sounding a bit bewildered.
Kagura set the end of the handle on the tip of her forefinger, and spun it around as she responded, "Pretty much. It may look messed up, but it's intriguing enough for me to keep it. So starting today, I'll be keeping this, uh-huh."
She quickly grabbed the handle, and walked past the couch Christine was sitting in. Kagura chimed, "Well, I'm gonna go look for sadist. See you punks later!"
With that being said, she put her slippers back on, and left the apartment. Christine stared at the door blankly as she murmured, "She wasn't here for long." A sigh parted her lips before she shrugged, "Oh well. I'm going back to my nap."
"Christiko-san, what is it with you and taking naps on the couch?" Shinpachi questioned as he dumped the dirt into the garbage can.
"I like taking naps," Christine stated.
Meanwhile, Kagura continued staring into the blade of the swirly sword. She hummed a random tune as she thought, This might come in good handy, uh-huh.
She couldn't wait to show off this unique weapon. Kagura wanted to make people jealous, and wish they had a sword like this one. But then again, this sword looked peculiar, so who would actually be jealous, and with that they had it? Hell, Christine and Sean probably wouldn't want it either. Besides, they already had tanto's.
Stopping in her tracks, she touched the side of the blade. It felt smooth, not surprisingly. Sword blades were supposed to feel smooth.
Kagura felt her lips quirk up into a smile. She began to ask herself how many times she'd smile today. Perhaps four times, if not more. Not that it was bad or anything; Kagura just realized it, that's all.
The girl also noticed that the handle was made of leather. She ran two of her fingers over the pelt, and mentally added, The handle feels so soft.
Kagura didn't think she'd felt leather that was this soft.
All of a sudden, she heard a familiar – but bored – voice from behind her.
"Oi, China. What're you doing with that sword?"
She didn't have to guess who it was, because only one person called her "China". Kagura turned around, seeing Okita Sougo.
Kagura spun her new weapon as she replied to the Shinsengumi member, "I found it not too long ago. Doesn't it look badass?" She held a goofy-looking grin.
Sougo rolled his eyes, "No, it looks like it was in an oven for six hours."
Kagura scoffed, "You're lame, sadist! Then again, you're always lame, uh-huh."
The sandy-haired man held a ghost of a smirk, and stepped in front of her. He pointed at the sword, and decided, "May I see it for just a second?"
"Why?" Kagura questioned as she cocked an eyebrow up.
"I want to see if it can cut well," He said flatly.
Since Kagura didn't like him that much, she held the strange sword close to her chest – without cutting herself – and glowered at him, "Hell no! You're just gonna run away with it, uh-huh!"
"China, I don't 'run away' with weapons," He stated in a dull tone. Sougo then calmly commanded, "Let me see that sword."
"No!" She refused.
Sougo shrugged, "Alright; if you're not going to let me see it, then we'll fight."
"Puh-lease!" Kagura laughed. "We fight a lot, anyway, uh-huh!"
"We do," Sougo admitted while narrowing his eyes, "but I'd like you to fight me, using that thing."
"With pleasure," Kagura snickered under her breath as she gripped her hands on her parasol and the mini-sword. In a nanosecond, she charged towards the man as Sougo pulled out his own sword.
Just as Kagura thought she was about to hit him, Sougo jumped back, dodging her attack.
Kagura scoffed in disappointment, "Why'd you dodge?"
"Because I'm not going to let you defeat me," He immediately replied.
Rolling her eyes, Kagura snorted humorlessly, "Why am I not surprised?"
She didn't notice it, but Sougo stormed towards her with a blank expression on his face. Kagura gasped almost silently, and hurriedly brought her smaller sword up. Both weapons clashed onto each other, making a clack sound.
Sougo grinned mischievously, "You've never used a sword, have you, China?"
"Shut up!" She snapped.
But it was true. This was Kagura's first time using a sword in a fight. She'd seen tons of people use swords, so this wouldn't have to be too hard…right?
Kagura forcefully pushed her sword onto Sougo's. Sougo took a few steps back, and he nearly fell backwards, but he managed to steady his balance. The girl yelled as she darted at him again.
Feeling unfazed by her action, Sougo successfully dodged Kagura's second attack. Kagura raised her brows in shock before hitting the ground.
"OOF!" She muffled. Kagura got up as quickly as she fell down.
Turning around, she glowered at him as she clenched her teeth in anger. Of course, it didn't affect Sougo. He just stood there, looking more bored than before. Strangely enough, he almost looked like Gintoki when he was bored.
That wasn't the case, though. Kagura and Sougo's fight was more important than bored expressions. And since when were facial expressions important in the first place?
Kagura hollered, "STOP DODGING!"
"No," Was Sougo's reply.
Kagura growled like a wild animal; despite the furious look etched on her face, Sougo was not intimidated by it. Instead, he rolled his eyes yet again as he muttered, "Are you PMS-ing at the moment?"
Okay, that was a step too far. Her blood began to boil in infuriation; her entire face was as red as a tomato. She felt like she was going to explode at any second.
She positioned her sword and parasol, and snarled, "You're going to regret asking that question, uh-huh!" No soon after that, she sprinted after him.
Kagura swung both her weapons, but unlucky for her, Sougo dodged her the whole time. And the more he avoided her attacks, the angrier Kagura became. Veins popped in her cheeks and forehead; red veins also appeared on her eyeballs.
Just then, Sougo could hear someone calling him through the walkie-talkie, which was in his pocket. He peered down at his pocket, and took out the small device. Pressing the button on the side, he spoke, "Okita here." Kagura paid no mind to the voice coming from the walkie-talkie, and continued swinging her weapons around.
After Sougo was done talking to the person on the walkie-talkie, he turned it off, and faced Kagura, "China, as much as I want to fight you, I have to head back to the Headquarters. So our fight is concluded."
"What?!" Kagura gawked at him as if he was kidding around. "You barely fought at all!"
Sougo just shrugged, not having a care in the world. He turned away from her, and stuffed his hands into his pocket as he started heading back to the Shinsengumi Headquarters. He uttered to himself, "I'll need to sharpen my weapon later; that way, I can kill Hijikata-san easier."
He was out of the girls' sight, but Kagura didn't calm down one bit. She still felt furious up to the point where steam came out of her ears. Well, not literally, but still.
Out of frustration, she decided to go into a random alleyway. Kagura violently hit her sword on a plastic trashcan, slicing it in half. Garbage spilled onto the ground; Kagura accidentally smelled it, and immediately plugged her nose to prevent any more of the stench from going into her nostrils. This was the grossest thing she'd ever smelled. Yes, garbage was supposed to smell bad, but there was a mixture of spoiled milk, moldy food, ripped-rags, etc. Kagura's stomach churned; she thought she was going to throw up.
She ran farther into the alleyway, avoiding the trash. When the redhead was fairly certain that she was far enough, she let go of her nose, and sighed, "God, that smell was horrible, uh-huh." She sighed heavily, and for some bizarre reason, the sword starting shining.
Kagura eyed the object in bafflement. At first, she thought she was hallucinating, but after rubbing her eyes, she realized that it was indeed glowing. Kagura was pretty sure no sword, or any other weapon in general, would glow like this. The only way it would shine like this is as if it was an alien. But it didn't have any body parts, so it was definitely not an alien. Was it a special sword, then? Or was this a rare one? The latter seemed to make sense to Kagura, because there was almost no weapon like this one. Then again, why was it beside the garbage can? Nobody would throw away a freaking rare sword.
Blinking, Kagura asked quietly, dumbfounded, "What the hell is this?" That was the only thing she could say. She scratched her head, asking herself if she regretted grabbing this thing about 15 minutes ago. Well, whether or not she regretted it, she was confused as hell.
Maybe she needed to ask the others why it was glowing. Though, would they even know? Probably not.
Without any other choice, Kagura chose to get back to the Yorozuya household. She eventually left the alleyway, and ran through the streets of Edo.
A few minutes later, she arrived home, and exclaimed, "Guys! My new sword is glowing like an alien, uh-huh!"
"Urgh, keep it down, Kagura-chan. I'm trying to take my nap," Christine grumbled, barely opening her eyes.
Kagura started towards the sleepy girl. The second she stood beside the couch, she pushed it up until Christine fell off, hitting the floor.
"OW!" She cried. Christine rapidly got to her feet, and faced Kagura, now fully awake. She yelled as a vein throbbed in her cheek, "What the fuck did you do that for?!"
"You needed to get up. It's two in the afternoon, uh-huh," Kagura replied a matter-of-factly.
Christine snorted, "How do you know what time it is? I don't see a clock in here."
"There's a Justaway clock over there," She pointed at the clock hanging on the wall.
Christine frowned, "Okay…where did that come from? It wasn't there before I took my nap."
Shinpachi explained, "I found it in the closet, underneath the blankets."
"Why would a clock be under the blankets?" Sean questioned; he felt more confused than Christine was.
The teenage boy sighed, "I don't know."
Gintoki returned as well, only he was carrying a copy of JUMP. Although he managed to get himself a copy, he was still angry at Kagura for cutting his other magazine. That JUMP was special to him; he had every right to be furious with her.
Then again, that was perhaps the only thing even worth cutting, since it was made of paper.
Gintoki growled almost inaudibly, "I still can't believe Kagura shredded my JUMP."
"Gintoki-san," Christine began, "where did that clock come from?"
"What clock?" Gintoki's eyebrow furrowed.
Without responding, the girl pointed her nose at the Justaway clock. Gintoki stared up at the clock; a couple of seconds passed before Gintoki finally answered, "Oh, that clock. I think some homeless guy gave it to me last night, while I was drunk." He sat down in his chair, and spun it around while admonishing the Yato, "And Kagura, you better not tear this apart later."
Kagura rolled her sapphire eyes, "Gin-chan, I only ripped your precious magazine because I wanted to test my sword out. And speaking of sword…" She showed the others her shining weapon again. Kagura finished her sentence by piping, "…mine is glowing, as I've already stated, uh-huh!"
When Christine, Shinpachi, and Sean gazed at the radiant sword, they gawped at it. Apparently, they didn't see it shining like this when Kagura first said it was glowing.
Sean inquired as he closed his book, "Why is it glowing like that?"
"I don't know!" Kagura snapped, causing the brunette to flinch. "I was having a fight with sadist – and as much as I hate to admit it, neither of us actually won – and just as I got pissed, my sword got all shiny and weird!" She pressed her finger on one side of the blade, and cried, "It has the color of boogers, uh-huh!"
Abruptly, the metal somehow shocked her, as if it was electricity. Kagura winced, and instantly pulled her finger away from it. She hissed, "Ah! What just happened to me?!" She sucked on her finger as if it would soothe the pain.
Shinpachi held his chin, "It seems like you got shocked."
Kagura gave him a what-the-hell look. Shinpachi sighed at her reaction, "I know that doesn't make any sense, Kagura-chan, but that's what it looked like." He shrugged, not knowing what else to say.
"That's ridiculous," Christine knitted her brows. "This is probably the most unrealistic sword I've ever seen."
But then again, Gintama has lots of weirdness in it, so I guess it doesn't matter…?
"Maybe I should go to Tetsuko's; she'll know what this really is, uh-huh," Kagura insisted.
"Are you sure?" Shinpachi questioned. "I know Tetsuko-san's a swordsmith, but I have a strange feeling that even she may be confused on what it is."
Her eyes rolled at his comment; she decided to change the subject by telling Sean, "Grumpy, I'd like you to come with me."
"Me? Why?" Sean's lips curled down.
"You need to do something, other than reading your weird book, uh-huh."
Sean automatically glowered at her, and yowled, "My book is not weird! Never call my book weird!"
"Bro, you're overreacting," Christine stated blandly. "It's just a book. You're making a big deal out of it."
"You're just saying that because you don't read books!"
Christine rolled her eyes before standing up, "I'm gonna make myself a turkey sandwich." With that, she went into the kitchen.
Kagura suddenly snatched the man's wrist, and commanded, "This is not a request. You're coming with me, whether you want to or not."
"Grrr…fine!" Sean surrendered as he put his book behind the hem of his pants. "But I'm only going because you forced me to."
Kagura smirked, "Heehee."
Sean sighed angrily as the two of them went to the door. He asked, "Kagura-chan…won't this be your third time going outside today?"
"Yep," Kagura responded in a mutter. "Is that bad or something?"
"No; I just realized it."
Snorting in amusement, Kagura said, "Just don't touch this; otherwise you'll get shocked, uh-huh."
"I don't want to touch it, anyway," He stated. "It looks too…peculiar."
He realized that Kagura didn't pay attention to him right then, because she opened the door (Again), and ran out, now going down the staircase.
Sean frowned, but shook his head before leaving the house as well.
He closed the door behind his back, and followed the redheaded girl.
Gintoki spoke quietly, never glancing away from his JUMP, "I hope she throws that crappy weapon away."
Yep, he was still pissed at her for shredding his other JUMP issue apart.
I was actually going to let Christine find the weird-looking sword, but in the end, I decided to have this more focused on Kagura. And the sword Kagura found was (Sort of) inspired by the sword in "Mulan", though Kagura's is obviously doing weird stuff. XD
My answer from the previous question: I have a twin sister (Though we're not identical). She's my only sibling. :P
Question of the update: How long have you been a fan of Gintama?
Hope you enjoyed chapter 50! :)
