Chapter 9 - Presence.

If there was one person the young Yato didn't expect to see on this bridge, it was her rival. No, scratch that. Let's rephrase that correctly. If there was one person the young Yato absolutely didn't want to see on this bridge, it was her rival.

However, the young girl felt such confused and contrary feelings inside her that she hardly noticed the figure which had approached her. And most disturbingly, she hadn't even smelt his scent; even though the Yato usually have a very keen sense of smell, which explained, among other things, why Gintoki's supply of chocolate always disappeared at one point or another…

She wiped away her tears, too proud to show them to her rival; but when she turned around she saw no one.

"China !" Called a voice.

She turned again to where the voice came from; but still, nothing in sight.

Was he playing a joke on her or what?

Just to be sure, she looked everywhere, and even under the bridge. No one.

"China !" The voice called out again sounding closer than ever.

And this time, her rival had appeared at the western end of the bridge.

"Leave me, alone Sadist, I don't want to see your filthy face !" She blurted out.

"China !" The voice said again, but this time from behind her.

She turned and saw that her rival was now standing at the eastern end of the bridge.

How had he managed to move so fast? And above all, how had he changed his outfit so quickly?

If the one in the west was dressed in his Shinsengumi uniform, the one in the opposite direction wore a long coat with a hood that barely hinted at his features.

"What do you want in the end ?! I'm really not in the mood right now, so back off before I send you to Mars, you Sith Lord bootleg !"

Her normally dressed rival stepped, and stepped, going forward without rest. And the more he went, the more she wanted to send him flying to next week. Literally. And he was in her security perimeter - about ten meters - when she let her resentment explode. She rushed over to him and punched him hard.

"Get your ass to Mars! (1) Bastard !" She yelled.

And indeed, her rival flew away. Only to land a little further away in the river's bed.

She brooded for a moment, then quickly turned to the other supposed copy of her rival.

"If it's you, Yamazaki, I'm going to rip apart your balls and make you eat them !" She yelled.

But said individual didn't move. She couldn't see his face, and the only thing hinting at her rival was the voice she'd heard. Except that her rival was currently compelled into taking a bath. Therefore, the Sadist had to call – or rather, forced – one of his subordinates into helping him gathering all prerequisite conditions necessary to attain the law of maximum bother. And she knew full well that the Anpan addict was the best intended victim here.

"Get your ass far away from here!" She yelled.

"China..."

Her rival's voice was heard again… But this time, it came from the hooded person.

Enough. Yamazaki or not, she was so going to wack his face. She began to stride forward, each of her strides making the bridge's wooden floorboards creak violently under each of her feet.

But when she eventually came face to face with the hooded figure, something unexpected happened. At first, she also wanted to send him reeling with a punch. Following the secular Yato customs, she wanted to blow away what was obstructing her path. However, her fist never hit its intended target. Or rather, technically speaking, it reached it but met nothing tangible. Her fist went through what appeared to be a vaporous shape.

Still surprised, she barely noticed that the previously immaterial form had grasped her arm and held it firmly. Lowering her gaze to her trapped arm, she then raised again her sight, this time to the person's head; and sank even more into confusion when she saw the face of said person… Who happened to also be her rival. A rival who then began to speak with a dead-serious tone.

"China, listen to me. I have very little time to tell you everything I have to say to you. So, for once in your life, listen to me with all the attention you can muster, and don't play the disregarding jerk..."

It was the first time the Sadist had ever spoken to her like this; using so few insults. To the point that she wondered if she was dreaming or not.

"China, you have to kill my doppelganger".

W… What? Did she hear that right? It was getting weirder by the minute… She surely must be having a nightmare or something like that.

"Dammit China, listen to me! I can't stay here while he's still there. You understand? As long as you haven't got rid of him, I won't be able to come and help you..."

"Help me? Are you trying to be funny here?" She ironically asked. "Since when do Sadists have such generous hearts? No… Let me rephrase it: Since when do Sadists care about anyone other than themselves?"

"Chinaaaa… Bloody listen to me! KILL ME. You must kill me; my copy of this world!" His patience was running thin here.

"What the hell are you talking about? Did all that Tabasco sauce ended up frying your brain?" Said Kagura as she struggled to free her arm.

An arm which, weirdly enough, was still kept a prisoner of the hand of a mere human being.

"KILL ME! If you do so, you'll see! You're not in Edo right now, You're-"

The voice fell silent all of a sudden, the pressure on the young Yato's arm gone. The man had suddenly vanished into thin air, too.

She didn't know how he'd managed to split himself up, and given the poor quality of his double, it was probably a failed Kage-Bunshin (2) anyway. But his words still resonated inside her mind. And she couldn't shake it off, like a treacherous echo that kept coming back and forth.

At the same time, in Edo General Hospital, Captain Okita Sougo woke up from a short nap under the eyes of his superiors and two worried Yorozuya. He blinked several times, and with a still mushy mouth, said:

"She got the message… But it's up to her to act. If she doesn't do anything, we won't be able to intervene..."

To Be Continued...

Comprehensive notes :

(1) reference to the 1990 movie Total Recall.

(2) Kage Bunshin no Jutsu : ninja technique used by Naruto in the manga of same name in order to multiply himself.

Author's note: And we're back with the translations!

This chapter was originally written and posted back in june 2017, the very day before my departure to Canada, so it was really strange and exciting at the same time.