...
Now that Takasugi had seen the chestnut-haired and green-eyed child, he can now leave, just as planned.
Much to his dismay, though, his feet remained frozen on the spot and a disturbing feeling welled up inside him.
He didn't like what he had just witnessed.
The boy was clumsy and weak.
The boy was stubborn.
The boy was seeking strength.
He hated all of these.
But, worst of all, he hated how he could see his younger self in the boy.
...
Before Takasugi could even stop himself, his feet had already betrayed him again and he found himself walking towards the boy. He noted that when the said boy noticed him approaching, the boy uncrossed his arms then stared back at him confusedly, but made no move to flee. Once he was already standing in front of the child, said child defensively spoke, "W-what do you want? Are you mad at me? I already apologized, didn't I?"
In response, the wanted fugitive removed the straw hat from his head, causing his dark hair to shine under the sunlight. Unexpectedly, it seems like the sunlight fully illuminating him had an effect to the brat. He noticed that the boy's shoulders relaxed a bit and that the boy's dubious gaze turned into that of genuine curiosity, as said boy took the freedom of scanning him.
Not really appreciating the fact that a brat was inspecting him, the terrorist started with a threat, "Boy..", which instantly died down as soon as he saw the child's mouth hang open.
"Oniisan!"
"Are you a samurai?"
"Woah look at this sword, it's so cool!"
"You must be strong just like Gin-san? Right? Right?"
The feared leader of the joui extremist faction found himself speechless at the situation. The kid has now invaded his personal space and touched the sheathed sword hanging on his left side. Unlike the blonde woman in his group, this naive kid was definitely not experienced enough to sense his mood.
Also, Gin-san?
If the kid was referring to that silver perm-haired idiot – oh of course the kid was referring to that silver perm-haired idiot – then maybe, he, the stronger samurai and not-Gin-san, could just let this kid have a taste and present to him the extent of what the sword can do.
Should he really bring the head of the child of Yoshiwara to Kamui after all?
Fortunately, the kid appeared to somehow realize the impending doom his shamelessness had caused. He then let go of the sword's handle, and sheepishly placed his hand behind his head, "Oops, you must be new here, huh? You see, Gin-san is the savior of Yoshiwara. He's so cool and strong!"
Getting more annoyed at hearing such idolatries reserved for a fucking bastard with an absurd silver mop of hair on top of his brainless head – damn, just how annoyed was he? – Takasugi assured himself that it would be best to turn on his heel before he could even do something that would warrant unwanted attention.
"Ah wait! Are you lost? I could help."
He would ignore him and resume moving – he had decided.
Now only if the child had the common sense to let go of his yukata's left sleeve, then his original plan for this visit could still be followed.
Having enough of this crap, he then faced the child once again to show him one final glare. Subsequently, though, he have mused that this move of his, unfortunately, only gave the clueless boy the impression that he was indeed lost and in need of help – with the kid's hand still clutching his left sleeve and with the excited expression the kid was wearing on his face being the proof of this.
"My name's Seita! How 'bout you, oniisan?"
What.
Why is this kid Seita being so friendly? Could it be because of the sword? Could it be because this boy believes that he, the man he casually refers to as oniisan, is like his precious Gin-san?
Remembering this kid's connection to the Gin-san jerk, Gintoki, he – the oniisan – made a mental note to keep his real identity hidden.
"Tōgyō."
The name slipped out much quickly than he had wanted, that it had left a bitter taste on his mouth.
He was not supposed to refer to himself using that name, which was now buried underground, both figuratively and literally – literally, because most of those who called him using this name were either already dead or were once or still living in this underground city.
However, recalling how the tasteless silver-perm moron had once made fun of him naming his army 'Kiheitai'– which, obviously, didn't really change the fact that the name 'Kiheitai' was certainly and is still an exquisite piece of art made by a genius – he found it difficult to create an alias at the moment. Besides, it was not simple to make a name. One must dedicate time to piece words together and place meaning on them. Therefore, he just couldn't bring himself to address his own self and let people address him with a second-rate name, even if it was just an alias. To top that, Seita was also putting so much pressure in him, with those wide green eyes staring at him expectantly. Due to this, he figured that he shouldn't delay his answer any longer or else Seita would suspect him and find out that he was lying about his name, which would frustratingly lead to the kid pestering him even more to force him into revealing his real name. There were surely much much fewer people who knew the name Tōgyō than those who knew his real name, Takasugi Shinsuke, anyway.
"Alright, Tōgyō-san! Let's go to our shop first."
This – this enthusiasm the kid currently has was the problem. Oh please, why do kids always go in their own pace? Why are they so eager?
While he was internally asking himself, Seita's grip on his left sleeve just tightened then he pulled him towards the direction of the shop. Too nonplussed, Takasugi was forced to move along, as one last question floated in his mind,
Why are kids' eyes just damn big?
Nearing what appeared to be the said shop, Takasugi noticed a woman sitting on a wheelchair at the shop.
"Tōgyō-san, that's my mom!", Seita stated – loud enough for the woman to hear.
Upon hearing his name, he saw the woman snap towards their direction, with her eyes widening at the sight of him. Feeling slightly smug at the sight of that kind of reaction, he realized that this change in this visit's plans might just be entertaining enough to be worth it. Maybe, a part of him even wanted this to happen.
Once they entered the shop, Seita, who was oblivious to the tension, went on, "Mom, this is Tōgyō-san. A samurai! He's new here, so I – "
"Seita, my dear, please go inside and prepare tea for our guest."
He found it impressive how this lady managed to shift back to her affectionate self, while addressing her so-called son – who was still not aware of the uneasy atmosphere surrounding the two adults and who cheerily replied, "Okay mom!"
When Seita was gone, blue eyes met green eye once again.
Unlike the azure eyes of the former overlord of Yoshiwara, the blue eyes of the current de facto leader of Yoshiwara held an intensity similar yet at the same time, different from the former. While Kamui's were menacing, hers were warm yet fierce like the harsh rays of the sun.
After a moment of sizing each other up, they both spoke at the same time.
"What happened to your legs?"
"What happened to your eyes?"
This was technically their first meeting together and yet their first words to each other already contained so much venom – indicating just how much they already know about each other.
Takasugi could only chuckle. Indeed, things have just become more interesting.
On the other hand, the dark-haired woman placed a default and practiced smile on her face, while she talked, "We've finally met, Tōgyō-san – no, Takasugi Shinsuke-san."
Not exactly delighted in hearing both his nickname and his real name from her, he countered, "I guess I should consider myself lucky to be warmly welcomed by no other than the sun of Yoshiwara, wouldn't you agree Lady Hinowa?"
"Well, what brings you – a wanted man – to Yoshiwara?", she bravely asked – all the while maintaining her collected demeanor.
So, she does know about him.
Seeing through her, he let his lips curve into a smirk, "As expected from the top courtesan. It makes me wonder just how much do you know. But to answer your question, I just simply wanted to see the now-bright skies of Yoshiwara. Besides, someone being hunted down by the Bakufu should be safe in a place that's free from the clutches of the Bakufu, am I not right?"
Without missing a beat, she confidently answered him, "Indeed, Yoshiwara is an independent city, open to anyone, regardless of their political ideologies, and don't worry, Takasugi-san, I don't know much."
Still calm, she then shifted to a darker – almost threatening – tone, "But, I do wish I had learned some things sooner, so I could've stopped her."
With her last remark, he reckoned that although this conversation has been interesting so far, it was not necessarily entertaining anymore.
Both amazed and irritated at how the woman didn't even falter when she mentioned her, Takasugi had to clench his teeth first to allow himself to rebut, "And if you had stopped her, then that child wouldn't –"
A brief giggle from the lady interrupted him, "What makes you think that way? Setsuna was a courtesan. It's only normal for her to have other customers."
Setsuna?
It's been so long since he had heard that name.
He hated how this weak woman on a wheelchair could be so strong to say that name so easily. It was as if she was mocking and challenging him.
Letting out a low laugh, he gathered courage and tried to outwardly voice out her name after such a long time, "Setsuna.."
As expected it felt foreign yet at the same time, it felt so natural. Trying to ignore the tightening of his chest, he continued, "You and I both know that Setsuna – "
"Setsuna?"
A third person, with a voice of a prepubescent boy, then spoke that same name.
.
.
.
"W-why are you two talking about her?"
A/N:
Hiiii!
So just a background, 'Tōgyō' was actually the real-life Takasugi Shinsaku's nickname or pen name, which means "go to the east" :)