#this scenario is more likely to happen with Mitsuba but I say again

[hanakou-often]

If it’s still happening, I honestly can’t wait for the moment Kou gets to exorcise Hanako.

If I had to see the scenario out, I think Kou would only do it if absolutely necessary as in it's the only way to save everyone, Hanako has fully accepted his fate (no "I still have things to do here!!" stuff), or Teru is at his breaking point with the supernatural and will ensure his passing as excruciating as possible so he can repent for half the damage he's done. Kou hesitates to do it at first but ultimately when he agrees, I hope it's less "I have to fulfill my duty as an exorcist and uphold Teru's expectations" and more "You're my friend and I wouldn't want you to go out any other way" kind of thing yk? The thought of allowing Hanako to pass with his dignity intact by his favorite exorcist's hand, his other best friend's hand, is something so bittersweet yet absolutely cathartic to me. The tenderness in Kou's gaze as silent tears roll off his cheeks whilst he grips his staff with white knuckles to stop them from shaking so much…The solemn way Hanako pulls off the talisman and says something along the lines of "I told you you'll make a good exorcist, didn't I?" with a genuine smile...Oh my god it’s everything

[hijitae]

What would everyone’s reaction be to these two getting together

This is a fun question! I’ve thought about it many times for fics. Once again, I apologize for the delay, but now my answer compilation is finally finished.

I’ve even entertained a scenario in which Tae and Hijikata don’t tell anyone for awhile until they can no longer keep it secret from Shinpachi and Kondou – simply because Hijikata mainly doesn’t want a ton of attention (especially from people like Sougo and Gintoki, both of who won’t miss an opportunity for a little teasing) drawn to his private life. Tae is content either way, even finds the secret-keeping fun.

Secret or no secret, here are some thoughts I have about everyone’s reactions:

SHINPACHI: Well…boy goes through all the stages of grief at first, lol, but gradually comes to accept Tae’s relationship. I mean, he did say during the Yagyuu arc that whoever Tae found happiness with, he would accept them. Sougo might persuade him to ruffle Hijikata’s feathers a bit now and then, but otherwise, I think Shinpachi will accept Hijikata in the end, knowing he will treat Tae well. And if Shinpachi stops to think about it, he has more in common with Hijikata than he thinks. Shinpachi runs the Otsuu Fan Club like Hijikata, so hey, free leadership advice from a future brother-in-law. Lots of funny situations would result from a protective and suspicious Shinpachi, as he gradually gets used to mayonnaise appearing weekly on the Shimura grocery list. I think he’ll also feel some relief when he sees how happy Tae is because she’s looked out for him his entire life, and now someone is looking out for her in a different way, instead of Tae having to shoulder that burden.

KONDOU: By now, Kondou has long since let go of his romantic feelings for Tae, and they are great friends instead. I think Hijikata would talk to Kondou before moving forward into a relationship, because he knows how Kondou used to feel about her. Kondou would be surprised at Hijikata entering a relationship but not too surprised that it’s with Tae because Kondou was in love with her before and knows she is a good woman. I think he’d be happy for Hijikata because of his past with Mitsuba and how that has caused Hijikata a lot of pain. Moving forward in this case represents healing and forgiving oneself, so Kondou would throw his full support behind the two of them. He knows they will take good care of each other. Maybe he’ll be a little too supportive when he tells Hijikata, “Toushi, if you need romance advice – wink wink – just come to me and I’ll answer any questions you might have about love!”

KYUUBEI: Like Kondou, Kyuubei will also have let go of their feelings by the time Tae enters into a romantic relationship with Hijikata. However, they still care very much for Tae, so, naturally, they will be protective of her and will probably disapprove of Hijikata simply because no one will ever be good enough for Tae in their opinion. For Tae’s sake, Kyuubei will accept whoever makes Tae happy. But it doesn’t mean Kyuubei has to like that person, and it certainly doesn’t stop them from making snide remarks about Hijikata whenever they happen to be in the same room. Perhaps they might even join forces with Sougo, Kagura, and Gintoki (and occasionally Shinpachi) in casually insulting/teasing Hijikata together as a group, whispering behind their hands and then nodding their heads in agreement while Hijikata fumes and demands to know what they’re saying.

SOUGO: Oh, man, there is plenty of comedy ahead with him! But on the serious side of things, besides Sougo being Sougo, I think he’ll be both surprised and doubtful. He’ll not easily forget what happened with Mitsuba, but he also has his own journey to go on regarding that. Sougo and Hijikata obviously don’t ADORE each other, but they do like each other enough to watch each other’s back in battle; their friendship goes a lot deeper than surface level. I think Sougo might threaten Hijikata in a roundabout way, concerning if he were to ever leave things unfinished with Tae the way he did with Mitsuba (or reject her coldly without explanation). It’s not like Sougo cares that much about Tae, but the parallels are too similar. Besides, Sougo knows Tae is a strong-willed woman, who won’t let Hijikata leave things uncommunicated. She’d confront him if that were to happen, and Hijikata is determined NOT to make the same mistake twice. In the end, Sougo will carry on with his agenda to annoy Hijikata for the rest of their lives, but with some restraint because Tae scares Sougo a little – not that he’ll ever admit it!

GINTOKI: I think he’d be a mixture of surprised and not surprised. Gintoki tends to read people well enough; he often knows more than he lets on. So, I think he suspects the connection between the two before most people know, but he’s still sort of surprised to see how well it works out because there will always be some things he doesn’t know or understand to the fullest. HijiTae are one of those mysteries; Gintoki knows and gets that it could work (especially since he remarks that mayonnaise is the only thing keeping Hijikata alive with Tae’s cooking and that all of Tae’s meals are that much worse with mayonnaise added), but it’s still bizarre to him. He’s also one of the few who is aware of Hijikata’s past concerning Mitsuba, so Gintoki, being a close friend of Tae’s, may also wonder and doubt, but, in the end, it’s not really his business, so he doesn’t get hung up on it. He’ll certainly have fun with it all, though, because now he can make more snide remarks about Hijikata in the romance department. Of course, he better watch out for Tae’s retribution!

KAGURA: Tae is like Kagura’s big sister, so Kagura will be protective of Tae, too, and not at all opposed to making snarky comments about Hijikata. Unlike Gintoki and Sougo, though, Kagura isn’t “afraid” of Tae when she teases Hijikata, especially since Kagura’s teasing doesn’t bother Hijikata that much because Kagura is Kagura. It’s the other two who annoy him more. Besides, Kagura has called on Hijikata for help before (“Toushi!!”) and she knows Hijikata will be true to Tae. In the end, like Gintoki, Kagura isn’t bothered by it as much as Shinpachi would be. Life goes on. (Of course, Hijikata will have to buy her sukonbu now as Tae’s “little sister.”)

TSUKUYO: Tsukuyo will be happy for her friend, and, like most everyone, find the idea of HijiTae a little surprising, but otherwise, she’s fine with it. Tsukuyo doesn’t know Hijikata that well yet, despite the fact that they share some similarities. This can lead her to play the Straight Man well with others who are trying to understand HijiTae. For example, Tsukuyo doesn’t understand what the big deal is when Kyubei and Sacchan express concern and disgust when Tae tries out a dollop of mayonnaise on her meal during Diamond Perfume dinner nights (it’s a different story when Tae gets Tsukuyo to try it, though). Knowing the extent Tsukuyo went to help Hotaru seize her second chance at reuniting with the one she loved, Tsukki will be nothing but supportive for Tae and Hijikata’s unexpected love.

SACCHAN: Sacchan is surprised and cynical at first about Tae’s relationship with a government dog. It’s been a long time since Sacchan has seen Tae as a rival for anyone or anything, but the fire between them as rivals, going head-to-head with their wits, is still present – sometimes the bickering is just too fun, after all. Sacchan will make her usual snide remarks about Tae’s new relationship (maybe remark on a few things about love and such that might make Tae blush before she bites back). But ultimately, Sacchan will support Tae and even offer her services to eliminate Hijikata if he ever hurts Tae in some way. Hijikata is, of course, irked by her casual threats, and he’ll find himself bickering with Sacchan more than usual. But these are a couple of ways of how Sacchan shows that she cares. Like Tsukuyo, Sacchan was quite relieved when Tae woke up after being unconscious for some time during the end of the first battle in the Silver Soul arc. Diamond Perfume consistently demonstrate that they are there for each other despite their occasional rivalries and personality clashes.

YAMAZAKI: Yamazaki knows about Hijikata’s past about Mitsuba – maybe not completely, but he suspected it early on and probably pieced together things for himself. Yamazaki may be the butt of jokes for everyone, but he’s smart and observant in his own right. He’ll be surprised for sure, especially since Kondou used to fancy Tae for a long time. Zaki might even wonder how the subject of Mitsuba will come up, although he knows it’s not his business how that plays out between HijiTae. However, in the end, Yamazaki will think the relationship is a good thing, especially when he notices Hijikata is slightly less volatile and decreases the amount of seppuku demands to those who commit minor infractions. In a weird way, Yamazaki benefits from the relationship and does his best to stay in the good graces of both.

KATSURA: So, it’s not like Zura hangs out with Tae OR Hijikata on a regular basis, some reasons more obvious than others. But he’s still a major part of Gintama’s collective social circle. He has also advised Hijikata on matters concerning the Shinsengumi before and what they ought to do during the Farewell Shinsengumi arc. I don’t think he’ll give romance advice to either one, and Hijikata would probably be too embarrassed and proud to ask anyone else except for Kondou. But Katsura will certainly notice the change in Hijikata, who looks like his shoulders are lighter now because his relationship with Tae. He’ll be surprised, like everyone else, but not too surprised, like Gintoki. Zura has proved himself observant and a good judge of character. He believes both Tae and Hijikata are in good hands with each other.

--

I think that’s it for characters largely relevant to HijiTae. I was going to include Tetsu, but his reaction would be, more or less, the same as Yamazaki’s.

Hope that satisfies your question!

[nntssy-old]

Time Heals

Written for Writer's Month 2021, Day 12 - Time. 

Fandom: Gintama Characters/ships: Hijikata/Mitsuba, Hijikata/Tae, Hijikata&Gintoki, Kondou&Sachan Word count: 4396 Rating: T? Also on AO3

They say time heals all wounds. If they haven't healed, there hasn't been enough time.

He already left her behind once. But this time was different. There will be no spicy crackers sent to their headquarters every month. There will be no peeking over Sougo's shoulder while he's reading the letter that came with them. There will be no hope that she'll be able to find her happiness one day despite everything. There will be no chance for him to atone for ruining the only chance at happiness she had got.

Every once in a while Hijikata goes to the stash of crackers she had been sending them and takes a pack. The pile is gradually decreasing — he suspects Sougo is eating them too, although he has never seen him do it.

He bites on one of those crackers and thinks about what he could have done differently. About her spending the decade alone in her house, after everyone she knew and cared about left her behind. He could have stayed with her. They could have taken her with them to Edo. They could have found some way to get her a proper medical treatment…

His vision gets blurry, but he blames it on the damn spice. Because he has no right to cry after everything he had or hadn't done.

He finishes the pack by adding some mayonnaise occasionally. Both his eyes and taste buds burn by that time, but he feels a little bit better. For the time being.

*** 

It is the middle of the day, and the chief of the Shinsengumi is nowhere to be seen, but there's some minor thing the vice-chief can't do without him. Knowing Kondou's habits, Hijikata goes straight to the Koudoukan doujo. Next stop would be Snack Smile.

There is always a ladder or something else left near the enclosure wall — usually from the back side of the doujo — that Kondou probably used to get in. This time it's a few crates stacked upon each other. He jumps on them and over the wall easily, and, indeed, here he is — the commander of the Shinsengumi, lying unconscious on the grass, no doubt after being discovered hiding under kotatsu or something. The vice-chief doesn't feel sorry for him one bit — his stalker of a superior had it coming.

After a sigh, Hijikata just grabs at the back of Kondou's jacket and drags him towards the exit.

He has done it a few times before — before Mitsuba's death, that is. But now, for some reason, the situation brings the memories of a more distant past — how he dragged Sougo to the doujo practice back in Bushuu.

Passing by the front side of the doujo, he glances at the porch, and for a moment he sees her — Mitsuba — again. Seeing him away, as she used to back then, and smiling. Startled, he even drops the cigarette out from his mouth.

But as sudden as it appeared, the vision goes away, and it's Otae who is sitting on the porch.

"Good afternoon, Hijikata-san," she says to him with a smile. "Good work, as always." But then her face and tone change to concerned as she adds, "Are you alright? You look pale… like you've seen a ghost."

He might as well has seen it.

Hijikata tries to compose himself again, but all he can muster is a nod in response, not even the usual apology for his superior's behavior. He proceeds with dragging Kondou-san away in silence.

For the next two months, he sends Yamazaki on the dragging-Kondou-back duty.

***

He hasn't been to Mitsuba's grave since the funeral. A good chunk of the Shinsengumi was present then, with Kondo and Sougo doing all the speeches, so he just mixed in with the crowd and didn't stand out much.

He brings her a bunch of her favorite flowers. He didn't do anything like this in her life even once. In retrospect, he probably should have. The flowers are of the wild kind, and while in abundance in the countryside, it's not so easy to find them in a big city. But there aren't many impossible things for Hijikata once he sets his mind on something.

He sets them near the gravestone and looks at her name etched on it. Looks at the dates. Thinks how in between those numbers there is an entirety of human life — her life — even if it was a rather short one. Thinks how one day he too will be reduced to just a name and numbers on a stone — and that's a best-case scenario. Thinks that, if he ever gets a proper burial, he would like for it to be here, next to her.

Hijikata barely suppresses the urge to touch the stone. His throat feels strained.

In a hindsight, he should have probably brought the spicy crackers with him. But there are many things he should have done.

Hijikata leaves without saying a word. But his imagination decides to play tricks on him. Because turning away, he catches a glimpse of Mitsuba in the corner of his eye. She looks saddened.

***

It's late autumn, and they are still a bit shorthanded after the Itou incident, and there's no one brave enough and available to get the chief back, so Hijikata goes himself for once.

He hesitates a little bit before getting over the wall. Like a damn thief. Or worse — stalker.

From here it's the usual routine: locate Kondou-san, grab him, pay respects to the hostess, leave.

Otae is sweeping fallen leaves with a broom near the entrance. He raises his hand in a silent greeting.

"Haven't seen you in a while, Hijikata-san," she says with a smile. But there's something else to it. Hesitance? Concern? Sadness? "I'm sorry… Gin-san told me about what happened… I'm sorry for your loss." She bows her head.

Someone has his tongue a bit too loose.

"There's no need…" he starts, but he's unsure of what to say.

"He also told me that I might have reminded you of her. I'm sorry."

That damn Yorozuya!

It is true that the first time — the very first time — he saw Otae, she reminded him faintly of Mitsuba. But he has given it a thorough thought recently and came to a conclusion that the similarities were rather superficial. Both were in charge of their younger brothers after being orphaned, which made them mature faster. There are also devotion to a proper lady image and a slight similarity in the hairstyles. Also the smile, the kind of which makes your heart skip a beat — although he is pretty sure that with Otae it's because of fear half the time. That's about it. Mitsuba was a delicate and humble woman. Meanwhile, Yorozuya calls the Shimura girl a gorilla woman, and he's… not entirely wrong, as much as Hijikata hates to agree with him.

Kondou lets out some grunting noise breaking a rather awkward silence. Talk about gorillas. He seems to be coming about though, so it is time to leave.

"Apologies for the disturbance," Hijikata says as he turns towards the exit.

"Take care," he hears her voice in response, slightly muted.

***

Next time is less awkward. Or so he thinks at first.

"Hijikata-san, you're dropping the ash all over the place," she reprimands him. 

It startles him a little bit. But luckily, there's no threat in her voice. He's not quite sure what he can do about it though — it's not like there's a—

"Here." She holds out an ashtray towards him. "I keep it for when someone like Otose-san visits."

Hijikata stands there for a moment, holding Kondou by the back of his collar and looking uncertainly at the object, but then taps the cigarette on the edge of the ashtray, while Otae is still holding it.

Somehow, the gesture feels way too intimate.

***

There are usually several bottles of sake stored under a certain loose piece of flooring back at his quarters. They are there in case he needs some time alone to unwind after an especially stressful day. Or to drown away his sorrow and guilt — like in today's case.

Recently he has relied on his stash perhaps way too often. The amount that usually lasted him for months he now drinks up in a matter of two or three weeks. He has forgotten to restock, so right now there is only one half-empty bottle. Not enough to calm all the intrusive thoughts. 

But it's too late into the night, and Hijikata isn't in the mood to go anywhere or deal with anyone, so he will need to make do with what he has. He hopes that it at least will dull the anguish inside of him.

He doesn't even bother with getting a cup, just uncorks the bottle and drinks straight from it.

From the corner of his eye, he can almost see Mitsuba again. She looks concerned. With a hint of disapproval. 

***

This time it is tea.

"Oi, Hijikata-san, would you mind joining me for some tea? I prepared too much because I thought Shin-chan and others were coming, but it seems they're running late. We wouldn't want it all go to waste, would we?" Her voice sounds way too innocent. "Please, I insist."

Otae isn't a woman who will take no for an answer, and he isn't feeling very adventurous today, so he props unconscious Kondou's back against the wall of the doujo, and reluctantly joins her at the porch. The ashtray is already waiting at his side as he sits down.

They do some small talk — well, mostly her — about the weather and the sorts of tea — but otherwise sit in silence, sipping on the hot liquid, watching the clouds pass by. 

It's not uncomfortable. Rather soothing actually.

Perhaps having a calm moment like this wouldn't hurt every once in a while.

***

Next time when Kondou is missing from the Shinsengumi compound, it is right on time for the quarterly reports, and Hijikata is drowning in the paperwork. Reading a particularly lengthy account of accomplishments, complaints, and suggestions from the 1st Division — Sougo apparently does it on purpose — he finally snaps and goes looking for his chief who is supposed to do at least part of this. 

But Kondou is nowhere to be seen at the doujo either. Hijikata has done two circles around the building, checked all the pits, but the usual perpetrator is nowhere to be seen. But Otae is clearly at home today, so her devoted stalker is probably somewhere inside as well. He is starting to lose his patience.

Hijikata cautiously knocks at the main door.

"Excuse me," he starts, trying to suppress the irritation in his tone, but the door slides away too quickly for him to finish, and now he is standing face-to-face with Otae. At a rather close distance. Perhaps too close. He even forgets about being annoyed.

She smiles at him in a greeting, without saying a word, and puts a finger to her lips as in saying "be quiet". The smile on her face is a mischievous one. She gestures for him to go towards the west side of the building. It almost feels like they're accomplices of some sort. But he just wants his chief to get back to work — there's nothing wrong about that. 

As Hijikata follows her directions and goes around the building, she slides the door open there and points under the floor. He squats down and looks under it. It's pretty dark out there, and it takes time for his eyes to adapt.

Once they do, he is able to discern two silhouettes lying on the ground facing each other. Now that he listens carefully, he can even hear some muffled sounds and their muted voices. There's also a faint smell of natto and potato chips.

One of the people hiding under the floor is unmistakably Kondou-san. Another seems to be the Glasses Ninja girl who usually follows Yorozuya around. And they're playing Uno of all things. While Hijikata has been buried in paperwork in a stuffy room back at the headquarters. His blood is about to boil.

"Sarutobi-san..." Otae meanwhile has bent over the wooden flooring to peek under it, her body half-suspended upside down.

The two stalker buddies turn right away. Their faces are pale like they've seen a ghost.

"I wondered why we had problems with rats recently," Otae continues, "but perhaps it is because of all the food crumbs the two of you are leaving around." 

"Kondou-san," Hijikata says in turn, trying to sound polite despite the anger, "if you're feeling bored, there's plenty of reports for you to read back at the Shinsengumi compound." He is grabbing at the hilt of his katana. Otae has already jumped to the ground next to him — he doesn't even ponder on when she has managed to get her naginata. 

But the ninja is fast. She grabs Kondou by the collar and swiftly crawls away in a perpendicular direction. By the time he and Otae catch up to them near the other side of the building, the so-called Sarutobi-san is already jumping over the wall carrying the chief of the Shinsengumi with her arms under his knees and back. 

Hijikata lets out a sigh.

"Any idea where they might have headed?"

~~ Intermission 1 - Sachan ~~

She was hoping to find Gin-san at the doujo today, especially after he loudly proclaimed such an intention yesterday.

But it seems there's only Otae-san now, doing the chores in the yard, not even her brother or Kagura-chan are hanging around. And Sachan doesn't even have any work today to busy herself with.

While thinking of what to do, hanging on the ceiling, she hears a rustling sound from somewhere under the floor. Perhaps Otae isn't completely alone after all.

Avoiding being noticed by the hostess, Sachan crawls under the floor, and indeed, Kondo-san is also on duty today — well, not on his proper duty duty — snacking on some potato chips and watching Otae's feet from afar. She decides to sneak up on him. It is so easy to startle him that she has to forcefully cover his mouth so as to not betray their presence.

"Ah, it's you, Assassin girl," he says in a muffled voice.

"You seem to be bored."

"I'm not bored, just taking a break!"

"Do you want to play some Uno?"

They start playing, but the chief of the Shinsengumi seems to be as unlucky in games as he is in love. Which, of course, gets him frustrated. She occasionally forcibly covers his mouth again to prevent him from getting too loud.

Suddenly, while they are still engrossed in another round of the game, her instincts kick in, and Sachan feels some sort of dangerous presence. Perhaps, even a killing intent.

"Sarutobi-san..." she hears a very familiar voice, as if right on cue.

Sachan turns to the voice — Otae's head is upside down as she is looking at their hideout under the floor — menacing aura and all. But she's not alone. There is also the Demonic Vice-Chief of the Shinsengumi right beside her, looking angry and just as his nickname suggests. Each of them alone would look like pretty bad news right now, but together... they are like a match made in Hell.

Sachan doesn't even hear what they have to say, her self-preservation instincts taking over, and all her senses telling her to run. She grabs Kondou-san by the collar of his jacket — in an act of solidarity, or perhaps she has already grown rather fond of him to just leave him behind in the imminent danger — and retreats.

Jumping from roof to roof, with protesting Kondou in her arms, she thinks that her love rival and the vice-chief actually look rather good together. She wonders what is the relationship between the two.

Sachan drops the chief of the Shinsengumi off at his headquarters. Literally. Through the roof.   

~~ Intermission ends ~~

Next time Hijikata is unlucky enough to come just before lunch.

She sees him from the east side of the building even before he's able to find Kondou-san. Out of courtesy, he comes closer to ask her. But his stomach betrays him in a rather loud voice.

"Oh my, Hijikata-san, you must be hungry. We are actually about to have some tamagoyaki. Why don't you join us?"

Oh, shit, the infamous abused eggs. They are slowly becoming a local legend. Of the horror kind.

"No, I'm in a hurry actually…"

"Oh… But you can't work on an empty stomach, can you? Wait here, I will bring you some." And she rushes back inside before he even has a chance to stop her.

Hijikata ponders on how rude it would be to refuse now. And what body part he should protect from the punch. But before he comes to any conclusion, she's already back with a small plate and a radiant smile on her face.

Otae doesn't take no for an answer. But he isn't even capable of saying no to such an enthusiastic face. Perhaps because he just has difficulties saying no to women in general. Yes, that must be it.

It's just burnt eggs, how bad could it be? Not to mention he has his emergency bottle of mayonnaise with him.

~~ Intermission 2 - Gintoki ~~

"Look, he's about to put mayonnaise on it!" Kagura lets out a loud whisper, peeking through a slightly open sliding door. "Ew!"

"Shh, maybe it will cancel out somehow. The more he eats the less we will need to. Until Shinpachi makes some normal food." Gintoki's head is just above hers, as he's peeping in the next room as well. He is expecting Otae to stop Hijikata from desecrating already desecrated eggs any moment now.

But it never comes.

"He's eating it!" Kagura exclaims.

Hijikata is sitting with his back towards them, so they can't see his face. But lately, the vice-chief of the Shinsengumi has been looking… not his best. He has reasons for moping around, but it has already been like half a year since the death of Okita's sister.

Like you're the one to talk when it comes to coping.   

They keep watching as Hijikata finishes his plate, without either choking or puking. He is about to return the plate and doesn't even look like he's in a dire need of a bathroom.  

"Hijikata-san, you need to take better care of yourself. If not for yourself, then for people who care about you," Gintoki hears Otae's quiet voice suddenly.

Says the woman who is about to give him a food poisoning.

"There are fewer and fewer people like that lately," Hijikata responds in a bit of a grave voice after some pause.

As he returns the plate, their hands — Otae's and Hijikata's — touch. The man freezes.

"You're… mistaken," she responds. There's seemingly an eye contact, and the vice-chief looks somewhat surprised.

Gintoki hears Kagura hold her breath and lean in a bit closer. Like she's sometimes doing when watching a romance drama.

Coming to his senses, Hijikata is visibly flustered and suddenly in a rush to leave. So much that he almost drops the plate. But still, it doesn't look like diarrhea is the cause.

"It seems Kondou-san is not here today… So I'll be on my way… Thank you for the meal." The vice-chief bows exaggeratedly and turns away to leave.

"Here goes our hope of salvation," says Gintoki after Hijikata isn't in sight anymore, but the possibility of food poisoning isn't what occupies his mind at the moment.

Otae hasn't moved from her place yet.

Kagura turns away from the door. She seems to be contemplating something. Perhaps processing what she has just seen. Gintoki follows and can't help but plunge into thinking as well.

Meanwhile, Kondou slides from under the kotatsu, looking rather sleepy. 

"Has someone called me?" 

~~ Intermission ends ~~

It is late into the night, and the silence seems too loud again. Hijikata is thinking about opening up his stash — he has restocked recently after all.

He gets one bottle out and is looking at the label, contemplating.

People that care about me, huh?

Kondou's concerned face comes to his mind. Sougo hasn't tried to kill him as much lately either. He remembers Yamazaki and his other subordinates exchanging glances when he was shouting at them while still being hungover. Even Yorozuya hasn't been as cocky when they happen to cross paths lately.

You're… mistaken. 

Eventually, he decides to put the bottle back.

Perhaps a cup of tea might be better.

As he's about to head towards the kitchen, Hijikata catches a glimpse of Mitsuba in the corner of his eye again, but the vision disappears as soon as he turns his head.

He's pretty sure there has been a trace of a smile on her face this time.

***

It's early spring and another drag-Kondou-back-to-work day. 

Hijikata is making a circle around the Koudoukan doujo in search of his superior. He's about to pass by the main entrance, expecting to see the irresistible — as in you have no chance of resistance — owner and her charming smile.

But it's Yorozuya's uncouth mug instead.

"Yo," he says simply.

Hijikata gets startled.

"What are you doing here?"

"Were you expecting to see someone else, eh, Hijikata-kun?" says the silver-haired samurai in his insufferable tone. "Someone prettier maybe? With a ponytail maybe? Am I not enough for you, Hijikata-kun?" He pauses but then adds with an even more shit-eating grin than before, "How were the tamagoyaki last time?"

Hijikata is reminded of accidentally touching Otae's hand instead.

You're… mistaken.

"I… You…" He is considerably flustered — there's no way around that — but for what reason?

"She went out to buy some groceries. Must be back soon," Yorozuya adds simply, picking at his nose, not even looking at him.

Hijikata calms down — more or less — and just goes past the other man, intending to proceed with his search.

"You know… if there's such thing as Heaven" — there's seriousness in Gintoki's voice that makes Hijikata stop in his tracks — "she probably just wants for you to be happy. Just as you did for her."

He remembers Mitsuba's concerned face conjured by his imagination.

"I know," he responds out loud without facing the other. But in actuality, it is a rather fresh thought in his mind. 

"You wouldn't want to disappoint her, would you?"

He didn't think of it like that before. Not explicitly, at least.

"Anyway, the Gorilla should be just around this corner. Otae has knocked him out just before leaving," Yorozuya says in a more casual tone.

Hijikata finds Kondou-san just where he was told. He grabs his superior by the collar and proceeds to the exit, raising a hand in goodbye to Yorozuya, still without facing him. The vice-chief's mind is deep in thought.

As he's turning out of the gate, Hijikata comes face-to-face with Otae. Again.

She's smiling radiantly. While he feels like he's getting flustered for the second time today.

"Good afternoon, Hijikata-san. Are you leaving already?"

He only manages to say something barely intelligible in response. He can almost hear Yorozuya laughing.

"Too bad… Thank you for your hard work anyway."

He nods and proceeds with dragging Kondou-san away past her. There are a lot of things on his mind. 

***

He comes to visit Mitsuba again.

He brings her a bunch of her favorite flowers. He always forgets their name, so there are certain difficulties when talking to the florists, but he is persistent in trying to describe them to the best of his ability. There aren't many impossible things for Hijikata once he sets his mind on something after all.

The grave is well tended to — Sougo must be visiting much more often than he is. And he better be.

He sets the flowers near the gravestone and looks at her name etched on it.

"Long time no see."

That's not exactly true. She has come to him — to his mind — quite often, almost every time he was left alone.

Hijikata sits down in front of the grave and starts talking. 

He starts with little things: the stuff that has happened recently, how is Sougo doing, how are Kondou and the others.

He talks, and talks, and talks. 

He bows his head and apologizes for not visiting sooner, and more often in general. He voices all of his regrets. The things he should have done. Apologizes for both the things he had done and the things he hadn't.

He promises to take good care of Sougo.

He tells her of all the connections they have made since coming to Edo. Yamazaki. Matsudaira and his daughter. Yorozuya. The Shimura siblings. Tells her of the weird rivalry Sougo has with the China Amanto girl. How their days are almost never dull.

He tells her all this so she doesn't have to worry. So she can rest in peace.

In the end, he asks her permission for him to move on. Not to forget — because her image will forever be ingrained in his heart. But he also feels that there is still some place for others too. To move on, for the sake of the people who depend on him. Who — just so happened — care about him, as hard as it is for him to acknowledge this. 

Then Hijikata sits in silence, with his head down, for a long, long time, as if indeed waiting for someone to answer.

When, in the end, he stands up, he feels lighter. Like the cage around his chest has finally broken.

"I will bring the crackers next time," he says with a smile before turning away to leave. After a few paces, he stops and slightly turns back to look at the grave.

He sees Mitsuba in the corner of his eye again. She is holding the flowers and smiling. He intends to keep it that way.    

***

The spring is in full force now, and the trees are blooming.

He doesn't remember when he stopped even thinking of sending someone else to retrieve the chief of the Shinsengumi from the Koudoukan doujo. 

For once, he decides to enter through the front entrance.

It doesn't take long for Otae to notice him. She's already waving at him. And, of course, smiling. And he cannot but smile — just a little bit — back.

They say time heals all wounds. If they haven't healed, there hasn't been enough time. Or the right words haven't been said yet. Or, more importantly, heard.

[romelleah]

❏ the ball ❏

(royal!mitsukou au)

for more context i advise you go check out my headcanon post which is just a few posts down (literally 2).

Today was the day. The stupid ball that the king and queen, Mitsuba’s parents, had arranged for Mitsuba to meet more people outside of the kingdom. Mitsuba has already put in a bad word for their royal family- him not socialising with anybody from other kingdoms but Hanako, and even then Hanako only hung out with Nene and Kou. Inside the kingdom wasn’t too much of a different story either, with Kou being the only one he socialised with. Kou did hangout with Hanako and Nene, but Kou was Mitsuba’s personal knight. After he was on duty to look after the young prince while he was asleep and saving him from a deadly assassin, he was crowned Mitsuba’s personal knight.

Kou didn’t even think he deserved the title. He was just lucky and pushed him off the balcony at the right time. It was the first time he killed someone and he hated it, he didn’t want to be a knight. He just wanted to be a stupid chef or something. Kou didn’t find being Mitsuba’s personal knight that bad, as the two actually spent a lot of meaningful time together. Mitsuba’s cockiness and sour additude became easy to decode after a while and Kou was always there to comfort him, even when he was being downright rude.

Mitsuba was pacing around his room, his fingers running through his hair as Kou sat quietly on his best friend’s bed, twiddling his thumbs awkwardly. “Holy shit, Yako is going to be so fucking mad at me if I don’t make at least one good connection tonight...” Mitsuba muttered anxiously, his face as white as snow. Kou stood up, looking for something to say. “Maybe you shouldn’t insult whoever starts asking to you? Compliment them instead!” Kou cheered, smiling brightly. Mitsuba looked him in the eye, a smile forming- before the small boy broke into a pitiful and degrading front “Nice idea lame ass traffic safety earring boy.” Kou was taken aback by the younge prince, crossing his arms and pouting. “Maybe just don’t talk.” he suggested in response to the harsh nickname.

Mitsuba angrily picked up his tie from next to Kou and wrapped it around the collar of his shirt, fuming. “I hate my stupid parents, I hate this stupid ball and I hate this stupid tie.” he sulked, struggling to put his tie on. Kou glances over to the boy, clearly extremely stressed. He approached the petite figure and softly placed his hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry,” he assured Mitsuba softly. “I’ll do it for you” Kou suggested, which seemed to calm Mitsuba down. He calmly adjusted his expensive tie, as Mitsuba wiped away the barley noticeable tear off of his cheek. Kou decided not to say anything about it and finished fixing Mitsuba’s terrible attempt at tying a tie. Mitsuba blushed from his friend’s gentle contact, trying not to focus on how pretty he looked up close, or how his eyes looked liked they were glowing.

“When we get to the ball you’re not leaving my side.” Mitsuba stated, putting on his simple jacket piece and putting another pin into his hair. “You know that I won’t”. Kou smiled, throwing him a thumbs up. “Good. And you better not try talking to any ugly girls either- you’d just take advantage of their poor miserable state like a pervert!” Mitsuba teased, returning back to his usual self. Kou shook his head, chuckling softly. “I won’t. Now I need to get dressed so I’ll see you in a bit.” Kou waved goodbye to the shorter boy and walked out his large door, closing it quietly in the process. i

Mitsuba flopped down onto his bed, almost as if he was going to fall into a deep slumber and never ever wake up. The ball haunted him every second as the even got closer. 30 more minutes and his nightmare would come true. The clock would strike ten and he’d be announced to the crowd of people, the same crowd of people who he’d disappoint with his personality and appearance. ‘Are you a girl?’ and ‘You��re so rude...’ were phrases he was used to by now, but his parents were counting on him. It was all so stupid. To take his mind off the ball, Mitsuba got up and took out his hair tie. He could at least see if he could change up his hair a bit. He put his hair up like usual, but pinned back his bangs, which were covering his left eye.

“I forgot you had another eye. Don’t worry, you look cute” Kou chuckled, walking into the bedroom quietly. Mitsuba rolled his eyes and turned around, quickly taken back by the tall boy’s appearance. He was stunning. “Do you have a fever or something Mitsuba?” Kou asked, walking towards him. “No! I’m fine, don’t worry...” Mitsuba walked past him, covering his face bashfully. He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts before looking at the clock. “It’s almost time to go, so we should do that.” Mitsuba announced, tugging into Kous arm. “Uh, okay.” Kou was alerted by the sudden contact but went along with it. He stared at Mitsuba lovingly as the two raced through the empty halls of the castle together, the instruments’ music flooding through through the area.

The two finally reached the door, looking over at the announcer who opened the door for the two, Kou standing slightly behind Mitsuba. The doors opened and the loud music and lights flooded their vision. “Prince Mitsuba Souske of Kamome” an annoying voice called out, alerting all of the guests. Mitsuba closed his eyes and swallowed his pride, walking down the giant staircase. He walked on with Kou closely behind him. Kou reached his hand out to hold Mitsuba’s, which frightened him at first but slowly grew into the contact. “Perv.” was all Mitsuba could say, slightly choked up by all the eyes staring at the two. Well, mostly Mitsuba. They finally made it to the King and Queen’s side, starting a conversation that quickly died out by Tsuchigomori reminding Mitsuba that bonds needed to be made.

Mitsuba rolled his eyes, and was about to flip him off while walking away but was quickly reminded that this wasn’t an empty ballroom, and that there was real life people around. Kou tapped on Mitsuba’s shoulder, frightening him. “Holy sh-“

“I think someone wants to talk to you?” Kou smiled slightly, showing Mitsuba to an average sized girl with green hair and an uniterested expression. Kou moved behind Mitsuba once again, leaving Mitsuba (almost) alone with the mysterious girl dressed in black. “My name is Sakura Nanamine, it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” Sakura bowed, lifting her dress up gently. Mitsuba panicked, dusting himself off before doing the same. “I’m Mitsuba Souske, I’m happy you’re here.” Mitsuba replied, dying inside at how stupid and formal he sounded and Kou internally cringed about how nice he was acting. “I’m only here to get away from the boy whom I was arranged to marry. He’s on the other side of the room and I’m avoiding him, so we can just pretend to talk.” Sakura suggested, taking a sip of wine or whatever she was drinking. Mitsuba nodded, adjusting his hair slightly as Kou was staring at his feet.

“How old are you?”

“I’m fourteen.”

“Why don’t you look like your parents?”

“I don’t know, my mom met a nice mailman probably-“

“Mitsuba!” Kou piped in, scared that this would frighten her or start a rumour, making Mitsuba chuckle. Sakura formed a small smile on her face, shaking her head. “You two are amusing, that’s nice. Are you two romantically involved?” Nanamine asked, the two frozen in place after she spoke those words. Kou turned a bright red, shaking his head while Mitsuba played with his hands awkwardly. “No, no! I just saved his life and now I have to stay by his side, for like- ever so...” Kou assured her, scratching the back of his neck. Mitsuba looked away, blushing. “Oh, it appears my presence is needed elsewhere. I hope us two can meet again.” Sakura smiled, before walked off into the distance. Mitsuba let out a deep breath, hiding his face as he turned around to face Kou. “And that is why I hate talking to people. Most of them are dickwads anyways.” Kou shook his head, smiling as he took a hold of Mitsuba’s hand gently. “That was really good! You didn’t insult her at all!” He laughed, making Mitsuba roll his eyes for the 25th time that evening.

Soon a slow romantic song started playing and everyone gathered around the ballroom and started dancing with a partner. Mitsuba looked around, before turning his face towards Kou. Kou looked at the small boy and smiled, before bowing down and taking Mitsuba’s hand. “May I have this dance?” He said sarcastically, chuckling, looking at his prince. Mitsuba blushed vibrantly, taking his hand and kissing it softly. “Fucking pervert, fine. But if you feel the urge to turn it into one of those scenarios like in porn, I’m running away.” Mitsuba and Kou started dancing like the rest of the others, maintain a steady yet comfortable conversation. “The hell? What porn? You’re so weird, Mitsuba!” Kou replied, shocked by the young boy’s words. Mitsuba shook his head, trying to keep up the pace while dancing.

“If I step on your foot I’m not sorry, it’s your fault for wanting to dance with me.” Mitsuba stated somewhat warmly, as if he didn’t mean the things that he was saying- which he didn’t. As the two were dancing, it was like time had stopped. The light had stopped being the distracting and the music stopped being loud. Their hands started becoming comforting and their gazes became necessary, as if they were to look away they would die. Kou didn’t want to let this moment go, as the small, cocky and rude boy’s presence was like a gift. Despite his additude, Kou had completely and utterly fell in love with the small and feminine boy.

Mitsuba knew in that moment that he wasn’t alone in the way he was feeling. At the two came closer, his heart beat faster and his lips parted. His mind was at ease yet so crowded, and the butterflies in his stomach seemed to all become a lot easier to handle. It was like that everything that had happened up until this moment was worth it, because it mean that he could spend his time with the one person who would tolerate him. The one person he could truly feel comfort in being with. They were in love, and nothing could ever prove that they weren’t.

For that moment, everything else was irrelevant. It was just them. And they were infinite.

[lostsoulaltair]

OnS Theories (S7). Third Theory - Yu’s resolution

Hey guys, I’ve been busy, finals are coming, luckily, I just have to finish one task and everything will be over! But anyways, returning to this lovely section of theories, I’ll greet you with a new one, therefore, LET’S BEGIN!!

Now, this title is quite trickish or more like a headcanon, and true, this is a theory and a headcanon.

To begin with, chapter 85 just gave us raw emotions towards our main protagonist, but with this resolution, what do I mean?

To begin with, we have some issues here that will surround Yu soon:

A battle against Guren

A divided squad, friends who won’t see others the same way

Upcoming enemies

The painful truth

Guren’s possible farewell (not now but it is getting closer)

This issues will strike Yu in a hard way, it’s not easy for him to stand against emotional problems and mainly if its related to people who are close to them.Therefore let’s begin explaining these points that are headcanons and theories:

1. A battle against Guren

So far, we saw that Noya, Guren and Mahiru arrived to Yu’s location and not to say Mika. But of course, the meeting wasn’t a friendly meeting, something will happen and of course that just means a battle. The battle for Guren will go down mainly because he’s running out of power, the chains that kept his friends down to absorb their life force or energy faded in this chapter.

The issue with this point of the theory is that Yu won’t like to face Guren again; many antagonize Guren and yeah, I can’t blame them, it’s true, his actions weren’t the correct ones but if sometimes they’re required; though, even with that point of view of us, but Yu’s point of view is that Guren is that someone who taught him how to fight, how to live, how to protect those dear to him; when it is correct to sacrifice or not.

Mika won’t hesitate to attack but this would make Yu dwell an inner war inside of him; the result will likely be that Guren might be taken down or at least sparred.

2.A divided squad

This is another thing Yu will likely face up when the time is right; Yoichi and Kimizuki are down, their trust towards Guren, the JIDA and mainly their squad leader is shattered; they more likely won’t get involved in quarrels that are not theirs; Mitsuba and Narumi will likely meet up with the JIDA or if they have a bare chance, they might actually catch up with Kimizuki and Yoichi but their trust towards their leader will be gone making them shatter; this kind of situation will likely be a hard time for Yuichiro since he treasures his family the most.

Resolution: The only choice for him is that he needs to give them time and approach them which is something he’ll surely make it up. So far, he’s grown not only with strenght, he learned to understand people and comprehend them.

3.Upcoming enemies

With the situation of the return of the First Progenitor; it is likely they arrive to their current spot in less than two chapters; they either will likely kidnap the one who keeps the first sleeping for the time being; but at the same time; they can no longer detect the signal which would lead them to search up and end up meeting with Yu, Mika and Guren.

Resolution:The most possible outcome Yu will face is that he’d have to escape or be caught by the vampire progenitors which is quite unlikely due to their main interest.

4.The painful truth

Something that most desire to see is Yu learning the truth about him; how he managed to exist and everything; which is something that only Noya will likely do. This might actually shatter Yu’s will for the first time and mainly because it’ll be a massive bomb of information; which is something that no one would likely expect.

Resolution: The most possible resolution to take for him is that he faces up the truth and keeps going to find the mysteries and solutions for the world and his family.

5.Guren’s possible farewell

This is related to the first point but sightly different; indeed, it is likely Yu, Mika and Guren will end up facing each other; once Guren’s energy runs out; it is possible that Noya might want to take control over his body. It is unlikely but still, there’s possibility for this; if this were to come a possible scenario of Guren being unable to stop a maddening power; it’d be left to Yu to fight against that, even meaning to shed his hands with blood.

Resolution: This situation will likely shatter him as well, Guren means a lot to him and mainly for the time they spent when he escaped from the Vampire Capital.

At the end, Yu’s final decision will come up related with the situation that ends up happening; this theory is more focused as a headcanon but it is likely that these scenarios end up happening thanks to how the story is going so far.

What do you think will happen? Share your thoughts!!

[dietarysalad]

Street War – Chapter 18

Sougo carefully placed the paper bag down on Hongou’s bedside table, taking care not to crumple any of the cranes inside. He was about to leave when his phone vibrated. He groaned. Is it Hijibaka? Ah, is he gonna yell at me for running out of school today? As he took his phone out of his pocket, he noted the time. It’s getting pretty late. The China girl should hurry up and get home before any weirdoes come out. At the thought, he smirked a little. Though I suppose I should be more worried about them than her.

Hitting ‘answer’ on his phone, Sougo sat down on the chair beside where Hongou’s bed once was to listen to Hijikata’s lecturing. However, no lecturing did come. Sougo narrowed his eyes. “Oi, Hijikata-san?” he questioned into the microphone. He heard a low grumble from the other side of the line, but could not make out a word that was being said. “Hijikata-san?” he tried again. There was no answer, only some noise in the background. Did he butt-dial me…? Before he had a chance to hang up, he finally heard something that sounded like a human speaking. A muffled human, but a human nonetheless.

“Hah? What’re you sayin’, brother? I ain’t got no int’rest in none o’ that.” The voice sounded slurred and suspiciously similar to that of the Yorozuya boss. If it weren’t for the fact that Sougo was listening into the conversation through a phone, he was sure that he could smell the alcohol in Gintoki’s breath. What’s going on over there? “C’mon, now. Tensions’ve been buildin’ up in the gangs. I reckon it’s time to settle things, don’t you?” Sougo noted that as Hijikata’s voice, which only served to confuse him ever the more. What’re those two doing together?

“Tensions in your gang, maybe,” Gintoki slurred, his tone accusatory. “None o’ the guys in the Yorozuya are pitchin’ fer a fight, y’ hear? I git that the whole gang is stewin’ o’er the passin’ of that nice, older Okita, but dis ain’t any o’ our problem, yeah?” Sougo flinched a little at the mention of his sister’s name. It had been true that the Shinsengumi’s morale hadn’t been good lately – Mitsuba’s death had taken a toll on everyone. “Yeah, yeah,” Hijikata dismissed. “But listen, let’s stake it this way. We have one big fight, the loser disbands. We beat you, everyone blows off their steam and it’s all good. They need a good fight to get it out of their systems – the usual ones ain’t gonna cut it. You beat us, you never hafta deal with us again.”

While Hijikata was definitely more level-headed than Gintoki was, there was no question that he also had some alcohol in his system. Sougo could not believe his ears. A big fight? With the loser disbanding? Hijibaka, are you out of your mind? C’mon, boss, you’ve gotta say no. However, it seemed that the alcohol had far too great of an influence on Gintoki’s brain for him to make a rational decision. “Sure, sure, whatever,” he slowly managed to get the words off his tongue. “Tonight, then. Usual time ‘n’ place. Now leave me ta drink.” “Don’t get yerself too inebriated,” Hijikata sneered. “We’re gonna be dukin’ it out, tonight.” “Dun’ need a brain to beat you senseless.”

Usually, Sougo would rejoice at any form of insult towards Hijikata. At the moment, however, he could only think about what had happened. Did our idiot bosses just order an all-out war in their drunkenness? For fuck’s sake. He scratched his head in disbelief, turning his phone off. This isn’t how sis’ would want things. What was that idiot thinking?

In the midst of his quiet thinking, Sougo heard the door open. He shifted an eye to peer at the visitor, and his eyebrows raised slightly in surprise. “Oh?” he remarked. “I thought you had some business?” He turned towards Kagura as she approached him, her eyes focused on the paper bag that he had just set down on Hongou’s bedside table. “Yeah, my brother’s coming to pick me up,” she replied, looking up at him. “Just wanted to make sure that you didn’t throw my cranes away.” “Hmph, I didn’t. I should’ve, though.” “Is that so? Well, I’m outta here then. If Hisashi-kun doesn’t get all of my cranes, though, you can bet that I’m gonna send you to the Moon at our next fight.”

Sougo gulped, turning tensely away from her. “Uh, actually…” He paused. I don’t need to be telling this to the enemy. His eyes looked back at Kagura. Even if she is kinda cute. Oh, well, she’ll find out eventually. “Nothing,” Sougo finished. “Huh? What’s up with you?” Kagura‘s tone was suspicious as she questioned him. “Nothing, hurry up and get going. I’m not looking forward to what that brother of yours will do to me if you don’t get home on time.” “Alright then…?” With a bit of hesitation, she turned and left, leaving Sougo to sort out his thoughts on his own.

When Kagura finally made her way outside, she found her brother waiting for her. “Alright, then,” he cheerfully stated. “Let’s get ‘ya home.” “Hmm, ah – Kamui?” Kagura spoke. “Yeah?” “Why do you think Gin-chan didn’t pick up his phone when I called him?” she asked, placing her knuckles to her bottom lip in though. “What is this, a father-complex-?” Kamui barely got the word out before Kagura socked him one in the gut. “Gah…!” he groaned, shaking a little in pain. “It seems you take after me with strength, huh, lil’ sis?” Kamui rubbed his abdomen before continuing. “Gintoki did say that he was heading out for a couple o’ drinks. Maybe he was too intoxicated to answer?”

Kagura made a face at her brother and groaned. “We just cleaned the carpet,” she complained, a whine at the back of her throat. “He’d better not throw up all over it.” “Correction, dear sister,” Kamui raised an index finger. “I cleaned the carpet. You laid on the couch and read Jump.” Deciding that she did not want to listen to her brother’s rabble for any longer, Kagura promptly stalked off, leaving her brother to chuckle and follow along behind her.

Ten o’clock. Gintoki groaned as he walked out of the bar, only half-sober. His footsteps were unsteady as he walked along the footpath and he found it difficult to avoid bumping into anyone who was walking in the opposite direction to him. He furrowed his eyebrows. The gang fight was due in two hours and he had not yet notified anyone, nor was he in any fighting condition. Hijikata had left the bar about an hour earlier, much less drunk than Gintoki was. As he continued along the footpath, heading home to his apartment, he groaned and took out his phone to send a group text to the Yorozuya. However, when the screen to his phone turned on, Gintoki’s eyes narrowed at what he saw.

Five missed calls from Kagura and a message from Kamui? What could have happened? Countless ‘worst case scenarios’ flashed through his mind, further agitating his alcohol-induced headache. He quickly unlocked his phone and opened up Kamui’s text, the throbbing in his head lessening as he read through it. “Your daughter is home right now, ‘n’ the hospital stuff went okay. Please don’t throw up on the carpet.” Gintoki sighed, relieved, then promptly moved to send a message to the Yorozuya members.

“Meeting over at the usual hideout immediately. Drop everything, kinda urgent.” Reading over his message a total of zero times to check if he had gotten all the details correct, Gintoki pressed send and, immediately, his thoughts were cut off by a ringing sound in his ears. He had thought that his headache could not get any worse, but it seemed that he had thought too soon. The whirling in his head stirred up his stomach and he gripped an arm against his abdomen.

Moving to the side of the footpath so as to get out of everyone’s way, Gintoki grasped onto a streetlamp pole and hunched over. He could feel his stomach begin to lurch, and his awful headache did nothing to help him. It was pathetic of him to have gotten so drunk, but Hijikata had offered to pay for the night so he had not given much thought to hold himself back. Big mistake. Plus, this ringing is awful – don��t think I’ve ever gotten so drunk that my ears started ringing this bad. And is it just me? Or is the ringing getting even louder-?

“Gintoki?” He looked up to find Tsukuyo standing a couple of steps away from him, her phone in hand ringing with the sound of the notification from his earlier message. So I’m not going crazy. “Ah, Tsukky?” he managed to slur out. Tsukuyo grimaced, opening her mouth to yell at him. However, she was cut off with the contortion of Gintoki’s face. “I think I’m gonna-!” Though it was dark, the light from the streetlamp showed Tsukuyo enough of Gintoki’s face for her to understand the implications behind his words. “Hold on!” She quickly dumped her groceries out of their plastic bag, holding it out for Gintoki. He gratefully grasped it, feeling the rush of alcohol, half-digested food and acid quickly ascend from his stomach.

Tsukuyo gently rubbed at Gintoki’s back while using her free hand to fetch a water bottle from her groceries which were littering the ground. After he had finished heaving, Tsukuyo opened the bottle and lifted it to his lips. Gintoki welcomed the feeling of the fresh, cool water as it slid smoothly down his throat. Once he had finished drinking, Tsukuyo took off her cloak and used the remaining water to dampen it. She wiped carefully at Gintoki’s face, cleaning off the spew that hadn’t made it into the bag and had landed on Gintoki.

With a slight daze in his eyes, Gintoki blinked a couple of times at Tsukuyo’s kind gesture. “Maybe I should take Kagura’s advice and make you her mother…” His words made Tsukuyo flinch, a blush creeping across her features as she furrowed her brow in embarrassment. “Don’t say things like that when you’re drunk, Gintoki,” Tsukuyo snarled as she spoke, her words shaky with anger and mortification. “Maybe.” Tsukuyo growled a little.

“Also, what exactly is this?” Tsukuyo questioned, lifting her phone towards his face, the light blinding him momentarily before he was able to read the message that he had sent only moments earlier. “Ah, yeah,” he nervously responded. “I think maybe I’ve been played…” “Played?” Tsukuyo reiterated. “Mm. That mayo-freak called me out for a couple of drinks. Said something about wanting to thank me for accommodating Okita Mitsuba’s health the past couple of years.” “Okay…?” “Not quite sure what happened, but free booze is free booze, y’ know?” Gintoki sighed. “Next thing I know the guy’s calling an all-out gang war, and I’m sayin’ “oh, sure, let’s go”.” “You did not.” “I did too.”

After a slight pause, Tsukuyo gulped down her fears and continued her line of questioning. “I’m afraid to ask, but… What are the stakes?” she slowly drew out. Gintoki hesitated for a few moments. “Disbandment,” he eventually managed to utter. “Disbandment?!” Tsukuyo repeated, incredulous. “Well, we’re gonna have to deal with it. We’ll run over everything at the hideout, so we should hurry.” As he began to walk away to find a bin for the plastic bag containing his regurgitation, Tsukuyo stepped toward him and smacked him on the back.

“You’re such an idiot, Gintoki!” she yelled.

Author’s Note

Uh-oh, what’s gonna happen eh? Also, sorry if you aren’t a fan of GinTsu – but I kinda dig the ship so… Eheh, couldn’t help myself.

[rubiaryutheroyal]

When Something Smells It’s Gotta Be Cthulhu - Ep 7

Gyakuten Saiban CoC (Call of Cthulhu)

Uploader: 久瀬 さん (Kuze san)

mylist: http://www.nicovideo.jp/mylist/58256490

Ep 7: http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm30696002

Nicoviewer: http://nicoviewer.net/sm30696002

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This video series is a replay of a CoC game played with the uploader’s family & friends featuring GS characters (Phoenix, Maya, Edgeworth, Larry), with a few tweaks in the dialogue. It follows a scenario provided by kanin @ <http://kanin-hib.hateblo.jp/> called “Touring the Town”.

Oh, Larry.

KP: The shrine… feels like nothing has changed about it.

Larry: So there’s some diety they’re honoring inside?

KP: Well, let’s open it up with the key.

Larry: It’s open!

KP: The shrine itself isn’t very spacious, and inside, a “high-quality box” has been left in the open. There’s nothing else that stands out. The box’s shape is square, its size is large enough that one’s arms couldn’t wrap around it all the way. The “high-quality box” is locked, so if you want to open it, you’ll have to lockpick it.

Larry: It’s big…

Maya: It’s a big box.

KP: Yep, a big box.

Edgeworth: Hmm… We don’t have a lockpick. I get the impression Larry can’t get through it either.

KP: Well, in your situation, other than Larry, you don’t have other way to get it open.

Larry: Akago can’t help somehow?

KP: “This is also the first time I’ve seen it,” Akago says, and with full confidence, “No one is allowed to touch His artifact (though I have no idea why).”

Larry: So this box is the artifact?

Maya: Then, why is this artifact this big box?

Edgeworth: I wonder about that. Perhaps the object Larry touched earlier is a part of this holy artifact, or something like it.

Larry: Don’t bring up that scary thing again!

Maya: Ohh… the reason we can’t touch it is… because of fear, huh…

Edgeworth: Hm… What will we do? Do we leave it and head back to the cave…? Though, I am concerned that if we go there again, we might not come back.

KP: There might be something in that cave, huh?

Larry: Then, in this case, how about I touch this thing?

KP: I’d think I should be the one to touch this time.

Maya: “Don’t touch it!” I tell you, “If you do, you might just be out! And if not, something even worse might happen! Probably…”

Edgeworth: If it’s just the box, well, in the worst case we break it, I’ll help pay for it… Though, if breaking it open is too difficult to manage, perhaps we should just leave it alone?

Larry: Edgey! You’re so reliable!!

Maya: “I don’t think we should open it, it might be bad!” We should just leave it.

KP: You wanna challenge it? With a snap, using tools, with STRx5 again? Any takers?

Edgeworth: …Larry.

Larry: Okay, I’ll do it!

KP: Uh, okay.

[roll: STRx5 (65) -> 72, fail]

KP: Um… So Larry suddenly feels an intense headache and he’s knocked unconscious. Out like a light. That means he won’t be able to wake up for the next hour of play.

Edgeworth: L-Larry?

Maya: L-Larry!?

Larry: Whoops, got some bad luck there!

Edgeworth: I-I get shaken up here… “Um…” This isn’t something that’s meant to be broken open, is it?

KP: At the same time, everyone witnesses before their eyes, Larry’s hand crystallizing.

Edgeworth: I’m sorry, Larry…

Larry: Ah, the hand I use for my art…

KP: Upon seeing this, everyone has to roll 1/1D4 for sanity check. Since Larry is out cold, he’ll have to do a 1/1D6+1 an hour later. Phoenix and Akago are also trembling, though they’re unsure if it’s alright to touch Larry like this.

[all three roll: Edgeworth, SAN (64) -> 27, success Maya, SAN (69) -> 22, success Phoenix, SAN (67) -> 51, success]

KP: So everyone just loses one. (1)

Phoenix: L-Larry?

KP: I say, but sorry for the next hour. You can think about what you’ll be doing in the meantime.

Edgeworth: Larry! Get yourself together!

Larry: *twitch*

KP: There’s no particular information on the artifact (temp) yet.

Maya: If we fail to break it open, we get crystallized, if we just touched it, would we have been out…!? We should have looked around elsewhere… than this artifact (temp)…

KP: I told you we should have used one of the NPCs as the sacrifice.

Edgeworth: Now with Larry like this, I think we shouldn’t do anything, out of fear and a lack of information…

KP: There are other places where you can investigate more about the artifact, though you have the box itself before you. So far you know that the lock can be picked and that Larry is now unconscious.

Maya: If we go back to the library, can we find something on the shrine…? And we can check the map if there’s a police station somewhere…

KP: There’s no useful information about it at the library… but the police station is close to the bus stop on the way back to town.

Edgeworth: Thinking about it, we haven’t yet checked the police station. Shall we head there?

Maya: If we go…? Then, who’s going to carry Larry over…?

Larry: *mumble*

KP: And I just say, it’s better than just wasting a whole hour doing nothing here.

Edgeworth: Then, let’s go. I’ll carry Larry.

KP: The other two guys help prop him up.

Maya: Let’s go! But what do we do if the police won’t respond to us…?

KP: As I said, the bus is still going on schedule. Yet, while you guys like this would normally draw attention, no one seems to be paying any mind.

Edgeworth: Hmph, I’m starting to get used to it.

Larry: No one even says anything!?

KP: When you get to the station, you can tell the officers there are just like the other townspeople. But, you hear from somewhere a voice mumbling over and over, “It’s just a dream…”

Edgeworth: Hm, so there is someone else we can talk to. Excuse me, can anyone help?

???: Huh, uh, I-I, no, it’s a dream, no, no…

KP: So says someone, and you all find a woman crouched under the desk.

Larry: It’s a girl!? Why am I sleeping at a time like this!?

KP: Larry… She sees you, but one look at the people outside and she still stays curled up under there. Seems like she’s totally terrified of what’s going on. She seems to have temporary insanity. If you wait a while, she may be able to collect herself together.

Edgeworth: Do we roll for trust?

KP: When she’s calmed down, you can.

Larry: Wake up, meeee!

Edgeworth: Hmph… the one who needs to collect himself together is Larry.

Maya: Yeah… even though he’s supposed to be unconscious…

KP: Since it’s around 11:00 now, you can wake up anyway, so try rolling 1D100 instead.

Larry: Uuurgh… I’ll wake up and roll!

[roll: 1D100 -> 70]

Larry: Hey, that’s not too bad, right?

KP: Yeah, it’s fine. Nothing in particular happens.

Maya: So he’s okay? He’s okay, whew… but part of him is still crystal…

KP: And oh, yeah. Edgeworth realizes that Larry’s temperature is dropping rapidly, and by the time he does wake up, you won’t be sure how he’ll be. Larry’s entire body temperature has dropped, but he himself doesn’t feel anything.

Edgeworth: That’s not good?

Larry: I smell a girl here!! I’m awake!

Akago: Whoa!! You’re awake!?

Larry: Uh… huh? What happened to me…?

Edgeworth: Wh- Larry!? Y-you’re already awake…?

Maya: Larry, are you okay!?

KP: “You fell over all of a sudden…” I explain.

Larry: I fell? Why… Whoa!? What happened to my hand!? Do I make a sanity check?

KP: Yep. 1/1D6+1.

[roll: SAN (71) -> 01, critical]

KP: !?!?!?! (2)

Maya: ??????

Larry: Isn’t that a 1??

KP: Uh… So you don’t lose any…

Larry: Yaaay!

KP: Well, since it’s Larry, we can’t help it… Also, he even gets a bonus, the girl upon seeing him, also calms down.

(Larry: Whoo!)

Edgeworth: Let’s just say that Larry woke up because he felt his temperature go down…

Larry: Though I feel like I don’t notice anything.

KP: When that girl sees the crystal on his arm, she asks, “A-are you alright!?” and goes over to him. Seems like she’s back to her officer-like self.

Maya: You mean like “There’s a bad guy here!” …?

KP: Yeah. Like “I have to save him!”

Larry: Oh, I’m fine, just fine, ma'am! I’m a really strong guy! Super tough!!

???: B-but…

Edgeworth: …He touched those crystals that have sprouted outside and became like this. Since the situation in town has become strange, we’ve gone around to investigate. …My apologies, but we’d like to request your help.

Larry: Never mind that, what’s your name? Are you a local here? Are you on LINE? (3)

Maya: They’ve just met…

Edgeworth: Larry…

Saki: Um, oh, but when I came to, I was already here. Oh, um, my name is Mitsuba Saki. I do have LINE, but I don’t use it very much… I’m sorry I can’t be of much help…

Larry: Saki, huh? Hmm, it’s a good name!

Edgeworth: My name is Miles Edgeworth. I am a prosecutor. These other three are my friends… and that person there is a resident in town, Mr. Akago. We asked him to help us as well.

Maya: When you came to… it’s like with Mr. Akago…? Oh, and I’m Maya Fey!

KP: Saki claims to be a police officer who works at this station. She looks a bit dispirited. But she noticed what was happening outside and also wants to go investigate it.

Larry: If you wanna go outside, come with me! Hey, you don’t mind, right?

Maya: That’s right! And just staying here staring off won’t do any good anyway…

Edgeworth: Yes, it may be reassuring to move together. …Oh, that’s right. Do you happen to know anything regarding Limestone Cavern, the Atsuki Shrine and the artifact within… or any place we can look to know more?

Saki: …Um, oh, I’m sorry. Limestone Cavern, the shrine, and the artifact, is it? Have you already tried the library? …Um… I’m worried about my childhood friend… I-I’m sorry. And I’m sorry I can’t help much like this.

Maya: It could be better that we ladies stick together… your childhood friend?

Larry: Don’t tell me it’s that Adzukkii guy? Huh? Is it him??

KP: I dunno. Just listen. Well, her current judgment is that Akago should first try talking with Adzukkii. Since his friend is acting peculiar, he’s concerned about his safety.

Maya: Yeah, I am too…

Edgeworth: We did check the library, though… your friend…? I see, that’s why you want to head outside. Where is that person?

Saki: Um… She usually lives alone. Now with things like this, I have to wonder about her…

KP: “I believe she would still be at home…” she says, but then finds it hard to say any more.

Larry: Oh, it’s just another girl. But why would she find it hard to say? Did something happen? Should we test for psychology…?

KP: Uh, well, rather than psychology, you roll for trust. Negotiation skill is fine too.

Maya: I’ll try trust!

Larry: My Deceive is half-chance…

[all three roll: Edgeworth, Trust (65) -> 82, fail Larry, Deceive (55) -> 07, success Maya, Trust (85) -> 50, success]

KP: Larry, aren’t you a bit too serious about this? (4)

Larry: If it’s a girl, then of course I’ll do my best!

KP: Maya succeeded on trust, and Larry tries to deceive to draw out more info. Roleplay it.

Larry: Where does she live? Is she also on LINE? (5)

KP: Saki is somewhat surprised, but thinking it’s just a joke, she smiles back.

Larry: Okay, I got her loosened up and feeling better!

Maya: Your friend lives by herself, huh… I would be worried about her too… If you want to talk with her, then go see her and have a chat! And we’ll come along if you want!

Saki: Yes… I can’t help but feel uneasy, but I should keep cool and ask “Yui, are you alright…?”

Edgeworth: As for me… I step back a bit and turn to Wright, asking, “Have I said something I shouldn’t have…?” Since I failed.

KP: (Your face is scary enough. You should do something about that habit of glaring back when you’re glared at.) I say, straightening the furrows on your brow.

Edgeworth: (It was because I glared…?) I reply quietly. And stop that.

KP: But if I stop, it’s just going to get worse. Besides, those two who succeeded are chatting away with Saki just fine.

Larry: Alright, then let’s go pay that girl a visit! We still got lots to check out around anyway!

Maya: That’s right! Being alone in this situation would be pretty scary…

Saki: …Um, I had earlier gone to see Yui, oh, Yui is my friend’s name. Gyokusen Yui. So, um, I had gone to her home… but she refused to see me.

Edgeworth: Oh?

Larry: Ohh?

Maya: Ohh…

Edgeworth: Someone give her a reply.

Maya: What!? It’s so important you guys talk! If it were me, I’d be bothered with that kind of response! “Why not?” you should have asked! Did you!?

KP: Since she didn’t get a response, Saki said, “But I’m worried about you. Could you come with me?”

Larry: “Again, why’d she refuse?” I feel like asking her…

Edgeworth: Then ask her, for goodness’ sake!! (6)

KP: Edgeworth, calm down. This isn’t a cross-examination.

Maya: Saki, did you and Yui get into an argument…?

Saki: I… don’t think it was an argument. Ever since Yui had gone exploring Limestone Cavern, she wouldn’t come out of her home… I became worried and went to see her…

Larry: Hmm? Why is that? I don’t really get it, but isn’t that just fine?

Edgeworth: We’ll have to ask her about this after all. It sounds like she was quite enthusiastic to go touring there.

Maya: Hmm, I guess she didn’t explain why… But, putting it that way, it’d only be more worrying!

Saki: Yui was even the first person who suggested it be a tourist site… Yes, it is worrying.

Maya: R-really!?

KP: Hahahaha.

Edgeworth: Suddenly, I’m interested.

Larry: Let’s see her and ask her a few things while we’re at it, Saki! Let’s go!

KP: Okay, then while Saki leads everyone to Yui’s home, we keep talking. She does have a patrol car, but since we have too many people, we’ll just have to walk…

Edgeworth: I’d also like to ask Ms. Saki more about what her friend was up to, particularly about her tourist site idea…

==

PC 1: Miles Edgeworth

[SAN: 63]

PL

Edgeworth’s PL: “It’s like the story about the Ugly Duckling.” “I pondered for a long time over if it wasn’t ‘ugly’ and just ‘hard to look at’, and eventually it remained an unsolved mystery.” Phoenix’s PL: “Hmm. Hmm?”

~ At their destination, watching ducks

–

PC 2: Larry Butz

[all stats unchanged]

PL

Larry’s PL: “Oh! Is this ponzu!?” Maya’s PL: “!?” “It’s ponzu.” “Huh…?”

~ Comment made while they’re having noodle soup and he adds ponzu for some reason

–

PC 3: Maya Fey

[SAN: 68]

PL

“As I thought, tasty and cute crabs are the best.”

~ Conclusion made after looking around in an aquarium and asking about each one, “Can I eat this?”

–

KP: Phoenix Wright

[SAN: 66]

PL

Had extracted quotes from the game that synched well with the PCs, but was bothered by the excessive amount of matching content that came from Larry’s.

==

Episode 7: Larry the Critical Artist

==

(1) Akago also rolls for it, but since he doesn’t have a character sheet, it wasn’t recorded. He succeeded as well.

(2) It happened in front of everyone, but the KP still finds it so unfair. He’s a known fumbler, after all.

(3) “LINE”, as in that one Japanese mobile app company that hosts a messaging service.

(4) Edgeworth’s PL: “He looked shocked himself.”

(5) KP told everyone not to be considerate and not laugh.

(6) Though the players are technically separate from the game, Edgeworth and Phoenix’s PLs kept talking, so they ended up participating in the conversation, and Larry and Maya’s PLs got mixed up in it.