Chapter 76: Silver Soul (Earth Arc)

Okakura Take felt as if she had experienced a dream that stretched on for two whole years. So much had happened during that time, and many people had changed, including herself...

She had actually turned into a robot! How bizarrely things had developed.

“Mmm...” Okakura Take woke up. The moment she opened her eyes, she realized she was lying in her own bed.

“…”

“Ah! How utterly embarrassing! How could I have done something like that?” The memories came flooding back, and she clutched her head in repentance.

“All my most humiliating moments were seen! A robot? A demon king? Planning to take over the Earth? How could I have turned out like that two years later? It's so embarrassing, so embarrassing!” Muttering to herself, Okakura Take banged her head against the bedboard.

After a while, she finally calmed down. She remembered that before she fainted, she was still in the office—so how did she end up back at home?

Who had brought her back?

She got out of bed, opened the door, and stepped outside. The television was on, and the cheerful voice of the weather reporter drifted from the speakers. She glanced toward the kitchen, which was a mess, dishes piled everywhere, the table covered in food...

Crunch, crunch—the sound of someone refusing to share their snacks came from the sofa. Okakura Take walked over and saw Gintoki sprawled there, munching on potato chips as if nothing were amiss.

“…”

“You bastard! Why do you always make yourself at home here as if this were your own place?”

Gintoki turned his head, a chip still hanging from his lips, and mumbled, “Ah, you’re finally awake. Does it matter? Aren’t we friends? That means your home is my home, too.”

“What kind of declaration is that—are you Gian now?” Okakura Take glared at him.

“And why did you eat everything in my fridge?!” She pointed accusingly toward the kitchen.

“Don’t be stingy! Just think of it as my commission for saving you from the hiatus virus. Isn’t that a fair deal? I, Gin-san, risked my life to drag you back from that chuunibyou demon king state.”

He picked up a carton of milk from the table and took a swig.

Okakura Take’s face flushed red. Getting caught in such an embarrassing state by this guy was a complete miscalculation. Just recalling the things she’d said to him two years later was mortifying...

She prayed he wouldn’t realize...

“Hey.” Gintoki spoke up suddenly.

“Eh? What?” Startled, she looked at him.

“Just eating this for breakfast isn’t quite enough. How about steaming some rice and making egg over rice?” Gintoki propped his head on his hand lazily.

This bastard! What on earth did she ever see in such a shameless jerk? Damn him!

“Don’t push your luck, Gin-san!” Okakura Take said through gritted teeth.

“Oh, is that so? Well, then, this probably doesn’t concern anyone else.” Gintoki reached into his pocket and produced a voice recorder.

“That robot persona you used isn’t fitting for this new era. The moment I became a robot, I installed a new personality system. From then on, I was no longer human, but a humanoid! That setting should have been flawless...”

“It’s all your fault! The personality program I’d discarded somehow restarted! What a joke—the weak personality from the past wants to seize control of this body just because of you...”

“If only you were gone, that weak persona would never appear, and my programming wouldn’t break down. A humanoid doesn’t need all the complex emotions of a human—those just cause system failures.”

...

These words—so familiar! Weren’t these exactly what she’d said two years later? Okakura Take’s blush deepened. Hearing them again, she wanted nothing more than to crawl into the earth, the shame was overwhelming.

“Give it to me!” she cried, lunging at him.

Gintoki slipped the recorder back into his shirt in a flash. In her fluster, Okakura Take jumped onto him, grabbing his collar with both hands.

“You bastard! How did you even have time to record all that? Give me the recorder, or I’ll kill you!”

But then she realized something was off—he wasn’t reacting at all. Suddenly, Okakura Take noticed Gintoki’s gaze was drifting downward...

She followed his line of sight and saw he was staring straight at her chest.

“Eh?!” With a cry, Okakura Take leapt away and dashed back to her room to change.

The robot body, Okakura.vul.Take, was a size larger than her own, and as a robot, Okakura.vul.Take didn’t need to wear underwear. So, when Okakura Take bent over just now, she was in a completely unguarded state...

A minute later, now wearing a black jacket, Okakura Take walked out of her room again.

She marched over and seized Gintoki’s collar once more. “Give me the voice recorder!”

Gintoki regarded her lazily and replied, “It’s no use. I have backups.”

“Damn it!” Okakura Take let go of his collar and stormed off to the kitchen to steam rice. An hour later, a steaming bowl of egg over rice appeared before Gintoki.

“Soya sauce?” he asked.

Okakura Take stomped back to the kitchen, grabbed a bottle of soy sauce, and slammed it down in front of him.

“Of course, egg over rice has to have soy sauce,” Gintoki said, mixing it in before wolfing down his meal.

Okakura Take sighed and fetched herself a bowl as well—she was hungry, after all.

“Eat and then go home,” she said.

Gintoki looked up from his bowl. “Kicking me out so soon? After all, I saved your life.”

“Are there any other lifesavers who rummage through your fridge without permission?” Okakura Take squinted at him.

Suddenly, her phone rang. She looked—an incoming call from Otose’s Tavern.

“Hello? What is it? Ah, Shinpachi, it’s you. You’re looking for that useless curly-head? Fine, I’ll put him on.” Okakura Take handed the phone to Gintoki. “Here, it’s for you.”

“Hm?” Gintoki took the phone. “Shinpachi-kun? What? Work…”

A few minutes later, Gintoki hung up and handed the phone back. “Troublesome. Shinpachi and Kagura just can’t do anything without me—I’d better head back.”

“Then go already. Having an irresponsible boss like you is Shinpachi and Kagura’s misfortune,” Okakura Take replied.

Gintoki stood and grabbed a bottle of milk from the table. He walked over to her.

“Is there something else?” Okakura Take asked, puzzled.

“You really are a woman whose words don’t match her heart.” Gintoki waved a hand. “Bye now—I’m off.”

“Huh? What on earth is that supposed to mean?” Okakura Take stared after him, bowl in hand, completely baffled.

Just what did that guy mean? She truly didn’t understand.

After Gintoki left, Okakura Take received a package. She suddenly remembered—she’d ordered this game back when she was the demon king. For some reason, during her time as a robot, she’d become addicted to all kinds of otome romance games.

“Well, I’m bored anyway. Might as well open it up and play.” With that thought, Okakura Take unwrapped the romance simulation game.

“Storm Academy…” Okakura Take began reading the game’s description.

Storm Academy was a high school that gathered only the most elite students from across Japan. Among them stood a select group at the peak of the golden pyramid—the Saint Wind Student Council…

After reading a long and bewildering introduction, Okakura Take was left scratching her head. She couldn’t understand why her future demon king self would be so into this kind of game.

She started to play.

At first—“Ah, this is boring. Why do I bump into someone and fall over every time I leave the house?”

Then, “Hm? That sparkly character looks interesting.”

Finally, “Damn it! I got the ‘dark route’ ending again—failed to capture anyone! Let’s go again!”

And so, Okakura Take lost herself in the world of games.

In the days that followed, the Galactic Police Alliance’s headquarters was undergoing renovations after some damage, so Okakura Take brought all her files home. Every day, after finishing her paperwork, she would tackle various romance games, from those aimed at women, to those for men, and eventually even yuri and BL titles.

At last, tired of takeout, she decided to go out, have a bowl of ramen, and maybe visit a small bar for a drink.

As she walked, she noticed there were far fewer pedestrians than usual.

A few minutes later, she arrived at the diner—one recommended by Gintoki.

“Boss, one bowl of chashu ramen, please.”

“Coming right up—one chashu ramen!”

Okakura Take propped her chin on her hand, waiting for her food, when she overheard a conversation from the next table.

“Rumor has it there’s going to be a war soon,” said an uncle with a traditional topknot.

“What?” the other man looked confused.

“You don’t know? The four great kings’ factions have been clashing more and more fiercely lately.”

The Four Kings… Okakura Take paused. She recalled they were the four monsters who ruled Kabukicho—one of whom was Granny Otose.

“Miss, your chashu ramen.” The boss placed her bowl in front of her.

“Oh, thank you.” Okakura Take picked up her chopsticks to eat, but kept listening.

“I heard that Otose, one of the Four Kings, is already dead.”

Clatter—Okakura Take’s chopsticks fell to the table.

Granny Otose was dead? What was happening?

“Uncle, what do you mean by Granny Otose’s death?” Okakura Take approached and asked.

“Hm? You didn’t know, miss? Apparently there was a dispute with Jirocho’s faction, and I hear Katsu, one of Jirocho’s lieutenants, also died.”

“They say there’s a new face replacing Katsu as leader, and he’s the one who brought Hua Tuo and Saigo together to take Otose down.”

“In a couple of days, Otose’s bar will be destroyed by those people, too.”

Okakura Take listened in silence. After finishing her noodles, she left the diner.

She went to Otose’s Tavern. It was evening, when business should be bustling, but the door was still closed. She climbed to the second floor and rang the Odd Jobs bell several times—no one answered. Those guys weren’t around either.

“A war, huh…” Okakura Take lifted her head to gaze at the Kabukicho sky.

This was a street that accepted all filth—Kabukicho, a gathering place for scoundrels, masters, knights, and down-and-out samurai from all over the underworld. It was a haven for legendary outlaws, a place where people could be cold and violent, and yet sometimes, unexpectedly lovable.

“If those guys aren’t around, Kabukicho will be lonely too.” Okakura Take descended the stairs one by one.

She retraced her steps, having already made up her mind.

Two days later, men from Jirocho’s faction and Saigo’s group of crossdressers gathered in front of Otose’s Tavern.

The horn of war in Kabukicho sounded!

Author’s Note: The Madman’s Ramblings: I reread the Gintama manga again today (how many times are you going to reread it?!), and I noticed that in the first volume, Gin’s face still had a bit of baby fat. Later, Sorachi’s art style suddenly changed, and Gin’s features became all sharp. Tsk tsk.

A heads-up: after the Four Kings arc, next comes Shinpachi’s Girlfriend Game arc.