ALL MEN ARE ROMANTIC IDEALISTS
The dusk of twilight was crucial for Doushin as he moved with haste while packing everything up in a horse-drawn carriage that was ready and waiting. The kids helped him as much as they could but he'd rather them just sit in the carriage and wait until it was time to leave, which he hopes will be soon.
He didn't want to sit still anymore. He didn't want to wake up and know what he had done to stay alive. He was done killing. He honestly didn't know how Canarie could do it. Kill without concern for your own mental health. He wasn't like her in that regard, but he also wasn't jealous of her ability to be like that either. He's glad that it felt morally wrong because it finally gave him the push he needed to move. He was leaving Edo and that was final. Taking the kids with him and forget that he was ever apart of Rengokukan.
Doushin took a breath and finally felt like he was able to breathe again. It was near time to leave and most of the bags were packed, the children were climbing up into the carriage, and the moon was just bright enough to light there way from this darkness.
He turned around briskly and came face to face with Canarie's pale features glowing under the glassy moonlight. He thought she was a ghost for a moment and stumbled backwards onto his butt. She really did spook him because she was hanging upside down from a tree, gazing at him with these ashen eyes that were cocked up into a curious stare.
"I knew it," she said cooly. "I'm surprised that you would try and leave without saying goodbye first." Canarie spun out of the tree and landed gracefully on her feet in a swift and soundless motion. It was because she was so quiet that she was able to sneak up on him. A silent assassin. It was a bit frightening to think that if she wanted him dead then...it wouldn't be a problem.
"Canarie-chan." Doushin breathed in deeply before his friend helped him off the cold ground. "You knew this whole time?"
"Kinda had a hunch," she shrugged. "I was beginning the see the wear in your eyes so I figured it wouldn't be long till you baled," Canarie explained when she suddenly heard the children's cheerful cries of excitement.
"Canarie-chan!" The crowd of hyperactive little people ran at Canarie at full force and knocked her over since there wasn't much weight behind the girl.
Her head met the ground at a record-breaking speed and she was seeing stars in seconds before the sky cleared up. Sure as hell was painful, no doubt there would be a knot on the back of her head by tomorrow morning. "Ow, ow, ow. Okay, why don't you get off me first." she pushed herself up as the kids clung to her like sticky tape. They were practically using her body as a jungle-gym. They were nothing but smiles with her. "Go on now. I need to talk to your sensei for a bit," she said and pushed the kids off in the direction of the carriage. "What are you doing, Doushin?" she said in a steady voice, seemingly ice-cold with caution.
Doushin could feel the worry coming off her like a heatwave. Obviously she wasn't sure about his decision. "I know this is selfish. I've killed many times before, but I don't want to kill anymore." It was a struggle to get those hurtful words out since they've been eating away at him for years. He can't take it anymore though. Having these kids with him, holding them, playing with them and knowing how stained his hands were had made it absolutely unbearable. "I don't know how long it'll take but I want to become...someone they can proudly call 'father'."
Canarie's pale eyes relaxed. "It's not easy doing the dirty work to make a living," she said solemnly, glancing over her shoulder at the kids who were huddled inside and talking to each other.
"I don't know how you can do it," he said, causing Canarie to cock a brow at his unusual statement.
"What?" she blinked.
"I know killing people doesn't bother you...and how it doesn't is beyond me." He looked up, expecting her gaze to be cloudless, as it had been since the day he first met her, but something was rather odd within them now. They seemed foreign. He honestly thought he was imagining things for a moment until her eyes turned back to normal.
"You see, that's the difference between you and me, Doushin." She lifted her hand and jabbed her finger right into his chest and over his heart. She smiled at him, gentle but sad. "You had things you can go back too...while I didn't." Her voice was so rough that it felt like a rusty knife across his skin.
Doushin felt his chest clench up and feel cold. He would get these paralyzing effects from a threat but instead, they conceived from this overwhelming sensation of heartbreak and loneliness. He would believe that to be true from all those years ago but now he wasn't so sure. Those words felt distant and old to him. "It's not like that anymore though, right? It looks like you got yourself some friends," he said.
She crossed her arms over her chest and laughed a bit. She found it funny because that sounded like something a dad would say. "Is that what it looks like?"
"Well, you seem a lot happier then you were back then. You're smiling more, which is something I didn't see much," he said and saw Canarie pause.
"Really?" she spoke as it just now dawned on her. Canarie wasn't used to smiling as much but now, every day, she had noticed that her cheeks had turned red and were aching a lot more. Not to mention her throat is always somewhat sore from yelling at Gintoki so much.
"You didn't know?" He took a breath and smiled down at her. "But I'm glad you managed to get out of there. From Rengokukan. It wasn't a place for a young girl to be in."
"I was too young for a lot of things but I don't think it matters in the end."
"I think it does. I think...you grew up way too quickly and you didn't have time to be a child." His voice was so soft and understanding that it surprised both of them. "You didn't have time to be like them. Carefree and innocent." He gestured to the kids behind him. "Even though you can't go back...at least now you can experience it if only a little."
There was an unexpected sound of snapping twigs from deep in the darkened woods that immediately alerted Canarie. Chill bumps ran across her pale skin and made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She quickly got down low and forcefully pulled Doushin and herself back into the thick bushes to avoid being seen. She kept her eyes peeled on the darkness and tried her best to control her erratic heartbeat that sped up as silent minutes passed without another sound. For a moment she thought she was just being overly paranoid until she saw fragments of light began to bleed through the leaves, a group of six rough-looking men soon emerging from the black forest. They looked like they meant business too since they all looked armed and vigilant.
Looking at them, it soon clicked in Canarie's mind that they have to had been from Rengokukan. The timing was just too uncanny. "Now look what we got here. You didn't ask for a going-away party but it looks like you're getting one anyway," she scoffed and reached her hand around back to the handle of her sword. "You should go." Her voice suddenly dropped.
"What?" Doushin's eyes grew wide with confusion.
"I ain't good at preparing going-away presents so consider me holding them back as one." There was a steely and cold feeling in her tone that was itching with excitement. Her eyes were practically gleaming with sinister intent. "You got the kids to take care of so take the chance and leave already, you idiot." She promptly pulled her sword out from its pale white scabbard. It made a loud sharpened sound that could make anyone's ears bleed just by hearing it.
Canarie didn't give him the chance to make the decision himself before kicking him square in the chest with her foot. He fell hard against the semi-wet grass before looking up at her small frame walking out of the shrubs. Her back was small yet oddly confident and dark. She took another couple steps forward before melting into the wickedness of nightfall. As her name conceived her to be: simply like a spirit.
The Rengokukan guys peeked their heads up to the sound of horses pushing a carriage through the woods. They saw Dounshin at the front of it getting further and further from sight.
"It's Kidoumaru!" they shouted. "Don't let him run away! Kill h-" his words fell short when a sharp pain cut him off. His body dropped to the floor with a large gash in his back, seeping bright fresh blood with Canarie standing above him
Once again her sword was gleaming with this corrupted looking silver that appeared a dull gray, dripping crimson blood from the tip. Her deadly eyes peeked up from underneath her lashes that glared harshly at them with a tinge of red madness mixing in with the calm. She took a large step towards the men and raised her sword up to hip level before disappearing in a flash of glassy moonlight, soon descending upon them like a dancing demon under the twilight.
Doushin took the time he was given to get as far away from the Rengokukan guys as possible, using the dusky color of the night to hide his tracks from any potential pursuers, though he believed Canarie will be able to handle them without any worry.
His eyes were blurring with a mass downfall of tears and it was getting hard to see the road, afraid that his heart might just burst from the overflow of emotions that came from the Kabuki-cho Ghost. He felt thankful, so overly thankful that the fall of tears just wouldn't stop.
It was hard to see but he continued to plunge on through the road. The children in the back of the carriage cheered and laughed at the pace he was going and it felt like they were flying with how bumpy everything was. Still, they were enjoying themselves and remained in ignorant bliss to the massacre that was happening behind them.
It was then that a sudden voice, as haunting as a demon, whispered in Doushin's ears that made his blood run cold. "So naive. You really think you could outrun us?" It was, in fact, a demon that was able to elude the cruel ghost from behind, standing behind Doushin at the top of the carriage and carrying a large spear in his hand.
Doushin wasn't even able to react in time before his body jolted forward, a large chunk of sharp metal sticking out of his chest before being yanked back out. He didn't feel much pain because of the adrenaline but his eyes were beginning to cloud with black mist taking over his vision. He felt faint as the world started to slip away, the sound of curious children still present in his ears.
"Hey, sensei?" the little ones asked. "Where are we going? We'd follow sensei anywhere."
His voice was weak when responding. "I'd do the same for all of you...but I don't think sensei can go for much longer."
The children's innocence acted as a filter to what was happening. "Are you crying again? Was it because you got to see Canarie-chan?"
"Yes. Sensei is very happy..." Blood dripped from his mouth while seeping through his shirt as well. He struggled a smile but it was real and genuine in the end. "So very happy...he got to see her...one last time."
The dull and dragged out silence coming from Canarie's room set everyone at the very edge of what seemed like a sharp needle. The air felt prickly and dangerous as Kagura slowly approached her door that remained soundless. No one else had the balls to do it so it was up to her to knock on it to make sure their friend was alright.
She hesitated before gently tapping her white knuckles against the frame. "Cana-chan? Are you gonna come out anytime this century?" she asked but only the silence answered back, leaving her feeling somewhat dejected by Canarie's sudden isolation, though it was understandable after hearing the news from Okita himself just a moment ago.
Canarie wasn't inside the living room when Okita came over, telling everyone about Doushin's unexpected death, but she might've already had a hunch in the end, maybe even a feeling that told her about it. Either way, Shinpachi was the only person who bared witness to the time she came home only a few hours ago. She said nothing to him and only went straight into her room and had stayed there ever since.
Gintoki was silent as the rain drizzled off the rooftop and tapped against the window. "Ah, I hate rainy days," he said. "Did you really have to tell me that today?"
"Sorry, but I thought you should know." Okita glanced over to Canarie's door that was as silent as a grave. "And I'm not surprised that your little friend is throwing a tantrum, seeing as she could've done something about it." Those words were not necessary and were like throwing salt into an already infected wound.
"It ain't her fault," Gintoki cut in and glanced back at him from over his shoulder. "He was a killer. He knew he couldn't have met a good end anyway."
Okita turned up a curious brow as his face stretched thin with suspicion. "Hearing those words coming from your mouth is a bit surprising, Boss. Seeing how you're letting a manslayer live in your own home."
Everyone flinched as Okita's sharp eyes penetrated their defenses and forcefully dug out the truth. He wasn't sure about it but any doubt was answered with their reactions. Gintoki turned back around, Kagura was sweating profusely, and Shinpachi looked like he was going to pass out from the stress.
Shinpachi shied away from Okita's intimidating eyes. "What...what are you talking about, Okita-san?" He was bad at lying and even Kagura could see right through it. It was almost painful to watch actually.
"Really?" Okita scoffed and leaned back far in his seat. "You're joking with me, right? You take one long look at her and you can clearly see the bloodlust in her eyes. She's a killer, Boss." he chuckled darkly with this sense of excitement beaming off him. "A professional ghost...if I may add." Okita got up off the couch and began to head for the front door.
"Ah? You're..not going to make an arrest?" Shinpachi looked puzzled yet relaxed.
He sighed. "I don't really care, to be honest. Not to mention I don't wanna deal with the paperwork that comes with big fish like her. She's not active so what's the harm. After all, the Kabuki-cho Ghost is...only a ghost after all. She's a shell." His voice had a touch of edge to it that made the Yorozuya shiver.
Okita looked over to Canarie's door and stared at it for a good five seconds to see if he could hear anything coming from inside. The sound of shuffling clothes, squeaking floorboards, anything. It was unnaturally calm for someone who was supposed to be inside it.
Gintoki swiveled all the way around in his chair and saw Okita slowly slid open Canarie's door and take peek inside. "The hell do you think you're doing going through someone else's house without a warrant."
"Out of curiosity. Boss...I gotta ask you something. You're aware of what she is...yet not the tiniest big concern for her state of mind?" Okita's intense gaze turned to them, his lips curling up into an evil kind of smirk.
The hamster wheel in Gintoki's head slowly began to turn again. "Come again?"
"You got to be kidding me. Didn't I say that she was already a killer? She just lost a good friend and you think she's gonna stand still and take it? It's not in her nature."
Gintoki's mind raced with dark peril that momentarily made his body shut down. He didn't move, didn't blink, and didn't so much as breathe for the longest minute of his life. Time was lost for him as he thought back to how long Canarie had been inside her room. Unwatched. Unsupervised. It was only then that he realized he made a grave mistake.
Kagura blinked and was greatly surprised by how fast Gintoki shot up from his seat and rushed over to Canarie's door. "Gin-chan?"
He practically shoved Okita out of the way and ripped the door wide open, staring into the oddly dark room that was completely empty. So that is what Okita was smiling about just a second ago. "Canarie's gone," Gintoki said, his eyes darkening and his fists balling up tightly.
Shinpachi got up and swiftly walked right into Canarie's room to look around. Her window and closet door was open and the clothes she wore from last night was laying on the floor as well. Her sword would usually lay against the right side of the wall but it was gone too. "Gin-san, you don't think she's going to avenge Doushin-san, right?"
Okita crossed his arms over his chest and watched as the horror built up in Gintoki's eyes. "What did I tell you. A killer is a killer. Looks like the ghost is going back home to take back her title as king of Rengokukan."
Author's Note:
Day 100 of quarantine and nothing had changed in my schedule at all, accept more hours but whatever. Just reminding you guys to wash your hands and stay away from people!
Anyways, it looks like we got a bloodbath in the next chapter. I was asked one time what it would be like if Canarie's bloodlust and anger combined...and...well...we're gonna see what it would be like next time. Wonder how Gintoki and Canarie's relationship is going to handle this little...mishap.