[Gintama] Immortal

To spend 500 years in that lifeless crow's nest in Naraku, Amaterasu-in, is simply not human.

Unfortunately, neither she nor Xu belonged to the category of normal people.

Xu at least can change the generation to relieve boredom, but she is different.

In these 500 years, what was the reason for the only time she left, I can't remember now.Maybe it's just an unimportant trifle, maybe it's because the Xu of that generation was so taciturn, so gloomy that Yae lay on the ground every day pretending to be dead, begging for attention that he could just walk over indifferently.

The reason is unknown, and the exact year is also unknown. Yae only remembers that it was a hot summer evening.

She left Xu Xu and wandered aimlessly in the world alone, refusing to use "running away" to describe her behavior-after all, where is Tianzhaoyuan Naraku her home? ——Come where there is excitement, when she came to her senses, she was already in the sea of ​​lights.

There are bustling people on both sides of the street, and the parade team holds tall lanterns, covered with lanterns as full as ears of rice, swaying slightly like sails rising in the wind.The musicians who followed the parade played the taiko drum and the flute, and the lantern-bearers in bunts pushed the bamboo poles supporting 48 lanterns to their foreheads, attracting applause from men, women and children around.

That was the first time she saw Dewa's Kanto Festival.

The brilliance of the entire midsummer seems to be condensed on the street where the festival is held, and the huge lanterns that symbolize the harvest of the grain neatly illuminate the dark night sky in summer.The bamboo poles on which the lanterns are hung are so straight and high that young children have to look up to see the god-exorcism banners on the top of the lantern poles.

The surroundings became a sea of ​​sounds. She stared wide-eyed and looked around, full of novelty, but felt that no matter how she looked, she couldn't see enough.

As if monsters strayed into the world, and as if human beings stumbled into the festival of monsters by mistake, the blurred lights stretched into a bright river of light, and the lively drums and flutes and people's clamor blended into the cheerful and constant rhythm of the festival.

The people around exclaimed for the lantern-holder's mistake, shook their heads with a smile, and broke out in neat cheers at the moment of success.She also laughed and ran with the lanterns, criss-crossing the parade like a fish, as if the bustle and joy belonged to her, and the lights of the whole festival were all lit for her.

All ordered for her alone.

The good times came to an end, the hustle and bustle of the festival disappeared like a bubble, the lanterns were extinguished, and the satisfied crowd dispersed with good memories in their hearts.

She stood there and watched the crowd disappear, knowing that these people would eventually turn into rotten bones one day.This warm and bright Kanto festival will be buried with their memories, and the world will forget it, but she will not.

She knew she would always remember.Only she will remember.

When we returned to Amaterasu-in Naraku, the night was very dark, and the familiar room was still lit with candlelight, burning for nearly a night, so short that only a tail-like wick remained.Xu raised his head, his tone was still not fluctuating: "Why are you back?"

"..." Yae folded her hands behind her back, trying to stay angry, but finally failed.

"Did you know that Dewa's Kanto Festival is really lively."

The scarlet pupils narrowed slightly, and they looked away. "...You came back just to tell me this?"

"...Yes," she suddenly laughed, "I wanted to tell you, so I came back."

She walked to the familiar place by the window and sat down.It has been hundreds of years, if there is a real body, there must be a slight concave mark for her to sit on that place.

"Because I can only tell you, I came back."

The rivers are vertical and horizontal, and the waterways are well developed. The town named Sakai has been thriving in trade since ancient times. There are many shops on both sides of the street. Large and small cargo ships and cruise ships pass through the river every day, transporting goods and people from all over the world to the four directions.

During the Warring States period, when the Oda family fought with the Osaka Honganji Temple, in order to cut off the food supply of the Honganji Temple, the first port blocked was Sakai.Now that hundreds of years have passed, this place has become more lively and prosperous than in Yae's impression. Even in the Kansei period, the streets were full of lively vitality.

However, this vitality has nothing to do with her recently - she has been bedridden for several days.

She underestimated the difficulty of being alive.

After experiencing the mental blow of family destruction, suicide failed and hunger strike, hunger strike for three days and hastily ate, this body was tortured enough, and she ran away directly after killing three adults. Under such circumstances, I planned to run all the way to the base camp of Tianshaoyuan Naraku, which was far away in the sky, but it was no surprise that I fell on the street halfway.

The rushing street here is really rushing the street.

According to Yae's recollection after waking up, she fell to the ground and lost consciousness after a bang.

If the proprietress of the roadside hotel hadn't kindly taken her in, her body would have been cold by now.

After being ill for a while, she also calmed down.

With her current appearance, even if she returned to Amaterasu-in Naraku, she would have been stabbed to death by another Naraku before seeing Xu's clothes.For a secret assassination organization like Tianzhaoyuan Naraku, it's okay to be touched by people casually, and it's okay to see strangers chop it up.

With the quality of this body that requires physical strength but not physical strength, and strength but not strength, when you meet a professional killer, you don't know how many seconds you can spare to say your last words.

What's more, she can't die.

After the original soul dissipated, the life in this body was all supported by her consciousness.

The blood in this body must not be broken by her hands like this.

After thinking about it for a few days when he was ill, Yae finally decided to make up enough travel expenses to find the person first.

Xu and Oboro do not rule out the possibility that they have already left Amaterasu Temple Naraku, they must find someone.But when she finds the two of them, she must relentlessly complain about Xuxu's decision to put Amaterasu-in Naraku's lair deep in the mountains.

Having made up her mind, she brazenly tried her best to temporarily win permission to stay in the hotel and help her.

She was very lucky, no one dared to take in people of unknown origin during the years of the Kanzheng prison, but she ran into a soft-hearted one.

Waking up early in the morning by the sunlight penetrating into the room, and the sound of the proprietress hanging the noren curtain in front of the hotel door to symbolize the opening came from downstairs, Yae got up in a daze, and sat down in front of the mirror.

In the mirror, there was a girl at the age of cardamom. With half-closed eyes, she picked up the crescent hairbrush that was put aside, and unskillfully picked up the messy black hair that fell asleep last night.

When she saw her own reflection in the mirror for the first time, she looked at the edge of the mirror for a long time like a psychopath, and finally came to the conclusion: blood relationship is indeed a magical thing.

The facial outline of this thirteen or fourteen-year-old body, like a jigsaw puzzle, faintly overlaps with the old person in memory, and when he smiles, his eyebrows and eyes are curved.

After hundreds of years, she never expected to see this smiling face again.

"Yae," when she went downstairs, the proprietress opened the curtain and emerged from the kitchen.The apron was still tied around the waist, and the other party waved at her, and he did not forget to touch her head when entrusting the affairs, "There is not enough soy sauce, you can go to the boss of Eguchiya to get some."

What does it feel like to be touched on the head by someone hundreds of years younger than you?

Yae has a serious face: "Design."

"I know you are poor." The proprietress knocked her on the head with a smile, "Go now."

Eguchiya, which sells soy sauce, is located in Dejima Town, northwest of Sakai, near the sea, very close to Osaka Bay, and about half a stick of incense away from the hotel.

At the beginning of a new day, the vendors on the street are already shouting bustlingly, and weeping willows are carried on both sides of the river, hanging gracefully on the jasper-like water, forming a beautiful landscape.

Yae tossed and caught a copper coin in his hand, and walked briskly on the way to Eguchiya.

There is a square hole in the middle of the round copper coin. Except for the difference in engraving, after thousands of years, it still retains the appearance she is familiar with.

Turning the corner, she casually tossed the copper coin.The coins with round square holes twirled and flew into the sky, shining brightly against the sun.

A Sichuan boat carrying people sailed over the river at this time, like fallen leaves floating on the river surface, the boatman rowing the oar did not need much effort, and the boat went down the current briskly.

With a "click", the flipped shiny copper coin fell from the air and fell back into the palm of the hand.

She turned her head casually, and saw a familiar silhouette on the boat.

Even if she was wearing a bamboo hat and lowered her head, no, even if it was burnt to ashes in the true sense, she would still recognize that figure.

The body froze suddenly, but for a moment Yae froze in disbelief, the small and light Sichuan boat had already passed her by.

When she realized it, she had already started running and chased after him along the river.

The kimono on her body and the clogs under her feet became extremely obstructive, and there were constant exclamations from passers-by around her. She had no time to apologize, and she couldn't help shouting. She just felt that all her strength was spent on running.

With the sound of the wind carrying moist water vapor whirring in his ears, Yae felt that he had never run so fast before.

The wooden clogs fell on the bridge and made a thumping sound, and the road beside the river suddenly came to an end.She ran up the wooden bridge quickly with the hem of her clothes in the way, and only stepped on the railing of the bridge with one foot. Suddenly, the enthusiastic people around rushed towards her. Those who could stretch out their hands stretched out their hands to pull her, and those who couldn't yelled loudly: No way, girl, I really can’t do it!!”

Holding his hands on the wooden railing, unable to call the leader of Amaterasu-in Naraku by name in public, Yae desperately leaned forward and did the strangest thing ever.

Towards the Sichuan boat going far away on the river, she mustered all her strength——

Called his name.

"Yae--!!!"

Her upper body was sticking out of the bridge, and if she went a little further, she would really fall into the river.

"I'm Yae, you bastard heartbreaker——!!!"

The people exploded, and enthusiastic people ran to the pier ahead to intercept the boat.

The people on the Sichuan boat stood up and turned their heads.The surrounding turmoil suddenly disappeared, and the figures and voices seemed to melt into the jasper-like reflection on the river surface, becoming soft and unreal.

Across the distant river, Yae saw a pair of pine green eyes under the bamboo hat.

……Eh?

Without the mask of Yatengu, without the Gouyu that the successive leaders of Amaterasu-in Naraku hung around their necks, without the black cloak, those scarlet eyes turned into a gentle and calm color like jasper. The figure alighting from the Sichuan boat at the pier is familiar yet unfamiliar. It seems like a lifetime has passed since I haven't seen you for a few days.

Yae stood on the wooden bridge of the pier, opened and closed his mouth, suddenly didn't know what to say.

She can't call him false now, so what should she call him?

"... う" うつろ.

Suddenly being hugged tightly, Yae was stunned at that moment.

She didn't have time to lament, and she really jumped into the river and couldn't wash it away. Because of the height difference, when the other party reached into his arms and held her down, she involuntarily raised her head, and her chin rested on the other's shoulder socket.

She didn't speak, and she felt a kind of grief that was so deep that there was no sound from the abnormal silence of the other party.Obviously the petite person being hugged was herself, but she had the illusion of being leaned on in a trance.

Yae finally realized that there seemed to be something missing around "Xu".

He is alone.

The mind went blank for a moment, Yae stretched out his hand, and carefully touched the opponent's back.

"...What about Obscure?"

But the moment she asked this sentence, she already knew the answer.

……

The first twelfth generation of Amaterasu-in Naraku is now called Yoshida Shoyo.

Dressed in an ordinary walker, with light-colored feathers on his shoulders, the heavy bloody smell of the killing faded away. When the man with a gentle expression smiled, he was completely different from the leader of the former killer organization. When Yae saw him, he was very different. I was stunned for a moment, let alone Naraku who had never seen the real face under that mask.

Unexpectedly, the best "disguise" of the other party is to take off the mask.

In a small town like this, news always travels fast.When returning to the hotel, the proprietress said without saying a word that this Mr. Yoshida could live on the second floor. After Yae explained, she still insisted on the preferential price and all meals included.

"...You have really changed a lot." After returning to the room, Yae poured a cup of hot tea for Songyang.In the past few days of working in the hotel, what she did most was making tea, pouring tea, and running errands.

"Really." Songyang took the tea, but didn't take a sip immediately, just held the cup of warm tea in his hand.

Yae sat down by the window and casually opened the window to let in air. The lively sounds from the street flowed into the room along with the breeze.

"After 500 years, this change can still be seen."

She turned around: "Have you eaten yet? The proprietress here cooks good dishes, especially boiled conger eels. There are often guests who stay here for the food."

After a pause, she continued: "If you don't eat well, your body will not be able to bear it. I was taken aback by myself when I suddenly rushed to the street."

Songyang's voice was gentle and calm: "Thank you, I'm not hungry."

"How about the dim sum?" Yae continued, "I know a wagashi shop, the owner is from Kyoto, and the Yae bridge cakes are very delicious."

She wanted to say something else, Songyang put down the teacup, raised his eyes, his voice was very soft:

"I left that child and ran away, Yae."

After being speechless for a while, Yae spoke again: "Where are those Narakus? Did you kill them?"

"...I made an appointment with that child, and I won't kill anyone again."

"That's why I said you've changed." Yae opened a small paper bag and poured out some Jinpingtang, "If you regret it and want to go back, we can leave now. If you have other plans, eat something first Bar."

Songyang looked at her for a while, then slowly closed his palms.

"You've been living here these days?"

"Yeah, I eat delicious food and drink spicy food every day." Yae waved his hand.

As a transportation hub, Sakai not only developed trade, but also various news spread rapidly.When businessmen from all over the world gathered here, they brought not only commodities, but also knowledge along the way.She stayed here, hoping to hear something.

Yae and Matsuyo stayed in the hotel for three days.

On the fourth day, when the two were sitting at the table for dinner, there was a sudden noise of arguing in the tea house across the street.A man dressed as a slut reeking of alcohol was driven outside by the store owner, even though he still didn't forget to yell loudly.

He said that ghouls appeared on the battlefield.

The author has something to say:

①うつろ=empty

"Who knows, I picked him up, or he picked me up, I can't say for sure now"

The little curly hair silver finally does not need to stand by, happy rolling