"Y-you did what?"
"I ordered an attack on all the troops camping outside our barriers. Is there a problem with my decision, perhaps?"
"Sire, I'm afraid there is. You cannot attack an enemy who has already surrendered!" Gintoki let out a heavy sigh to show his disagreement. The king he served had a tendency to take really bad decisions. Especially the important ones.
"Your majesty Hijikata, the soldiers awaiting your final order will not obey to something so immoral." Gintoki was getting angry, which happened more often than necessary.
"I am their king! They will do as I please." Gintoki smacked a hand to his face; his majesty never understood the weight of his role.
"It does not work like that, Hijikata-sama. You have not yet built enough respect around yourself. Plus, the General of the Army has a word to say in the matter and he is not the kind of person to charge in battle without reason. You should think of an alternative as to what to do with them once they are imprisoned. And launching an attack on them is not an option."
"Alright! Let them live by all means. I shall find a solution by tomorrow, happy?" Gintoki nodded, pleased by the somewhat newfound maturity of his highness.
Some weeks ago, a new king had been crowned to lead the kingdom. His name was Hijikata Toushiro, the last son of the royal family. The previous king and his other sons had died in a natural –at least that's what the criminal report said- fire that had started in the main headquarters of the castle. None of them could be saved, leaving Hijikata alone in this big place. He was still grieving his lost, but he put up a facade to make it through his days.
As he never had any responsibilities, this new life style was hard to follow. The only title he ever had was the the sixth prince of the kingdom and the only decision he had to make was choosing between fish and chicken at diner. No need to say that fighting against the urge to destroy this whole place and straight up quitting the job was a hard task in itself. He lost everything and got everything he ever wanted in a matter of weeks. But he didn't have a choice, he had to do it. No matter how hard.
The next morning, Hijikata stormed inside the principal room where Gintoki was situated. He smashed a paper on the table separating the two of them with a smug smile. Gintoki could easily tell he was somehow proud of something he did, which was probably not good.
"Sakata-dono, here is the official paper formulating that all of the enemies caught yesterday were to live the rest of their lives at my service around the country. They will be assigned to many posts to be formed for different tasks such as cleaning the streets, cleaning the waters, transporting merchandise from a place to another, escorting important people around and many more. If any of them make trouble or disobey their master: seppuku. Is that a good enough alternative for you, Knight-san?" Gintoki hated being called Knight-san by him and he certainly hated when he had good ideas like this. He was genuinely surprised by this turn of events.
"Indeed, your majesty. You finally found a brain in this head of yours, didn't you? Let me take this paper and bring it to our fastest cavalier to spread the news. After that, we will assign every prisoner to something. Good?" Hijikata dismissed the crude insult he had been thrown and smiled proudly to his servant. He was finally grasping his role as a leader. He was becoming a real king, worthy of his citizens.
"What do you mean they are gone?"
"They just vanished, mister. Not a single trace of them and no sign of break in. Everything is intact. As the witness recall, a tall man with dark hair and a noble outfit came to talk with them and then gave them the key." Gintoki could not believe his ears. He had come to share the news of this morning with the prisoners, but as the prison came in view, only guards searching the cells were present. After much interrogating, a robot portrait of the guilty man was made. He just happened to know someone who matched the description.
The doors of his room opened with a violent force and Hijikata immediately knew who the only person capable of such rude things was. Gintoki.
They had just recently met, not even a month ago, but it felt like ages to Hijikata. He was always there, stepping on his feet, searching for flaws in his reports and decisions. He knew absolutely nothing about this man, apart for the fact that he descended from a strong family of soldiers known to serve grand kings. He was the remaining member of the so called Sakata clan and he didn't have an easy life. Or so he heard. He had not the slightest clue of why he was here, serving him. He was incompetent and so far from a "grand king".
"What might bring you here, Knight-san?"
"What did you do?" He just entered and he was already assuming he did something wrong, typical. He was known to make quite trouble around the palace after all.
"Why, for your information I have yet to move out of this room today. Except for this morning, of course."
No, I mean yesterday. During the night. What have you done?"
"I'm not sure I understand what you are accusing me of, Sakata-san." He looked beyond angry, and Hijikata knew it was his fault; he was always the cause for his anger.
"With all due respect, your majesty, you are biggest moron in the universe. You are the worst king I have ever had the chance to serve. You disappoint me, greatly." He suddenly felt like crying. He somewhat respected this man and he looked up to him. Being told such things by a person like him hurt him more then he cared to admit. He still didn't know what he was made culprit of, though. "You freed the prisoners, that's what you did."
He opened his mouth to defend himself, but he didn't have a single argument to do so. Gintoki was right, like he always was. Trusting the prisoners with the key had been a stupid thing to do and he was in for trouble. "Listen, Hijikata-sama, I know you probably didn't mean for this to happen, you certainly meant good one way or another I –he searched his words correctly- understand the way you think. You needn't apologize. A king must not do this sort of thing an-"
"No, I will not accept this behaviour from you. Something a king must do is apologize. Let me at least do this, since my lack of brain will cause you- us more problems than needed. I am truly sorry –he bowed down- for this mistake of mine. I will see for it to not be repeated." Gintoki looked at his feet and exit the room. He knew his master could do so much better than this, but he was a coward and he didn't deserve pity. A king must live up to expectations and he will have to learn.