[Gintama] Mr. Songyang that day

"Let's compare who will go to the private school first!"

On the way back from the dojo, someone in the crowd yelled such a sentence, so a group of students spread their feet and ran forward.

They walked through the vermilion torii gate and ran towards their home without restraint; the clogs under their feet stepped on the stone steps and made a crisp and noisy knocking sound after another; warm and joyful laughter shook the branches. A sleeping bird.

The fine tail feathers fell down, and were gently rolled up by the wind passing through the footsteps, and floated into the starry night sky above the head.

Their teacher was waiting at the end of this journey, showing them a gentle smile as always, and speaking softly.

--"Welcome home."

The hazy voice disappeared in my ears.

The stone lanterns on both sides of the stone steps have long been unlit, so only the cold moonlight from the moon above the head is reflected like pity.

When he was young, Takasugi walked out of the burned ruins, walked through the dilapidated courtyard gate, turned his back on the past that could never come back, and stepped firmly towards the night.

The clogs stepped on the rough grain of the slate, and the footsteps passed over the dark green moss to make a rustling sound. The cold and slow knocking sound dragged on for a long time, echoing in the silent night sky, looking lonely and lonely.

The dream was burned in the fire, and the flame in his heart was burning, trying to destroy the sky that hindered him.

To never look back, even at the expense of everything, to recapture his cherished vision.

It's the same for comrades who died in battle, and it's also the same for former classmates who were killed and injured countless times, and it's also the same for there is no way to retreat, as long as hope is not extinguished, as long as——

Nothing left.

The world collapsed in an instant.

The nightmare has lasted for too long, too long, and the sweet dream has become so illusory that people dare not touch it.

——Takasugi stood in front of the torii gate, silently looking at the fluorescent stone lanterns on both sides of the stone steps.

The plaque engraved with the words Matsushita Shrine hangs directly above the torii gate, which is the familiar handwriting that he once described stroke by stroke.

He bypassed a group of tourists who were taking pictures of the torii from various angles, walked through the torii, and stepped on the familiar but unfamiliar stone road.

There are also eight or nine-year-old children among the tourists, running up and down on the stone steps in groups of four or five, fighting, and hurried down because they were called by their parents.

The sound of footsteps overlapped chaotically, and the stone slabs were being trampled, and this movement was lost in the children's ignorant laughter that day as they faded away.

They don't need to be afraid of losing.

Nor will it usher in the day when the whole world will be taken away.

Just running like this, passing his sleeves shaking in the breeze, running towards such ordinary and within reach happiness.

——Takasugi crossed the last stone steps.

He finished the ten years of being homeless like a bereaved dog.

He died in despair, and turned into an undead because of revenge, until the flower of hope brought him back to this ordinary world from the screams of hell.

Someone leaned against the restored courtyard door that was almost identical to the past, and lowered his head without saying a word, his silver-white hair covering all his emotions.

Gao Shan passed by him, but he didn't raise his head, he just said something in a hoarse voice.

"She's in the private school."

The silver-haired man had no intention of finding anyone or missing anything.

He just stands here.

It seemed that from the beginning to the end, every day, every moment, he waited carelessly like this, anyway, the person he wanted to see would appear by his side soon.

——Although the first class is ten years of despair.

In the yard, a tourist put a tripod on the open space, and adjusted the lens of the dv player facing the towering pine tree, so that the surrounding rows of memorial monuments and the gray hair standing under the tree were facing away. The men shot together into the frame.

This person is like a sculpture, motionless, and the passing time seems to stay with this person in front of the cold consolation tablet.

Takasugi didn't know whether the original disciple was looking at a past dream or a lost dream.

It is this man who cherishes the longing, and it is also this man who destroys the longing.

Everyone has longed for redemption, but people are not born with the ability to understand what redemption is. They only know the desire to sacrifice others easily for the sake of taking it.

And he committed the same crime.

——Takasugi gently pushed open the sliding door of the entrance.

After the classroom was repaired, the restoration score was not bad. The old desks and chairs were neatly arranged in several rows, probably to avoid damage, and the legs of the tables and chairs were fixed on the wooden floor.

A small wooden sign with a name engraved on it was placed on the table. The bottom of the wooden sign was also fixed, and a black and white headshot was pasted on the top. The image on the photo was somewhat blurred.

His steps stopped.

Song Yang stood by a certain desk with his back to him.In the direction she is facing is a child running and looking around in the aisle, the child is now asking questions to the mother next to him.

"Kanazawa - Juichiro - 1840-1858...Why is there two time after this brother's name? Obviously there is - that - Katsura Kotaro, there is no second time after that brother's name. "

"This is the year of a person's birth and death. That Mr. Gui is still alive, and this Mr. Kanazawa has gone to heaven and is not in the world we live in."

The child's mother answered him softly.

"what……"

The child stared at the picture on the wooden sign with his face in his hands, and murmured in confusion.

"Did Brother Shigeichiro die at the age of 18? Why?"

"You kid, you must have not listened carefully to the tour guide's explanation just now, right? Didn't you take the subject of the war against barbarians in the history quiz?"

"Did this brother also go to the battlefield to fight the bad guys?"

"All the students in this private school are yo, it seems because—oh, what did the tour guide say?"

"I know this! I saw it in the history books! The teacher of this private school was taken away by the villains of the shogunate, so everyone has to rescue the teacher!"

"That's right. Did they rescue their teacher?"

"Ah...how did you say it later? I seem to have forgotten...by the way, didn't mom listen to the tour guide's explanation? You must know the answer."

"You..."

The child's mother stroked his hair and smiled helplessly.

"I know that your little head can't hold the study. I remember the lady tour guide said that the students in this private school all went to the battlefield in order to save the teacher who was in prison. In the end, the remaining three people rescued their teacher. .Two of them are famous people now—”

"Then did the other students die like this brother?"

The child's mother tried to respond to this overly straightforward and innocent curiosity with euphemistic words.

"I think so, but for them, saving the teacher is more important than their lives. As long as their wishes are fulfilled, their spirits in heaven will rest in peace."

"……But……"

The child didn't seem to be able to understand this statement, and asked in doubt.

"...But, after their teacher was rescued, knowing that the other students are dead, they must be very sad...the dead students will never see their teacher again..."

"... There is no way to do this, after all, war is so cruel, so we should cherish the hard-won peace all the more - well, don't be unhappy, it's all a thing of the past, let's go inside and have a look Just go back, okay? I can take you to eat a hamburger set meal today—"

"Okay! Let's go now! Let's go!"

The child grabbed his mother's sleeve and happily pulled his smiling mother out, and the two walked out unaware, unaware that they just passed by the witness of this story.

This mother and son are like all ordinary people in the world. When they hear stories that are too far away from them, have nothing to do with them, and will not happen to them, they either sigh a few words lightly, or throw them away indifferently. In the back of the mind, the simple, day-to-day life does not need too heavy thinking and doubts after all.

——The existence of Amaterasu-in Naraku was buried underground forever with the disappearance of the old shogunate.

The past is also beautified into heroic deeds that people talk about, and the so-called history that can finally be shown in the eyes of the world is just a few strokes left after removing the dark and dishonorable. No one cares about what happened and what is the truth.

——Just a happy ending.

"Actually, Momo-kun suggested to me that you want to replace the photo of the three of you with a recent color photo. But Gintoki and Kotaro disagree."

The person in front of him didn't look back.

The breathy voice that fell in Gao Shan's ear was too light and fluttering, which was too much like an exclamation to himself. He was stunned for a few seconds before slowly responding.

"The teacher decides."

"I knew that Jinzhu would say so."

The edges of the headshot on the wooden sign are irregular and the angles are different. It looks like it is from the same old photo, but the parts above the shoulders have been cut out separately. The background is a bit yellowish, and the face in the photo is still immature. And innocent appearance.

"Because I don't see Jinzhu very often, even if I want to ask, I can't help it. I just decided to help Jinzhu and refused."

Fingertips touched the rough texture of the old photos, Songyang watched the smiling face of the young Takasugi on the wooden sign, his eyes were always soft.

"After all, the preservation technology of old photos is not as good as that of this era, and they are somewhat faded...Speaking of which, Jinzhu seldom smiled when he was a child. He obviously smiled gently, but he always looked serious. The first time I saw you For a moment, I was thinking, is there any way to make this child smile more? As a result, I haven't thought of a useful way until now."

She couldn't help but sigh.

"To be honest, it's a bit of a failure, right? Obviously... I want to see Jinsuke's relaxed smile, but after growing up, Jinsuke always has a lonely expression on his face, and I'm really a dull fool, I can't always guess The troubles in the hearts of my students, who may have been harmed unknowingly by their self-willed practices, it may not be easy for me to figure it out on my own."

——After the war, Matsuyo did not go with the rabbits of the [-]th Division, but took Oboro back to Kabukicho.

She spent two weeks in the hospital taking care of the dead Yin, then moved back from the everything house to the courtyard, cleaned inside and out with Lu, and changed the backyard house into a dojo. Two months later, Gui and Yin From time to time there are letter girls who come to report from time to time, but Gao Shan never shows up. Song Yang only heard some relevant news from Gui.

At that time, she and Yinshi were on the battlefield, and the ships of the ghost soldiers were on the outskirts of the earth, and they raided the ships of the Chunyu Remnant Party from the side, and found the wreckage and keys of the Heavenly Daoists.After that, Takasugi took Dong □ □ and boarded the ship of the United Army, and after handing these over to the governor of the United Army Zique, he boarded the ship of the Seventh Division.

"Was Kotaro there?"

"Oh, I happened to be watching the live broadcast of the Great War at that time. It is said that the ship equipment of the United Army is really good. The live broadcast picture is clear. Classmate Yinshi's bloody head was enlarged super big. I also saw the teacher Oh! But what happened later was completely blocked by the black and dirty uniform, it's a shame that I was delayed my great opportunity to observe the teacher's figure!"

"...Didn't Jinsuke say anything at that time?"

"Huh? What did you say... Ah, he said that the teacher is coming on the boat of the night rabbit. Is the teacher going to visit a friend? But why did you set the place where you agreed to meet on the battlefield-I know! Friendship is experienced like this The beautiful emotion that will not disappear even after being tempered by the flames of war! Just like the firm revolutionary friendship between Elizabeth and me..."

Gui couldn't find out what was going on in the future, and the two chatted a little bit inappropriately. When it was time to say goodbye, Gui unexpectedly put away his nonchalant look, and said it in a serious manner.

"I know it's difficult for teachers to think about relying on others, but we are different, right? Teachers, please try to rely on us, no matter what, otherwise we will be very disappointed Huh? Especially Takasugi and Gintoki, they must want to be relied on by the teacher more than anyone else, but the teacher always throws them away and runs away with super capriciousness... I am not blaming the teacher, but the teacher is really serious The ultra-ultra-ultra capricious—”

"...Is this level of capriciousness?"

The dull hair on the top of Songyang's head drooped down visibly.

"!!! The main body of the teacher was dried up by my blow, woo woo woo..."

——In the third month after the end of the war, Songyang received a letter from a soldier of the ghost army.Most of what Takasugi wrote in the letter was information about other planets, and sometimes he would attach a seemingly expensive gift. The letter did not mention anything related to the Seventh Division or Arutana, nor did it say anything about it. Talk back to Earth time.

When Songyang asked if he needed to reply, Xiaobing also shook his head tremblingly, and replied in a dry voice.

"Jin, Mr. Jinzhu said that he didn't want the teacher—ah no, Mr. Songyang to bother, I just need to deliver the letter and leave."

Song Yang also didn't want to embarrass the messenger, thanked him softly and let him leave, and walked into the back room to put away the letter.

Such letters have been received several times one after another. Tokugawa Momo, who has not officially assumed the post of prime minister, came to visit her and proposed a plan to restore the private school.

Takasugi didn't know how he received the news, but he came back to Earth quietly, and after only saying hello to her, he went to Changzhou to deal with the rebuilding matters with Oboro. hurried away.

Songyang watched his back disappearing in the night, feeling a little lost.

She thought, what is this child still busy with?What is he hiding in his heart?The smile on his face seems to be more alienated than before, is it why he still feels uneasy?

——Why do you still have a lonely look in your eyes?

"He talks about wanting to be a human being, but he doesn't understand the warm emotions of human beings at all. He is self-willed and self-righteous, and he insists on throwing difficult problems to you. This is really bad enough——"

"The teacher did a great job."

The purple-haired man suddenly spoke up.

He seemed to realize that the tone of his rebuttal was too deliberate, and he slowly repeated it word by word.

"Teacher...you have done a good job all the time. There is nothing wrong with it. It is me who is wrong."

I was wrong.

——At that time, Gao Shan listened to his former enemy narrating the long and bitter past, for a moment, he only felt a chill in his heart.

...It was me who was completely wrong from the beginning.

I know, of course I know, only I know... Teacher... Teacher, not only is her body different from ordinary people, but her experience is also different from ordinary warriors. She does not want us to go to the battlefield, let alone Seeing any one of us being hurt, the only thing she values ​​is our safety. As long as we stay in Matsumoto Village and wait obediently, she will definitely come back to us.

It was me who was self-righteous, sent everyone to the battlefield in the name of revenge, and made them close their eyes with hope that had no results. Let that shadow occupy the teacher's body, and it was I who brought all the despair.

——The man destroyed the home, he destroyed the last hope.

No matter how stubbornly we insisted on this bloody road back then, there is no way to move forward now.

How can I stop?

What does it take to stop?

He couldn't think of it, and he couldn't find the answer. He didn't know if he could still make the right choice, and he didn't know if this was the result his teacher expected.

"I……"

"—That day, I planned to jump into the dragon's veins with Xu and start from scratch."

Takasugi froze suddenly.

Songyang turned around to look at him at this moment, his expression was as calm and calm as usual, and his tone was unhurried, as if he didn't notice the constricted pupils and trembling body of the purple-haired man opposite him.

"Jin Zhu knows that at least a large part of the reason why this war can end smoothly is because Xu has indeed disappeared."

Those people in the United Army who were really homeless after their planet was blown up, what they want is neither the key nor the Taoist, they just want to avenge their lost companions.

Compared with the benefits brought by the ghost soldiers, they care more about the final result of this war. Apart from seeing Xu being defeated with their own eyes, nothing can stop their determination to revenge.

If the Demon King is destined to be retired by the brave, then Xuya, who is named "Yoshida Shoyo", should get his due ending as a part of the Demon King.

"When Yinshi came to arrest me with blood all over his face, I told him, let me be self-willed for the last time, agree to my request, and just let go."

She has seen the appearance of the students growing up, Yinshi has never forgotten the agreement with her, and she has friends to protect, and has become a real "person" that she has never been able to become. There is nothing better than this Made her feel happy.

——At that time, she didn't realize that she was repeating the same mistakes again.

"I thought, I am at least half responsible for the crimes committed by this guy Xu. I have never been willing to communicate with her properly. He pushed away, self-involved in the lives of Jinsuke and Kotaro, self-serving everyone who left the private school followed Oboro, and self-servingly making such an irresponsible agreement with Gintoki."

The night was sinking outside the window, and the warm lights in the yard shone in through the window. The hazy golden halo was reflected in the quiet eyebrows and eyes of the whispering person, and it flowed softly like water.

Her voice is also soft as water.

"Because of the weakness of my heart, I have always avoided my real mistakes, and refused to face all of them. This is the result of my selfish abandonment of the other party. In order to become a human being, I sacrificed everyone's happiness. ——you see, I didn’t even change at all until the end, I just wanted to throw you down again, He Yinshi told him to let go, and I wanted to leave again in front of his eyes.”

"That's why Yin Shi was so angry. It was obvious that he was about to be torn off, and it was exhausting just to hold me and Xu, and he told me loudly, 'A Yin will not promise you anything this time.' He was not prepared to let go at all. "

Obviously it was agreed to come back.

It was obviously because of some nostalgia in my heart that I returned to them again.

"So I suddenly realized that from the beginning to the end, I said that I would protect you and I didn't want to lose you, but every step I took turned out to be slowly pushing everyone away from me."

"Don't dare to show your true emotions, don't dare to expose your true face to the cherished disciples, entrust you with your own will, and entrust you with the responsibility of sin - so cruelly messed up your life Life, I ignored your real thoughts, as a teacher, I didn’t apologize for pushing my students to this point, it’s really terrible—”

To take the teacher back.

I want to be with you forever.

I want to go back to my original dream.

It's just... such a simple wish.

"So before apologizing, I have to say something to Jin Zhu that I owe Jin Zhu for so many years."

The purple-haired man raised his head in a daze.

——The time is the night after school.

The children in the private school chased each other and ran around the yard. It was the first time for the young samurai master Takasugi to be surrounded by such an unruly atmosphere, so his reaction was naturally a little slow; The wounds left after sparring; the level of dexterity is even more difficult to surpass this group of country children who have been crawling and rolling among the fields and rocks since they were young, and of course they fall last.

"Ah! The last one for today is Takasugi-san!"

In front of Takasugi, Juichiro, who won No.1, happily took the share of Kopeito from Matsuyo that should belong to him, and patted him on the shoulder without sincerity to comfort him.

"Takasugi-san just came to the private school, and he is not used to it, so he won't be the last one next time."

The injustice brought about by successive frustrations reached its peak when Takasugi saw Yinshi walking up slowly.

"That guy!"

He said angrily as he pointed at Yin who was listlessly picking his nose.

"Obviously he was the last one to come back!"

"that is because--"

"Because Yinshi is in the sugar ban stage."

Songyang stroked his hair with a smile, and winked at him tenderly.

Time freezes on the smile on her face as always.

——"Jin Zhu, welcome home."

The author has something to say: After thinking about it, this guy Takasugi... the assassination chapter is still talking about stupid things like that he hasn't been fired yet... Hey... Songyang has always felt sorry for him, and finally watched him He shed tears... It would be great to be home!

Does anyone remember Shigeichiro hahaha...