Chapter 12: Strong and Beautiful

Kaede panted as she ran through the streets. She saw amanto and human corpses on the ground, and she covered her mouth to protect her nose from the stench.

"Okita! Would you stop this little child's play?" Gin rested his wooden sword on his shoulder. "I've got a wife and two children to go back to… One's not even born yet!"

"I need to finish what I've been working for all this time! I'm not letting you go home till then!"

"…If you do something so foolish… Those you love will get involved, even hurt. I'm doing this so my wife and I can live freely in the country… And my children to go to school without pregidus. I'm not doing this for stupid pride's sake."

"…Kaede will be fine without me."

"Don't be stupid!" Gin slammed his fist into his face.

"What would you know?!" He yelled at him. "Kaede is strong and independent now, but if I have a child with her, how will I know she won't lose her wings like Kagura did?! I don't want that! I don't want my beautiful girl to be trapped!" Okita looked up, his mouth dripping warm blood. She was standing there, looking at him.

"Sougou…" In her hands were her two chakrams for fighting. She ran over to him as he dropped to the ground, shocked that she was there. It had been nearly a year since they had seen each other.

"Kaede…?" He whispered, about to cough. He had gotten many wounds, even before Gin. Kaede took his upper torso in her arms, placing it in her lap.

"I'll never be trapped… Sougou, you set me free…!"

"…Kaede…" He looked at her softly. She pulled his face to hers and kissed him, then looked up at Gintoki.

"It's over, Gin. You win." Kaede smiled. "But please hurry back to Kagura, she's in labor!"

"What?!" Gin exclaimed.

"Go!"

"Right!" He started to leave, when a familiar figure jumped in front of him.

"Not so fast, Gintoki…"

"Kamui…!"

"Kamui onii-san!" Kaede's eyes widened.

"Kaede…?!" Kamui jumped down and walked to her. "What are you doing here?!"

"Kamui onii-san, I can't believe it's you…!" Okita raised his head and stood up with Kaede. Kaede let go of his hand and hugged her brother tightly.

"I missed you…!" She tightened her grip around him. The siblings had been apart for a long time. Around 17 years.

"Me too…" He opened his eyes from their fakey smile and hugged her softly.

"Onii-san, where have you been all this time?" The girl demanded.

"Being a true amanto. I became a mercenary."

"I see…"

"…Kaede, come back with me."

"Eh?"

"Let's get married, like we promised when we were kids."

"What…?" Kaede's pupils went small. Her heart beat very hard. "I said that when I was a little girl… Onii-san, you were just playing along, right?"

"Of course not…" He hugged her again. "I've searched for you for so long… I looked for you and father and mother… But mostly you, Kaede. Let's get married… Let's be together forever."

"…Mother's dead now…"

"…I see…" His eyes darkened.

"Kamui- Mm!" Her mouth was covered by his lips. Flames of a demon raged inside Okita. "Onii-san, what are you doing?!?!" She pushed him off.

"Get your hands off my girl!!!" He yelled. His sword slashed Kamui on the cheek.

"Your girl…?"

"Onii-san, Okita is my fiancée! Don't hurt him…!" She persuaded her powerful brother.

"…I see…" His fake smile returned as he walked towards Okita. "Sorry to disappoint you, but your relationship with my sister will have to be just a fling, because it's over." He slammed Okita in the ribs and into the ground. Blood spattered from his mouth.

"SOUGOU!!!" She screamed. He walked closer to the boy and picked him up by the collar.

"Do me a favor and die?" He smiled, but as he lifted his hand to punch him, A wooden sword slammed against him.

"Oi oi, can't you even listen to the tears of your sister?" Gin looked up at him with angry eyes. "Some husband you'd make. If my wife Kagura screamed like that, I'd be begging for mercy and pay the guy I hurt a million yen." Kamui dropped Okita to he ground.

"So… You married Kagura, did you? Do you realize the dangers? Half-breed children?"

"Well… I got one half-breed already and another on the way, but in my eyes they're the most beautiful children I've ever seen. There's nothing abnormal about them."

"Hm… Well. I suppose I'll kill you and then your little children." Kamui started to spar with Gintoki's sword using his hands.

"You can try, but my daughter's got quite a dark side…!"

"Sougou…!" Kaede listened to his heartbeat. He was still alive, thank God. She knew what she had to do, and there wasn't much time left. "Gintoki! You think a mere human can take on an amanto?!" She ran as fast as she could. "Haaaah!" Kaede released her chakrams as the spun in a round shape toward Kamui. They hit his arm a little, the two chakrams met, and then they went back in the circle and headed back to Kaede.

"What are you-?!" Gin exclaimed, glad his hair hadn't been cut off, or even worse, his head.

"Onee-chan needs you right now! Go!!!" Kaede called as she caught her chakrams by their handles as they zoomed back into her hands with a thunk.

"…All right! Thanks Kaede!!!" He yelled and ran off. Kamui licked his arm where the chakrams had slightly hit.

"Taking sides with Gintoki over your own brother…?" He said calmly.

"I can't allow you to hurt people I care about! …Even if you're my big brother!"

"Show me your strength." Kaede jumped in the air and slammed the chakrams against his sword. They fiercely battled over and over until both were cut and bruised and their wet legs were covered in warm dirt. A storm had started to come. Until finally…

"Game over, Kaede." Kamui panted with sword to her neck. The rain showered like pins on her eyes and face. There was water coming down her cheeks… Was it water or tears? She would die now. Then her lover would die. And they'd never have that warm, cozy, loving life in a little house in the countryside. But he removed the sword from her throat.

"Kamui…!" She sat up, her clothes covered in mud.

"…You've grown strong. I could barely keep up. You're not the little girl I once knew…"

"Onii-san…"

"I still love you, of course. But…" He looked at Okita on the ground, his blood smeared on his face washing away with the rain, "If I were to see you cry again like that… God, I don't know what I'd do." He slightly chuckled with his bangs over his eyes, holding his forehead with his hand. Kaede hugged her brother tight. Her tears dripped down as she smiled.

"I'm sorry… I do love you… But… As a brother. As a best friend. As my… First love." She kissed him on the cheek where tears of his own were falling. He released himself from her arms slowly.

"Goodbye, Kaede…" He walked away.

"When will you come back?!"

"…Someday. I'll come see my nieces and nephews… I'm such an idiot… I missed all the things that were important while trying to take on my lonely heritage alone… Tell Kagura… I'm sorry."

"Yes, Onii-chan." He gasped, hearing her say Onii-chan for the first time since they parted. He felt something when they looked at each other. He saw the 6-year old little girl in front of him and then the 23 year old woman. She had grown so much… And he wasn't around to see it. Come to think of it… He had grown too… But mostly today. This 30-year old hadn't grown past 13 for 17 years… God… He walked off as his sister looked at him, holding her lover in her arms.

"…gou…! Sougou…!" Kaede called. He started to come to. Okita's eyelids opened slowly.

"Kaede…?"

"Thank god…! You're alive…!!!" She hugged him tight.

"Oi, that hurts…"

"Dummy…!" Tears fell from her eyes onto his cheeks. "I thought I'd never see you again…!"

"…I'll do anything to save my girl. Even if I lose my life-"

"Shh…" She smiled and stroked his hair. "Sleep now, Sougou… I'm here… It's all right." He looked into her eyes as she sung a song to let him fall asleep.

The courage to live on

A future that I love

Thanks to, everybody's kind strength

I now believe in love

Some slender fingertips

And pretty eyes to see

The thing I won't forget's that memory

Your face is, engraved inside.

More and more it is awakened

Deep inside of a dream

When you think of, my peaceful sleeping face

You feel great happiness

On the other side of the sky

I can reach my wishes and fly

I get there with my wings in my heart

As I start to walk along.

"Wife and child of the Silver Demon, die!!!" An amanto had appeared underground. He grabbed Kagi faster than anyone could see. If the women striked now… "So… Are you willing to die now?" The gross alien cackled.

"Kh…!" Kagura held in her wails from labor and looked at him, unable to respond.

"…off my…" Kagi whispered.

"What was that?!" He glared.

"GET YOUR F**KING HANDS OFF MY MOM, BASTARD!!!" Kagi (or shall I say, Roku) slammed her foot against the amanto and he flew across the room into the tunnel. "Sa-chan, grab him!"

"Y-Yes ma'am!" Sa-chan rushed to the amanto and wrapped him as tight as she could in ropes. He lay knocked out, and she threw him outside of the tunnel. "AND STAY OUT!!!" She screeched, then looked outside.. "…It seems to have quieted down… Once the baby is born, let's move back to Kagura's house."

"That's a good idea… Ah!" Something had happened.

"Kagura?!" Gintoki yelled in their house, looking to see if his wife had come back. Surprisingly, the house wasn't hit hard. They must have known that no one would be there, so they avoided it.

"Gin-san, you're all right!" Otae ran downstairs and smiled. "Congratulations. You're a father to second child."

"Really?!"

"Of course. What do you think being pregnant means?" She giggled. Your wife is waiting upstairs. She's tired, but perfectly healthy."

"That's great… I'll have to apologize for not being there…"

"Where's Kaede?"

"She went to go help Okita… She had to fight against Kamui."

"What?!"

"But… I think she's perfectly fine, and so is Okita.

"That's great…" Otae smiled softly.

"I'm going to see-"

"Wait!" She pulled on his sleeve. "Toushi… Did you see him…?"

"Ah… Him? I kinda beat him in a fight…"

"I… see…" A silence occurred between the two.

"…'I'll be back right away, so don't worry and wait for me'… He said." Gintoki told her with a smile. Tears flowed from her eyes as a happy face was graced by a smile. She fell to the ground, so overcome with joy.

"Mom, does that mean Dad's coming back?!"

"Yes, Takarou…!" Otae held her son closely to herself, stroking his hair that was so much like his father's, "Dad's coming home…!"

"Kagura!" Gin ran in to see a small baby in her arms, and Kagi up on the bed with her.

"Papa!!!" Kagi jumped down and hugged him tight. The little girl cried with relief into her father's chest as he picked her up.

"…Hey… You doing all right?" He sat down on the bed. She nodded softly. "Sorry… I wasn't here."

"I know… It's OK. I'm happy you're here now." She hugged him softly with the baby in her arms as well. "You wanna meet your new son?" She whispered over his shoulder.

"A son…?" He smiled and took the boy into his arms. The boy looked strong and beautiful… And had a tuft of red hair on his head! "Wow. Red hair."

"It's even darker than my hair…" Kagura chuckled.

"So… What's his name?"

"Hm… I want something to do with his hair! And something strong, to commemorate this day… The day the war ended."

"Something strong…" Gintoki thought of a silver demon, then a lion, then…

"Tora?" He suggested.

"Tora?" She repeated.

"Because a tiger is strong… It seems to represent freedom to me…"

"…You're right." Kagura nodded happily. "Let's name him Tora!"

"Sounds good to me."

"Tora Sakata."

"So now I have a little brother?" Kagi snuggled up on the bed and giggled excitedly.

"Yup, so you take good care of him, 'K?" Gin rubbed his daughter's head, and Kagura smiled.

"…Welcome home, Gin."

"I'm home… Kagura." They reached their lips together and kissed, so happy to be alive and together.

~*~*~*~

Otae sat on their porch while Takarou slept in his bed. She looked out to the horizon, and smelled the scent of asphalt and dew on the grass. She then saw a shadow, a man with his jacket open, some blood dripping on his face and chest. Her expression only changed to a smile, as she kept on the porch in the seiza position, her knees underneath her. There was silence as he approached her. He stood for a moment, then went on the porch, and let his head rest in her lap. She stroked his hair and hummed with her eyes closed.

"…I'm home."

"…Welcome home, Toushi." She opened her eyes, and tears dripped down, still smiling. To her surprise, he was crying too. He raised his head and kissed her, their tears falling down their cheeks.

~*~*~*~

"Sougou… Let's go home. Let's be free together."

"…Sounds good, Kaede." He lifted his head and kissed her.