AUTHOR: Here's chapter VIII. Sorry for the Zurako and Toushiko thing. I almost forgot that this is a Gin x Tsukky fanfic, right Gintoki?
TSUKUYO: iie, He's not here.
AUTHOR: Huh? Where's that guy? And why are you here?
TSUKUYO: He took a break, so I'll be the one to handle his position in this segment.
AUTHOR: *Sighs* For those who left their reviews from the last chapter even though it's the worst chapter I've ever written, thank you very much… it's a pain using mobile phone to upload a document from the computer and update a story…
TSUKUYO: Huh? Why?
AUTHOR: Let's see… I can't edit a document, I can't delete unnecessary docx., It's slow, and I can't delete my first bad fanfic I published. ('War of the nations' (an x-over of bleach and familiar of zero))
TSUKUYO: Wait. But did someone just reviewed that x-over fanfic and asked you to correct your errors and continue it? So are you still going to update that fanfic?
AUTHOR: I already finished the next two chapters but I'm still thinking about it. Anyway here's chapter VIII of 'Kunai and Samurai'.
CHAPTER VIII
(EVERY STORY HAS ITS END)
(2: 35 AM)
The streets are quiet, the crickets' sound echoes anywhere and even the rustling of the leaves can be heard on the road, in other words; it's a peaceful night I mean, early morning.
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"Parfait… parf…" He mumbles as he tries to move into a comfortable position. It can see in his face that he's having a good dream. He unconsciously noticed that he's not hugging his favorite pillow so he extended his hand and tries to feel around the bed where his favorite pillow is located from the pitch black room and with his eyes closed. Finally, he got it… he got it wrong. He slowly wrapped his arms around what he just reached. It felt different somehow. It's warm, it's not that soft and snugly in his arm and it felt like just another person… Because it is.
She felt a warm embrace wrapped around her waist followed by a warm body touched all over her back. That warmness that she's been wanting that the blanket she's using cannot give her and that comfortable feeling that the bed or any futon can't give. While her eyes are closed and she is in the deepest sleep, a smile just crept her face.
"*sobs* I wish I can be like that." Mumbled Hinowa outside the room while peeking in a small gap of the doors as she bit her lower lip. "And why the hell are you still up?" Asked the Author.
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(4:30 AM)
"Did you already know it?" Asked the silver haired samurai as he rubs his eyes outside Hinowa's house. He just got awake from his peaceful dreaming after he heard someone throwing pebbles on the window and found out that it's Zurako and Toushiko waiting for him. He wanted to wake up Tsukuyo that time but for what? For her to get into trouble? To put her in danger? So he just jumped out of the window and leave silently.
"Iie, I wasn't sure who are really involve in this racket. But we knew that the hideout of this group is just here in Yoshiwara." Replied Zurako. "I mean, ex- Yoshiwara." He cleared.
"Ex Yoshiwara?" Said Gintoki.
"It looks like a ghost town and probably a lively part of Yoshiwara before." Intervened Toushiko as he approaches with a cigarette in his lips.
"Well, let's go." Shouted Gintoki, gesturing to move forward. But he was stopped as Zurako tapped his shoulder and smirk secretly. "Gintoki, do you have an idea of where are we going? Don't be such on a rush." He quickly pulled out something in his kimono. It was a puppy. The puppy he just saw last night. It has a short brown fur with a cute innocent face.
"What the? How long have you been carrying that creature?" Asked Toushiko as his eyes twitch.
But he ignored him and pulled out the sachet of drug that old man gave him earlier. He let the dog sniff it. "Oi are you trying to drug the dog?" Muttered Gintoki.
"No, I would never do that in such lovely creature. I'll just let him sniff the outside part so we can trace where is it came from." He replied with a grin in his face. The dog just suddenly jumped off of his arm and tried to trace the tracks by sniffing the around the street in one direction.
(30 minutes later)
"Oi, oi are you sure that this is the hideout and not a children's playground?" Muttered Gintoki while picking his nose and looking above the big old building with smokes coming out of the chimney and a bunch of trailer trucks around it.
"What makes you think that this is a children's playground!" Shouted Toushiko loudly.
Then, random sounds of running footsteps surrounded them as a group less than a hundred appeared from the dark corners and alleys. The tension suddenly became heavy and no one from the hundreds of guys is removing their glare on them.
"My, my, what a warm welcome." Smirk Gintoki while drawing his bokuto from his waist.
"It's so warm that it gets me heated up already." Connected Toushiko with a grin while withdrawing his sword.
They already got involved in the scenes like this a thousand times. But the only thing that they know that a samurai never turns back from its death. One thing is for sure for them… They will not die yet.
"I see piles of s**t with a thousand eyes." Said Zurako. Gintoki looked at him with deadpanned eyes and said "Where did you get that line?"
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"What's this? A group of insects came to have fun." Said the guy over the trailer who just appeared a moment ago. It was the same familiar guy for Toushiko except that he's missing his left arm and he has an eye patch on the left eye.
Toushiko's eyes widen and his cigarette from his mouth dropped on the ground as he was so shocked to see that face again. "You are…" His feelings just suddenly filled with anger and wrath.
"You are… K-Kuraba Touma!"
From that time, the mob just started to battlecry and attacked them with their swords. Of course the three idiots managed to dodge and counter attack the blows and swings of the enemies. As they battle for their survival, Kuraba watched at them coldly as ever but somehow he can't recognize the mayo freak, who destroyed his shipping of weapons, because of the Toushiko appearance. From every minute that counts, his patience is starting to get shorter and shorter while seeing his troops are losing the fight.
"Call the damn others for backup!" he shouted to the man behind him that is probably his assistant. The man saluted as he dashed inside the building to call for backup. Meanwhile the fight is getting longer and longer and the three heroes are starting to get tired and exhausted. It's like an endless war for them.
"Toushiko!" Shouted Gintoki while he continues blocking his opponent. "Take the guy from that trailer. We'll handle the rest!" he knows that Toushiko has an unfinished business with Kuraba.
"Gintoki…" he mumbled as he looked at him like he was surprised on what he just said. "Someone must go to kill the boss now go!" Shouted Zurako while struggling to avoid the enemies' attack.
He didn't think for a moment and he slashed the guy in front of him and quickly made a run toward the trailer where Kuraba is watching them. He doesn't want to fail his comrades or the one he truly loved. If that Kuraba is still breathing, the business between them remains unfinished.
He was about to get close to the trailer when he felt someone is going to attack him, so he quickly raised his sword to cover his upper body before a sudden impact just slams through his sword that made him stumble to the ground. He quickly tried to pull himself together as he already knew who did that to him. "We met again…" Said Toushiko as he stood up and lit a cigarette. "…old man."
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(Hell! I sucked in fighting scenes!)
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"So how's the crack I gave to you?" He asked while standing in a fighting position.
"Baka! I don't use drugs and never will!" Replied Toushiko to the old man as he raises his sword in front of him. They were about to attack each other when suddenly some throws a pebble on the old man's head, calling his attention. "Hey old man! I'm your opponent here." Shouted Zurako, standing in front of the pile of dead bodies. His kimono is already stained with blood and her make-up has faded from his sweat. He received few scratches but that's not even a bother to him and a look in his eyes that can be only seen from the true warriors.
"I'm not gonna get fooled by you!" Shouted the old man.
"Well okay. Just admit first that I have more memorized Hollywood catch phrases in my dead hair than your entire self." He bragged as he looked at him with a grin that made the old man really pissed.
The old man will never say such words of surrender as he already watched hundreds of Hollywood movies starting from the movie 'Ducksoup' to the movie 'Ironman'.
"You underestimate the knowledge of the old man who watched tons of movies dating back from 1930's to the latest." He muttered followed by a quick approach to Zurako leaving Toushiko behind.
"Now let's begin…" Said Zurako.
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His breathing is getting heavier in every step he makes. He just run and run, away from the place they started until his lungs gave up and his stamina just got drained. Finally, he lured the enemies away from Kuraba and the others but the bad thing is, the silver haired samurai is surrounded. Their numbers looked like it increased more than before but, this didn't make him shook or at least surprised him. It's just the same number of enemies he faced during the war.
His sweat is starting drip from his head and his bruises are starting to ache badly as the enemies started to make their moves. He looked at the approaching enemies with swords and asks them one last thing before he finally swung his bokuto. "There's one thing I want to ask you all… What the hell are you fighting for?"
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She quickly opened her eyes and swiftly raised his head and turned her look on the side of the bed she's been sleeping at. It's empty, but the way the blanket is pressed into wrinkles and folds, she thought like someone was just there a while ago. There was a sudden flashback that came to her. She suddenly remembers that warm embrace she felt before. She's not so sure if it's a dream or a real thing but she's sure that she felt that warm embrace that wrapped around her body and the warm breath behind her ears.
"Arf! Arf!"
"What's that?" An annoying and continuous barking snapped her from deep thoughts. She looked at the window where the annoying bark of the puppy seems to be coming from. It's not stopping. I sound like I wanna say something but she can't figure it out. She quickly jumped out of the bed and glanced outside the window. To her expectation, it's a puppy barking at her direction. Wait. Something is not right. There is something on the ground in front of it that look exactly like the drug sachet she have. This triggered the image of Gintoki in her mind.
She jumped out of the window with the kimono she is still wearing last night and looked closely at the sachet on the ground. She positively identified the object as the same thing she have.
"What's the matter?" She asked to the puppy like she's expecting to answer her directly.
"Like the f*** I can answer you by damn words." Thought the puppy. The puppy didn't respond to her hence it picked up the sachet by its mouth and quickly run away towards the direction she must head to.
"Oi wait!" She demanded but the puppy ignores her and continues to run even faster. She has no choice but to follow the puppy wherever it's heading.
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"Come on damn feet, stop shivering and stand still!" He demanded, struggling from too much work and running. There's no running back from it now that he is cornered between the high cliff, hundred ugly men and a towering stacks of cargos. He tries to keep a good fighting stance but his injuries and bruises won't let that easy.
Now it came to this. After defeating hundreds of them, there are still hundred more of them left. Is it the end of it? After coming to this? If that's so, he'll smile in front of death and apologize to everyone for such failure.
Now they are coming again at the same time. Attacking to make sure he'll be down this time but to no avail. This silver haired man won't let that easy for them. Swinging him wooden sword around, hitting everyone who comes closer than an inch to him. He's like a strong wind that blows everyone away. But this will never last long as his left foot accidentally slipped from sudden drain of energy.
His rhythm and posture just suddenly stopped as one of enemy had luckily slashed him behind critically and was followed by critical stab on his shoulders ripping his cloth together with some skin and blood. Everything just went slow and heavy.
"I can't lose here… No, not like this… Give me some more strength." He whispered to himself.
Gathering all of his strength left to his bokuto and finally executing his final swing against the enemies crowding him. The impact made everyone near him flew away from him like leaves blown away from their ground.
"God was never on my side this time, I guess."
He laid down his sword as he stands an inch from the cliff behind.
"BANG!"
A loud scream of a .45 caliber echoed the place, shutting everyone in silence. The impact of the bullet just reached the him and gently pushed him to the cliff that no one knows the bottom. The enemies watched in shock as they see their opponent slowly falling carelessly with that smile… A smile that he wants to show to guy in a black robe with a sickle with a long handle in his hand that only he can see in front of him by now…
AUTHOR: Ano… Should I continue this? Because I broke the fluff thing promise for this chapter because if I put that fluff in this chapter, I'll be too long…
GINTOKI: You broke a promise Author… So you should stop this right away and just let them decide themselves what happened to the handsome guy in the last paragraph…(Disappointed)
THE END