The hot weather was really beginning to settle in as the summer festival began to roll in. Gintoki was unable to wear his black shirt without sweltering under the heat and humidity so the yukata was the only thing that covered his chest, though some of the courtesans secretly made theories as to whether he had a six pack hidden behind his clothes once they spotted him with his yukata on patrol.
The only object that provided any comfort was a simple electric fan that he had picked up from a recycling shop owned by its polite, if slightly unfriendly redhead proprietress. The lady in particular casted a feeling that was oddly similar to Tsukuyo, but it was probably down to her attitude rather than her looks. Nonetheless, the fan was a lifesaver in the heat. He could actually read in relative comfort without having to fidget constantly for the coldest spot on the floor.
"Gin-san? Mom asked if you've got your clothes ready yet! We're leaving in a few minutes!" Seita called out from outside his room.
"Huh? Uh, yeah I got em!" Gintoki replied, his voice reverberating in front of the fan as he laid in front of it while reading his JUMP issue.
"Ok!" Seita said before his shadow disappeared from the door. Once the sound of his small footsteps faded, Gintoki closed his eyes and bit his bottom lip seemingly in frustration.
Oh. I almost forgot about that.
He couldn't be bothered to get changed. He didn't want to. He had five other sets of the same outfit, and the only other one that was mildly different was the exotic, yet garish yukata that Hinowa asked him to try on when he first settled in. Still, it was probably worth putting on something different. Besides, people wouldn't really care about what he wore, at least that is what he was hoping.
He stood up and walked over to check on his wardrobe, seeing his identical outfits and then the lone, perfectly crisp ornate yukata Hinowa had given him hung up in the far corner.
"Thank god I'm only wearing this once."
It didn't take too long to wear the yukata, but he was just as revolted as he was the first time he wore it. The chequered patterns and the diamonds on the sleeves in particular were his biggest grievances. It looked tacky and overblown. Totally not his style. Still, it was only for one night, so he would have to suck it up and hope people would not gape at him.
The yukata was the least of his worries though. The crescent moon hairpin he had purchased earlier had been occupying his thoughts every second, fretting over whether he made the right decision. Would Tsukuyo like it? How would she react? It just wouldn't leave him alone.
Taking it out of his pocket for another look wasn't helping things either, yet there was a strange quality to it that kept his eyes glued to it. He didn't notice someone slip into his room without his permission.
"Gintoki? We're all done and ready to go, how about ya?"
The sudden intrusion prompted a panicked concealment as he turned around. "Hey-oh. It's you..."
His eyes stay fixed at the person at his doorway, entranced by who stood in front of him. His mouth was slightly ajar like he wanted to say something, but no words left his tongue. Silence hung over the two of them as they stared at each other's new clothes.
"I'd prefer if you knocked instead of slipping in." Gintoki said halfheartedly.
"S-stop staring ya beast...!" Tsukuyo exclaimed with a light flush.
"Yeah? Well not with...whatever the hell you're wearing." He said as he looked away and scratched his neck in a not so subtle attempt to hide his own flush.
Tsukuyo had also dressed up for the occasion, wearing a kimono that was a distinct contrast to what she normally wore: coloured white with faint shades of lavender and patterned with purple flowers. Her hair was also tied up a little with a bun, complete with two mini kunais nested while the rest of it flowed to her lower back. It left Gintoki in the fine balance between blushing out of admiration for her new look and hiding his present that he was eying up earlier.
"Ahem...how is it Gintoki? Does it look alright?" She timidly asked as she put her hands behind her back and turned her head slightly. The gesture almost made him splutter. It was like a critical hit to his heart.
"Uh...yeah, cool. You look great in that." He awkwardly said. "Since when did you get so girly all of a sudden?"
The off handed comment was usually enough to force her hand, but Tsukuyo's mind was preoccupied with her looks, which was strangely out of character considering her cold blooded persona. And yet Gintoki found it all the more endearing seeing this side of her. His eyes eventually softened up as he gazed at her, forming a faint but sincere smile. To say she looked stunning was an understatement.
"I-it was Hinowa's idea...not mine." She quietly said, unable to hide a sheepish grin as she felt her face shamelessly burn up.
"Really now? Then why did you go along with it? Unless you actually wanted to do it..." He scoffed.
Tsukuyo pouted slightly, looking a little upset at Gintoki's remark, but she couldn't find the words to retort with. She was expecting another mocking comment from him now that she couldn't explain herself, but instead she got something that she wasn't expecting at all.
"You look beautiful."
There was no sign of mockery in his tone whatsoever, but full sincerity. She lifted a sleeve to hide the corner of her mouth as her face burned brighter still, not sure how to react. "S-stop it Gintoki...it's really not that great."
Her eyes were now struggling to look him directly in the face now that he had said what he said. Every time she tried, his stupid, smiling face was there staring back at her. It was odd. She could look him in the eyes with fierce passion when they went on patrol, yet she couldn't handle a fashion evaluation?
Gintoki took a few steps closer to her in the midst of her fretting, which only made it worse when she looked up again. A squeak escaped her throat as she felt his long gaze.
"You've gone awfully quiet. And your face is pretty red too." He said with a hint of concern as he folded his arms. This wasn't good. Anymore and she'd probably shrink from the embarrassment. She needed to break the ice.
"I-it's nothing...I was just wondering how nice ya looked..." She replied. Her inner thoughts couldn't believe what she just said. She found him attractive in that? That wasn't the sentence she wanted to say, but she did it anyway. She wanted to kick herself for saying such a dumb thing, but she couldn't help it.
Unexpectedly it took Gintoki off guard as he put his hand behind to scratch his neck and pulled a sheepish look. "Really...? I can't stand this thing. It's tacky and it's crap to look at..."
"It's only for one night Gintoki, so don't worry about it too much. Besides, I think ya look quite hand...some..." Her voice trailed off. She did it again. She wanted to say he looked ok, but handsome? Why was she being compelled to say something like that? She wanted to burn up again after saying that.
"Eh? Sorry, I didn't catch that."
"I said ya looked ok..." She said a little more clearly, her eyes darting left and right to avoid eye contact, hoping that Gintoki didn't catch on to her slip of the tongue. The way her chest was rising and falling faster than usual, combined with her beet red face raised an eyebrow and a tad bit of suspicion.
"You're not ill or anything are you?" Gintoki asked.
"Huh? No I'm not-"
Tsukuyo froze up on the spot. His palm was resting on her forehead before sliding down to her cheek, and finally her chest. Gintoki had a puzzled look on his face. She said she was ill but her face was red hot and her heartbeat was thumping at an abnormal pace. Her eyes were dilated. If he kept his hand there any longer her pupils would start swirling around out of dizziness.
"You're definitely ill cos this ain't normal. Maybe you're nervous? Yeah you're definitely nervous." He evaluated. She was begging on the inside for him to take his hand away. And yet a small part of her had a different feeling. She wanted him to hold it there for a little while longer. Enough to feel the comfort of his hand gently caressing her skin.
"Can ya...keep it there for a bit longer?" She murmured, holding his palm to her chest like she wanted him to feel her pulse. Gintoki had to blink a few times from being confused and flustered, but went along with it.
The thumping gradually began to subside, but the vibrant colour on her face still remained. She gently closed her eyes and sighed comfortably, almost in a trance before guiding his hand up to her warm cheek. Without thinking she moved even closer, gently placing a hand on his shoulder and resting her head against his neck. Even Gintoki was finding it difficult not to put his arms around her now that she had gotten this close to him.
"You're acting really strange today...you sure you're not ill?" He asked.
"Positive..." She dreamily replied.
"If you say so." He couldn't help but smile sheepishly as he gently placed his arms around her, delicately running a hand through her hair as she hummed in quiet comfort. There was a warm, cosy feeling bubbling away in his body that he couldn't quite figure out, but he had a solid belief that Tsukuyo was the reason behind it. And he welcomed it all the same. He could get used to this. If anything, it made the idea of going to the festival a bit more tolerable now.
"It's your fault for making me like this..." She whispered to herself.
"Gin-san? Are you ready-"
They both froze at the all too familiar voice right outside the door.
Shit. I forgot to close the door.
Tsukuyo could already feel a smile staring through her back while Gintoki simply stared back like a deer caught in the headlights. It was like the two had done something very wrong, and it happened to be the case, but the outcome was different. Instead of a punishment, there was something much worse.
"I'm sorry, did I interrupt something here?" Hinowa politely asked with a mischievous grin, covering Seita's eyes much to his annoyance ("Mom, I can't see!").
The two quickly released from their embrace as their eyes looked between the floor and the sides, not daring to make eye contact with each other or the cheeky matchmaker/friend. No amount of excuses or reasons could hide their blooming red faces.
"It's not what it looks like. Trust me." Gintoki pleaded, very much at Hinowa's mercy.
"Of course I won't." She chuckled, although neither Gintoki or Tsukuyo were willing to trust her on that.
"Now then, I think everyone's ready. Shall we be off then?"