HUZZAH! I finally put up this story! Whoohoo! Eheh. This was inspired by the song Monster, by Skillet, and I really enjoyed thinking this up! Lol. Luckily I had just watched the second Gintama movie not too long after I thought up the idea for this fic, and that's where this prologue came from! :) Everything in here will make sense to you all after you delve into the story line, so I'm not going to hint at it too much. Also, I'm still entertaining the idea of having Gin-san and Hijikata getting together, so don't get your hopes up. Lol. Hmm, what else...? Oh yeah, I'm slowly working on my other stories, but I think with The History of the World will have to wait a while(since no really reads it). Sigh~ also, I'll work harder on bringing in chapters for Assassin's Pride since everyone just LOVES it. Another thing is, I'm a really slow writer, well not slow, but I'm a big procrastinator, so these stories will probably all be (every couple of) monthly updates rather than weekly and stuff. Hahah. Anyways, enjoy this story! Read & Review please!

Oh yeah... I don't own any of the characters! They belong to Hideaki Sorachi, and only him! (TT^TT) Man...

P.S. Something that's been bothering me, I swear. Shouyo dies in front of Gintoki when they were still students! Why does he die AGAIN by Gintoki's hand DURING the war?! It's making me confused, so for the sake of this story, I'm just going with what fits this. I mean, his role in the manga now would make sense, but they didn't know he (SPOILER) was immortal until now.

Prologue:

The darkness spread throughout the battle field.

Pools of blood soaked the ground, turning the dirt to mud.

Amidst the chaos, powerful blows were being dealt between two fearsome warriors. The piercing sounds of metal on metal so loud, they were mistaken by many for the clashing if thunder and lightning being released just above the heads of Joui and Amanto soldiers as they fought viciously on the battlefield.

One of the two strongest warriors had a head of pure silver hair dotted with the blood of his enemies, which entitled him to the name Shiroyasha, and his red eyes glinted as he poured all of his blood thirst, rage, and hate into each swing of his intricately molded katana. There was not a single cut on his body as of yet since his comrades supported him all the way to the edge of the battlefield where the Amanto Commander stood. The adrenaline rushing through his veins only fueled him more and more, making his reflexes almost god-like and strengthened his body for the most difficult battle to come. His torn up head band fluttered along with his open, grey kimono in the flurry of wind that opposed him as he ran towards the unnamed Amanto leader, deciding to end the battle once and for all.

His opponent, the leader of the attacking Amanto group, was a mysterious man garbed in tattered and worn out robes, his face completely blocked by ragged, dirty bandages except for the small sliver of space that revealed a glowing, red left eye that seemed to pierce the very souls of those who gazed into them long enough. A long, round straw hat adorned his head, shadowing his wrapped face, and in his hands was a large bronze colored staff with intricate carvings and rings attached to the end pointing towards the endless black sky.

The silver-haired Joui commander- or more importantly, the Shiroyasha- ran towards him with his sword raised, shouting a blood curdling battle cry while dodging fast approaching attacks from the Amanto. The Amanto leader stood in a single spot as he released his attacks, which were what seemed to be endlessly long strips of Ofuda* inscribed with mysterious writings etched upon them. Once the fatigue began kicking in, the Shiroyasha began struggling to keep up with his opponent. He had to push his limbs to its limits to get him past the swirling mass of ofuda, but his carelessness led to him revealing an opening, allowing the amanto to finally strike him and cut a gash into his right arm. Though shallow, the wound was deep enough to let the wound bleed almost profusely, draining the demonic man even further.

After exchanging a few more blows, the blood thirsty Shiroyasha finally closed the distance between him and his opponent allowing him to successfully land a fatal wound near the Amanto's heart, but the amanto appeared to be some immortal beast as he simply grabbed the sword that impaled his chest and ripped it out while forcefully pushing away a stunned white demon. Blood splattered the ground, but that hardly deterred the amanto.

Shiroyasha jumped backwards once he had gained composure and tried to assess his situation as calmly as he could.

Something isn't right...

Flash back:

A bunch of chattering children were seated at their desks in the small, stuffy classroom. They were of different ages, ranging from five to about nine or ten years old, but they all conversed together eagerly without a care for the age difference. A man with long, sandy-blonde hair reaching his lower back stood silently at the front of the classroom behind a small desk signaling for them to settle down.

Once the children had noticed and quieted down, he began to speak in a soft yet deep and authoritative voice.

"Ohaiyo, minna-san. Today, I am introducing a new student. Treat him with respect and kindness, especially since he has yet to grow accustomed to our rules. I want you all to behave as well as help teach him a few things to help him catch up. Well then, Gintoki, you may come in now..."

After finishing his speech, the little boy- now dubbed Gintoki- walked into the room. He had cleaned up since Shouyo had took him in, but still looked like an unruly little boy. His white hair was askew in all its permed glory, and in his hands was his favorite sword, of which he refused to part with day and night; his clothes consisted of a grass stained hakama and komon.* Many emotions flashed across his face as he shuffled inside: insecurity, embarrassment, discontent- anger even- but the only one who could discern these emotions was Shouyo sensei for the children were distracted as the curiosity shone in every one of their eyes, and the gossip was soon to follow.

"Look at his hair..."

"Why is he holding a sword?"

"He's so filthy."

Gintoki simply stood there silently observing the others with his dead fish eyes, successfully hiding the resentment in his face from the other children while Shouyo sensei gave out more instructions.

"Gin, you may sit anywhere you like as long as no one else is in that spot." Shouyo told him as he gestured towards the other students with his arm.

Gintoki walked towards the back of the classroom and sat against the wall. Already, he could tell that he wasn't accepted there, whether or not Shouyo has requested that the students welcome him with open arms.

It had been a long week. Gintoki persevered without fighting back against the taunting and bullying of the other students. Shouyo had saved him from the life of living off of the dead, and he was determined to respect Shouyo's wish that he not fight for his own sake but for those who need it. Truly, he wished to respect that, but each and everyday the bullying grew worse and worse and his patience for nonviolence thinned further and further.

It all began when the first person, who was a girl that seemed to be his senior by a year or two, had come up and questioned him about his hair and sword- although. It wasn't quite a question but more like her grabbing a fistful of his hair and kicking his sword while reprimanding him quite loudly for looking 'weird' and for having something 'stupid' like his katana around, especially since he was only a 'little kid.' At first he only glared at her when she and some of her followers taunted him, but soon they began to beat him as well as degrade him. No one stood up to them, especially since everyone knew that Shouyo sensei would just reprimand all of them for not intervening in the beginning. It was something new and different from what the children were used to. They were all still in the mindset that what children did was always excusable since they were only kids. If an adult had beaten Gin as badly, then of course there'd be something wrong.

One day, he finally snapped. Gin grabbed his unsheathed katana from the others while they tried to pry it from him and swung at the them in blind rage, managing to shallowly cut two of the young offenders as they attempted to back away, before he regained his composure and realized what he had done. He had betrayed Shouyo Sensei. He had broken his one and only promise to not use his strength for his own selfish purposes but to protect those who are precious to him, and now he felt as if his small world was crashing in on himself.

The thing that freaked Gin out the most though, was that, even though he was still only so young, he enjoyed the feeling of his blade slicing through human flesh, extracting ruby red blood from their skin. He had never sensed he had a thirst for blood. All previous killings and deaths he experienced were solely based on his instinct and need to survive.

He wasn't sure of what to do next other than get away from there. Gin was convinced that the children of Shouyo's class would only increase the torture now that they have seen his true nature, and Shouyo sensei had to hate him for breaking his promise and hurting someone weaker than him for such a self serving reason. With his small body, somehow Gin managed to nimbly move quickly and quietly, but even as he tried his best to stay silent, his presence was completely unhidden, and he was noticed by familiar figures before he could slip away into the dense thickets of trees.

Shouyo had already noticed Gin's constant bruising, his beaten up pride, his anger, but the benevolent teacher chose not to act upon it. He knew that he had some extreme kids in his class, but instead of kicking them out, he chose to keep them there to learn the proper ways of life- he didn't trust leaving them to their own devices, as his belief was that children need a guide post to stabilize their lives. In Gin's case, he wanted to see how the long the boy could last, and what he'd do when he finally broke under the constant pressure. Gin had a certain spark that hasn't dwindled to this day from what Shouyo could see, and he has stayed strong throughout the trials he had been forcefully thrust into, be it other children or simply surviving in a desolate world with no other human contact.

"Shouyo sensei..."

He turned to look at three of his most trusted little boys. They were what he used to keep the others in check when he felt the need to intervene on any subject. The boy who's speaking is Takasugi, the runaway son of a rich family of whom had no need for a child they found burdensome. To his left was Katsura, dubbed Zura by his best friends, he was found floating in the river one day, severely injured and underfed- apparently his family was attacked the previous night because his father owed money to some high class family but had gone AWOL, leaving his family to suffer the consequences. To the far right stood Sakamoto, the most energetic of the three. He was the son of an illegitimate couple between Takasugi's father and a prostitute. All three were connected in some way by their former families, but they all chose to never go back to their previous lives and instead lead a new life together as friends, partners, and comrades.

"Shouyo sensei, he's gone."

"Are you sure? Do you know where he went?" Shouyo sensei questioned.

"Hai, but he's not alone. There are some men who have been following him since the others ran away." Takasugi answered diligently.

"Oh really now? Takasugi, I want you three to go and follow him. Observe, see what he does, and don't let the opponents sense you. This is a very important issue."

"Hai!" They all said in unison, just before turning around and exiting through the paper screen doors of Shouyo's room.

Moving towards his small desk in one of the darker corners of the room, Shouyo jotted down some notes to keep- similar to a diary. It was neat and orderly, up to the very last page; nothing was out of place, and even his calligraphy was beautiful as it flowed onto the blank pages. Getting up with the papers in his hands, Shouyo migrated over to the wall opposite to the screen doors and opened a small compartment in which he stored the account along with other documents. He kept four tabs- one for each of the students with excelling potential: Takasugi, Katsura, Sakamoto, and the newest one, Gintoki.

"This legacy will continue no matter what..." He muttered to himself. With a click, the compartment door closed shut and he silently walked out of the room and into the outter gardens. He would survey his four star pupils himself, and see who among them has the most potential at this point. Then he'd train and educate them separately from the others.

Gintoki wandered through the dense forest until he finally found another river to follow. Before his fight with the other children, he had been about to eat lunch, but they had come and interrupted him by dumping it into the river, making him lose his only other meal other than dinner, which he wouldn't receive until he would go back to Shouyo sensei's home, for the entire day. The river had to lead to another village somewhere downstream. Years of scavenging and foraging for himself taught Gin the basics of surviving in the world by himself, whether it be in the city or in the wild.

Snap!

Gin leaped into his fighting position and unsheathed his katana. Was it the other children? Did they bring reinforcements? His young mind swam with thoughts on the possibilities. It could just be an animal, but the silence told him otherwise. The calm before the storm, a phrase he had read in one of Shouyo's old books. It talked about the stillness, the serenity, a person usually felt before they would be thrown into a turbulent situation, and Gin could almost sense the malice emanating from the trees opposite of him.

"Come out now, and I wont kill you." He attempted at bargaining. Better he be able to inspect his opponents than be taken by surprise.

"Well...Sakata Gintoki. It seems you've called out the wrong group that's following you." Out of the bushes stepped Takasugi and the other two. They were wearing the students' trademark plain, black kimono which actually made it difficult for Gin to discern them from the background.

"What's wrong with calling you out? I sensed killing intent. Do you really wish to kill me? Shouyo sensei sent you didn't he? Heh, he sent out his favorite student, Mr. Perfectionist. I can't wait to wipe off that stupid look on your face, even if you were never a part of the group of idiots that bullied me everyday, I hate you. I hate you so much for being able to be sp close to sensei!" By the end of Gintoki's rant, tears were streaming down his face. He had never felt compassion and love like he had from anyone before Shouyo who had practically adopted him. Years of loneliness and isolation had created an insecure child who only knew of pain. All he desired was to shine in Shouyo's eyes, but this desire was crushed once he had found out about Takasugi's favored position among the students.

Gin's grip on his sword tightened and Takasugi merely narrowed his eyes. Suddenly both boys lunged forward; Gin, throwing his katana- barely missing the vital points in Takasugi's neck, but managing to scratch him- while Takasugi swung his sword at Gin's mid section. Due to his swift reflexes and keen eyes, Gin managed to block the blow with his sword's sheath. Behind Katsura and Sakamoto, a man suddenly fell out of the thick bushes with a heavy thud and Gintoki's sword lodged in his abdomen. He wore a dark mask that covered his face and carried multiple weapons including his own katana and a few kunais which could be seen sticking out of his all-black bodysuit.

As soon as Takasugi and his trio got a glimpse of him, a whole horde of men dressed similarly as the dead man rushed out of their hiding places, throwing kunais in their direction.

Takasugi jumped out of the way, leaving Gintoki to fend for himself against the onslaught of deadly weapons. Luckily, after throwing his katana, Gin still had his scabbard, which he used to deflect the kunais.

Madly dashing forward, Gintoki lunged towards the dead body and reached out with his right hand. It didn't take long after his katana was in his hands, that all their enemies were dead. Takasugi and the other two merely stood there, indifferent to the spectacle they had witnessed.

"I hate you Takasugi. I hate you, but I don't think we can't get along now, can't we?" Gintoki said with a smile. He would pull through, and win back Shouyo sensei. He wouldn't let these things bring him down. That was the resolve he made while striking down those bastards who had dared tried to gang up on him for beating them before.

"Now where did that come from, Gintoki? What happened to all that rage from before the fight?" Takasugi taunted him after watching the silverette defeat the entire group of men single handedly.

"Up your butt!" Gintoki leaned down and scooped up a huge ball of mud and threw it at Takasugi, hitting him square in the face. With a huge grin plastered to his face, Gin ran off back in the direction he had left from. He would pull through these hardships, because he was going to become an honorable man under the name of Shouyo sensei. He didn't have to be the favorite. Knowing someone cared for him, even the slightest, is enough.

He laughed heartily as Takasugi ran after him murderously while swinging his sword in the air.

Takasugi, Katsura, Sakamoto, and Gintoki followed behind Shouyo into his private quarters. Each of them walked slowly in fear of inciting their sensei's anger, seeing that he never bothered to personally call them unless they were in deep trouble. The only thing was, no one has bothered to go out pranking the townspeople or stealing any food. A single question hung in the heavy atmosphere as all four misfits stood in front of their beloved sensei.

AHHHH! I'm not even done with the prologue, but SERIOUSLY. I wrote this when the second movie came out! IT'S BEEN SITTING AROUND WAY TOO LONG. You know what's funny? The direction of the manga is actually helpful for directing this story... mwuahahaha~ Please R&R, TT^TT This isn't even finished yet. But it's so long already...(or my stories). I just had to put it out already. Tell me what you all think! I'm working hard in school right now, that's why I've been busy and procrastinating on these. lol.