Continuation of 'Stray dog and Ocean'.
A side-story (sequel) of 'Beast and Rain'.
Enjoy! ～Hirari
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Stray dog and Ocean~Gin-san's side story~
(Sequel to Beast and Rain)
Part: 04 –Mutual love...
In the pitch black darkness a dark-clothed gang looms around the area.
"-someone you know, Shinsuke?" asks a guy wearing sunglasses towards the purple-haired guy next to him.
Just minutes ago where there had been a guy and a girl, is now bare with only a cold silent breeze blowing past it.
The asked guy puts his long pipe to his mouth and breathes out the smoke after a small inhale.
"I've told you before. It's the girl I left at the ocean..." he then murmurs after staring longingly at the path the couple had used to walk away from him.
To be truthful, he knows well about the guy who had been beside her too.
She seems to have found and walking on a new path now... Shinsuke somewhat feels relieved inwardly.
"Ah~, the one that you had said that you lost your ring during a sword fight... it was a matching pair that had been that girl's..." the guy with the sunglasses say with a smirk.
To that, Shinsuke chuckles lightly.
"Brings back old memories..."
His hair slightly wavers amongst the wind before he turns his back towards that direction and starts to walk back the path he had come from.
"...What was the reason you had to break up with her after even giving her a ring?" the question is asked with a raised brow towards Shinsuke who then stops in his steps and unbinds his crossed arms to inhale his long pipe once again.
"I don't like to mix murky water with a pure, clear one. I don't have the ability to keep that clear water stay pure," he then replies with a small chuckle to himself, before moving his feet again.
The other group members look at each other confused, but the guy with sunglasses quickly understands what Shinsuke had meant by those words.
I don't want to corrupt that chaste girl who doesn't have even a hint of taint, and put her in danger.
I don't have the ability to protect her from anything...
The guy with sunglasses then chuckles.
"Then what about Mina-chan?" he then calls out to Shinsuke, who replies immediately.
"She's a strong girl."
True... She was one who didn't even flinch under Shinsuke's sword...
Maybe she's the one with the true, pure water, the one that has the power to even deflect the murky water... The guy with the sunglasses nods to himself before following after Shinsuke.
The other members follow his suit.
The moon is beautiful today...
"Is it okay to leave work unfinished?"
"Calling it off for today. There's an important person waiting for me in the ship..."
The guy with the sunglasses smirks at the words that don't suit the purple-haired, but tries to hide that from him.
Unfortunately he gets found out and he receives a glare from Shinsuke.
Thousands of stars that cast across the sky reflect into my eyes...
But in a split second, my vision fills with just... him.
I come back to reality only after when his lips leave mine.
My voice is lost and I just widen my eyes at him... at Gin-san... who narrows his eyes with a soft expression.
How did it turn out like this...?
Only just then I had rejoiced with Takasugi-san.
How long had it been since I had last seen him?
If it had been the old me, I would have dashed towards him and had probably rained him with questions of why he had left me.
My heart would have constricted so hard that it would have given me sufferable pain.
But somehow... I felt no pain... just merely surprised...
Maybe I don't like him as much anymore...
That's what I had thought when my eyes met Takasugi-san's.
So instead, my mind had been relaxed and had filled with thoughts with things like 'should I go greet him' instead?
...but then for whatever reason it was, Gin-san had grabbed my hand and started running, pulling me along with him.
Just when I thought he had stopped running, he then embraced me strongly...
...and before I knew it, our lips had met...
My heart thumps madly, echoing inwardly.
My mind only fills with Gin-san and my body only feels Gin-san...
My face feels hot and my body loses strength so I grab onto his shoulder.
He then embraces me strongly and our lips crash against each other.
My chest constricts strongly, but this isn't a painful one.
...I know this feeling.
Our faces drift apart and not believing this situation, my eyes are still wide open.
To that, Gin-san narrows his eyes and softly pats my head, making my heart go wild again.
For a good few seconds our eyes deeply connect with one another.
And I nearly open my mouth to say those words...
...Gin-san, I lo-
But before that, my brain stops functioning after hearing the words that come out from hismouth.
"I love you"
Becoming paralyzed from his gaze, my body becomes still.
To his straight-forward words of confession, I am lost for words.
Not believing this at all, my body starts becoming hot.
Not being able to stand his gaze, I drop my eyes and silence falls upon us.
What should I do?
I should just say out my feelings, but my mouth won't open from embarrassment.
My eyes become teary and I ball my fist.
...but then Gin-san's palm rests upon my head and he then pats me softly, making me look up at him.
"You don't have to force yourself. I just wanted to say it on my part."
His smile look slightly sad...
After he had said that, he then breaks away from me and stretches his body.
"Ah-, I feel much better now. Come one, let's go home now. The others will start to worry," he says and then walks past me.
If I leave it like this, I have a feeling that it's going to be as if nothing had happened between us...
Staring at Gin-san's back who is starting to walk back towards the lodging, I take a deep breath.
From when had I felt this towards him?
The sight of his relaxed posture from behind...
The somewhat kind personality...
The way he does everything when asked for even if he's normally lazy...
The way he pats my head so softly...
The way he raises the corner of his lips and smiles...
...I love them all so much!
I should have realised this feeling, but I had pretended not to know.
"...Gin-san!"
I call out loudly towards his back and I then sprint towards him.
Gin-san turns and looks back towards me with a mildly surprised expression.
When I reach him, I stand my tip-toes and I grab onto his shoulder tightly
...and then press my lips against his, who opens his eyes widely.
After a few seconds of contact, I slowly drift from him.
Even though it had been me who took the action, both my arms and legs are shaking and my face feels hot.
"Wha...!"
Gin-san on the other had blinks a few times in confusion, but blushing all the way to his ears as he stares at me.
"No,no,no,no,eh?" he then separates from me in a rush and raises a palm at me, indicating me to wait while he says to himself, "calm down!"
I wait patiently without a word while Gin-san puts his hand against his chest and then breathes in deeply.
"...um, that, uh, what was the meaning of that?" he then asks as he glances towards me.
His brightly flushed face makes me blush harder.
I then take a deep breath and stare straight at him.
"I... I love you, Gin-san!"
In the silent night, my voice echoes.
...I said it ...and oops, was my voice a bit too loud?
I look down, embarrassed.
The silence makes my hands shake.
After some time, I hear no reply and I start to panic, forcing myself to slowly look up.
"...G,Gin-san?"
I try calling out to him with a slight frown while talking about Gin-san, he stands frozen with his mouth open wide without a twitch of movement.
I stare into him and he finally seems to come back to reality and he turns his head away from me embarrassingly.
"...I'm too happy to the extreme."
His quiet words he voiced, makes my chest become hot with passion.
"So...what happened last night?" Kagura, who wakes up unusually fast in the morning, asks.
Shinpachi similarly smirks like Kagura and stands beside her.
Even Sadaharu, beside them, looks as if he's smirking too.
Last night when the reached the lodging, after that happening, these two had already been deep asleep.
I was gonna tell them what happened in the morning... but they're sharp.
They seem to know what's going on, so it seems I don't need to say it.
"Well, a lot happened," I reply with an expressionless face, and then look towards Miki, "right?"
"Right," she replies quietly with a bright red face downcast.
She looks so cute that it makes me remember yesterday again.
I force my lips not to smirk as I look back towards Kagura and the others.
"Hurry up and finish your work. We'll then go back to Yorozuya along with her," I say while patting Miki's head softly.
Two kids and a dog then open their eyes widely.
"What is the meaning of that?"
"That's what I mean."
"How do you mean?"
"That's how I mean."
"Why so suddenly like that!"
"Because it's suddenly like that."
"Woof!"
"That's...BE! CAUSE!"
My face twitch in irritation at the kids and dog that keeps closing in on us and I force them to stand in a circle, making all of them hold their hands.
I become part of the ring too, holding hands with Miki and Shinpachi who are on either side of me, and I then raise my arms dully.
"There~, Yorozuya complete!"
I then let go of the hands and tell the others to get working started when Miki raises her voice, "wait!"
I raise a brow and look back towards her who wears a worried expression.
"Isn't it bothersome to suddenly have a person like me joining?" she says in a timid voice.
I further raise my brow and ask if she dislikes the suggestion.
"..."
She then looks around towards others with a look of worry.
"I'm totally okay with this! I'm actually happy to have another girl join!" Kagura then exclaims.
"Same as me. Especially since Miki-san is very observant and helpful," Shinpachi pips.
"Woof! Woof!"
Miki becomes speechless at those smiling faces of the others and I feel myself pull a smile on too as I put a hand to her shoulder.
"I'm totally in for this suggestion too, you know?"
To this, Miki slowly looks up towards me.
Her eyes are filled with tears that make me let her shoulder go in panic.
"H-hey! Why are you crying?"
"I'm not crying..."
She's trying so hard not to let those tears out.
It's clear that she's crying but holding herself in, and it's so cute that it makes me chuckle lightly.
"If it's okay with such a person like me... then by all means, please let me join the Yorozuya."
By this time, her tears fall from her eyes and streak down her cheeks.
I point out that she's crying, but she still denies it.
Such gesture of Miki's is so cute that it nearly makes me embrace her in front of Kagura...
I feel the salty wind against my face.
I listen intently at the heart relaxing noise of the crashing waves.
The stray dog who lost it's way in life, falls in love with the huge, wide ocean and have it's dark, depressed feelings washed away clearly.
"Gin-san!"
The one who calls my name...
Her smile... is really similar to that bright blue ocean...
[END]
The end!
Thank you very much to those readers who read all the way
Takasugi wasn't just playing with Miki-chan's feelings but had properly been in love with her.
But since she's so pure/untainted and yet slightly weak mentally, she won't be able to withstand the dangerous environment which was unavoidable due to Takasugi's work/job. And Takasugi didn't want to force her to feel fear and unease for the rest of her life, so he decided to break up with her.
(On the other hand, Takasugi thinks of Mina-chan as strong though. One point to Mina-chan, when she didn't fear Takasugi at the time she was at sword tip in the last chapter of 'Beast and Rain'. lol)
Takasugi lost his ring during a swordfight, so that means both have lost their rings^^
Well, so in the end Miki and Gin-san lives happily ever after at the Yorozuya~.
Thank you very much to Sadaharu-sama who requested this story!
Hirari is currently growing more and more in love with Gin-san...
So it was really enjoyable to write this о(ж＞▽＜)ｙ
I'm very sorry for slightly going off track to the original request though ；；
Please feel free to request again ヾ(＠^▽^＠)ﾉ
Thank you very much for reading!