Chapter Text
The seamstress ran her tape measure around his body as a servant started jotting down everything while she measured the lengths of his arms, legs... the circumference of his chest and his face. He made a face as he grew tired of standing straight.
"Chii-chan, is this really necessary? How long must I do this now?"
A soft chuckle answered him instead. "It's fine now, young master. You can sit down..." said the seamstress as he immediately jumped on a nearby cushion to sit down.
"——-sama! You shouldn't behave so improperly! You have to sit down gently and thank the seamstress with grace," another... much older woman started to scold him as she sent a servant to escort the seamstress out.
'Chii-chan' sat down beside him as he pouted at her.
"Why must I go through all of this trouble? Can't they just take one of my old robes to use as a reference instead?"
"No, we can't do that, young Master ——! The Genpuku ceremony wasn't just any special ceremony where we could take any of the preparation lightly. Also, considering the young master was still growing, we need to make sure that the new robe will fit you just right—!"
"Yea... yea... I get it, Chii-chan..." he said as he ran out to play outside...
...but then suddenly he found himself standing in the middle of a battlefield as warriors continued to fight all around him. He saw a long sword lying abandoned on the ground before picking it up to protect himself. A fiendish chuckle greeted him as he looked up to see an assassin walking up towards him.
"This is no place for children—!" exclaimed the man as the assassin swung the sword they're holding to try to cut him down. He immediately used the sword he picked up earlier to defend himself...
He staggered in his steps as the weight of the sword was a bit heavier than what he used to practice with—not to mention it was longer than what he usually practised with. His mind raced as he frantically tried to figure out what to do while evading the weapon that was heading towards him.
But then another thought crossed his mind as he decided to trust his instincts and break through his obstacles. So since he couldn't swing the heavy sword by his own strength alone, he should make use of his surroundings and gravity to add weight to his attack. So if his arm's strengths were not enough for him to do the deed, he should make use of his whole body to make it work!
He held out the sword in front of him as he cautiously unsheathed the sword. But since the sword was almost as long as his own height and his short arms could only do much to be able to pull the sword out fully, he let out a burst of energy to push the hilt out while he jumped and twisted his body around to free the sword from the hilt. The effort was a success as the hilt flew out to hit the assassin on the head!
The assassin made another move to cut him down again as he jumped into the air to launch his assault. And since he hadn't stopped moving around while carrying the sword, gradually, he stopped being aware of how heavy that sword initially was. So that's how, as he twisted his body around towards the assassin, he managed to run his blade through the man and killing them.
Yet, before he could even rejoice at accomplishing his first kill, he could sense another blade trying to cut him from behind—!
×××
Gintoki woke up with a start before even his alarm clock could ring. The sudden jolt made his head hurt as he hurriedly turned the alarm off when the clock actually rang.
He started massaging his head to try to ease the pain.
Gintoki scratched his head in confusion. What was it that he dreamed about earlier? Unlike the usual nightmares that he used to have, he couldn't remember anything from the dream, yet his heart still raced as if he'd just finished running a marathon around Kabuki-cho.
"Aah... whatever..." he muttered to himself as he got up to head to the bathroom. Since he was already awake, he might as well get ready for the job they needed to do today...
A hand started waving in front of his face as Gintoki turned to see Kagura and Shinpachi looking at him worriedly.
"Are you really feeling well, Gin-chan?" asked Kagura as he just shrugged at her.
"What're you talking about, Kagura? I'm perfectly fine!"
Shinpachi started shaking his head as he grabbed the hammer that Gintoki was holding and forced him to sit down. "I don't think so, you really looked so pale... you should head back, Gin-san."
The boy just shrugged at him as he cocked his head at Kagura. "Don't worry about this work, the two of us should be able to finish this job by ourselves!"
Gintoki started getting up again. "What do you mean, I can work just—!" he started to say before he ended up falling back again. The headache that kept pulsing at the back of his head started rearing its ugly head again.
He looked up to see the kids giving him the I-told-you-so looks. Honestly, since when were these kids so concerned about his health? It wasn't as if they hadn't seen him get to work while still having a hangover before—to which, in his defence, he hadn't gone drinking last night. It's just... for some odd reason, his head started aching all morning for no reason.
"How many times should I tell you guys that I'm fine—"
"What do you mean you're fine, Gin-san? You looked sickly! You should go back and rest!" Shinpachi scolded him again as Gintoki frowned at the tone of the voice.
"I knew that something was wrong with you. It's not normal for you to wake up so early in the morning!" added Kagura.
Gintoki was about to argue again before Kagura ordered Sadaharu to take him home, so before he knew it, he found himself being carried away by the inugami back to their office.
×××
"So that's what happened..." he said as Gintoki finished explaining to Otose the reason why he ended up returning so early from the job that he was supposed to do.
Otose passed a glass of water to him before giving him a pill for his headache, as Gintoki dunked it right away.
"I see that the kids had better sense than you. Get out of here and sleep this headache of yours off already!"
Gintoki rolled his eyes at the old woman. "Yeah, yeah, I get it... I'll stay out of your hair for the rest of the day then, Granny." As he walked out of the shop, Gintoki accidentally bumped into an old man, as he quickly excused himself.
"Aah, don't mind me..." said the old man as Gintoki headed off towards the staircase and up towards his place. Little did he notice that the old man kept a long, curious look at him before entering Otose's snack shop.
×××
Old man Watanabe walked into the shop as he was greeted by a friendly female robot and a thug-looking cat-woman. He decided to take a seat in front of the counter instead, as an old woman served him sake and some snacks too. He thanked the old woman as he prepared to eat his food.
The old woman eyed him curiously.
"Haven't seen you around here before. Are you new to this district?"
Watanabe gave her a look of surprise before smiling. "I heard that people around this district had their unique relationship and were quite close-knit. I guess the rumours were true." He laughed. "Yes, I wasn't from here. It's the first time I have come to Edo after so many long years serving my ladyship in the countryside."
Otose nodded slowly in understanding. "I see. And what's the occasion for your visit here... or are you curious about the people here who have been involved in quite a ruckus lately with the Amanto?"
Watanabe chuckled as the old woman read him accurately. "Yes, indeed... I was curious. I've heard about the big incident that happened here two years ago... as well as the one that happened quite recently. I suppose you could say... that I grew curious of the kind of people here who protected this country—no, this planet—all these times."
Otose chuckled. "It looked like you've travelled from very far from here. That was some dedication... for you to come here to satisfy your curiosity like this."
Watanabe just shrugged. "I have my reasons... and after so long protecting my master's family in seclusion, I grew curious about the world that has been changing since I last got involved with it. Though you might say that it was foolish of me to only start becoming curious about it so late right now."
Otose started lighting up her cigarette before taking a small sip from her side. "I wouldn't blame you, to be fair. It was understandable for anyone to want to stay away from the matters of this world after everything that happened to this country these past few decades."
She sighed. "So tell me, what was it that you came here for?"
Watanabe let out a chuckle. "It was mostly a personal matter that I've decided to take care of now. But then, after coming here... I got curious about the events that happened in Edo while the rest of the nation was left clueless about it."
He glanced up towards the old woman before shrugging at her. "That said, the silver-haired young man who came out of this place just now... can you tell me more about that boy?"
Otose snorted at him as she poured him another cup of sake.
"You really chose quite a celebrity to be deeply curious about. Then again, since the boy was indeed the main star who was involved in many of the big events that happened here, I wasn't truly surprised." She let out a long sigh. "Though, to be fair, aside from the fact that the boy was quite a good fighter, there wasn't much use for him every other day. Until now, that boy and his kids barely earned enough to keep up with their rental payment."
Watanabe snorted as he took a sip of his sake. "That kid must've been someone special, regardless, for you to speak so fondly of him."
"Hah! Indeed..." chortled the old woman as Otose gave a brief glance towards the ceiling. "That kid was like a grandson I never thought I'd end up having to take care of. Or be fond of... in any case."
"Hmm..." mused Watanabe. "I'd like to get to know more about that kid. Somehow... that boy reminded me of an old friend whom I missed for a very long time."