[Gintama] Immortal

Takeno Rintaro, seven years old this year, his family members include a busy father and a mother who is on vacation in heaven.

What he hated the most before was going to school, but what he likes most now is the private school teacher.

The age of Mr. Songyang of the private school is unknown, and the place of birth is unknown. The family members include all the students of the private school. There are many things he likes, but no one has discovered the things he hates yet.

At 08:30 in the evening, when Mr. Matsuyo went out for a walk, he would pick up Rintaro's child who was wandering outside. It is said that it was purely based on the intuition cultivated by the work of being a teacher.

Kid Rintaro has no special abilities, but after being forgotten in the nursery by his father at work for the 130th time, he realizes a truth: adults are liars.

With a heavy heart, he carried his small schoolbag on his back, slipped out of the nursery gate in pain, and walked around to an unfamiliar block. When he was staring at the cold drink vending machine in a daze, he met Yoshida Shoyo who was out for a walk.

"Oh, whose lost child is this?"

Wearing a light-colored feather, with his hands in his wide sleeves, the man stood under the streetlight, tilted his head slightly, and asked him with a smile:

"Want to go home with me?"

I will never trust the so-called adults again—Rintaro, who had just decided 10 minutes ago, obediently followed the stranger he met for the first time to his house.

"...Are you a monster?"

"No, I don't eat children either."

Mr. Matsuyo, who is not a monster, lives alone in a house with a beautiful garden, and he is a person who can't find any shortcomings at first glance except that the miso soup is very salty.

Rintaro was eating with a snort, and Mr. Matsuyo sat across the table, listening to him and nodding with a smile.

The light in the small kitchen was warm, and he had glimpsed it many times before from other people's windows.Food that doesn't need to be heated in the microwave is so delicious that his vision blurs as he eats it.

Finally, he picked up the bowl of miso soup that was deadly salty, and drank it down in one gulp with his eyes closed.

When he put down the bowl, there was a gentle touch on his head. Mr. Songyang touched his head and said gently:

"It's okay to cry."

Rintaro has a handsome name, and his father often told him to be a responsible man and protect his mother who is in poor health.

Later, he had no one to take care of, and his father still talked about taking good care of his mother all day long, and began to work overtime frequently until late at night.

He learned to be independent, to live alone, and to hold back all his tears bit by bit.

When the tired man appeared at the door of the private school, Rintaro held the corner of Mr. Matsuyo's clothes, his eyes were red, and he said to his father seriously:

"I'm going to school here."

There are many children in the private school, and he is always the last one to be picked up.

When other people are dragged home by their parents, he can stay beside Mr. Songyang, watching him smile and wave goodbye to everyone.

The more time he spent in the private school, the more time Rintarou observed Mr. Matsuyo.

He found that Mr. Songyang always smiled at everyone, but as long as he gently raised his fist symbolically, no matter how arrogant he was, he would instantly calm down and become as quiet as a chicken.

The arrogance here refers to the curly-haired uncle who often comes to the private school.

There are also Uncle Hei Changzhi and Uncle Short who often come to eat and drink.

The short uncle paid a visit not long ago, and the next day Mr. Songyang asked for leave and went away.

In Rintaro's memory, it was the first time he saw Mr. Matsuyo leave the private school.In the past, Mr. Songyang always stayed with his private school no matter how cold the winter was or how hot it was.

"Where did the teacher go?"

He tugged at the kimono sleeves with flowing cloud patterns, and the curly-haired uncle was lying lazily in the corridor, reading manga with his feet up. The manga books almost covered his face, probably the so-called hearing people before meeting them.

"Where else can I go, go back to my old hometown." A voice came from under the comic book.

"Why do you want to go back to your hometown?"

"Because my hometown is going to be demolished."

"Why demolition?"

"Well, to be precise, it will be confiscated by the new government. Before it is confiscated, something must be taken back."

"Why was it confiscated?"

"Because it's that kind of place. It's gloomy and you can't see the light. It's good that it hasn't been burned down by a fire."

"Why can't I see the light?"

"Because... because you have too many questions. Hey——" Uncle Curly sat up straight, and the comic book fell to the ground with a snap.

So why is he taking care of this troublesome brat.

The curly-haired uncle who was muttering and complaining made him a lot of delicious food at night. He ate so much that he fell asleep before nine o'clock in a daze, and forgot to continue asking.

It is said that Mr. Songyang's hometown is very far away, in the deep mountains and old forests without direct transportation.

The private school was on vacation for three days, and Mr. Songyang came back on the fourth day. Zhenzhi held a package in his arms again, and opened it to take a look—what he brought back from a long distance was a blue glazed porcelain vase .

Facing everyone's suspicious eyes, Mr. Songyang just said:

"If you lose it, she will get angry with me."

No one has ever seen Mr. Songyang get angry, he is always smiling, his appearance is gentler than moonlight and flowing water.

Once, a student from a private school brought back a stray cat outside. The wild cat was frightened and rushed into the Japanese room, knocking down the photo frame on the bookshelf.Mr. Songyang suppressed his smile and silently picked up the photo frames and photos scattered on the ground, but he didn't get angry at anyone.

The photo was intact, only the frame was broken, Mr. Songyang heaved a sigh of relief.Facing the student who was about to cry, he bent his mouth again and showed a familiar smile: "It's okay, she won't mind."

The brief vignette is like an optical illusion.

A few weeks later, the onset of summer vacation washed the memory of the event.The bustling classroom quieted down, and the cicadas on the trees began to croak, cicadas and cicadas.

When Rintaro and Uncle Curly were enjoying the shade under the eaves of the porch, Mr. Matsuyo sat down with a newspaper and clicked on a certain headline.

"Shall we go together? Tonight's Mountain God Festival."

At night, the streets of Edo become rivers of light.It seems that as the night falls, the gates of different countries are opened, the ordinary buildings are decorated with colorful colors, and people in bathrobes are like goldfish, swimming in the underwater palace.

Colorful ropes, lanterns, and huge floats, Rintaro followed the busiest line and squeezed to the front of the crowd to watch the mikoshi.

"Teacher, teacher, look!"

He turned his head.

The smiling Mr. Songyang disappeared.

Rintaro pushed through the crowd and ran back.

"Oops!" The pedestrian who was hit by him let out a small exclamation. He forgot to apologize, and continued to run as if he didn't hear it. He ran to the open space by the river bank and turned his head to look around.

……No.

The bustling flow of people, the buzzing and vibrating sound, the lights and colors are moving, and the figures of people merge into the group and then separate.

He stood by the river bank, the weeping willow branches were blown by the evening wind, and the changing light was reflected on the water.The pounding taiko drum floated into the night sky with the sound of the kagura flute, and the people immersed in the festival were laughing.

Those voices became farther and farther away, more and more indistinct.

Rintaro lowered his head, trying to hold back the fog that welled up in his eyes.

jingle--

The sound of bells parted the sea of ​​people.

A pair of clogs stopped in front of his eyes.

Black lacquered wood, red tracks, and white foot pockets.

"Oh, whose lost child are you?"

A laughing voice sounded, the world refocused, Rintaro raised his head——

"What's wrong? Can't speak?"

The person on the opposite side tilted his head, the long vermilion tassels dripped onto his shoulders, and the beads at the tails of the tassels lightly collided together, making a crisp sound like the sound of a bell.

Rintaro stayed where he was, his mind was a little lost.

……what.

It's the person in the photo.

"Did you get lost with the teacher?"

It took him a while before he recovered his voice: "...um."

"I happen to be looking for someone too." The other party smiled, "Why don't we have a companion?"

"...?"

"Let's go, let's just waste tonight's festival by staying here."

Saying that, without waiting for his response, he took his hand and walked towards the busiest part of the crowd.

A mighty team carried the mikoshi, and parade floats meandered down the street like a dragon.There are bright colors and cheerful voices everywhere, and Rintaro followed the other party in a daze, forgetting what he was supposed to do for a moment.

"Do you want to see the floats? Let me show you the floats."

"Want some candy apples? Here, here are candy apples."

Afterwards, she was worried that he was too short to see the float in front of her, so she picked him up and put him on her shoulders.

"Can you see clearly now?"

Still holding the unbitten apple candy in his hand, Rintaro blushed suddenly: "Put me down, I'm not a child anymore."

"What nonsense are you talking about? Children should hold themselves high."

"I told you I'm not a kid."

"Yes."

"It is not."

The young lady dressed as a witch laughed hahaha, the glass-like lights reflected in the eyes, like stars falling from the sky.

The team of floats swam far away, but the sound of drum music was still clear.The two walked in the crowd holding hands, and the beautiful bathrobes slipped past their eyes like colorful ribbons.

"...Are you Yae?" He asked softly.

"Yes, I am Yae."

The lanterns hanging on the poles are connected together like flowers clustered on the branches.

Rintaro was quiet for a while, pinching his slender white and soft fingers nervously.

"Sorry, I broke your photo frame earlier."

There seemed to be a question mark on Yae's head, but she quickly responded and squeezed his hand with a smile.

"It does not matter, I do not mind."

"...You know, Rintaro."

In his memory, he can no longer remember who said this to him:

"It's an expression of love to always mention the dead in the same tone that that person is still alive."

Rintaro raised his head and looked at her very seriously.

"Are you a monster?"

Yae blinked: "Do you think I look like a monster? The kind that eats children."

"..." He thought for a while, then said slowly, "Then, are you dead?"

"... Your child's question is really straightforward. Shouldn't it be counted?"

"you are still alive?"

"It still exists."

"Then..." Rintaro said, "Do you like Teacher?"

Yae choked.

"This is too straightforward."

"Like it?"

"...Well, how should I put it..."

"So it's love?"

Yae let out a long sigh: "The little devil is really amazing."

Then he raised his hand and pinched his cheek: "Look, I'd better send you to the police station. Have you heard of the vicious tax thief?"

"No." He muffled.

Yae narrowed his eyes and smiled: "Okay, I won't tease you anymore. I'll take you back to the private school."

Leaving the venue of the ceremony, the hustle and bustle dissipated, and the road back was paved with silvery moonlight, and the surface of the water was slightly shining.

Yae took his hand and hummed softly.

She seemed to be in a great mood, and she was more interested than him when visiting the festival.

Rintaro looked up at her again and found that she really looked exactly like the photo.

"... Yae."

"what happened?"

"Are you really not a monster?"

Yae was a little amused: "Do you really want me to eat you?"

Rintaro looked at the pebbles under his feet.

"My mother-in-law told me that my mother loves me very much, so she will definitely come to see me." He whispered.

"...Really." Yae's voice softened.

"Is that why you came back?"

"..."

Yae didn't make a sound.

"Teacher likes you." Rintaro said suddenly.

Every day, every day, mentioning your things is as if the two of you have never been separated.

Yae stopped.

pat-

There was the sound of something falling from someone's hand in front of him.

Rintaro raised his head, and found that the two had reached the door of the private school without knowing it.

The lantern fell at the man's feet, like a white crane with its neck folded.The candlelight illuminates a figure as fresh and straight as a bamboo, and the hazy warm light spreads and overflows in the night.

"... Yae?"

The familiar voice whispered softly, almost like fear, and trembling gaps appeared.

Takeno Rintaro once believed in this——

Adults are liars who are good at telling lies.

Yae looked at the person opposite, and slowly smiled: "Good evening, Songyang."

"It's okay to cry."

Mr. Songyang, who had said this to him, stood there in a daze for a long time without shedding tears.

"...Welcome back," he said.

"Welcome back." Songyang repeated again, this time his voice finally stopped shaking.

The author has something to say:

Songba is sweet, trust me