Smile from the thousand stars above.
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In which Sougo wishes for something that might or might not be impossible.

People were strolling around the Shinsengumi Headquarters, the area becoming a haven to the community. Peaceful, a word that would commonly be described to the said headquarters. Even the notorious criminals seemed to respect that because none of them can be seen near it along the years and if anyone dared to, there are the four most powerful soldiers that might as well be their knight in shining uniforms.

Kondou Isao, the gorilla commander with a heart of gold. Rumors say he was once a terrible stalker of another monstrous gorilla but once he donned the scar on his face, he focused more on the citizen's safety and security. His priority is the gorillas though.

Hijikata Toushiro, the demon vice commander and inventor of Mayozooka. It is said that behind his intellect and superiority, he's intensely abstaining from mayonnaise, dedicating his invention to it as a symbol of farewell but that doesn't make any sense.

Okita Sougo, the ghostly first division captain that's also their best swordsman. Not much can be said aside from his handsomeness and untimely disappearance.

Saitou Shimaru, the narcoleptic dual wielder of swords in charge of internal affairs. He is always seen at the convenience stores, the park, and the bridge but all he does is to "Z" and sleep while holding a plastic bag of sukonbu and spicy things.

The Kabuki District was always a place where chaos rules over the town but these days, the place has toned down considerably. Now people have less damaged properties and missing items to worry about.

The citizens have to admit that they miss the usual shenanigans of people, particularly that idiot trio with their pet. Everything seemed much more enjoyable back then.

So when the Shinsengumi headquarters had once again opened all their lights up and pounded some heavy music that blasts around the neighborhood, the citizens couldn't find the heart to knock down their doors and beat the shit out of them.

"Let's party!" Kondou Isao, along with an embarrassed Hijikata Toushiro, shouted and was immediately followed by the cheers of their men. Bottles were opened and soon all the cups were filled.

Hijkata stumbled as he supported the already drunk commander of the Shinsengumi. "Kondou-san, please have your clothes back on before anyone from outside sees you like this."

Not long after Kondou's kimono was put on, an afro wig suddenly came flying through the shoji doors. It landed on Kondou's crotch.

"Ah, Hijikata-dono. I apologize for that. Elizabeth can't seem to suppress himself from that throw."

Hijikata felt his eye twitch. "Katsura this is not a playground to play dodgeball. And why are you using an afro as a ball, anyway?" He threw the wig at Katsura Koutaro's face, annoyed when he caught it with his gloved hand.

"We initially ought to use this when we talk with Shimaru-dono. By the way, where is he right now?"

"He went to buy some gifts but," Hijikata paused. "Well, he's probably sleeping somewhere -"

The vice commander got cut off by a violent voice singing an equally horrendous song on the other side of the room. They could only take so much of 'Chome chome!' before Katsura carried on their conversation.

"So, where is the birthday boy?"

Before the other could answer, however, Shimura Shinpachi has started another song which is much louder than the previous one. His screams reverberated through the wall and the ground. But instead of horrified expressions, Hijikata could only curse when Shinpachi's intense singing energized the whole Shinsengumi.

Kondou promptly got up, blinking his confusion out of his eyes. "What? Earthquake? An explosion? Otae-san?"

Sighing, Katsura laid Kondou's arm over his shoulders while he put his on his waist. "This won't do Gorilla," He remarked as he steadily walked over the noisiest part of the compound, towards Glasses. "If you keep passing out like that, you will miss out on all the fun."

Hijikata could only blink at the sight. Impressed, he uttered, "Katsura, you-"

"Come, let's steal the television and play some Famicom."

"-you're still living old."

"Just let him be, Oogushi-kun."

"Oi, who're you calling Oogushi, you silver perm?"

"It's that, you know, he's at that time of his life."

"Oi, you just ignored me. Commit seppuku."

Entering the room was a silver perm named Sakata Gintoki, carrying a red box tied with a golden bow. "Yo. I've been looking where to put this when I got lost. Oh, your food's delicious by the way."

"You were just hovering our compound's cafeteria, didn't you? There's no use denying it, there are crumbs and sauce all over your face."

Gintoki stood beside Hijikata, watching the other room through the broken shoji doors. "So, where's the birthday boy?"

Eyeing what Gintoki was holding, Hijikata said distractedly, "You know where."

"He's not where I knew he would have been. Where are you hiding him?"

Hijikata glanced at the opposite end of the room where the doors are still intact. Gintoki followed his gaze, his dead-fish eyes washed over by something else. "Get him up, will you?"

Without hesitation, Gintoki walked with underlying determination. "Tell Patsuan to stop singing those outdated songs of Otsuu-chan for me."

The doors opened to a cold room. The place is full of nothing and is emptied of everything.

He scanned the room, spotting the lone boy on the engawa with a bottle and a cup beside him.

"Boss, are you willing to trade places with me?" Okita Sougo started, his eyes glued on the large orb in the cloudless night sky.

"Don't you think I'm too old to be your age, Souichirou-kun? Give yourself a break and let 'em throw this party for ya." Gintoki sat beside him, placing the large present between them.

Sougo gave it a short glance before looking back to what charmed him. "Look, boss." He nudged his head upwards. The moon was subtly showing its presence, barely gracing the compound light for the night. "It's the new moon. And it's large as hell."

For a moment, both of them just stared at the faint light of the sky with the commotion inside hardly a distraction.

The cold wind made Gintoki shiver, but before he could retort anything, Sougo dared to breathe out the words numbing his mind ever since he came across them while staring at the moon. " It's as if saying goodbye, don't you think?"

Gintoki caught his breath. He calmed himself down. When some clouds finally appeared to obscure their sickly, pretty view did he had asked. "How is she?"

His words brought Sougo back earlier that month when his commander and vice commander pulled him from the others who were hovering over him like he's a lost puppy. It's been a while since he took off from work at that time.

But then, every week he was asked repeatedly by her friends on her condition, whether they could visit, on what else they could help him with.

This day too, he reminisced as two letters came to their home. One of which was an invitation to a false mission, a cover-up to this supposedly surprise party. The other is a death threat from her bloody family. The wrinkled paper was written by two different pens with distinctive penmanships, as though two people were fighting while writing this, their words and inks clashing that the letter scarcely made any sense. He didn't bother to read the rest.

How is she?

Good fucking question.

But he answered none.

"I heard her mother battled against it for roughly ten years."

Gintoki scratched his head and reclined, hoping to erase his unease. "Yeah. Umibouzu was going planets to planets just to find an Altana that's compatible for her."

"China fought against her Yato blood for 14 years." Sougo poured some sake into the cup, sliding it to Gintoki. "But it seems like she's fighting a larger problem than that for her whole 21 years of living."

Gintoki felt the necessary burn when he tried to swallow down the drink along with the tension. "You sure it's not from your 3 years of marriage? Maybe you got sick of each other already. That happens to everybody, it's understandable."

Sougo gave a light chuckle which made Gintoki sigh from relief.

"So... It's the same from Kouka, huh?"

Gintoki didn't hear a reply.

Sougo stood up, carrying the box, and more presents stored behind the pillar. With a slight bow, he walked off to the darkness and disappeared without anything to mark his presence.

Gintoki looked at the bottle similar to the one he and Kondou have shared after Shogun Shigeshige was gone.

Not now.

"Captain Okita? Captain Okita!" Yamazaki continuously and relentlessly searched for the birthday boy. It was his day, so why is Shinpachi, Katsura, and their Commander hogging the spotlight in the room? Vice Commander even took the role of tsukkomi. He went to the place he frequents, only to find the Odd Jobs boss lying on the engawa. "Captain Okita?"

Gintoki waved the empty bottle without looking at him. "You're late."

"Eh, where has he gone to, boss?"

"Keeping his new reputation of being the ghostly captain of the Shinsengumi."

The moon fades away into the night, with the incoming clouds the only ones to paint the dark sky of the starless night.