XXII
"GIN-san, look!"
"What is it?" Gintoki asked as he walked back to where the younger two members of the Yorozuya were standing. The three of them were out on a night stroll around Kabuku-chou and Gintoki was getting more and more sleepy as the seconds passed by. He was actually leaning more and more towards the thought of ditching the two then and there so that he could sleep.
"Fireworks!" Kagura happily beamed as she pointed at the sky. On cue, a loud boom echoed in the air and the signature lights and form of fireworks lit up the night sky. Looking bored as usual, Gintoki blinked.
"What's so good about fireworks?" he asked while scratching his head.
"They're nice to look at!" Kagura huffed. "I wish Shizu-nee was here to see this. She said that she loves fireworks. She said that it makes her happy."
Gintoki blinked again.
"Look, fireworks!"
"Aside from the reason that they look good, Shizuku, why the hell, would you like watching fireworks? They're annoying. Not to mention, they're loud. They disrupt my sleep and I don't like it."
"You literally don't like anything, Gin-san. And don't be like that! Besides, whenever there's fireworks around, I know that people are celebrating something nice."
"What if someone lights up fireworks in a funeral, what would you say about that?"
"As if someone will do that."
"You'll never know, Shizuku. You'll never know. There are more messed up people than me out there."
"Oh, shut up. All I know is that whenever there's fireworks around, there are people who are happy. That makes me happy, too!"
Gintoki scoffed as he watched the fireworks explode in the sky.
But Kagura was right; though Shizuku loves watching fireworks.
Beside Gintoki, other people were also gathering to watch the light display. As the crown slowly thickened, the white haired male's head was slowly starting to hurt. There were a few people talking around. He could hear things like, "They're testing new fireworks down the river." And "There were police officers going around so I think they're facilitating the testing."
Gintoki frowned deeply. If what he was hearing was true, he immediately knew who thos police officers were. Knowing that his least favorite people were near their position, he had the sudden urge to grab Shinpachi's and Kagura's collars so they could go home. Maybe he really should've turned and left on his own, after all.
Before he could anything, though, a familiar presence stood beside him.
"Fancy seeing you here." Gintoki called to the person beside him, actually not shocked at all, but he didn't expect the person to approach him.
Especially after what happened only two chapters ago.
"Yeah, we were in the area. I'm in charge of this part." The man beside him chuckled as he ran a hand through his teal hair. "Coincidentally, we saw you here so here we are."
"'We'?"
"Hey, guys."
Gintoki, Shinpachi and Kagura suddenly looked behind them to see Shizuku standing there with a smile on her face. She shyly waved at them right before Kagura suddenly grabbed her arm and pulled her down the area, yelling something about intending to get closer to the site where they were lighting up the fireworks. Shinpachi went to follow the two girls, leaving Gintoki with Kusahara.
"Oi, Kusahara." The older called when the three teens were busy watching the fireworks display.
"What is it?" the younger male replied without looking at him.
"What did you do to Shizuku?"
Gintoki clenched his fists to prevent him from doing anything. He wasn't actually sure if Kusahara actually did something to his childhood friend to make her like how she currently is at that moment, but he couldn't actually rule out that possibility. The fact that they look so similar was enough evidence that something happened.
If he's lucky, Kusahara could spill everything to him and depending on the explanation, Gintoki wouldn't hesitate to beat him to death right then and there. He doesn't really care if he will get arrested.
All he wants is the truth and something – or someone – to punch.
It took a while for him to get a response and it was chuckle.
"I had a feeling you would ask that." Kusahara laughed as he pocketed his hands and looked at the general direction where the tees went.
"But, no, I didn't do anything to her. Although she was forced into her role, and I was dragged along with her, we did nothing. Trust me, we found it freaky, too."
"Explain, Kusahara." Gintoki said through gritted teeth, very near in raising his hand to punch the teal haired male on the face.
"Are you sure that's what you want right now?" Kusahara asked, tilting his head towards Gintoki's way.
"Are you sure that you should be spending your time asking me about me and not asking Shizuku about her?"
That question faltered Gintoki a bit, but he was quick to mask his actions. It didn't seem that Kusahara saw this. However, before he could open his mouth, Kusahara beat him to it.
"I already have an idea what you're going to say, Gintoki-san." The teal haired male said as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Shizuku already told me about what happened in the station."
"So, I was right." Gintoki said – mostly to himself – as he glanced beside him. "I was right... about everything."
"Yeah, you were right." Kusahara replied with a small smile on his face. "But about everything, I'm not so sure."
"What do you mean?"
"Let her tell you about that, herself." The younger sighed. "Although I doubt that she would tell you a lot, I convinced her to at least talk to you." He said as he looked at Shizuku up ahead. Gintoki did the same and looked at the same way.
"I can't speak for her all the time, so she's going to talk now."
As if on cue, Shizuku looked over her shoulder and met Gintoki's eyes. The younger smiled warmly before she looked back in front to say something to Shinpachi and Kagura before she started to walk back to where Gintoki and Kusahara were. She stopped in front of the white haired male and just looked up into his eyes without saying anything.
For a moment, Gintoki thought that he saw something familiar in those olive eyes. Ever since that day with the Harusame, whenever he saw Shizuku's eyes, he saw unfamiliarity and it honestly hurt him when he saw nothing when Shizuku stares back at him.
But now, he finally saw it. For the first time, Shizuku looked at him like she used to when they were young.
"Well, I'm going to go back." Kusahara's voice brought Gintoki back from his thoughts. He glanced at the younger and saw him straightening his uniform. "Hijikata-san will probably call at any minute. Okita-kun should be wondering around these parts, too, so I'll go ahead before he stabs me." He patted Shizuku's head before turning around and leaving.
"Don't cause trouble, alright? Make sure the Shinsengumi don't see you. I don't want to clean up another mess."
With that, he completely left the area.
Gintoki continued to stare at Shizuku's olive eyes, relishing the familiarity that he was seeing in its depths. The sounds of people bustling around as they watched the fireworks display got drowned out by both Shizuku and Gintoki, both their attentions solely directed at each other. Neither of them talked – Gintoki thinks that his mouth was hanging open from attempting to, thought. They stayed like that for a while before Shizuku spoke.
"Hey, Gin-san." She smiled, the same warm and gentle smile that Gintoki was used to seeing.
"It's been a long time si-,"
Firm arms wrapped around Shizuku's shoulders in an instant, cutting off her sentence as she let out a sharp gasp. Gintoki's grip on the younger tightened when Shizuku reached up to hold the taller male's sides. He held her tighter, finally releasing the bottled up emotions that he had been keeping away from everyone since the first time that he saw Shizuku inside that ship.
"It took you twenty chapters. To me, it took seven, fucking, years."
Gintoki's voice was slightly strained, like he was trying hard to talk straight. He ignored the way that his voice slightly cracked and by the sounds of it, Shizuku didn't mind, either. Because of the height difference, the older had to bend down to rest his forehead on Shizuku's shoulders, burying his face on her teal hair, squeezing the younger closer to his chest as he did so. He was aware that it was out of character for him, but he didn't care. He also knew that they were in public, but he knew that no one was paying attention to them.
He just wanted to hold Shizuku.
"So, you knew what happened to you?" he asked in a slight whisper.
"Of course, Gin-san. No one would forget something like that. Even when I was as young as I was. Don't underestimate a child."
"You remember."
There was a pause.
"I never forgot."
There was a pause again.
"If you were alive, why did you wait this long to show up?"
Shizuku sighed. "What happened to me is a lot more difficult than what you'd imagine, Gin-san." She reached up to tightly return the hug.
"How I survived everything and what I did after is a story for another day. For now, please know that I'm here and I'm the real person that grew up with you." She continued, burying her face on the older male's white hair.
"I just want my childhood friend to hold me, just like he did when we were young." She said as she tightened her grip around the older male. Gintoki didn't complain and held her tighter.
It felt nice.
They stayed like that in silence for a while until the sounds of the fireworks slowly faded, indicating that the display was ending. Gintoki was the first one to break the contact, but he still held on to Shizuku's shoulder as he looked into her eyes.
"Why did you have to lie to me like that?" he asked in a small voice. "Even Zura felt the same as me. We had a long talk about what happened but we couldn't explain anything."
"To be honest, I wanted to tell him, too." Shizuku said with a sheepish smile on her face. "I actually thought of him first, but since he's a Joui Roushi, I couldn't exactly just go up to him."
"You thought of him first? That's rude."
"Don't complain, Gin-san. I still told you first. You'll have to be the one to tell him, thought because I can't be seen with him. Nori-san would get in trouble."
Gintoki gave a small laugh and Shizuku followed him.
"You know; this is probably the only time that you lied to me." he said in a light tone with a slight curve on the corner of his mouth.
"Second." Shizuku innocently put up two fingers. "I lied to you about your missing clothes when you were fourteen. We accidentally used them to clean out juice stains on the Dojo. Though, that was your fault. You left them lying around like dirty rags on the floor."
"Wow, that was ten years ago. I'm surprised that you still remember." Gintoki replied with an amused smirk on his face.
"I told you, never underestimate a child. I memorized more than you when you were in class." Shizuku stuck out a tongue. "My memory is the best quality I have."
Gintoki scoffed. The fact that he knew Shizuku's memory is the best among them – he knows that from his childhood – is the reason why he tried to think that Shizuku isn't the same Shizuku that he grew up with. He never doubted her memory once when they were children and it never failed them. Even when the class got lost, for some goddamn reason, when they were on a trip to Kyo – Had Shizuku not been there that day, they would've ever gotten back with their teacher.
"Who the hell taught you how to lie at five years old?" Gintoki suddenly asked as he raised a brow.
"You did, Gin-san." Shizuku answered as she poked the taller male on the forehead. "I told my first ever lie to sensei, when you told me to tell him that rats took his cookies, when it was you who ate them all."
The two suddenly burst into laughter immediately after, both remembering the same thing as they slowly wrapped their arms around their stomachs. That memory is still etched in Gintoki's head – among all the other crazy things that they did when they were young – and being simply reminded of the thought made him relive through it once again.
The sounds of their laughter slowly grew. This earned them a few stares here and there, but they didn't bother to notice them as they continued to laugh. A while later, Shinpachi and Kagura came to where the other two were standing and asked why they were laughing.
"Nothing, nothing." Shizuku waved them off, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye. "We just remembered something." She said with a slight laugh.
"Well, it sounded like something." Kagura pouted, seemingly eager to know what they were laughing about.
"Just something from the past." Gintoki heard Shizuku reassure as she gently patted the younger girl's head. "It was a small prank Gin-san pulled."
"Wait, something from the past?" Shinpachi asked as he looked in between Gintoki and Shizuku. "Are you.... Did you.... What?"
"You didn't tell them?" Shizuku asked as she looked up at Gintoki, who was standing beside her with a rare smile on his face.
"I still haven't confirmed anything until a chapter ago so I didn't want to tell them anything, yet." The tall male replied with a shrug, calming down from his laughter. "But now, I can, probably."
"What are you two talking about?" Shinpachi asked as he and Kagura tilted their heads to the side. "I mean, we have read the previous chapters, but we have little information on your relationship with each other."
Shizuku chuckled softly.
"We're childhood friends." She smiled brightly as she informed the other teens. "I think I was two when I met you. And yes, I remember it."
"At around that age, yeah. You didn't even know how to properly say your name at that time. I think I practically raised you." The older replied as he placed a hand on top of Shizuku's head. "Kagura, this is literally your older sister."
"What?!" Shinpachi and Kagura screeched together. "How come you never told us?! And at two-years-old?! Who are you?! Ray from Promised Neverland?!"
"As much as I want to be compared to Ray, no, I'm not even close." Shizuku gave a small laugh. "There's a reason behind why we didn't tell you and it's completely my fault. it's not the time for that. Maybe in the next chapter, maybe in the next one after that, or maybe in the next, next one after that. But, don't worry, I'm sure the author will go through it, eventually."
Shizuku laughed when she saw Kagura and Shinpachi's expressions of shock on their face.
"Are you sure about that? Haven't you heard? The author's been slacking off. She literally wrote this mere hours before she posted it."
At the sound of a very familiar deadpanned voice from behind them, Shizuku turned around and by the sounds of it, the three mirrored her actions and turned around, also to look at the person standing behind them.
"Okita-san, hello." The teal haired girl smiled as she waved at the older male. She didn't even notice that he was there with them.
"You seem happy." Okita raised a brow, eyeing the younger and seemingly not paying attention to the others. "Earlier today, you were clearly down in the dumps. I had to drag you out of your room – not that I didn't enjoy pulling you through the gravel, though." He said as he and Kagura entered another heated glaring contest with each other.
Shizuku's face slightly reddened at the memory of Okita opening the door to her room to call for her. She had been inside her room all morning, sitting in front of her table with her head on the surface of the wooden slab, thinking of how she should break the news and information to Gintoki, when the brunet entered without knocking, calling out to her. Shizuku had been so startled that she actually yelped and jumped from her spot at the corner of the room.
Okita laughed at her before hooking his arms under her armpits and began dragging her out of her room.
Kusahara saved Shizuku and chased Okita round the station until they were scheduled to leave. That was an entertaining sight to watch, Shizuku thought to herself.
"I was not down in the dumps." The teal haired girl chuckled at the thought. "I was just thinking and you scared me! And I told you leave me out of your fantasies, Okita-san." She said with a small eyeroll.
"I'm fine, now. I just talked to Gin-san and the others." She smiled brightly at the tall, white haired male beside her. Gintoki ruffled Shizuku's hair, but he didn't say anything.
"Well, I don't really care what you talked about." Okita replied as he smacked Kagura's head with his fist. The younger retorted with a heavier punch but the older male didn't budge. "I heard nothing when I came here. Honestly, I wished that I came earlier. For all I know, I could've gotten great blackmail material."
"He's right, you know." Gintoki suddenly leaned down Shizuku's ear and whispered. "If he saw you with your hands all over me, he would've sold the pictures to the Shinsengumi and have them kill me."
"Do you really want to get killed, Gin-san?" Shizuku retorted with a raised brow. "They could actually kill you; you know. They would do it for free."
"Hey, I'm just saying." Gintoki shrugged with a sigh. "That kid's good."
"You two seriously are the same and I don't like it." Shizuku sighed.
In the background, the sounds of Kagura's yell as he fought with Okita was prominent, but amidst the yells and screams, Shizuku could still hear what Okita said that was directed to her.
"We're heading back in a while. Kondou-san sent me to get you because that cousin of yours is busy with escorting the civilians and the others out. That bastard, Hijikata, is here, too, but I don't kow where. He's been hiding from me for a while after I stuck a lit firecracker up his ass."
"You're done?" Shizuku blinked, blatantly ignoring the last statements because at that point, she was already tired of hearing about Okita's assassination tactics – Pun not intended.
"Immediately?" as soon as Shizuku asked that, she saw the brunet nod while taunting Kagura – the vermillion haired girl immediately jumped on Okita's shoulders and began punching his head.
"You're going to go home with them?" Shinpachi asked Shizuku as he ignored the racket that Okita and Kagura were making. "I thought that your one week is up? It has been at least two weeks since you came back to the house. Ane-ue's getting a little lonely."
The teal haired girl nodded with an apologetic look on her face. "I promised that I would constantly help them. Since they only recently returned, they're still tired and their work doubled. Some of them are injured, too. Although they have a few helpers here and there, they couldn't keep up so I'm there to make sure they don't pass out or anything during their desk work." She said with a sheepish grin.
"Kondou-san said that I'm free by tomorrow, though."
Gintoki scoffed from beside the teal haired girl. "Well, that's something that haven't changed. You still take care of people." He said with a barely noticeable smile on his face.
"Yep." Shizuku chuckled before she started to pull Okita away from Kagura – the two were having a wrestling match on the ground when Shizuku intervened in order not to make them inconvenience the other people around them.
"Let's go, Okita-san." The younger girl said, pulling Okita up to his feet. In front of her, Gintoki pulled Kagura up by the back of her collar.
"You better prepare yourself, China." The brunet officer said to Kagura as he dusted himself off. Shizuku kept her hands on the back of his uniform to prevent him from dashing forwards again and starting another fight with the vermillion haired girl.
"Let me go, Gin-chan!" Kagura screeched from Gintoki's hold. "I want to snap his neck off!" she yelled.
Ignoring Okita and Kagura, Shizuku turned to Shinpachi and Gintoki. "We'll head off first." She said as she bowed slightly. "I think Okita-san and Kagura-chan will really snap each other's necks if they continue to be in the same place at the same time. Honestly, I don't think I can handle another one. Nori-san versus Okita-san is enough." She smiled before she looked at Gintoki.
Before she could stop herself, she rushed towards the older male and wrapped her arms around his waist while burying her face on Gintoki's chest inhaling his scent as she smiled.
"We'll catch up on another time." Shizuku muttered loud enough for Gintoki to hear.
"Just tell me everything. I don't care how long it takes." The older male replied as he rested a hand on top of the younger's head. Shizuku reluctantly released Gintoki and stepped back, positioning herself beside Okita, who was keeping a deadpanned expression on his face, as usual.
"I'll see you around, Gin-san."
Okita and Shizuku turned around and began walking away. The latter suddenly raised her arm in the air and pulled her pinky finger out, reaching out to the stars.
She didn't need to look back to know that Gintoki was doing the same behind her ad by the sounds of "What are you doing, Gin-chan?" and "What's the arm and pinky for, Gin-san?" Shizuku knew that she was right. A little while later, she lowered her hand and continued walking beside Okita.
"What was that for?" the older suddenly asked after a while. The younger glanced at him and saw that he was looking straight with his hands in his pockets, not bothering to glance at the girl beside him, his back a little slouched.
They were still a little far from where the Shinsengumi were stationed – Shizuku knew where they were because she knew their rendezvous point, she heard it from Kusahara earlier that night. Currently, the two of them were walking down an abandoned part of the area that they were in. There wasn't anyone in the vicinity and it wasn't surprising at all since it was already getting late at night. It was getting a little colder, too.
"Just a promise from a long time ago." Shizuku replied after a while with a warm smile on her face. "Childish, isn't it?"
"Well, you are a child." Okita muttered, still not looking at her.
"I'm just three years younger than you, Okita-san." Shizuku replied with a small huff. "Would that make you a child, as well?"
"I don't count. I'm in the military." The older replied, finally turning his head to look at the younger. "You, on the other hand, don't even work."
"Hey, I literally work for you guys!" Shizuku gasped, acting offended when she was actually not. It was safe to say that talking to Gintoki again like that lifted a heavy weight on her shoulders and she was feeling livelier than she has ever felt in a long time.
Honestly, she felt that she could jump and swim all the way to the north of Japan because of how happy, lively and energetic she was feeling.
"It's funny how different you're acting." Okita raised a brow at her as he said those words.
"Let's just say I feel happy." Shizuku replied with a large grin on her face.
"That's rude." The older suddenly huffed. "It feels like you don't like to be with the Shinsengumi."
"Now, now, don't be like that." The younger chuckled, poking the taller on the cheek as they continued to walk down the dimly lit sideroad.
"I'm going to tell on you." Okita suddenly declared with a deadpanned look on his face. "Imagine Kondou-san's disappointed look. Will that haunt you?"
"Hey!" Shizuku slightly gasped. "I really am happy when I'm with you guys, alright?" she said with a frown. Although she knew that the older was just teasing her, she couldn't help but be a little guilty for not acting like she was having a good time with them.
Of course, being with Gintoki sends her a different feeling than when she's with Okita and the others.
"Well, if it makes you feel better, I'll spend another week at the station and I'll play with you guys."
"How about only me?"
"Please no. I already know what you have planned and I don't like any of it."
"Are you sure? You seem to be into those kinds of stuff."
"Okita-san, for the last time, leave me out of your fantasies!"
Looking at the time on the watch around her left wrist, Shizuku suddenly gasped when she realized that it was already nearing ten in the evening. The others must be getting worried and if she didn't know better, she knew that Kusahara was already sharpening his blade to go for the kill.
Without thinking, she grabbed Okita's hand and dashed off towards the direction of the rendezvous point with her fastest speed.
"We need to hurry! You'll get killed, Okita-san! I'm not even joking!"
Surprisingly, Okita matched her pace and soon, he overtook her, switching their positions around until she was the one getting dragged behind.
When they got there, Okita went on the run again, this time, for a whole different reason.
"Okita-kun! Why are you so late?! OKITA SOUGO! COME BACK HERE!"
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