Chapter 24: In a box of tomatoes, if one is rotten, then all the tomatoes will be affected and be the same as well.

Beta Read: AL19

"RAAAAAAAAAA!" Satsuki shouted at the top of her lungs as she crushed the head of a certain native on the wall. Currently, she was facing hundreds or thousands of natives and her life was in the line. Her breathing became heavier as she knelt down.

'At this rate…I…will die… I got no choice, it is do or die! Satsuki!' Satsuki thought and attacked with her firm hands.

Little by little, the people were not decreasing, no matter how hard she fought; instead, it was the complete opposite. She continued panting; she didn't know what would happen in the next few seconds since her temperature was burning.

"Damn it!" Satsuki roared.

Meanwhile, Gintoki and others were still running around the whole place in order to find Satsuki. Akane stopped and talked, "Nothing will happen if you keep running around this filthy room to find that naïve girl. Let her be, if she wants to die then let her do it. Instead of—"

She stopped talking when a fist shut her down. Kagura was enraged with anger by hearing her statement. She hated it. Akane held her cheek with an emotionless look as she faced the girl. Kagura snapped, shouting, "The fuck are you thinking, newbie?! You don't understand anything at all! Satsuki is an important person to us! She is willing to sacrifice anything for the sake of the people around her! Do not speak bad things about her, you son of a—" Kagura was about to smack her again when Gintoki held her wrist to stop her from doing it again.

"I don't know what is happening to your head right now, but I seriously I don't really care what you say to that girl. She is an idiot. You're right, in this situation, we need to escape, free the other prisoners and let her enjoy what she decided. But sorry, I am an idiot. An idiot will stick to another idiot, right?" Gintoki sarcastically smiled at the girl.

Akane smirked at what Gintoki said. She stood up and murmured, "Ahhh. I met another idiot aside from Tatsuma." She then spoke a little louder, "Do whatever you want since you're idiots."

Gintoki smirked, "Let's go, Shinpachi, Kagura. Let us reunite with the other idiot." He told them and fled with the two.

"I guess we have to find the prisoners." Sougo deeply sighed. The group went towards the opposite direction.

"I leave the rest to you…Yorozuya."

…

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" Satsuki shouted as she continued to attack the natives. She was still fighting, but nothing changed. As for now, she could feel that any moment, she'd die. She decided to escape first, just to have her exhausted body rest for a while. Staring at the small cramp place, she got an idea. A bottle of gas suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Smirking, she pulled out a lighter that she got when the ruckus started a while ago.

Satsuki laughed for a short moment and turned her face into a serious one, "Bye."

It exploded after she lit it, and ran fast. Her temperature was really not good, and she was panting heavily. But still, she needed to fight. Also, the explosion wasn't enough to eradicate those natives.

Finally, she saw that space. She crawled inside and rested her body. Again, she was panting non-stop.

"In this moment, I don't know what will happen… Am I going to die here?" Satsuki asked herself. She smiled bitterly to her poor body. Knowing that, she was enveloped with her own blood and couldn't help but laugh meekly.

"That girl… She's from Sakamoto-san's crew… I hope she noticed it… Anytime, she'll free them from this place…" She sighed heavily, "Although, that girl will warn him… Nothing is going to stop that idiot… Gintoki… Come and get this idiot over here…"

A crash from the small place was heard. The moment the natives came inside the room, she already knew it…

Her loud breathing was heard all over the place as the natives gripped her hair hard. It hurt, but she didn't have the remaining strength to fight back. Struggling from the masterminds grip, she knew that when she'd defeat the mastermind, all things would be back in its original way. But her current situation was pulling her back; if she was back to her original state, maybe this battle would be done.

She heard a native bringing the spear to the mastermind. All she could do was smile her brightest, "Damn…"

Until...

A loud crash was heard again and this time, it was from the friendly neighborhood. The natives were surprised as well as Satsuki, "G-Gintoki…"

"Who the hell are you?!" One of the natives shouted, arming itself with a spear.

"Well, we are just bystanders… passing by." As he stated the last two words, Kagura and Shinpachi immediately took down the remaining natives. They were alarmed by this as well as the mastermind, so he didn't have any choice but to let go of Satsuki. Gintoki caught her on time.

"Dammit! You're really burning up! The heck what are you doing?!" Gintoki snapped.

Satsuki breathed heavily as she faced the perm-headed samurai. It seemed that her eyesight was failing her, but she managed to speak, "Its obvious, right? An idiot trying to fight back…"

Gintoki clicked his tongue and called Shinpachi, "Shinpachi! Take Satsuki awa—"

"The fuck are you telling him… If I leave you here… They won't even turn their attentions to you, I'm the one who challenged them to a duel for the people in Edo. At least, let me finish this until the end…" Satsuki smiled bitterly.

He sighed at this, "Idiot…"

"Gin-chan! We need to escape from this cramped room. This guy is freakin' sturdy, uh-huh!" Kagura warned them.

Gintoki carried Satsuki and called out, "Let's go, idiots!"

"Don't call me an idiot, rascal!" Satsuki shouted and together they fled from the cramped room.

…

"What is the current status, Akane?" Mutsu asked while carrying the other victims into the ship.

"It's no use. Unless, those idiots finished the mastermind then they cannot be healed. As for now, we must apply first aid." Akane told them while guarding the ship since it was also filled with natives.

"Anyway…" Mutsu grumbled, "Do not fight inside the ship, you rascals!"

Seeing the trio chasing Kotarou around the ship made her angry for some reason. Meanwhile, Sagaru, Akane and Tatsuma were guiding the ship.

"Tatsuma… They're not decreasing…" Akane indicated while firing the gun to the people.

"AHAHAHAHA! You called me by my first name, Aka-tan!" Tatsuma laughed.

Akane clicked her tongue and didn't hesitate to fire her gun to him, "Shut up, freak."

Tatsuma just laughed, not knowing that Akane already fired a bullet to him. It made Sagaru frightened by this; he couldn't get that clue. How come Tatsuma was in good terms with her? He decided to speak up, "Ummm. W-Why aren't y-you scared?"

"To what?"

"To Akane-san… It seems that she is angry at you…" Sagaru explained.

But Tatsuma just laughed at him for a moment until he stopped, "Well, she is my girlfriend."

Sagaru's jaw dropped, "What?! What did you just say?! H-How come?! Tatsuma-san are you really thinking or are you really just an idiot?"

"Yeah, I am an idiot. I didn't think twice or thrice. The moment she joined my crew, I fell in love with her." Tatsuma proudly said.

Sagaru's mouth was still agape from what he heard, he just smiled at them and focused on protecting the ship.

…

"Finally…Finally… We have defeated all of the natives." Shinpachi wheezed.

"Well, uh yeah… We somehow managed to clear them off. Gin-chan, is Satsuki-chan al—" Kagura froze when she saw the lady collapse in front of them.

"Oi, Satsuki!" Gintoki was alarmed by this and immediately went to take cover. He touched her forehead; he noticed that this wasn't an ordinary temperature. Her breathing was uncontrollable. Any moment, she might die.

Satsuki didn't know what would happen to her. She couldn't move her body. It seemed like she was already paralyzed. She also couldn't speak as her eyesight began to blur. All she could see was Gintoki shouting her name multiple times. Although they already defeated the mastermind, Edo was saved and her bracelet was off of her wrist. But still, this current situation of hers' was getting worse. And the next thing she knew, the whole place turned dark.

…

"Satsuki-chan!"

"Satsuki-san!"

"Oi!"

Satsuki slowly lifted up her eyelids to see what was going on. She saw a bunch of people around her, calling her name. Dark circles, her haggard face and pale skin just like a yato was her appearance when she woke up.

"Satsuki-chan!"

"Satsuki-san!"

Shinpachi and Kagura immediately hugged the blue haired girl with happiness on their faces. Satsuki hugged back while her eyes were circling all over the room.

"Where am I?" Satsuki asked, referring to the familiar white ceiling.

"Sakamoto's ship. Luckily, you are already awake. It took you two days, you know." Gintoki angrily stated while crossing his arms.

"We have some food here Satsuki-san." Shinpachi offered.

"Thank you for offering me some food. But, I am not that hungry…" Satsuki frowned.

"Satsuki-chan! What are you saying?! You need to eat in order to become stronger, uh-huh!" Kagura dictated while munching all of the food on the table.

"But you're eating it already!" Shinpachi exclaimed.

"Oi. Listen, if you don't eat, your melons won't get—" Gintoki was forced to stop when he saw Satsuki not on her original state.

She stared beyond a certain part of the room, "Sorry for being a burden…" She smiled forcefully to them, "I promise I will get better… Don't worry…"

Gintoki angrily said, "Stop that forceful smile. It's irritating me. And you're going out of character now, you know!"

While conversing with one another, Tatsuma entered the room with his smiling gesture, "I need to talk with Satsuki-chan! AHAHAHAHA!"

Shinpachi and Gintoki immediately dragged Kagura off, leaving Tatsuma and Satsuki-chan alone. Tatsuma immediately sat beside her and started to convey, "How are your wounds? AHAHAHA!"

"They're alright, but you don't have to laugh all the time!" Satsuki told him in irritation. "So, what brings you here? I know you have something to tell me and it's important… I also have a lot of questions to throw, so speak up."

"You're going to ask about Hamano-san right? Go ahead!" Tatsuma said.

Satsuki sighed, "I told you, I am not Hamano Meiko! I absolutely did not meet you or Gin in the past!"

"You are Micah. That blue hair, striking red eyes and that straight-forward attitude. You are her."

Sarsuki lifted a brow and crossed her arms, "Really? Then tell me about her."

"AHAHAHAHA! Ask Gintoki about it!" Tatsuma laughed.

Her nerve cracked, "Somehow, I am really pissed when you laugh…"

"Satsuki-chan, I have a question. If Gintoki confessed that he likes you, what will you do?" Tatsuma asked.

This was new to her. She hadn't thought about it. "Umm. Ahahahaha! That's impossible! I mean, I always tease him or call him an idiot! He won't like me!"

Tatsuma replied, "When you collapsed, he was really worried about you. When you were fighting the natives alone, he was worried sick. He cares for you and treats you well."

Satsuki cracked a smile, "B-But he is also like that to ev-everyone! So—"

"Ahahaha! But…" Tatsuma formed a somewhat serious look, "Yours is on another level. Think about that, Satsuki-chan… What if he likes you? What will you do? Do not be selfless. Think about yourself for a bit. Do you also love him or not? Any minute we will land on Edo. So just for a while, mesmerize. AHAHHAHAHA!" Tatsuma left her alone while laughing.

When he stepped out of the room, Gintoki was there, waiting for him.

"What did you tell to her?" Gintoki asked.

"AHAHAHAHA! Nothing special~" Tatsuma walked out, leaving the curious Gintoki alone.

Meanwhile, in Satsuki's room, she curled into a ball on the bed, and couldn't stop thinking about what Tatsuma said a while ago.

"There's no way I like that idiot…" Satsuki blushed a little and puffed her cheeks.

"Huh? That idiot?!" Gintoki asked surprisingly.

That made Satsuki jump, "Who gave you the permission to come inside?!"

"Tell me, who is that idiot? Also, what did Sakamoto sa?" Gintoki inquired.

"I-It's none of your business, geez!" Satsuki put the blanket on top of her, but Gintoki kept on pestering her to tell him the whole ruckus.

After a few minutes, Satsuki gave up, "F-Fine!"

She cleared her throat, thinking that she'd finish this once and for all. Seeing Gintoki's face made her anxious, "G-Gintoki… Ummm… D-Do..."

"What?"

"D-Do you…"

"Just say it already!"

"D-Do y-you like me?!"

Finally, she said it; she knew she was blushing like hell and she didn't know why. She glanced at Gintoki, who was currently shocked.

'Damn that Sakamoto!' Gintoki thought.

A few seconds had passed since she asked that question, but still Gintoki couldn't reply. Was he going to tell the truth or not? That question was circling around his mind.

"W-Well… I-I…" Gintoki stuttered.

Somehow, her heart began beating fast. She didn't know anything, but what would really happen when he'd confess…

"I-I!"

"AHAHAHA! We're in…Edo. Ah, sorry for interrupting!" Tatsuma exited the room, laughing his gut out.

Gintoki used this time to escape, leaving Satsuki alone.

"Satsuki! Satsuki!"

Satsuki turned and saw Mai walking towards her.

"I really miss you so much! Satsukiiii!" Mai hugged her really tightly.

"What brings you here?" Satsuki immediately asked.

"Well, I am inviting you in a pajama party!"

"P-Pajama P-Party?"

Advance Merry Christmasss! And does concludes the "Phenomena Arc!" Hope you enjoy! :D