guardian | gintoki x reader

c h a p t e r t e n

[Name]'s head was throbbing with tremendous pain. When she woke up, she tried to remember everything that had happened. "You're awake." She turned to the voice to where it came from and it happened to be a familiar face she had seen before. "M-Mutsu!" She managed to say. "What the heck happened? Why does my head hurt so much? Argh, shit..." Just from saying that added more pain. "Please calm down. Do you remember anything at all? You were badly injured but I managed to clean and bandage your wounds." Mutsu said softly. [Name] told her she remembered hearing explosions and such. She also mentioned of being by Bansai's side and going over to save Shinsuke.
"I see," Mutsu barely whispered to herself. She explained the entire situation to the girl about being attacked by Kamui's father, Umibozu, and also about the man Utsuro. "So Shouyou is..." She tried to digest every single thing Mutsu said. Mutsu knew that the topic was going to be very hard on the broken girl. "How is Sakamoto taking all of this in? How the hell am I going to explain this to Shinsuke? I just...god fucking damn it! Why is everything happening so fast?! None of it is making sense—"
"I understand your pain right now but—"
"No, you don't. Please spare me your bullshit. I don't need anyone else to pity me. I just need someone—"
"How about we go meet that "someone" then?"

"How is she doing," asked a silver, perm haired samurai with his cheek engulfed in his hand that his arm was resting up on a table. "Sakamoto?" Said man turned to the Yorozuya Gin-Chan and replied that she was doing fine. "Mutsu is taking care of her at the moment. She'll probably wake up soon." Gintoki nodded at the hazel, colored haired man then set his gaze at Katsura. "Hey Katsura—"
"It's not Katsura, it's Zura! Oh, wait—"
"Okay, Zura, mind telling me again as to why you dressed up as me to put me on the fucking wanted posters?!"
"You're still angry about that? Or is it because I got to eat the cake instead of you?"
"I have you know that I can bake better than a store bought cake!" It's true. Gintoki is actually a great cook; he even made his own cake one time in Shinpachi's house and also for [Name]'s birthday. He even mentioned about making their future wedding cake on his own (he was sleep talking, hah, in his dreams). As they were about to continue their blabbering (and almost falling asleep due to counting the good and bad things about Takasugi), the automatic door slid open with Mutsu and a old friend of theirs. [Name] raced down the steps to Bansai, who was also saved by Sakamoto after the attack from Umibozu, and in the room discussing about how to save Takasugi.
"Bansai! Shit—I'm so glad you're alive! The last thing I remember was trying to get to Shinsuke but then the ship kept collapsing and I was worried and there was explosions and—"
"Woah, woah, calm down! Just take deep breaths, [Name]." He took a hold of the shaking woman and she did as he told her. She took about three to five deep breaths that were able to relax her. He knew what she wanted to say and ask but her questions may be difficult to answer. "I'm guessing that lady told you everything that's going on, yes?" He asked her with his hand running through those teal strands of hair of his. "Yeah," [Name] let out a tremulous sigh as she looked down melancholy. She was so caught up with worrying about the entire situation they were in that she almost couldn't catch onto the voice that stood out to her. It was so soothing and hypnotic—manly and...nostalgic. When she caught onto the voice, her head whipped over to the speaker. Her [color] orbs shined and grew wide. There he stood, almost like a silhouette that's been with her the whole time—the entire time that she was away from Kabukicho. The man that she left to protect another, the Yorozuya Gin-Chan. "Did you hear me?" Gintoki asked with annoyed look from where he was now standing; away from his original seat and now next to Kotaro. "I said for you to—". Before he could finish his sentence, small arms wrapped around his entire back. Her fingernails nearly digging through his coal colored shirt and colorless kimono. Everyone in the room silently watched the two long lost lovers that finally had the chance to reunite. Her sniffles were audible and her tears that she held for so long—so fucking long that she thought she would never be able to have the ability cry out to be able to reduce the pain she kept inside. It was him alone that was able to bring back the life in her. If there was a moment where she didn't get to see him ever again, she knew she would be a walking doll. She didn't want that to happen to her. Not again.
As her eyes bled out tears, she found the courage to speak to him. "I was so fucking scared, Gintoki." The way she said his name, the voice he had been longing to hear again was just enough to flow a bit of sanity back into him. [Name] just couldn't hold it in anymore. The hit to her head from falling parts of the ship earlier probably made her like this, but she let herself break down—even if she were to fall, Gintoki himself would be there to bring her back up again. That was just the kind of guy he is.
"I'm here now," he said. She pulled her head alway from his chest and looked up to him with tears still pouring from those beautiful eyes that he still loved, oh, so much. "You should stay here and rest. We'll catch up with everything once I get back, alright? Leave everything to me." She choked from those words and his comforting voice. "I'm here now," she repeated in her head. "I'm here."
"Wh-where are Shinpachi and Kagura? Toshiro and—"
"I'll get that dumb idiot rabbit back home with us," he said. Home? Home to where?  "And virgin boy is fine, he's going to help us. When this is over, we'll go crash at Otose's and bring everyone from Kabukicho and Yoshiwara to party." Home to where everyone is waiting. Her tiny hands bawled into fists with his clothing in her hands at the front of his body. Home to where everyone is waiting, she repeated. For all the shit that she did that caused to hurt him, this whole time, he was waiting for her. The mysterious figure's face that stood at the door was him, wasn't it? Guess she really was an idiot. Who needs Ichigo Kurosaki to be their shinigami when she already had one, the great Shiroyasha himself?
"Help save Shinsuke, our comrade...our friend!" Her voice had cracked at the end of her sentence. She tried her best to put on a smile but it ended up being a frown from so much pain and happiness that overwhelmed her at the same time.
Just from those words he felt a part of his sanity come back again. He wiped her cheeks with the sleeve of his kimono and gave her that handsome smile of his. The woman that was tired of running away, tired of carrying her own burden by herself, the woman he missed so much thinking about on lonely nights, the woman he loved and protected in her sleep; being not just a silhouette but also her guardian that kept her alive this entire time, was finally back in his arms.
"What are you, an idiot? I don't need you to ask for my help. Family will always help out even without permission, right?"

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Sometimes you can't just keep everything to yourself. When you think you may not need another's help, you may be wrong. It's good to speak out instead of carrying the hurt and the pain—the burden by yourself. Seek out someone who will actually listen and care to help. Don't feel ashamed to cry.