Author: All right, I had a few questions here and there, so I thought I might give ya some answers.
To XxabridgedgirlxX: To answer your first question, I thought that Sakamoto was with them in the beginning, but then again, I could be mistaken, missed a part in the anime/manga, or he might not be an orphan, like Katsura and Takasugi, I don't know.
(I like how you point these things out. Well, for the remainder of the story, let's keep him there, so we have a more interesting past for Gintoki, cool? Besides, I like him, despite the fact he's an total idiot sometimes...)
Next question: Well, in the Gintama manga, chapter 260, Gintoki has his own sword then, as did Shouyou. So, I wanted to added that, as it will play a huge part (especially in this chapter). Thank you for wonderful review and that you'll enjoy the rest of the story.
Don't be afraid to ask readers! I enjoy Q&A! ^.^ Anyway, I'll do the disclaimer with our special guest, and we'll be on way! Enjoy!
Young Katsura: (Reads from the paper given to him by the authoress) "The author does not own the series, Gintama, nor its amazing characters. That credit goes to Sorachi-sensei. The only things I do own is this story and plot. P.S. I'll update this as much as possible! Have fun reading!"
Day 2 (Continued)
"Well, kid? Are you gonna be a good boy, or not?" The tall, black-haired, hazel-colored male dressed in green clothes spoke deeply, stretching out his hand greedily.
Gintoki took a step back, sheathing his sword. He didn't want any trouble from them, but it seems the pair won't go away until the thieves get what they want to sell in the black market. He frowned his eyebrows, and hissed in anger, almost like an animal.
"Oh, feisty are we? Jiro, get the kid." The man ordered the chocolate-eyed man wearing blue-colored clothes with his ebony hair tied into a stubby ponytail, who nodded and rushed rather quickly at Gin.
Gin hesitated for a moment, but regained his movement and avoided the swift robber, hitting the man with his balled fist in the stomach.
"Argh! You little brat!" Jiro wailed in pain, snatching the kid's hair up, and it resulted the child release his sword to the grass. As Gintoki struggled against the tight grip on his silver locks and used his hands to pry the dirty paw off, the nameless name walked over to the duo.
"You know, if you were more than willing to give up this," the stranger picked the blade, craving the sight of his prize, "we would have let you go." He drew the metal weapon, staring at it for quite awhile before reading the print tagged on the end part. His eyes widened, but soon narrowed as his smirk grew three times larger than before.
"Hey Jiro, looks like we won't be worrying about eating for a long time." He stated gaily, displaying the side of the katana that had the inscribed kanji to his partner, who frowned, expanded his eyes, and smirked in this order.
"You're coming with us brat. Yasuo, we got to get back at Edo by tonight if we want to sell him." Jiro informed his accomplice, who nodded.
Gintoki broadened his crimson-tinted orbs, floundering harder than before. He refused to be one of those kids who worked constantly for selfish adults; that's why he survived up to this point, fending for himself! The one thing he needed is freedom, and the wavy-haired child refused it when that Shouyou offered when they first met...
If he could, Gin would scream at the top of his lungs for his help, but the boy knew better that the blonde instructor wouldn't accept him back after he humiliated sensei in front of his students.
If only the lad could reverse back time, but now, he has to learn how to clean floors and cook, instead of being around others his age and understand the word, "Trust." Gintoki gazed up at the radiant sun and closed his eyes, one tear streamed down his cheek.
"Get your hands off my precious student," a low voice threatened the two criminals coldly.
The three people directed their eyes to where the sound came from, to see a very enraged Shouyou Yoshida, drawing his sword from the side of his hips. His gray eyes burned with wrath, as the view of his new student crying before him only fueled his reason to kill these two who caused this whole mess.
"Who the hell are you?!" Jiro howled at the new arrival, knitting his eyebrows.
"Someone who shall tear you into pieces." Sensei aimed his sword at them, but reassured Gintoki with a gentle smile.
"Oh yeah, prove it." Sensei said, as the two dashed at him straightforward. Gintoki closed his eyes, in order to see the teacher fail and lose his own life for the sake of him.
Thud! Thud!
Gintoki swallowed his saliva that formed in his mouth, and it took all the guts to crack one eye open, but when he saw it, both of his crimson eyes widened when he saw the man still standing where he was, the only differences were his katana was out of his sheath with blood dripping to the ground from the tip and that the pair of men were laid on top of one another.
"Whew! What a workout!" The teacher said, wiping off the bead of sweat on his forehead with his free hand. Soon, rapid footsteps were heard and catching the man off-guard, Gin leaped into the man's arms and fiercely hugged him, knocking sensei to the ground. "Gintoki-kun?" Shouyou wondered what caused the child to be acting strangely.
Gintoki, meanwhile, rubbed his face deeply into the man's chest, as something flowed from his eyes.
"Gintoki-kun, why are you crying? Did I upset you?" Yoshida kept hounding more questions until the white-haired boy looked up with such sad eyes, muttering something quietly. "Gintoki-kun...?"
"...sen...sei..." Shouyou-sensei widened his eyes. He...finally spoke. Ruffling the wavy hair, Shouyou said with a smile, "It's all right, Gintoki-kun. No one's is going hurt you again."
Gintoki stopped crying, wiping away the tears and used his deadpan expression once more. Getting off the teacher, Gin gave a smile to his teacher and handed over his sword to him.
"Eh? You're...giving me this?" Yoshida inquired, but Gin shook his head, confusing the teacher. Then, he realized that it might be a response to his question earlier today, so he spoke, "I'll give this back to you and thank you, Gintoki-kun." Taking the precious sword, he began to walk back to the school temple, followed by the boy.
After that incident, Shouyou-Sensei brought his beloved student back to the temple, where a pair of adults awaited for him, crowding around a confused Sakamoto.
"Ah, Yoshida-san, it's a pleasure to see you," one of them greeted politely.
The blonde man raised an eyebrow. "To what do I own for your visit?" The child behind him held his clothes tighter. I forgot: Gintoki-kun is weary of other adults.
"Don't worry, we're just here to pick up one of the children. Though, the one right there seems good enough."
"Sorry," Shouyou said, putting a hand on top of Gin's soft head. "This one just arrived yesterday. He isn't ready yet."
"I see. Well, that's too bad, but I guess we'll take this one then." Placing a hand on the brunette's shoulder, the adult smiled. "We promise that he receive the greatest treatment."
The teacher frowned, but was convinced otherwise when the laughing boy said that he'll be fine, like the rest of them before him.
"Pack your things then Tatsuma-kun. You'll have a long journey ahead of you," the teacher said calmly, encouraging the white-haired boy to follow him. Gin stared before walking over to his friend, tailing after him to his room.
"Sorry I have to leave you to these fools so early, but I know you'll be fine without me!" Sakamoto smiled happily, then pointed at him with a weird look. "Where's your sword?"
Gin lifted his head, trying to say the man's name, but it came out as, "Sen-sen--"
Sakamoto's smile grew wider. "You talked! I can't believe it! I gotta tell the others!" He dashed off, screaming, "Hey! The new kid can talk now!"
"Eh?! Really?!" Someone screamed in shock. "Where is the guy?!" Then, the one called "Zura" popped his head out of the door, then sprinted to a confused Gintoki, simply standing there. Grabbing his shoulder and pulling his face close to the now frightened boy, he yelled, "Is what the baka Sakamoto saying true?!"
Gintoki stuttered in fear, unable to say anything.
"Zura, cut it out. The kid's freaked out," the one with his hair covering his left eye said. "Anyway, we should go and help the Saka-baka pack his things."
"It's not 'Zura,' it's Katsura, Takasugi." Glaring, Katsura sighed then took Gin's hand, rushing to the room. There, Sakamoto had a small bag on his back with a jar of sparkly candy that caught a pair of crimson eyes' attention. The others noticed and Tatsuma smiled.
Unscrewing the cap, Tatsuma tossed a few of those to Gin, who caught it in his hands. "Have some," he suggested playfully, "it's really good."
"No fair Saka-baka! You never share your kompeitoĊ with anyone! Why now?!" Takasugi proceeded to hit the boy on the head while Katsura tried to steal some from Gin. Too bad for the long-haired child, Gin whacked him with a hand chop.
"Ahaha! Good one Kintoki!" Then he got hit in the head by both of the black-haired children within a second. "Sorry, Gintoki!" Having second thoughts about the star-shaped candy, he gave the whole glass jar to wavy-haired boy. "Here, I don't think I won't be needing this to where I'll be heading. Take care of it okay?"
Gin didn't know what to say. The only thing he knew when someone gave something important to someone else, they would usually do something for them. So, he walked up to him and hesitantly hugged the brunette, much to his surprise.
"Eh? What are you doing Kintoki?" Takasugi and Katsura were too shocked to do anything while Sakamoto's face was painted with a light pink blush. "Ah, never mind. I'm gonna miss ya." He returned the hug and for some reason, found himself in tears. "Why am I crying now? This isn't cool..."
"Aw, someone does know when not to smile all the time."
"Shut up!" Then he and Takasugi started an argument while Katsura laughed and Gin didn't have a clue what to do. Suddenly, Shouyou popped his head into the room, asking, "Tatsuma-kun, are you ready?"
Sakamoto, who grabbed a fistful of Takasugi's hair and his other hand in the stomach, nodded innocently. The other, with fingers up Saka-baka's nose, released himself from his victim and straightened his clothes.
"Well, let's hurry it up then." The four boys followed their teacher outside, where the two adults patted Sakamoto on the head lovingly. Gin felt a pang in his heart, holding the jar tighter until his hands were pale as his hair. Then, someone ruffled his hair as the three people headed for the opposite direction of the temple.
"Don't worry Gintoki-kun," Shouyou-sensei said assuringly. "Friends are like boomerangs sometimes. They will fly back to you when you least expect it."
He simply nodded, though he didn't know what boomerangs were in the first place. A sad expression was still on his face. Shouyou then thought of a brilliant idea, whispering it to the young boy.
Sakamoto, now about five yards away the temple. Sighing, he thought about the wonderful things that happened during his stay, especially yesterday, where he met the mute boy. He hoped he'll live a peaceful life as opposed to where he is heading towards to.
"Wait!" Someone yelled, which made the brunette turned around with a startle. Before him, was a panting Gintoki with tears in his eyes. "Goo-good--" He couldn't stop the tears from overflowing, as this was a first time someone he found comfortable to hang out with, is now leaving.
Sakamoto was speechless, but nonetheless, happy his new friend tried to bid him goodbye. Smiling, he just replied, "Just wait for me! I'll be back! Promise!"
Wiping the tears away, Gin made a stubborn look on his face, which made Saka-baka laugh his brains out. "Gintoki, don't lose that great sense of humor of yours while I'm gone!" Finally, the brunette waved goodbye while Yoshida escorted the sobbing child back to the temple, where dinner awaited them.
Author: Dang, writing this part was really sad and meaningful to future parts. But I really wanted to keep Sakamoto in the childhood because he's like the source of entertainment and Takasugi and Katsura's punching bag! XD anyway, sorry for taking so long with this! i was busy with schooling! damn you test and homework! gah! anyway, i hope this makes up for it! R&R my home dogs!