NOTE:
Hi, always good here? *laughs*
I find it funny how quickly this Fanfic changed focus as the chapters went on. The initial idea was to follow the lyrics of Stay With Me, which worked until around Chapter 4, but that migrated to a totally different idea.
I really like Gintama, and writing this Fanfic keeps me motivated, always imagining how the future of the story will unfold in my mind. I've even broken my record for the longest story I've ever kept (surpassing an incomplete fic I was writing in mid-2015 about Fairy Tail).
My writing is not the best, but I try to improve every day and use words that I'm not used to using in my day-to-day life, apart from the action/fight scenes that are something new for me to write or imagine... Who knows, maybe one day I'll even write a story of my own authorship. (My dream haha).
Anyway, enough notes and let's get to the new chapter!
He opened his eyes again and saw that wood-paneled ceiling, the same red walls, and the bucket with the bloodstained cloth beside him. Everything was identical to the previous dream, but his bed was not as comfortable as before and his head was pounding with pain. He wore his white yukata with blue waves lightly wrapped around his body.
'...Another dream?'
He sat down with great difficulty using his arm as a support, which shook as he put his weight on it, and soon came face to face with a white, fuzzy dog that stared at him with it tongue out before licking the samurai's face.
"I think that dream is too realistic..." - He grumbled.
"It's because this is not a dream..." - Said Shinpachi entering the room next to Kagura holding a tray with porridge, while the albino pushed the dog away from near his face.
"Welcome back, Gin-chan." - Said the Chinese girl with a tender look at the samurai, being matched with a confused look.
"W-What happened?"- He said slowly.
"We who ask you... You came home injured." - The boy would answer him.
"And he couldn't even make it to his own bed." - The Chinese girl completed.
"Ah... True." - He replied thoughtfully. He tried to remember what had happened, but his memory seemed to be fragmented, remembering only a few moments when he was not under the effect of the drug. He sighed with relief in a way, because getting home alive had not been an easy task, and as much as he hated to admit it, that policeman had helped him to make it. This was frustrating for him.
"Are you okay, Gin-san?"
"I am." - He scratched the back of his neck. - "Maybe a little lost in time."
"That's normal for someone who just woke up from a deep sleep." - He gave a dull laugh.
"Hey... What do you mean by that...? How many days did I sleep for?"
"1 whole week!" - The redhead scoffed.
"1 WEEK?!"
"Kagura-chan, don't scare him like that." - The brunette corrected his behavior. - "It was only a few hours."
"Less bad."
"By the way..." - He put the porridge in the plate. "Eat it."
"I'm kind of out of appetite."
"But you need to eat to get better soon."
"Tsc... You guys are too pushy." - He held the plate with his hands. - "You've definitely turned into a mother!"
"I guess so." - The brunette answered him laughing.
-X-
Tsukuyo had been summoned to a meeting with some Hyakka representatives, including the new leader Fumiko, who were sharing some non-formal reports on the drug investigation and a visit to the courtesan in one of Hinowa's rooms, who showed some strange symptoms days after using the drug.
"Good to see you again, boss." - Said Fumiko representing her battalion.
"You don't have to call me that anymore, Fumiko."
"Of course, you do! You're the one who led me here."
"That being the case, I am flattered." - He smiled. - "So... How is she?"
"She presented some strange symptoms..."
"Strange symptoms?"
"Yes. One of the girls reported saying that she seemed to be a little too agitated and having trouble sleeping."
"That sounds like a nightmare."
"Exactly, plus he's still suffering from some minor hallucinations and a high fever, plus the area where the drug was applied ended up turning purplish." - He sighed. - "She's feeling the need to support her drug addiction."
"How agonizing..." - Tsukuyo stared at the courtesan noting every line of her distressed face. - "What about the amanto?"
"We found out almost nothing..." - Fumiko picked up some papers. - "In these past few days, we haven't found any amanto that matched the characteristics mentioned earlier, however..."
"..." - Tsukuyo stared at her.
"In some research I did, I discovered some interesting things: although he had pale skin, he was not a Yato, because his hands had claws on the tips of his fingers, and another detail, I considered the possibility that he had heterochromia, but his fringe always hides one of his eyes... If this information is convenient, it will make it easier to find out his race and which planet he belongs to."
"I'm surprised at your research, keep it up."
"Thank you, Tsukuyo-dono!" - She bowed before her. – "I will do my best." - She said enthusiastically as the blonde retreated from the scene giving a nod.
-X-
The sunset was beginning to announce the end of the afternoon, with a beautiful orange sky and some clouds covering the sun, in which it was only possible to see the silhouette of the elements that composed the environment and small breezes coming from the direction of the sea.
The Shinsengumi was working on an investigation on a clandestine ship that had been seized. It contained several containers of automotive parts, that drew attention because of the large number of automotive parts in each box.
"Is there a problem, Toshi?" - Said the gorilla as he watched him rummaging through some boxes.
"Are those really car parts?"
"Hijikata-san, not just rush to arrest the amantos." - Okita spoke as she tightened the rope that bound a group consisting of 4 amantos.
"Why on earth did you arrest them?!"
"I'm just advancing your work."
"You're just trying to get me in trouble, you bastard!
"I would never do that."
"'I would never do' my ass!" - It said in an aggressive tone.
"Vice-Chief, look at this!" - Yamazaki shouted.
"Tsc... What happened?"- He was lighting a cigarette while looking at another batch of parts. - "Hey... Aren't those parts of a gun?"
"Exactly."
"Hey bastards!" - He poked one of the amantos with the tip of his scabbard. - "What the fuck are you guys carrying?"
"We don't know sir!" - A lilac-skinned fish-faced amanto replied.
"Who is behind this?" - The black-haired policeman poked him again and shouted in a rougher voice, putting more fear into the group.
"Hijikata-san, you are scaring them." - Again, the sadist teased him.
"What the hell."
"Rey." - Answered the amanto again.
"Who the hell is Rey?"
"The boss responsible for the trafficking of Yohalo."
"Yohalo?"
"It's a popular planet for the amantos, Vice-chief." - Yamazaki resumed speaking. - "They say it's a drug haven there."
"Makes sense..." - He took a puff on his cigarette. - "And what does this 'Rey' look like?"
"We can't say sir." - Said another shark-looking amanto with a mint-green color. - "If not, he will kill us!"
"Good to know you were already aware..." - Said a silhouette coming from above another container against the sun. It was only possible to see him carrying 2 pistols in each of his hands and a long cape that hid his face along with a scarf. He jumped into a second container and executed the amantos with precise shots; his sudden reaction left all the policemen in the place dumbfounded. - "Rey will be upset to know that a small group of idiots were delivering his plans."
"Get him!" - Hijikata shouted.
The Shinsengumi divided into small groups: Kondou and a small portion followed him from below following his movements, while Hijikata drew his sword and ran over the containers, in which they jumped over long distances.
'He runs too much!'
Because most of the policemen used melee weapons, it was almost impossible to reach him, even more so with him fighting back. He leaped sharply into another distant container away from Hijikata, who couldn't jump the same distance, bringing him to a halt on the edge.
"What the fuck!" - He grumbled.
"Easy." - Amanto smiled seconds before interrupting his path to defend from Sougo's attack. He crossed arms and held his attack as his arms quivered with the pressure of the colliding sword and the cloth that hid his face revealed it: The amanto in question was a tiger-looking Asian female mix, braided light brown hair and yellow eyes, she also wore a tight black outfit, boots with heels and a brown cape. - "You are strong."
"Don't underestimate the police." - I said with a mischievous smile.
"I never underestimated it."
He started with a kick in his stomach to push him away, with the purpose of running to get distance and shoot in his direction, however the policeman ran in random movements as a way to dodge. One of his bullets was cut in half and allowed him an opportunity to counterattack, however, another shot grazed his face, making him lean a little and causing a small cut on his cheek, in which he retaliated with another small cut on his shoulder.
"Did you know that I am not only an experienced marksman?" - Again, the amanto resumed speaking. She would do a back flip and try to shoot with her left pistol, however she noticed that it was unloaded and threw it to the ground, where she drew a small dagger from a pocket on her leg. - "Gotcha." - She used the dagger to hold the damage of the katana while shooting his left leg, causing him to lose mobility.
'The dagger was a distraction?!'
"SOUGO!" - Kondou shouted as he heard the sound of the last shot.
"It will be an honor to fight you again." - She picked up her pistol from the ground and ran off doing leaps and bounds over the containers while Okita tried to get up from the ground with her leg and right shoulder bloodied. Other policemen from Kondou's group were trying to follow her.
"Damn..." - Hijikata grumbled as he helped Okita. - "Hey Sougo, are you okay?"
"Hey Hijikata-san..."
"Speak."
"I don't think the one who will start an international problem will be you." - He said with an angry look on his face. - "It will be me."
-X-
Night had come and Albino had barely gotten out of bed or managed to relax during the afternoon. His wounds were making him squirm with pain and he was still nauseous from the drug, his head seemed to be spinning as he moved, bringing the feeling that he would fall into an abyss at any moment. It was hard even to think.
'It's hard even to sleep...' - He turned to the side. - 'The air seems heavier. I can't stop sounding and I feel feverish. 'A cold? It probably is...' - He clutched onto his pillow tightly. - 'I don't know, I feel anxious and my body is asking for something..., but for what?'- He lay face up, while placing the back of his hand on his forehead. - 'Would it be craving... that?'
While sleeping, Kagura heard grumbling coming from under his bed, but tried to ignore it by covering her ears with her hands and facing the side of the wall.
"Just five more little minutes, Patsuan..." - She mouthed, and yet the grumbling continued. - "Rum...!" - She growled turning to the other side and pressing his ears harder. - "WHAT THE HECK-!" - She noticed that the grumbling was coming from his dog scratching at the samurai's bedroom door. - "Is something wrong Sadaharu?" - She scratched his eyes and got up from his bed. - "If you keep scratching the door like that, you'll end up waking Gin-chan." - The Dog seemed to ignore her and started howling. - "Do you want to come in?"
Slowly the Chinese girl entered the bedroom quietly. She walked on tiptoe, slowly approaching the samurai, where she imagined he was sleeping peacefully, but when he arrived in front of her, she could see his face flushed and sweating cold, and he was panting, muttering something.
"Gin-chan? Do you need something?" - knelt beside him with a worried look on his face. - "Hey you bastard, I'm not like Patsuan who pampers you while you're sick!" She put the back of her hand against his face, startling him immediately. - "Gin-chan, why are you so... feverish?"
The redhead realized that he had gotten worse in a matter of a few hours, but didn't know what to do exactly. She ran into the room where Shinpachi was sleeping and shook him awake.
"Hey Shinpachi, wake up..."
"Oh? What?"
"I think Gin-chan has gotten worse."
"What do you mean?" - He stood up and picked up his glasses that were on the coffee table.
"See for yourself."
Like Kagura, Shinpachi noticed that something was wrong just by watching him with his face covered with his blanket for the purpose of hiding while biting his index finger in a failed attempt to control his anxiety. He took the thermometer that was stored in the closet and measured his fever.
"Almost 104°F, that's worrisome." - He sighed. - "Maybe we should call a doctor."
"There's no need for that." - Albino said with a deep look.
"No need?! Look at your situation Gin-san!"
"I just need to rest."
"No, you don't need it. You need help-"
"I know myself well enough to know when I will get better!" - He said in a thick tone.
"I see..." - Gintoki noticed the worried looks on the faces of the two, gave a sigh and changed his tone of voice.
"If I don't get better soon, I will go to the doctor. Until then, don't worry about me."
"As if." - He whispered as he left the room along with the Chinese girl. He went towards the kitchen to get the cool compress.
"Hey, don't you think Gin-chan looked like he was in need of something?"
"Need anything?"
"Yes. Before you arrived, he seemed to be asking for something."
"Now that you mention it, I noticed that too."
"Is it desire? Isn't Gin-chan pregnant?"
"Surely he is not!"
"Since that day when I fought with him, things went off the rails..., but it was because I didn't think it was fair to be alone every night, and after that day, he disappeared and showed up completely hurt."
"Kagura-chan..."
"If I can find a way to apologize, things will get better, won't they?"
"I can't guarantee that." - Said the brunette placing a hand on his shoulder. - "For now, we'll support him until he gets better."
"Um... Support him..." - She whispered to herself, placing her hand on her chin and indicating she was thoughtful. - "What if we make a pudding for him?"
"A pudding? At that time of night?"
"Yes! I'm sure that's what he wants!"
"Okay then..."
*Next day*
"I don't want to." - Said the albino with a tired look on his face.
"E-eh?"-The redhead replied gracelessly.
"I'm not hungry."
"HEY, HEY, HEY YOU BASTARD! WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH GIN-CHAN?!" - She spanked him while he gave his famous thin scream. "YOU ARE DEFINITELY NOT HIM! HE WOULDN'T TURN DOWN A PUDDING!"
"KAGURA-CHAN! SO, YOU'RE GOING TO KILL HIM!" - Shinpachi was trying to separate them.
"GIVE BACK OUR GIN-CHAN!"
"KAGURA-CHAN!"
FINAL NOTE:
Press F for our warrior. 😞✊
All kidding aside, I wanted to thank you for the positive feedback I'm receiving about this fanfic! Know that your opinion is very important to me, besides that it motivates me to continue with this fanfic.
I know this chapter got away from the purpose of this fanfic, but I promise that the next chapter will be more focused on GinTsu.
Again, I apologize for the delay in posting the chapters, but I am in the rush of the last school year (aka Final Paper) and it consumed a good part of my free time. :P
I hope to see you in the next chapter! Until further notice.