Prologue
Those who make compassion an essential part of their life find the joy of life. Kindness deepens the spirit and produces rewards that cannot be explained in words. It is an experience more powerful than words. Kindness is more than a philosophy of the mind. It is a philosophy of the spirit.
It was a normal day in the Kabuki district.
The usually-crowded streets were laced with people milling about, the blazing afternoon sun shining down on their figures. The small shops alongside the edges of the roads were always anxiously waiting for more clients, with advertisement signs held by men who were in debt, attempting to persuade those who wander the streets.
Yorozuya Gin-chan was not an exception.
The premises were always nearly empty. Of people, that is. There were quite a few JUMP magazines and pickled seaweed boxes lying around.
Inside were three individuals and a dog. One was busy, attempting to clean the floor with a flimsy ragged mop. His appearance was that of a cherry boy, his black-framed glasses the only feature that managed to stand out from his plain appearance. His brown eyes flashed out of his spectacles, scanning the floor for cleanliness. The 16-year-old teen ruffled his black hair slightly, and continued on in his work, his light blue keikogi with blue linings and blue hakama interfering with the mop and causing himself to trip, receiving a laugh from the rest, except for of course, the dog.
The other was sitting casually on the hard red sofa-chair, nibbling on her favorite brand of pickled seaweed. She had a purple parasol next to her, and her ocean blue eyes scanned the room, as if dissatisfied with the former's work. Her vermilion red hair was tied in two knots to the side of her head and covered with a simple black ornament with gold outlines. The red cheongsam with yellow piping gave her a very Chinese look, despite not even being human, instead one of the Yato clan.
The last threw his feet up on the office-style table. His infamous naturally wavy silver hair and half-lidded "dead fish eyes" made up his striking features which most many not call handsome. The thirty-or-so-year-old wore a black shirt and pants with red linings, and a white yukata with light blue patterns worn sloppily, draped over his left shoulder. Yawning, he lazily picked up a half-open JUMP magazine and started reading.
The dog was one of a strange species. His abnormal size was the most interesting about the creature, reaching one hundred and seventy centimetres when sitting down. His white furry coat deemed him cute to others. When the young teen had tripped, he opened one of his giant dark stormy grey eyes in annoyance and soon closed it after, continuing his daily afternoon nap.
"No clients today, huh?" The bespectacled boy placed the worn-out mop on the plain white wall, adjacent to a closet one may sleep in with her giant pet dog.
"Come on, Pachi boy, we can't expect to have clients everyday," the older man replied nonchalantly, throwing a side glance at the teen. He continued reading as though nothing had happened.
"My name is Shinpachi Shimura, thank you very much. Not Pachi boy..." the glasses boy countered.
"Yeah, what Gin-chan said, Megane," the lone girl replied, still munching on her delectable snack. "Stop being selfish!"
"Don't call me Megane either! And who said I was being selfish?" The 16-year-old protested loudly.
A small yip from the dog was his only response.
A sigh from the black-haired boy and a small mutter about ignorance occurred, and he continued to labor over the cleanliness of the floor.
The silence could have not been more prominent. Even the rush of the people walking in the streets or the call of the birds was nonexistent.
That is the reason why everyone in the household heard the quiet rap on the door.
Shinpachi immediately responded. "Gin-san, it's probably one of those newspaper-selling men again."
"Just tell them that we've already subscribed or something," Gin responded, not even bothering to look up from the magazine he clutched in both hands.
"Uh huh," the girl added unenthusiastically.
Shinpachi shrugged and trudged over to the wooden door, weary of the ever-occurring practice.
The boy opened the door. "I'm sorry, we've already subscribed to a newspaper."
It wasn't a vendor. In fact, the stranger was anything but. He wore a heavy black cloak that disguised most of his body, but his grayish green hair stuck out a little, and the young teen could sort of see his brown eyes, full of compassion.
"Hello, this is Yorozuya Gin-chan. How may we help you?" Shinpachi smiled kindly at the stranger as he delivered his unused welcoming line.
"...do you know the way to the Shinsengumi station around here...?" His voice was barely over a whisper, and the young odd jobber had to really listen to hear what he said.
"Oh, if you just take a left at the end of this street, you'll reach the station," the teen responded, pointing in the said direction.
"...thank you, Mister Shinpachi Shimura...say hello to Mister Gintoki Sakata and Miss Kagura for me too..." He pressed something into his open palm and hurried away quickly, without a backwards glance.
The confused adolescent watched him retreat, giving him a strange stare before glancing into his hand. His eyes widened tremendously when he saw the small stack of one thousand yen bills in his hand.
Just who is that guy?
Just then, Kagura sauntered towards him. "Megane, what's taking you so long-" She also froze upon spotting what the boy was ogling at.
"Jeez, are you two that incompetent-" Gin yawned and rubbed his eyes before freezing in shock, similar to the others' reactions.
They stood there, stunned, before Shinpachi murmured, "Th-this...is for real, right?"
Gintok snatched the pile out of the young teen's reach. "Haha! We're going all out for dinner tonight!"
"Yay! Can we get real Korean BBQ? Please?" Kagura cheered and rejoiced along with the silver-haired man.
Amidst all their excitement over their new finance, only the glasses boy was left wondering about the stranger.