People Can’t Just Change It if They Want To!

Yoshiwara, at night.

"Drink, drink!" Kawaki held a Yakult in one hand and placed his other hand on Takasugi's shoulder, "If we don't get drunk tonight, we won't go home!"

It was worth mentioning that Takasugi was expressionless from beginning to end.

On the other side of the table, Tsukuyo held her forehead and did not say a word. As for Bansai, he was kneeling on the side, flicking the shamisen in his hand.

"Um, can you change to another song?" Kawaki looked at Bansai on the side and said, "I can't understand those songs at all. Can you change to some songs that sing friendship? After all, you should pay attention to the atmosphere at this time."

"Do you think this is karaoke?" Tsukuyo, who was facing him, spoke mercilessly.

"You're right. After all, it's not karaoke," Kawaki nodded and muttered. But then, Kawaki suddenly thought of something. He looked at Bansai again and said, "That, at least play a song similar to [Seishun Amigo]. That way, I can better recall the past with Takaji."

[Seishun Amigo or Youthful Friends is a Japanese song about friendship and inspiration.]

After hearing Kawaki's request, Bansai looked at the shamisen in his hand and was deeply suspicious of himself. After a long time, he could not help but say, "Well... Although I am a part-time musician, but...it's really difficult to play "Seishun Amigo" with a shamisen..."

Kawaki turned his head, spat softly, and teased, "You can't even do that, and you still have the nerve to call yourself a musician? Don't joke. A real musician can play any music, even with a cup and chopsticks."

Bansai's heart was pierced through.

"It can be seen that you are not a musician at all." Kawaki added, waved his hand, sighed, and continued, "If you are only at this level, don't call yourself a musician casually anymore. A real musician will feel tainted after hearing it. You can only play the shamisen in an old tavern at your level..."

Bansai's heart had been pierced with holes by Kawaki's words, but Bansai still decided to struggle, "That, Terakado Tsuu, who is now known as the number one idol pop singer in Edo..."

Before Bansai could finish his sentence, Kawaki interrupted him impatiently, "Never heard of it."

Bansai's heart... was broken...

"To be honest, I suggest that you stop playing. From now on, do not say that you are a musician," Kawaki pursed his lips and continued, "It will be very troublesome. I am referring to those true musicians. Give up, give up on being a musician or something..."

Before Kawaki could finish speaking, Bansai, who had his head lowered and his face full of black lines, finally made a move. He unhurriedly flicks the shamisen. Uh... If one listened carefully, one could still hear a trace of the "Seishun Amigo" melody.

Listening to the shamisen, Kawaki snorted, "Look; if you work hard, you can still do it. Continue to work hard..."

Hearing this, Bansai showed a touched face and said speechlessly, "Kawaki-sama..."

"Go down, Bansai. Don't you have other things to do?" At this time, Takasugi finally spoke. Perhaps it was also because he could not stand it anymore. If this continued, who knew where Kawaki would fool Bansai...

"Yes!" Bansai nodded slightly, then put down the shamisen and stood up. After bowing to Kawaki and Tsukuyo, he opened the door and left.

"Tsukki, you..." Kawaki narrowed his eyes and looked at Tsukuyo with a smile.

Before leaving, Tsukuyo glanced at Takasugi again and then slowly left.

...

"Is it really okay? Our target this time is your "new friend", Takasugi turned his head and looked straight into Kawaki's eyes. When he said the words "new friend", he deliberately dragged out his words. Then, he smiled meaningfully. "It's really unexpected; one day, you will be able to become friends with Shinsengumi..."

"Oh, it's them," Kawaki picked up the bowl, turned around, and poured himself a bowl of rice from the wooden bucket beside him. As he ate, he said, "So, Takaji, do you also want to be friends with them? Don't be shy. If it's true, I will help introduce you. After all, if you participate in the social meetup, you will only play with your mobile phone on the side. I understand that you don't have many friends."

"Don't play dumb," Takasugi did not mind Kawaki's words. He still stared into Kawaki's eyes and said, "Didn't I say it before? I... just wanted to destroy it..."

"Ah, you did say it," Kawaki stopped, lowered his head, thought for a moment, then raised his head and continued, "So what's the matter? Is it because you said that in front of the readers that you are afraid that if you suddenly change your character and say, "I want to make friends", the readers will hate you?"

Saying that, Kawaki let out a long sigh, patted Takasugi on the shoulder, and comforted him with a gentle face, "It's okay, I will explain it to the readers on your behalf. In fact, this situation is very normal; no one can always be a chuunibyou. Although I don't want to admit it, I once had this kind of moment. Do you remember? When we were young and hunting wild boars in the mountains together, I picked up a wooden stick that looked very much like Ex-Curry Sticks. During the whole summer, I thought I would become a hero and save the world. But... just after the summer, I suddenly woke up..."

[Fun fact: Excalibur sounds like Ex-Curry stick in Mandarin; thus, Chinese fans nickname it that.]

Listening to Kawaki's endless chatter, Takasugi could not hold back in the end, and blue veins popped out on his face.

"Phew..." Takasugi let out a long breath and suppressed the anger in his heart. He smiled again and said, "Is it really okay? I will really destroy everything. There won't be any blank space. Everything will be dyed black and bloody."

"Takaji..." After a moment of silence, Kawaki said with a serious face, "When did you like abstract paintings? This won't do. Although liking abstract paintings is indeed very literary for you... Uhm, it is indeed a bit inappropriate. Don't deliberately force yourself to like things that are not suitable for yourself for your own character setting. That is all I have to say. You have to remember it well! "

"It seems that you really don't care too much about those "new friends," Takasugi sneered, and then his expression finally became serious. He looked at Kawaki and said word by word, "I want to know... Where are your eyes looking now? Answer me."

"I see." Kawaki cupped his hands and nodded, "I was wondering why you came to me at this time. It turned out to be this reason."

As he spoke, Kawaki raised his head, cupped his hands, and propped up his chin as he muttered, "Ordinary people would not think too much about this kind of thing when walking. However, if it was Takaji who only had one eye left, there was indeed a possibility of thinking about this problem. Should he look ahead or pay attention under his feet when walking? There are many benefits to looking ahead. For example, it can effectively avoid cars or other things. The benefit of looking at the foot is that it can avoid stones and the like..."

"Don't play dumb. I'm not asking about this..." Takasugi calmly interrupted Kawaki.

"I see. I understand." Kawaki apologized, "I was too rash. You can't look down with one eye and look forward with the other. I'm sorry, Takaji. I accidentally poked your sore spot."

"Even a normal person can't do that kind of thing, right?" Takasugi couldn't help but retort, "Let me ask again, where are your eyes looking?"

"No, I can do it." Kawaki pointed at his eyes(left eye looking at the right, right eye looking at the left) and said.

"It's not like what you said!" Takasugi could not help but curse in a low voice, "You can't even recognize the direction?"

"Oh, I got it!" Kawaki clapped his hands together. Then, he tilted his head and looked at his nose bridge. He pointed at his eyes and said, "In this way, one eye looks down, and the other can look up. Look! I might be a genius!"

The veins on Takasugi's face bulged again. He gritted his teeth and muttered, "Okay, do you need me to keep you in this position, bastard..."

"Ahahahahaha..." Kawaki could not help but laugh after sitting down, "Speaking of which, Takaji, you still have no sense of humor like before."

"I think it's better to let Yoshiwara bloom the blood-colored flowers in advance," Takasugi said slowly.

"Where to look..." Kawaki turned to look out the window and sighed. Then he turned back and smiled at Takasugi, "Zura asked me the same question before. The two of you discussed it? Or did you two make up again?"

Takasugi snorted coldly and did not answer.

"Didn't I just say it?" Kawaki stretched out an index finger and continued, "The direction I'm looking at is only the "Foot" and "Front". As for the specific direction you're talking about... it's hard to answer."

"In other words... you already have a specific direction?" Takasugi looked straight into Kawaki's eyes and said word by word.

"Eh? Did I ever say that?" Kawaki scratched the back of his head in confusion.

Takasugi snorted coldly and did not say anything else.

"Speaking of which, it wasn't easy for you to come to Yoshiwara, and from the looks of it, you should be staying for a few days," Kawaki raised his eyebrows and looked at Takasugi with a wicked smile, "Do you want me to take you to a few good stores? I guarantee that there will be the type you like. You should occasionally rest and relax even if you are busy with work. How about it?"

"If you want to go to hell, the sword in my hand will be ready anytime."

"So scary!" Kawaki pretended to be frightened, but then he laughed again and grabbed Takasugi's shoulder. He patted his chest and promised, "Don't worry, I will never tell anyone, including Gintoki and Zura."

After a moment of silence, Takasugi expressionlessly shook off Kawaki's hand and stood up. He turned around and walked toward the door, "Your room is mine. Also... just stay in Yoshiwara obediently. The consequences of not listening to my advice..."

"I understand!" Kawaki nodded heavily.

Then, Kawaki clapped his hands. A few Hyakka members instantly appeared in the room.

"Tonight, send the ace cards of each store in Yoshiwara to my room." Kawaki ordered, "I will definitely let this old friend of mine feel the care and concern of people from Yoshiwara!"

Hearing Kawaki's words, Takasugi staggered and almost lost his footing.

"Yes!" Several Hyakka members replied at the same time.

"If you really want to go to hell now, the sword in my hand will satisfy you." After Takasugi stopped, he said without looking back.

"Don't worry; Hyakka's people are completely trustworthy. They definitely won't tell anyone!" Kawaki chuckled, made an OK gesture, and replied.