Looking at my outfit one last time, i went out of the room. "Nee-san, you're gonna be late! What are you even doing?" Kiriko rushed towards me and handed the gifts. There was the cake I made, alcohol for the birthday and a kimono paired with matching earrings that i thought would suit her. I hope these aren't too much.. "Are you regretting now? Nee-san, snap out of it! These gifts are perfect! She'll love it!" Miriko said and then opened the front door. "Ah kids, thanks for taking care of the shop again. I'll bring you your favourite snacks later" saying that i went out of the restaurant.
"Hanae-dono! Hanae-dono!" i heard loud whispers as i walked up to the front gate. "Tojo-san..?" i narrowed my eyes at the guy wearing a misleading mask. "Hurry! Over here! It'll be a problem if you enter through the front door right now!" "What do you mean?" i asked following him. "The celebration of little master's birthday was a surprise I planned in secret. Though the young master is out training, we should be careful and enter through the backdoor" he said before taking out something. "Oh i see. I can already imagine what she would respond to this" i chuckled soon before my smile disappeared at the books he were holding. "These are the programs for today's event so please flip- D-Don't stare me like you're gonna kill me! I just wanted everything to go according to my plan!" his frightened face along with his devotion to Kyubei made me sigh.
The door opened and i noticed a lot of people, famous people to be exact. "The other's are already here. You can go join them. I'll go get the young master now" saying that he rushed out of the room. I looked around before spotting my group of people. The other's are looking at them weirdly. Why? "What's wrong? Why do you look so worn out, Shinpachi?" i asked patting the boy's head. "Neesan! You're finally here! Please help me. These old men are going to ruin Kyubei-san's birthday party" he gripped onto my clothing. "What are you talking about?" i sat beside him which was the other side of Gintoki "They aren't gonna do anything of that sort, isn't that right?" i smiling-ly glared at the men in front of me, the ones with whom we went to Ryuuguujou. Sweat dripped from their head as they replied 'yes' in unision. "Anyways, where's Kagura?" i asked Gintoki. Instead of answering me, he pointed towards the buffet with his trembling finger. Is she getting her food or wh- "What is that? Why is there a tent?" people murmured around us. Seriously though, what's with the tent? And to answer my question, the tent was zipped open revealing a certain vermilion haired girl. Before i could even get up, Shinpachi beat me to it and kicked Kagura on the face. O-Oh..
"Hello birthday guests, sorry for the long wait. The birthday girl has finally arrived" the host whispered into the microphone pointing towards the front door. As soon as the door opened, everyone popped the party poppers and congratulated Kyubei. "We're supposed to sing now" Shinpachi said showing us the book. Oh yeah, it's a western tradition that we all were infected with. A sweet tune began playing and we opened our mouth to sing. Oh shi- Gintoki and I were too slow to grab Shinpachi's mouth. His loud and ear piercing chant made me grab onto my ears for dear life. "Eh? What happened? Why are you all looking at me like that?" the innocent pachi-boy questioned us after finishing his singing. "What was that? That was wretched. Honestly, what was he thinking?" poeple again murmured around us. "You-" i immediately held Gintoki back knowing full well that he was about to hit Shinpachi. "Why are you all- hIS EYES! Tojo-san's usual slit eyes are wide open! Staring over here without even blinking" Shinpachi shouted. "Who's fault do you think it is?" Gintoki spat.
Next was giving Kyubei flowers. According to Tojo's book, there were bouquets of flowers already kept under the table so only the representatives of each table would come in front and give her flowers. Very detailed, Tojo-san. "Alright, as a leader of the group, i should go" Katsura announced before grabbing the bouquet from under the table. "What are you saying, Zura? Don't you always called me leader? So a leader's leader is the real leader" Kagura took the bouquet from his hands. "You two, now's not the time for this. As the oldest person here, i should go and give it" Hasegawa-san grabbed the bouquet from her. Oh boy i facepalmed seeing the three of them fighting over the bouquet of flowers. But eventually Kagura won caz she was merciless and then walked over to Kyubei with the bouquet. There was a single flower, a flower which went through a lot of hardships in life and was now on the verge of suicide. "Oh my, what is this? Some type of harassment? What is wrong with that group?" people again murmured around us causing me to sink into my seat. "Gin-san! This is bad! Tojo-san's eyes are shooting beams!" Shinpachi shouted shaking him and me.
"This is the last phrase before eating. Those who wants to give Kyubei-kun presents, please come forward" the announcer said. "Sis, this is the time to redeem ourselves! Let's go!" Shinpachi said grabbing both mine and Otae's hand. "But, everyone's giving her so many expensive gifts, how can i go up the stage and give her this small cake?" Otae looked at us nervously. "It's not about the price but the feeling. She's your childhood friend right?" i smiled at her. "Hanae's right" Gintoki said showing a children's notebook. Seriously Gintoki?! "Alright, let's go" Otae said before standing up with the cake. As soon as she turned around, a person bumped into her causing the cake to fall off her hands. "Otae!" i immediately rushed to her side and helped her stand up. "That was close, moron! Poor people shouldn't be wandering around in a place where they don't belong!" the man said out loud causing me to glare at him. He took a step back before clearing his throat. "A-Anyways, serves you right" saying that he tried to walk away from us, from me actually. I took a step to grab his collar but-
"Stop" Shinpachi held that guy's shoulder. "Apologize to her" he demanded. "What's happening? A fight? They're such a nuisance" the once whispered voices were no longer whispers but clear voices. "Get lost! You don't belong here!" now the majority of them were shouting at us. "I could take all of these idiots right here right now" i pulled onto my sleeves. Katsura held my shoulders and squeezed it to calm my nerves. "I won't leave until you apologise" Shinpachi didn't let go of his grip. "I must ask that you leave. I, Tojo Ayumu, one of the four heavenly kings of Yagyu Clan will not permit any further behaviour that would besmirch the young master's honor" he said as he came towards us. "That's right! Poor people should get lost!" the people shouted. "Got it? Now get lost!" saying that the man pushed Shinpachi.
Within a millisecond, i rose Shinpachi up and was now in front of the guy, about to punch him square in the face. But someone already did the work for me from the side. "I was talking to the people insulting the young master's friends" Tojo spoke. "You bastard! How could you say that to the guests you invited?!" one of them shouted. "Guests? I don't recall inviting any of you. The only people I've invited are the young master's friends" he looked at us "the other people merely take the effort to show up every year enticed by sweet smell, i suppose" hearing Tojo's words, almost all of the guests stormed out of the room while cursing the Yagyu Clan. Shinpachi apologized to him immediately but Tojo waved his hand and said that the reason he did it was because he wanted to remove those 'bugs' by using us. "You sly fox" i elbowed his side to which he laughed like a 5 year old. "Alright, let's get this party started!" There were delicious food, tons of games, one of the popular actors in Edo named Shunnosuke Oguri and infinite number of sweet memories. "Here, drink drink" i poured glasses for all before gulping down mine. "Pour me more!" "Me too!" Gintoki and Katsura said simultaneously while laughing. "Of course! Where's the champagne tower?!"
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Thank you for reading this chapter!
Hope you enjoyed it!
Please let me know in the comments if you have any questions or anything.
