Chapter 122: Silver Soul (Extra)

"Axu, I'm home. Are you there?" It was another ordinary evening. Okakura Take had returned from her part-time job, and the first thing she did upon opening the door was to greet Axu.

"I'm here," came a raspy voice from the direction of the sofa.

"Why haven't you turned on the lights?" Okakura Take switched on the light and walked over, carrying two bento boxes. "Axu, I've noticed you haven't been looking well lately. Are you sick?" She leaned in close to Gintoki, peering at him.

Gintoki shook his head. "No."

"Tsk, you're a man of few words, Axu. Come to think of it, you're the quietest man I've ever met," Okakura Take said with a giggle.

"..." Gintoki.

"Why do you think that?" Gintoki asked.

"Because I've known a lot of chatty men before. Haha, one of them was particularly interesting. Let me tell you, Axu, he was the captain who led me. Even though he could seem impressive at times, most of the time he was incredibly useless. You know what? He even acted spoiled by clinging to our Governor's arm just to get some strawberry milk. Hahahaha!" As she spoke, she took out the bento boxes and handed one to Gintoki.

"Axu, eat your bento."

"..." Gintoki.

"Indeed, that sounds quite interesting," Gintoki managed to squeeze out through his teeth.

"Right? And that guy was a total coward too. Axu, look at me—do you think I look scary? Every time he saw me, he would scream in terror. Haha," Okakura Take said, laughing.

"Not anymore..."

"Huh? Did you say something, Axu?"

"No, I said you don't look scary. You look quite cute."

"..." Okakura Take froze at Gintoki's words. After a few seconds, she came to her senses. "Axu, that's the longest sentence you've ever said to me."

Suddenly, she leaned in front of him. "Axu, even if you won't let me see what you look like, could you at least describe yourself to me?"

"..." Gintoki pondered for a moment, then pointed to a poster on the wall. Okakura Take looked up to see a poster of Orlando Bloom.

"Liar! If you were really that handsome, would you really be able to bear covering your face?" she asked, squinting.

Gintoki immediately lowered his head and ate in silence.

After dinner, both of them prepared to rest. Gintoki walked toward the bathroom, intending to take a shower.

Okakura Take sat on the sofa watching TV. Most of the hosts on Edo Television had left, so the entertainment programs were not as rich as they used to be; now, the station only aired old dramas from years ago. She yawned, finding the show quite boring.

Suddenly, she heard a dull thud from the bathroom. She immediately ran over and asked, "Axu, are you alright?"

After a moment, Gintoki’s raspy, muffled voice came from inside: "I'm fine..."

"Oh..." Okakura Take rubbed her head and walked away.

Inside the bathroom, Gintoki looked at the cursed characters manifesting on his body and couldn't help but smile bitterly. These were the things that had destroyed everything he once possessed. No matter how much he vented his anger, they would not disappear. Truly, only through his death could there be any release.

Whether it was him now, him five years ago, or him ten years ago—only by destroying the source of his existence could this world continue on its normal path. If only he didn't exist...

The next morning, Okakura Take prepared to leave for her job. Before heading out, she specifically said to Gintoki, "Axu, you must stay home today. I have something very important to tell you. I'll be back early this afternoon, and I want to see you here when I return."

"..." Gintoki looked at her for a moment and nodded.

"I'm off then. Goodbye, Axu." With that, she skipped away.

"..." Gintoki. Take from fifteen years ago seems so lively.

At the ramen shop, Okakura Take remained all smiles, humming a little tune even while working. She looked incredibly happy.

"Yo, Okakura, what's up? You're in a great mood today," Uncle Kanai teased.

"It's nothing, really." She smiled bashfully. She was too shy to tell him that today was her birthday, and the reason she insisted Gintoki stay home was that she had ordered a cake from a bakery, wanting to celebrate with him.

Through their time living together, she had discovered that Axu seemed to love sweets; whenever there were desserts around, he would subconsciously eat a lot of them.

After a full day of work, Okakura Take was exhausted, her back aching. Uncle Kanai, having learned it was her birthday, readily waved her off to head home early.

She left happily, heading to the nearby bakery where she had placed an order two days prior.

Upon arriving, she asked the clerk if her cake was ready. The clerk checked and went to the back to retrieve it. Okakura Take sat on a high stool, staring out the window.

It was then that she noticed her reflection in the glass. She looked closely and realized her complexion had indeed improved significantly. Her eyes didn't look as small, and her face didn't seem as frightening.

"Huh? What's going on?" She touched her face while looking at the reflection.

*Jingle.* The wind chime above the door rang. She turned to see several thugs with pompadours strutting inside.

"Ah... welcome. How can I help you?" The clerk who had just retrieved the cake came out from the back.

She was a young, pretty girl. As soon as the thugs saw her, they let out long whistles.

"Yo, miss. You know how it is—life is tough in this society. It's not easy running this shop by yourself. I'll tell you what: if you give me half of your monthly earnings, I'll protect you. How's that? A good deal, right?"

The leader of the thugs leered at the girl before adding, "If you don't want to pay, that's fine too. You can just be my woman, and you won't have to pay a cent."

The girl stepped back, trembling. "No, I can't. I can't give you the money, and I don't want to be your woman."

"What!" the leader barked. "Listen here, you stupid woman, don't push your luck. I've tried being nice, and you actually dare to refuse?"

"Please, I need the money to pay for my mother's medical bills. She's infected with the White Curse and needs a lot of treatment. I can't give you the money." The girl clutched the cake box, shivering.

"Huh? You're still trying to save someone with the White Curse? What a joke. Let me tell you, there's no saving anyone with that. You'd be better off giving me that money as protection fees. Forget it, I'm done talking. Just hand over the cash!" The thug walked forward to grab the register.

"No!" The girl set the cake aside and lunged forward, grabbing the thug's arm to stop him. The other thugs immediately moved to grab her and drag her away.

"Stop it," Okakura Take said, standing up.

The command interrupted everyone's movements. The leader turned to look at her and sneered, "Oh, it's just an ugly girl. Listen, don't stick your nose where it doesn't belong. Get lost."

"No," Okakura Take replied. "You're the ones who should leave."

"What! You little brat, are you looking for a beating?" The other thugs began to jeer.

"No, I'm just here to pick up my cake," she said.

"That's enough! Someone throw this brat out!" the leader said with a wave of disgust.

"Yes, boss!" Two burly thugs rushed toward her.

"Get out of here, you little..." one said, reaching for her collar.

*Bang!* Both thugs were sent flying by Okakura Take.

"Are you still not leaving?" She dusted off her hands and looked at the remaining thugs.

"Damn it! Everyone, get her!" the leader shouted angrily.

The thugs swarmed her. Though they were armed with steel pipes, spiked clubs, and knives, Okakura Take found them much easier to handle than the tough-skinned Amanto.

"Watch out—!" the bakery girl suddenly screamed.

Okakura Take turned to see the leader pulling two handguns from his waistband. She dodged quickly, never expecting common thugs like these to have access to firearms.

"Die!" the leader shouted and pulled the trigger.

*Bang!*

*Jingle...*

"Ah—!"

After the gunshot, the girl opened her eyes, trembling. She looked toward Okakura Take in terror, only to witness an astonishing sight: standing in front of the thug leader was a man in a black cloak who had appeared out of nowhere. He had seized the leader's hand, and the bullets had gone astray.

"Axu!" Okakura Take cried out in surprise. She never expected him to appear here.

Gintoki cast a cold glance at the surrounding thugs, who recoiled in fear. The leader, enraged, roared as he tried to ambush Gintoki, but Gintoki struck him down with a single blow. The remaining thugs, now leaderless, fled in a panic.

***

Twenty minutes later, they returned home. Okakura Take immediately ran to the table to open the cake. As soon as she saw it, she sighed in disappointment.

"Ah, Axu, you really should have taught those thugs a harsher lesson. My cake is ruined." She looked at the cake with annoyance. During the scuffle, it had been knocked to the floor, and the cream was all smeared into a mess; it was no longer fit for a birthday.

"It's fine." Gintoki used his index finger to scoop up a bit of cream and put it in his mouth. "It still tastes good."

"Fine. By the way, Axu, how did you end up there?" she asked curiously.

"Coincidence," Gintoki said.

"A coincidence, huh... Axu, today is my birthday."

"Mm," Gintoki replied.

"Then, Axu, can I ask you for a birthday gift?" she asked, looking up at him.

"What do you want?"

"Let me see what you look like!"

"No," Gintoki refused flatly.

"...Stingy." Okakura Take went back to the table and stuck candles into the cake.

The candles were lit. They sat across from each other, watching the flickering flames. After closing her eyes to make a wish and blowing them out, she cut a large piece of cake and put it on Gintoki's plate.

"Axu, do you know what I wished for just now?" she asked, looking up at him.

"No," Gintoki said, quickly devouring the cream cake on his plate.

"Axu, I wished that you would be by my side for every one of my birthdays from now on," she said with a smile.

"..." Gintoki froze.

"Axu, I don't want you to leave me. I'd feel so lonely." The young Okakura threw a direct pitch; her personality at this time was much more straightforward than it would be in the future.

"..." Gintoki didn't speak. He just lowered his head and poked at the cake on his plate.

"Axu?"

"You'll meet many people in the future besides me. Your life can't just be about me," Gintoki said, another long sentence.

"But none of them will be you, Axu," she said earnestly.

"It can't be like this..." Gintoki put down his fork and stood up.

"Axu?" Okakura Take looked at him in confusion.

"I'm leaving," Gintoki said.

"Why!" She stood up, panicked. "Why do you have to leave?"

"Take." This was the first time in a long while that Gintoki had addressed her by her name so seriously.

"I'm sorry." With that, he gently pressed a kiss to her forehead and then turned to leave, leaving Okakura Take alone to clutch her forehead and stare blankly at the cake.

"Why?" she murmured, looking at the cake, feeling wronged. "Why did you have to leave at a time like this..."

"You big jerk, Axu!"