I wanted to say a few things before the story. If you want to point out a few things in this chapter, I don't mind. In fact, I need it. It gives me the strength to go on! XD Anyway...
Disclaimer: Gintama and its characters belong to Sorachi-sensei! God Bless that man! T^T
On with the story! Enjoy!
Day 1: Meeting
A young adult, with long, blonde hair swaying behind him. His eyes scanned the field before him, walking among the dead and looking for anything out of the ordinary. What he discovered was a was young boy with naturally wavy, white hair, who sat top of a corpse and ate a meat-filled bun. He wondered how this youngster was able to eat without throwing up at the sight of millions dead and admitting the horrible smell of decay. The crows' caw ringed throughout the land. The older man noticed that the child had a deadpan look, right at his direction.
"Only a demon could eat peacefully while surrounded by corpses," the man said, continuing his walk, "and how about you?"
The boy didn't answer, only noticing that the stranger is coming too close to him.
The long-haired man was now near the boy with a sword, and petted gently his head. "To be honest though, you seem too cute to be a demon."
The nameless boy smacked away the stranger's hand, and quickly drew his sword with impressive speed.
The stranger had a curious expression, eyeing the sword. "Did you find that among the corpses as well?"
The child didn't respond, just gave the older man a hateful glare.
The cultured man sighed and told, "Hiding here alone among corpses...is that the means you choose to protect yourself? I'll say it: I'm impressed. However, you're not using that sword correctly. There's no meaning in simply wielding a sword if it's just to scare others and protect yourself." The older man grabbed for his sword, as the boy tensed. However, instead of battling the child, he tossed it over to the boy.
"This is my sword," the man said. "Go on and take it." The lad had little time to register what was happening, but managed to catch the other sword with his other, free hand.
The adult started to walk away and continued speaking, "If you're interested in learning more about that blade, follow me. However, from now on, you must understand, the blade is not to down your enemies nor is it to cut away your own weakness." He halted walking, turning a hundred-eighty degrees to face an awed child.
The man smiled. "A sword isn't meant to protect your body; a sword is meant for protecting your soul."
The boy slowly started taking small steps until he was running up to the stranger, following the mysterious who will soon change his life forever.
"By the way, my name is Shouyou Yoshida, but you can call me Shouyou-sensei."
The sun reached the top, as it caused the two to perspire very hard. However, they would take a few breaks here and then, but mostly they've been strolling on a never-ending dirt path that led to nowhere quite yet. The teacher pondered over how the young was able to keep up with him; any child at his age would drop dead in the last nine kilometers. This boy never failed to bring one surprise after another. One thing that bugged Shouyou was that the child couldn't speak; whenever he popped a question, the boy either gave him a nod, shake his head, or simply nothing.
Is he a mute? Yoshida thought tirelessly. Maybe his parents never taught him how to speak, much less write... He paused in his steps, as the boy accidently bumped into him from behind. The teacher turned around, and asked, "Where are your parents?"
The boy gazed up at the man, tilting his head sideways.
The teacher was surprised. Maybe this child was abandoned at birth perhaps? Or did they die without his knowing? Different scenarios played inside his mind, until he came up with one, straightforward outcome: the boy had no family, and was deemed orphaned. He was left with no choice; he decided to become white-haired boy's guardian from now on. I guess I'm taking him to the temple then. I hope the others treat him nicely.
It was now nighttime, as the cicadas began to chirp and fireflies glowed in the meadow fields. The boy was distracted by the bugs' uniqueness, causing him to almost lose sight of the samurai. The two have finally arrived at their destination: a three story temple, painted red and gold, with white shoji screens on the first level. It near a clear, freshwater lake, sparkling under the full moon. Stepping stones floated in it, along with lily pads. Koi fish swam happily as ducks waddled through the water. A forest surrounded the building from behind.
Then, from a distance, something slid the white shoji screen door open from the inside, and a young boy popped his head out.
"Sensei!" The child cried out, and came out in full view. The child wore a jade green robe over his green kimono, which was tucked in his pine green pants, and had sandals on. The odd thing about the boy was that his black hair was tied back into a long ponytail. The nameless youngster jumped off the wooden platform, running towards Shouyou.
The silver-haired child went on high alert, stepping and drawing his blade in front of the adult rather quickly. Pointing it at this mysterious person's neck, his action resulted the victim to fall on his bottom.
"Sensei help!" The other child yelled nervously, as the sword wielder pressed more metal against his skin.
Shouyou sighed, placing his face into the palm of his hand. What a great way to be introduced. He put a hand on the white-hair kid's shoulder. The child looked up, and saw that the adult was giving him a disapproved expression. The child understood this, and grunting, lowered his sword before sheathing it away.
"Katsura-kun, this is my newest pupil. He'll be living with us now," Shouyou-sensei said, as he held out his hand for student.
The child grabbed it, and was lifted up from the ground, brushing off dust from his clothes. Katsura gave an odd look at the new kid before smiling, and put his hand out. "My name is Katsura Kotara! I know we're going to be great friends!"
The new lad was nervous at first, but once sensei gave him an encouraging smile at him, he took the hand, shaking it with firmness. Before the sword child knew it, he gave out a small smile.
"What's your name, new kid?" Katsura asked excitedly.
Suddenly, that small sign of happiness was wiped off the child's face, as sorrow and pain replaced it. He jerked away his hand, and ran off into the forest, unaware of the dangers that lie in there.
Shouyou-sensei told his student, "I think you better head back now. We'll discuss about this tomorrow, all right?" His pupil nodded, heading back to the temple. The adult stared at the woods, wondering if he'll be back by dawn.
The young samurai sat on a wooden stump, gripping his two swords tightly. He stared down at his feet, then up to the sky, where the moon glowed all alone.
"Remember that we will always love you," a young woman gently told, before she faded into darkness.
"We'll be watching over you in heaven, my boy," an unsophisticated man proudly said, before sharing the same fate as the woman's.
"It's so peaceful here," someone commented from the bushes behind. The boy spun his head around startled, but eased his gaze and put his guard down when the stranger turned out to be Shouyou-sensei.
"I was starting to think that the creatures have gotten to you," the man joked. "Thank goodness, they didn't." Shouyou started walking up to the child, but all that did was that the kid whirled his head back, and ignored everything surrounding him.
This is harder than I imagined. Shouyou continued walking, and when he reached the oak stump, he sat on the opposite side of it.
"I know I shouldn't pry, but you can't be like this forever," the teacher lectured. When he received no answer, sighing, the man was left with no choice. "It has something to do with your...family."
The kid winced at the word "family." It made him reminisce the past bitterly. His eye vision started to get blurry, as something wet dripped from his face to the ground and his feet.
The child was crying. He cried up an ocean, choking up on his hiccups, and sobbing horribly.
The adult rotated his body, to witness the miserable child's scene. Without thought, he encircled tightly the small body with his tough, yet tender arms, bringing him towards his chest. He felt his kimono damp with bitter tears from those crimson eyes. He ran one hand through the naturally, white hair, trying his very best to soothe the boy.
"There, there," Shouyou told lovingly. "Everything is going to be all right."
Those words made worse for the youngster. He gazed his teary eyes up at the adult, wondering how anything would go right with him around.
Shouyou's stormy gray orbs promised hope and love, while his smile warmed the child's heart, wiping away the tears from those sadden eyes. He looked up to the now starry sky; multiple stars glowed together with the silver-tinted moon. Then, the man thought of something wonderful for the child.
"From now on, you shall be named, Gintoki. That's your new name," Shouyou informed, waiting for a reaction.
The young one didn't know what to do. He had never experienced this much kindness form anyone he met within a day. Some adult no paid any attention to him while others fought him for food or money. Out of all of those people, no one has stop, and offered a helping hand to him. Now, this person that the gods gave was truly a blessing.
"I know you are destined for greatness," the teacher spoke again, "but to achieve that goal, someone must direct you on its path. I believe that the divine assigned me that task. However, this is up to you if want to do so. Will you accept me as your guardian and teacher?"
Gintoki's crimson eyes glinted with joy! The once bitter tears now transformed into droplets of happiness, as he smiled his best. Now, the boy was bestowed the choice to live a new life; start over. This maybe the only chance he'll get, and it was all thanks to this man. He nodded blissfully.
Shouyou smiled back, as he recognized something in those scarlet eyes: hope. Somehow, the boy's expression looked very familiar to the teacher, reflecting on where he had seen it before. However, sensei put it aside for a later time, and decided it was best for them to head back home.
On the way back to the temple, Gintoki's legs gave out its last energy, falling to the ground. Luckily, Youshida managed to catch him right before he kissed the dirt. With no choice left, he gladly accepted his offer in a piggyback ride for the remaining trip. As Gin hugged his arms around the neck and legs cling to the waist, he pushed his head against the firm, yet comfortable back of his instructor. The boy felt the adult's hands holding onto his thighs to support him from falling off. Gintoki held on tightly as he never done this before.
As they travel through the dense forest with the moon providing light to guide their way to the temple, Shouyou said, to no one in particular, "Teachers have certain responsibilities they must be able to uphold before the students' education. One of the most important is to be able to bear your student's burdens. If a teacher cannot accomplish this simple task, then they now only fail their students, they have to right to be called their teacher."
While hearing those words, young Gintoki found himself closing his eyes steadily before his mind wandered off in his dreams.