Everyone Knows That Family Reunions Always End In Disaster
On a sunny morning in Yoshiwara under the canopy of Hinowa's shop, the woman herself was sat in her wheelchair beside Gintoki and Tsukuyo. Across from them was an older man and a much younger woman as well as a shy, nervous looking teenage boy. The man was tall, balding and tanned with calloused hands and a weather battered face. The clothes he was wearing looked brand new and expensive and as he'd told them, he'd recently come into quite a lot of money.
The woman with him looked to be at least half his age. She was a waif of thing, thin and petite with a pretty round face and long brown hair. She was also, apparently, his second wife, Yuna.
The boy with them was called Haruto, he had blonde hair and very, very familiar purple eyes. He was small and lean and so far, hadn't said a single word.
"So, how can we help you, Daiki-san?" Hinowa asked him.
"I'll come right to the point," he said in a deep voice.
"Well, you've practically told us your life story right up to now, so that'd make a change," Gintoki grumbled.
"About...fifteen years ago," the man, Daiki, said after glaring at him. "My wife and I...I mean, my first wife and I, brought our daughter here. At the time we didn't have any money, as I said, and we couldn't afford to keep her, so we had no choice. My wife died a few years after that giving birth to our son Haruto."
"Who ya 'kept'," Tsukuyo couldn't help but say sarcastically.
"It was my wife's dying wish!" he defended.
"Sure it was. You just wanted a son, not a daughter, at least be honest about it. You're not the first and I doubt you'll be the last. The world's full of s***** parents," the silver haired samurai shook his head.
"Gin-san," Hinowa sighed and he shrugged.
"As I was saying...I've recently inherited a considerable amount of money," the man continued. "And I'm here to buy my daughter back," he finished.
"Ya arrogant..." Tsukuyo hissed at him, but Hinowa stopped her and held up her hand.
"I see," Hinowa said, the angelic smile on her face hadn't faltered at all. "Well, I'm sorry to have to tell you, that Yoshiwara has changed since then. We don't sell or buy people any longer," she said, "If your daughter is still here, I suggest that you speak to her about what she wants to do. If she'll even speak to you."
"Look, I'll pay you whatever you want...within reason."
"Money isn't the issue."
"Then what is? She's still my daughter! At least tell me where I can find her. I'm getting old, I have a young wife and a son who's going to be married soon. His wife will be living with us after that," he said and the boy shuffled on his feet, nervously. "We need some help around the house. When we brought the girl here, we dealt with a woman...err...her name was I can't remember...it was...Aya...no...Ak...no...erm...it was something starting with an A. She was drop dead gorgeous...green eyes...err...she was covered in jewellery...and she had the biggest..." he trailed off and rather crudely gestured his with his hands, indicating a pair of breasts.
"Ayuko?" Hinowa guessed and the man snapped his fingers with a smile.
"Yes! That's it!"
"She's not with us anymore. She left a while ago."
"Well, I was told you're in charge anyway, so doesn't the kid belong to you now?"
"I told you, we don't sell or buy people. The women here don't belong to anyone, least of all to me," Hinowa repeated, politely.
"Whatever. Look, the girl's name was Tsukuyo, she was a skinny little useless thing, looked like my son over there I think, they both have their mother's hair and eyes..." Daiki continued.
But neither Gintoki nor Hinowa were paying much attention. They turned to each other, stunned and then looked at Tsukuyo. She'd dropped her pipe in shock and was staring over at the man who, apparently was her father.
The man turned to her when she dropped her pipe and tilted his head, staring at her. "Wait...come to think of it, if it weren't for that ugly scar, you'd look a lot like my first wife...who are..." he began.
Before he could say anything else, Tsukuyo ran at him, brandishing a kunai, ready to slice his throat. She couldn't remember ever feeling angrier in her entire life and she would've killed him without hesitation. She ignored the frightened screams of the young woman, technically her step mother, and the boy, her brother, was frozen in fear. The man who was responsible for selling her like a slave or an animal without any regard for what might happen, deserved to die.
And he would have, had Gintoki not moved even faster than she had and stopped her a second before her sharp weapon could sever her father's neck. He'd grabbed the kunai in his hand and it sliced through his palm easily but he didn't so much as blink as he stared at her. She was shaking and breathing heavily, but seeing Gintoki's blood dripping down from her weapon onto the floor, she blinked and finally saw him standing in front of her.
"Gin...toki..." she took a step back and let go of the kunai, shaking her head, "I didn't...why would ya..." she watched him pull the kunai out of his palm and toss it away. Her kunai had sliced deep into his hand and it was gushing with blood. "Damn it," she mumbled quietly. Then she sliced the long sleeve of her kimono with the kunai in her other hand and then threw that weapon away as well. She tied the torn fabric around his wound with her own shaking hands. "Why didn't ya just let me..." she mumbled, "I'm sorry, I didn't..."
"What the hell is wrong with her?!" the man exclaimed, stepping away in terror, "The crazy bitch!"
About a dozen kunai came hurtling towards him and landed at his feet, barely an inch from killing him.
"What the f***?!" he yelled, stumbling back. He tripped and landed on his backside and then he shuffled backwards away from her.
"I'm not an expert when it comes to women or anything, but I'd say that means 'f*** off'," Gintoki said to him.
"What..."
"Darling, are you alright?" Yuna knelt beside her husband and gently put her hands on his shoulder and his knee, checking him for injuries.
"I'm fine, get off!" he shrugged her off. He pushed himself up off the floor and stormed over to Tsukuyo and Gintoki. "What the hell is your problem?! You could've killed me!" he yelled.
"I think that was the point," Gintoki mumbled. "You idiot," he said, standing in between them slightly. Not to protect Tsukuyo, but to stop her from actually killing her father.
"Is she your wife or something? Well, she's crazy!" the man exclaimed.
"I'll kill him," Tsukuyo hissed, "Get outta the way, Gintoki. He deserves to die!"
"Yeah, I agree. But here? In front of the kid?" Gintoki said to her. "Look at him, he's your brother," he said, looking over at the terrified young boy. He was frozen where he stood, his mouth agape.
"Her...brother..." the man blinked, confused, "Then...this crazy bitch is...Tsukuyo? She's my.."
"This 'crazy bitch' is ya daughter," Tsukuyo hissed, gritting her teeth and glaring at him.
"I think you'd better leave," Hinowa said, moving closer to them.
"She's really my..."
"She's the only woman here called Tsukuyo. She was brought here fifteen years ago and Ayuko dealt with the parents at the time. There's very little doubt that she is," Hinowa said.
"Do you all end up as...crazy...as her? I thought we sold her to be some kind of...prostitute...not a murderer!"
"Oi," Gintoki grabbed him with his left hand by the front of his expensive new yukata and lifted him up off the floor onto his tip toes.
"Gin-san, would you show them out, please? Make sure they leave Yoshiwara," Hinowa said, kindly but sternly.
"I'm not leaving without..." the older man protested.
"Ya gonna leave or I'm gonna kill ya," Tsukuyo declared.
"And this time, I might not stop her," Gintoki added with a smirk that made the man shudder.
"But..."
"If she leaves with you, she'll just kill you in your sleep and then come back home in time for dinner," Gintoki told him. "She's the Shinigami Tayuu, y'know. You really think you could make her do anything she doesn't want to? So, take your wife and and take your son and get out...before she really does kill you," he said, dropping the man.
He took several uneasy steps back, and stared at Tsukuyo and Gintoki, shaking.
"F...fine...fine...she's all yours..." he stammered. "She's way too crazy to have as household help anyway! And you're as crazy as she is. You'd better hope she doesn't kill you in your sleep!"
"Oi, we call that foreplay, y'know," Gintoki grinned.
"Crazy b*****d..." he shook his head and then stormed away. He grabbed his son's wrist and dragged him away too. His wife followed them silently.
"Hey...you okay?" Gintoki turned to Tsukuyo. She was seething with rage and shaking and he brought his left hand to cup the side of her face, bringing her eyes up to look at him rather than the retreating figure of her 'father. "Tsukuyo..." he said.
"I'm...fine," she mumbled, shaking her head. "He was...really my..." she mumbled.
"He's a b******. And if we're lucky, we won't ever see him again," he said.
"I had no idea..." Hinowa said, sadly. "If I'd known...I really did just want you to come over for lunch," she told them.
Tsukuyo sighed and then moved closer so that she was resting her head on Gintoki's shoulder and her wrapped his arms around her, being careful not to stain her clothes with any blood from his wounded hand.
"Want me to make sure they leave?" he asked.
"I'll ask some of the Hyakka," Hinowa said, noticing that Tsukuyo was clutching at the back of his yukata in one of her hands tightly. "You both stay here," she added and left.
"Should've just killed him," Tsukuyo mumbled, "Ya wouldn't have gotten hurt then."
"No big deal," he shrugged, "Had worse."
"Yeah, but...I did that. Me. Not some stupid thug off the street," she said, sadly.
"Hey, I stepped in the way, you weren't even aiming for me. It was my fault. I guess we should've known something bad would happen. Every time Hinowa offers to make us some food, something happens," he mumbled. "Last time, she had me try and fix the leaking sink, remember?" he said and Tsukuyo snorted.
"Ya flooded the place," she said with a small smile.
"I told her I'm not a plumber."
"Ya supposed to be Odd Jobs, ain't ya?"
"Guess so," he mumbled.
"I should've killed him," she said after a moment. "I've thought about my...the people who sold me for so long. I knew they had t'be jerks but..."
"He's a real b*****," Gintoki agreed.
"Ya think...maybe he'll come back?"
"If he does, we'll just scare him off again. But I think you scared him pretty damn good, y'know."
"Mmmm," she sighed and pulled back a little. "I'm really, really sorry about ya hand," she said, taking his injured hand and pursing her lip at the blood stained, make shift bandage she'd made from her sleeve. "I didn't mean to...I'm sorry," she repeated.
"I just told you not to worry about it. I'm fine. But if you feel that bad about it, you could always make it up to me," he said, suggestively and she couldn't help but laugh a little.
"M'kay..." she smiled a sad smile. "I can do that. But lemme clean that up first," she said and led him through the house to the bathroom so that she could properly clean the cut.
Later that night, after Tsukuyo had fallen into an uneasy sleep, Gintoki snuck out of the window and met Ayano and Sakura, two of the Hyakka, on the roof of Hinowa's house. They were actually playing cards while they were sat there.
"What took you so long, Gintoki-sama?" Sakura asked.
"I had to wait for Tsukki to go to sleep, didn't I?" he rolled his eyes, "And are you actually playing cards up here? Seriously?"
"Nothing else to do," Ayano shrugged. She tided away the cards and shoved them into her sleeve and they both stood up.
"Why do you only slack around on the job when Tsukki's not here? I'm just as scary as her, y'know," he grumbled and they smiled. "Whatever. You followed 'em okay? Anything happen?" Gintoki asked.
"Nothing much," Ayano shrugged. "The old man's a bit of a jerk..."
"No s***,"' he scoffed.
"The kid's pretty scared of him, the old guy hit him a few times. Dragged him around like a rag doll. But he didn't lay a hand on his wife. Lucky her. Looks like you were right. How'd you know?" Sakura said.
Gintoki had asked them to follow Tsukuyo's 'family', not that he doubted that they were actually related to her. But he'd seen something in the young boy's eyes that hadn't sat quite right with him. And he'd looked so much like Tsukuyo that had hadn't been able to stop thinking about it.
"Just a guess," he mumbled, "So, where are they?"
"It's not far," Sakura remarked, "They're living in a big house about half an hour away. Whatever money this guy 'came into' isn't gonna sat them long, I'll tell you that. It looks like he just went nuts and bought a bunch of stuff as well as that house, possibly his new wife, and a bunch of servants and a few ronin as well."
"Well...lets go say 'hi'," he said.
When they got to the house they hid in the shadows and watched. It looked like there was quite a feast going in inside with music as well.
"So, what now?" Ayano asked, turning to Gintoki.
"Can you see the kid anywhere?" he asked.
"No. But his room's on this side of the house. Maybe he's in there," Sakura said.
"How'd you know that?" he asked, incredulously.
"You asked us to look around. We know where all the rooms are."
"What? Did you draw blueprints as well?" he scoffed, "Were you both ninjas in a former life?"
"Technically, we're ninjas now. Okashira was trained by a ninja and she trained us," Ayano said, proudly.
"Damn ninjas," he grumbled back, "I'm a samurai y'know. We're supposed to be enemies."
"I don't think Okashira minds," Sakura giggled.
"Unless she's really planning on killing you in your sleep..." Ayano remarked.
"Which she could've done anytime..." Sakura finished.
"Maybe that was her plan the whole time and she's just been distracted these last few years," Ayano continued.
"Ah, that'd make sense..."
"Alright already, cut it out," Gintoki scrubbed a hand through his hair, frustrated. "She's not gonna kill me in my sleep. Unless I really p*** her off. Which I haven't...lately anyway. So quit it, you damn annoying ninjas," he grumbled but they just smiled. "Which one's the kid's room?" he asked.
The young boy was lying in his bed, with his pillow clutched around his head, trying to block out the loud music from the party. He groaned and sighed then released the pillow from his tight grip when he realised that it wasn't working.
"Not enjoying your old man's party, huh?" Gintoki asked.
He slid the door closed behind him after sneaking in alone from the courtyard. He'd left the two Hyakka outside to keep a lookout. The room, like most of the others, opened out onto the large courtyard and gave a beautiful view.
"W..." Haruto sat up quickly and turned to the voice, surprised.
"Do us both a favour and don't scream or anything," Gintoki said, holding up his hands.
"You?" the boy furrowed his brow at him, "You were at Yoshiwara today...with..."
"Your sister?"
"Err...yeah, I err...yeah," he sighed. "So...are you here to like...kidnap me or something?" he asked.
"Why would I do that?"
"My dad's got a lot of money," the kid shrugged, "But he won't pay. I swear, he won't! He's got body guards...they're samurai...they...they kill people...He'll just send them to get me back. So, please don't..."
"I'm terrified. Geez, relax, kid, I'm not here to kidnap you," Gintoki rolled his eyes.
"Are you here to kill me?"
"Wow, that's a big leap from kidnapping. What'd you take me for?" Gintoki muttered. "No, I'm not. If I was gonna kill you, you'd be dead already," he said.
"Then why..."
"Just figured I should say 'hi,' I'm err...a friend of your sister's. Something tells me your old man wouldn't have let me in if I'd used the front door, so..." he shrugged.
"So you just...broke in?" the boy said, shuffling back a little.
"No, I didn't break anything! Look, I just..."
"You should leave..." Haruto said, taking a deep breath, "I'll call for my dad if you don't."
"Yeah and his ronin...I'm shaking, really," Gintoki scoffed and rolled his eyes. Then, moving slowly, he took out one of the Yorozuya business cards from his yukata and tossed it over to the boy without taking a step closer. "I just wanted to say, if you ever need help with...anything..." he said.
"Odd jobs?" Haruto read, picking up the card with his left hand. He grimaced a little when he moved his right and it didn't go unnoticed. "Why would I need your help?" he asked.
"You tell me. I'm guessing you didn't hurt your shoulder doing your chores, did you?" he asked.
Haruto looked away and out a gentle hand over his shoulder. His father had twisted his arm on the way back from Yoshiwara earlier and the Hyakka had seen it. "Your old man did it, didn't he?" Gintoki asked.
"It...it was an accident..."
"Uh-huh."
"It was!"
"How old are you, anyway? Ten?"
"I'm fourteen!" he exclaimed, indignantly and then sighed. "Well, I will be next month," he added after a moment.
"And you're dad said you're gonna get married soon. At thirteen? Seriously?!"
"I'll be fourteen when I get married!"
"And why are you gonna get married anyway? You love this girl that much or something? Is she a real beauty? She got a great personality or something? Did she seduce you? Or did you deduce here? Waaa...what kind of thirteen year old kid gets seduced? What's the world coming to?"
"W...it's none of your business!"
"So you don't love her?"
"I didn't...I just said it's none of your..."
"What's her name?"
"...I...erm..."
"You don't even know?"
"I just...I don't...will you just..."
"You don't even know her name? And you're gonna get married? What kind of crazy kid are you?"
"It wasn't my idea, okay! I've never even met her! My dad...it was his idea. But he says I have to. So, just stop it..."
"So...it's an arranged marriage, huh? That explains it. And you're okay with that?"
"I don't have a choice!" the boy protested. His father had threatened to disown him if he didn't get married to this woman, who was apparently older than him, because her family was very wealthy. "And it's none of your business!" Haruto exclaimed.
"It kind of is," Gintoki said. "Your sister's family. Which kinda makes you family. Besides, I'm used to sticking my nose into other people's business. It's my job, check the back of my card."
"Eh?" the boy turned the card over. "'Odd jobs...sticking our noses into other people business pays our bills'..." he read. "What kind of business card is that?!"
"The best kind. At least it's an honest business card," he grinned.
"Who are you, anyway?!"
"Stupid kid, read the damn card again. I'm Yorozuya Gin-chan."
"I'm not stupid! I just meant, why'd you even wanna help me? Why'd you care?"
"I'm...look, I'm your sister's...she's my...I'm her boyfriend...god I hate that word, makes me sound like a little kid," he lamented. "You'd think after four years we'd have figured out a better word by now. She gets embarrassed if I say we're 'lovers' and she says 'partner' makes it sounds like we're in some kind of a business deal and..."
"What the heck are you talking about?" the boy blushed.
"Ah, what a pain in the a**. Whatever," Gintoki grumbled and scrubbed a hand through his hair. "I still say 'lovers' is the best way to describe it. To hell with it. Oh, what about 'honey' and 'darling'? That's like a label, isn't it? That's good. She's my sexy honey, that's it!" he snapped his fingers, "Waaa...I feel so much better now."
"Please...shut up..." Haruto blushed. "I didn't even know I had a sister until today and I really don't need to know about..."
"Well, you asked who I was."
"I didn't need to know that you're..."
"What? Sleeping with your sister?" Gintoki grinned.
The boy covered his ears and shook his head. "Shut up!" he exclaimed, embarrassed.
"Stupid kid," Gintoki chuckled. "You look just like her and you even act like her too. You are so her brother," he said.
"Did she...send you?"
"Are you kidding? She doesn't even know I'm here," he replied and sat down, leaning his back against the wall. "You looked kinda scared earlier...I mean even before Tsukki tried to kill that b****** of an old man of yours."
"She was...scary," Haruto muttered, curling up a little in his futon.
"She was sold like an animal when she was younger than you and expected to be a prostitute. You've got no idea what she's been through because of what your parents did. And he just showed up thinking he could buy her back! He's the one that sold her in the first place! A kid's not some kind of coat you can take outta the closet whenever you want it. What kind of parent treats a kid like that? She's got a right to be angry at that jerk. I'm angry at him!"
"But...you saved him...and you got hurt."
"What? Oh that," he held up his bandaged right hand. "Had worse, s' fine," he said, dismissively.
"So...you're not...did you save my dad 'cause you're working for my him?"
"You're kidding, right?" Gintoki stared at him, "How stupid are you?"
"I'm not stupid! I only just met you! How do I even know I can trust you? You snuck into my house and..."
"You saw me with your sister today. Did we look like we didn't even know each other? Okay, so you didn't even know you had a sister so you've never met, and yeah, okay I had you followed but I figured something wasn't right. I'm usually good at guessing this stuff. You looked like a scared little kid who maybe needed help. But I can just leave if you want," he shrugged.
"Wait...don't..." Haruto held up his hand. "Wait...you had me followed?" he said after a moment.
"Yeah. Your sister's in charge of a bunch of women, they err...I guess they're the police in Yoshiwara, I sent a few of them. They jumped at the chance when I told them you're Tsukki's brother and you might be in some kind of trouble."
"She's a...police officer?"
"Err...kinda, I guess."
"Oh."
"We could help you, if you want."
"Help me with what?" Haruto sighed. "Dad says he'll disown me if I don't get married. The only thing I know how to do is work in the field like we used to before he got all this money, but he's already told people not to hire me if I run away and try to get a job," he said.
"Do you wanna run away and get a job?"
"I...tried once, last year. Didn't get very far," the boy muttered.
"Wanna try again?" Gintoki asked.
"I don't...know. I don't even know you."
"Gimme a chance, I'm not that bad."
"I don't...know..."
"It's the hair isn't it? No one ever trusts me because of my hair. I can't help it if I was born with naturally wavy hair. You shouldn't trust people just based on how straight their hair is, y'know. That's really shallow."
"What're you talking about?" the boy asked, confused. "I don't trust you 'cause I don't know you. What's hair got to do with it?"
"Oh, that's okay then," Gintoki sighed, "Then let's go. We can be back in Yoshiwara before Tsukki's even knows I left."
"Aren't you listening to me! I don't know you. I'm not just gonna leave with a stranger..."
"Ah, right...guess you got taught about 'stranger danger', huh? Smart kid. Well, think of it this way, how much worse than your dad can I be? You wanna leave, don't you?"
"I...can't, I just...he's my dad. And I don't..."
"How often's he hit you?"
"He doesn't...he just..."
"Come on, I'm not as stupid as I look."
"What'd you want me to say? Okay, yeah he does and I hate it! It didn't used to be as bad...maybe once a week. It was fine."
"And now?"
"Every few days...maybe."
"What about his wife? He hit her too?"
"No. Never," the boy admitted.
"So you're fine with staying here?"
"What else can I do? He's my dad."
"I could just kidnap you and take you back to Yoshiwara where you'd be safe," Gintoki drawled.
"You said you weren't here to kidnap me!"
"Adults lie, deal with it, kid."
"I'll just scream and dad's samurai will kill you."
"They can try," he shrugged. Then he sighed and held up his hands again. "Alright fine. I won't kidnap you. If you wanna stay here then, fine. Stay. But keep that card. You might need it," he said, standing up. He slid open the door a little and carefully checked that there was no one there. Then he left without another word.
"You're just going to leave him there?" Ayano asked, stunned.
"Well, I can't kidnap him, can I? I've got enough of a rap sheet without adding 'kidnapping' to it. Besides, you two are gonna stay here and make sure he's safe," Gintoki said to them.
"We are?" Sakura asked.
"Yeah, you are. He's Tsukki kid brother. We're not just gonna leave him here. I'll go back to Yoshiwara and talk to Tsukki. I just wanted to see if I was right first. Besides, she needed to sleep. She's cranky if she doesn't get her beauty sleep, y'know," he stretched his arms above his head and yawned.
"You can count on us, Gintoki-sama," Sakura nodded.
"I knew you were a big softie," Ayano chuckled.
"Shut it," he pointed at her with a light, embarrassed flush on his face. "I mean it. I'm not a softie. I'm the Shiroyasha, damn it!" he said, "People were so afraid of me in the war, they'd p*** their pants and run off! I'm a scary b***** not a big softie!"
"Hai, hai," they both nodded, smiling.
When she woke up the following morning, Tsukuyo rubbed her eyes and stretched her arms then noticed that she was alone in her futon. She blinked her sleepy eyes open and looked around the room as she sat up. She found Gintoki, sitting against the wall by the door leaving to her small balcony.
"Gintoki?" she yawned.
"Hmmm? Oh, you're up. Morning, zombie," he smiled, turning to her.
"What ya doin' over there?"
"Keeping watch."
"Why?"
"Well, y'never know what's gonna show up in the night. Youkai...boogymen...giant alien mosquitoes...angry b***** fathers. Could be anything," he shrugged, nonchalantly.
"Oh," she nodded in understanding and couldn't help but smile fondly.
"Don't worry. Didn't see any youkai or anything all night."
"That's good. But ya could've come to bed. We'd have been fine."
"Hmmm. Been thinking too..."
"Don't hurt ya-self," she said, sarcastically. Then she stood and made her way over to him. She knelt down beside him, stunned when he didn't reply with a sarcastic remark of his own.
"You're...okay, right?" he asked, instead. He took her hand in his bandaged right one and looked at her, concerned. "Well...I know it's a stupid question, but..." he mumbled.
"No...yeah...I don't...I don't know," she replied, honestly. "I guess I always knew they must've been jerks. But I didn't think I'd ever actually meet them...either of them. I know I don't have kids but...Seita and Kagura and Shinpachi...they're not my kids but I'd never even...How could anyone just sell someone like that?"
"Don't know," he said.
"I really, really wanted to kill him," she admitted.
"I know. So did I," he said, lacing his fingers a little more tightly around her. "But it wouldn't have changed anything and that kid was frightened enough," he added, "Are you mad at me? For stopping you?"
"I was...a bit, but you're right. That kid...he's...my brother...right?" Tsukuyo whispered.
"Yeah."
"Huh..." she let out a shaky breath. "I have a brother...another one," she mused, thinking of Seita who she already thought of as a brother.
"I went to see him," Gintoki remarked.
"Eh? Who?"
"Your kid brother. That kid from yesterday. Haruto," he explained.
"My...err...why?"
"Just...had a feeling," he shrugged, "He looked so damn scared...and he didn't say anything. I just...figured I'd check."
"I wasn't...I didn't notice, I..."
"You had enough to worry about."
"So...how...err...was he? My...err...how was the kid?"
"Scared. Alone in a big house. The old man slaps him around. I took Ayano and Sakura with me. They're watching him. I should probably go back and take over. I wanted to talk to you about it before I did anything."
"'Anythin'...like what?"
"Well, I don't really like knowing a parent slaps his kid around. That kid's afraid of his own damn shadow so there's no way he's gonna fight back. Well, not yet anyway. Everyone's got a breaking point, I just wonder what his'll be. I get you didn't know about him. He didn't know about you either. But I think he could use some help. If you want to."
"What am I meant to do?"
"Whatever you want. You don't have to get involved. That's fine, I don't mind," he said. "I stick my nose into other people's business on a daily basis, that what I do and that's what I told the kid. I'd do something about it regardless of who he is. You know that."
"Yeah, I know," Tsukuyo scoffed.
"But I still figured I should tell you."
For a moment, Tsukuyo didn't say anything. She sat back against the wall still holding his hand and moving her thumb over his hand.
"What...were ya thinkin' 'bout doin'?" she asked after a few minutes.
"Well...short of actually kidnapping the kid, there's not a lot I can do. So I figured I'd just try and get him to trust me enough to leave that damn house."
"That's ya grand plan, huh?"
"Maybe it could use some work," he admitted.
"Uh-huh...
"It's a work in progress."
"Right," she scoffed. "So...what's he like?" she asked, curiously.
"Seems like a nice kid, really. Reminds me of you," Gintoki answered with a smile. "He says he's gonna be forced to get married next month, never even met her either. I don't know much about the old man, but I'd bet my entire JUMP collection he's picked some rich woman with a massive dowery so he can spend it all. I just can't figure how he'd convince some rich women to marry a little year old kid. Maybe she doesn't know he's so young. I dunno."
"So...we're gonna rescue him from an arranged marriage and an abusive old man?"
"Just another day at the office, honey," he smiled at her and planted a quick kiss on her cheek.
She was nervous the entire time as they made their way back to the large house where her young brother was living and they found him alone in the garden. Both Ayano and Sakura were concealed as they watched over him and they met up with Tsukuyo and Gintoki.
"How's the kid been?" he asked them.
"Seems to keep to himself," Sakura said.
"Or everyone just ignores him," Ayano said.
"The old man's hungover," Sakura remarked. "He snores so loud," she sighed, "I have a headache."
"Ya can go home, we'll stay a bit," Tsukuyo told them. "Thanks...for..." she trailed off.
"Anytime," Ayano nodded and smile as they both left.
"Now what?" Tsukuyo turned to Gintoki.
"I guess, go talk to the kid. I'll stay outta sight. I'll let you know if someone's coming. But after last night's party, you'll probably be fine. Everyone's probably hungover anyway."
"Mmmm," she nodded.
Haruto was sitting under a tree with a book on his lap. He wasn't really paying much attention to the words as he stared off into the large garden around him. When he heard a quiet rustling from the brushes he didn't think much of it, until he heard an even quieter voice speak.
"Hi..." Tsukuyo mumbled, staring at the boy. Now that she actually looked, she could see that he really did look like her. Or, she supposed they both must look like their mother, whoever she was.
Haruto craned his neck around quickly and saw her kneeling, concealed behind the tree from view of the house.
"You're...my sister?" he said, stunned.
"I err...guess so, yeah."
"W...what're you...why're you..."
"I err...figured I should say 'hi'. Never knew I had a brother. Well, I mean I have one, an adopted brother, but I didn't know I had any other family, is what I mean," she said, nervously.
"I didn't...know either. Dad never told me...neither did mom. She died a few years ago."
"And she never...neither of them ever even said anything about...me..."
"No," he admitted.
"Oh. Guess I shouldn't be surprised," Tsukuyo scoffed, ruefully. "Whatever. Doesn't matter," she mumbled.
"They...sold you?"
"Yeah," she grimaced.
"He said...the weird guy who broke in last night..."
"Weird guy?"
"Well, he didn't break anything, I guess. And I never saw anyone with silver hair before."
"Oh. That guy. Yeah, I guess he is kinda weird," Tsukuyo gave a small smile. "Owww..." she hissed a second later when a small stone came flying out of nowhere and hit her on the back. She picked it up and threw it back in the direction it had come from and heard a quiet, muffled curse in a familiar voice and she grinned.
"What...what was that?" the boy asked.
"Nothin'," she shrugged.
"That guy...is he...your boyfriend?"
"Yeah, he is," she said.
"Oh...I thought...he was gonna kidnap me or something. He said mom and dad sold you. And dad...he said it yesterday too at Yoshiwara to that...that pretty lady in the wheelchair..."
"Hinowa...her name's Hinowa. She's...family. She helped me when no one else would. I'd prob'ly have died ages ago if she hadn't been there f'me."
"Oh..." the boy said, sadly. "What happened?" he asked.
"Doesn't matter," Tsukuyo answered, shaking her head. "I ain't here to tell ya a sob story. Point is, I had some help, and I...we thought maybe ya could use some help too," she said.
"Help with what?! I don't need any help. I'm fine...I'm..." the boy stammered, unconvincingly.
"A really bad liar," Tsukuyo scoffed. "Maybe ya are kinda like me," she muttered. Gintoki did always say that she wasn't the world's best liar. "Ooowwwww!" she grumbled again when another small stone hit her, this time on her leg. "Will ya stop doin' that?!" she grumbled.
"I'm serious this time!" Gintoki mumbled back, appearing from out of nowhere, or so it seemed to Haruto. "Hi, kid," he waved to the boy before turning back to Tsukuyo. "The old guy's up and he's coming this this way," he said.
"S***," she grumbled.
"Haruto! Boy, where are you?!" his father bellowed from the house.
"He's always worse when he's been drinking," the boy gulped.
"Keep quiet," Gintoki said and wrapped an arm around the boy. Then he leapt into the bushes, hiding expertly with the kid in his arms.
"What the heck are you..." Haruto exclaimed but Gintoki covered his mouth with his hand.
"You want him to find us?" he asked.
"If he doesn't, he's gonna be in an even worse mood later," the boy replied.
Tsukuyo knelt beside them, pausing to look at Haruto for a moment with a finger over her lips. "Shhhh," she whispered.
"I knew it, you guys are kidnapping me," Haruto grumbled.
"Sure we are, kid. We went though all this trouble to sneak in and talk to you just to hide in the bushes with you so we can kidnap you," Gintoki rolled his eyes. "You wanna go out there?" he asked and the boy slowly shook his head.
"No..." he admitted.
"Great. Then shhhhh," Gintoki mumbled when they heard footsteps approaching.
"Boy?!" they heard the deep voice yell. "Haruto! Get over here, you stupid boy! Where is that damn kid?" he grumbled and walked around for a moment, before they heard his footsteps retreating back to the house.
"Well, he's as nice as ever," Gintoki muttered when they were sure that he was gone.
"He just...gets like that sometimes, it's fine," Haruto replied, struggling as he shrugged out of Gintoki's arms.
"Right," the samurai nodded, sarcastically.
"I'm gonna be in big trouble later," Haruto said, glaring at him.
"Thank you for helping me hide from my b***** old man," Gintoki said, mockingly trying to copy Haruto's voice. "Oh, you're welcome, kid," he said, sarcastically in his own voice. "Really, thank you so much. He would've hit me over the head or something and no one wants that, thank you, samurai-san," he mimicked the boy's voice again.
"You're a weirdo," the boy childishly said.
"Been called worse," Gintoki shrugged. "Least I don't beat children," he added, quietly.
"Well, ya kinda hit Kagura over the head a lot," Tsukuyo muttered back.
"She's a Yato, she can take it. Besides, she hits me way worse," he grumbled.
"Dad doesn't beat me!" Haruto exclaimed.
"Then what's that?" Tsukuyo pointed to his arm. The sleeve of his yukata had moved to show a large purple bruise on his forearm.
The boy grabbed his sleeve and hid the bruise again, he pursed his lip nod looked away. "That's...I fell," he mumbled.
"Onto someone's hand? Does the ground have fingers?" Gintoki asked. The bruise on the boy's arm had looked like a handprint.
"Just...go away," he said, frantically, "I don't need...I'm fine."
"He's just as stubborn as you," Gintoki lamented, glancing at Tsukuyo, "Must run in the family."
"Ya stubborn too," she retorted.
"I did say it must run in the family. We've put up with each other for this long, we're family," he shrugged, "We're both stubborn..."
"'Put up with each other'...ya make it sound so romantic," she scoffed.
"I'm plenty romantic!"
"Right."
"I'm more romantic than you at least. Your idea of a date back then was taking me to work with you. How's that romantic?!"
"Shut it," she grumbled and elbowed him.
"Ok, so neither of us is really very romantic, big deal," Gintoki said.
"Err..." Haruto muttered.
"But at least we can agree that out of both of us, I'm the more romantic one. And that's saying something," Gintoki said.
"Why's it even matter?" Tsukuyo muttered.
"Erm..." Haruto tried again.
"It doesn't, I'm just saying," the silver haired samurai shrugged.
"Really not the time to 'just be sayin' that," she replied.
"...Yeah, okay, fair point," he pursed his lip and admitted.
"And there's no way ya are," she grumbled.
"Oi!"
"Are you really adults?" Haruto asked, sighing. "You're both crazy," he said.
"Kids' got a point," Gintoki grinned.
"Haruto?" the voice of a young woman called out from the house.
"It's Yuna," Haruto said.
"Haruto, come inside. It's time for your lessons," she said.
"Lessons?" Tsukuyo asked.
"Erm...dad wants me to get a job in the government..." the boy muttered.
"Sounds...fun," Gintoki drawled.
"Yeah..." Haruto muttered, not at all convincingly. "Well, I wanted to be a doctor but...he says a government job would be better so...I'd better go," he said.
"Ya sure about that? We could just leave, ya could come with us. Then ya wouldn't have to do what he says," Tsukuyo said.
"I...I have to go...make sure dad doesn't see you," Haruto told her, shaking his head and then he ran off.
"That could'a gone better," Tsukuyo sighed.
"Could've gone worse," Gintoki retorted.
"How could it have gone worse! He wants to stay 'ere!"
"Well, we'll just have to give it some time."
"But we can't just leave him 'ere, that jerk's hurtin' him," she said, "And he's gonna sell the kid off in some stupid arranged marriage as well! Why would he wanna stay? The stupid kid."
"We can take turns with the Hyakka," he told her. "We can all keep watch over him. You can keep sneaking in and talking to him. When he trusts you enough, he might just agree to leave."
"What if he doesn't?" she demanded, staring at him, concerned. "I don't care if he stays with us or whatever. I don't mind if he doesn't wanna have anythin' t'do with me. I've lived this long without knowing I had family out 'ere, so I don't care. But..."
"But you're worried. So am I," he agreed. "You've been with me for too long. You've gotten used to butting your nose into other people's business. It's a bad sign, y'know," he remarked and she smiled.
"Maybe," she muttered.
"Don't worry about it. We're both stubborn, remember? We'll help the kid," he said, putting an around around her waist and pulling her gently closer to him as they both looked over at the house which Haruto had just run back into. "If he doesn't listen to us or want our help, we'll just wait till next month and trash the wedding. I'm good at crashing parties when I wanna be," he said, "We can bring Sadaharu and the kids, they love crashing parties. It'll be a big family fun day, just wait and see."
"Right," Tsukuyo scoffed with a smile.
A.N. I hope to write more for Tsukuyo's little brother Haruto, maybe when / if he finally decides to leave his father and get to know his sister more. But if figured this was a good place to end this one for now. If anyone's still reading, I hope you liked the chapter :)