[1st Memory: Hearing, touch, taste]
[ooc: Taken from one of the few serious points in the anime, around the end of episode 61. Dialogue ganked straight from Rumbel's sub, with one or two minor changes/extraneous dialogue dropped.]
"Kill them all!"
His entire body ached with scrapes and bruises and his heart raced, though not with fear. Adrenalin was pumping through him, making his senses sharp. He couldn't see, yet didn't feel particularly handicapped because of it. Judging by the taste of salt in the air, the wind whipping around his body, and the shuddering of wooden planks beneath his feet, they were on a ship. For some reason he knew it wasn't a regular ship; they were at least a couple miles above the ocean, on an airship.
There was the sound of footsteps quickly drawing near, then he felt his body move, disarming the foe. Without knowing he was doing it, he swung the katana he'd just taken, feeling the blade make contact with a body. He could taste the spray of blood, mixed with an innocuous salty tang.
"We'll cover you!" The voice was familiar; a friend he was exceptionally close to, someone he knew he irritated just for fun.
"Go!" This time it was his own voice, loud and demanding. Whoever it was he was speaking to, he wasn't going to take 'no' for an answer.
"But!" "Gin-chan!" This time the voices were younger, the first a boy, the second a girl. He couldn't put a name to either one, but he knew he had to protect both of them at all costs. Everyone had a burden to carry in life, and they were his. "Let me go Eli! Gin-chan!" The girl sounded distraught, and for a few seconds he thought of how a care-free tone suited her better.
His thoughts were interrupted by another shout from the enemy. "Attack! Take their heads!" He felt his body tensing for what he knew would be a rather large onslaught, hearing the retreating footsteps of the small group that had been with him before. The sound of wooden planks creaking nearby indicated that one was still there; his friend from before.
The enemy charged from all sides, their murderous intent very clear. The two warriors fought them fiercely, striking opponents down left, right, and centre, barely even getting to breathe. The pair of them were clearly stronger than any of their enemies, but they were badly outnumbered. Still, he knew he had to survive this, because he still had those two to look after and protect. His life wasn't over yet!
The voice of his friend broke through the chaotic sounds of battle. "Gintoki! There are things in this world that won't go the way you want them to! Forget about the country! I can't even change a friend!"
A small part of his brain, the part that realized everything he was experiencing was due to a 'memory sphere', wanted to think about what had just been said. He wasn't given that opportunity, however, as his own voice quickly quipped back, "Zura, you had friends? That's just your imagination!"
The reply came without hesitation, "Do you want to be cut into pieces, you bastard!?" Despite the aggression in their words, he knew that they had always treated each other like this. They were both tired, yet energetic enough to fend off their opponents while giving each other hell. He felt a twinge of nostalgia, as though they'd been in many similar scrapes together.
"Gintoki! Don't change. It'll take too much effort to kill you. I'd rather not do it." His friend, Zura, shouted to him. He could feel Zura's presence just behind him, the pair standing back to back now. Though he couldn't see, he knew they were completely surrounded.
His reply was slightly laboured, most of his energy having been spent already. "Zura... If you ever change... I'll be the first to cut you down!"
There was the sound of their katana's swishing through the air as they simultaneously raised their weapons and pointed them at one opponent in particular. "Takasugi!" Zura nearly spat the name out in disgust, like it was some kind of rotten food. "That's how it is!"
"The next time we meet," he heard himself chime in, "we'll no longer be comrades!" Then together, they yelled in perfect unison, "We'll cut you down with all our might!"
He felt his skin grow hot with anger, but wasn't entirely sure why. He knew the person they were yelling at pissed him off, but couldn't remember the reason. He heard himself shout a final, angry remark at the man, just before he and Zura leaped from the ship. "You better hope... you don't run into us on the streets!"
He fell only a short distance before hearing something that sounded like a large sheet whipping about in the wind. He felt himself latch onto his friend's legs, and they both began to float calmly toward the ocean. Around them he heard one or two loud booms as their opponents back on the ship tried in vain to hit them with cannon fire. Despite the danger all around them and the strangeness of his current position, things felt almost awkwardly casual.
"You're well prepared. What are you, Lupin?" He commented to his friend.
"It's not Lupin! It's Zura! Ah, that's not right, it's Katsura!" his comrade quickly corrected him. "This is how I managed to escape the Shinsengumi all this time."
There was silence for a moment as he heard Zura rummaging for something. "But I didn't expect him to still have this." The sound of paper rustling in the wind indicated a book of some kind. "We came from the same starting point." Zura continued, "But... We ended up pretty far away from each other. Gintoki. Do you still remember this?" The pages of the book flapped about a bit, crackling slightly with age and wear.
He thought for only a moment before answering, "Yeah. I spilt ramen on it so I threw it away.
"Kill them all!"
His entire body ached with scrapes and bruises and his heart raced, though not with fear. Adrenalin was pumping through him, making his senses sharp. He couldn't see, yet didn't feel particularly handicapped because of it. Judging by the taste of salt in the air, the wind whipping around his body, and the shuddering of wooden planks beneath his feet, they were on a ship. For some reason he knew it wasn't a regular ship; they were at least a couple miles above the ocean, on an airship.
There was the sound of footsteps quickly drawing near, then he felt his body move, disarming the foe. Without knowing he was doing it, he swung the katana he'd just taken, feeling the blade make contact with a body. He could taste the spray of blood, mixed with an innocuous salty tang.
"We'll cover you!" The voice was familiar; a friend he was exceptionally close to, someone he knew he irritated just for fun.
"Go!" This time it was his own voice, loud and demanding. Whoever it was he was speaking to, he wasn't going to take 'no' for an answer.
"But!" "Gin-chan!" This time the voices were younger, the first a boy, the second a girl. He couldn't put a name to either one, but he knew he had to protect both of them at all costs. Everyone had a burden to carry in life, and they were his. "Let me go Eli! Gin-chan!" The girl sounded distraught, and for a few seconds he thought of how a care-free tone suited her better.
His thoughts were interrupted by another shout from the enemy. "Attack! Take their heads!" He felt his body tensing for what he knew would be a rather large onslaught, hearing the retreating footsteps of the small group that had been with him before. The sound of wooden planks creaking nearby indicated that one was still there; his friend from before.
The enemy charged from all sides, their murderous intent very clear. The two warriors fought them fiercely, striking opponents down left, right, and centre, barely even getting to breathe. The pair of them were clearly stronger than any of their enemies, but they were badly outnumbered. Still, he knew he had to survive this, because he still had those two to look after and protect. His life wasn't over yet!
The voice of his friend broke through the chaotic sounds of battle. "Gintoki! There are things in this world that won't go the way you want them to! Forget about the country! I can't even change a friend!"
A small part of his brain, the part that realized everything he was experiencing was due to a 'memory sphere', wanted to think about what had just been said. He wasn't given that opportunity, however, as his own voice quickly quipped back, "Zura, you had friends? That's just your imagination!"
The reply came without hesitation, "Do you want to be cut into pieces, you bastard!?" Despite the aggression in their words, he knew that they had always treated each other like this. They were both tired, yet energetic enough to fend off their opponents while giving each other hell. He felt a twinge of nostalgia, as though they'd been in many similar scrapes together.
"Gintoki! Don't change. It'll take too much effort to kill you. I'd rather not do it." His friend, Zura, shouted to him. He could feel Zura's presence just behind him, the pair standing back to back now. Though he couldn't see, he knew they were completely surrounded.
His reply was slightly laboured, most of his energy having been spent already. "Zura... If you ever change... I'll be the first to cut you down!"
There was the sound of their katana's swishing through the air as they simultaneously raised their weapons and pointed them at one opponent in particular. "Takasugi!" Zura nearly spat the name out in disgust, like it was some kind of rotten food. "That's how it is!"
"The next time we meet," he heard himself chime in, "we'll no longer be comrades!" Then together, they yelled in perfect unison, "We'll cut you down with all our might!"
He felt his skin grow hot with anger, but wasn't entirely sure why. He knew the person they were yelling at pissed him off, but couldn't remember the reason. He heard himself shout a final, angry remark at the man, just before he and Zura leaped from the ship. "You better hope... you don't run into us on the streets!"
He fell only a short distance before hearing something that sounded like a large sheet whipping about in the wind. He felt himself latch onto his friend's legs, and they both began to float calmly toward the ocean. Around them he heard one or two loud booms as their opponents back on the ship tried in vain to hit them with cannon fire. Despite the danger all around them and the strangeness of his current position, things felt almost awkwardly casual.
"You're well prepared. What are you, Lupin?" He commented to his friend.
"It's not Lupin! It's Zura! Ah, that's not right, it's Katsura!" his comrade quickly corrected him. "This is how I managed to escape the Shinsengumi all this time."
There was silence for a moment as he heard Zura rummaging for something. "But I didn't expect him to still have this." The sound of paper rustling in the wind indicated a book of some kind. "We came from the same starting point." Zura continued, "But... We ended up pretty far away from each other. Gintoki. Do you still remember this?" The pages of the book flapped about a bit, crackling slightly with age and wear.
He thought for only a moment before answering, "Yeah. I spilt ramen on it so I threw it away.