It wasn't until noon that Kawaki finally emerged from the Hyakka dormitory. His head hung low, and his expression was blank.
"Kawaki-sama~ Care to join us for a drink?" The courtesans on the street greeted him with their usual enthusiasm, waving at him.
"Uh… hehehe…" Kawaki looked up, revealing a face contorted with despair. "A drink? Really? Can I? Will just having a drink make me forget everything? Can I really forget? Hehehe…"
Seeing Kawaki's distressed state, a few courtesans hurried over, linked their arms with his, and surrounded him.
"Of course, you can~," said the courtesan, playfully clinging to Kawaki's right arm. "If you're troubled, a drink will help you forget~ You've never been to our shop before, Kawaki-sama~ Come on, come on, we'll make sure you forget all your worries…"
"Why not come to our shop instead?" another courtesan teased, clinging to his other arm. "You haven't visited us either~ You didn't even show up at yesterday's year-end party~ I wanted to pour you a drink…"
"Hehe… year-end party…" Kawaki laughed bitterly, his eyes void of emotion. "Ah, I'd love to forget it all, the year-end party… Isn't a year-end party supposed to be a celebration where you forget all your troubles? But why? Why did my worries not only not lessen after the party but increase? Can you tell me why? Hehehe…"
"Kawaki-sama? What's wrong?" one of the courtesans asked, puzzled by his demeanour.
"Honestly, I don't know… Sixty women in one night? I can't even comprehend it… Am I really that strong?" Kawaki stared blankly at the blue sky, "Hehehe… I really don't understand… If it's true, then isn't the most pitiful person here me? My body must be like a rotten banana by now."
"Kawaki… sama?"
"Argh—!!" Kawaki suddenly screamed in despair, shaking off the courtesans and dashing toward the gates of Yoshiwara.
The courtesans exchanged confused glances as they watched him sprint away, then collectively sighed with regret—probably because they missed the chance to get Kawaki to drink at their shop.
…
At Kabukicho Park, Zenzo sat cross-legged on a bench, flipping through a Jump magazine with an air of nonchalance, as Gintoki stood before him, talking incessantly.
After listening to Gintoki's story, Zenzo continued flipping through his Jump, responding casually, "Well, it shouldn't be a problem. Although my memory's a bit hazy, I recall everyone was pretty wasted. At some point, one of the hostess sisters said she wasn't feeling well and needed to go to the restroom. You followed her to help out."
"About ten minutes passed, and you hadn't returned, but then you came back alone, looking quite satisfied, saying she had gone home. Then, another girl with an eyepatch said she felt unwell, and again, you went to help her and came back looking pleased."
"After that, it was the same with Sarutobi, and then you were gone with that sunglasses-wearing old man for about twenty minutes before returning."
"As for the grandpa, it was much quicker—only about three minutes. Finally, you and that Yoshiwara woman left together, disappearing into the dawn."
"There's a ton of problems there!!" Gintoki screamed in exasperation, his eyes bulging with frustration. "What kind of Dr. Dolittle scenario is this?!"
"Well, it really did look like you were taking the grandpa to the bathroom," Zenzo replied, putting his Jump aside. "Rather than helping, it seemed like you were 'releasing' him."
"What's with that twenty-minute session with Hasegawa-san?!" Gintoki snapped, his frustration growing.
"Maybe because the second round was tougher," Zenzo suggested, still calm.
"Damn it!" Gintoki grabbed Zenzo by the collar, pulling him up and growling, "Why didn't you stop me?! What am I supposed to do now?!"
"Calm down…" Zenzo said, trying to soothe Gintoki. "Your actions weren't necessarily wrong. The problem is, you did it without intending to take responsibility, right?"
Gintoki was momentarily speechless, loosening his grip on Zenzo's collar.
"It's all about how you handle it from now on—it's an attitude issue," Zenzo continued.
"Attitude? Really?" Kawaki, who had suddenly appeared with a twisted, pained expression, interrupted, "Can an attitude problem really fix this? Heh…"
"Hey, you…" Gintoki suddenly realised who was next to him, "Could it be…"
"Ah, Gintoki, I'm sorry. Let's forget what happened this morning. I don't have time for you right now."
"I should be the one apologizing!"
Ignoring Gintoki's outburst, Kawaki kept laughing eerily as he asked Zenzo, "Hey, Zenzo, what exactly happened yesterday? What… did I do? Who… who gave me that drink? Tell me, so I can… discuss how happy I am today with them."
"Oh! That shot of shochu?" Zenzo suddenly remembered. "Ah, I don't know. I was pretty drunk myself by then. I'm not sure who handed it to you, but after you drank it, you started acting a bit strange."
"What—?" Kawaki's eyes twitched uncontrollably, his face drenched in cold sweat. He stuttered, "Re-really? Did I… did I do something?"
"I don't recall everything, but the first to leave was Hinowa-san…" Zenzo began recalling. "You noticed she was gone, said you were going to check on her, and went out alone. You returned about twenty minutes later, looking satisfied and muttering something like, 'Being an oiran isn't such a big deal…'"
"Kawaki…" Gintoki, his eyes twitching, turned mechanically to face the broken-looking Kawaki beside him. "You… you too…"
"The second to leave was Tsukuyo-san. She said she wasn't feeling well and left alone," Zenzo continued. "Then, you said you were worried and went after her. Twenty minutes later, you returned, looking pleased."
"It was almost dawn by then. Her subordinates said they were tired and wanted to go home, so they left. Then you said you'd check on her again and didn't return until daybreak, several hours later. After that, you and she disappeared into the dawn together."
"Heh… hehehe, so that's how it is…" Kawaki laughed like a madman. "It's over. Everything's… completely over. Whether it's the series or my life, it's all over."
"This guy… he's something else…" Gintoki muttered, rubbing his chin. "Compared to him, my problems seem so trivial. Six people… no, this guy doesn't even count anymore; he's completely broken. Five people compared to sixty… my situation doesn't seem so bad after all."
"Why couldn't you stop me?!" Kawaki roared, veins bulging as he shouted in frustration.
"Hey, calm down and think about it!" Gintoki responded seriously. "In that state, no one could've stopped you! You should know how terrifying you are when you're drunk! And… I'm sorry."
"Shut up! I should be the one apologizing! I'm sorry!"
"Hey, hey, calm down, both of you," Zenzo intervened. "It's not as hopeless as it seems. It's all about your attitude now."
Gintoki raised his hand expressionlessly and spoke, "I understand that I'm not at the point of despair yet, but this guy… he's clearly hit rock bottom, even physically. There's no way anyone could handle sixty women at once."
"Yeah… it's really over…" Kawaki muttered, dropping to his knees and pounding the ground with his fists. "Even if they were just ordinary women, I… I crossed the line! The white line that leads to handcuffs… I crossed it!"
"What did you do?" Gintoki asked, confused. "What line? What are you talking about?"
"Gintoki, haven't you noticed?" Kawaki said, his head hanging low, "There's a member of Hyakka who's very short… she… she…"
Realising what Kawaki meant, Gintoki's eyes widened in horror. "Was… was she… underage?!"
"I've decided!" Kawaki suddenly stood, his face full of resolve. "I'm going to turn myself in! Goodbye, everyone!"
With that, Kawaki pulled out his phone and started dialling a number for Sougo.
"Wait," Zenzo called out, stopping him. "Don't rush. I said it's not the end yet."
"Really?" Kawaki turned to Zenzo, his face full of despair. "No matter how I look at it, I'm already in the eighteenth layer of hell, with no way to climb out."
"It's all about attitude. Didn't I just say that?" Zenzo reassured him.
…
That evening, in Yoshiwara.
During dinner.
"So…" Kawaki, seated between Hinowa and Tsukuyo, hesitantly spoke, "There's something I'd like to discuss with you both. It's more of a proposal."
"What kind of proposal, Kawaki-san?" Hinowa asked, smiling as she placed food on Kawaki's plate.
"It's about the Hyakka," Kawaki replied.
"Hm? What about it?" Tsukuyo asked as she added food from the hot pot to Kawaki's bowl.
"How about we give them a vacation?" Kawaki suggested, his finger trembling slightly.
"A vacation?" Tsukuyo asked, puzzled.
"Yeah, ever since I came to Yoshiwara, I've never seen them take a proper break," Kawaki quickly explained. "And don't worry! I can handle Yoshiwara's security by myself! Tsukuyo, you should take a break too!"