Chapter eleven
The return of China girl
The next morning, Hijikata laid tuckered in Sadaharu's basket, when he woke up. ''Some night, that was.'' he thought, as he got up. He didn't even recall all they had done, the alcohol had flown quite richly. He rubbed his eyes and stretched a little. He really ought to ask Gintoki if he could have a bed of his own. The mutt's basket was a bit better than the girl's bed, but not that much better for his back.
As he got up, he suddenly looked up at a dog, at least twice his height, just staring at him. He turned pale, as he recognized the mutt. ''No, No!'' he pleaded, before the dog put his mouth over his head and bit. A loud ''AAARgh'' was heard all over the apartment, effectively waking up Okita, who shot up.
'Someone is killing Hijikata-san! And it's not me!' Almost offended he got up, grabbed his sword, and ran to the room where he heard the shout coming from. As Hijikata's head was bleeding significantly, he petted the dog, who wagged it's tail. ''Good Sadaharu. You earned a treat.'' he said, and the dog happily barked.
'But if Sadaharu's here, then-' before he could even attempt to flee the apartment, there was a loud yelling, caused by a girl that could not even reach his chest. ''You! What are you doing in my house!'' Her shouting woke up Gintoki, who shot upright in bed. 'Kagura?' he wondered, and got up. ''You stop touching my dog!'' he heard her shout, and soon it was followed by a loud ruckus, similar to those he heard at Okita's work.
'The last time they fought, they nearly destroyed half the city.' he thought panicked, Otose would charge a lot more for the apartment if one of them killed the other in here. He was also a bit concerned for both his friends well-being. When he entered the room in a panic, he was quite taken aback, as Okita and Kagura were co-operating getting Sadaharu off Hijikata. 'The world has gone mad!' he thought. He had expected an absolute war scene, Kagura and Okita at each others throath, Hijikata half-eaten, and Sadaharu... he wasn't even sure why they kept him as a pet, he was sure the wee of the beast was radioactive or something.
''Don't eat something so vile.'' Okita told the dog. ''Listen to the brat, Sadaharu, we have better food present for you.'' ''Who are you calling a brat?'' Okita argued, as he attempted to kick her, which she dodged. ''You, brat.'' She stuck her tongue out and tried to kick in return. A kick Okita barely managed to evade. ''You are the brat, brat.'' he told her, as Hijikata shouts were muffled. Gintoki assumed they were something like, ''Get this dog of me!''.
''It's so early.'' he complained out loud, ''And you brats are noisy.'' Both Kagura and Okita looked at him, before apologizing. ''Sorry Danna.'' Okita said, as Kagura told him ''Sorry to wake you up.'' The dog also stopped chewing, and dropped Hijikata on the ground. And of course, as expected, gave Gintoki the same welcome he had given Hijikata.
At the Shinsengumi base, Shinpachi was taking care of a very hungover Kondo. ''That sure was something last night.'' Yamazaki said, as he brought the water for Kondo. ''I know, Otsu is amazing!'' Shinpachi said with stars in his eyes. ''That too, I meant the bar fight Hijikata-dono and Gintoki-san had at the bar.'' Yamazaki said.
''Oh yeah, that.'' Shinpachi had wanted to drop by his household to ask Gin-san what that had been about. His sister had seemed to know more too, but getting the truth out of her was going to be impossible. ''I have seen them fight before, but it seemed more serious. Okita was not even getting involved, and he'd never pass up an opportunity to hurt Hijikata-dono.'' Yamazaki said.
'And the three of them are at my house.' Shinpachi was concerned about whether the house would even still be there if he'd return. ''Oh, and we received a letter.'' Yamazaki told him. ''A letter?'' Shinpachi asked, confused. ''Yes, it was from another planet. It was about the return of some alien girl.'' Yamazaki said flippantly.
''Alien gir- O my god! I gotta go!'' Shinpachi said, dropping Kondo, as he ran for the door. Before he left, he looked at Yamazaki and said, ''You are in charge today, until he has recovered.'' Yamazaki stared off bewildered, before grinning when Shinpachi had left. This was the chance he would have to make the Shinshengumi his badminton slaves!
Shinpachi ran home as fast as he could. The last time an alien girl had arrived, they had gotten into this mess in the first place. Kagura and Okita were respectively bad enough on their own, but if they met that new girl from the Jaden Palace, there would be no Edo to live in anymore. When he did arrive home, he was relieved to see it still standing.
He ran up the stairs, and slid open the door, only to reveal quite a scene. Sadaharu was munching on some snacks Kagura was feeding him, as Okita was tending to Gintoki's bleeding head, and was that Hijikata? He looked like he had gotten mauled by a herd of Sadaharu's! So far, nothing much out of the ordinary, though Kagura and Okita weren't killing each other. The latter was not even making an assassination attempt at Hijikata.
'He'd fail Kuru-sensei's lessons.' he could practically hear Gintoki's voice, referring to some shonen jump manga he'd read. ''Shinpachi? What is this, a reunion?'' Gintoki said, as he noticed him. ''Ehr, I guess. I heard an alien girl arrived. I came to see if it was Kagura.'' he said, sweat dropping. ''Who else?'' Gintoki replied, ''She and that mutt.''
''Sadaharu is no mutt.'' Kagura told him, feeding her dog his seventh bag of food, petting him as he wolfed it down. ''Soooo... why are these two here and where did you come from?'' she asked Shinpachi. ''Due to some circumstances, we had to stay here and earn money to repay a debt before we can enter the Shinshengumi again.'' Hijikata told her, groaning, as he slowly took care of his own wounds.
''But, this is Gintama. No one ever makes money, or pays back their debts. You'll stay here forever!'' she exclaimed in utter shock, before glaring daggers at Okita. ''Not on my watch!'' she added, but before she could grab her umbrella and start a fight, Gintoki stopped her. ''But we always fix things quite well without money. There must be some other way.'' he said.
Kagura considered this. ''I will help, so what needs to be done?'' she asked. ''There has been a loss of thirteen traffic lights, twenty cars, we've harmed the Shogun, blown up a restaurant and let that thief Katsura escape'' Hijikata listed on his fingers. ''So, we must demolish the thirteen traffic lights, destroy all cars, kidnap and tend to the Shogun, eat the leftovers of the restaurant so they won't go bad, and capture Katsura?'' Kagura asked.
''No, we have to destroy all traffic lights, and vehicles, kill the Shogun, and Katsura, and eat empty all the restaurants so people won't go to the competition.'' Okita offered, and Kagura seem to like the idea. ''No. We should change the traffic rules, use no more vehicles, vote a new Shogun, destroy more restaurants, and bomb Katsura.'' Gintoki said, and Hijikata shook his head in disbelief, wondering how all this escalated so fast.
He also wondered what would have happened if he had stayed at the other place? Would they have actually gone through with these plans? Will they even hear him now, if he tries to stop them? ''How about we fix the lights, and the twenty cars, ask the Shogun if we can help him with anyhting and offer an apology, rebuild the restaurant and well, I think capturing Katsura won't harm anyone.'' Shinpachi offered.
''Nah... that's stupid.'' Gintoki said, and Kagura nodded fiercely. ''It is either this, or repay the state 53,500,650 yen. That goes for me and the same sum for Hijikata. We have gotten small jobs, but that won't do. I'll be old and gray by the time I can repay that.'' Okita said. Gintoki ruffled his hair, ''Not for a long time, yet.'' he said. ''Woah, that much money. I can buy tons of pickled seaweed with that.'' Kagura said dreamily.
''Actually, Kagura, you've got a debt with the state too.'' Shinpachi started. ''I've got a debt everywhere, didn't stop me before.'' she said. ''I am already working to pay of this debt, but I think you should do your part too.'' Shinpachi told her, trying to give her a stern look, a look he didn't pull of well. ''That's not fair.'' she whined. ''We are all working nowadays. It'd be boring here all alone.'' Gintoki said. ''Even you are working?'' she and Hijikata asked.
'Well, work. He's just hanging and getting paid for hanging with me.' Okita thought, as he looked at Gintoki. Not that he minded, he liked spending time with Gintoki. ''We could use someone at the factory I'm working at. We need someone strong.'' Hijikata told her. ''Ewww, as if I want to work with you.'' she said in disgust, grabbing Gintoki's arm. ''I want to work where you work.'' she said.
'No.' Okita thought, China would look through his disguise at work, for sure. It'd be humiliating. ''Why not work law enforcement? With me at the Shinshengumi. We are short a lot of hands, since Kondo-san gave everyone a week off.'' Shinpachi said. ''The Shinshengumi.'' Kagura put her hand on her chin, as she considered this.
'Kagura as police!' Gintoki was frightened for a moment, but looked at Okita. 'It's better than working the same place as me. I mean, we wouldn't have a single moment together anymore.' ''I object.'' Hijikata started, but Okita put a hand over his mouth. ''You'd be pretty good. Kondo is a good boss.'' he said, Kagura immidiately seemed suspicious.
''And we could work on perhaps tracking down Katsura, and see if this lowers the debt with a significant sum for the three of you, so we can get back to life as usual faster.'' Shinpachi offered, knowing the city would want Katsura captured. ''That seems like a good deal. And you don't have to stay here, with them.'' Gintoki added.
''Can I have my own closet at the Shinshengumi? And a spot for Sadaharu?'' she asked. Shinpachi looked at Hijikata who shrugged, then at Okita. ''She can totally take Hijikata's closet, nice and comfy and Yamazaki will be more than happy to look after Sadaharu.'' he said, petting the elated dog. ''Why the heck my closet?'' Hijikata argued. ''Deal.'' Kagura said, and everyone except Hijikata seemed happy she took this route.
When she, Shinpachi and Sadaharu were on their way towards the Shinshengumi, Hijikata stared concerned. ''I should get going too.'' he said awkwardly. Okita gave him a look, but Hijikata shook his head. ''This will get talked over.'' Okita told him. ''Whatever.'' Hijikata told him, before leaving.
Gintoki who had watched the awkward conversation, placed his hand on Okita's shoulder. ''He will eventually understand, I think.'' ''Even if he doesn't, he was out of place there.'' Okita replied. ''I think he's getting desperate. And to be fair, he's been hinting at it for weeks.'' Gintoki replied. ''And I have shown no interest.'' Okita said, before looking at Gintoki. ''So, about last night...'' Okita was not sure what to say. ''You were the one suggesting we started the entire mess, remember.'' Gintoki said, thinking back about the events of the night before.
Otsu had finally started playing her music as the crew was hanging at one of the tables. Shinpachi, who was drooling at the sight of Otsu, lived in his own world when his sister brought the drinks to their table. ''Drinks well earned.'' she told the crew, and Kondo gave her a thankful nod. ''Where is that young lady?'' he asked Otae. ''She went home for the night.'' she gave Okita a knowing look, before taking a seat herself.
Hijikata sighed, it had been the reason for him to stay during the evening. ''She is not that good a waitress.'' Gintoki said, smiling at Okita. ''She might be suited for a bouncer.'' ''A bouncer? A girl that cute?'' Kondo said, before receiving a glare from Otae. ''I mean, she is cute. Not as amazing as you. Well, I am happy to have a night with you, Okita and Toshi.'' he said, changing the subject. ''The base is very dull without you.''
''Shin-chan probably solves all the issues these two created in the first place.'' Otae said, giggling. ''And Yamazaki practices too much, there is no one to destory his racket.'' Kondo added. ''Sorry, Kondo-san. I wil work as fast as possible to be back soon. Sooner than Hijikata.'' Okita promised. ''Oi!'' Hijikata protested, and Kondo laughed amused. ''I hope so. I miss the morning explossions.'' he told them.
''Funny, the one thing I did not miss.'' Hijikata sniffed, and Gintoki felt glad he had not witnissed those yet. ''I can't bear the thought of you two not even seeing each other as often. You've such a close bond.'' Kondo told them. ''Actually, they live both in my house now.'' Gintoki told him, and Kondo seemed very happy.
''I knew you two couldn't be apart for that long a time.'' he said elated, than gave Gintoki a concerned look. ''Your house, it is still there right?'' he asked and Gintoki nodded. ''Kagura does more damage than these two combined.'' ''No likes bragging. Besides my boys do more damage.'' Kondo said, and Okita rolled his eyes.
''Kagura and her pet destroyed half the city.'' Gintoki said, challenging. ''That lady that works here destroyed this entire bar, with you.'' Otae replied, before putting a hand on Kondo's shoulder, ''Care to dance with me?'' she asked and Kondo's face lit up as they went towards the dance floor.
Shinpachi slowly got up, to move closer to the main stage, leaving Okita, Gintoki and Hijikata to wait there. ''If only that lady that destroyed the bar with you was here to entertain us.'' Hijikata said, preparing a cigarette. 'She is.' Gintoki thought, looking at Okita. It was really nice to be able to spend so much time with him, as himself, rather than the pretended personality. If only Hijikata wasn't here, he could even consider this a date.
''So, let's find something to entertain ourselves with.'' Okita opted. ''We can start another barfight.'' he teasingly added, before shrieking. He done so whilst being Soko, what if Gintoki now realised who he was, or mainly, who Soko was. ''Another?'' Hijikata dared ask. ''Yeah, just rough housing, nothing to big. The entire building only collapsed.'' Gintoki said, winking at Okita.
'Maybe he does know already.' Okita was surprised. That was exactly what had happened. ''That was you two?'' Hijikata asked. ''You knew that had happened to to this place?'' Okita asked. ''Yeah, I was put to work to rebuild it. It was a big chore, earned some big paycheck there.'' Hijikata droned on and on. Okita was unsure what to say, it was not fair.
It had cost him money, and more time at the job, while it earned Hijikata money. It was unfair, the world was unfair. But, it had caused him to spend more time with Danna. If only Hijikata was not here, then it would have been like a date. ''Not that I mind you know, I met the nice lady here and all.'' Hijikata finished talking,
''So, you knew all along right. That Soko was me.'' Okita asked. ''It was kinda obvious, you do look pretty as a girl, convincing even. Almost a splitting image.'' Gintoki replied. ''And still you continue with what you do, why? And don't give me the friends help friends nonsense.'' Okita said. ''Have I? Was I really helping you? You are not back at the compound, you know.'' Gintoki said.
Okita considered. ''So, if you are doing what you seems like helping, you are stalling. What for?'' Okita asked. ''You know the reason, it is the same reason you are.'' Gintoki told him. ''So, out in the open, you have the same feelings of confusion about this all right. Me pretending to be a girl, but liking the real version.'' Okita asked, slightly blushing. ''It makes it easier, but I like Sougo more than I like Soko.'' Gintoki said. ''Me too.'' Okita said, as they sat, and watched over Edo, none of them really sure how to go from here.