Chapter 9: Eat five portions of fruits and vegetables every day
It felt good to breathe the air on Earth again, Tatsuma Sakamoto thought with a smile, walking down a busy street towards Kabuki-cho. Not once has he regretted his decision to take to the stars, but there was a certain homeliness about being back to Earth. He enjoyed it immensely and inversely proportionately to the time he was spending on Earth. This trip was rather short and he was definitely going to make the most of the afternoon and evening he had after taking care of business.
He glanced at the address he has written down just in case, then looked around and continued on his way briskly. It was no fun to party alone and Mutsu has firmly declined joining him, but thankfully Sakamoto knew of at least one person, maybe two, whom he could bully into joining him on a bar crawl. Especially, he thought dryly, if he was the one paying.
The place hasn't changed since he has last seen it, he thought, bowing in greeting to the owner of the snack bar downstairs. She acknowledged him with a polite smile and a nod and he didn't waste time talking with her. He had a vague feeling she didn't fully approve of his attitude, but it could be that she was too influenced by the stupid perm-head living upstairs: the laziest samurai in the world.
This time he only needed to ring four times before the door slid open.
'Oh, good morning, Mister Sakamoto,' said the polite boy Kintoki was keeping around. He sounded surprised to see him and Sakamoto didn't blame him. He hasn't told anybody he would be coming, wanting to see their surprised expressions. He laughed.
'Just Sakamoto is good, Shinpachi,' he corrected jovially and the boy offered him a smile. 'And good morning to you too, is your good-for-nothing boss in?' he asked, walking in when Shinpachi moved to the side to let him. The boy rolled his eyes behind his glasses.
'He just came back, yeah,' he said. 'He's been out the whole morning, probably lazing around or maybe bugging Miss Ikumatsu, since he did come with ramen.'
'Oi, I hear you complain,' Gintoki called from the flat. 'I sacrifice my precious savings to bring you some joy and what do I get back? Complaining, complaining, complaining. You're never getting food from me again, you ungrateful, little brat.'
Sakamoto laughed. It seemed like nothing has changed since he has last visited. In the flat, the little Yato girl picked up on the tone and badmouthed Shinpachi some more. Poor kid, Sakamoto thought briefly. He patted Shinpachi's shoulder.
'Gods, please tell me my ears have gone bad,' Gintoki grumbled. 'It's not you at the door, Bakamoto, is it? I'd prefer a paying client, you know.'
'Hello to you too, Kintoki, how are you doing?' Sakamoto asked cheerfully, leaving his shoes in the entrance and coming in. He skilfully ignored Gintoki's protest about mispronouncing his name and greeted Kagura instead.
'Oi, Bakamoto, did you bring any food?' was what she replied with, extending an empty bowl towards him, making him laugh croon about how cute she could be. Gintoki looked at him as though he has gone crazy. 'Gin-chan brought only one portion of ramen for me, can you imagine that?' she asked, outraged.
'I could never carry back all the ramen you could eat, you black hole. Be grateful for the food you got and for once eat like a woman and not a pig,' Gintoki shot back without a second of hesitation. Sakamoto was sure that only he could see the fondness in his former war comrade's expression, but he hoped the young Yato knew Gintoki didn't mean the harsh words. She probably did.
'I am a growing girl, I need my nutrients,' she screeched back, straining her voice to sound as shrill as those of girls in teenager drama series. Sakamoto chuckled quietly.
'I suppose that, if you let me borrow Gin-chan for the evening, I'll treat you to whatever late lunch you want,' he offered. Not one, but two pairs of wide, pleading eyes were immediately glued to him, assurances that he could do whatever he wanted with Gintoki for the whole night fired off one after another, each more outrageous than the previous one.
'Oi, oi, what is this? Trade?' Gintoki grumbled angrily. Sakamoto laughed and pointed out that he was, after all, a master merchant. Gleefully, he announced that he has bought Kintoki for the whole evening and night in exchange for a late lunch and a dessert. 'Don't I get to say anything in this deal?' his new purchase growled. Sakamoto thought about a disgruntled kitten meowing with displeasure when everybody knew it wouldn't hurt a fly.
Well, it was completely inaccurate, he happened to know.
'I will be treating you to lunch and dessert as well, or dessert and dessert if you prefer,' he offered amiably and all of Gintoki's reservations have disappeared. How very predictable, Sakamoto thought and laughed shortly. 'Shall we find Zura on the way?' he asked Gintoki. The kids have already gone to put their shoes on.
'Good luck trying,' Gintoki muttered. 'I've been looking for that stupid wig-head the whole morning, but he seemed to have holed himself up good for once. Right when I wanted to know if he has heard anything about Takasugi,' he added, seemingly speaking more to himself than Sakamoto, but it was nevertheless interesting.
'You could call Takachibi himself, you know,' he pointed out. Gintoki looked at him sharply, the question clear in his expression. Sakamoto shrugged. 'His flagship is on the orbit, I've seen them when we passed down last night,' he explained. 'Is something the matter?' he asked, a shard of worry creeping into his thoughts.
'Yes,' Kagura yelled from the entrance. 'You need to get going before they sell out all the meat in the yakiniku place.'
Sakamoto laughed. He and Gintoki made their way to the entrance, while Shinpachi engaged Kagura into an argument about what they would eat. While the little Yato wanted only meat and then some more meat, ideally fried, the boy insisted they needed to eat vegetables and fruits for once. A peacemaker at heart, Sakamoto suggested a newly opened yakisoba restaurant, which he has heard served generous portions and which used the best vegetables and meats in its dishes.
Everybody was happy with his choice. Shinpachi got his veggies, albeit fried, while Kagura got meat and noodles. Gintoki got a dessert, in the form of mitarashi dango. And Sakamoto got to enjoy the company, to listen to their hilarious stories and to share some of his. He might have underestimated a little Kagura's appetite, but he figured that once wouldn't kill his wallet completely. And when he suggested a dessert somewhere else, Kagura simply asked for another plate of pork belly yakisoba and Shinpachi assured him that just a green tea would be enough.
'I, however, am waiting for my second dessert,' Gintoki reminded him when Sakamoto has paid and they left the restaurant. Sakamoto laughed cheerfully. He has, of course, noticed that Gintoki didn't eat anything except for the dango, probably keeping ample space in his stomach for a large, ice-cream dessert. 'A strawberry parfait will do well,' the man who has once been feared and revered as the White Demon added.
'How about a cup of sake instead?' Sakamoto suggested in what he hoped was a tempting manner. Gintoki narrowed his eyes at him, suspicious, and he knew that it was the correct time to reaffirm that he would be the one paying. Cheap asshole, he thought.
'Alright kids,' Gintoki drawled, turning to Kagura and Shinpachi, who were walking behind the two of them. 'You have an afternoon off, so scram. Profit from the time to enjoy your lives or something, because tomorrow you're back to hard and honest work,' he said. Sakamoto bit his lip to keep from laughing, but the kids had no restraints: they immediately protested about there being no "honest" only "hard" and how they wanted a paid leave.
'You've just eaten through at least a three-day wage,' Gintoki growled.
'It wasn't even you who paid, you incompetent adult,' Kagura shouted in reply. 'Come Shinpachi, let us find a respectable guardian,' she added, turning on her heel and stomping off. Gintoki yelled after her that no respectable guardian would take her in. Shaking his head, Shinpachi followed Kagura.
'You know, you should really rethink your parenting methods,' Sakamoto said, amused, watching how the kids started arguing as they went.
'Stop sounding like Zura, will you?' Gintoki grumbled under his breath. 'And lets leave before they start a fight and somebody comes yelling that we have to reimburse the damages,' he added slightly louder. Without protesting, Sakamoto turned around and followed his friend.
'How have you been?' he asked in a quieter tone, once the kids were well out of shouting range. Gintoki grunted noncommittally. Sakamoto laughed. 'As talkative as ever, I see. I hope you'll open up a bit when we go drinking or it'll be a really short night. You know that I drink fast when I have nothing to talk about.'
'You don't need my input to talk,' Gintoki pointed out, making Sakamoto laugh again.
'True, but it is funnier when I have somebody to talk with rather than to talk to,' he countered amiably. 'You sure we cannot find Zura? He has manners enough to not ignore me, unlike some uncivilized bastards.'
'Even if we found him, it's not like he'd go out drinking. The Shinsengumi have been a bit more enthusiastic these days,' Gintoki muttered, becoming serious. Sakamoto frowned and waited for him to continue. 'They got an ex-Kiheitai, who pretended to join Zura, to give them information and very nearly captured the idiot. Instead, Zura managed to blow an officer up and heavily wound a bunch of others, which only fuelled the situation.'
'Ex-Kiheitai you say,' Sakamoto muttered. Gintoki nodded, a grim expression on his face.
'And I saw Bansai Kawakami finalise some sort of deal with a guy whose face screamed "I'm in Yakuza", yesterday,' he said. For once, Sakamoto didn't laugh. 'Now you tell me that Takachibi's on the orbit. It hardly seems like a coincidence.'
'Do you want me to call him and arrange a dinner tomorrow? I could prolong my stay on Earth by a day or two,' Sakamoto offered. Gintoki didn't even bother answering and that was the end of the topic. There was nothing more to be said, in any case, and although Sakamoto would try to see if he could get any info, they didn't need to talk about it.
Instead, they went for a drink and then for another. Then they changed the bar for another and had a few more drinks. And before Sakamoto realized, he was swaying as he walked down the road, arm around Gintoki's shoulders. And Gintoki had an arm around his shoulders as well and was swaying just as much. And they were singing, bursting into laughter every time one of them forgot the lyrics.
An unidentified amount of time later, they found themselves scaling buildings, nearly slipping and breaking their necks more times than Sakamoto cared to count. He wasn't sure how it happened, although it must have been his idea. Stars seen from Earth were more beautiful than from any other planet. They shone brighter. And every time Sakamoto was down here, he made a point to spend time watching them, ideally from the top of a high building to not be disturbed.
It was surely the sake, which they carried in their pockets that has convinced Kintoki to join him.
'This used to be easier some years ago,' Gintoki gasped. Bracing his hands against his knees and breathing. Sakamoto laughed, although he too was rather breathless from the climb. He looked around and laughed again when he noticed the familiar, long, dark hair and the blue yukata with the white haori over it.
'Kintoki, I found our lost little friend,' he announced cheerfully. Only after the words were out of his mouth did he register the fact that Zura hasn't moved or indeed acknowledged their appearance, that the haori was white only on the left side. His eyes widened.
Gintoki cursed and the sound snapped Sakamoto out of the stupor. Vague, alcohol-induced haze faded as old instincts kicked in so hard he almost staggered. Even as they both ran up to the prone man, propped against some wooden boxes, Sakamoto registered more details. The whole right sleeve of Zura's haori was dark, staining the other parts of the cloth where they touched. Sakamoto would bet his head that it was a nasty, reddish brown in proper light. There was also a small puddle of drying blood on the roof and Sakamoto had to wonder how long the other has been sitting there.
'Zura,' both he and Gintoki exclaimed more or less at the same time, dropping onto their knees next to the injured man. It wasn't hard to guess the source of all the blood. Whatever has hit Zura, has ripped a huge hole in his right sleeve and carved a deep, large gash in his arm. It would surely scar awfully, but that was not exactly the biggest issue.
Katsura barely opened his eyes when Sakamoto shook him gently.
'Elizabeth?' he whispered in a hoarse voice and coughed weakly.
'How does either of us look like that monster, alien duck, eh?' Gintoki growled angrily, but Sakamoto knew it was only to cover for his worry. He has heard that tone many times in the past.
'Did you bring any water?' Katsura asked in a whisper, either ignoring or not hearing Gintoki's question. He also closed his eyes and mumbled something about bombs in the safe house. With a frown, Sakamoto put a hand to his forehead, only to find it burning with fever. Zura sighed contentedly.
'Exhaustion or infection, what do you think?' Sakamoto asked, glancing back at the white-head. Gintoki scowled awfully.
'We don't have the time for this,' he growled and poured a whole bottle of sake on the wound and that seemed to awaken Zura. He yelped, twitching in pain, but his eyes snapped open and this time he was surely seeing them.
'What the hell was that for?' he yelled and gritted his teeth in pain, eyes screwing shut. Sakamoto winced: he could imagine the pain of the alcohol on the open wound. Or, more precisely, he could vaguely remember it. It was a statement of how exhausted Zura was that he hasn't awakened the whole Kabuki-cho with screaming.
'Cleaning the wound,' Gintoki muttered, avoiding Zura's angry gaze when the latter finally opened his eyes again. 'What the hell are you doing here anyway?' he asked sharply, worry clearly audible in his tone this time.
'Waiting. Elizabeth probably can't find this place,' Zura replied sullenly. He shivered as a gust of wind hit them. Immediately, Sakamoto shrugged off his coat and moved to wrap it around him.
'Of course it can't, you're on a roof, damn it. Why are you here? How long have you been here?' Gintoki continued the interrogation in a sharp voice. Katsura's eyes started drifting closed, so he slapped him lightly on the cheek.
'Everywhere is compromised,' Zura mumbled mournfully.
'Did you hit your head as well, you idiot, and forgot where I live?' Gintoki growled, but it sounded strangled, like he somehow felt guilty of the situation. Sakamoto could imagine Zura staying over in Odd Jobs, if "everywhere was compromised" and the two of them arguing, leading to Zura leaving and, possibly, to the current situation.
'Ah, I didn't want to inconvenience you,' Katsura whispered sadly and Gintoki recoiled, as though hit. His words confirmed Sakamoto's guess and he pressed his lips into a thin line: seriously, have they not matured any since he has deserted from war?
'Let's get the idiot to bed and wash the wound properly,' he suggested instead of voicing his thoughts. 'I'll have Mutsu deliver some medicine and supplies to your place, Kintoki,' he added, already fishing in his pocket, awkwardly, since his coat was wrapped around Zura, for the communicator.
'No, no, I'll be fine,' Zura insisted, shaking his head slightly. 'Don't trouble yourselves. I just need to wait for Elizabeth, she'll come soon. Tell her where I am if you see her,' he babbled while Sakamoto quickly, efficiently conveyed his message to his second in command.
'Shut up,' Gintoki spat, furious. The question was: at whom? Probably, Sakamoto thought, at just about everybody, but mainly at himself. Well, he deserved it if he has stupidly kicked Zura out. Then again, Zura could be annoying if he wanted to.
'Let's go,' he sighed, stuffing the communicator back into its pocket. Getting Zura off the roof was going to be an exercise he would rather undertake well-rested and fully sober, but they didn't really have a choice, did they?