When Sakata Gintoki returned house later that day, he was pleased with himself. He had a warm meal and found a blanket someone put next to a garbage pile for tonight. Upon earlier inspection of the place, he found out pile of broken furniture in the back of the house, so he made a note to make at least a chair and a table tomorrow. He wasn't much of a carpenter, but he was sure he could do it if he tried. For now he was content on eating on the floor and having a blanket. There were worse conditions he has been in just yesterday.
This all wouldn't have been possible without that bag of money he got. While he didn't want to take the money at first, it helped him greatly in the end. The only problem now was how to decline the offer that follows the gift. Gintoki was sure this guy wouldn't stop until he recruited him, but, to tell the truth, the answer won't change even if the universe would be at stake. The ex-samurai knew perfectly well what kind of job that would be; beating up people, destroying properties, taking people as hostages.
The moment he threw his sword was the moment he decided not to hurt people anymore.
Putting these thoughts aside, he focused on the matters at hand. The house was far from appropriate for living in there, but he could slowly start making himself comfortable. First thing on his list was acquiring something to warm himself.
Earlier that day he checked out the backyard. There was bound to be something else that could be useful and he was right; amongst the things he found, there was an old, worn out, hibachi. It was still in working order though, so he just assumed someone discarded it when they moved out.
After cleaning it a little, he broke some of the wooden furniture that was unusable and put them in the metal. Realizing he needed at least some leaves to start the fire, he wandered around a bit, until he found a tree nearby. The leaves weren't dry, but they'd suffice for now. He took a handful and put them under the firewood. The cold was getting the better of him and soon Gintoki realized that he was so cold he kept dropping the matches.
Taking couple of deep breaths, he forced his body to stop shaking and concentrated fully on the matches. A victorious shout escaped him when he finally managed to lit one. The fire quickly caught the leaves and soon the wood was burning steadily. It will take some time for it to burn to the stage where it would be fine for use.
While waiting for the fire to subside, Gintoki went and brought some wood inside. He also explored other rooms, trying to find something that would also be of good use to him. Some plates, a pot, couple of damaged cups and some curtains that were still usable were the only things that he could scavenge, for now.
"By this time, the fire should be ready," Gintoki murmured and went back to the hibachi.
The fire he has lit some time ago has turned into a nice pile of coal. The heat that radiated made him smile. He took the otoshi to put it into the small wooden hibachi. Except there was one thing he overlooked. The metal pot was hot; very hot. The little self-control he managed to gather not to drop the pot lasted only until he reached the hibachi. He dropped it sooner than he anticipated, but thankfully it was now placed safely inside the fire pot from where it radiated the heat, completely unaware of young man's struggles.
"It seems the world hates me these days", he managed to say through clenched teeth, while cooling his hands in the snow. Still grumbling, he took the hibachi and brought it into the room.
Soon, Gintoki realized this won't do. The wind was starting to blow harder and there were so many holes in the walls that it didn't even make difference if he were staying inside, or just went and sit in the open. Still holding a grudge towards the fire because of his burnt fingers, he started putting the curtains around the holes, reasoning with himself that he will buy some nails tomorrow and close them for good. The job was boring and hard, since the cloth didn't really want to stay as he imagined it, but after half an hour he was satisfied with the results.
"Yes, this would do it."
The curtain that was put on the broken window detached itself. Gintoki stared at it for couple of moments, as if hoping it would reattach itself, swore loudly, and spent another fifteen minutes trying to fix the issue.
When he was finally satisfied with his work and made sure all the holes won't be open untill tomorrow, he sat down to rest. The dinner did him good, and he was pleased to see that his appetite is slowly returning. That was good news for his body; soon his strength will return to its fullest and he won't have to rely on his instincts to get away from trouble.
As the sun has set a long time ago, and Gintoki was done with that day's chores he felt tired. Tomorrow is always a new day and something new will happen. He groaned in annoyance when he remembered there is only one thing he still hasn't thought about – the offer from that—what was his name again? He disregarded the problem. They will be angry when he declines. No doubt whole gang will come, in case he declines and he needs to be erased from this world.
Of course, he never intended to make it easy for them if that happens. However, the most logical course of action, and what he really wanted to do, was to find the most peaceful solution. If this really was their turf, it would be quite unwise to get on their bad side. While the universe constantly threw him into the worst imaginable situations that almost always required violence, it's not like he actually enjoyed it.
After realizing that he was staring at one spot in the wall for quite some time, he called it quits and prepared for sleep. He took his blanket and settled himself next to the hibachi, metal bar at the reach of his hand. He closed his eyes enjoying the warmth of the fire and immediately fell asleep.
When he woke up, he realized the fire must have burnt out and he would have to start a new one. Grumbling under his breath, Gintoki went outside to gather more wood and was greeted by the sun shining high up in the sky. How long was he asleep? Well, in the end it doesn't matter. He stretched himself and decided to just come inside for now.
His foot hit something soft. He slowly lowered his gaze at the ground and instantly regretted it. Whatever that was, it was big, furry, angry and aiming for his face. In an instant it found its way to his face and attacked him mercilessly. Caught by surprise, he tried to pry it from his face, but the creature just wouldn't let go. After couple of minutes of wrestling he managed to detach it and throw it in the snow.
It was a cat. Or at least he thought it was a cat. It was unusually big. Its back was arched, tail high up, twice the size, and it was hissing at him. Their eyes locked, waiting for the other to make a first move. Gitnoki slowly lowered and made a snowball, never breaking eye contact. He threw it at the cat and hit it in the face. It quickly shook the snow off and looked at him, confusion all over its face. Soon, it gave up and made its way to the dumpsters.
Grinning in satisfaction, Gintoki went inside.
"Serves the cat right. Nobody messes with me. Wait, why do I have a feeling I forgot something…"
And then it came to him. He was supposed to find a cat to get rid of all the mice. Swearing loudly he went outside and looked around.
"No, wait! Come back! I'll give you some food!"
After unsuccessful search, he sighed and went back inside. Hoping another one will show up soon, he let out sigh.
"I knew that would be too easy."
As if it was a response to his own words, he heard a meow on his right. There it was, the same cat, looking at him. He could even say the bastard was smirking at him. Not really good with animals, Gintoki just nodded awkwardly and addressed the cat.
"If you want, you can, err, look around and find a place to sleep."
The cat immediately started investigating the room, finally settling near the hole from where it heard the mice squeaking and running. Gintoki couldn't shake the feeling that this cat understood everything he said. It was still evading him and hissing every time he would come near it. Even bribing it with food didn't help their relationship. In the end he just gave up on the cat and let it go its own business. Gintoki sighed again in annoyance, scratching his head. It was a tick he never got rid of. Tatsuma often liked to imitate that tick during those evenings when the soldiers were relaxing. It often ended up catastrophic, because Gintoki would always catch him doing that.
A loud knock echoed throughout the room. Gintoki winced, remembering the company he should be expecting. The knocking continued and he finally approached the door, mentally bracing himself for what is to come.
He was not prepared for this sight. While he was expecting to see a bunch of gang members behind this guy, what he saw was the complete opposite. The guy came alone.
"Ah, I knew you'd be awake this early. Mind if I come in? It sure is cold outside."
"Err… suit yourself… um…"
The guy let out a hearty laugh. "You really are something. You already forgot my name, mister samurai? It's Hiroto. Remember it now, because you'll hear it a lot in the future. Until you join me. Then you will call me Boss, as everyone else."
Gintoki was just looking at him. Hiroto's confidence him joining the gang was quite admirable. Hiroto was now looking at the interior, not quite capable of hiding discomfort at being in a place like this. Instantly, the grimace disappeared and the usual grin was stuck on his face again.
"So, anyway, let's keep this short and sweet. Tell me, when will you join us?"
"No."
Hiroto's grin faded. A flash of anger spread over his face for an instant, but Gintoki caught it immediately and couldn't help but smirk. Hiroto sighed again and shook his head.
"I don't understand, mister samurai. I offer you money and power. All you have to do is work under me. It's an easy job for someone of your skill. You think someone will turn up and give you a job more 'noble' than this one? Think about it again." Hiroto paused and smirked triumphantly. Then lowered his voice and the friendly tone disappeared from his voice. "I can make it so you never, ever get a job in this town."
Gintoki crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. Hiroto was finally showing his true self, instead of that ever smiling mask. They finally arrived at the part where the "offer" becomes blackmail. The only problem was that Gintoki couldn't be blackmailed, for he had nothing to lose.
"That is fine by me. It's not like I am going to stay here long time. However, I would like my stay to be enjoyable. You know, without unwelcomed guests and such."
"Ah, of course! I see I overextended my welcome here. Don't worry, I shall take my leave now. It's a shame though. We could've guaranteed you protection too. Now it's all kind of a grey area." He opened the door and stopped for a second, turning around and looking Gintoki straight in the eyes. "After all, walls have ears and streets are dangerous these days. I shall mourn you, when the time comes."
"Please don't. I would rather be mourned by a woman."
"See ya soon, mister samurai. Please be careful, we wouldn't want you to have an accident in the streets."
And with these words, Hiroto left.
Knowing that he just attracted big enemies, Gintoki closed the door and addressed the situation for a moment. He had no job, knew no one in this town, and he will be a target on the streets starting today. Great.
There was a thud and a meow. The cat finally caught a mouse and was triumphantly walking towards the young man, showing off her prey. He lowered his hand to scratch it behind the ears, but only earned couple of scratches. Rubbing his hand he looked at it in great annoyance.
"Well, how about I just call you Rei, since you're such a well-behaved cat, hm?"
The cat ignored him, looking at the food. The man sighed and opened the package, shoving it to the cat.
"I think you do deserve something as a reward. Which means I am out of food now. Great. Sit here and eat, while I go and find breakfast. Or go. Whatever."
He made a shopping list for today. As he figured out, he will need some nails, wood planks, eventually a broom and some food. If he remembers anything else while shopping, that would be good. He tightened his clothes around him and made his way to the town. First stop will be new clothes, then a nice bath. All the thoughts of the unpleasant morning visit disappeared in favor of enjoyable afternoon.
A/N: This chapter was a total pain! Ugh! It was supposed to be finished two days ago, but I just didn't have any ideas. In the end I just scrambled some stuff together and finished with it. The only downside is that I accidentally drifted away from my first plan. Being too lazy to correct myself (hell, I am even too lazy to edit this), I decided to go with the flow in this one, and return to my first thoughts in the next chapter. Honestly, why did I bring Hiroto in all this? He made my life a living hell.
Anyway, I know I probably made a mistake with the hibachi, but the research was even worse than writing this. Every time I would google it, I would get the American hibachi grill. Seriosly. It took me couple of tries to find what I need and even then I couldn't really understand how it's been used, so I had to depend on my imagination. I hope I did that one well. All in all, to explain: hibachi is some kind of brazier made of wood, metal or ceramic, that serves for cooking and to provide warmth in houses. It consists of two parts: the pot and the ash tray that goes inside it. They could also be carried around and were used by military, too. It sounds so comfy in my mind. The problem I encountered with it (the one which bugs me the most) is that it was also used only by middle class and upper class households. They could be really fancy, I found plenty of beautiful ones. Now I wish I had one.
Seriously, the next chapter will be out quite sooner than this one, since I finally sat down and worked on the story plan. Yay for me! For someone who is a really lazy person, I did a lot of work on this story.
Oh yeah! Another thing! Holidays are coming, so I will probably have more time. That's it. Yell out.
A/N 2: There actually wasn't much to edit in this chapter. Only break couple of paragraphs into smaller ones. Also even after a year I think about Hiroto a lot. I have big plans for him, I suppose. ^^