Hey guys, Murayama Tsuru here. Here's a oneshot –thing for Obon. It's celebrated around this time of the year (or August 18th or the 7th month of the lunar calendar). I hope you enjoy ^_^
Disclaimer: I don't own Gintama; it belongs to Sorachi Hideaki-Sensei.
"Oi," Shinpachi said, annoyance clear in his voice, "are you guys ready to go yet? If you two take any longer, we're going to be late."
"Oh, quit your whining," Gin said coming out of his room, looking as ready to go as he usually was "it's not like we're really going to miss anything; it's just the Obon festival. It's not like you haven't already said hi to your dead friend, obi-one earlier. Really, there's been a huge problem with ghosts in Edo this year."
"I know that it's 'just' Obon as you said, but Aneue will be really mad if we're late…"
Gin pulled a face at the thought of Shinpachi's, scary, older sister being mad and called out, "Kagura, would you hurry up? At this rate, we're going to be late!"
Shinpachi rolled his eyes, but didn't have the chance to say anything because Kagura came out, a Yukata half tied sloppily and said, "I would hurry up, but I don't know how to tie my Yukata, uh-huh? Health me, Gin-chan?"
Gin sighed and, as he was walking over to Kagura said, "It's help me, got it? Next time, wear something you usually wear so it won't be a hassle to us…"
As Gin was tying the Obi to Kagura's Yukata, Kagura frowned, annoyed at his previous snipe at her choice of attire. But instead of commentating on Gin's comment about her attire, the red haired Yato said, "Gin-chan, why are you so good at this? This doesn't seem to be something that guys should know how to do isn't it, uh-huh?"
The silver haired Samurai paused in his tying of Kagura's obi and scowled, "Then why did you ask to do this if you think that it's not something a guy should do?"
Feeling like teasing Gin for once, Shinpachi said, "But Gin-san, you didn't answer Kagura-chan's question. I also want to know why you're so good at tying an Obi; you might almost be better than my sister."
Gin's scowl deepened and he went back to tying the Obi while muttering something about how when Katsura was little, he liked to dress up in women's Yukata because Shouyou-Sensei thought he looked cute. And then, Kagura's Kimono was tied and Gin stood up and practically shoved Shinpachi and Kagura out the door.
Once the other two Yorozuya members were out of the house, Gin turned off the lights and closed the door. As Gin was jogging down the stairs, he thought he heard someone say, "…help…us…", but when he paused to look around to see who had asked for help, he couldn't see anyone, making a small shiver run up his spine (he really didn't want to deal with any more Spiri…I mean Stands at the moment).
Deciding that he was probably just hearing things, Gin shook off the feeling that someone was watching and continued down the stairs where Shinpachi and Kagura were waiting with a mixture of impatient and worried looks on their faces. Gin raised an eyebrow that seemed to say, 'Well, what are you waiting for?' and the three began walking to the annual Edo Obon Festival.
"You're late." Otae growled to the three Yorozuya members who were standing sheepishly before her, "What took so long? You almost missed the whole festival!"
Shinpachi, being the only one able to find any words said, "Well, Kagura-chan was having a hard time tying her Obi…so we were a little late…"
"Yeah," Kagura agreed, "I was having trouble so Gin-chan helped me, uh-huh!"
Otae gave the studiously silent Gin a look, but before Shinpachi's older sister could say anything, Shinpachi spoke up. "But, Aneue, we did bring food with us."
Shinpachi realized he'd made a mistake only when his sister responded, a hard glint in her eyes now, "Oh, so you don't want to eat the food I made for you all?"
Feeling a drop of sweat (that had nothing do with the heat that had yet to dissipate into the night) trickle down his neck, Shinpachi said cautiously, "N-no…that's not what I meant at all….We brought food with us s-so you wouldn't have to do so much work…Th-that's all A-Aneue…"
"That's right," Kagura said, coming to Shinpachi's defense for once, "All we wanted to do was spare you too much work, uh-huh."
With a quirk of her eyebrow, Otae stared Shinpachi and Kagura down for a second and then asked, "Well Gin-san, did you guys bring food so I wouldn't have to do any work?"
Seeming distracted all of a sudden, Gin gave a noncommittal nod of his head and an unfocused yes that didn't satisfy anyone who was listening. But, instead of wasting more time arguing about food, Otae said with a sigh, "Well, shall we head in, I'm sure we'll have more fun if we don't just stand here. But, I will be talking to you about this later, Shin-chan."
With a gulp Shinpachi nodded and then the tension seemed to break and Kagura felt that she could now chatter away with Otae like she usually did when they were together. As the four were walking along, Shinpachi noticed that Gin was walking a little ways behind the rest of them. So, the glasses-clad boy fell into stop with his sort-of boss and asked, "Gin-san is something the matter? You seem distracted."
Gin, still distracted didn't say anything until Shinpachi prompted him with a, "Gin-san, are you listening?"
At that, Gin jumped and turned to Shinpachi, hissing, "Don't scare me like that, Pattsuan!"
Looking slightly affronted, Shinpachi said, "Well, I was just asking you what was wrong. No need to snap at me…"
Gin sighed, "Don't worry about me, just go join the other two. I've never really liked Obon anyway, so don't mind me and have fun."
Shinpachi gave Gin a look that said he wasn't going to go anywhere anytime soon, but Gin shooed the glasses-clad boy away with a hand gesture and Shinpachi gave up and returned to Kagura's and his sister's meaningless (to him anyway) conversation.
Once Shinpachi was not out of eyesight but out of earshot, Gin turned to an invisible someone beside him and growled, "Would you leave me alone, I'm trying to enjoy the festival, but you're making that rather hard. You did see how I reacted to Shinpachi's question didn't you?"
"Yes, in fact, I did see how you reacted." Said the voice of the ghost, who had still chosen not to materialize, nonetheless, though, Gin recognized the voice, "But, you weren't listening to me earlier, so I had no choice but to ask again; help us."
Gin's eyes narrowed, "I never thought that you'd be asking me for help Yaou, we weren't exactly friends when we were alive, you know."
"I am well aware of that," Hosen replied finally materializing next to Gin, "but no one else seems to hear me and you, I've heard, have the most sensitivity to paranormal activity."
Giving up, Gin sighed and asked, "Well, what is it you want from me?"
Without preamble, Hosen said, "A Shinigami has been going around and capturing the weaker spirits and we need your help getting them back. The Shinigami even managed to capture Jiraia somehow, if you can believe that."
"In that case, I doubt that I can help you out very much. Besides, wouldn't you be more effective against a Shinigami. Being a Yato and all would probably make you the best candidate."
Hosen sighed as if he were talking to a child, "I already tried that. And clearly it didn't work if I'm asking you for help. Shinigami can only be defeated by the living, so I've heard. If you don't help me out, your Sensei will most likely be very disappointed in you."
At that, Gin's eyes narrowed even further into a more predatory gaze as he growled, "And how, exactly, would you know that?"
Hosen only laughed and then began floating away, a crooked finger beckoning him to come along. Growling softly, Gin began wandering in the direction Hosen had went (the ghost Yato had already disappeared), pissed that he was actually doing what his once-enemy had asked of him.
As he made his way to wherever Hosen was leading him (appearing every once in a while to see if Gin was actually still following him), he ran into Kagura who was stuffing her face with Dango. Kagura blinked and asked, mouth full, "Gin-chan, what are you doing here, uh-huh?"
Gin rolled his eyes and was about to say that he was here enjoying the festival when Kagura, who had swallowed now, continued speaking, "And don't tell me something like 'enjoying the festival. You look too tense for something like that, uh-huh."
Gin cursed silently, having forgotten how sharp Kagura actually was and said, "Fine, I was following a ghost who said that other ghosts were being terrorized by a Shinigami…it sort of almost makes me want to change my loyalty from Ichigo to Naruto if you know what I mean…"
"No, I don't really have any idea what you're talking about, uh-huh." Kagura smiled, looking innocent "But, ghosts in trouble doesn't sound good to me, especially during Obon! So let's go help them out, uh-huh!"
Gin mumbled something about how Kagura should really pay attention to the other Jump Manga as she was a Jump character. But, at Kagura's insistent look, Gin gave up trying to lecture her and the two tried to get back onto Hosen's tail.
When they finally caught up to the old Yato, Kagura and Gin found themselves in the now-dark woods, the only light coming from the reflection of the moon on the nearby river. Hosen was watching the two Yorozuya members approach, and unreadable expression on his face. When Kagura saw the old Yato, she turned to Gin and said, "Are you sure he wasn't lying to us? He and my dad used to be enemies, uh-huh. Should we really be trusting him?"
Hosen, clearly having heard Kagura's question said, "Yes, indeed, should you be trusting me? I am the one who tried to block the sun from Yoshiwara forever after all. Who knows whether or not I'm plotting something now. Perhaps, I'm the Shinigami capturing all spirits."
"Whatever," Gin said, "you're probably not the Shinigami, you don't seem to be the type to just lock any random person for no reason. They would have to be Yoshiwara's personal sun for you to do that."
Hosen raised an eyebrow and Gin raised one in return that seemed to say, 'Well, am I wrong?'. Hosen sighed after a second of staring Gin down and said, "Yes, that's very true. Hinowa has not yet died, so I wouldn't go around trapping random spirits. But, this is where the Shinigami has brought all the other spirits."
"Why would the Shinigami do that, uh-huh?" Kagura asked the obvious question
"Because he's mad that so many spirits are coming back to life to visit loved ones and using his Haori."
"You got that right," a voice made both Yorozuya members and ghost turn, "What right do those spirits have to ask me to use my Haori? Don't they know that it's only supposed to be used for official Shinigami only? It all started with that Shinsengumi boy, he forced me to lend it to his sister and all these requests just came flooding in. I've had enough! I'm going to capture all the dead characters of Gintama and force them to watch as their loved ones dance float candles down this river for them as they know they can't move on and they can't do anything to change their fate!"
"Wow," Gin commented nonchalantly, "You sure like to talk a lot. Your evil plan doesn't really sound that evil, though, just kinda annoying. Just goes to show that you really shouldn't let the Shinsengumi bully you into lending them your stuff."
"Yup," Kagura agreed, glaring at the Shinigami, "especially to that sadist! Besides, who would want to prevent ghosts from moving on anyway, uh-huh?"
"Not prevent," the ghost sniffed indignantly, "just delay so that you guys get that I don't want to be lending out my Haori to anyone anymore!"
"A selfish Shinigami to be sure," Hosen said, looking bored, "If only you'd learn that ghosts meeting with their loved ones one last time wasn't a bad thing, you'd probably be more than happy to lend out your Haori."
"I wouldn't have any problem lending my Haori to ghosts who had just died that wanted to make their peace with the world. But you guys seem to want to come back after your 49 days have long passed to say goodbye! Don't you know the rules!?"
Before anyone could give an answer to that, music started up far away, making Gin curse, "Damn, they've started the Bon-Odori already. We'll have to hurry before they finish and start the candle floating."
"Ha!" the Shinigami shouted gleefully, "You're too late for that, I've already captured all the spirits who asked for the Haori! Now all I have to do is—"
The Shinigami's speech was cut off with a yelp as Kagura shot at him with her umbrella-gun growling, a fierce glint in her eyes, "Where's the key?"
Gin looked at the girl Yato, a mixture of amusement and confusion on his face as he asked, "Kagura-chan, what are you talking about? What key?"
Still shooting at the Shinigami, Kagura said, "He said he captured the spirits, so that means he locked them up right? Then that means there must be a key, uh-huh!"
Gin really doubted that a Shinigami would be so foolish as to lock spirits up with a simple key, but before he could say as such, the Shinigami gasped and said, "H-how did you know about the key?! I made sure not to say anything about it!" making Gin sweatdrop at how silly this whole encounter was.
Kagura, smirking and striking a pose said haughtily, "Of course I knew there was a key, uh-huh! I'm smart after all!"
Gin sighed, thinking this was getting ridiculous and said, "So, why don't you just hand the key over to us and go on your way so we don't have to beat you up, ok?"
"Never!" The Shinigami shouted, looking slightly desperate now, "I want ghosts to know that I'm not going to lend my Haori to just anyone anymore!"
Gin sighed wearily again, thinking that this was the last time he ever wanted to deal with ghosts (Stands) again and said, "Then you leave us no choice. Kagura, cover me."
Gin drew his Bokuto and charged at the Shinigami who seemed to be surprised that anyone would even try such a thing in the first place. Raising his sword, as he got close enough Gin thrust it toward the Shinigami's neck.
The Shinigami, now panicking, attempted to dodge the blade, eyes closed in fear. But, once he didn't feel the searing pain that usually came with a sword blow, he opened his eyes and saw that Gin's Bokuto had missed him by an inch. Grinning haughtily, the Shinigami sneered, "You missed, foolish Samurai. Now all you can do is watch!"
"I don't think so," Gin said, a lazy grin forming on his lips as well, "on the contrary I hit my intended mark." The silver haired Samurai then pulled his sword in a downward diagonal and the Shinigami felt a piece of fabric slip off his frame.
With a shout, the Shinigami cried, "No, not my Haori! That's what was keeping me solid!" (yes, I know that's not how Rinne's Haori works, but I decided to make my rip-off my own invention…sort of…)
"Yep," Gin said, grin growing wider, "that was the idea. Yaou-kun, it's your turn."
Hosen, who had understood where Gin was going the moment he had charged at the Shinigami floated to said dude and a dark smile crossed his lips, "Well, now I guess it's time to hand over that key isn't it?"
Hosen raised a fist and brought it rushing down toward the Shinigami at alarming speed (to the Shinigami anyway). But, before the blow could connect, the Shinigami held up a key and said, "Fine, take it! Just don't hurt me!"
"Ok," Hosen said, opening his fist and claiming the key, "now, where is the cage."
Whimpering, the Shinigami pointed in the direction of where he had locked up the other ghosts. Hosen then floated in the direction the Shinigami had pointed, studied the area for a minute and then put the key in an invisible hole and turned.
There was a flash of light and then the area was filled with ghosts that both Gin and Kagura did and didn't know. Once of them, a sandy haired woman that Gin recognized to be Okita Sougo's sister, Mitsuba floated over to the two of them and bowed, "Thank you so much for saving us." She said, making both Gin and Kagura feel shy about what they had just done.
Gin, finding his tongue first said, "Nah, don't worry about it. This is what we Yorozuya do on a regular basis."
Kagura nodded in agreement, but before she could say anything, the beat Shinigami said, "Hey, can't you give me back my Haori now? I've learned my lesson, ok!"
Gin turned to the Shinigami with a scowl, "No way are you getting this back now. I'm gonna keep it and lend it to any ghosts that come my way."
The Shinigami scowled, but said nothing, knowing what would happen if he tried to take it back. Gin then turned back to Okita Mitsuba but saw that she was no longer there. He then heard that the music from the festival had stopped and said to Kagura, "Well, I guess it's time to meet up with the others again."
"Uh-huh!" Kagura nodded enthusiastically, "I can't wait to tell Anego about this, uh-huh!"
"Yeah, sure, I bet she'll really believe you, 'uh-huh'." Gin mocked with a grin
Kagura scowled, but before she could retort, a large crowd of festival-goers appeared, wondering what the two were doing there early. Once Shinpachi found them he hissed, "Where have you two been? You missed the dancing."
"Well," Kagura retorted, "we were busy, uh-huh!"
"With what?" Shinpachi said with a skeptical look on his face
"We happened to be fighting off a Shinigami who decided to capture all the spirits in the area and force them to watch their loved ones lighting candles for them all while knowing they couldn't move on." Gin said, looking dead serious enough to make Shinpachi think he was joking.
Falling for the trick, and also not really listening to Gin's excuse, Shinpachi said absently, "Sure you did…wait, what did you do?" he then asked, processing what his sort-of boss had told him.
With a lazy smile, Gin said, "I'll tell you about it later." And then turned back to the festival, feeling that he could actually enjoy it now that all the Stands were gone.
And that is the end of that! I have decided to do one more chapter on December 31st just to wrap up the year with this series , because I really was 'great' at starting the year with it, wasn't I? And with that announcement out of the way, I'll see you guys for the next update. As always, reviews are greatly appreciated as I love to know what you guys think.
-村山鶴
