Gintama 389

I dunno how to feel. This arc has been really good so far, but the idea of it ending within a week or two is more heartbreaking than Soyo's story.

...also...what a tweeest!



(Side text- An unthinkable situation...)

GINTAMA

Kondo: Sho---

The Shogun's assassination?!

Hijikata: Don't blurt it out so loudly.

Apparently someone that the lord of higher up allowed into the castle was actually became a danger to his life. Since then the Bakfu has become sluggish and unresponsive.

The Bakfu is trusting us to keep this information from leaking out so try to watch what you say.

Kondo: A—And? What about Ue-sama?!

Hijikata: Don't worry about him. He lost consciousness but his life isn't in danger.

Luckily for him, Sadasada-sama noticed where he had been concealed...

And although now the palace guards are watching out for him....

002

Hijikata: They got Sasaki.

In any case since it's strange for him to end up like that...

I doubt that they're gonna put his head on a stake.

The Mimawarigumi has been dismissed from it's mission to protect the castle.

It's only a matter of time until they're put out to pasture permanently.

Kondo: N—no way. To think the Mimawarigumi would..

And that we'd be asked to pick up their slack...

Hijikata: It's as simple as them getting in the way and being dealt with.

Kondo: What do you mean Toshi?

Hijikata: Something stinks.

Kondo: Eh?! Something stinks? What?!

Hijikata: I don't know much about the culprit in the serial bakfu statesmen killer case...

But I'm sure that unless there was some sort of betrayal in the wings that no one could have snuck into the castle without being caught.

Yet the higher ups want these culprits to be executed without having any sort of investigation into their background done.

003

Hijikata: Have you started to wonder why they want this to be dealt with so quickly?

(Handwritten- Oh good, I almost thought he had found me out...)

Hijikata: Kondo-san?

Kondo: I—I see...so you think some unnecessary trouble is brewing?

Why don't we wash these culprits and hang them to dry?

Hijikata: A brigand stupid enough to sneak into the castle during brought daylight..

Who wants to turn this world---no the Bakfu upside down..

That...

Idiot...

Gintoki: Heeey!!

Kondo-kun! Hijikata-kun!!

(Side text: It's you guuuuuys?!)

SORACHI HIDEAKI
GINTAMA
Lesson 389: The guys who go to sleep first at slumber parties are usually up to no good.

004

Gintoki: Who woulda thought that we'd meet in a place like this? Ain't that the greatest coincidence?

But you came at a great time, c'mon over and have a seat! There's plenty to discuss...

(Sfx- Giiiii grreeee)

(Sfx- Batan slam)

Gintoki: IMMA KILL YOU ROTTEN PO-PO!!

Why the hell are you ignoring us?! You could at least stop in for a conversation, ashaaaaats!!

Hijikata: No amount of washing will get out the dirt in that. We should just give up.

Kondo: We'd do best to not get involved with them.

Gintoki: You baaastards!! Well how about I start talking about how you have a stalker of a civilian among your ranks?

Hey listen up everybody!! That Gorilla's totally a stalker!

Hijikata(?): We already know that, dumbass!

Okita: That'll get you nowhere boss.

You've gotten involved in something troublesome again haven't you?

(Sfx- Gatan clatter)

Okita: So it makes sense to keep you in the clink now that we actually have you here...with your record and all..

No one's gonna listen even if you do say it's all just a rumor spun out of control.

Getting involved with the shogun in this way pretty much sends everyone in the opposite direction.

Kagura: Then rip off your ears and give them to mee!!

Okita: Sorry but my ears have a previous engagement.

Kagura: Then rip some bread crust and give it to me!!

Okita: Hm? Now there's a face I remember....

How strange...

Why would someone as elite as you launch an attack against the shogun?

005

Okita: Considering that you were supposed to be with the shogun, I have to wonder what happened...Mimawarigumi.

Oh, whoops. Sorry.

(Sfx- Mucha mucha chew chew)

Okita: I forgot to add the 'former' to Mimawarigumi. Considering your days are numbered...

Nice screw up by the way.

Nobume: GIVE ME THE PONTELING DAMMMITTTTTTTT!!

(Sfx- Uraaaaaaaaaghhh!!)

(Sfx- Gah grab)

Gintoki(?): THAT'S YOUR PROBLEM?!

(TN- A kind of Doughnut. So very hard to resist writing 'GIMMIE SPRINKLES NOW BITCH' with that expression she's making.)

Okita: UGAHHH!! MY CROTCH IS SPLITTING!!

Kagura: GIVE ME BREAKFAST DAMMMIT!!!

(Sfx- Meki meki grnd grnd)

Shinpachi: I knew it....we're up against one really evil person this time.

(Sfx- Hah sigh)

Shinpachi: Sadasada is the one person who knows what really happened, and he's even managed to take Sasaki-san out....

That effectively puts the Mimawarigumi out of action and absolves him of any responsibility.

(Sfx- Mogo muga chew chew)

Shinpachi: No one will believe us if we say anything, and they're not even doing an investigation.

Worst yet, all of his sins will go unnoticed because they really do plan on executing us...

I hate to say it but this time...

We may have made a truly fearsome enemy....

006

Gintoki: Geez. No one could have possibly have seen the target of our infiltration turning out to be such an unimaginable bastard who sprung a trap on us.

If I had my weapon, this wouldn't have happened...

Nobume: Then losing your weapons was for the best.

Struggling against them would have ended with you dying in vain.

Those men weren't just some thugs.

(Sfx- Mogu mogu chew chew)

Nobume: If you saw their arms, you would have noticed tattoos of the Yatagarasu.

(TN- A Three legged crow found in several Asian mythologies.)

Nobume: The Amaterasu sect 'Naraku'.

Since olden times, they are a sect of assassins used by the politically affluent to rule the country from the shadows.

Because their methods are so cruel, so cold, despite them being at the center of even the most peaceful of regimes, they are considered a taboo.

Sadasada may have made the oniwaban's activities illegal...

But he did so after scheming and forging a bond with the Naraku.

It's obvious the serial bakfu statesmen killings were all orchestrated by Sadasada, and carried out by the Naraku.

Afterward that old fox could sweep up with no opposition.

Shinpachi: What can we do in a situation like this...?

In any case the Mimawarigumi is already....

Nobume: He's alive.

Isaburou...

Is alive.

007

Tsukuyo: A bloodstained Shogun eh?

I guess I gotta hand it to ya, Gintoki you were right.

I was the one chasin' after a stupid dream.

The man Suzuran was waitin' for..

already fell by the wayside.

Three thousand worlds...

And he ain't nowheres to be found.

She had to know it..

What Sadasada was usin' her for...

And maybe that's why she stayed down in Yoshiwara keepin' his secret...

And maybe that promise...

Ain't nothin more than a chain that ties her down to Yoshiwara...

But maybe Suzuran...

Wasn't waitin' for no one from tha' start...

Maybe she just wanted to have...

A place where she could just dream.

008

Maizou: Shigeshige-samaaaa!! Please...please reconsider!!

Those people are Princess Soyo's friends!!

I don't think they could possibly be capable of planning an assassination!! Please, if you do this Hime-sama will be heartbroken!!

If you feel the need to punish them by death...

Then cut me, Rotten Maizou right in the ass with your blade!!

After all, it was I who allowed them to enter through the gate!! Let me respond in kind with my own gate!!

Shigeshige: Calm yourself Jiiya.

I hear what you're saying, but I didn't order this.

Absolutely everything is being handled by uncle.

Maizou: But sir...it's only you that can stop this whole farce from being carried out....

???: You're quite the retainer Maizou.

009

Sadasada: I can see that you're so bitterly opposed to this that you'd much rather perform seppuku...

(Sfx- Dooon Thooom)

Sadasada: However they do not need your concern....they are the culprits after all.

Maizou....

You wouldn't be accusing me of falsehoods would you?

After all if not them then who...?

Who else had the chance to come into the palace I wonder...?

Maizou: Th---

That's nonsense sir...

Shigeshige: Jiiya?

Sadasada: Shigeshige-san...

You must be completely worn out from all of the troubling events that occurred today.

I will ensure that everything is handled expediently, so please go have a rest.

Shigeshige: But, uncle at a time like this I.....

Sadasada: Shigeshige-san, If the king crumbles so will his country. You have a responsibility as king to look after your body.

You just make sure to look after yourself....that's all I ask of you.

Leave this old timer to,

do a good job of cleaning up this mess.

010

Kondo: Lord Sadasada?!

Hijikata: Is that the truth Sougo?

Okita: I can't confirm it one hundred percent, but it seems about right.

Kondo: Toshi...

Hijikata: Ain't much we can do. Even if he did end up changing his occupation, the fact remains that Lord Sadasada wants him to taste divine punishment.

I can't really say that I care much about the higher ups and their pointless little trifles.

Our job is to protect Edo.

Not to put out a slop bucket for little piggies to gorge on.

Kondo: Are you saying we just leave them behind then?

(Sfx- Gasaaah Sfft)

Hijikata: Do you want to dance to the Mimawarigumi's tune again then?

Kondo: Toshi, if we really don't do anything now can we really consider ourselves Samurai?

To turn our eyes away from a injustice....aren't we the same as those pigs?

Kondo-san, we're just a bunch of monkeys from the countryside. We're a far cry from being called 'samurai'.

In fact those Samurai are the reason why those pigs are around in the first place. Never forget that.

Kondo: I want to keep my code of chivalry and ethics! If I have to give those up and be a samurai in name only...

Then imma go sign up for the patriot's camp.

Hijikata: Well guess what! Those 'samurai in name only' are the ones who can protect whats important! Not those guys who cling to chivalry!!

Kondo: And can't you see there's something HERE we need to protect?!

Hijikata: You idiotic blockhead!!

Kondo: I'm tired of your group mentality!!

(Sfx- Bata bata tmp tmp)

(Handwritten- Hold on a minute!!)

Hijikata: You're no better!! Just clinging to one petty ideal after another!

Besides, what do you plan on doing?! Arresting the Shogun?!

011

Yamazaki: Oh crap!! The captain and vice captain are fighting each other!!

(Sfx- Kuwaaaah roaaar)

Yamazaki: Someone stop them!!

Hey knock it off you two!!
(Sfx- Dosaaah thud thud*)

Yamazaki(?): Okay who took advantage of the confusion and kicked me in the ass?!

Gintoki: SHUT THE FREAK UUUUUUP!! WE'RE TRYING TO SLEEP HERE SHITHEADS!!

Shinpachi: They sure are laid back....can't they at least give us the common decency to wallow in sorrow before our execution tomorrow?

(Sfx- Giiii grnnnnd)

(Sfx- Hyoko wifft)

Kagura: So—Soyo-cha--

(Sfx- Gabaah glomph)

{N—no way...did she take advantage of those idiot's fight...}

{To come and save us....?}

Soyo: Um..

I'm ever so lonely, so I couldn't sleep.

So I thought it would be better to come here beside you all...is that okay?

012

Soyo: I'm ever so glad~ Lately Nobume-san has been sleeping with me...

So without her it's become so scary to sleep alone..

Shinpachi: Um, we're sorta having sleep related issues of our own...

Soyo: It's so exciting! I do love sleepovers! My heart is racing ever so fast~!

Shinpachi: Our hearts are racing for a completely different reason. It could have a lot to do with our pending execution tomorrow.

Soyo: There's no need to fret everyone...I'm sure G-iiya is trying his best to prove your innocence.

Even knowing that, I can't get to sleep....oh! I know~

Since I was a child, G-iiya would tell me bedtime stores.

(Handwritten- That seems like a total pain in the ass.)

Soyo: They were ever so boring. I'd fall right to sleep!
(Handwritten- Um Hime-sama, you're a total sadist.)

Soyo: Um..here goes...Once upon a time..

(Sfx- Dosaaah thudd)

(Sfx- Gagoogagooo snrrrrsneeeer)

Shinpachi: Just how bored are you people?! More like that's really rude!! Get up now!!

Soyo: Once upon a time...in a certain place..

A lord and his retainer lived.

The lord's wife was the fairest princess in the whole kingdom,

And she loved the lord greatly.

But the lord was using the princess's feelings...

And locked her in prison, subjecting her to all kinds of terrible things.

013

Soyo: Because of this the princess spent each day in her cell..

Pitifully crying her eyes out.

The retainer would...

Always go to the princess and wipe her tears away.

Eventually he..

began to fall in love with the princess.

{But a love such as theirs would never come to be, due to his political status.}

{So he resigned his feelings deep into his chest and continued to serve the princess by wiping her tears.}

{The lord never once noticed his feelings towards her....}

Lord: Hmm the fools underground have been making waves lately..

I suppose the time has come.

Go and deal with Suzuran.

{The hapless retainer had been given the order to go and kill the princess.}

014

Soyo: If he dared to challenge his master's orders, he would lose his life.

But to kill the one he loved so much was more than he could bear.

{So instead...}

{The two exchanged a promise.}

{The two of us will escape from this prison together.}

{I will return for you when next the moon is full.}

{And so the two of them...}

{Linked their little fingers as a promise.}

Soyo: But the next time the moon was full..

That very next full moon, the retainer didn't return to the princess's side.

{The lord...}

{Had somehow found out about everything.}

Lord: Unfortunately for the two of you....

Death is unavoidable.

How long has...

Suzuran been waiting for you?

015

Lord: A promise like that...

Will she abandon her man for it?

Will the woman continue waiting until her death for her man to return?

And then there's the man who has to live with the pain of knowing that he abandoned his woman and their promise.

It truly is a ravishing story, no?

{If he went to go see the Princess again, she'd be killed. The promise the two had made turned into a heavy chain before long.}

Soyo: So he decided...

No matter how many full moons should pass..

{Even if they should be riddled with the tremors of old age...}

{Even if the princess should eventually forget about him...}

{Until he met her again...}

{He would continue to live.}

Soyo: And even now..

That retainer...he is...

016

{Despite being reduced to...}

{Crawling on three legs, continues to live.}

Sadasada: Maizou...

Let me let you in on an intriguing story I heard...

It seems Suzuran is still living in Yoshiwara.

But she doesn't have long left.

I was astonished upon hearing this.

I thought by now she would have died, but she truly intends to stay alive until she you come.

Would you like to see her?

To be the very last thing Suzuran sees?

I for one believe it would be excellent if you did go.

Despite that little incident, you've done nothing but amazing work for the shogun family.

I'd like to reward your hard work with my gratitude.

Many full moons have come and gone since then..

So I think now would be the time to forgive your transgression.

(Sfx- Karran clatter)

Sadasada: I recall you wanting to take responsibility for letting those people in the palace?

017

Sadasada: Cut your belly.....

Suzuran

Will wait for you in hell.

Soyo: And so..

The princess and the retainer...

Tsukuyo: I getcha..

But that's enough 'hear?

Soyo: So you can't sleep either can you?

(Handwritten- Upsy daisy.)

Gintoki: Nah.

I have a feeling...

I know how the story goes.

(Sfx- Zath sfft)

Shinpachi: It's about that time Hime-sama....so if you could open the door...?

018

Soyo: Eh? Open it? But how?

Kagura: With that.

It was there when you entered Soyo-chan.

It must have been tossed in for just this moment, yes?

{Those people...the Shinsengumi...}

{They did that so I could gain entry?}
(Sfx- Giiiii Greeeee)

Kondo: What are you standing around for?

Get out of there. It's time for your execution.

Soyo: Eh? But wait!

It's still nighttime! You can't o---

(Sfx- Gashaaan clatter)

Kondo: Get your funeral attire in order.

019

(Sfx- Zahh shfft)

Okita: Boss, this was supposed to be the part where we execute everyone....you do know that right?

So make sure you clean up your neck and other matters before coming back...

Or all of our heads go flying.

Hijikata: If I'm going to execute you, I don't want it to be on trumped up shit yanno?

What the hell did you do to get locked up in the first place?

Gintoki: Going under the belt...

And tearing off the lord's topknot.

(Side text- And now the Yorozuya's world reformation begins?!)

GINTAMA LESSON 389........END.