Gintama; Takasugi X Reader (part 2) [Save Me]

Chapter 36 {Takasugi Shinsuke}

My body moves before I can process where I'm going. I cast away the scabbard and leap to deflect the blow from reaching Y/N.

A hint of surprise lit in the lieutenant's face before he backs away. I ignore his look of a satisfied smile and turn around to face Y/N.

"What's wrong?" I ask, frowning at her sudden halt of action.

A ray of unease moves between my head towards her ashen face. Her eyes stay glued to her opponent before us, wide and fill with horror. But she doesn't speak, barely noticing that I'm here.

I intend to step closer and call her again but the guy begins to talk.

"Greetings," he says, the smug still on his face. "We are finally able to directly speak. I am Komu, the current lieutenant of the Naraku."

"What did you do to her?" I ask, casting a look at Y/N's pale expression. The sword in her grip hangs loose and on edge to drop.

The lieutenant's smirk spreads wider as he speaks. "Nothing. I did nothing to her, not yet."

I fully turn, gaze steadily on him.

"I must say, it's rather a surprise that you would come to this kind of place. May I ask what urges you to?"

"Surprised that I found the nest of crows?"

"No, not surprised. But rather anticipated," he says, flicking a look at Y/N. "But it seems too late now on whatever purpose that brought you here."

I keep my expression neutral and fight the effort to look at her. So this is why she abruptly froze.

"No," I remark, casually striding forward. My lips curl as I continue, "My sole motive now is to remove filthy crows from further blackening the world. No more, and no less."

"Opinions aside, I guess we have quite a motive in common."

He leaps forward, sword in hand ready to swing as I to him. When coming to a close range, I duck below his strike and seize the chance to swing my blade aside on his body.

A pained grunt sounds as drops of his blood drip onto the floor. Without turning back around, I move aside as Komu's blade tears through the air beside me and I grab his arm before throwing him forward. I hoist my weapon up and thrust it towards him, but he deflects the blow on time before landing hard on the ground.

Quickly recovering, Komu stabs the wooden floor and uses it as a support to straighten. His eyes shoot to me with rage and hate before they avert aside beyond me.

I walk to where his gaze is and block out his view, not giving him any chance to have thoughts about aiming anything at her. Without turning around to see Y/N, I keep my focus on my opponent.

This is what I at least can do for her.

After a moment above the clash of swords, a ray of blinding white light extends throughout the dark gray sky, then follows by a deafening sound of thunder.

"Don't tell me the sky is also grieving along you," Komu says, heavy with shallow breaths. When his expectation of a response doesn't live up, his scorn travels to me and stays.

"Pathetic. I find it unreasonable as to why you even bother keeping her. Especially now that she's useless as a broken sword."

I resist an attempt to hurl the blade into his heart and flare him a look as levelly while as murderous.

"Speaking so big while without glancing down upon yourself?" I contend.

A mask of serenity of all the sudden covers his otherwise infuriated demeanor. If not for the sound of the commotion around us, I might even mistake him to be releasing a laugh.