[Gintama] Immortal

Early in the morning, the morning light stops on the bamboo fence.

The quiet street is a little far from the center of Edo, and most of the houses on both sides retain tradition.Occasionally, three or two sparrows would land on the wooden poles, fluttering their wings and combing their feathers from time to time.

jingle--

The newspaper delivery boy was riding a bicycle, and the wind chimes under the eaves fluttered gently. The wind carried the fragrance of spring flowers, and the branches protruded over the fence.

"Good morning, Kentaro." The man standing in front of the door to sprinkle water stopped.He bent his soft eyes and smiled in the morning light.

"Good morning, Mr. Yoshida." The boy's voice rode the wind, and the sound of the bell slid past the door.

The man stretched out his hand unhurriedly, just in time to catch the morning newspaper thrown from the air, his movements were skillful as if he had repeated them thousands of times.

The wooden door next door was slowly opened, and Mrs. Kanda from the town club came out.She used to be an Ikebana teacher, but now that she is old, her white hair is still combed meticulously, and the kimono on her body is always pressed neatly.

Her voice was slow, with a kind look on her face: "Are you going to teach the children today?"

The other party turned his head slightly, and responded with a smile: "If there are students coming——yes."

Two years ago, a new neighbor moved into the town.

The smiling new neighbor's surname is Yoshida and his name is Songyang. On the first day he moved in, he knocked on Mrs. Kanda's door and delivered a box of Kumano tangerines.

Mr. Yoshida, a newcomer, said that he has been traveling abroad for several years, and recently he has finally made up his mind to settle down in Edo, hoping to live in harmony with everyone in the neighborhood.

Mrs. Kanda's house next door has been vacant for several years, and an old cherry tree from the early Edo period is planted in the courtyard.Mr. Yoshida moved in happily, and within a few days, the doorplate of "Yoshida" was hung on the door.

Within a few months, Mr. Yoshida's mansion became lively.

It doesn’t seem right to say it’s a private school, but it’s also inappropriate to say it’s a nursery school—children whose parents are busy with work and are always at home alone, teenagers who roam the streets like stray cats and dogs all day, and those who are simply being loved by that Yoshida The students attracted by Mr.——When the residents in the town came to their senses, Mr. Yoshida's small classroom had started smoothly.

After the reputation spread, parents occasionally sent over difficult problem children.

Mr. Yoshida, who seems to be young, wandering in the second half of the thirties at most, does not know any special way to make those hedgehog-like children put away their sharp thorns.

Sometimes, the children who had just been sent in refused to obey the discipline and wanted to sneak out over the wall.Mr. Yoshida is like having an antenna on his head, and he can always accurately squat outside the wall every time, like catching rabbits, and he will always catch the students who skip class.

The owner of Wanshiwu who always ran this way just looking at the opportunity, would shake his head and sigh every time this happened:

Too tender, too naive, too simple.Today's young people can't do it. Back then, Ah Yin would not skip class in such a stupid way.

At such times, the former Prime Minister who always behaved and sat upright would correct him seriously:

In the past, you were the one who was caught skipping class the most times.

Shut up, wig.

Not a wig is Gui.

Shut up, Gui.

……

Unable to refute this time, Gui's expression became aggrieved.

He looked at Songyang.

Shut up, you two are so noisy.

said another voice.

Since the opening of Mr. Yoshida's small class, there have been three more frequent figures in this ordinary town.

A big man who usually only appeared in newspapers and news, after he resigned as prime minister, was still pestered by people from the new government, asking him to go back to help with government affairs all day long.

As soon as Gui Xiaotaro heard about the work, Gui Xiaotaro ran away quickly, but every time something really happened to the new government, he fell into justice again, and fell back into the meeting hall with a snap, yelling that he would give it to others. Here comes a heavenly punishment, whoever has a crooked idea will be punished.

In recent years, there have been quite a few people with evil intentions in their hearts.With the support of Nobuo Imai, the head of the new Metropolitan Police Department, Princess Sumiya gradually grasped the real power and became the head of the new government.

After the new government didn't need him to manage, Gui went to Songyang more diligently.

As soon as he ran hard, he could easily bump into the other two classmates.

Yinshi already counted as half of the people who lived in the private school. Although Takasugi came less often, every time he met Yinshi, he would snort a few times and return to the boy mode in an instant.

As long as three people get together, they will inevitably make noise.

Yinshi snatched the children's snacks again, Gui picked up the cats and dogs outside again, although Takasugi doesn't know how to smoke in private schools, but the smell of cigarettes on his body is too strong, sooner or later it will spoil the children, etc. wait wait wait.

The only rare peace was at the private school's first graduation ceremony.

The student had to move to a distant place because of his parents' work problems.Everyone was quiet that day, and Songyang issued him a small certificate.Because of the tight schedule, the graduation certificate was written by Songyang himself, without a beautiful seal or the fragrance of ink.

Songyang knelt down in front of the little student, smiled and reached out to touch his head.

"Congratulations on your graduation," he said.

The three of them were not far away, standing in the shadow of the cherry blossom trees in the courtyard.Fragments of sunlight dripped from the gaps in the leaves, shining brightly on the ground, mottled into blurred light and shadows.

That was the first student to graduate from Matsushita Village Juku.

Later, students left one after another, grew up and graduated, and some people would come back from time to time to visit the small classrooms of those years.

It has been a long time since the game of the cat chasing the mouse with the Shinsengumi, but Gui is obsessed with his own character design and still likes to fly around the wall.

Once, when he jumped over the wall to enter the private school, he was laughed at by Gintoki for a long time, and even the corners of Takasugi's lips were obviously bent.

The four seasons pass through the courtyard, and the wind brings spring cherry blossoms, summer rain, autumn red maple and winter snow.

At first, it was just to urge the young children to take a good nap, but Songyang also developed the habit of taking a nap in the afternoon.

One day, he slept very deeply during his afternoon nap. When he opened his eyes, he saw the three of Gintoki and the speechless doctor surrounding the bed.

The expressions of the three of them were a little complicated, they seemed to be relaxed, but also worried.The doctor who was rushed over pushed his glasses and calmly prescribed a prescription.

"This patient just has a fever. Take some medicine and rest well."

After the doctor left, Yinshi adjusted his expression and asked him jokingly, "How does it feel to be sick like a normal person?"

Song Yang blinked slowly.

His body felt a little heavy, and his mind was dizzy. This feeling of weakness was very strange. It was different from anything he had experienced before, and it came from the changes in his body.

Finally, Songyang smiled and said, "I feel good."

He was telling the truth.

The patient needed rest, the three chatted with him for a while, then got up and left tacitly.

Songyang was lying on the bed alone, looking at the ceiling that he had become familiar with over the years, wondering what he was thinking.

The hands of the pendulum turned silently, ticking, ticking, walking unhurriedly.

The private school is closed, and one afternoon is still a long time.He is used to being busy, and the classroom full of children is always very lively, but now it suddenly quiets down, and he doesn't know what he should do for a while.

The sound of the wind blowing through the flowers and leaves came from the courtyard, and the afternoon was extremely quiet. The clear and sunny day was far away, and when you looked up, you could see the end of the sky straight.

The green branches and leaves spread over the wooden walls, and the streets destroyed in the war have been completely rebuilt, and there are almost no traces of war damage.

After the new government got on the right track, the education system has been greatly improved. Today's children don't need to go to private schools, and children from common people can also receive free education.

Songyang came to the bookshelf.

The bookshelves are full, containing the compositions of previous students, pasted with colorful paintings, and the flowers of past seasons are sandwiched between the snow-white pages.

The dark brown photo frame in the center is already a bit old, but he has been reluctant to change it, and carefully wipes and maintains it every day.

He reached out and took off the picture frame.

Touching the smooth glass with fingertips, the person in the photo frame looked at the camera, with black hair like crow feathers and smiling eyes.He couldn't help but curled his lips slightly, as if responding, showing a gentle look.

——"Teacher, teacher."

The new student tugged at the hem of his clothes and leaned over curiously.

——“Who is this person whom I have never seen before?”

Light and shadow are reflected on the paper door, and the room is quiet.

Smiling slightly, Songyang lowered his eyes.

——He is someone the teacher likes.

The private school was closed for three days.

When Songyang was sitting in a daze in the corridor, there was a light knock on the door.

He opened the wooden door, and Mrs. Kanda next door stood there with a gentle expression, holding a bouquet of flowers in her arms.

Seeing him, she passed the bouquet very calmly: "I heard that you are sick."

"Ah..." Songyang recovered, "Thank you."

Light and delicate weight, carefully trimmed branches.The delicate petals are dotted with emerald green, and it smells lightly fragrant in early spring.

Mrs. Kanda stood in front of the bamboo fence with pansies blooming for a while, looking carefully.

"You take good care of these flowers."

Songyang paused.

"I didn't do anything, I just watered it on time."

She looked at Songyang: "Do you like flowers?"

Songyang didn't answer immediately.The other party seemed to realize something and smiled.

She glanced at the courtyard full of spring flowers.

"Mr. Yoshida is someone who is loved by this world."

The warm wind of April is coming as expected.

A new park has opened in Ueno Ward, which originally belonged to Kan'ei-ji Temple, and is open to the citizens of Edo for the first time today.

The streets are much busier than before, clear rivers and boats pass by, people walk together, and the air is filled with the fragrance of anticipation.

Songyang made an appointment with Yinshi and the three of them, and left the door a little earlier.

The weather is warm and the wind is breezy.The blue sky is flawless, and the white clouds are embedded on the horizon like waves, softly blooming.

He went out early, and when he arrived at the location, the three of them were already waiting there.

"Teacher——" Gui waved his hand, Gintoki was lazily standing against the wall, Takasugi smoked a lot less now, Xu finally realized that his body was not as good as before as he grew older.

But when he looked over, his expression was still that proud young man.

"Let's go." Song Yang said with a smile.

The sun was warm, and there were bursts of laughter from the surrounding crowd. Time seemed to slow down, becoming lazy and content.

The mottled shade of the trees covered the sidewalk, Yinshi and Takasugi were chatting softly, Gui was trying to persuade them to fight, and Songyang raised his head, squinting at the light and shadow between the leaves.

When passing the vermilion torii, there is a faint fragrance of flowers in the wind.

The fragrance is neither strong nor warm, it is quiet, like the moonlight that has not yet melted in the water.

His figure paused slightly, Songyang seemed to have sensed something, and he stopped.

Then, turning around—

……

……

The cherry blossoms at the shrine are blooming again.

—Text·End—

The author has something to say:

2019/4/27 minor repair

It's great to be able to finish this story in the spring

start with the same sentence and end with the same sentence

This story has drawn a full circle and can finally stop here

As for the meaning of the ending, because it is open-ended, everyone can understand it by themselves

Extra