á´ Ňá´á´ÉŞĘĘ ĘÉŞá´á´ á´á´Ęs | Eá´ÉŞĘ & Tá´á´á´sá´É˘ÉŞ
Probably the biggest difference between Paralia and Kairos was the relative peace and quiet in this place. Minus the occasional sputtering engine somehow still running on diesel, choking out puffs of grey smoke, this was a place where you could actually hear the birds sing, even in the middle of the day. Where the roads werenât packed with cars and the stars shone clear in the night sky.
In some ways, it was everything Gintoki needed. Genuine respite from the burdens life had loaded upon his broad shoulders, a break from the things he considered troublesome and a time of peaceful lazing around. And yet it, the story told was not quite as pretty as all that.
His nights had been filled with haunting images that meant nothing, starting after a single dream of war and belonging. They werenât nightmares per se, but they kept him up, sometimes till dawn. So too did thoughts of the dream, pondering upon its meaning and and how very personal it felt, yet completely alien to his lifetime.
So it was that the sleepless nights continued, marked by the growing bags under dead-fish eyes, making them look more tired and disinterested even than normal.
But, hark! Respite would find its way upon his wearied body on this very day, when from the field by their borrowed house drifted the sounds of soft snores. And there lay the silver-haired man, fast asleep, exhausted to the point that his mind had gone completely blank.
Not that it seemed like it was very full most of the time.
He isn't sure how he got here to begin with, but Emil decides against questioning it. He's safe and well, which has to mean something. It's quiet out here, something that he too appreciated. It made it easier for him to find his way around, less buildings, less distractions, more distinct noises to help him feel his way around.
It's nice to hear songbirds as opposed to the droning of automobiles that he can't necessarily see. Granted, Emil has little trouble with feeling his way around if there are a large amount of people in the general vicinity, and the cane helps too, but there can be nothing done to help the fact that his heart races whenever a car goes by.
Some nights, Emil dreams about a man with white hair. He thinks it must be Gintoki, but when the man turns around, he sees that his right eye is obscured by an eye patch. It makes him wonder if the man is Takasugi, but he is both too old and has the wrong hair color to be him. Sometimes, there is a woman with white hair and two swords standing next to him, one in each hand.
He keeps seeing them, and he doesn't know why. Emil is not afraid of them, even with their gruff appearances. They gesture for him to follow, but he wakes up before he can.
And it's this precise dream that has been keeping him awake. The boy yawns widely and presses the heel of his hand into his left eye. He has to figure out how to get home, which, quite frankly, was going to be a massive headache for him. He doesn't notice the lump of a person asleep on the lawn until his toe hooks under them, sending Emil toppling face-first into the grass beside the person. It took him a moment to process what exactly had happened when he heard a distinct snoring and mumbling about Shonen Jump.
"... Mister Gintoki...?"
He didn't mind that there wasn't any response. That snoring was, unmistakably, Gin's. So Emil smiles softly, relieved that he's found something somewhat familiar.
The first thing he decides to do is curl up next to Gin and fall fast asleep too.















