And all legend will say the revolution started this day
"I knew you'd come," the Sheriff said, lightly. He spoke the word like it was a treat to pronounce, smiling as his lips formed the words. "Traitor."
Hijikata began to take a step forward – he would corner this bastard until Gintoki arrived, disarm him and tie him up. Kondo would be freed, his comrades would take control of the chaos and dispose of the mercenaries, and then they would secure the castle. After which, the friends would slowly be cut away from the foes.
All this was shattered in an instant when Hijikata felt the sharp agony of an arrow piercing his right shoulder, the impact knocking him back a few paces. His eyes followed the wooden shaft to the point of impact where blood was now spilling over his shirt, along his bicep, pooling in his armpit. He dropped to both knees, suddenly unable to pull oxygen through his throat. He heard the echo of footsteps on the stone floor, loud in the silence of the Great Hall. The muffled sound of battle faded away. He didn't want to look up. The steps halted in front of him. His face ran cold, drained of blood. The liquid oozing from his shoulder was hot against the Goosebumps now erupting all over him. Each splatter against the stone floor threw a pebbledash of red onto his clothes. He found himself sinking onto the stone, terrified that the icy surface would steal all his remaining heat. Still, he would not look up.
"I'll bet you weren't expecting that, were you?" The Sheriff was smug. His tone of voice so arrogant that the portraits on the wall were left intimidated by his confidence, knights shying away from the fight in his eyes. "You thought you'd team up with the enemy to take me down? You underestimated me, Toshiro Hijikata, and your little rebellion will be the last thing in your legacy."
At last, Hijikata allowed his eyes to shift upwards at the figure before him. As his energy drained away, he began to doubt the part of his brain that had figured out what was going on. Even though his subconscious had pieced together the puzzle, his conscious pushed it aside. It couldn't be true. It wouldn't be h-
His blue eyes locked onto Gintoki's and he was immediately trapped like prey in the jaws of a wolf. He could feel the vice of fangs on his jugular, stopping him from breathing. And Gintoki peered down with indifference, those red eyes glowing the colour of Hijikata's blood which continued to pour onto the stone. He could not describe how he was feeling, not even if he was given the opportunity before he died right there. The last thing etched into his eyes would be the cold, unforgiving eyes of a true demon.
"Gin…toki?" He choked.
"I've known all along that you and your dogs would one day try to bite me." The Sheriff began. His figure appeared over Gintoki's shoulder but Hijikata could see only one person. "I've been building loyal retainers for quite some time so that one day I could dispose of your lot. You have it in your eyes, the look of revolt. From the first day you pledged your allegiance to me, I could see the disingenuity. So, when the Silver Archer offered me your head, I gladly took it. It is just so amusing," he laughed, gruffly, "that you thought you could overthrow me. You thought if you ran in here with a few bandits, you could usurp me." Gintoki turned his back on Hijikata to speak with the Sheriff.
"We need to move onto the next stage." He said, voice a rumble of thunder, devoid of all the life and comedy he usually spoke with. "Get them all out on parade in front of the public - all of your disloyal retainers. Make an example out of them."
"I sometimes feel like it's only thieves and bandits I can trust! Your type are the only predictable people in this world. Don't worry, Silver Archer, you'll get your reward." He began to stride towards the door, unsheathing his sword as he moved with a grating shhiik. "Tie him up; I trust that man least of all."
"Yes sir." Gintoki replied.
Hijikata was laid on his side now, listening to the throb of his heartbeat going crazy in his ears. His body was racked with sporadic shivers. As Gintoki leaned over him, he found the strength to grasp his knife which had been concealed in his boot.
"Woah there," Gintoki said, gently, taking hold of Hijikata's wrist as Hijikata drunkenly tried to lunge for him. At the subtlest resistance, Hijikata collapsed again onto the floor. "Put that away, Princess." Gintoki's voice was a honey sweet whisper, his eyes back to those soothing orbs of gentility. With careful fingers, he prised the knife from Hijikata's grip. Hijikata hung on as best he could – his hands were about the only part of his body he could control now.
"Y…ou tri…cked me." Hijikata panted, feeling himself fade away. He must have lost a lot of blood extremely quickly. He'd suffered severe wounds before, but none that had dragged him so rapidly away from reality. He could feel his mind sinking away from where he had a firm grasp of it. It was getting hard to concentrate. He could only hang onto one notion. "You're … scum …" At this, the man hovering over him smiled. "And you're … still … playing with me."
"I'll always play around with you, Toshiro. You're so fun to tease. Now, do you remember what I said?"
"Bast-…ard."
"Not that one honey, the thing about trust." For a fraction of a second, Hijikata felt sober again. His brain fired up one last time. "There we go. Hold onto that thought. The arrow is coated in a sedative, but I didn't wound you too deeply. I will see you when you wake up."
"N-no!" Hijikata felt like his body was turning to stone. He was unable to even wriggle his fingertips now. With the last of his energy, he tried to lift his head from the floor. He desperately clung to reality.
"I knew you'd cause me trouble," Gintoki couldn't help but frown, the sudden urge to whack Hijikata hard twitching his fingers. "Stubborn ass. There was nearly enough sedative in there to knock a horse out. Go to sleep, will you?"
And Hijikata did.
He awoke feeling like death warmed up and with a throb in his shoulder that juddered him back to the present. He had been dreaming. Although he couldn't remember the contents of the dream, he was still hurting. His chest was tight and as he gained consciousness, he realised he already had a frown creasing his temple. A cool breeze provided a welcome break in the humidity, tickling his chest where his shirt had ripped open. He groggily grasped that something was covering his wound, a thick cream slathered under his shirt. The breeze made it tingle. The next thing he understood was that he was outside, and he was not alone. In fact, he was about as 'not alone' as one could get – there was a whole crowd of people surrounding him.
He opened his eyes and good lord did he not like what he saw.
He found himself in the middle of the castle square on the platform where Kondo had been. There was something tight around his neck and he knew it immediately to be a rope. Looking down, he saw the trap door creaking beneath his feet. He tried to block out the herd of a hundred faces gaping at him, their whispers rattling his brain.
"Trust me," Gintoki had said. He allowed the word to take a hold in his mind kept it there. He did not let go of it. Though his wound wasn't fatal, it was still significant and the way his arms were tied behind his back caused the rip in his skin to sear with pain. A groan slipped through his lips. There was a presence behind him, holding him upright. The presence shifted, making itself known. There was one hand around his waist, keeping him on his feet, another gripping the rope around his neck to relieve the pressure on his throat.
"G-…intoki," Hijikata whispered, not to be inconspicuous as that was the only sound he could force out.
"Right here," the presence said. "Just hold on a little longer." That was enough to awaken him a little more and he began to tune into the consistent hum of a voice, speaking to the crowd.
"- disappointed by the events of today. These men before you have shown themselves to be traitors to the crown. By defying me, their lord elected by the King who himself was chosen by God, they have defied the heavens themselves. They have committed treason against the crown. They stand before you, traitors. And they will suffer the punishment of a traitor." It was the Sheriff, striding purposefully up and down the wooden platform in front of Hijikata, making big gesticulations with his hands as he spoke. The eyes of the crowd were wary. There were many unsettled faces. Hijikata struggled against the rope to twist his head and couldn't stop himself from gasping. Sougo was beside him, hands also tied behind his back and a rope around his neck. Further along, Yamazaki. And the line just kept going. Sougo's eyes were hardened and did not flinch as he looked over the heads of the crowd.
"-ougo!" Hijikata choked.
"Easy," Gintoki's voice said. "Don't make a fuss." Sougo glanced over at him but did not react. He didn't even appear angry.
"In a short time, I will cut the ropes to the trapdoors myself, sending these devils off to hell."
The crowd murmured. Hijikata could sense the discontent. He saw faces he knew out there: people he had drunk with in the bars in the village, the old man who ran the market stall he often bought from, the lady who used to give him free eggs from her chickens. They were all there. Kondo had always made sure his men were kind to folk. They were the barrier between the Sheriff and the people. They'd obey his orders, but more often than not, they'd protect the villagers from his commands. People he ordered executed in their homes were given new identities and transported elsewhere. Cattle that the Sheriff ordered to be slaughtered as punishment were moved to new fields. Kondo negotiated more grains and foodstuffs for his men, the surplus delivered to those in need. They had been good to the people. They had protected them. And from the faces he recognised, Hijikata saw sadness in their eyes.
A shout erupted form the crowd, cutting off the Sheriff's speech. "Let them live!" It called, simply. There was a stunned silence all round. Even the Sheriff stopped, searching the crowd for the voice.
"Let them live!" A new voice demanded. Someone began to beat a rhythm against the frame of a wooden cart. They punctuated each beat with the mantra – let them live. The crowd began to stir, and more and more people took up the call.
"Silence!" The Sheriff bellowed, but his voice was lost over the rising shouts of the crowd. He clicked his tongue in annoyance and signalled to his mercenaries, who stood in the corners of the castle grounds, to break up the call. It was too late to quell the voices. Some of the mercenaries began to grasp the troublemakers to escort them away, but others in the crowd would beat the mercenaries back. They were completely outnumbered. They began to look to the Sheriff. Hijikata could see that the Sheriff had absolutely no idea how to control a crowd. And crowds that couldn't be contained would quickly turn into riots. All it would take was an escalation in violence from the Sheriff's side, and all hell would break loose.
"Get them!" The Sheriff ordered, his face glowing red with rage. The mercenaries took this as their signal to get violent.
"That's my cue," Gintoki said. "Bear with me a minute." The hand around Hijikata's neck disappeared and the pressure on his neck had him scrambling to stand on his toes. He tried to figure out the noises behind him - a rustle, the sliding of metal, something around his hands. All of a sudden, the ropes on his wrist fell away. Hijikata's hands immediately flew up to his neck to relieve the pressure and allow himself to breathe but before he got there, that rope fell away too. "Follow my lead," Gintoki said, already in front of Hijikata. He was dressed in full black now, a hood hanging over his entire face. He looked like an executioner. As he stepped out towards the Sheriff, he whipped away his cloak to unveil his bow. He reached up to take a single arrow from his quiver, allowing the black cloak to fall to his feet, revealing the glint of his silver hair. The crowd almost immediately fell silent, one by one stopping their chant to watch on in amazement. The Sheriff, oblivious to the approaching man behind him, thought that he had finally gained control of his people and smiled, broadly.
"That's better." He said. "You will come to be grateful for this day, as God will be pleased that we have disposed of his treacherous children. He will gift you all with good fortune this year, I'm sure."
"Your God is here," Gintoki announced, pulling back the string on his bow until it met his cheek. "And he rarely misses a shot." The Sheriff did not even have time to look shocked. The arrow met with his forehead and went right on through, all the while his expression conceited and self-assured. The crowd did not make a sound for several seconds, allowing the information to sink in. Then, Hijikata looked out and spotted Shinpachi. Beside him was Kagura. Both had determination in their expressions. They began a cheer that erupted on through the crowd and it began to dawn on Hijikata what Gintoki's plan had been all along.
It was something he had once told Hijikata on an evening following a raid on a bandit's lair. The troop of bandits had been using Gintoki's name to encourage locals to pay them taxes in return for protection. When one day the village elder decided to cease the payment, they had pillaged the village for everything they could steal. Gintoki had took Hijikata alone on that mission.
"Cut off the head of a hydra and it will grow two more," Gintoki had said. "Every time you hack at it, another set of teeth will rise to bite you. You have to cut off all the heads and burn it at the neck. Prevent the hydra from returning for good."
At the time, Hijikata had thought it an overly eloquent description for what was essentially murdering the lot of them. But now, it made sense. If Gintoki had killed the Sheriff when he had the chance, two more hydra heads would have risen to fill the gap. Hijikata and his comrades would simply become pawns to the next Sheriff who fell in to take his place. Nothing would have changed. By encouraging Hijikata to stage a revolution against the Sheriff and allowing Kondo to take the fall for his treason, to the peasants, Kondo had become the good and the Sheriff, the evil. They were no longer his tools – they had been freed from his command. Gintoki had stirred the discontent of the peasants by allowing the Sheriff to appear to 'win'. By planting his men in amongst the crowd, he had utilised the discontent of the people to form a rebellion. It suddenly became the people against the Sheriff, and Kondo and his men were on the good side. Taking the Sheriff's life at this point signified the end of tyranny and took Gintoki to an almost God-like prominence in the eyes of the peasants.
The next stage was suddenly obvious to Hijikata.
Gintoki – the legend loved by the people - would demonstrate publicly his alliance with Hijikata and the other knights. This easily laid the groundwork for Kondo stepping up … and becoming the new Sheriff of Nottingham.
"The tyrant is dead!" Gintoki announced, his voice ringing loud over the cheers of the gathered crowd. "It is your turn now to elect a new leader, one who was by your side when the Sheriff was not. And," Gintoki completed his walk, coming to a halt beside a stunned-looking Kondo, who was still tied up. Gintoki smiled, broadly. Kondo was baffled, allowing Gintoki to cut through his bonds and push him forwards towards the crowd. "Might I make a suggestion?" Gintoki finished, clapping a stunned Kondo on the shoulder. The cheers escalated and the air was filled with various items, thrown in celebration. The mercenaries were making a hasty escape through the castle gate.
Hijikata finally bounced into action and began to cut free his comrades. It was tricky with one arm hanging limply at his side but he managed it, and once Sougo was free, the boy assisted him.
"Your boyfriend is pretty good," Sougo muttered to him and Hijikata was still too stunned to rebuke the comment. "Kondo is the perfect candidate. He already has a lot of support, both amongst the people and in the castle. He comes from a good family and is the head of a renown group of strong knights. The King will probably support this."
"If he doesn't, he'll have a rebellion on his hands." Hijikata agreed, still groggy from the drug in his system but the buzz of the events of the day was keeping his mind alert.
There followed an unofficial ceremony in which Kondo was praised as the new Sheriff of Nottingham in front of the crowd and he gave a bewildered but articulate speech to thank everyone. In his speech, he mentioned the Silver Archer, but the man had already disappeared like a wisp of smoke in the night.