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"—Coming!" Shinpachi answers loudly as usual, then he suddenly remembers he's at home rather than at Yorozuya, so as a result, he awkwardly stands up and walks through the house to the gate.
It's already a couple minutes to nine in the evening. Yet there was someone ringing the doorbell outside. Tae is out for her work at the cabaret and won't come back till morning. He wonders who's visiting at this hour.
Hopefully not some punks finding trouble or trying to scam them with usuries again.
Shinpachi arrives at their family house's gate and carefully peaks through the cracks to see who's outside.
"Oh." He soon gives a sigh of relief and opens the door. "Kagura-chan. Good evening. Come in!"
"I was trying to call you on phone." The Yato girl still has her mouth twitched with discontent and stays where she stands. "Why's everyone so ignorant when they are most needed for helping others? Very unfair, no?"
"Oh, um... I'm sorry for that. My phone was out of battery and turned off, so I had it on charge earlier... Are you okay? What happened?" It's only that moment does Shinpachi realize how unusual it is for her to show up alone by their house. "Wait, where's Gin-san and Sadaharu? Why are you here alone by this time?"
"That is exactly why I'm here and I was calling you, Shinpachi. Sadaharu is at home to keep things down." Kagura has started walking back already. "I need your help. I can't stand that stinky drunk madao anymore."
Shinpachi gets what she meant in a spilt second. Realizing it makes him frown as well: "...Again?"
"Yeah. Glad that he's been quiet down, or Baba had already thrown him out for the disturbance. Hurry up Pachi."
"Okay, I'm coming. Let me lock the gates first."
It's a cloudless night with a quite full and shiny moon tonight. And since it's nighttime, Kagura doesn't bother to carry her umbrella with her. It's a rare view.
"So how bad is it this time?" On the way to Yorozuya, Shinpachi can't help but asks, expecting some imaginable damage by drunk stupidity. No matter how their boss has been a grown-ass man, he never succeeds in taking care of himself whenever it comes to alcohol drinks.
And seemingly, it's getting worse recently.
"I don't know. It feels weird." Unable to answer directly, Kagura's facial expression obviously grows more upset and worried. "Well, you know how Gin-chan fails everytime when he goes after girls, yes? But then he never improves his talks and stuff. It just became disastrous today after he's been drunk."
"...The hell did he do this time?? Huh......" Shinpachi breathes out a worried long sigh reluctantly. "Did he bother Otose-san or someone else?"
"I wish I know what he had done. You know, Shinpachi, sometimes I wonder how has Gin-chan become like this... like, this alcoholic and, em... violent after drunk, I guess?"
"Well, I heard from Aneue that some people can't control themselves after being drunk, the alcohol messes with the brain, the stomach and the nerves, and it continues to make you feel sick even till the next day. But Aneue also said it varies among people. Like, some people just fall asleep when they are drunk, some other people become violent and behave unhingedly, like Gin-san, and... hmm, who else turns into a hellraiser after drunk? I know Aneue can handle her drink well."
"Seriously Pachi? You forgetting it that soon makes me worry that Anego's hellish cookings and Otsu's music have rotten your brain too much."
"O-oi! Don't speak of the two of the most important female figures in my life like that!! But really, do we have anyone who's bad at drinking and— oh."
"That's right. And I think that's the root of the problem." Kagura nodds thoughtfully, then very proudly, she announces: "Funny, yes? I just found out that tonight!"
"What? But-but... wait, you mean Gin-san's been drunk lately because of Tsukuyo-san?" Shinpachi has to stop and asks again. "But why?? I don't see how he's been bothered and—"
"—Yeah, yeah, that's why you're still a cherry boy, Pachi. It's not just the near-sighted, you know?"
"Oi that's very rude to me!! You may call me four-eyes or a glasses stand but that's too far!! Take it back!!" It makes the glasses boy irritated in no time, but Kagura can care less as she turns her face the other side, snickering silently with her pinky sticks up to one nostril.
Shinpachi continues to walk, trying his best to calm down and shift his attention back to the topic: "... Anyways what exactly does that have anything to do with Tsukuyo-san? Was the recreation thing leaving him trauma? But I don't think Gin-san's that weak mentally, right?"
"Yeah I agree, but Pachi, I say you are on the wrong perspective, you know? I think Gin-chan is unhappy because of the exact opposite reason. Yes. Must be that way."
"The opposite... wait you are not telling me that he was actually enjoying the beating-up is it?? Isn't Gin-san sadistic? I'm so confused." Shinpachi takes off his glasses to clean the lenses with his sleeve fabric. The imprudent act makes him almost walk into a lamp pole by the streetside and knock himself down.
"I know, Gin-chan surely doesn't like how Tsukki turns into a terminator after drunk, but I think he is still into Tsukki when she behaves normal. You know what I meant? Yes?"
"Well, speaking of that... um, well, I think he wants Tsukuyo-san to depend on friends more, like us, instead of always working alone. But I guess it can't be helped to change one's thoughts and personality so soon. Other than that... well I don't really know how Gin-san thinks of Tsukuyo-san. He didn't tell us what happened back with the Benikumo-tou and with that Jiraia man... right?"
"There must be something really important happened back then and Gin-chan's being selfish, keeping that all to himself and not telling us... very unfair I say! No?"
"You're right. But I think Gin-san has his own reasons. So..."
"That is exactly where I feel weird, Pachi." Kagura finally turns to look at him as they climb up the stairs to Yorozuya at the second floor. "Don't you think Gin-chan is acting and saying differently? He says Tsukki should rely on friends like us more, yet he himself keeps us all shut outside. It's so unfair no matter what his reasons are whatsoever."
About an hour ago.
It feels like an unfair night particularly to him out of everyone tonight. Being inebrated and thrown out of the bar, luckily the bartender was a newbie and was too angry to remember asking him to pay the bill, Gintoki wandered across the streets with wobbly steps.
It was full moon or full moon's eve tonight. The thing hanged low and shone bright, he thought it was seducing him. Like how she was with one side of shoulder exposed and her feet and up till calves shown, sitting on that futon.
How 'bout this? Ya satisfied? And back at that moment she was imitating how the geishas talk to their customers. She probably didn't even know what that suggested. It was all plot jokes and shit. Must be on purpose. Screw Sorachi that bastard, hanging him blueballs like that—
But she really is a good woman. Gintoki thought to himself again. The idea made him want to take a risk and do some reckless shit now.
Maybe he should go and tell her that tonight.
—No no no it's not the time yet! All of a sudden, his right index finger talked back to him hastly, you're drunk! And you know how a single drop of liquor can do to that drunk terminator! She'd tear off your lips with her own hands!!! Not to mention the kunai storm and shit!... Don't you remember how I got snapped?!
"No, no, I'm just going there to tell her I like her boobs, and maybe we could make up what was left in bed last time... but you are right...fruging right. Alcohol bad." He replied, talking back to his own index dreamly, "It was such a waste of opportunity... right?"
Yeah yeah definitely, but think twice, she won't be happy once seeing you drunk like this, right? No girls'd like to see a drunk man doing harassments. So maybe the other day.
"But I want to see her. I need to. I miss her." Gintoki felt like he was going to cry. "I can't lie to myself these many times, right? I—"
Do I deserve a girl like her and a relationship that good?
Gintoki suddenly stopped. The idea made him tremble.
That's right. That's what I was saying earlier. Think twice before you act. What if, she doesn't take that the same as you do? What if, she's just obeying Hinowa's matching-up and showing you gratefulness? If that is true, what are you going to do about this feeling then?
Gintoki felt a dull pain from the finger.
"......"
See? So stop thinking about that and have a drink.
"... You-you are right."
Of course. Just drink one more round and we will get rid of her from head.
"But I don't want to get drunk to forget about her— !"
The next second he yelled out like a hurt animal, curled up on the outdoor hallway of Yorozuya at the second floor, and started crying.
No one came to his side to ask what happened and why he suddenly made such a loud wail.
He remembered Shinpachi bid goodbye and went home. But where's Kagura? And where's the impatient Baba always annoyed at his noise?
Where's everyone the exact moment he wants some comfort?? The world leaves him alone here. It's so unfair.
He'd imagine how she'd react to him acting like this.
Sucker. He'd imagine her voice with disgust.
There's no start whatsoever from the beginning. It'd never be possible between them. She'd never stand so low and fall for a nobody like him.
And thinking this, Gintoki stopped crying out loud and fell silence. Regardless, tears still flowed out like an endless stream.
At last, it was Sadaharu whom went out and licked his teary face, worriedly, the giant dog held his breath from the foul alcohol stink, and dragged him indoors to the long couch.
It was half an hour later or so before Kagura arrived back from eating out and screamed in his ears in fear to pull him out of his own vomit.
Sorry, Kagura dear. She probably thought he was dead facing down like that in the dark.
"...But Pachi I'm pretty sure he's fully into Tsukki. I see how Papi love Mami since young, and I know what that looks like when one likes the other but chooses not to say it out loud, and don't get me wrong, it's definitely not the same as your passion towards Otsu so don't try to educate on me that." Kagura pinches her nose before sliding open the front door. "I have done my best to clean up the vomit, but damn the air still stinks like sewage... Sadaharu!! Are you still good and alive?"
Their big white fluff appears soon, with the most speechless expression a dog can put on its face, and holds a piece of fabric in his mouth. Then he stops and sits down by the washing machine, dropping the thing in his mouth. It's Gintoki's purple obi, very ovbiously stained with vomit in the middle.
There are already a small pile of clothes on the floor, right next to the washing machine, and the source of reek comes from right within.
"......I think if we keep it like this, Sadaharu is going to learn how to do laundry by himself soon." Kagura cannot think of another better topic to avert her attention, but none the less, walks to the washing machine and picks up the dirty clothes one by another. "I'm going to rinse these first. Go take care of Gin-chan, Pachi. You are an Earth male too, so you'd better know Gin-chan as an Earth male better than me, yes?"
"Oh, um, sure. No problem Kagura-chan." Shinpachi forces himself back to reality and takes his absent-minded hand back from patting Sadaharu's nose. The move is making their dog annoyed, but somehow he's not biting as usual. Maybe he too is tired already. "You know, I will stay at Yorozuya tonight just to keep an eye on him. So no worries."
"You'd better keep your promise, Pachi. You have no idea how Gin-chan turns wildass after drunk. That's why I told you I had enough."