Tell me a story, one of heartbreak and glory

The summer's air felt heavy with the threat of booming, torrential rain. Hijikata was sweating, even though he'd hardly moved in the last twenty minutes. There was so much pressure in the atmosphere that his palms were clammy. He felt grateful for the cool of the stone wall he was leaning on, out of sight of any guards. He knew the castle grounds better than anyone, having patrolled them on foot more times than he could count. He swore his footprints were etched into the stone walkways. There were no secret entrances to the castle. He wouldn't have been doing his job properly if he hadn't cleared any possible security risks. No, there was no such thing as an easy way in. That's why their plan relied on those who were able to sneak in making a ruckus inside, and then, before the guards had a mind to close the gate, he'd use the confusion to sneak in.

Of course, he was one of the key faces not able to sneak into the castle. He would immediately be stopped and today of all days, the vice-commander – gone for an inordinate amount of time – suddenly appearing on the day of his commander's planned death… They wouldn't exactly welcome him with open arms. Gintoki was another individual. His face, though warped and demonised on the posters, was plastered from here even as far south as Sheffield where intelligence had it that he liked to visit. There was an abbey nearby down there, Roche Abbey, where reported sightings had pinged up multiple times. It often felt like the entire of Sherwood Forest belonged to the man, with his face on every village notice board and his songs chanted in every traveller's inn. Despite his fame, he had somehow faded right past the guards.

Gintoki had said, "Make sure you stick to the plan." He took Hijikata's hands in his, making sure to catch his gaze. "You have to trust me. Right up to the millisecond."

"Maybe if you told me what the plan was," Hijikata had muttered, the red of his lips showing as he pouted.

"I've told you all you need to know," Gintoki replied, not a hint of playfulness in his tone which was wholly unusual. "Stick to what I've told you and everything will be absolutely fine." With that final comment, he let slip his trademark smirk – one of infuriating arrogance, then clapped his hand onto Hijikata's cheek, smoothing the skin with his thumb until he met with the plump of Hijikata's lips. He allowed the pad of his thumb to push his bottom lip so that his mouth opened slightly. Deep, red eyes flickered up to meet crystal blue. "Trust me."

With that, he allowed himself to get swallowed into the gathering crowd of people at the drawbridge awaiting crossing. He lifted up his hood to hide the unmistakeable silver locks. Once that flash of silver was hidden, he vanished. Hijikata had not seen him since.

Now he was left cursing the man from the outside, wondering how the hell such a loud and conspicuous idiot had so easily slipped past his men's defences. Saying this, it was suspicious that he had not yet seen a glimpse of anyone he knew standing guard. Even the men on the gates were unfamiliar faces. The castle staff numbered their hundreds, so it was not unusual for Hijikata not to recognise them all. He didn't take much time to make friendly with handmaidens and the gate guards either. However, his men should certainly be patrolling. They had been here at least an hour and so far, there wasn't even a hint of their black uniform to be seen. Certainly suspicious.

The time of the execution had to be drawing near. It felt as though even his bones were aching with anxiety. He hadn't slept well at all, even though he had desperately tried. Curling up at the foot of a wide oak tree and smothered by his one main possession, a thick woollen blanket Gintoki had given him, he had squeezed his eyes so tightly that the veins in his eyelids morphed into swinging ropes. He wanted to be fresh for combat, and experience told him that a lack of sleep would only mar the sharpness of his eyes, the quickness of his blade. Yet even so, he could not catch a dream, instead living in a nightmare. Footsteps approached and he knew them to be friendly. The individual was not hiding their presence. Hijikata pulled down the blanket from his eyes and peered into the darkness, wondering who would be awake at this time except the men on watch. As the moonlight caught a glimmer of silver hair, he knew immediately.

"I told you to get some sleep," the voice said gently, trying not to disturb the gentle snores of others sleeping nearby.

"How am I meant to do that with such a nightmarish presence creeping around the place?" Hijikata retorted. Gintoki made a quiet snort, settling onto the ground beside him. He remained seated, whilst Hijikata was laid between two protruding roots that cocooned him into a comforting cradle. On the other side of the root, Gintoki leaned against the sturdy oak and cast his eyes to the skies. He was difficult to make out in the poor lighting, but what wasn't hard to distinguish was the glint of his demonic red eyes. Hijikata had never met anyone with such eyes before. In the light of the day, they were more of a maroon brown, looking unique but natural, their swirling hues like chestnuts. And just like chestnuts, they had a hint of crimson to their shell. When the light hit him just right, Gintoki's eyes glowed.

He was hypnotising.

"What are you doing here? You should be resting as well."

"I came to tell you a story." Gintoki replied, his voice barely above a whisper. "I wasn't going to say anything, but when I settled down to sleep, the parallels of our tales kept me awake."

"A story?"

"I didn't have parents. I didn't have a family. The earliest memories I have, I was wandering around alone searching for any sort of sustenance. I would steal knives from corpses and loot their pockets for coins. I had no reason to be alive, just a wandering corpse with a heartbeat."

Hijikata immediately swallowed the sarcastic retorts he had been preparing on his tongue. Their conversation had taken a turn once more. Gintoki rarely spoke about himself, even though they often had delved into deep conversations in the short time they'd spent together. This was rare. He was opening a window into his life, into the workings of his mind … something which Hijikata had been dying to pry open for so long. Now, seemingly, Gintoki was opening it himself. It led Hijikata to wonder if he had earned the man's trust – that was an item with an incredibly high value.

Hijikata decided not to speak. He didn't even move, fearing that the sound might quieten Gintoki's resolve to share this story with him. Gintoki continued, "I met a man that changed my life. He took me in when I was surely destined to starve. He taught me how to live, how to think for myself, how to fight. He showed me what a strong moral compass is and what it means to hold true to your beliefs. I grew up with this man and no one else. Then, ten years ago, he was executed in the walls of that castle. I was the one made to do it.

"The Sheriff, new to his tenure, wanted to stamp out my master. Everyone my master touched seemed to grow to resent corruption and unfairness. His students began to stand up against the Sheriff and the Lords. Some of them wanted to put the rightful King back on the throne. I never believed in any of those things. Nevertheless, my teacher was soon at the top of the Sheriff's list of enemies, even though master had never once moved against any sort of authority. He just spoke, and people flooded to listen. In the end, he was captured, and our home was burned to the ground. That's when I took up arms and started our crusade.

"But we were foolish to think we could win against the Sheriff with outright war, when the Sheriff had the backing of the King. We were wiped out and I was captured. The Sheriff brought me before my master and as punishment, instructed me to be the one to take his head. If I did not, then my friends would be killed instead. At that point, I knew what I wanted. But that came in contrast to what I knew my master wanted. And so, standing against how I felt, and how my friends felt … I took his life. Because that's what he would have wanted me to do. He wouldn't have wanted to live at the expense of his students. But in doing so, I made enemies out of those who were my comrades."

Gintoki's story faded to a close and he fell silent. Several minutes passed. Hijikata daren't speak, hoping for him to continue talking, continue sharing his past with him… But it seemed that was all. He should be thankful to have heard this much.

"Oi, are you sleeping over there?" Gintoki said gently.

"Why have you told me this?" Hijikata began, raising himself onto his elbows to look at Gintoki. He wanted to see his face now, wanted to watch his expression as they spoke. Right now, his eyes were steady, his mouth showing nothing – no downturn of discontent, no flicker of a smile. He was keeping a very careful check on his emotions.

"When we enter those walls tomorrow, you may have to make a choice. You're already making a choice by taking up arms against your previous lord, in order to save a man that I liken to my master. I assume he means as much to you?"

Hijikata nodded, resolutely. He was right. From within Gintoki's words, he could easily pick out the parallels to his own past. "He does."

"Just like me, you will enter those castle grounds tomorrow to save him, whilst putting the lives of others on the line. Just like me, you may have to make a choice. The reason I'm so invested in tomorrow's plan to save your commander … is partly as my own redemption." Finally, Gintoki turned his head to meet Hijikata's eyes. There was a spark of guilt playing in his eyes. "I don't want you to face the decision I had to make."

There were no more words passed between them. It felt like everything had been said. Hijikata understood. He didn't need to make a response or ask a question. There was no need.

He finally felt like he might be able to doze off, sleep calling his heavy eyelids shut. However, with that bright presence beside him, he found himself unable to completely switch off. He'd always be conscious of Gintoki's every breath, every shuffle. He sighed, the sound disturbing the man next to him.

"Still can't sleep?" Gintoki asked.

"Not quite." Hijikata admitted but he didn't mention that he couldn't sleep because Gintoki was there. He treasured the time they spent together too much, and even though he was overly conscious of the man, Gintoki was also the calming lullaby rocking him into such a tranquil state – one he hadn't managed to achieve since he'd heard of Kondo's fate. Gintoki paused for a second, then crossed the tree root wedged between them to slide himself next to Hijikata. He laid facing him and Hijikata scooted back to give him some room. One hand found its way up to Hijikata's face, soothing the frown lines with the tip of one finger. Hijikata closed his eyes to amplify the sensations that were already electrifying his nerves. A thought played on his mind, no matter how relaxed the strokes of Gintoki's hands along his skin made him feel …

What would happen to them after tomorrow?

If everything went according to plan, would he have to say goodbye to this man?

… Did he want to?

Plenty of time had passed since Gintoki had entered the castle walls and rain had begun to drizzle. The air felt static and Hijikata expected a thunderstorm later in the day. He hoped the rain would hold off for now. A battlefield was miserable enough without rainfall to sodden the bodies. It would also make visibility disrupted. They needed a clear day. Although, Gintoki's arrows were never known to miss.

Surely, the signal would come soon.

The scream of a young girl sounded, jolting Hijikata out of his thoughts. It came from just over the bridge amongst the crowd, and people began to look around in search of the disruption. Hijikata spotted Kagura on the ground, holding onto her arm with a look of anguish on her features.

"I don't want to go with you!" She screamed. "Somebody help me! This old man is trying to kidnap me! Guards!"

Immediately the men on the gate headed in her direction and Hijikata sprinted into action. He had perhaps seconds to take advantage of this confusion to cross the bridge and sneak past the guards. As he approached in a hurry, the crowds morphed to surround Kagura, hands reaching out to help her. The man she was shouting at was bewildered, repeating over and over that he hadn't even touched her; he didn't know this girl. Hijikata lifted his hood as he slipped past the scene, immediately taking a left turn to scale the stone steps up to the guard's parapet. On the way up, he knew there to be a door. It would be locked but with a swift kick he could probably dislodge it and make his way inside. The rooms beyond were rarely used, mostly there for storage of weapons. Along the corridor of the weapons cache was a small slit for a window that would allow him to spy out into the main square of the castle … where the platform would be.