Hello! This is my first story on this site, and I really like Gintama. I'm new in this writing business, so if you have any advice please tell me and leave a review. English is not my first language, so please tell me if you see any grammar or spelling mistakes.

Disclaimer: I don't own Gintama. The gorilla author does.

The young boy was trembling in fear as he hid behind the once-peaceful walls of the dojo.

He'd heard from his sensei that a war was going on, - "a horrible, horrible war" his sensei had told him- and he'd heard some names from his friends too, something like a boy with white hair and another boy with long, black hair like his. However, nothing could have prepared him for the massacre that was going on outside.

The dojo was supposed to be far away from the battlefield, safe for raising new samurai, but when dozens of Amanto soldiers appeared in the garden at night, screaming about how 'the Joui scum must be annihilated'; even the dojo had been subjected to chaos. His sensei had run outside with a bunch of older students and instructed him to keep the door closed at all costs.

And now that door was being forced open, as an Amanto soldier hit it repeatedly with his sword to tear it open. The boy scrambled to find a place to hide, since the door was not really made for the role of a shield. His eyes widened as he realized that he couldn't hide from anything, at least not in the saloon-like space of the dojo. He desperately stumbled to the farthest wall, and slid onto the floor in hopes of not being seen. The screams grew louder, and the door started to fall apart, and he sat there clinging onto his sword. He would try to will himself to fight if he absolutely had to, but now he couldn't even move his finger. Fear coursed through his veins as cracks appeared on the door, the man's bloody face snarling at him. The continuous banging of the sword was ringing in his ears, and he curled into a ball to not see-or hear, any reminder of the gruesome scene he was in. He closed his ears with his hands, trying to detach himself from the loud sound-

No.

The sound had stopped.

He instinctively jumped onto his feet in a second, legs trembling and heart beating fast but the rational side of his brain overcoming any sign of fear. He looked at the stranger who had destroyed the door as his hands clenched around his sword. I can do this if I need to, he told himself. I can.

The soldier watched him for a second, and then suddenly broke into laughter. "You-You're gonna fight? Really?" Ignoring the glare from the boy he continued, still chuckling. "You never killed anyone before, huh? I can tell. Your fucking stance oozes innocence." The amateur swordsman didn't lose the grip on his sword as the intruder took a step towards him. "Well, then," the soldier licked his lips, grinning. "Shall we?"

The boy barely had the time to take a defensive stance when his opponent closed the gap between them and made the swords clash. Taking a deep breath, he reminded himself that this was no different from the training exercises he did every day. This was just a live performance, wasn't it?

Now having more confidence, the younger swordsman moved gracefully, smirking at the bewildered expression on the other's face. He trapped his opponent skillfully between the wall and himself, and was ready to deal the finishing blow…and yet,

and yet he hesitated.

Using the hesitation to his advantage, the intruder quickly reversed their positions. "Now this you don't learn in this dojo, right kid?" The 'kid' looked around desperately for an escape route, all to no avail. "Die, boy." The soldier swung his sword as the young man closed his eyes, waiting for the slash.

Instead he heard the sound of swords clashing.

"What the fuck are you doing? Get out, idiot!" The newcomer spat out in an irritated voice as he shoved the boy out of the swords' reach and continued to exchange blows with the soldier. "There's no one at the door now, but it'll be swarming with Amanto in ten minutes! Run!" the seemingly silver haired samurai shouted, driving the soldier into a corner. And yet, the boy couldn't bring himself to run, hell, he couldn't bring himself to move. He was frozen in place, watching the samurai –who kind of looked like he was his age – as he dealt the finishing blow to the helpless soldier.

"I said get out!" the silver haired boy stood in front of the other. "Hey!"

The young man suddenly felt his cheeks burn with a slap, which thankfully brought him out of his daze. "Go! You don't have much time now!" the samurai hissed angrily. "Don't just stand there…whatever your name is." "It's Hijikata." The boy replied, still sluggish in his movements. "Great! Now I know your name. How fucking helpful." The other said, voice dripping with sarcasm. "Come on, as soon as they come here all the exits will be closed."

"What about you?" his question hung in the air for a second until the samurai answered in a not-so-reliable voice. "I have a friend. He'll be here later." Hijikata clenched his fists. "I want to help! I can help! Let me stay here, and I-I'll fight with-""Oi,oi, are you mad?" The samurai exclaimed, voice filled with annoyance. "I know that you can't, dumbass! You are good with swords, I'll give you that since I saw your fight, but you haven't killed before, right? I can't save your hesitating ass all the time." "I'll learn to kill, alright?" the boy shouted. "This is my dojo, and I'll kill for it-"He took another slap to the face for that. "Look, we're in the middle of war. You'll kill someone eventually, don't worry. But you have to delay you first kill as much as you can, you hear me?" The silver haired boy's voice was deadly as he pulled him close, snarling into his face. "Look at me."

The boy kept his eyes on the floor.

"I said look, right?" The samurai said through clenched teeth, forcefully tilting his chin and making him look at his eyes.

They were, for the lack of a better word, empty. No emotion whatsoever. Not even a hint of anger was in those red eyes, and that scared Hijikata more that he thought it would.

"Do you want to have eyes like mine?" The samurai whispered exasperatedly, and Hijikata's eyes were fixated on the red orbs. Then suddenly the other took a step back, and breathed slowly.

"Go now. Zura will be here in a second."

Hijikata stood for another second.

"Oi! Run, bastard!"

That made Hijikata bolt out the door. He didn't look back until he was sure he wouldn't be seen, and when he did look back he saw two people in the darkness, moving in perfect coordination as if they were dancing, warding off dozens of Amanto without getting even a scratch on themselves.

And he could swear that he saw a glint of red eyes.