Chapter 12
Time passed and everyone realized at least two hours had gone by.
Tojo announced, "It's time for cake everyone then presents!"
Everyone gathered by the cake while Kyuubei led Otae and Kondou over to it. The cake was three layers, half white and chocolate, covered in white frosting and strawberries on top. The top read, 'Happy Birthday Tae-chan,' which Otae smiled at.
"Wow, it looks delicious! Thank you everyone!" she gushed happily.
As everyone cheered, Kagura could be heard shouting, "Anego-chan!" while Gin; teasingly; reprimanded her, "Stop it brat!"
The young wife took the knife, after blowing out the candles and made a wish, and cut the cake. Soon after, Tojo made sure everyone got a piece at least. Otae received her piece and sat down with her husband, brother and friends. Gin, Kagura, Kyuubei, Kondou, Shinpachi along with some other former Shinsengumi members crowded the birthday girl. Naturally, Hijikata had to make sure Okita hadn't laced his cake. The younger man swore on the pain that his nee-san would give him if he did that, only to slip a little hot sauce in the cake when Hijikata wasn't paying attention.
For the most part, as much as it can be in Kabuki-chou anyway, most everyone ate in relative peace. The mayo addict shouted, "Sougo!" as he chased the laughing sadist once he bit into the laced cake.
Kondou sighed at his friends while his wife giggled at the crazy antics. Even though they were still eating, Kagura and Gin laughed so hard that the sweets samurai blew cake out of his nose.
With a grimace of disgust, Shinpachi exclaimed, "That's disgusting Gin-san!"
With a blank look straight at the otaku, Gin said simply, "Then don't look at this."
The megane samurai nearly gagged when his friend ate the very cake that he'd blown out of his nose.
Otae and Kondou rolled their eyes while Kagura laughed as the silver samurai explained, "What? I don't waste sweets."
Just as he finished speaking, the Yato woman smashed his face into his cake. Once she let go of his silver-permed hair, he surfaced.
"Kagura!" Gin screamed while he chased after the female Yorozuya with a playful smile on his face.
As the older man chased her, Kagura stealthily ate both Gin's cake and her own. Hatsu and Hasegawa shook their heads in amusement as they ate. In imitation, Pirako pushed her father's face into his cake. Jirochou, in retaliation, threw cake into her face. At that, the cake fight began.
Soon everyone was throwing cake!
Kyuubei lobbed some cake at Tojo while Gin and Kagura had a cake duel. Shinpachi was surprised when Otsuu even dared to throw some cake at him. Brazenly, Okita managed to not only hit his superior in the face with cake but his groin as well, while he laughed. When the cake hit his groin, Hijikata's eye twitched just before he ran at the sadist and slammed some cake into his face before he could block it. Naturally, once Okita could react to the mayo addict's counterattack, he smirked and surprised the smoker by licking some cake off of Hijikata's cheek before sticking his tongue out, in taunt, at him.
While those two were focused on their own fight, Tama and Yamazaki teamed up to hit Shimaru and Tetsu, The two former Shinsengumi members were doing the same in retaliation. Catherine threw some at the back of Otose's head while, thinking the lazy samurai had, Otose threw cake at Gin's head. Boldly, both Kagura and Nobume simultaneously chucked cake straight at Okita's groin. He gave them a look that conveyed his mild annoyance while Hijikata laughed outright. In a teasing way, Crystal threw some at Douman just before she kissed him. Emboldened, the dark-haired man threw some at Seimei. Grinning, Seimei threw some at his friend while his sister and Gedomaru joined in.
When Hinowa threw cake at Tsukuyo, the Shinigami dayuu teamed up with Seita and began their own battle. Shinpachi and Takachin enjoyed lobbing cake at each other before the idol surprised them both by hitting them both with some cake. The former terrorist had barely hit his girlfriend with cake before Ikumatsu and Elizabeth together pummeled Katsura with cake. Musashi brazenly threw cake at everyone as Hasegawa and Hatsu watched, laughing some more. Oryou and Hanako were simply playing with Mone and Komako as Soyo began throwing cake at Nobume, Kagura, Shinpachi and Gin.
Kirara snuck up behind Shinpachi, while Urara did the same to Takachin, before both young men were smashed with cake down their pants. Gengai happily ate cake off the floor as he chuckled at everyone's mirth. Ane, joined by Matsudaira, attacked Otae and Kondou before the birthday girl took the rest of the cake and buried the two in the cake. Tetsuko watched as well and smiled when Otae used the rest of the cake as a bomb. Zenzo playfully threw some cake at Ayame only to be hit in the ass with cake and more kunais.
Finally, to clear the air from the rowdy cake fight, the police commissioner shot his gun into the air and shouted, "Presents now! This war is done!"
Silence pervaded at the serious, older man before it was broken by laughter. Most of the cake was cleaned up before Otae sat down so she could start opening her presents. Shinpachi came over first by handing her a simple gift.
"Here Ane-ue, I hope you like it," he told her as he handed it over.
When she opened it, Otae found many photos of her, Shinpachi, Obi'Wan-nii-sama and their parents from all the years past.
Confused, the young wife questioned, "Shin-chan, what-"
Before she could finish, Gin added pictures from his gift; of the four of them all together.
"It's a multiple part gift, Otae," the man with a silver perm said simply with a smile.
Next, Hanako and Oryou came up up to her and handed over another gift.
She took it and, as she opened it, Otae smiled. The present contained pictures of all of the cabaret girls over the time they'd worked together. She moved them and found a book underneath, it read, 'Precious Memories' embossed on the cover.
The birthday girl's face lit up as she responded, "Oh, what lovely gifts! Thank you Shin-chan, Gin-san, Hanako-chan, Oryou-san, Kagura-chan!"
Her brother came and hugged her then the young Yato woman, the sweets addict, and her friends/former coworkers joined in on the group hug.
Otae noticed something in her young friend's hands when Kagura had joined in to hug her.
The redhead blushed slightly as she said, "I got this on my own, it's from me and Hedoro. I got it from him, I hope you like it."
When she uncovered it, Kagura unveiled a beautiful rose bush that was obviously alien to Earth. The roses were slightly bigger than normal to Earth but were rainbow-colored, some were colors that weren't named.
"Wow Kagura-chan, these are gorgeous! Oh thank you too Hedoro-san," the gorilla wife exclaimed gratefully.
The Dakini blushed a bit but insisted that the Yato girl did much of the work.
She hugged her friend again then wiped the tears from her eyes.
"I'm so lucky for such a great brother and friends too," Otae replied in response to her friends' effort.
Ane spoke up as she informed her rival, "We also have some of those pictures for the book you know."
Mone rolled her eyes at her sister as she added, "Here they are, happy birthday."
The former cabaret girl smiled as she took the box of pictures from the young miko. Otae opened it and some of the first pictures were from the incident between her and Ane at the club they worked at, how it ended up that no one had to quit as they had brought in so much money. The young wife noticed out of the corner of her eye the miko-cabaret girl was smirking smugly, which resulted in Ane being nose-hooked by Otae.
Frightened by his sister, Shinpachi yelled frantically, "Ane-ue! Stop!"
As she lifted the young woman off the ground, her husband shouted, "Stop Otae-chan!"
Once Kondou, Shinpachi, Gin, Kagura and Kyuubei calmed her down enough to let Ane go, they stopped the fiasco.
"You bitch! My nose!" Ane shrieked as she clung to her face after the terrible nose hook from her rival.
Breathing heavily, Otae attempted to regain her composure while Shinpachi held her hand and Kondou stroked her cheek.
"I'm sorry Shin-chan, Isao-kun. When I saw the picture, I overreacted," the strong but gentle woman said in a small voice, "Ane, I'm sorry. I...just let my emotions run away with me."
Everyone was silent until the heavy silence was broken by Kagura's loud burp.
Unbelieving, Gin asked, "You were still eating Kagura?"
She looked at him and replied, "The atmosphere was so heavy so I decided to lighten it up by burping. It worked right?"
Everyone laughed at that including Otae, which caused Kagura to smile happily. Gin shook his head bemused at her as he smiled as well.
"Okay everyone, let's back to her presents. What's next?" Tojo interceded once the atmosphere cleared up.
The young woman looked through and found more pictures from work.
"That's not all, I have something too!" Gengai said enthusiastically as he came towards her, a computer in hand.
Shocked, Otae tried to reply, "I can't afford, I can't even use-"
"Don't worry," the older inventor interrupted the birthday girl, "This is for your birthday gift for one and Kondou paid for it. I can help you learn to use it, free of charge. Oh! I almost forgot, the gift isn't just the computer actually."
The young wife stopped as the mechanic sat her down to show her the cyber scrapbook. He turned it on and showed her the background picture with the Yorozuya, Otose's Snack Bar, him and Kyuubei, Tojo, Ayame and Tskuyo plus the five Shinsengumi idiots along with Nobume and Soyo.
"This is so sweet, that was our first picture we all took since Kagura's been back. Thank you," Otae said with a bright smile on her face.
The older man waved her back to the computer screen, "Wait, there's more."
He showed her an icon he clicked on that was labeled, 'Scrapbook.' It was comprised of pictures of her and Shinpachi's childhood to when they met Gin and Kagura all the way through her wedding to the present.
Otae cried happily as she hugged Gengai then shouted, "Thank you so much, this is so beautiful and thoughtful!"
Her husband hugged her tightly as he replied, "Then it was cheap if it made you smile, Otae-chan."
She kissed him and everyone awwed except for Kagura and Okita, who gagged.
"Ew Anego-chan!" the young woman commented while Okita pretended to vomit.
After they'd been kissing for a bit too long, Gin cleared his throat to catch her attention.
"Let's finish the presents, you two can suck face later," he joked even though, momentarily, Otae glared at him.
Tsukuyo cleared her throat as Ayame held up both of their gifts.
"Ooh, what could they be?" Otae wondered happily as she held her hands out for the packages.
Gin exhaled as he'd just dodged a bullet for now. He went to sit with Kagura and Shinpachi while she opened her gifts. The birthday girl opened the ninja's gift first and found a yukata, which caused Otae to look curiously at her friend.
"It's part of a set. I got the yukata while Tsukky-" Ayame began as Tsukuyo completed, "I got you a formal kimono. Don't worry, it's decent."
The gorilla wife smiled as she answered, "You both know me so well, thank you. The yukata is lovely Sarutobi."
She held up the yukata to show everyone, it was light purple that was covered with white sparkling stars. They seemed to flash on the fabric like in the sky. The obi was white like the stars, the fabric was lightweight and made of hardy cotton.
"Wow, great pick Sa-chan!" Kagura said in awe of the beautiful garment.
Shinpachi smiled as he complimented her, "Ane-ue, you'll look beautiful in that!"
She put it down in it's box then held up the formal kimono. This fabric was silk and a light pink color, designs of flowers strewn across it in shades of a slightly darker pink along with blue and green. The obi was a shiny white with light pink leaf designs while the datejime belt was the same shade of pink as the flower designs on the kimono.
"This is so elegant, thank you Tsukuyo! How did you find such a beautiful color?" she gushed as she felt the fabric.
The Hyakka leader explained, "There's a lot of good quality kimonos in Yoshiwara and I found one recently that Hinowa commented on that would make a great present for you. I was worried about it myself but she insisted so don't worry about it. Think of it as a gift from all of us in Yoshiwara. Besides the fact, Sarutobi insisted that it fit perfectly as a match with her gift so we decided on giving our gifts together like we did."
Otae grinned and hugged the two women then hugged the woman in the wheelchair as well.
Sneakily, her husband came to hug her from behind and whispered in her ear, "You'll look beautiful in that one, especially when I take it off of you."
"Oh Isao-kun!" Otae said as she smacked him, "Stop it, I have more presents to open."
"Here," Crystal announced, "Now you and Sakata-san along with his friends can be a little group with me and Gedoumaru," she beamed with her usual smile.
The young wife took the gift and pulled out a 'Kill me' t-shirt.
"Oh, I remember Shin-chan's shirt like this. Thank you, I'm glad you came let alone got me such a nice present," Otae said in gratitude, "I only say that since I don't know you that well."
"It's no trouble since I owe your brother, Kagura-chan and Sakata-san for all their help. It's so fun with everyone too," the weather lady replied.
Gin and Kagura laughed at the newest member with the matching t-shirt while Shinpachi smiled, amused at his sister and friends.
Once she received Crystal's gift, Catherine and Otose gave her their present.
"Oh, a large bottle of sake! This looks quite expensive," she wondered aloud.
The older woman blew smoke from her cigarette as she said, "It is, so enjoy it. It is a special occasion after all."
"How about we drink some now then?" the cat-eared Amanto quipped as she sneakily tried to get it open.
Otose bopped her on the head as she scolded Catherine, "Don't badger her, it's her birthday! She can drink it when she wants to."
Otae giggled at the two older women, which caused even them to laugh. Kagura began arguing with Catherine. Subtly, to clear the atmosphere, Matsudaira shot his gun into the air.
The young woman cleared her throat before she asked, "Okay, who had a present for me now?"
Hasegawa and Hatsu handed her a small box which caused Otae to joke, "It's so small, are you giving me your dignity?"
This caused him to flare up briefly as he said, "My dignity? Geez boss lady, I guess you don't want this great gift then."
The former Madao had tried to paint it as a joke but she gripped his finger so hard that he screamed, "I'm sorry, it was a joke! Take it!"
Hasegawa nursed his broken finger while his boss opened her birthday present. His wife helped him with his injury and gave a start when Otae yelped.
"A pass for free meals at my favorite restaurant for a year?" the gorilla wife exclaimed in awe.
As she fell silent, Hasegawa went to touch her shoulder since he thought she was upset. She suddenly hugged him like the air was squeezed out of his lungs and he was so surprised that he stood there for a moment.
"Um, I guess you like it?" the older man inquired.
She smiled and answered, "Yes, of course I do! Thank you both, it's hard to believe you used to be such a Madao but look at you now! You deserve a break, take the weekend off okay?"
"Really? Thank you but enjoy your birthday first!" Hasegawa said as he returned her hug.
She hugged Hatsu as well but made sure to let her breathe. Shinpachi and Kondou chuckled at the woman while Gin just rolled his eyes in amusement at her.
Kagura pouted, "I wish I could eat for free too..."
Gin put his hand on the top of her head and reminded her, "Cheer up brat, you can eat free when you eat ramen in under three minutes or something like that."
She pushed out her cheeks which caused the silver samurai to laugh. At this, the Yato woman gave in and laughed too.
Otae's next present came from Katsura as he gave her some books in a box. She looked inside and went through the books, curiously.
"What are these Katsura-san?" the birthday girl questioned.
Gin sighed as he answered for his friend, "They look like what Shoyou-sensei gave us."
"They're copies of those books Gintoki, I thought that since Otae-san grew up with a dojo that she would find these of use for her future children," the long-haired man said simply.
Kondou exclaimed as he hugged his friend, "Zura, thank you! I'm honored that you thought of our future children by giving us something so personal."
As the two bakas embraced in tears, Otae grabbed them both by their heads before bashing them together like fireworks going off.
"So, where is my next gift?" she asked with a smile on her face, as if this was the norm.
Shinpachi sighed as he went and sat the two unconscious men by the wall while she had walked over to sit down. The sweets addict had to calm down some of the guests as not everyone was used to Otae's carnage.
Fearlessly, Tama came up to the young woman and handed her a box that felt heavy when she took it.
"Here Otae-sama, happy birthday!" the robot maid said joyfully with a smile on her face.
"Thank you Tama-san!" Otae replied as she began to open it.
She sat down in the process and found some more books inside. When the young wife looked at the titles, she blushed fiercely.
The birthday girl responded quietly, "Oh Tama-san, why is everyone so concerned with children we might have? It's so embarrassing!"
Otae hid her face as her blush deepened while Gin rolled his eyes. Shinpachi tried to ignore the fact that his sister even had a sex life as Kagura just hummed her favorite enka song.
"Nee-san!" Okita announced next, "All of us out of the former Shinsengumi have presents for you!"
All of those who used to belong to the Shinsengumi came forward at this, carrying gifts like food and poems to a bazooka.
"Sougo! Who gives a bazooka for a gift?" Hijikata shouted in disbelief at the former first division captain's actions.
With a slightly surprised look on his face, the young man replied, "Obviously so she can protect herself, especially from mayo-ridden pests."
The former vice-captain's eye twitched as he sighed and said, "Why do I bother with you?"
Okita chuckled and whispered, "My plan will have to be carried out then."
Tetsu handed her an epistle while Shimaru gave her a tanka. Yamazaki's gift was simply a badminton racket since it could double as a weapon in her hands. Hijikata handed her an ice cream cake made of Bargain Dash, which caused her face to beam with a smile.
"Ooh, nice one Toushi!" Kondou complimented as he got up, sporting a large bump on his head.
The mayo samurai just looked at his former commander then hung his head at the man's idiocy.
Matsudaira spoke up as he shouted, "Don't forget us! I allowed for the time off for today along with bringing Soyo-chan and Nobume here as a present."
"Yes, I'm just glad to be here to celebrate with you Otae-chan!" Soyo exclaimed jovially as Nobume nodded with a smile.
Once she thanked them profusely, the idol came forward.
"This might look normal but it's very special," Otsuu assured.
Otae looked at it curiously and opened the small box. Inside was the idol's newest CD, which caused Shinpachi to squeal upon seeing it.
Everyone looked at him like he was crazy while Gin rolled his eyes dramatically and Kagura made the motion of spinning her finger by her head that the megane was crazy.
He mumbled, "Sorry," quietly as he calmed down.
"You gave me your new CD? Why?" the gorilla wife asked as she tilted her head to the side slightly.
Otsuu smiled as she said cryptically, "You'll see."
She took the CD, put it in the computer and played it. As the first song played, Otae wasn't sure what she expected but she was floored.
Tearing up, the birthday girl responded, "You wrote a song for Isao-kun and I?"
The young idol nodded as she questioned, "Do you like it?"
"Like it? I love it Otsuu-chan!" the young wife exclaimed happily as she embraced the singer.
Shinpachi smiled but rolled his eyes as well while his sister and brother-in-law began dancing to the song. Gin rolled his eyes too as he picked his nose. Kagura and Okita laughed as Otsuu sung about a gorilla and his princess, it caused Hijikata to sigh heavily.
They all listened to the song a couple of more times before Kyuubei came over to her best friend.
"Tae-chan, the Yagyuu clan allowed us to hold the party here and paid for the cake and the rest of the expenses so that's part of the gift. Though Tojo and I have another gift from just us too," the Yagyuu heir said as she faced her childhood friend.
Otae flushed and said, "Oh Kyuu-chaan, that's so thoughtful. Thank you but what else could you have for me?"
Kyuubei handed her married friend a small box that, when she opened it, contained two tickets for a two week vacation to the eternal summer planet.
Upon seeing what was inside the box that Tojo handed Kyuubei to Otae, she couldn't even speak right.
"I can't-how can I-Kyuu-chan, I can't take these!" she stammered.
The female samurai wouldn't hear of it though as she refused to let Otae give it back, "No! Tae-chan, this is our gift to you. They're good until your next birthday so take them and use them," Kyuubei insisted by covering the tickets in Otae's hands.
"Okay Kyuu-chan," the young wife relented, "I appreciate all you've done! I couldn't ask for more than having you as my friend."
The two women were enveloped in a warm, gentle hug then that caused Kondou and Kagura to say, "Aw."
Shinpachi smiled at his sister and her friend until Gin ruined the moment by saying, "Hey, it's getting late. Can we get moving along now?"
Without saying a word,, Kyuubei and Otae turned to the sweets addict and glared like angry lionesses.
"Eep! Sorry!" Gin yelled as he shut his mouth.
Kondou came to calm his wife as he whispered, "Honey, could you wait for my present? It'll be ready tonight for sure, I promise!"
Bemused, Otae teased, "It better be Isao-kun, or your kintama will be gone!"
He was mostly scared that his wife had said that with a smile on her face but answered, "It will be, don't you worry."
Before they all knew it, the clock chimed ten o'clock at night.
"Okay everyone, this old man needs his rest and so does this young lady," Matsudaira exclaimed as he shot his gun into the air while referring to himself and Soyo.
Tojo stood up and announced, "Thank you all for coming to celebrate Kondou Otae-sama's birthday. We here of the Yagyuu clan especially are proud to be able to do this for her. She's the first person outside of this family to accept our waka as she was and continue to stand besides her as her friend. Enjoy you're birthday Otae-sama, may you be happy and continue to support and love your friends and family. To Otae-sama!"
He toasted her and everyone shouted celebratory shouts. Once everyone had a chance, they congratulated Otae before heading home.
Matsudaira took Soyo and Nobume home then many of the former Shinsengumi followed. While those members went to keep an eye on headquarters, Okita, Hijikata, Yamazaki and Shimaru with Tetsu remained for a bit before leaving. Pirako and Jirochou headed out after she saw that her father had obviously had a few too many drinks, as well as Tetsuko who left back to her smithy. Crystal, Seimei, Douman and Gedomaru headed home back to the Ketsuno and Shirino estates while Tsukuyo and Hinowa with a sleeping Seita left back to Yoshiwara once they waved goodbye to their friends.
Once he saw his boss, Hasegawa and Hatsu left for home. Oryou, Hanako, Ane and Mone stopped to talk to her before they went home as well. Musashi left around when Katsura, Elizabeth and Ikumatsu did only because Gin had pushed them to head out before he left. Gengai helped her figure out how to plug it in and gave her some simple instructions before he left too. Takachin escorted Otsuu back to her mother's home not long after the mechanic left. Shinpachi left to escort Kirara and Urara so they could go home with their butler. Ayame and Zenzo went to their respective homes though the man seemed to gaze wistfully at her out the corner of his eye, if you could even see past his hair.
Otose, Catherine, Gin, Kagura and Tama, once they bid farewell to Otae and Kondou, left each to the Snack Bar and Yorozuya. Lastly, Otae and Kondou were getting ready to leave when Kyuubei came over to speak with them.
"See you tomorrow, Tae-chan," the young heiress said as she embraced her dear friend into a hug.
Smiling, the birthday girl replied gladly, "Of course Kyuu-chan, that'll be great. Let's have lunch!"
The older men of the Yagyuu clan saw the couple off as they left after their daughter and her friend stopped hugging. Once everyone else had gone off to bed, Tojo led his waka back to her own room after which he went to his own room.
Once the young couple arrived home, he let his wife in first. Confused, Otae let him guide her inside. What she found surprised her: the floor was strewn with pink rose petals in their room and the hall leading to it. When she entered the room, there was Kondou with lots of presents, sitting on the bed.
"What are all these presents, Isao-kun?" Otae asked, befuddled.
Chuckling, he opened them to reveal many containers of Bargain Dash.
"Surprise, here are your-" Kondou began before his wife's fist connected with his face.
She cracked her knuckles as she said in a dangerously low voice, "That's the big present?"
"I swear that's not the whole gift, please don't hurt me more honey," he pleaded as he started to strip.
Otae was puzzled as her anger abated as she inquired, "Why are you stripping?"
"We can enjoy ice cream in a different way Otae-chan," the gorilla husband said slyly before pulling her to him.
She smiled seductively as she comprehended his meaning and kissed her husband soundly. Otae and Kondou made love and had her ice cream too, if you catch my drift. Who knows, maybe a surprise will come out of this night too...
So ends the birthday party/Halloween party for Otae, let's continue on!
A/N: Whew! Otae's birthday is done, that was long but next is Kagura's which is thankfully not as long. Sorry for the wait. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, there was the small bit of lime but that's the best you get out of me besides making out really. I'll do my best to update more regularly and get this story moving along. Keep reading and reviewing too, I love to get reviews too! Ja ne!
