Chapter 26: It is rare to see someone treasuring what you have given.
Beta Read by: AL19
"See? I am perfectly beautiful, gorgeous and ele—" The girl with purple hair got slapped with a mosquito pan by Satsuki, who was getting irritated with her nonsense.
"Hurry up and give me my order." Satsuki bluntly told her.
The girl held her check and began to complain, "Huh?! I am not a seller, you idiot! I am the owner of—" Again, she received another slap from the mosquito pan and this time, it was the other side.
"Hurry up. I don't care if you're rich; give me what I have paid for. That idiot and the others are waiting for me in the Yorozuya." Satsuki brusquely told her. She was now irritated with this girl in front of her. She just wanted her order to be given. Afterwards, she'd be gone forever.
"Sorry it took long, miss!" The old man came rushing towards her. The old man gave Satsuki the bag; he shifted his gaze to the girl and was utterly shocked, "Oh! What happened, milady?!"
"That girl slapped me!" She accused Satsuki.
Satsuki couldn't care less about this; she rolled her eyes and started to speak, "For your information, I didn't directly slap you. I slapped you with this." She showed the mosquito pan to them, "Luckily, you're the first one I've used this on. I was planning to hit Gintoki with this. Congratulations."
"That wasn't a lucky one! Also, I do not care if—" Again, she didn't have to continue her statement, because Satsuki slapped her again with the pan; she then left.
"You moron! Someday, I'll come back and take my revenge!" The girl shouted with all her might.
…
"What a horrible day! The weather is horrible. Shinpachi is horrible." Gintoki complained while lying into the couch while reading some JUMP.
"Shut up! Why are you including me in your rants?!" Shinpachi quarreled.
"Shut up! Shinpachi, you're annoying! Hurry up and cook some food already!" Kagura ordered.
Shinpachi, who was completely humiliated by this, once again retorted, "Stop it! Also, Satsuki-san is the one in charge with the cooking!"
Kagura got up with a smile, "Yay! Satsuki-chan will be cooking! Now it'll be delicious unlike glasses, uh-huh!"
"Shut up!" Shinpachi yelled.
Suddenly, a loud knock was heard. Satsuki was also curious, so she approached the door. When she opened it, she saw the girl at that store; she looked pretty irritated.
"Um, I have a job—"
"No, we aren't accepting it!" Satsuki refused and slammed the door loudly. She locked it and went back, leaving Shinpachi's jaw dropped.
"H-Hey… Satsuki-san! That's a customer, what do you think you're doing?!" Shinpachi shouted at the girl.
"I am certain about it. She'll bring anything but misfortune! Geez!" Satsuki muttered under her breath and walked towards the kitchen to finish what she was cooking. Unfortunately, she wasn't done just yet.
"You thought I'll end this here?!" A voice coming from the roof yelled, and suddenly busted out from its place.
"What the fuck did you do?! Now seriously, you're going to—" Gintoki was stopped when someone hugged him, making him feel disgusted.
"Sa-chan-san?!" Shinpachi called out.
"What the heck are you doing here, you bitch?!" Satsuki threw a plate at her, but she dodged quickly.
"H-Hey! Do not fight in here! Satsuki-chan, Sa-chan-san?!" Shinpachi tried to stop them, but he failed.
"This can't be helped…" Tsukuyo puffed a smoke from her pipe while leaning against the wall.
"Tsukki?!" Kagura called her name in surprise.
"Sarutobi! Enough of that!" Tsukuyo threw a kunai at her but Ayame swiftly dodged it while hugging Gintoki like an ape.
"I thought you were familiar and then I realized that you're the stalker of Gintoki! You bastard!" Satsuki clicked her tongue as she threw the last plate; she picked up her katana, "Let go of Gintoki!"
"Hey! Do not carelessly throw those plates! Don't you know they was expensive?!" Gintoki shouted, trying to let go from Ayame's grip.
"You're getting annoying! Just what happened?!" Shinpachi forced himself in.
"This is getting troublesome, you know." Tsukuyo said while sitting on the sofa.
"Then help me finish this up! Jeez!" Shinpachi ordered.
Gintoki finally escaped from Sarutobi's grip and tried to stop the two from fighting. "H-Hey! Stop it, you idiots! At this rate, you'll break my house!" Gintoki faced Satsuki and yelled, "Satsuki, you're acting strange!"
"Strange…?" Satsuki stopped from her rage; she thought of it for a second with her head down; she murmured to herself, "I was just…" Tightening her fist, she bluntly yelled at Gintoki, "Then do what you want with your prowler!"
She stormed out of the Yorozuya household, though she fell down the stairs.
"What the heck is wrong with her?!" Gintoki demanded.
…
Satsuki threw stones from the nearby river bank, thinking vaguely. The thing that she did a while ago made her feel uneasy, since it seemed that Gintoki was right on what he said a while ago. She didn't know what to do, "I don't know… What the heck am I doing?"
She sighed, knowing that she was really acting strange. But when Gintoki said that to her, she felt a jolt in her, resulting her to be mad at him. Sighing, she decided to walk around Edo to think about herself, but she accidentally dropped by Gengai's shop.
"Oh. Are you the Yorozuya's new member?" Gengai asked.
Satsuki stepped inside the shop and looked around, "Y-Yeah. Nice to meet you, I am—"
"Sakakibara Satsuki, right?" Gengai guessed.
A drop of sweat rolled down her cheek; she was surprised, because she hadn't meet this person, even though knew her name, "W-What are you?! A stalker?!"
"Why would I stalk a girl with a flat chest!?" Gengai yelled at the young lady.
It made Satsuki frustrated, "I am not a flat chest! I am a C cup, you old geezer!"
She pouted, stuck her tongue out and walked away from his store but Gengai stopped her, "Hey! You flat board girl!"
Satsuki emitted a dark aura, knowing what he had done; he shifted the topic, "Can you help me here?"
Satsuki sighed and murmured, "Instead of wandering around Edo, why don't I help this old geezer? That makes a job for the Yorozuya." She stopped murmuring and agreed to what he had said, "Fine."
…
While Satsuki helped Gengai, she couldn't help but talk to him. Since they were having a cold, awkward atmosphere, Satsuki decided to break the silence.
"Hey, old geezer. How dd you know that I worked at the Yorozuya? Moreover, you know my name. Are you really my stalker?" She stared at him suspiciously.
Gengai banged a metal on Satsuki's head. It was so hard, that she screamed.
"One time, I met Gintoki at a food stall. He told me about you…" Gengai stated. Satsuki nodded in satisfaction; she was relieved that he wasn't really a stalker.
But Gengai's expression changed and he continued, "Though, we only talked about you, his love interest, when he got drunk." He shifted his gaze towards Satsuki, who was trying to purge metals. "But still, I want to figure out, why did that idiot fall in love with this flat board? She doesn't have any good characteristics at all, just a barbaric one."
Satsuki glanced at Gengai, "What the heck are you saying?"
"What the heck did you just do?! That's now how you do it, you moron!" Gengai was about to slam a metal onto her head again, but luckily, she caught it in time and broke it.
"If you're going to slam a metal like this to me, you better not. It'll break." Satsuki unfeelingly alleged.
Gengai's sweat rolled down his cheeks, knowing that this girl was extremely strong just like Gintoki. "M-Maybe… Wait… As if…" Gengai murmured.
"Old geezer, what are you making?" Satsuki asked.
He continued to set up some materials and said, "A game."
"A virtual game?" Satsuki enquired.
"But, I cannot even complete it because I don't have that legendary screw." Gengai replied. It made Satsuki curious about the legendary screw.
"A screw? That legendary screw?"
Gengai nodded, "Yes, in order to complete this game, I need that legendary screw. But it seems that—"
Satsuki stood up, buffed her clothes and smiled at him, "Hey, old geezer! Say, if I find that legendary screw, will you let me play that?"
Gengai smirked, "Well, if you find it."
Satsuki grinned back at the old guy and lifted her thumb up, "Then, I'll find that legendary screw! Wait for me!" She said and left the store.
Gengai heaved a sigh while gazing at Satsuki's back, "What an idiot. There's no such thing as a legendary screw."
…
"Hey! Mister! Do you know where can I find the legendary screw?" Satsuki asked an old man passing by. And of course, that man didn't even know of it, so he shook his head. It was the sixth person that she had asked about that screw and it was seriously making her feel irritated.
She continued to ask and find out about that screw, but it seemed that no one knew about it either. However, when she spotted a man carrying something, she did not hesitate to ask about.
"Huh? Legendary screw?!" Taizo asked curiously.
"Yes! Do you know where I will get that legendary screw?!" Satsuki's eyes gleamed with satisfaction.
"If you asked for a screw then go and find it in the dumpster. There are different kinds of screws that are being thrown there. And I guess, that legendary screw of yours is there." Taizo answered.
"Oh, I see. Thank you very much, mister. If you would like, you can take this money. Thank you for guiding me there." Satsuki gave him the money and left.
It made him really happy, though.
…
After a few minutes of digging, she found the 'legendary screw' and she was happy that she could get out of this mess.
She smiled while lifting it up, trying to read what the carved message in the screw said, "Le…gen…da…ry…screw… This is it at last! I can now get out of this mess!" Struggling from this mess, she went out of the dumpster, wiped off the mess from her kimono and walked freely to Gengai's shop.
As she was walking down the streets of Edo, a boy accidentally bumped into her, causing her to stumble and fall into a pile of trash bags. Though, she didn't have the time to argue with the risky boy, so she stood up and walked as if nothing happened. Without noticing that her pink hairclip that Gintoki bought for her during her birthday was removed and left in the pile of trash.
After a few minutes, she was finally there without noticing it. "Old geezer! I am here!"
"Oh, hey! I guess you didn't find that legendary—" He was clogged from what he was saying when Satsuki peered at him.
"I found it. It was a tough one!" She proudly stated and brushed of her hair upwards. A few seconds later, she noticed that her hairclip was lost. "Eh? It isn't here?"
"Oh that's right, there's something different about you… The pink thing that you were wearing…it's gone…" Gengai pointed out.
She stammed, "I-It's n-not h-here… Old geezer, I will leave this screw here, and be back when I find that clip." She left without saying another word to the old man.
"It actually… exists?" Gengai asked in shock.
…
"Hey, did you notice Satsuki roaming around here?" Gintoki asked Otae, but she only shook her head at him. He sighed. This was the tenth person he had asked and it seemed that he couldn't find that barbaric girl.
"That flat board… I didn't do anything to her yet… Jeez! If I find her, I will totally pester her to buy me a parfait!" Gintoki ranged all over the street.
…
"It's not h-here! It's not here!" Satsuki dug a pile of trash, but it wasn't there. She couldn't face Gintoki now, because she lost that clip. She was about to cry until she heard something.
"Hey, what's with this clip?" The garbage collector asked the other guy.
"Heh. What a waste. Just throw it." He told him and threw it to a truck.
"H-Hey! I-It was mine!" She tried to run after the truck but she tripped. Cursing under her breath, she tried to stand up but it seemed that her ankle sprained. Now, it was really difficult to go there.
"I-I… Bullshit!" She shouted and tried her best to stand up with the help of the wall near her. Her eyes got teary. But, she didn't want to let it get to her. After a few hours of walking, she was back at the dumpster. It was filled with, of course, more trash.
There, she saw the garbage collector that threw away her clip in the truck. She slowly approached him, "M-Mister! Did you see a pink clip?"
The garbage collector nodded.
"Wh-Where is it?!" She demanded.
"Hey, calm down miss! We already threw it!" He exclaimed.
It made her feel depressed. She clenched her fist and it felt like she wanted to punch someone. It made the garbage collector scared, so he tried to ease her, "I-If you want to find your clip, t-then find it inside of the dumpster."
"Alright. Thank you, mister…" She whimpered, and went inside. Again, she started to dive over the bunch of trashes and started to dig in it.
…
"Where the hell are you, flat board?!" Gintoki exclaimed. He was going around Edo, searching for her, but there was no sign of her.
"Hey! That girl is pretty awesome isn't it?" Garbage collector A asked.
"Well, yes. She was spending several hours digging into that pile! What is she finding again?" Garbage collector B also asked.
"Hmm. A clip right? I think a pink one. But still, she is a patient one, huh?" Garbage collector A answered.
Gintoki averted his gaze from the two men laughing beside a truck. And hearing the pink clip made him curious. He approached the men and asked, "Hey, did you see a girl with long blue hair and a white kimono?"
"Apparently, yes! Man, she is a beauty after all! But spending time in a dumpster is a no-no! Her kimono is really dirty right now! AHAHAHAHA." Garbage Collector A laughed loudly.
Gintoki felt pissed off at this; he punched the truck, "Would you mind telling me where her current location is?"
"Y-Yes!"
…
"Not h-here! I-It's not h-here a-also!" She endlessly cried while digging continuously. Her hands were now bleeding from ome of the sharp edges of the garbage, but she still wouldn't give up until she found that clip.
"Oi! What the hell are you doing?!" Gintoki piped from behind her.
"W-What are you doing here?!" She yelled, not even planning to argue with him.
"Getting you out of this mess! Come on, we're going home!" Gintoki replied.
Satsuki refused, "N-No, I won't come with you! I-I'm sorry… I-I lost t-the cl-clip…"
Gintoki scratched the back of his head and sighed, "You're spending your time in a dumpster just because the clip that I gave you got lost in the dumpster?! Fine, I will buy you a new one so let us—" He was interrupted by Satsuki.
"NO! Why can't you see it? It's too precious for me!" She finally stopped for a while and faced him. She couldn't control her tears from falling, "That clip was your first gift to me! It was precious, I do not care if it's just like the others. But yours is special! T-That's w-why, I-I am apologizing. I-I l-lost i-it! I-I…"
"Damn it…" Gintoki murmured, "Seeing her ugly crying face makes me uneasy…" Gintoki sighed again and went towards the dumpster also. He, too, started digging while Satsuki was staring at him in astonishment.
"What are you staring at? Come on, I'll help you already. Be thankful, idiot…" Gintoki said and went to dig.
Satsuki couldn't help but feel shocked, but at the same time, happy. They continued to dig a while. It was already evening and they knew the moment they'd be back at Yorozuya Gin-chan's, Shinpachi would scold them for being late. At last, Gintoki spotted a certain thing in the dumpster. He grabbed it and saw that it was the clip.
"Hey!"
Satsuki turned her gaze to him, "W-What?"
"I found it." Gintoki claimed. When he said those words, Satsuki heavenly smiled at him. She was really happy when she saw the clip. He clipped it to her hair and patted at her head, "Now do not lose it again, okay?"
Satsuki nodded. When they were about to leave the dumpster, Satsuki tripped.
"O-Ouch…" Satsuki yelped.
He noticed her ankle was getting worse so he carried her on his back. She was surprised by the sudden move. At first, she tried getting off of his back.
"W-What are you doing?!" Satsuki hissed.
"Shut the fuck up! Because of you, I got into this mess! Let me do this for you…" Gintoki said.
"H-Huh?!" Satsuki yelled.
"Plus, your ankle got sprained. Are you fine walking like that?!" Gintoki exclaimed.
"F-Fine…Do what you want…" Satsuki grinned at him and rested at his back.
Gintoki grinned back at her and started to walk. This was a good thing for him, though.
"G-Gintoki! Can you drop by Gengai-san's store? I left something there…" Satsuki asked and Gintoki obliged. They dropped by Gengai's store and saw him.
"Oh, you're back… What's with you two?! You both stink!" Gengai grimaced.
"Never mind that, old geezer! Where's the game?! I gave you that legendary screw!" Satsuki happily proclaimed.
Gengai sighed and gave the machine in a cart. He explained the details to the two. Obviously, Gintoki did not care. When he finished, Gengai noticed that her hair clip was back and he couldn't help but grin.
"Sakakibara, who gave that clip to you?" Gengai asked.
Satsuki smiled at him, "Gintoki!"
"Well, then we're off." Gintoki stated and was about to turn around while carrying Satsuki into his back when Gengai called him.
"Gintoki!"
"What?"
"Treasure her…"
Gintoki smirked at him, "Of course..."
When they both left the store, Gengai looked at their backs. Now he knew the reason Gintoki fell in love with her.
"Now I know… Because they're both idiots…"
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