"Oh, good news Gin-san, Mom found some clothes for you to change into, should help you change out of your old clothes, see if you like them!"
"Wha? Alright, that's good to hear kid. I'll be out in a few minutes."
"Ok Gin-san! I'll put it outside your room!"
Several moons had passed since Gintoki was taken to Yoshiwara in dire straits, but he managed to get back on his feet and recover from his bedridden condition. He managed to have the luxury of hot baths, something he hadn't had in some time, and reminded himself to thank Hinowa for it.
To his pleasant surprise he was even allocated his own room, though he was thoroughly unamused since it was situated next to Tsukuyo's.
He sat basking in the warmth of his hot bath, contemplating whether it was a deliberate matchmaking ploy from Hinowa, and made a special note in his head to talk to her about it, even if it would mean she would deflect his accusations with her poker face smile. After all, she did seem the type to hide something behind her peaceful exterior, even if her intentions weren't malicious in nature.
The private time in the bath also gave him time to reflect on everything that happened since he was taken in. On the one hand he was more than thankful for the hospitality, yet he felt something gnawing away at him. He felt as if he was taking advantage of their kindness like a freeloader, especially Tsukuyo and Hinowa.
It also gave him time to reflect on everything that happened before that.
Four years of wasting away in jail after the failed effort he and his comrades undertook to save their teacher as the last remnants of the Jouishishi. He went in with everything and came out the other side with nothing but blood, sweat, tears and their teacher's severed head.
The only solace he had were three friends, but even then they went their separate ways. He doesn't even know if they are still alive.
He was beginning to wonder if he really deserved a second chance, or the right to live at all, especially after his catastrophic failure to look after the students on behalf of his Sensei.
But Tsukuyo's intervention surely had to mean something. And he made a vow to protect her, so he may as well keep going to see the future that lay ahead for him.
And it starts by leaving the bath to dry himself off and pick up his new clothing.
"Uh...this is definitely uh...interesting."
"Well Gin-san? Are you ok with the clothes?"
Hinowa glanced up and down Gintoki's freshly made new attire downstairs in the tea shop: a yukata coloured in white and blue with ornate patterns all over it. To say she looked pleased was an understatement. In fact she found him quite dashing, and he was already a good looking man by her standards.
"I appreciate your kindness in giving me new clothes but I look like a freaking pimp in this. I'm gonna stick out like a sore thumb on the streets!" He cried, lamenting at how unsuited he was in the extravagant looking yukata. He felt out of his depth, like the time he walked off a cliff whilst playing a 'hit the watermelon' game as a child and couldn't swim to get out.
"Oh? Maybe we can try some other clothes that might be to your liking?" Hinowa politely offered, slightly disappointed that Gintoki didn't warm up to what she picked for him.
Gintoki waved his hands hurriedly and shook his head, doing his best to not offend or upset Hinowa despite openly lambasting his clothes in front of her just then. "No it's fine, it will be ok for now. But I'd rather go up and look for some clothes if that's ok..."
"That's a great idea actually! Should I come with-"
"Mom, I think it's better if Gin-san can choose. He's not a kid like me you know." Seita interrupted much to Gintoki's relief, giving the young boy a slight nod in appreciation.
"Oh...I see. That is true Seita." Hinowa reluctantly said whilst maintaining her smile. Gintoki could tell from her tone however that she was a little disheartened, but he needed the privacy to go off and get clothes that suited him properly.
His face suddenly dropped and he palmed his face when he realised something.
"Oh right...I don't have any money to buy anything with."
Hinowa perked up slightly at hearing this. "Not to worry Gin-san, you can borrow some of our money to buy your clothes. No need to pay us back."
Gintoki had to blink twice at what he just heard. As if she was really going to do that.
"Wha-no! l'll pay it back, don't worry."
"Please Gin-san, it's fine. I insist.
"Argh...you're too nice Hinowa...way too nice."
"Hmm...this one looks crap, and this one has long sleeves."
With a wad of cash in the yukata pockets Gintoki scoured the shops below and above the surface for any clothes that looked remotely interesting. The clothing shops in Yoshiwara were an immediate turn off, probably because of how ridiculously intricate the clothes were, which didn't appeal one bit. Even in the more lavish department stores in the city centre none of the clothes were to Gintoki's taste. They were either too generic for an interesting main character like himself or they were too high end, which was a severe eyesore for his lax fashion sense.
"I guess I could wear this when I have nothing else to wear..." He mumbled as he idly walked past the overly dressed mannequins.
A blue haori and kimono set, a black haori and purple/green butterfly patterned yukata...none of them suited his taste. One looked too plain and the other was too extravagant, too edgy looking for what he wanted. He preferred something that looked cool but relaxing.
He was contemplating leaving the store and giving up for the day when something caught his eye: a set consisting of a white yukata with blue swirl patterns at the bottom and end of the sleeves, a black red-lined shirt with a propped up collar and black pants and boots to finish.
Now that is my sort of type.
He walked up to the mannequin and put a hand to his chin thoughtfully, circling around it as he inspected the outfit from all sides. He was so interested in it that he didn't notice a spectacled teenager stand behind him.
"Excuse me sir, but are you interested in this? It's the school jersey uniforms for the Zunborans."
"Whoa hey! Is it normal to scare people like that...?" Gintoki yelped in surprise. He gave the teen a quick glance over. He seemed to be in a uniform that matched the other staff around the store: so ordinary and bland that they could blend into the environment like they were normal customers. And his name tag said Shimura.
"Oh...uh yeah. I wanna try it on if that's ok." He said a little awkwardly.
Shimura gave a faint puzzled eyebrow at Gintoki, unsure as to why he would be interested in an Amanto school gym uniform. But in the spirit of professionalism he didn't question it further.
"Of course sir, the fitting rooms are just over there." He politely said, pointing over to a sign in bold letters towards the back of the store. Gintoki nodded his head slightly in gratitude and made his way over.
It wasn't long before he heard a small ruckus coming from the front. Gintoki could hear shouting from the front, something about a stalker being thrown out for following a girl. He briefly overheard shouts of 'Otae san' before it was drowned out by the sound of a very angry Shimura, who had dashed straight to the front and gave the alleged stalker a kicking before a female colleague grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and tossed him out. Despite the unusual circumstances, she seemed very casual about it all, as if it was a daily occurrence.
Nonetheless he simply shrugged his shoulders at the commotion and took the set to the fitting room for a try. After all, it was none of his business.
To say that he was more than happy with it was an understatement. It was one thing for the set to fit like a glove, it was another when he found himself striking several, interesting poses like he was an amateur fashion model.
He felt weirdly emboldened with his outfit. It didn't feel particularly exotic but it wasn't a beige look either. And it was comfortable to wear too. It was perfect.
"Hmm, this does fit."
"Yo. I'm surprised your type of business is still going now that swords are banned."
"We all have to make a living somehow sir. And it's only beneficial when your business is allowed to stay open because the Shinsengumi and other noble families need the swords to do their work. So I guess I can be thankful for that...anyways, I'm Tetsuko, how can I help?"
Gintoki was already wearing his desired outfit after paying a somewhat hefty amount of money for five sets of the same outfit. He felt like he could wear it anywhere, even in a place that might get it dirtied like the swordsmith workshop he was in. Fortunately for him, the workshop he was in was a relatively clean one and very proficient too, which is to be expected when it was owned by the Murata family who were renowned as one of the famous swordsmith families in Edo, largely in part to Murata Jintetsu.
He was a little surprised to see a woman at the front of the workshop though. A young woman with teal hair in orange overalls wearing goggles.
"I don't suppose you still do wooden swords do ya?" He casually asked whilst picking his nose, much to the woman's slight amusement.
"Wooden sword? You training or something? Why not just get a normal sword, isn't that why you come to a swordsmith?" Tetsuko bluntly asked.
"Well yeah...I don't wanna go around completely empty handed and defenceless. But I don't feel like holding a proper sword either. Gives me bad memories..." He said in a slightly more solemn tone.
The lady gave a long look at his face, taking note of his deadpan expression and his half open eyes. "I'm guessing you're samurai, or at least, used to be samurai."
"How did you guess that? I'm surprised you managed to catch on." Gintoki sarcastically remarked.
The lady shifted her goggles up and looked to the side a little awkwardly from Gintoki's harsh comment. "Sorry...you wanted a wooden sword was it? I should have a couple of them somewhere, but they're just that. Wooden swords. I don't know why you would want that over a real sword." Tetsuko said again.
Judging from his increasingly disgruntled face like he was about to leave, she swiftly changed the subject. "But we do have one that's a little different from the rest, I could get that for you."
"Sure, I'd like to look at that. I have a little money left over anyway." He said monotonously, relieved that he didn't have to reiterate his statement.
It didn't take long for Tetsuko to rummage in the back for the wooden sword, and once it was presented to him, it was about as ordinary as one could expect.
"Apparently this can break through solid steel and rocks. Just about anything really. If you use it properly." She noted.
"The way you present it is like a super duper special anime sword from another planet. It's just a wooden sword." Gintoki remarked, thoroughly unimpressed with the result. Then again he wasn't expecting much, especially from something like that.
"Still, a sword is a sword, even if it's wooden. And any sword can be dangerous if you know how to use it properly." Tetsuko reminded him, like she was betting on the wooden sword's supposedly mythic qualities. "So do you want it? You wanted a substitute for a real-"
"Yeah yeah fine, I'll have it. It's better than going empty handed when I get jumped..." Gintoki finally accepted in a rather irritated voice, though it quickly changed when he suddenly perked up for a moment. "Wait."
"What is it?"
"Can you inscribe it at all?"
"I can do it with metal, but wood is a little different. Still, I can try."
"Alright. Mind if you put 'Lake Toya' on it?"
"Sure thing, you'll have to wait around a little bit though. But I'll have it ready by sunset."
"Hmm, that's certainly a more fitting attire Gin-san. But are you not worried about heat exhaustion by wearing that? There's a lot more clothing than usual, so you're going to be quite hot in that. Especially now that it's summer season." Hinowa warned with her usual smile as she admired Gintoki's new clothing of choice.
"I'll be fine. I feel more comfortable wearing it anyway. And I have five sets of spares so I don't have to bother you by asking to borrow some clothes." He mumbled, already wearing only one sleeve as the other drooped below his obi. "I can take off the yukata when I want to anyway cos I have a shirt on, so I don't look like I'm streaking when I'm out."
Hinowa hummed at his answer as she poured him a drink. They were sitting in Hinowa's tea shop as the sun was beginning to go down. She noticed him glance down at his new sword. True to Tetsuko's word, the wooden sword was indeed presented to Gintoki with the inscription he requested before sunset.
She didn't need to ask what he was to know about him. And yet he looked strangely muted, even unhappy. Normally most other samurai would rejoice at being able to at least hold anything that resembled a sword.
"Gin-san? Is something wrong?" She inquired delicately as he took a sip from his cup.
"Nah. Just afraid of what she might make me do." He casually replied, much to Hinowa's amusement, though it was more so from his attempt to hide his disgruntled demeanour than pure entertainment. Nonetheless, she thought it best not to question him on it for the time being.
"Try not to worry Gin-san, I'm sure she won't push you to your limit, especially you're just starting." She calmly reassured him.
"Oh really? She's more like the demon cop lady from hell with a stick up her ass. Or some hot teacher who could kill you with a glare." He remarked whilst taking another sip, which prompted a light giggle from the raven haired courtesan.
"I wouldn't go that far, but she is indeed disciplin-did I hear what I think you just said?" She suddenly perked up, staring at Gintoki's unamused face as he tried to compute why Hinowa was so excited.
"What?" He said forcefully with an irritated look.
"You said she was 'hot', am I correct?" She inquired, her smile seeming much more sinister in his eyes despite it not changing.
Gintoki felt the hairs on his arms stand up as he tried to muster up an excuse. "Wha-don't be stupid, I didn't actually mean that!" He hissed defensively. "You're totally a matchmaker! Your face says it all! You can't fool me with that damn smile!"
"Are you sure? You sounded as if you were quite sincere with that comment." Hinowa continued, her never ending smile now becoming increasingly intimidating for Gintoki to look at.
"Oi oi you're starting to freak me out...seriously..." He stuttered.
"But you haven't answered the question yet. I just want you to clarify what you said." She replied, maintaining her calm and collected demeanour.
"Clarify what?" Came a distinct accent from outside the shop, with the sound of clicking heels and smoke being softly blown out following soon after. Gintoki's heart sunk as he nervously bit his bottom lip. Just his luck to have the woman they were discussing waltz right in at the most inconvenient time.
She was also wearing a notably different outfit this time. A black kimono decorated with autumn leave patterns and missing a right sleeve, instead replaced with a detachable one. It also had a notable slit that exposed her right leg, and she was wearing the same fishnets and boots that he saw previously. Finally, her hair which reached her lower back was worn in a high ponytail with two miniature kunai nesting in the centre of it. It certainly caught his eye.
"Oh, Tsukuyo! I just wanted to know what Gin-san said about you. Apparently he said you were 'hot'." Hinowa merrily reported. Gintoki grumbled quite a bit as he leaned his head down so no one could see his face.
"Hinowa, a lot of men say that, and they don't actually mean it. He's no exception. As if I'd get together with him anyway." She casually drawled.
It gave Gintoki the opportunity for a way out as he lifted his head up to look at the two ladies. "See?! Thank you. There's your answer Hinowa. Besides that was out of context!" He sighed exasperatedly. To his annoyance Hinowa looked as though she wasn't giving up as she playfully a finger to her chin as though she was contemplating something.
"That's strange, because I was almost convinced that you meant it as a sincere comment. And given a little time even two opposites can become attracted..." She said with a coy smile.
Gintoki looked up at Tsukuyo before giving Hinowa the side eye, very much disturbed by her insistence on his feelings. "Is she always like this?" He asked irritably.
"Sometimes. Take it with a pinch of salt though." She casually replied as she blew out a cloud of smoke, giving him a quick glance over in his new attire. "Ya look a lot better in that compared to those hobo clothes ya were in a few days ago."
"Totally. Needed the change of clothes like crazy." He agreed as he took another sip, his eyes wondering over to Hinowa yet again, this time with a devious grin as she looked at the two.
"What now Hinowa? Why are ya looking at us like that?" Tsukuyo asked. Seems she also noticed it too.
"Nothing, I'm just noting how similar Gin-san's fashion sense is to yours." She nonchalantly replied. It didn't exactly lower suspicion as Gintoki and Tsukuyo stared at her with sceptical eyes.
"Aaaanyway...I didn't come over to talk about making connections or whatever the hell y'all were talking about." She said, changing the subject effortlessly as she looked at him more seriously.
"Gintoki. Ya on ya first shift with me and the Hyakka tonight."