It was around noon when Gintoki finally decided to get up. The nightmare from last night was ingrained in his mind very deeply and he was quite certain he will not forget it for a long time. He couldn't even close his eyes for a second without horrible images of the blood rain. It was as if it was all around him flashing before him. The bad weather didn't help at all; even though he was tired to the bone, the sleep just didn't seem to come. When the rain stopped falling in the morning, he let out a sigh of relief. The plan to try and catch couple of hours of sleep failed. He spent the time staring at the ceiling, his mind being blank. Those occasional flashbacks of the war were immediately shunned aside. It was something he didn't want to relive again. In the end Gintoki just gave up and went outside.
Getting out, he inhaled the cold air and immediately felt a familiar seething pain shoot through his lungs. The sky was clear and sun was desperately trying to warm the land, but to no avail. Gintoki felt refreshed; the cold did him good. Feeling fully aware and full of energy now, he went on his way towards today's destination – the house at the end of the road.
The old couple that lived there was one of the few residents that Gintoki befriended. He met them while he was getting familiar with the area. When they saw him that day, the wife, Yoshiko, greeted him, delighted that someone new moved near their house. She introduced herself and her husband, who was more comfortable with being silent. Gintoki tried to mingle out of the conversation, but soon realized it's nearly impossible. The woman was total opposite of her husband; she talked about everything. After that day, she often invited him for tea, which Gintoki always politely declined, out of fear that he'll become insane from her endless monologues. The price for a warm tea was just too high to even consider this.
Still, it couldn't escape his eye how their house was in such a poor state, and he couldn't help but dwell on it. It bothered him that no one was there to help them. After pondering the situation for couple of days, he finally decided to offer them his help. Gintoki was sure that Yoshiko will accept it; he was also sure that she will gladly accept to cook for him, or at least lend him some help in the kitchen. Gintoki just couldn't bring himself to ask money from them. They were probably poorer than the others here, and while he loved money just as much as another person, he knew that asking for it from people here would leave a bad aftertaste in his mouth.
With those thoughts in his mind, Gintoki arrived at the old couple's house. As he just raised his hand to knock on the door, he heard a woman's voice behind him.
"Ah, Sakata-san, how nice of you to visit us," the voice, even though it belonged to an old woman, was full of excitement, as that of a child looking at firework for a first time.
"Yoshiko-san, I didn't mean to intrude—" Gintoki awkwardly greeted the old lady, but she just ushered him inside.
"Oh, not at all," she said dismissively. "Please, do come in. I can make you some tea. It's been awfully cold today so I guess you're freezing. A nice cup will warm you up in no time…"
"Please stop talking," Gintoki muttered under his breath.
"Now that was just rude, Sakata-san. You really need to work on your manners."
"My manners are tolerable. It's your talking that isn't." Gintoki was getting more irritated by the minute.
A comfortable silence ensued after that. The old woman had that beautiful habit of not letting the words he spoke linger around for long. It was a good thing, since sometimes he spoke before he even thought about the words a bit more. After Yoshiko made tea, they sat at the table and were soon discussing the work cheerfully.
"I am just saying, if your husband can work and earn money, he can also fix the house," Gintoki stated.
"Ah, Sakata-san, but when he comes home, he's always so tired. I just don't have heart to tell him to go around fixing the house," Yoshiko said, sipping the tea. "Also, he was always more of a brain person thaninto physical work. Even if I asked him, it would end in a disaster."
"People can be smart and do physical work, you know. Take me for example."
"You are everything but smart, Sakata-san."
"You really don't need to put it that way." Gintoki muttered. Thankfully, the woman didn't hear him. There was something bothering him though. "Yoshiko-san, who would give an old man a job? There are plenty of much younger people out there waiting for a job, and yet that old geezer got it." He couldn't help but wonder. This old man is the luckiest person Gintoki ever met.
"Ah, it's, you know…" Yoshiko waved her hand dismissively. "And he is not an old geezer, you damn brat!"
The rest of the conversation passed in good spirits. Gintoki managed to strike the deal he was hoping for. However, as he got up to start working, the old woman stopped him.
"Ah, Sakata-san, I have another favor of you to ask…"
"Oh? What would that be?" Gintoki asked, suppressing the urge to grin.
"Could you please check the roof too? I am sure I heard the water dripping somewhere last night during the rain. Please?" Yoshiko put her hands together, as if begging him.
"Alright, alright," he said, now grinning broadly. "I'll see if I can fix it. In exchange…"
"Yes, I know, I'll make you ramen." Yoshiko said, now smiling too.
"We got a deal."
The work went surprisingly smoothly. The time he spent fixing his current place proved to be well spent. He wasn't very experienced when it came to this kind of work, but the little he learned proved to be very useful.
He managed to seal the windows enough so there would be no draught. During the break, he explained this to Yoshiko. Even though he fixed the windows, it was clear that was only a temporary solution. They were in dire need to be replaced and he made sure she understood that. The only problem was that replacement costs money, and no one here has it. She frowned slightly at the news, but didn't protest.
As Gintoki was inspecting the roof, he saw Yoshiko's husband, Katsumi, arrive home. The man just waved a greeting and entered the house. While his wife was always cheerful and friendly, Katsumi was reserved and gloomy. He didn't like talking to Gintoki and they usually kept away from each other. Gintoki couldn't help himself but be on guard around this man; old man just looked too suspicious. He could hear Katsumi asking his wife about the windows, not saying his opinion about the whole deal. Dismissing that whole thing as not his problem, Gintoki went back to fixing the roof. He soon found the problem and after half an hour he was back on the ground. The job was over.
Yoshiko insisted that Gintoki stays for dinner, which he politely declined; after all, he was so tired that he felt he couldn't even hold sticks properly, and looked forward to a good sleep. However, he couldn't decline the food she prepared for him.
"Well, that's all I could do. Please remember it's only a temporary solution," Gintoki said while opening the door.
"Thank you so much for doing this!" Yoshiko happily replied. "If I need something else, it'd be very helpful, if you could lend us your help again, Sakata-san."
"To be honest I would be happier if there weren't any problems anymore. It's not like I really like working, you know."
Katsumi, who was silent all evening, suddenly stood up.
"Yoshiko, leave the man alone. Don't you see he's in a hurry?" He said while walking towards the door. "Sakata-san, I will escort you. If I leave that task to this old hag, you won't be going home for at least an hour."
As they left the house, Katsumi continued walking with Gintoki towards his place. It seemed as he had something to talk about with the young man – something that his wife shouldn't need to hear.
"Sakata-san, a word, if I may" Katsumi said, when they were away from the house a bit. Yoshiko was still standing at the door, happily waving at them.
Gintoki nodded. It seemed as this was going to be a serious conversation. Maybe the old man will finally tell him why he is so hostile to him. Is he hostile? Gintoki wondered for a moment. It was probably his imagination. Katsumi seemed to be more reserved, than hostile towards him.
"Sakata-san, you look young." Katsumi stated. "How old are you?"
"I will be twenty this year." Gintoki replied quietly. He hated that question. The answer always made him feel uneasy. It was always followed by the statement of how he was still young and had his whole life ahead of him, but the truth is that he felt so old sometimes. Saying those words always established the fact that reality was very harsh and sometimes age didn't really matter, regardless of what people said.
"How old were you when you joined the Joui?"
Gintoki felt a lump in his throat. How did this old man know? Was it that obvious? It was a fact that those years changed him, but he didn't realize how much.
"I was… fourteen," he whispered.
It was a lie. He was actually thirteen when he joined. They were all in a race against the time then, so they all lied about the age. They kept convincing themselves it wasn't that much of a lie. They enlisted in August and his fourteenth birthday was in October.
"So young." Katsumi smirked. "Kids are always full of dreams, thinking they would change something if they join the war. So full of themselves—"
"Oi, you damn geezer, I had a damn good reason for joining them. I…"
Gintoki stopped. No, this man needn't know his reason for entering the war.
"My son joined the war for the same reason as you," Katsumi continued, not paying attention to what the other man said at all. "He thought he could change something. He joined it for fame, glory, honor, patriotism. In any case, he soon learned that life is much harder.
Gintoki felt a chill run down his spine. Yes, plenty of people joined for that reason. Plenty of them also died. At that moment they stopped walking and the young man finally realized they arrived in front of his place. Katsumi then took out something and handed it to Gintoki. Upon inspection, he realized it was an envelope.
"It is a bit much to ask you this after all the work you've done today, but could you deliver this letter to my son?"
Gintoki stared at it. So his son was alive. That was a relief. The destination was some small town, about a day by foot from here.
"Old man, why don't you send this by mail?" He asked.
Katsumi hesitated and then spoke.
"I… I am afraid that he may not read it. You see, when he came back from the war, he changed. We grew distant and soon we weren't talking anymore. Sakata-san, I beg of you, please deliver my letter." Katsumi bowed deeply, desperation in his voice.
Gintoki sighed. Now he had no choice but to deliver this letter. He always felt an obligation to do everything he could to bring a family together. That guy is going to read this letter in front of him, and if he doesn't want to, Gintoki will make him.
"Fine, fine, I'll do it, you persistent old man. But I expect some compensation."
Much to his surprise, Katsumi handed him a bag of money.
"Here, this should be enough of compensation. This is also enough to cover travelling expenses."
Gintoki looked at the heavy bag, seeming deep in thought. In the end he pocketed it.
"Old man, while I'm gone make sure my cat has something to eat. It took great effort to find it. I wouldn't really want this place to become rat infested again."
"Don't worry, it won't."
As Gintoki lay in bed later on, he couldn't shake the feeling that something is wrong. Fortunately, he was tired from today's work, and sleep was threatening to overcome him. He decided not to dwell on it.
When did I become so paranoid, he thought to himself, while drifting away.
As the sun was rising on the horizon, Gintoki packed the last of his meager belongings and set off out of town. Since it wasn't that far of a destination, he opted for travelling by foot. It was something he was accustomed to; also, he wanted to exercise a bit too, since he hadn't got a chance for that. As he left the town, Gintoki was greeted by the beautiful scenery of an early spring. The grass was peeking from beneath the small patches of snow. It felt as if the spring was already there.
This warm weather lifted Gintoki's spirit. After all, he couldn't ask for better travelling conditions. He kept a medium pace. It didn't really tire him and he was advancing pretty well. The roads were empty; it still wasn't that time of the year when travelers occupied them. After two hours of walking, the young man heard something stopping beside him. It was a simple cart pulled by a horse. The man steering it eyed Gintoki for a moment, before grinning broadly.
"Need a lift, traveler?" He asked. "There's a tea house down the road. I can give you a ride to there. "
"Really? I'm in." Gintoki gratefully returned the grin. It wasn't long before they continued on their way.
The man didn't talk much, and for that Gintoki was grateful. He wanted to be left alone with his thoughts. However, the man liked to sing. Though he didn't mind, Gintoki often found his train of thoughts disrupted by a high pitched voice in which the driver sung occasionally. After that he'd continue drifting away to his thoughts.
Thinking back to this last couple of days, Gintoki couldn't help but wonder what this stroke of good luck that hit him was. Usually, good luck was often interrupted by something very unpleasant. But what could happen now? He was living peacefully, right? He didn't bother anyone.
He was suddenly brought to present by the cart stopping.
"Here you go, traveler," said the man. "This is the tea shop I was talking about. It is also known for the most delicious dango. Make sure you try it."
Waving the man goodbye, Gintoki entered the tea shop. It was small, but very neat. As he was sitting there, eating the best dango he ever tasted (damn, that guy was right!), one conversation caught his attention. Two women were talking, couple of tables away.
"Yeah, Hiroto's gang has grown rapidly. They are known all over the city. Everyone is scared of them. I guess their reputation precedes them," said the first woman.
"Mhm. I heard they managed to take control of the whole district. They are quite brutal."
"But they are quite calm now. It's said that they are preparing something big."
"Hmmm… that may be true. But I heard differently. You know my cousin's friend? The one who visited my aunt while we were both there? Well, his neighbor is a doctor whose license has been revoked and now he tends to Hiroto's gang members. One of his patients said that they are laying low because there's some guy who moved in couple of weeks ago. The men are scared to do anything."
Gintoki was now listening intensely. Maybe he could gather some info about Hiroto.
"Oh I heard of that!" said the other woman enthusiastically. My brother-in-law said that someone gave a good beating to those guys. But Aika-chan said she saw it all with her own eyes! The attacker was quite brutal and one of the guys was so beaten up that she wouldn't wonder if he died later on. Also, guess what? The attacker was a woman!"
Gintoki almost choked on his last piece of dango. The two women shot him a nasty glare. Caught in the act, he had no choice but to go outside now. Catching his breath he started laughing. Just what part of him was feminine? In any case, these women had no idea how wrong the rumors they heard were. Since the rumors were inaccurate, he shrugged them off and continued on his way. Still, the conversation he overheard made him huff indignantly for the rest of the trip.
When he finally arrived at the town, he was content with himself. Except for that conversation at the tea shop, whole trip passed uneventfully. Tired and hungry, he looked for an inn to spend a night. It was too dark to do any business today.
He soon found a place to spend the night. The inn was in the center of the town.
"I still don't understand why that damn guy couldn't just mail this thing," Gintoki muttered to himself while entering the inn.
When he woke up it was almost ten o'clock. He did not regret this one bit; he felt more rested than he had in a long time. He went down to greet the manager of the inn and also find some information about the recipient of the letter.
"Oh, the address is just down the road" said the manager. "Keep going and you'll see it. It's the one with the flower shop."
Gintoki bid farewell to the manager and went on his way. He did consider staying one more night, but he was afraid he'd become spoiled and that would make it more difficult to go back to his regular lifestyle. So he decided to use this rest and deliver the letter and go back home that day.
As the manager said, Gintoki really couldn't miss the address. A brightly colored sign of the flower shop could be seen from far away. The whole place gave out a friendly aura.
Stepping inside, at first he couldn't see anyone, but soon a young woman emerged from the back.
"Oh, a customer! Come in, come in! So, what will it be? Anniversary? Maybe a date? It's impossible for such a young man to not have someone special. Though that hair—"
"Actually, I am here to deliver a letter to a man called Mizuki" Gintoki interrupted, slightly annoyed that the woman already touched the sensitive topic of his hair.
The woman was slightly confused.
"Mizuki? No one called that lives here? Are you sure you got the right address, mister?"
"Well, the inn manager told me it was this address," Gintoki said, handing the letter to the woman. She inspected it for couple of moments.
"The address is correct, but I assure you, no person going by that name lives here. Wait, I'll ask my mother, maybe she knows. But yeah, we're the only ones living here."
She went to the back of the shop. Left alone, Gintoki felt uneasy. There was something wrong here, his guts told him. He stared at the letter. Led by this horrible feeling, he slowly opened it.
"Sakata-san,
I know this isn't what you expected. I was also sure you were a smart enough man to realize that this letter is meant for you. There is no person by the name Mizuki. Well, rather to say, that person is no more amongst the living.
Out of love for my wife, I staged this whole thing. She grew very fond of you and asked me to find a way to spare your life. But that is not really important.
Leave this place. Hiroto won't rest until you are either dead or in his gang. Either way, it is us who will suffer. Couple of months ago we stroke a deal with Hiroto. It all changed when you arrived to this place. We live in constant fear. I will not allow this to go on. I am thinking of my wife's safety while I'm writing this letter. It is of utmost importance that the peace we worked so hard for won't be disturbed.
By the time you receive this letter, the place where you were staying these couple of weeks, will already be burned to ground. Since there's nothing left for you here, take that money and leave. Do not come back.
I hope I atoned for my sins by sparing you.
May we never see each other again."
Gintoki felt hot rage boil inside him, rapidly spreading through his whole body. Crumpling the paper, he left the shop quickly, ignoring the calls of the young woman standing dumbfounded at him.
He felt like a fool. Everything fit together, now that he thought about it. Hiroto was lying low, waiting for a chance to get rid of him. Katsumi worked for Hiroto. It was probably him who thought of this plan. No wonder he didn't like him. His son… he probably never existed. If he existed, he was probably long dead; died in the war like plenty of other people. There was a big chance that Katsumi despised Joui for this.
Gintoki cursed loudly. He knew he should've done this sooner, when he first felt something was wrong. He stopped walking and leaned on the wall. He slowly sank on the ground and rested his head on the wall. The rage he felt couple of minutes ago left him, leaving the desperation behind. He probably had no place to return to now. Why does this story always repeat? It's like he couldn't escape this vicious circle no matter how much he tried.
A chuckle escaped him. This is it. No more running. Something must be done. HE will crush that gang once and for all. Standing up, abruptly, he felt something fall on the ground. It was the money bag he got from Katsumi. Picking it up, he felt the rage boil inside of him yet again.
I wonder what kind of sword I can buy for this, He thought to himself while slowly walking back to the inn.
AN: This is the longest chapter so far. I decided to merge couple of chapters together. If you noticed, chapters one, two, and three should be one chapter and this one should've been merged with chapter four. That was my mistake which cannot be fixed and I apologize for that. Another thing is that writing like this requires plenty of time, since I need to write two, three chapters and merge them. Combined with classes and studying, it took me long time to post this. Should I apologize for this?
Plenty of people complained about dialogue. Every time I write dialogue, I die a little inside. But I'll gladly die for this. But yeah, I started working on it.
Some mistakes may have passed my "keen" eye. I've reread this chapter so many times I can't see a thing. Please don't bear a grudge against me for that.
As for Gintoki's age – this is a matter of constant debates and my theory is that he was actually thirteen when he enlisted the army. He was still a child when Shouyou was taken, so I think that he went to war as soon as possible. His current age (in the fic) is based on the theory that he is around 28 in the anime, which would make him around 18 at the time he left the war.
Oh well, that's all I can think of for now. Thank you for reading, I really love you all.
Yell out
A/N: I want to thank not only God but also Jesus that my writing is pretty much coherent starting Chapter 4. ^^
With this, the heavy editing is done, and I can focus solely on writing Chapter 06. There will be couple of new characters who are introduced, and maybe even cameo or whatnot. ^^
The thing with creating a story like this is that it gives a lot of opportunities for bunch of OCs, but I seriously want to include other characters from Gintama. In the end, it will probably be a mix of both ^^