Chapter 119: Silver Soul (Extra)

Oedo Hospital.

"Long time no see, Ms. Okakura."

"Hmm?" Okakura Take slowly raised her head. Her vision was growing increasingly blurred; it took several seconds before she could clearly make out the person standing before her.

"It has been a long time, Mr. Sasaki," Okakura Take said with a faint smile.

"Seeing you in this state truly saddens me. After all, I really did like you once," Sasaki said, taking a seat beside the hospital bed.

"Hahaha, Mr. Sasaki, please, no jokes. I know that those flirtatious gestures you made toward me back then were just a passing whim. But even so, I am grateful that you came to see me at a time like this..." Okakura Take tilted her head slightly, gazing at the white hair spread across her pillow. "After all, being able to see a familiar face before death is a happy thing."

"...Ms. Okakura, have you given up hope?" Sasaki leaned in slightly, plucking a strand of her hair as he asked.

"Hope? I have been trying, but before you talk about me, look at yourself, Mr. Sasaki. You are planning to leave Earth, aren't you? You, too, have abandoned hope. You also believe there is no cure for the White Curse, don't you?" Okakura Take asked with a light laugh.

"..." Sasaki fell silent, slowly releasing the strand of her hair.

"Mr. Sasaki, thank you. Thank you for coming to see me before my eyes go completely dark. If you ever have the chance to return to Earth, could you bring me a bouquet of flowers?" Okakura Take asked.

"Ah, I will. An elite like me wouldn't be stingy. I will bring you the most beautiful flowers," Sasaki said softly.

"Thank you, Mr. Sasaki..."

Ten minutes later, Sasaki left the room. Okakura Take lay alone in the silence, staring up at the snow-white ceiling.

"How much longer do I have?" she whispered to the air.

Suddenly, the door to her room was pushed open, and a group of people walked in.

"Take-chan, I brought you some vinegared kelp, aru."

"Kagura-chan, Take is a patient. She can't eat vinegared kelp."

"Then have some fruit. The Yagyu family has plenty of high-quality fruit, so I brought a basket for you."

"The Yoshiwara district has some too; if you want to eat more, I can bring it next time."

"Thank you all for coming to see me every day. I'm getting sick of looking at your faces," Okakura Take said, looking at her visitors.

"You damn woman, I'm the one who's sick of looking at your half-dead face!" Sarutobi retorted.

"Sarutobi, I find your idiot face equally unpleasant," Okakura Take replied.

"You're the one with the idiot face! You're an idiot from head to toe!"

"Ms. Sarutobi, you're the one who is an idiot through and through—a hopeless, total idiot!"

"Enough, enough! Ms. Okakura, Ms. Sarutobi, please stop arguing. Ms. Okakura, would you like some water?" Shinpachi quickly stepped in to halt their childish squabble.

"No, I'm not thirsty, Shinpachi," Okakura Take said, looking at him. Suddenly, she paused. "Shinpachi, did you change your hairstyle?"

"Ah, yes. I wanted a new look. After all, Otsu-chan changed hers," Shinpachi said, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"I see. It has been two years; it is time for a change. I want a new look, too..." Okakura Take murmured.

"Shinpachi, Kagura-chan... Gin-san... he still hasn't returned, has he?" Okakura Take asked softly.

"...Ah, who knows where that bastard is taking a dump. He hasn't come back yet," Shinpachi said after a few seconds of hesitation.

"That's why I told Gin-san to eat fewer sweets back then. Getting overheated makes you prone to constipation..." Okakura Take muttered to herself. "Look at him, squatting in the bathroom for two years now. Did he run off to the Demon Kingdom?"

"Take-chan, don't worry. That idiot will definitely come back. Once he's finished pooping, he'll be back, aru," Kagura said, gently stroking Okakura Take’s hair.

"That's right. You idiot woman, hurry up and get well so you can go find him in the bathroom. That fool might have become a lingering spirit trapped in there because he ran out of toilet paper," Tsukuyo said, crossing her arms.

"Hahahaha, that really might be the case. Because that good-for-nothing curly-head is just that much of an idiot. *Cough, cough, cough...*" By the end of her laughter, Okakura Take erupted into a violent fit of coughing, her pale skin suddenly flushed with blood.

"Take!" Otae hurried over, gently patting her back.

"I'm fine, Otae. Don't be so careful; I'm not a doll," Okakura Take said with a smile. "Don't worry, everyone. It will be just fine..."

Over an hour later, Okakura Take woke up. The sun had already set, and the sky outside the window was deepening into night. She was alone in the room, but many people stood just outside.

The voices outside were quiet, but Okakura Take could still hear them; her hearing had not yet fully faded.

"Doctor, is there really no other way?" It was Otae's voice.

"It's no use. We have done everything we can. Ms. Okakura is in the terminal stage of the infection. The White Curse has destroyed all of her organs. She... she doesn't have much time left." Okakura Take recognized the voice of her attending physician.

"Doctor! Please, I beg you, isn't there any other way? Can't you perform an organ transplant? If you swap my organs for hers, can she keep living, aru?" Kagura asked.

"Kagura, let go. You’re grabbing the doctor's collar; he can't talk like that," Kyubei said.

"It's impossible. Ms. Okakura's body has been completely ravaged by the White Curse. She won't last these next few days."

Won't last? Okakura Take looked at her own palms, feeling powerless.

"In just two years, the world has changed so much..."

Two years ago, originating in Edo, the White Curse—a highly infectious and lethal virus—broke out across the globe. Patients infected with the White Curse would not survive more than half a month. The symptoms began with all body hair turning white, followed by organ failure leading to death.

To this day, the cause and transmission route of the virus remain unknown. But one thing was certain: the only way to avoid the White Curse was to escape!

Consequently, many wealthy people began leaving Earth. The population was gradually dwindling, not only due to those who fled but also because of those infected who were slowly dying...

Okakura Take had been diagnosed and hospitalized three weeks ago, but her condition had shown no signs of improvement; instead, it grew steadily worse.

"My hair has become the same color as Gin-san's," Okakura Take whispered, looking at her white locks.

Recently, she could clearly feel her body failing. On many nights, she felt that if she closed her eyes, she would never wake up again. Okakura Take knew she could not resist the encroachment of the White Curse. She was going to die soon.

Yet, there was one thing she couldn't let go of before she passed. Through all this suffering, the one thing she remained obsessed with was... where on earth did that good-for-nothing curly-head disappear to!

Two years! That deadbeat had been missing for two years! The last person to see him was a convenience store owner, who said he walked into the restroom and never came out. Did that bastard really get flushed down the toilet into the Demon Kingdom?

In the end, the store owner had returned a nonsensical notebook, and the fool had even eaten a poisonous mushroom along the way...

And the nanobot virus...

"Enmi..."

She could never forget that mercenary clan. Twelve years ago, during the Joui War, the Shogunate had hired this group of mercenaries—the Enmi—to deal with the Joui patriots.

It was a catastrophe. Many had been infected by the Enmi's virus and died, with symptoms identical to the White Curse. Okakura Take never expected that while she had avoided the Enmi's virus twelve years ago, she would now be infected by the White Curse. It was as if the virus had come full circle, clinging to her like a nightmare.

Okakura Take closed her eyes, thinking of the past. She realized she had been dwelling on memories more and more lately; perhaps when death is near, one tries to grasp at whatever they can.

Time passes quickly for the dying. Two days had passed since Sasaki’s visit. That night, for some reason, Okakura Take adamantly refused to let the nurse draw the curtains. She said she wanted to see the stars.

The nurse was worried at first, fearing Okakura Take might be planning to commit suicide, but she checked the windows and saw they were sealed to prevent patients from jumping. Reassured, the nurse complied with her request.

Late at night, Okakura Take gazed at the night sky. The stars remained unchanged, densely scattered across the black expanse.

With fewer people in Edo, the city no longer glowed with the neon lights of the past, allowing the starlight, once obscured by urban glare, to shine through once more.

The sight reminded her of her days as a Joui patriot, when she and Gintoki would sit on the rooftops, watching the stars together.

Back then, that good-for-nothing curly-head had said that besides the Amanto, there were friends among the stars...

"Gin-san, I really want to see you one more time..."

I really want to... see you one more time before I die.

Why did she want to see the stars? Because their light was the same as his—silver, shining brightly. She loved that kind of light...

But her life was reaching its end before she could see that light fade. Gin-san, are you truly dead? Has your light really vanished?

Okakura Take felt her vision blurring further; even the stars were beginning to fade. She could even hear how weak her own breathing had become. She knew the Grim Reaper was standing by her bed, ready to reap her life...

*Clang*—suddenly, she heard the sound of a window shattering, and then she vaguely saw a figure in a black robe walk toward her.

"Is it the Reaper?" Okakura Take asked softly.

The figure did not speak; he only knelt down, gripping her cold hand tightly. He rested his face against her palm, and warm liquid began to drip onto her skin...

So it was you...

"To be able to see you, you bastard, at the very end... it's wonderful. Gin-san... so you went on a trip to the Soul Society..."

"Idiot," Gintoki choked out, his voice thick with emotion. "The Soul Society sent me back to tell you they don't want a Godzilla like you..."

"..."

But this time, there was no reply for Gintoki, for the person whose hand he held had closed her eyes forever, departing with a smile of contentment.

"Idiot..."

Idiot...

Why did you have to be the one to leave first?