NOTE:
Hello, everybody, and a very warm welcome! How are you? Have you hydrated today? Please go drink some water, thank you!
Good reading!
While pulled, Tsukuyo did not understand his sudden behavior, causing her to question him about the current situation. This was the fruit of an argument that was certain to end in a fight, for both were driven by their own ideals and rarely gave in to reason because of their own pride, which for them was something normal, but for others was unbearable.
"Hey Gintoki, what's gotten into you? And why are you hurt again?"
"I'll ask you!" - He said in a rough tone. - "Did you hit your head or what? Putting an amanto inside the house?!"
"It's just a child!"
"A child who worked for the enemy!" - He exclaimed. - "Since when did you become so soft-hearted?"
"..." - She looked away, hiding her face so her emotions of frustration would not overflow in front of him. He felt bad, so much so that he lowered his tone and tried to control himself.
"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to be rude." - He tried to reassure her, but seemed to be failing. - "I am worried about you, Tsukuyo. I know he's just a kid, but something tells me it's not a good idea to keep him around... He might end up turning you in to the amantos."
"I understand your concern, but I can manage!" - She said bluntly.
"You are being selfish! What about the others? Do you really think you'll be able to take care of everything by yourself?"
"By then I will have a plan in hand."
"That could happen at any time!"
"I know, I'll be able to manage, no need to worry-"
"Maybe it's closer than you can imagine..."
"What do you mean by that?"
"That's what I came to talk to you about." - Tsukuyo lowered the tension in her shoulders and took the kiseru in hand, as a way to calm herself. - "We will have to postpone the invasion."
"Postpone invasion?" - I said in surprise. - "And you guys had already planned to invade and didn't tell me?"
"Actually, we didn't plan it."
"What...?"
"Those bastards got Shinpachi and Kagura." - He said bitterly. - "I'm afraid of what might happen to them."
"So that's why you're so hurt like that..."
"Yes..." - He agreed with his head. - "I have already talked with Shinsengumi and we will go tonight."
"You won't! Not in this state."
"Don't start that again. I'm cool and I'll be with those idiot cops too."
"What if something happens to you?!"
"What if something happens to them? It will be my fault for getting them in the middle!"
"The Shinsengumi will be able to handle them without you!"
"And you think it's fair to sit here on the damn couch waiting for them to arrive?!"
"It's not fair, but it's necessary! You'll only get in the way if it's like this!"
"Fuck it! I can turn around too!"
"If I knew I wouldn't be hurt like that!"
"We were outnumbered, okay?" - He began to lower his tone of voice peacefully. - "Forget it, you wouldn't understand."
Gintoki gave in, not because he lost the argument, but for the discussion to have an end. He couldn't think about anything else but getting those two back, he sighed heavily and left the room so as not to end up venting the anger he felt building up in his body. She didn't notice, so much so that her reaction was to run after him to the exit door. The children and the woman just watched the two of them acting like children walking down the hallway of the house.
"YOU WILL NOT, GINTOKI!"
"THEN GIVE ME A REASON TO STAY!"
"..." - The blonde lowered her head in one with complete silence.
"You, see? It doesn't exist!" - The albino walked angrily away. - "I'm sorry, but I have to go."
She mumbled something, but it was so low that he couldn't understand it. He felt a chill, something would make him more worried momentarily, in a failed attempt, he asked to raise his tone.
"Speak louder, that way it gets hard to understand."
"I... I'm pregnant!" - As she said this loud and clear, the room fell silent. Tsukuyo could not contain herself as she told the news, her tears slowly began to trickle down her scar. Unlike expected, she did not feel relieved. It was as if her throat choked her with her own crying, His chest ached as he watched the now mute albino's back. – "You... you're not going to say anything?"
"..." - His lips trembled as she hummed amidst her sobs, it was a real shock of reality. She swallowed her saliva and broke the silence, his shaky voice making her even more tense. - "How long ago did you find out?"
"Almost 6 weeks ago."
"6 weeks?!" - He turned to face her. - "Why didn't you tell me before?"
"Because I'm afraid... Afraid that you will leave me because of this."
"Why would I abandon you? Understand one thing, I'm not angry that you're pregnant, I'm angry that you didn't tell me this before." - He pressed his tone. - "Six weeks? How serious is that? And it's only now that you told me?!"
"I'm sorry..." - She spoke in tears.
"How hard-headed you are, Tsukuyo!" - He grumbled again. - "Did you know that now I will only have 7 months to follow the pregnancy?"
"W-what?"-I said confused by his reaction.
"Tsc damn, how am I going to tell the old woman that the next rents will be spent on diapers and milk?"
Hinowa, hiding behind a wall, was able to breathe a sigh of relief after seeing the couple working it out between themselves. But there was still an argument that needed to be settled soon, so much so that the two went outside to be alone for a while. The late afternoon wind whipped the pair, causing their hair to sway like a little dance performance.
"I forget that you are an idiot." - She took a drag on the kiseru leaning on the door. - "Nothing I tell you will stop you from going, will it?"
"I'm sorry." - The blonde stared at him, seeing his face so vulnerable as to ask for forgiveness. - "But they need me."
"I know." - Her disengaged, moving as close to his body as possible. - "Promise me you'll come back soon; we have a lot to talk about." - She whispered watching the albino's red eyes.
"I promise."
She felt conviction in his words. The tension they both felt was gone when their lips touched, initiating a long romantic kiss after so long. Unlike the other times they had kissed, this was a more delicate and gentler kiss, exalting tenderness and forgetting, in a short period of time, their personal problems. The albino's hands caressed the scar, making her hug him as tightly as she could, making it a welcoming sensation, and as it lasted, each one gave more and more of themselves to the other, breaking the shyness they felt caused by their estrangement.
When the kiss was complete, they rested forehead against forehead, watching each other's eyes shine a little more closely. Small sighs formed a melody with the environment and the warmth of their bodies made the wind seem like just a small breath, and all of this was part of a strengthened bond. A flame rekindled reviving the passion they felt during the romantic nights, a kind of nostalgia beat in their minds.
"Wow, I didn't remember you being such a good kisser." - He joked.
"Shut up, idiot." - She gave a light laugh.
When he left her behind, it felt like a painful goodbye. She was confident that he would return sooner or later, where she would wait for him from her balcony as she always did during the nights. Still standing in the doorway of her house, she watched him leave with a slight smile, taking a drag on your... Kiseru? Why did that sound so wrong to her? She took it out of her mouth and watched him more closely, going into a thinking mode, realizing that this could be bad for the health of the baby in her belly. When she returned to her room, she beat the kiseru, deposited the ashes in the ashtray, and put it in a box so she could put it in her closet.
-X-
Night had arrived along with the lights of the bars of Kabukicho, the police gathered in a simple wooden house used for surveillance. In the room, there was only a medium-sized table covered with a map of the factory and reports used by Fumiko and Hijikata, around it was a mixture of Shinsengumi and Hyakka members, leaving the albino confused and irritated.
"Hey... Why is Hyakka here?!"
"Tsukuyo-dono sent us." - Fumiko crossed her arms. - "She told us to keep an eye on you, since she couldn't make it."
'So that's why she agreed so easily... She's got me by the wayside!' - He did facepalm.
"So, what will the plan be, Yorozuya?" - Said the policeman taking a drag on his cigarette.
"At first decrease the size of the troops."
"What do you mean?! You yourself said they outnumbered them!" - Kondou questioned him.
"And they really were..." - He nodded. - "..., However, the factory is full of containers, so the large number will only get in the way."
"You have a point."
"And how will we get in there?" - Fumiko questioned.
"A back door maybe?" - Hijikata spoke. - "Usually a factory has two entrances, right?"
"It might be a possibility." - The albino answered them. - "When I was there, I couldn't find any way out the back."
"That could be a problem..." - Kondou asserted.
"Eh... So, we'll have to enter through the front door? É... That got interesting." - The black-haired policeman joked.
"Did it scare you?" - Said the albino in a wry tone.
"Not a bit."
"If we each kill at least three, we will be in profit." - He joked again.
The group was divided into only 7 people and 5 more to take care of the rear. The plan chosen by the albino and perfected by Fumiko was to access the factory through the front door and dissolve the group into two pairs and a trio. Kondou and Sougo would be responsible for looking underground, while another Hyakka duo would observe the main floor and the trio formed by Hijikata, Gintoki and Fumiko would be responsible for the containers.
The moon shone brightly tonight, making the factory more frightening than the albino remembered. It was not running as it had been that day, becoming silent and abandoned, where every noise was fatal. The door, when opened, creaked loudly causing a chill in the stomach, but they continued forward. Each group carried a flashlight and weapons in hand. The plan had several holes, such as the lack of communication between the members.
Hijikata nodded symbolizing the dispersal of the members to their proper places. He hunted for vulnerability in the place, such as windows and escape routes not seen before by the map, tracing another map in his mind. Something made Fumiko apprehensive, like some sixth sense that signaled a possible trap, so much so that she was careful about this point.
The Hyakka duo felt like they were failing, with no clues, no enemies, no answers, absolutely nothing, not a sign indicating they were on the right path. They went through some machines and noticed some weapon parts mixed in among the automotive parts, which proved the theory Fumiko had created about here being used for weapon manufacturing.
Sougo and Kondou seemed to be walking in circles, everything was standardized with a long corridor containing some bars that resembled cages. Kondou felt confused by the place, because it wouldn't make sense to have dungeons inside a factory.
"It doesn't make sense..."
"What doesn't make sense, Kondou-san?"
" When Yorozuya said that he managed to escape, I didn't believe that there was a prison inside a factory."
"Not only that..." - Sougo walked to the end of the hall. - "The broken window..."
"... Which connects the factory to the sea." - Kondou completed. - "I wonder if there are more floors down?"
"I don't know."
Walking among the containers, the trio searched for the "office" where the leader stayed. Hijikata suspected that all the doors, without exception, were unlocked, just as they did with the ship. Entering the main container, Gintoki quickly went towards the table that contained several papers with some very old newspapers, articles about Yohalo, and maps of a familiar place: Yoshiwara.
"Hey Yorozuya, what did you find...?" - Hijikata questioned.
"I don't know exactly..." - He said analyzing further. - "Maybe there is something going on in Yoshiwara... Does Tsukuyo know something, Fumiko?"
"No sir."
During the short dialogue, Hijikata's phone started ringing, which starts a silence with only Hijikata's voice echoing in the room.
"Hello?" - He asked confused. - "Yamazaki I already told you we are in the middle of a mission-" - Interrupted his own speech. - "W-what?! What do you mean? Okay, I'll be coming there soon." - He hung up the phone and sighed.
"So...?" - The albino questioned.
"Remember the cargo ship?"
"What about it?"
"It was set on fire."
"What do you mean?!" - Fumiko spoke in surprise.
"Yamazaki said there was no one around."
"Wait..." - Gintoki would take over speaking. - "Don't you guys think these clues are too easy?"
"Explain yourself." - The policeman spoke.
"Maybe they wanted us to come here." - He stated. - "Look at that: There is no security at all even with important documents, Shinpachi and Kagura were probably kidnapped just to bring me here, but why?"
"An ambush to capture you?"
"You got it right." - Said a husky voice in the background.
A noise of a gun being unlocked, coming from behind the policeman, caused the other two to turn unconsciously, coming face to face with the raven Yami Karasu. Both Hyakka's and Kondou's duo were surrounded with other groups of armed amantos with sadistic smiles stamped on their faces, which came as no surprise to them. Without many options, the group will have to face them face to face and then finally reach their final goal: to find Shinpachi and Kagura.
FINAL NOTE:
Hello again! I appreciate you getting to the end of this chapter, I hope you are enjoying (heartily) how the story is progressing.
See you next time!