Author Note: Hello. Initially I intended to make this story a one-shot, but decided to split it into two chapters (+ epilogue) in the end. Here's the first one to celebrate Supermoon 2012.
The story contains mild spoilers for the Ikkoku Keisei arc. The events supposedly take place during chapter 386/episode 257 – you could say it's my rendition of what happened between the scenes, of what Sorachi left unsaid.
Without further ado, I hope you'll enjoy this story.
On a Moonlit Night Insects are Drawn to Light Too
Chapter One
The streets of Yoshiwara Paradise were lively at night, that much was a given. If you were to descend to the underground district, you would be dazzled by the brilliant light of flamboyant andon* and small yet bright paper lanterns hanging just outside the doors of the numerous shops. It was by night that the district came to life; and rightly so, for it was a red-light district. The streets were crowded with people – customers, meaning mostly men; however, women were not unheard of either – the majority of whom were of much questionable sobriety. Courtesans sought to appeal to them by winking seductively, moaning lines laced with a promise of unimaginable pleasure, revealing a bit more of their curvaceous bodies by slipping their kimonos off one shoulder ... Some acted even more boldly, clinging to the men and stroking their bodies lavishly in an attempt to lure them into choosing themselves and not some other courtesan.
That particular night the moon was shining brightly, its face no longer obscured by the massive ceiling due to the heroic deeds of the Saviour of Yoshiwara and his friends. With the death of Night King Housen a great number of things had begun to change. It was a slow and gradual process, but courtesans could already enjoy considerably more liberty than before – even if that still did not quite mean much, for they remained prostitutes all the same. This was, however, a voluntary decision and they were free to act however they wished. The new overlord cared little about their internal affairs, so neither did he intervene should one of them become pregnant nor did he impose any restrictions on them. The formerly omnipresent ominous aura had begun to dissipate, although the district was still under the Harusame's rule.
Over the hubbub of the restless streets of Yoshiwara, gentle sounds produced by a shamisen were hardly audible, but soothing they were to the ears of those who were close enough to hear them. The melody was unhurried and pleasant to the ear, yet retaining a certain degree of sadness and evoking nostalgia. So enchanting it was that even the noise of bottles being crashed in some bars and people shouting in a drunken stupor were unable to disrupt its flow and end its beauty. It sounded almost otherworldly.
'Gintoki, ya okay?'
The aforementioned Gintoki Sakata, known also under the nickname of Yoshiwara's Saviour, sipped at his sake, all the while gazing into the distance while leaning against the balcony railing. 'Yeah.'
'Ya've been awfully quiet for a while, ya know? Ya coulda at least said somethin' to Hinowa's proposal,' a blond-haired woman remarked, scrutinising him with her violet eyes.
The waxing moon was truly exquisite that night.
'Tsukuyo, leave him be. I know you're concerned about Gin-san but I think we both already know the answer,' said a brunette of breathtaking beauty while strumming the shamisen with the plectrum held in her slender fingers without any interruption.
The blonde's eyes grew wide and her face went completely red. 'Wh— N – No, I'm not – Who'd be concerned 'bout someone like 'im!' she ejaculated, suddenly most occupied with searching for something up her sleeve, and soon retrieving her favourite pipe and placing it between her lips.
'Tsukuyo ...' began Hinowa softly.
'Eh?'
'You're smoking the wrong end of your kiseru.'
Gintoki left Hinowa's quarters soon after finishing his drink and was now walking sluggishly down the busy streets of Yoshiwara Paradise. His head throbbed painfully and he cursed under his breath. He was feeling out of sorts for some reason – perhaps it was low blood sugar, for he could not remember having anything sweet earlier that day.
Rice with azuki and strawberry milk did not count, they were staple food.
Maybe it was the disappointment and shock upon learning Suzuran had one foot in the grave. Maybe he had not come back from Tsukiji yet**.
It could have also been both.
Not knowing the cause of his suffering, Gintoki kept moving his feet idly, unsure of where he wanted to go. However, after a few minutes he stopped – not heeding the displeased glances thrown in his direction by some passers-by – and looked up at the moon again. It would be a full moon in a day, two at most. Therefore, the weather conditions were likely to be favourable, which was a good thing if they intended to search for the man of the legendary courtesan's promise. He had sworn to personally drag the individual down to Yoshiwara and let the Death God Courtesan deal with him if he did not appear before Suzuran's death.
As he picked his nose, Gintoki decided to resume walking. The streets were still noisy and ever so crowded, but he did not particularly mind. At some point he started wondering if he should go back home. For a while it lingered in his mind that Kagura had to be worried, however he discarded the thought upon suddenly remembering that the red-haired alien girl was not quite cute enough to worry about him like that. In all honesty she was probably insulting him while talking to Sadaharu by now, or emptying his poor fridge, or watching television. As such, he had no reason to worry about her either. It would be fine if he stayed in Yoshiwara for a bit longer.
Suddenly, he heard a gasp followed by loud squeals, then the pitter-patter of quite a few pairs of feet and soon he was accompanied by a group of beautiful women.
'Yoshiwara's Messiah,' said one of them in a melodic voice while brushing his chest almost casually. 'May we be of any service?'
'We'd be delighted to provide you with anything you need, our Saviour,' purred another in his ear, wrapping her arms around his right one.
Surrounded closely with so many beauties, Gintoki was forced to slow down his pace. He held up his hands defensively, sighing. 'Sorry, ladies, Gin-san is flat broke again. Lost everything at the pachinko parlour. You've gotta find someone else.'
All of them let out pained moans upon hearing this. 'Master Gintoki, it can't be! We heard rumours about you being called on by the Suzuran herself! I'm sure Boss Lady will cover the expense of a few drinks when she hears –'
Gintoki paled at the mere thought of Tsukuyo learning about this. 'What? Her? No, no, no, no, no, Gin-san wouldn't want to cause any trouble, you see. It's fine, no need to drag this violent woman into this –'
'Then, Hinowa?'
'... It's a deal.'
One hour later, Gintoki was still sitting in one of Yoshiwara's many bars, accompanied by the cheerful women that had forced him to have a drink with them. It had not ended with one drink, however, and not even three or four. By now they were having a fifth, or maybe a sixth? In truth he had lost count.
'One more bottle of Dom Pérignon!'
'Oh, Master Gintoki, you,' the courtesans sitting around squealed, most of them tipsy and some already completely drunk.
'Oopsie,' giggled the one who had just received the new bottle of alcohol from a waiter when her hand slipped as she was trying to pour Gintoki more to drink. 'I spilt it.'
'Shouko, you're so clumsy,' the rest began chuckling. 'You've ruined Master Gintoki's clothes.'
'Aww, you're right. Don't worry, Master, Shouko will clean it up for you right away.' She stuck her tongue out and eased herself between Gintoki's legs so that she was kneeling under the table. Using a sleeve of her crimson kimono, she then proceeded to brush the wet spot on his trousers. When a small hiccup escaped her lips, she started giggling even more so than before, which caused her wobble and land with her face in Gintoki's crotch.
Gintoki let out an exasperated sigh. 'Oi, careful there, lady, I think you've had a drop too much.'
However, Shouko did not make any move that would indicate that she intended to get up and return to her seat by his side. Instead, she stared at him with her face flushed from the amount of alcohol she had drunk and pouted lightly. 'That's mean, Master. Am I not sexy enough for you?' She slipped her kimono off one shoulder coquettishly.
'Oh, Master Gintoki, tell us what your type is!' another courtesan insisted.
The rest nodded vigorously in approval.
'Is it E*i-chan?'
'Anna Tsu***ya?'
'No, it must be –'
Gintoki sighed once more, and pushed the courtesans off himself. He was beginning to get tired of all those questions and the attention he was receiving. 'Ana Ketsuno.'
'Ehh? The weather lady?' a brown-eyed courtesan gasped.
'She is so–o–o uncute!'
'Not cute at all!' Shouko chimed in.
The courtesans started chatting animatedly among themselves, for a moment forgetting about Gintoki. He sank in his seat, his head lolling back, and gazed at the ceiling absently. Perhaps it was high time to take his leave, although Shinpachi would probably scold him later for leaving Kagura alone for such a long time anyway. He could not comprehend the boy-wearing glasses – or was it glasses-wearing boy ...? – at times. The alien girl was a Yato, after all! A daughter of the Umibouzu to boot! She should be able to fend for herself just fine; had she not lived with thugs before meeting them? Not to mention that they were keeping a humungous dog at the Odd Jobs (which Otose, his landlady, was not happy with). However, Shinpachi's complaining could be really annoying, and with the killer headache he had, the thought of having to listen to it was nightmarish ...
Gintoki scratched his head and stood up abruptly.
'Eh? Master Gintoki?' asked one of the prostitutes.
'Gin-san is leaving. Thank you for your company, ladies,' he said simply, before winking and sauntering towards the exit.
Making his way out, he heard a low male voice say, 'See you soon,' as he was passing a man whose features were obscured by the shadow cast by his straw hat.
Gintoki raised his hand to acknowledge the farewell, too tired to explain that he would not be coming back any time soon, and too tired to check if he even knew the person.
They did not have to know each other.
This was Yoshiwara.
When outside, Gintoki glanced up at the moon again. He felt a nasty pang of guilt, one that he could not suppress no matter how hard he tried. Even if he managed to occupy himself with something else, a fraction always remained. In truth he did not like full moon nights, for the sole reason that they rekindled the feeling of helplessness he had felt when Shouyou-sensei had been taken away before his eyes. He had been unable to prevent it from happening; unable to stop their school from being burnt down to ashes.
Everything they had had, gone for evermore.
He could remember that night all too clearly, and the morning after was no better a memory.
Gintoki ... What on earth happened here?
The shock painted on Takasugi's face as he and Katsura arrived at the place.
Takasugi, calm down –
The slight quaver in Katsura's voice as he tried to reason with him.
Gintoki, don't screw with me. Who did that?
The clenching of fists and the voice choked with emotion.
I'll never forgive them.
All those memories, haunting him at the least appropriate of times.
He shook his head, trying to rid himself of the thoughts, alas to no avail. The events of that dreadful day were imprinted on his mind in such detail that they could not be forgotten in mere seconds, minutes, or even years. The feeling of having let his sensei down by failing to protect his comrades would gnaw at him endlessly. Even though he tried to dismiss it, the memories would not go away.
Gintoki scratched his right side and he began walking listlessly, trying to ignore the glare of the glowing face of the moon. Well aware of the fact that he was supposed to go home, he still let his feet carry him in a direction yet unknown to him, wandering the streets of the now slightly quieter Yoshiwara Paradise. Regardless of whether he would come home straightaway now or not, he was going to get a lecture from Shinpachi anyway.
However, the walk did little to make him feel better. Gintoki was now in a deserted street, with no one else in sight and little to no noise, and yet his head was starting to spin and he had to stop for a while to prop himself up against a nearby wall. He noticed that his body was heating up, making his clothes stick to his skin rather uncomfortably. Moreover, his vision was going slightly blurry, so he shut his eyes, hoping for it to help him recuperate faster. With his vision gone, the other senses were becoming more acute and aside from the usual noise of the distant streets, he could make out the soft sound of footsteps gradually getting closer, and then stopping. It was then that Gintoki caught a whiff of tobacco and sighed with relief, a bead of sweat rolling down his face.
In a strained voice, but trying to sound as light-hearted as per usual, he said, 'Tsukuyo-cha–a–an, please help a sick person, hey, Tsukuyo-cha—'
He fell to the ground with a thud, his silver locks sticking to his damp forehead.
End of Chapter One
Footnotes:
* andon are lamps consisting of paper stretched over a frame of bamboo, wood or metal. They became popular in the Edo Period. For more information look up 'Traditional lighting equipment of Japan' on Wikipedia.
** Tsukiji is a Tokyo district known for its fish market. This was a sex joke in one of the recent Gintama chapters where Gintoki compared himself to 'a cold and lifeless tuna on sale' for failing to have sex, because it went nothing like he had expected. I hope this is explanatory enough.
On another note, 'E*i-chan' and 'Anna Tsu***ya' stand for Ebi-chan (Yuri Ebihara) and Anna Tsuchiya respectively, if you were interested in knowing that.
