The lights were blinding. Signs along the bustling street flashed an array of neon colours, assaulting the eyes of those who passed by - it was much different than the gentle twinkling lights of the stars in the countryside.
Haru passed under the spectacle of lights without a second thought. Her straw hat was low over her face and her cloak was tight around her neck. She was never one for crowds or noise, but she was only going to be in this town for one night before moving on in her travels, so she tolerated it.
Haru undid the knot of her hat under her chin and slipped it off her head, revealing her light brown hair. Her eyes gazed upwards at the signs as she searched for an inn. She wandered for what felt like an hour, but the only signs she saw were for bars, karaoke lounges and cabaret clubs. Haru grew weary and her feet ached.
"This place has to have at least a love hotel nearby. I'd be willing to stay there." Haru mumbled under her breath. Her fists clenched at her sides as she grew more and more frustrated. She continued on her way down the ever crowded streets and kept her eyes peeled.
Eventually, the streets cleared the further into town she got. The flashing signs disappeared behind her and the only lights were those from small restaurants.
Underneath a streetlamp in the distance, Haru caught sight of something slouched up against it. She drew nearer and watched as that somethingturned into a someone . The closer she got, the more distinguishing features of the person would appear.
Haru stopped abruptly as she observed the features of the person. A small smile worked its way across her lips.
"Of all the places I bump into you again…" Haru said as she knelt down beside the slouched, silver-haired, drunk samurai.
"Maybe I'll stay a few extra days."
It was spring.
The trees were lush with green leaves and a warm breeze blew through the still smouldering remains of what were once cozy homes and small businesses.
Haru stood before the skeletal remains of her home - the stone walls had crumbled away and the door frame was the only thing that was intact.
Haru wore a bitter smile. The war had ended and the country would soon be open to the the amanto. She hoped for peace in the coming years, but she wouldn't be able to spend it with her parents. Tears gathered in her eyes and she knelt down, covering her mouth to muffle her sobs. She cried quietly for a few minutes before she wiped away the tears from her cheeks and stood up.
No more crying, Haru! She thought.
The sound of gravel crunching beneath feet seemed to echo through the ruins of the town. Haru turned around to face a young samurai clad in white.
"Thank you for helping us." Haru said, her voice shook slightly. "It was thanks to your squadron that most of the townspeople were able to escape."
"What about your parents?" The samurai asked, his tone was nonchalant.
"They did their best to help evacuate the town." Haru replied. "But without them around anymore, it's time for me to grow up."
"What are you going to do now?"
Haru tucked a lock of brown hair behind her ear and adjusted the bun at the nape of her neck. "Travel." She meets the scarlet gaze of the samurai. "Mom and dad always said that it's the best way to experience life. Now that the war is over, I think it would be best for me to see how the world around me will change."
"It's dangerous for a girl like you too be wandering the country."
"I can handle myself, Gintoki!" Haru stated confidently. She reached for her satchel on the ground beside her and slung it around her shoulders. "Well, I'll be off now!"
Haru heard Gintoki snort from behind her. "You can't expect to survive with that little satchel, do you?"
Haru stopped in her steps and glared back at Gintoki. "I have enough money, so I can always buy more food."
"You don't expect to sleep at an inn every night, do you?"
Haru glanced off to the side, her lips formed a small pout. Gintoki sighed and muttered under his breath.
"You can tag along with me. I'd feel guilty if the daughter of the couple who hosted an entire squadron of Joui rebels got mobbed two meters out of town."
"Two metres?! - Hey! I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself, you know!"
Gintoki woke up in his room. His blankets were haphazardly thrown onto him and he was still in his clothes from the previous night.
His head reeled and he cursed at himself for drinking too much. He looked over at his Justaway clock and saw that it had just struck eleven in the morning. With a heavy sigh, he forced himself out of his futon and slid the door open.
"Oi, Shinpachi! Get me some hangover meds, will you?" Gintoki groaned as he slammed the sliding door shut behind him. He rubbed his eyes furiously and ran a hand through his silver locks.
"They're on the table, Gin-san." Shinpachi was seated on the couch, the television remote in one hand and his other hand was pointed at the table. Kagura sat on the other couch across from Shinpachi. Her eyes were glued to the television as Gintoki stumbled his way over to the plastic bag on the table and fished out a small bottle of medicine.
"Gin-chan, a really pretty lady brought you home last night." Kagura said as she casually stuck her pinky into her nostril.
"Pretty lady?" Gintoki repeated after he took a swig from the bottle.
"She said she was an old friend." Shinpachi added.
"Old friend?" Gintoki thought back hard. "That's impossible. None of the Gintama ladies would ever be kind enough to bring me straight back home in one piece."
"Maybe if I described what she looked like you'd remember her." Shinpachi suggested. "She had long brown hair tied back in a low ponytail and she was dressed like a traveler."
Gintoki shrugged and leaned back on the couch. "Doesn't ring a bell."
"Are you sure?" Shinpachi asked.
"She must have been lying, or maybe she confused me for another silver-haired perm guy." Gintoki said as he took another bottle from the bag.
"You really don't remember her?"
"Leave it, Shinpachi. If Gin-chan is cruel enough to forget about such a pretty lady, then she doesn't deserve to even be in his presence." Kagura stated bluntly.
The sky had just turned dark when Gintoki had decided to make his way to the pachinko parlor. He pocketed the envelope of money and swore that tonight he would bring back more money than what he started with.
It wasn't long before he was drunk and clutching the last few bills he had in his hands.
"Forget it." Gintoki hiccuped as he slid from the stool. He teetered his way to the door and exited into the bustling street. He mumbled a few drunken apologies as he bumped into people and dragged his feet through the gravel roads.
As he entered the quieter streets, Gintoki found support from the walls of buildings as he vomited by streetlamps and felt his head throb.
"You really haven't changed, Gintoki." A voice said. Gintoki looked up and to the side, a figure dressed in traveler's clothes stood nearby.
"Who're you supposed ta be?" He drawled.
The traveler reached up to their hat and slid it off and revealed brown hair tied back in a low ponytail paired with bangs and kind brown eyes. "Remember me?"
Gintoki stared hard at the woman before him and a moment of silence passed between them.
"No." Gintoki said bluntly.
"A-ah." The woman replied, embarrassed. "I-it's me! Haru! Remember?"
"Not particularly."
Haru's face grew red. "This is so typical of you! Honestly!" She hissed and crossed her arms across her chest.
"Well, aren't ya here ta take me home?" Gintoki asked drunkenly. He saw Haru falter for a moment before she extended a hand out for him to take.
He had an arm slung over her shoulders as he dragged his feet and slouched forward. Haru kept a tight grip on his arm and waist.
Gintoki raised his head and ignored the throbbing in his head as he turned to look at Haru and squinted.
"Oh! That's why I can't recognize you, Haru-chan." He said in a sing-song tone as he blew his alcohol-laced breath into her face.
"The look in your eyes has changed."
The fire crackled as Haru knelt down to tend to it. She threw an extra piece of firewood in and watched as the flames grew more intense. She stood up and dusted herself off before returning to take a seat beside Gintoki on the trunk of a toppled over tree.
"Here." Gintoki said as he held up a steaming cup of tea.
"Thank you." Haru replied as she held the cup carefully in her hands. She blew into the cup before she took a cautious sip. Gintoki watched her as she took a few more small sips before he drank from his own cup.
"You learn quickly." He said. Haru pulled her lips from the cup to stare at Gintoki.
"That's the first compliment you've given me these past few months." She said with a small smirk.
"Tch." Gintoki huffed and rolled his eyes. "Don't get too cocky."
Haru stuck her tongue out at him. "A compliment from you is rare, Gintoki. I'm going to cling onto it for the rest of my life."
"Yeah, yeah. Do whatever you want."
"..."
"What?" Gintoki asked as he looked over at the girl beside him. "Getting sentimental because tomorrow we part ways?"
Haru turned red and pushed him off the trunk.
"No!" She shouted and stomped off. "I'm going to bed."
"Geez, where does she think she is? High school?"
"Take it." Haru said as she held out her hand.
A beaded bracelet sat in the palm of her hand. It was made mostly of dark wooden beads and in the middle, there was a single glass bead with a cherry blossom petal within the clear orb.
"Why?"
"You know, it's something to remember me by - a token of my appreciation for what you've done to help in the war." Haru replied, her face slowly grew hot. "Besides, it's a reminder of the past and I don't want it. From now on, I only want to look forward in life."
Gintoki took the bracelet and examined it. "Huh, it's pretty good quality. Maybe I'll sell it somewhere."
"Hey!" Haru exclaimed.
"What? You're giving it to me. I can do what I want with it."
Haru glowered and Gintoki laughed and slipped the bracelet onto his wrist.
"Thanks, Haru." Gintoki said as he admired the beads around his wrist. "I'll see you around."
He turned and faced the gravel road that stretched out in front of him. It snaked down the valley and into the horizon.
"Thank you for everything, Gintoki!" Haru called as she watched him walk down the road. He raised a hand in acknowledgement and continued on his way.
Not even a minute after they had parted ways, Gintoki heard the footsteps, then was yanked to a stop. Haru bent down, one hand was on her knee so she could catch her breath. The other clutched at the fabric of his clothes.
"Miss me already?" Gintoki teased. Haru stood up straight, her cheeks were rosy. She mumbled something under her breath before she pulled him down towards her. He felt her lips on his cheek and his eyes widened.
Haru pulled away just as quickly and sprinted the other direction without another word.
"Just please stop talking, Gintoki." Haru groaned. She rubbed her temple with the tip of her finger.
Gintoki raised the glass of beer to his lips to cover his lingering laughter. "That was practically straight out of a teen drama!"
"Give me a break. I was seventeen, okay?" Haru rolled her eyes and took a swig of beer from her glass. "I've grown up since then, unlike you . I'm definitely more mature now, don't you think?"
Gintoki grunted in agreement as he finished the beer in his glass and Haru filled it up again.
"So? Where's your next destination?" Gintoki asked.
"Home." Haru replied. "I'm going home. I'm putting my wandering days behind me."
"Focusing on the future?"
"Well - yes and no." Haru said, she traced the rim of her beer glass with a finger absentmindedly. "Remember when I said that I never wanted to be reminded of my past?"
Gintoki nodded.
"It was silly of me to say that. If I pushed away the past, then my experiences that have shaped me would have been for nothing. I'm going to return home - to my past - in order to look forward to the future."
There was a brief silence. Gintoki picked up the bottle of beer and poured it into Haru's cup.
"Good for you." He said simply.
"That's all you have to say, huh?" Haru said as she lifted the cup to her lips. "I'll take it though."
"Good. I wasn't going to compliment you any more than I had to."
Haru smirked. "Thought so."
Gintoki reached into his pockets and pulled something out. He slid it across the bar towards Haru. "Here. This is yours. I think you'll need this."
He lifted his hand and revealed the wooden beaded bracelet.
"This is what you gave me so you could forget the past. Now I'm giving it back to you so you can reflect back on your life, or whatever." Gintoki muttered into his glass.
"Aw Gintoki, you do care!" Haru teased as she prodded Gintoki's shoulder. He raised his hand up abruptly, catching the attention of the shop owner.
"Could we have a bottle of the most expensive sake, please?" He called.
"Hey!" Haru cried.
"What? Didn't you say you'd treat me to drinks tonight?" Gintoki said with a wide smile.
"Fine, but just this once." Haru replied as she took an angry sip of beer. A small smile crept up on her face.
"For old times sake."
The bottle arrived in front of them with a heavy thud. Haru undid the top and poured the alcohol into the small cups set in front of them. They both took the cups in their hands and held them up in the air.
"For old times sake." Gintoki repeated before they both emptied their cups in one go.
"So, Gintoki," Haru said as she set her cup down, "When did you become a father?"
Gintoki choked on his sake and the sound of Haru's laughter filled the air.