I sent the kids and the ladies away with a heavy heart. That's the best decision to protect them i thought to myself over and over as i went to Edo Hospital to see Otose-san. "Don't get the wrong idea. I wasn't trying to save your life. I just needed to spill your guts" i walked into the scene and saw Gintoki squeezing Tatsuo-san's stomach. "And you literally are" i said walking towards him. "Wha- HANAE?! What are you even doing here?! Didn't i tell you to go already?!" Gintoki shouted at me. "Hanae-san.. help me" Tatsuo-san begged for his life under Gintoki's grip. "Go and what? And what Gintoki?! Leave you here all by yourself?! Make you take up the trouble all by yourself?! Stop kidding around" i separated the two before grabbing his collar with my hands. "That would be the last time you told me to leave you alone. You get that?!" "You.. why won't you let me protect you?! Why won't you listen to me for once?!" this time he grabbed my collar the same way. His pupils moved rapidly as he stared into mine.
"Gintoki" my voice became low as i looked down "Otose-san isn't just some stranger to me. 'Edo Paradise' isn't just a place to me. 'Yorozuya' isn't just a group of people to me. They are my family, my pride, my love. I'm not leaving any of it. Understand?! So-" i choked on my words as tears brimmed my eyes and looked at him "Let me protect them, too! They are the last of everything i have now!" tears streamed down my eyes as i stared at the man. "Hanae.. you finally cried" saying that he pulled me into his arms. "I'm sorry, baby. I'm sorry for being selfish. Let it all out" he cooed and kissed my head. Yes, i broke into tears in his arms. Yes, i cried like a baby there. No one spoke a word, just the sound of me weeping and the monitor beeping filled the room. "All out?" "Hng" i nodded but didn't move my face from his chest. "Let me see" he moved his body and then cupped my cheeks. "There's my beautiful woman" he looked at me with an affectionate gaze. I took in a deep breath before turning around to face Tatsuo-san. "Tell me all you know about Jirocho. Don't spare any detail. I'll slice that gut of yours if you do"
"T-The boss and Otose-san have known each other since they were kids. You could say they were childhood friends" Gintoki and I looked at each other in confusion. And then Tatsuo told us the past between Otose-san and Jirocho and also about Jirocho's daughter. Oh my.. "But was this really the right thing to do? Will this really make them happy?" Tatsuo crossed his arms in deep thought. "They're never gonna be happy.. 'cause I'm gonna crush them" Gintoki said, his brows furrowed. There's no dead fish eyes here. "So you were putting on a show for the kids. You don't stand a chance by yourself" Tatsuo said. "Who said he's alone?" i looked at Tatsuo to which he cowered at my gaze. "Schmo Joe, take care of Gran" Gintoki said. "What?! Why?!" "You always return the favour. 7 for 3" Gintoki smirked to which he gritted through his teeth. "Shouldn't you stay here to watch this old woman pass on?" Otose-san!
We both rushed to her side. "Gintoki.. Hanae.. I don't want to see you die. You two remind me of my young days.. me and Tatsugorou. I want you both to live your life.. freely" she squeezed my hand. "Gran, you always talk too much. I promise to pay off the rent so sit tight" saying that Gintoki walked away. His ears were red as a tomato. "Hanae.." "It's fine, Otose-san. It's alright so rely on us more. We are family, aren't we?" i held her hand to my cheek. "Hanae.. my dear.. take care of everyone for me" she smiled. "I will, Otose-san. But until you come back. So hurry up and get well. We have a long way to go" i smiled at her. "Yes.. i have to see that perm head's weeding.. the kids you both are gonna have.. and play with them" "O-OTOSE-SAN!" i lost my balance and fell on the floor. "Don't mind a woman blabbering her mouth" she chuckled. "Go now, go after him"
I followed Gintoki to Otose-san's house. He sat in front of Terada-san's ofrenda and then patted the seat next to him. I quietly went over and sat beside him before praying with him. After finishing, he took the sword and the jutte from the box. "Let's go" he said. "Yeah" we were about to stand up before- "Where do you think you two are going?" Shinpachi's voice echoed the room. "Why.. are you here? Hanae, why are they here?" Gintoki looked at me in confusion. "I-I don't know. I did send them off to the train station" i looked at the group in shock. "Don't ask neesan. Ask yourself. You're the one who said we could do as we please. Take us with you. We can help you fight" Kagura said. "Don't get the wrong idea. I'm just here because Gran told me to pick this up for her. Let's go, Hanae" Gintoki said passing them. "Enough already" he was grabbed by the collar by Kagura.
"Neither of you get it.. if you shoulder the burden alone and leave us behind.. how are we supposed to be happy you saved our lives? That Gran saved us if she's gone? If you're both gone.. life won't be any fun!" Miriko said out loud. "Life doesn't need to be fun.. we just want you guys to live" Gintoki said. "We don't want to go through that again.. we don't want anyone to die" as soon as i stopped talking, i was slapped my Kiriko and Gintoki was punched by Shinpachi. I touched my cheek and looked at the usually quiet girl in shock. Both of them had an outburst in sync. The stinging sensation on my left cheek made me realise that this wasn't a dream. Tears filled up my eyes as i realized how much they've grown. "We have not lost anything yet. So, you must not lose your soul" Catherine said. "Gintoki-sama, Hanae-sama, you've protected us many times. No matter how dire or hopeless the situation was, we trusted you. So it's your turn to trust us. We can do this together. We can protect Otose-san's home, our home, protect the town which brought us together" they all said. Gintoki looked at me and smiled.
"I'm sorry, neesan. I'm really very sorry. Did it hurt? You can slap me too if you want! I'm rea-" "Hey!" i grabbed Kiriko by the shoulders. "I'm proud of you two" i smiled before pulling the twins in a hug. In the meantime, Gintoki set down a plate full of manjuu in front of Terada-san's picture. "Sorry pops. I bought these for you, but there probably won't be any left over. In return, I'll make another promise. We promise to protect everything which was dear to you" after Gintoki said his words, everyone took a piece of manjuu from the plate. Only one piece was remaining to which me and Gintoki looked at each other. We both broke in a smile before he took the manjuu and tore it in half. "Here" he fed half of it to me and ate the other half himself. Even though the manjuus were cold, i could feel the warmth and the love. Ne Gintoki, I'm glad we have these idiots i smiled to myself as i looked at the group. I felt Gintoki's fingers intertwine with mine before he brought my hand close to his face and kissed the top. "Tomorrow?" he asked. "Tomorrow"
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To be continued.
