Good night! After a certain time, I have been missing, but now I act of presence. An apology for the delay and thank you very much for waiting patiently for the update. Enjoy and start running the blood :D
*Parazor: Thanks as always for the translation. Please read the manga and observe how our beloved redhead has been evangelized XD
Chapter 7
Pride
"Tsukki!", Kagura yelled at the top of her lungs as soon as her gaze settled on the blonde. It was as if a lot of time had passed since the last time they'd seen each other. Although it was a shame their companions didn't have the same energy as her.
"Kagura, Shinpachi." The woman greeted them with her best smile and that beloved pipe of hers on her left hand. However, when she focused her eyes on the silver-haired man, she couldn't regret more her good will to greet him.
"Ah, well, we lost him… He's been acting this way… since we met her." The dark-haired boy felt quite ashamed of him, and was standing the farthest away from that perm haired samurai as he could.
"He's been seduced by the goddess Aeval, being quickly and stupidly condemned to Yomi… Gin-chan is worse than Sadaharu when the spring comes and only thinks of soaking everything that gets in his way", dramatized the Yato without taking her attention off of the purple-eyed woman. "The only thing he thinks about now is in soaking his sword the whole night."
"Who the hell is that Aeval supposed to be!? Why are you combining different cultures!? And what kind of morals do you have to speak with a mouth that dirty while you're feigning innocence!?" Shinpachi, the only one who was still semi-okay in the head.
"And who's she supposed to be?" To Tsukuyo, the stranger hadn't gone unnoticed. Both because the woman didn't stop catching the attention of the men passing by and for the simple reason that Sakata wouldn't stop gushing over her and behaving like the gentleman he would never be.
"Our client", answered the pair.
"And what are you guys looking for here in Yoshiwara, huh?" The blonde's bad mood was beyond the limits and the people present didn't understand why. In fact, not even her knew exactly why.
"Excuse me for not introducing myself, my name is Akiko Aya", the woman spoke formally, approaching the distrustful blonde. "The reason why we're here is because Sakata-san has accepted my request."
"And why is this all related to Yoshiwara?"
"My sister has been kidnapped along with other girls, to be brought to this city", she explained with a lump in her throat. "This district, which was once saved from Hosen's hands, is being threatened once again."
"What do you mean by that?" She watched the city everyday; if there was something bad going on she'd be the first one to find out.
"I know it's hard to believe me, but you have to."
"She speaks the truth", supported Gintoki. "Do you think such an angelic face would be able to fill her mouth with dirty and unpleasant lies. She might put other kind of things in her mouth, but I'm sure she doesn't do that with lies." To hell with him being the oldest one; Shinpachi and Kagura were already beating him brutally.
"Explain yourself."
"…There's been some rumors spreading around the neighborhood I grew up in lately… Rumors about some strange substance capable of making people forget about their problems, about all bad things tormenting them… Some kind of escape from reality… However, that's not the most terrifying thing, but rather the more amount of it they consume, the more of their will they lose… and they become puppets…" The seriousness with what she said every word, the hard look she was giving them and those shaky fists, that's what told them she was really speaking the truth.
"And you think the drug got here already?"
"I'm sure of it.", she expressed firmly. "Though there's something that's really worrying me."
"Aya-chan claims there's a new group trying to take over Yoshiwara like Housen, the King of the Night, once did." That simple sentence uttered by Kagura managed to make Tsukuyo's face cloud with seriousness.
"Since Gintoki freed Yoshiwara, nobody else has ever touched this place."
"I know that, nevertheless…"
"Her neighborhood has been constantly disturbed by Amanto who claim to be associated with a certain group of individuals." Sakata was totally recovered, though he was pretty battered and his head completely bloody.
"They call themselves Mitsuboshi", added the brunette. "And they've began to spread quickly all around the streets of Edo…"
"So, you've come to save Yoshiwara again…" Tsukuyou looked at the silver-haired man, sighing. "Let us help you. That's the least we can do after you've saved us so many times."
A big and comfortable chair was just what he needed at the moment to let himself drop on, while a small table served wonderfully well as a footstool for him to put his feet on. Etiquette and manners could wait, especially for someone like him who enjoyed gazing at the splendid view in front of him, the same one allowing him to stare at the flashy and loud night life of Yoshiwara.
That red light district, frequented by men who let themselves get seduced by their lowest instincts, was considered as one of the few untouchable places in Edo; a city ruled by its own laws and where justice was nothing, but a mere term found in the dictionary. Yes, that same wild land many wished to have in their power, and that few could manage to obtain.
"What is it you're looking for in this place? Women, money, power, fame… Which of them has conquered your heart, Hekiru?"
"I would say it was power, Yuusha. However, there's something else that has really piqued my interest." The blond, who had remained in silence until that moment, guarding the entrance to the masked man's room, had finally decided to approach him.
"Are you talking about that woman?"
"At first I thought she was pretending not to be scared or worried about being locked here. However, the more time I talked to her the more I realized she is actually a woman capable of keeping a cool head when things get hard." He smiled at his own discovery. "And she seems smart and careful enough… Because until now her will is still intact."
"If that's the case, she'll soon be a problem", pointed out the blue-haired man, without taking his attention off the scenery he could consider as his now. "You need to give her the drug as soon as possible. That way she'll turn into a loyal woman, unable to raise her voice to you.?"
"Besides…"
"What is it now?" He focused his attention on the brown-eyed man, after hearing the serious tone in Hekiru's voice.
"It seems she has some troublesome companions."
"Speak clearly."
"Apparently, before she was brought here she was with some pretty problematic people." He made a prudent pause to allow Yuusha to process the information. "They're a group of Yato."
"It would be too much of a coincidence for it to be the same group of Yato that'd been seen in the area."
"Remember that the last exploration group never came back and all we found was their totally destroyed ship." Speaking of coincidences.
"The Yato represented a big problem for species like us in the past. However, since we have 'that' in our hands, we're pretty even in the battlefield now." The man stood up with noticeable agility and, although it was hard to believe, he seemed to be smiling under the mask hiding his face. "And if the rumors that man has given us, their species is diminishing dangerously…. Why don't we contribute a little to the cause and help them get to the Kingdom of Hades?"
"I'll prepare everything for them to have a warm welcoming."
Would she later regret having opened her mouth more than necessary? She'd probably regret it someday, or perhaps she could start right then. Because not only was she unable to breathe fresh air or to marvel at the aesthetic arrangements of the palace, but she was also outright forbidden to leave the space she had been confined to; the same that was limited by thick iron bars.
Her field of vision was no more than of a corridor and more cells in front of hers. Yes, she'd been locked up in a filthy cell; in that underground world where light didn't reach, where the smell of dampness and urines predominated, in which people were thrown into only to know the agony of death.
"Well, I certainly didn't see this coming", commented Oshin, more to herself than to anybody else. In any case, she found herself completely alone, or that's what she wanted to believe. "I could take a look at that small bread here, though." One advantage of her problematic outfit was that she could hide things in it and take them out as if she was a magician. "Apparently, there's nothing suspicious in it, and the smell is completely normal." The small bread had been completely dismembered between her two hands. "I have no way to confirm if there's something strange in it or not here in this place." She kept quiet as soon as she heard that heavy breathing. The same one that managed to tousle her hair and clothes. "What the...?"
She turned towards the source of that hot and strong wind. Yes, right in the cell across her own, which at first glance seemed to be empty, or that's what the immense darkness invading the cell made her believe. But would she think the same after witnessing those sharp and eager crimson eyes on her, watching her so closely she could almost feel its most latent desires? Or would she reconsider the situation after hearing the unmistakable sound of bones being easily crushed and turned into nothing?
Whatever it was that was locked in there was having an enormous feast, which one could see all over the floor in the form of a scandalous crimson.
"What the hell are they keeping locked in there!? How did they managed to get a creature like that in here, without nobody noticing it!? And what is it they're feeding it!?" She had a theory, but she didn't want to hurry thinking about it. She wanted to remain optimist for as long as possible.
"Does that fear what I see in your pupils, girl?" She recognized that voice, and the fact that it was in the same place as her couldn't mean anything good.
"What are you keeping in there?" Her only visitor had to be precisely the one who could be considered as the current owner of the palace in which she was being kept.
"It's the favorite pet of one of my comrades", spoke Yuusha to the inquisitive girl. "You probably haven't seen one of these ever in your life. Well, it's not a beast that's well-known even to those who live in the outer space."
"What is it?"
"I'll answer your question if you answer mine." It was not a negotiation. He was ordering it.
"What could I know that can be of use to a guy like you?"
"Hekiru told me about you, about how clever you can get to be and that you could've come to this place on purpose." The black-haired woman didn't even blink. She understood perfectly what he claimed. "So…how do you know that Yato? That brat who was once the captain of the 7th Division of the Harusame."
"…I arrived in his ship as simple merchandise… So, consider a vile lie what he said about that Abuto guy." She took a seat on the floor, raising her vermillion gaze to whom was her executioner. "Isn't it ironic to escape from those who were your captors and end up in a place even worse?"
"A lying woman like you fits perfectly well behind those bars", he uttered mockingly and Oshin simply lowered her gaze.
"People like you are despicable… They think people's lives have a price, and that can be handled like merchandise and therefore they've lost their right to have freedom… That you people have power doesn't mean you have the right to crush whoever is beneath you." Such insolence deserved a punishment. One that would be delivered by her own hand.
"The weak have no right to complain. You must only accept your destiny and keep your heads down while you serve for the only thing you're good for." What was unexpected wasn't the fact that he'd grabbed her by the neck with only a hand, squeezing it with the clear intention of breaking her windpipe. What had actually left the assaulted woman stunned was the ease which that man had broken the bars with to get to her neck.
"It's… like the bars are made of… paper… He's gone through them with disturbing ease…" The lack of air was the least of her worries. If she did nothing to free herself, she'd soon be just another snack to the beast locked in there.
"Answering your question…" Lifting that woman's body was nothing to him. And grabbing her by the neck with his right hand made it all easier. "They're known as Syx… They're considered the Yato of the animal kingdom. And as you can imagine, they're extremely dangerous creatures, capable of destroying entire towns in a matter of seconds."
"Ungh… If… t-this continues like this… I…"
"It's hard to trust a woman who says that many lies while sounding so convincing." He had released her before he could claim that life as his. "My instinct tells me that even with all the show you've put, there's some truth in it… And since those Yato are getting closer, it doesn't sound like a bad idea to leave you alive a little longer… Since you could be of use to me."
"He won't be so easy to fool like that narcissist Hekiru… Haven't you heard the saying 'you reap what you sow'?" She was barely just recovering her ability to speak, but that wouldn't stop her from expressing herself.
"Woman, that mouth of yours won't let you live for long."
"So, I've been told on many occasions." She smiled, and she did it so widely, as if those terrible words had been a compliment.
"I see, I see", he laughed softly, as if he enjoyed the chat they both were having. "It's not every day you see women like you who have more balls than any man. It's a real pity that I have to offer you as food to our dear pets."
"Sir, sir, there's intruders in the main entrance!", interrupted one of the guards that had just showed up.
"Who would be stupid enough to do something like this?"
"I know a man that'd be capable of doing something like this… I just hope it isn't him…" She knew Kamui's unorthodox methods when facing his adversaries: rough and direct attacks.
"It's two kids and a samurai with a perm", informed the servant. "And they're making a mess all over the place."
"A samurai with a perm, he said!? I only know one guy with curly hair, but there's no way he's come to this place… I think too many complicated personalities are gathering in the same place."
"This is the best opportunity to show them what our dear guardian dogs are capable of." The smile plastered on his lips couldn't express in a better way the impatience he had for watching all that scenery dyed in red.
They knew perfectly well the whole area, so it wasn't a problem for them to find the easiest way to enter the palace and deal with what they actually came looking for. However, it seemed they weren't the only ones who thought that they wouldn't be noticed if they went through the wide sewers.
What was curious wasn't that there were just six in that group of sentinels, but rather the kind of creature they belonged to. Did they really take seriously that of having loyal dogs guarding the perimeter of the palace?
Its legs had enough muscle to consider it a fast creature capable of jumping big heights, and combined to the yellowish claws protruding from its paws, they could turn into an unpleasantly fatal combination.
The rest of the body was esthetic, with a white bulky mane that went from the chest around its head, and extended up to the middle of its back. Its long tail seemed to move with the ferocity of a whip, and those aggressive deep blue pupils were glued to what appeared to be its prey.
"Looks like they decided to let their little guardian dogs out", said Abuto ironically after contemplating the serious problems they had in hands.
"It's the first time I see creatures like these. I wonder if they were put in the palace just as decoration or if they can actually be considered guardian dogs", asked Kamui to himself, with obvious interest.
"With that damn size and those freaking fangs, I doubt they're only for decoration", he scolded the foolish Yato. Because those creatures easily surpassed the 1.70 meter, turning into real threats that could rip their limbs off without much difficulty.
"If we don't get rid of them we won't be able to keep moving forward." The blue-eyed boy opted for the simplest decision: to shoot them point blank. That should be enough to send them to the other world. "Huh? Are the bullets defective or something?" He checked his umbrella, trying to find any flaws.
"Stupid idiot, the problem aren't the bullets, it's their skin!" The ammunition had managed to pierce the beast's body, but nothing else. They weren't able to penetrate deep enough for them to wound the creatures. "Apparently, this leaves us no other choice but to get our hands dirty."
"Looks like they're determined to not let us in." He smiled without any discretion while his gaze sharpened and landed on who would soon turn into just another pile of bodies.
Hand-to-hand combat was the Yato's specialty. But did that mean anything if their adversaries found the way to evade the attacks and, simultaneously, looked for openings to return their warm welcome?
They were fast, and smart enough to understand their fighting style, and at the same time, they were so sturdy that their blows only managed to stun them and momentarily drive them back.
"I'd heard there was some kind of animal that was usually compared to the Yato." Abuto held his umbrella firmly, because only that was stopping that beast's teeth from sinking into his head. Although he wasn't sure how much more time he could last in that position. "…Strong, agile, with a natural killer instinct, enviable resistance and…" The last adjective wouldn't remain unknown, because they would live it at first hand.
The high-pitched sound that came from their jaws was so annoying and damaging to their ears that they felt stunned for a few long seconds, with their balance lost, totally exposed before those dogs and whatever they wanted to do to them.
One of them managed to rip the Yato veteran's mechanical arm completely off, saving him from the loss of his other upper limb. The other one had been able to place its claws on Kamui's chest before he could decapitate it.
"One after another, after another… But what the hell does everybody have against my right arm?", huffed Abuto after seeing his once again missing limb. "…We have to close their snouts before they shock us with those sound waves again or it'll the end for us."
"Now I certainly see why they compared them to us." Even with the wound he had his posture wouldn't change and he'd remain standing, looking carefully at the attack position their enemies had taken. "Who would have thought some simple animals would give us more trouble than all the men that'd been sent to kill us?"
"Idiot, take that smile off your face when you have such a wound." They were standing back to back, completely concentrated on those animals. "Stop getting excited and let's finish them off before they do it to us."
Both Yato quitted playing and focused completely on the battle. At first, they'd made the mistake of underestimating them, and thought they'd die with simple blows; but now they understood they had to use their whole strength, the situation started to change significantly.
The hunters became the prey in the blink of an eye; the whole scene dyed completely red and the survivor's anger only lead them to an early sentence.
"By cutting their heads off we could have taken them out." Kamui's soaked hands couldn't distinguish between the blood of his fallen adversaries or of his obvious wounds.
"I have the feeling that those things will be all over the place." Abuto loved fights, the battlefields and formidable enemies. But investing so much time and energy to get rid of those animals wasn't something to his liking. "Whoever is trying to take over Yoshiwara has the resources or the connections to get such exotic and dangerous creatures."
"If we continue wasting time here we won't ever get there. So, let's hurry." There were those monsters they'd just defeated, and then there was him, walking nonchalantly, as if he didn't have a worrying wound that didn't hurt him at all.
"At this rate this idiot will bleed to death…" Patience, that's what he asked everyday to the high heavens and to Buddha. "Though now that I think about it, why am I still working with a guy like this? The pay isn't worth it."
"Abuto, stop complaining and walk faster~" The bastard had an excellent hearing, which is why he'd heard his muttering.
And once again it got quiet between them, but not because they wanted, but because the surprises were just starting, and were more than willing to stop them from invading private property. And even though more of those annoying animals had come as reinforcements, their true interest lied in the companion that had decided to join the party; that same man who was welcoming them with a warm smile, while firmly holding what at first sight wasn't more than a harmless halberd.
Not Kamui nor Abuto recognized him, but the blond seemed to be aware of who they were and what they were looking for there.
"…You must be the savages that have come to bother our calm city…" Hekiru fixed his gaze on the youngest of the two to then move it to whom undeniably provoked him obvious displeasure. "And to think a woman like her can have such unrefined tastes", he snapped, as if he was staring at the most horrendous creature in the planet.
"Why do I feel you're offending me without apparent reason?", muttered the brunet, frowning. "That girl…"
"I'll personally take care of you and take your head to her. We'll see if after that she continues being so calm like she has until now." He shook his weapon a few times and the beasts around him surrounded the pair of Yato.
The vermillion-haired boy would have to deal with the enraged animals before even thinking of moving in on the arrogant blond man.
"Why do I have to deal with something so boring, eh Abuto?" After getting the hang of those beasts, it wasn't that hard to kill them.
"You think It's funny to be in this kind of mess?! If that woman hadn't opened her mouth none of this would've happened." On one side he was complaining of their situation, and on the other he was making use of his excellent reflexes and speed to avoid being cut by Hekiru's sharp weapon.
"What surprises me is that they haven't killed her yet." Before him, another unpleasant and bloody scenery became a reality. There were no more nuisances that could get in his way; now he could go hunt the big fish.
"He seems to have more lives than a filthy cat", said the brunet mockingly. His turn to fight had been completely interrupted by his hasty captain.
"For someone who spoke that much I was expecting a little more endurance." The powerful punch he dealt against the blond's face was potent enough to send him flying a few tens of meters from where the impact took place.
"You should refrain yourself from doing stupid things like these… With such wounds you won't get too far and you'll only turn into a troublesome sack of human meat", suggested Abuto uselessly, since the blue eyed boy simply stared at him, smiling.
"Oh, looks like I talked too soon~" The melodious voice emerging from his vocal cords were a clear proof that he was satisfied with what he was seeing. The man he had just sent flying was supposed to be at least in the realms of unconsciousness; however, he was standing without the smallest of scratches. "I'm sure I just hit you."
"So, this is how it feels to be hit by a Yato… I have to admit I was hoping it felt a little more…spectacular…" His arrogance was slowly starting to bother Kamui's good mood, who wasn't there to be taken lightly.
"You really want to face a Yato's real strength, huh?" His lips showed a flat gesture that expressed that bad jokes would be paid with blood. And there was also those clear but raging blue eyes that were dying to unleash the most violent of storms.