#anyways leave it to me zura

[ran-orimoto]

Meh that I have got an obsession thanks to the TGC giving me Green x yellow swap.

I’ve managed to draw and write NOTHING due to uni commitments in these last days, but now I have got a draft, messy but still a draft, I have got a really pail and frail idea about the poses I want to give them. Now that the sketch is done I’ve realized I want to add more dynamism! My idea is also to echo some first official artwork of two random kids but not that excessively. Ah we’ll see💚💛. For now , since I’ve had fun being a disaster, I’ll share this here too.

Fairyblitz? In order to get them, you have to add some Tinkermon and Kokabuterimon!

Progresses

[bloodsworn-marshal]

Writing Prompt: Stamp Word Count: 930 (Bandit AU) ---> masterlist

All throughout this young man’s life… all had gone according to plan.

Sure, his humble beginnings were not so great. By no fault of his own.

Sure, he’d ended up behind gaol bars once or twice… but twas always with the expectation that one would easily escape within a day or two’s worth. Sometimes less.

Those times where he happened to be thwarted by authorities? They were rough gambles anyways with naught to be lost should those attempts fail.

Ultimately, Bandit Leader Pipin Tarupin never suffered a setback worth losing sleep over. Not until… a series of unfortunate events. Piling on top of each other, one after the other. As if karma had finally come knocking after all these years of delinquency and having his way.

It came in the form of a risky endeavor. One where Pipin went way over the line in his plan of distraction and kidnapping. His bandits would handle the brunt of it all in the background while he would put on a grand display to distract the likes of all Immortal Flames during Ul’dah’s Little Ladies Day event. Security was lax for but a moment and before anyone realized… that Sultana herself had slipped into his hands. Taken for a ride around the city as his hostage as his greatest taunt yet.

The move succeeded of course. Pipin caught the attention of all eyes for a split moment. Dancing atop rooftops with Her Grace until the flame general came barreling after him and causing an ungodly ruckus. He made a mockery of the Flames that day and escaped easily without a slip in his steps. Of course the Sultana had been rescued… but she was never the true aim to begin with.

…Thus were the beginning of his headaches.

For what did his bandits do but kidnap the wrong person and brought them back to their hideout no less?

Mistake number one was trusting in others to do the dirty work right. Mistake number two was underestimating the kidnapped lass and receiving a proper kick between the groins when he intimidated her on meeting.

It didn’t stop there either. The worst was yet to come. Just when things were looking up in fact.

After humiliating the Flame General for many years and the worst mockery of all in his latest endeavor, the monetarists had decidedly tried to put the man down in the form of an ‘accident’. Someone needed taking all the blame for Pipin’s actions and it was high time the man finally paid for his failures. Stabbed in the back and left for the desert vultures as his lifeblood bled out.

He would survive however. Rescued by moogles in exchange for an unknown debt he had yet to know of in truth. His life given a second chance… as Pipin offered a hand to welcome him into his fold. To leave all and everything behind as he started anew. And mayhap forge a strange bond as a way of Pipin making amends for causing the man so much trouble.

They shook on it. He had been the first to offer his hand even.

That was mistake number three.

“Waaaa!!!! Oh no! I forgot!!” One of the moogles present cried out, wiggling in dismay and floating up into the air some. “The warning about the mark!!”

“…It spreads, kupo.” Answered another, gesturing at the duo’s hands. “The debt owed as well.”

All hell broke loose.

Upon the moogle’s words, Pipin’s grip stiffened. And with a sudden sense of uneasiness, he slowly raised up the palm of the hand that just shook with the former general’s hand. What was once clear flesh now marked black with a paw print of sorts. Stamped and marked in what may as well have been permanent, binding ink.

Silence hung in the air… and before the man could so much as react, the bandit leader was upon the other. Hands grasping each of his shoulders and shaking repeatedly.  “Did you curse me!? Eh!? Is that what all this is about!?”

In Pipin’s mind, he had been fooled. By General Zura, by the moogles, by everyone in an instant. Had for a last laugh at his expense after a rough few days.

“Agh--!!! No! What? No!!! You offered to shake MY hand, remember?! I didn't know this was going to happen! I don't even know what that debt is!!!"

“What do you mean you don’t know!?”

…Twas ignorance then. Plain and simple. And Pipin knew then exactly where to redirect his building anger as he was losing his absolute mind.

“Dinner.” He hissed, hands having snaked away and found themselves wrapped precariously around the moogle at fault. Grasping firmly and tugging at its fur. “Either you get your facts straight or you’re tonight’s supper.”

Zura had joined Pipin at his side, arms crossed and looming over the moogle just as leerily. At this rare juncture of time, they were both of same mind. “And I’m not about to stop him. Better start talking, kupo.”

The moogle trembled and shrieked a deft, “DON’T EAT ME!!!!!”

Humiliation on top of humiliation. For now the bandit leader had been dragged into an oath and a debt he knew not how to pay because the blasted creature couldn’t remember for the life of itself how to do so. Thus would the mark remain on his hand, threatening to spread to any other unsuspecting person he might accidentally touch.

And with plenty more humiliations to endure in the future. The price he had to pay for that day… was it truly worth it?

[edwardslostalchemy]

Alsmdjglskfk I know that there are F/M ships that people consider straight, but alas it is my job to introduce the possibility of one or both of the characters being bisexual. That's my default. There's nothing WRONG with a ship being hetero. I can get into them if they have good chemistry and development. That's really all I ask for. If it's forced and the author shoves it in my face claiming it's end game, then I go nah. But there are hetero ships I enjoy. However, nobody can stop me from having them be bisexual. I seek my representation.

[gintokisimp]

Happy Birthday Gin-san!

One-Shot about Gintoki's 30th birthday. Tsukuyo has a special present for the clueless Gintoki.  The setting of the fic is an already lightly romantic established GinTsu relationship. They already had some kind of romantic encounters, but it was never quite enough for anyone to make a first move. Basically all of them could be seen as „Well, that was awkward, but we are friends so it’s funny.“

Genre: Fluff, First Kiss Stuff

Rating: General Audience

Word Count: 1,960

"Gin-chan, wake up! wake up!"

Kagura's scream echoed through the Yorozuya banged on his door before tearing it open with an ugly sound.

"You're an old man now, no more sleeping in late" She continued to scream with full volume.

"Shut up!" Gintoki screamed back and opened his eyes. He sure felt like an old man already. His life was okay now, after the ending of the canon material. But something was missing, but he also didn't care enough to find out what exactly was missing.

Kagura brought in a birthday cake with 3 sloppily placed candles, topped with one single strawberry. Gintoki frowned looking at the candles.

"I'm 30, not 3." He blurted.

"Yes yes, right. You're so old, I need to use one candle for 10 years, that's how old you are!" She explained to him. Gintoki snorted.

"Why are you so happy so early in the morning?!"

"Here, eat up or mommys gonna be pissed!"

She ignored his bad mood and lifted the fork, forcing the cake in his mouth.

"Ah Kagura stop that, I can eat myself." He picked the fork out of her hand and grumpily ate the cake, sharing it with her. To be exact, Kagura shared with him. She ate most of the cake.

"We're gonna have a party today, yes we will!" She announced.

He groaned in disapproval, a party was the last thing he wanted.

"Zura and Elisabeth are coming, that weird space guy, Shinpachi of course, Gorilla boss lady, -"

"How many people did you invite?!" He interrupted her.

"Mayofreak, Gorilla, that sadistic assface" She ended her list.

"Did you invite the whole Shinsengumi?!"

"Yes of course! It's a special occasion after all!"

"Who's gonna pay for that?!"

"You don't need to pay, don't worry. It's your birthday!"

She happily jumped to her feet, snatching the plate from his hands, on her way to leave his room.

"Thank you, Kagura" Gintoki mumbled. She turned around and smiled.

He laid down again and sighed.

Just forget my birthday already, no one cares about that.

"No more sleeping! Get up now!" Kagura screamed from outside.

Angrily mumbling Gintoki crawled out of his futon and prepared himself for the shitty day.

---------------  x ---------------

The Yorozuya office was packed.

Every possible sitting space was occupied, the room filled with familiar faces. The mood was exuberant, but Gintoki still didn't warm up to the idea of the party.

All guests had arrived by now and the alcohol rose to everyone's head, while Gintoki tried to keep the excitement down. They tried to toast on his birthday several times, but he always denied it, frantically searching for excuses.

Once, he spurted over to the kitchen, pretending that he left the stove on.

Another time, he feigned to be asleep on the couch.

There was no reason for a celebration. There never was.

Katsura had just spilled his third beer all over the floor and Gintoki was kneeling down, searching for some napkins in a drawer, when suddenly the shoji door opened and another trio entered the room. "Hey Tsukki, Hinowa, Seita!" Kagura shouted happily.

Gintoki's heart stumbled. He abruptly lifted his head, banging his head against the drawer. Rubbing his back of the head, he stood up straight and faced the new guests.

Kagura didn't tell me they were coming as well..

"Tsukki…,what are you doing here?" He asked nervously

"Gin-san, Happy Birthday!"

Hinowa said with a singing voice, reaching for his hand to press it lightly, shaking it excitedly.

"Here, we have a present for you!" Seita hugged him turbulently with a small package in his hands, giving it to him with a big smile.

"It's ya birthday, are we not invited?" Tsukuyo mumbled, arms crossed in front of her chest, averting her eyes, Kiseru in her mouth.

Hinowa slightly pushed in Tsukuyos ribs.

"Don't you-?"

She whispered and Tsukuyo blushed slightly before she eyed Gintoki.

Confused, he tilted his head, Seita still jumping around in front of him.

Tsukuyo sighed, closed the few steps between them, walked around Seita and spread out her arms, wrapping them around Gintoki.

He was baffled.

Hugs? Since when does she give out hugs?

"Happy Birthday" She mumbled incomprehensibly.

Tsukuyo hugged him tight, a little too tight. He could feel her arms cramping around him and her heart racing against his. Well, that's awkward. Gintoki felt his heart speed up as well.

"Oi oi, not so unruly, you're almost assaulting me" He laughed nervously.

She tensed up, let out an angry sound and smashed him to the ground, pressing the air out of his lungs.

"That's a nice present, did not expect anything else from you.." He mumbled, lying exhausted on his back.

Tsukuyo was standing over him, her face beet red.

"Tsukki, are you okay? Are you sick?" Kagura shouted from her seat on the couch.

"'s fine" She blurted.

"Oi, why does no one care about me? It's my birthday and I just got crashed into the damn floor" Gintoki grumbled.

"You're fine." Kagura simply replied.

"Nothing new" Shinpachi shouted from the other side. Hinowa smiled happily.

"Oi, why are you happy? Why are you happy?!"

---------------  x ---------------

The evening had gone by mostly uneventfully. Katsura had tried to battle everyone in a game of uno, but he failed miserably, losing every single time. The now close to tears samurai was comforted by Elisabeth in one corner of the room.

"This never happens to me, I'm so good at this game!" He cried in his sleeve.

Elisabeth held up a sign: You're the best player!

Tatsumas laughter repeatedly echoed through the room. It was the most annoying sound of the evening. Gintoki had the strong urge to kick his head in.

"Kintoki, drink something with me!" He called out to him, completely wasted.

"It's Gintoki, can't ya at least get it correctly on my birthday?!" Gintoki hadn't touched a single drop. He still didn't feel like celebrating.

The Shinsengumi members happily drank in their own little round and were joined by Hinowa, Kagura and Shinpachi. Seita played on his new TS. unbothered by the commotion around him. Otae and Kyuubei sat on his table, sharing some food, leaving Gintoki and Tsukuyo alone.

"So.. how are ya" Gintoki started after some minutes of silence between them.

"Whaddaya mean?" She replied uninterested, smoking her kiseru.

"I asked about your well-being , what do you not understand?"

"Why are ya asking, you never ask that" She simply replied.

"Fine, I won't do it again." Offended, Gintoki crossed his arms in front of his chest.

He glanced over to her, their eyes met and both of them turned away, slightly blushing.

Hinowa turned her attention to Tsukuyo, noticing the thick tension between them.

"Tell him how you are, it's not that hard." She chuckled, slightly drunk and continued talking to Kondo with great interest. Hinowa had recently started to bond with him, much to her disapproval. She didn't want the police involved in Yoshiwaras business.

Tsukuyo huffed.

"'s fine, I guess." She finally replied to his question.

"Ah.. I see."

"and how is it?"

"How is what?"

"Being old." She grimaced maliciously.

Gintoki scoffed. "It's not that different from yesterday, it's just one day later."

"okay.."

"I don't know.. lonely" He continued.

"You don't have to be lonely," Tsukuyo said, still looking in another direction.

"..what do you mean?" Gintoki turned in her direction.

"I urr I.. I mean..you have Kagura and Shinpachi.. you're not alone"

Gintoki paused.

"Yea right, I'm not alone, but still lonely"

"That's not true, Gintoki."

"Sooner or later Kagura will move out, Shinpachi will find a girlfriend, and they will be living their own lives. I'll be a single left alone dad by then. Maybe I should buy myself a woman in Yoshiwara.." His thoughts trailed off.

"Ya couldn't afford that anyways. Besides.. I'm sure there's someone for you" Tsukuyo's voice got lower with the progression of her sentence.

"Really? Who is it, is she hot? Does she have big boobs? Please tell me she's not from the Hyakka"

"..kind of"

"Tell me, who is it?" He was invested now.

"Well..-"

"Tsukki, don't you still have another present?" Tsukuyo jumped at Hinowas interruption.

"No I don't. It's already late, let's go home." Tsukuyo answered quickly and she stood up hastily, leaving the disappointed Gintoki behind.

"Okay, if you say so."

Seita helped Hinowa and they said their goodbyes, walking to the front door. Gintoki stood up as well and accompanied them to the exit like a good host.

"You can tell me Tsukki, I won't tell anyone!"

But she just ignored him. He gave up.

"Thanks for coming, hope you enjoyed it." He said politely.

"Oh Gin-san of course we did! It's always pleasant to be around both of you !" Hinowas smiled.

Gintoki was confused "Why do you say 'both of you' so weird?"

Hinowa didn't reply and Tsukuyo pushed her to the door. Halfway, she stopped and turned around, facing the in the door leaning Gintoki.

"Gintoki..I .. I actually have another present for you" She started quietly.

Hinowas gasped slightly.

"She's gonna do it!" She whispered to Seita.

"Eh? I don't need presents, I thought I already said that." Gintoki waved his hand dismissively.

"It's just.. something small."

"uh.. okay?"

"you jus..just need to come a bit closer."

"You're scaring me."

"Or I can just come to you.."

Tsukuyo carefully walked back, stopping right in front of him at a very short distance. Sweat formed on his forehead.

"Close your eyes." She whispered.

He did.

Gintoki felt her small hands on his, turning his palm around, laying her hand in his. But there was nothing in her hand.

There's nothing there, What could it be? -

That's when she kissed him. No warning, no preparations. She just kissed him then and there in the doorway, right on the lips, in full view of everyone.

Gintoki forgot to think at all.

Her warm soft lips on his spread a fire in his body, crawling under his skin, burning the hands that were covered by her soft fingers.

One second.

The whole room went silent, Tatsumas laughter died.

If you listened carefully enough, you could've heard a feather falling to the wooden floor.

Two seconds.

Gintoki's head started to spin. His eyes opened slightly and he saw her face through his lashes.

Three seconds.

That was over the limit of an accidental kiss.

It was not a shy kiss,

it was brisk,

setting a complete new point in their relationship.

Her feathery touch on his hand tightened, sending a shiver that traveled down his spine, making his heart beat painfully fast.

Gintoki slightly opened his lips, about to return the kiss, but she retreated, her face tinted in a shade of red he had never seen before.

Tsukuyo smiled lovingly and lifted a finger, brushing it over his open mouth, caressing his lips.

"Happy Birthday"

She whispered and turned around on her heels, hooking the excited chattering Hinowa into her arms and quickly excited through the front door.

Gintoki just stood there, dumbfounded, unable to move.

The kiss wasn't that long, and it certainly wasn't a scene from a shoujo manga with a great backdrop, exciting atmosphere and a big buildup, but it was wonderful.

Nothing else was able to reach his mind in this moment, he only knew he would remember it forever.

Several minutes went by.

Still, no one had said a word.

Everyone stared at him and Gintoki stared at the door where he had last seen her.

“ehh.. Gin-san..? Is everything ok?" Shinpachi asked carefully, the sounds slowly returning to the room.

Gintoki's fingers slowly lifted up to touch his lips, her sweet taste still lingering on them.

“what…?" ..did just happen?

[pwapuri]

Gintsu week day 7: meant to be

It was another dawn in Edo. The katoken program had already passed and they were showing the session of the films that nobody wants to see. Gintoki woke up in a jump dreaming again about some things from the past...When he bet with Takasugi that he could find the watermelon smelling the candy, he can still hear Zura's voice in his head saying it was a bad idea. Although younger Zura was always the most prudent and pleaded with Gintoki and Takasugi to stop getting in trouble without the sensei seeing them. That was when in the dream things got mixed up and Gintoki heard kagura taking Takasugi's place encouraging him to jump off the cliff while Shinpachi cut the watermelon and said the joke was over and the years had passed. An old man with responsibilities shouldn't do these things. It was true.

Upon seeing the friends of past and present, with the ghost of time on top of everyone gintoki woke up with kagura mumbling sleep and Shinpachi without the cover that fell off the sofa. The three had fallen asleep while the katoken program.

-Hey. Go to bed ... Do you all want to get a cold or...

He looked at the two young lying on the couch without concern. How long had it been like this?

At the age that Kagura now had, gintoki had lost Shouyo to the tendoushuu and at the age of Shinpachi he had already killed so many amantos and government officials that he had stopped worrying.

That was all he had now. It was more than he could ever imagine to have. When Otose found him and took him home, Gintoki went through the front door of what is now Yorozuya and thought that how big the space was, even that the space was just three times bigger than the prison cell. There was nothing, no furniture or equipment. He thought about how he would do business being who he was, without a title or master. But as soon as began to know the neighborhood and become friends with people and so they started to trust in his services, It wasn't long before he found these two idiots who started to follow him. That  room now looked tiny. Even though Shinpachi sometimes looked at him with contempt and even though he never managed to pay the month, making them be shamed. When they looked at him with admiration, when they asked for help or advice, everything was worth it. He never thought of it as a family because it is dangerous ... as companions it might be cowardly because he knew it was more. But he liked to think that this was another one of those feelings to which no name is given.

And out of all the people he met, almost all had the same title for him ... maybe not as strong as those two little pests who lived with him and whom he paid full attention to ...

All the idiots who gathered around him made him feel that way, indescribable.

As the day came he was thinking about his own life. Those kids weren't going to stay there forever ... nothing is eternal. But where the hell had space for a normal life? Staying here and there with a woman under his arm like the gorilla couple he knew? Or Zura and ikumatsu? No ... none of that seemed natural. Just imagining it made him shiver. The only situation in which he thought to walk around having a normal life was with Ketsuno Ana because he was going to show her off to the world ... after all, it was Ketsuno Ana. But of course it wouldn't be so good in reality after all, He didn't want to burn his wings getting too close to the sun ...and speaking of sun, what time was that?

Looking at the clock, he saw that there were six. He remembered tsukuyo's schedule by chance ... always by chance.

'Believe me, this is the time when I come home.'

After asking what time the hell she stopped working, that's what she answered. He marked her words because it was hard to believe that there were people who enjoyed working so much

He started thinking about things three years ago ... about the woman who had a destiny similar to him. She killed the master herself to protect someone else. What irritated him was perhaps because she was so different from him ... working and working instead of enjoying the life that the master gave her. After thinking so much he understands, her life and his are the same. The difference is that to forget, or rather, to remember that she is alive, she works.

The two were so similar and yet so different. Damn thought that bothered him. Why did it have to be this way? Why couldn't she make herself more of an idiot? Why it had to be so independent and beautiful? Beautiful ... a soul so pure and clean. Ah, that was a perfect attribute to keep him interested. But in the end it was impossible to keep something with that woman using just that ... he didn't worth it for her. He was weak and coward, afraid to lose those two lying on the couch, afraid of losing the friendship of others and was afraid of losing the life he won after losing everything two times. Starting over was tiring, new house, new goals, all of this is scary. It was already difficult to keep the feelings in place with those people around him. Imagine new sensations and the worst, new obligations.

But among those moments of fear, he wanted to throw everything up when he remembered that she liked him. She liked it enough to understand that he wasn't hers, who the hell gives up what loves to make someone else happy? What was her problem? Cowardice or courage? But after all, he didn't have the right to speak ...was he's fault to make that so clear , oh look! He thought, we are the same after all.

-maybe today she changes her mind and decides to say she loves me?

It would never happen. Otae and kyuubei were the first to say what he already knew. He was the one who must say he loved her or not. But he couldn't. First because he wasn't going to destroy her heart saying he didn't love her and secondly because he didn't like lying. It was not easy as with Sachan, that is a good woman (in many ways) but dosent work with him. Worse, she knew it and continued to insist.

Tsukuyo no, it was her and that damned hope... so he had to scream that she shouldn't have hope for a no future like him, but scream what she already knew?

Call to tell that you love her and can't live without the smell of lavender and cigarettes. That she's perfect for you in every detail. That she completes you.

Damn ... she knows. And yet she continues to look with those eyes. Eyes full of love and concern, even with a hard mouth to give cruel answers. Maybe he should call and say it. Call now!

Call and tell her to forget you, not to show up! That you can't love her and she needs to move on

What a mess...

What kind of feeling is that? As he thought again, it had no name, no shape. Where does he get these thoughts from?

Finally he picked up the phone and dialed. he thought of the bullshit he was doing on the first touch. Twisting the telephone cord sitting on the chair in the office, he began to murmur: 'Kestuno Ana I'm not cheating on you', 'believe me she's just a friend', 'this thing in my chest isn't what you thinking', 'I haven't seen her for months, I haven't spoken to her ... I'm the crooked savior of her home, I need to see how things are going', 'it doesn't mean betrayal, right?'

Four rings and no one answered. 'ah I knew ... she must have slept it, in fact it was what I should do too'

-Hello?

Everything went white. For a moment he forgot how to answer a phone. he heard the serious voice of the guardian of yoshiwara

-ham ... it's me. Is everything okay out there?

-gintoki is that you?

-Of course, did you think it was the joestar jotaro or something?

-Is this time to call? Have you looked at your watch? When was the last time you woke up so early in life?

What a regret.

-I thought something had happened, you ungrateful bitch

-What the hell would have happened that I couldn't have called the next day ?! You goddamned hollow head!

-My phone rang and I'm just checking, your stupid! -Said gintoki

All lies, the most poorly told. And she knew, again, she knew. She couldn't even hide the excitement of hearing after a night of patrol the voice of the man she loved most in the world.

-Well, it wasn't me... but I thank you for your concern. But there's nothing here that I can't handle. Unless a new yato king appears I don't need your services

-you are really stupid and boring! You will die unmarried! Damn time I called

-grumpy! Damn time I answered!

After a few seconds of silence gintoki was preparing to hang up when tsukuyo interrupted:

-but is everything really okay? Kagura and Shinpachi, are you all okay?

That was what destroyed him. She was like that, tough and sweet ... not much different from the others but something in her gentle way to say those things, how does she do that?

-yea. All right

-How about you? Is everything really okay?

Tsukuyo was never able to disguise it, she wanted to receive that call so much that it seemed like a dream. She was so happy to see that Gintoki remembered the time when she came home ... even though were it by chance. She thanked the universe and begged the man to continue the conversation

-Well, I had a weird dream ...

From that point on, the conversation lasted until the sun started to heat everything up again, until just before Shinpachi opened his eyes and saw the phone off the hook while gintoki slept on the desk. The desperation for the high bill made him yell at Gintoki and force him showering and getting ready, it was too late and they had promised to fix a roof at 11. Gintoki complained but was completely happy to have talked to tsukuyo. The two fell asleep hanging from the phone and it made them feel young again, as if for a moment everything was possible.

After all, that's what they were. The relationship between Gintoki and Tsukuyo might never leave the paper, there would never be room for a normal life ... but what was normal for them anyway? So it was enough. This enormous feeling of joy filled  and satisfied him. They never meant to be something because they were already everything for each other.

....

-Tsukuyo, Thank you for love me

-Thank you for letting me love you

__________

This was the most difficult prompt for me, I don't know why...I've tryed everything...edits, fanarts, comic. None of this managed to transmit my feels abou it. I'll make some fanart for the long prompt but, thats it!

[princesstutufandemonium]

Rapsblüte no Yoru (Princess Tutu epilogue skit) and my thoughts

Or: Why a bitch is still salty after 9 years

So, as previously mentioned on this blog, there was a skit presented at a Princess Tutu convention in 2004 by series creator Ikuko Itoh and chief director Junichi Sato called “Rapsblüte no Yoru.” It takes place about a year after the anime’s ending and serves to wrap up some loose ends about the characters and their feelings - particularly Ahiru and Mytho.

So I’ve talked about it before, but now more time has passed, so I thought I’d let the raging monster out of its slumber to REALLY address the epilogue and my own uncensored thoughts and feelings about it. Half of this ended up reading like a rant, really, but I just had to get it all out there. 

Here is the skit, as recited by Japanese blogger Goma and translated by LiveJournal user csakuras, along with my reactions and thoughts, which are indicated by the blockquotes.

"Quaack.." Ahiru seems to be swimming on the river during a night with a beautiful moon It's been a while since then, and every day I'm happy. It's fun talking with my bird friends, and Madam Pelican is a little noisy, but...it's fun. And besides......whenever I look up, Fakir is always there.

So Ahiru has returned to life as a bird and has settled in well. Good for her.

Ahiru: "I've come all the way to Gold Crown Academy....somehow I feel like dancing." Saying that, Ahiru climbs onto the bank and is surprised to find the whole surface covered with rape blossoms. Ahiru: "Gwak!!" Autor: "Oh? What's this?" It seems he stepped on Ahiru.. Ahiru: "Gwakgwak!!" Ahiru protests. Autor: "Oh it's you, Ahiru-kun...isn't Fakir with you?" Autor backs away as Ahiru tries to talk to him. Autor: "Sorry, but could you not get so close? I'll start sneezing from my bird allergies." (The mystery of his dislike of birds is solved.) Ahiru: "Charon-san and Raetsel-san had a child so Fakir went to the celebration."

The idea of this seems to negate all of Raetsel’s development, but okay then.

Autor: "I see....by the way, did you come to see the Night of Rapsblüte too?" Ahiru: "Rap..Rapsblüte?" Ahiru asks curiously. Ahiru: "Rapsblüte are rape blossoms, right?" Here, Autor goes Hnph! with his nose as if making fun of her. Autor: "The Night of Rapsblüte is when once every 50 years, all the rape blossoms bloom simultaneously on a night of the full moon. According to what I've researched in the library, in the records of a student from 50 years ago, there is an eye-witness account." Ahiru heaves a sigh (lol) Autor: "And tonight, the weather, the date, everything matches with the past data!" Autor is full of confidence. "Besides that, you're in the music department so maybe you should be studying piano instead..." Ahiru mutters. Autor: "Did you say something?" Ahiru: "Huh? Autor can understand me." Hnph, he laughs at her with his nose again. Autor: "Anything can happen tonight and it wouldn't be strange." Ahiru: "The moon is so pretty..." (Here, a man wearing a mask of the moon appears from behind..it's a great hit in the assembly) Autor: "What's that? An onion?" Ahiru: "!!" Uzura: "Ho~ Ahiru zura~" *Tototon* (her drum) Ahiru: "Uzura-chan!!" Ahiru: "Uzura-chan! Where were you?" Uzura: "I've been wandering the interval of time with the old man zura."

WHAT does that even mean?! What is the interval of time?! Considering Uzura’s previous life as Edel, it’s surprising that Uzura chooses to stick with Drosselmeyer. He’s the one who put her Ahiru and Fakir through so much trouble, after all. Then again, Uzura is a child and probably has no memory or idea of the role Drosselmeyer played and the evil things he did. Uzura also isn’t human, so maybe human morals don’t bother her as much.

Ahiru: "By the old man do you mean Drosselmyer-san? Then where's Drosselmyer-san?" "Drosselmyer?!!" <--(Autor's switch is on) Uzura: "The old man is busy with updating the site zura, sorry he's so irresponsible zura." (Here, Director Satou is rolling with laughter.) Autor: "Why didn't you bring him with you?!" Clearly, his Drosselmyer otaku switch is on lol

I hate you, Autor. I try not to but I do.

Uzura: "One more is coming zura." Autor: "One more?" Mytho: ".......Tutu." Ahiru: "Mytho!!" (I can never forget Ahiru's sad voice here)

Ah, and here it is. The agony.

You know, I could possibly stomach the whole damn ending of the show if the epilogue doesn’t go on to make it entirely clear how heartbroken Ahiru still is. I mean, if Ahiru is actually happy, there’s nothing more you can want for her. But this here kind of ruins it. Like, why?! How am I supposed to be content with her situation when she’s sad at the mere sight of Mytho?!

Mytho: "It's been a while...." Uzura: "He was dancing on the balcony so I brought him zura." (....At your own pace as usual, Prince.) Autor: "Prince Siegfried from the story!! Myu...Mytho-san." (He sounds as emotional as if he were meeting Drosselmyer.) Mytho: "Are you Fakir's friend...?" Autor: "I'm Autor!" Mytho: "You were the one who helped Fakir? Thank you..." (How does he know..)

How DOES he know? Well, there was a tiny time skip between the defeat of the Raven and Mytho and Rue’s departure to the story. Perhaps things were explained a little during then.

Autor: "No! It was an honor." (only dimly remember) Mytho: "If I remember correctly, during our ballet lessons you were asked by Neko-sensei to accompany us on piano." Autor: "Yes, I was asked to accompany you on piano by Neko-sensei 11 times, and I passed by you with Neko-sensei in the hall 27 times." (Jeez, Autor's in high spirits (lol)) Mytho: "Fakir sometimes sees cows and alligators flying in the sky, so I'm worried. Could you take care of Fakir?"

 Mytho seems to naturally be a little bit of an airhead. It’s funny to see that qualities of him that we saw in the anime can be attributed not to his lack of a heart and common sense, but just to how his personality really is. Cute.

Autor: "Yes!! Mytho-san, please leave him to me." (He's been left to him without having a say, Fakir's in a pinch (lol)) Ahiru: "Mytho? How is Rue-chan?" Mytho: "Rue is doing well." Mytho: "It seems Rue is good at singing too and she's a popular princess among the people." Autor: "Rue-san?"

So Rue is a true lady of the arts, not good only at dancing but at singing too. Interesting that she’s so popular, considering that she honestly doesn’t seem to be the most sociable person. Polite, but not going out of her way to be friendly. Perhaps her time in the story with Mytho has defrosted her even more. What is the new Rue like, I wonder?

Uzura: "Mytho is rabu-rabu with Rue zura~" Autor: "Could you be quiet for a while..." His voice is lacking energy and sounds like he might cry (He knows they're rivals in love..is that okay?)

WHY is Autor so torn up over Rue still?! He never even really spent time with her. Foolish kids, I tell you. She was hardly more than a pretty face to him.

Ahiru: "Thank goodness... Mytho. "The Concluding Volume of The Prince and the Raven" got published. It's not a story without an end anymore." Ahiru: "And also, soon Fakir's going to dance an all-male version of La Sylphide with Matthew Bourne-sensei's choreography!"

Soooo this part is confusing. The concluding volume… So The Prince and the Raven was a story published in installments? The show made it look like it was just a single novel. Unless they mean that they simply published an official ending… But if the story was given an ending, wouldn’t that affect the storybook world? And who wrote the ending and got it published, Fakir? A couple of questions that remain here.

Mytho: "Fakir....I always feel like I'm connected with Fakir..the more my country becomes peaceful, I can feel him close by." (It's...mostly dim recollection. Just the nuance of it.)

Yeah, don’t act like you didn’t just up and leave him AND Ahiru once your business was finished, Mytho. Anyways, skipping the salt, does this mean that Fakir’s conclusion to the novel made things more peaceful in the story world? That’s what it sounds like to me.

Actually, isn’t it kind of scary that Fakir can still wield influence over Mytho’s world? What if he got pissed off at him? yikes

Ahiru: "Mytho...." "You should meet Fakir! He's coming back tomorrow..so then.." Mytho: "I can't..I can only come here because the interval of time is connected tonight..see, the moon is already sinking this much." (The man playing the moon sinks down (lol) The assembly bursts into laughter again) "I see..."

WHAT is with this ‘interval of time’ nonsense again! Someone explain it to me!

Also, fuck Fakir, apparently.

Mytho: "Princess Tutu.....thanks to you, I can be like this. Thank you." Ahiru: "I wanted to see you smile, so my wish is already granted." (only dimly remember)

 AND THERE IT FINALLY IS!!!

“Thank you, Tutu, for risking your life to save mine and restore my happiness and holding your tongue about your feelings for me so I could do nothing for you in return and leave hours later.”

No, I’m not salty. Anyways, the abrupt ending to the show without much dialogue was due to time constraints, not necessarily a true display of Mytho’s character, which I guess this epilogue was partly written to fix. It does seem pretty heartless when you watch the anime, though.

Mytho: "Princess Tutu, I wanted to be with you longer. I wanted to talk with you like this longer....to me, you are the light....because you are someone very special..." (?? Mytho/Ahiru?)

See, this is why I just can’t do it. Like, Mytho, are you fucking kidding?! You leave her alone as a duck and now you want to sweet-talk her?!

But actually, all bitterness aside, this is really sad. They obviously care for each other, but because of circumstances and plot, never once did they have the time to really just… talk.

And he still sees her as the light. I saw some people kind of making fun of this, but of COURSE he does. There was a considerable period of time when she was the only person vouching for him, keeping him safe, acting as his voice… and ultimately saving him in every way. He can only be a real person again because of her, and she never faltered in her mission. That’s INCREDIBLE. Of course he would hold her in high regard.

Mytho: "But, I have to protect Rue. Rue needs me...." (I'm sorry, it's completely out of memory...because I was so overwhelmed..(lol) I should take my reeling in moderation)

And here’s the dagger. After talking about how highly he thinks of Ahiru/Tutu… he backtracks by saying Rue needs him.

And you know why this is REALLY fucking sad? He doesn’t say that “But, I really enjoy being with Rue” or “But, I love Rue.”

He says he has to PROTECT Rue. Rue NEEDS him.

I don’t think I need to dive too deep into the implications of his wording to spell out why this is upsetting, but I’ll sum it up quick. Instead of saying he likes being with Rue, he says Rue needs me. That’s the first thing that comes to mind.

And if it means what I think it means, that’s just fucking harsh. That’s not fair for Rue. That’s not fair for Ahiru. That’s not fair for Mytho.

I mean, we all know the prince has a savior-complex, but the implication that he chose Rue because he feels a sense of duty to protect her instead of romantic affection is kind of… tragic. That’s not a happy ending at all, really. Does Rue have any idea?

I think this is why I have an issue with Ruetho, because no matter what you can’t escape the fact that Mytho will always view her through the lens of what she suffered. It’s just in his personality as a heroic, selfless prince. Doesn’t Rue deserve someone who sees her as… more than someone to protect?

Whatever, can’t be changed now.

Mytho: "Tutu...you have done so much for me, but I couldn't do anything for you." "Is there something I can do for you, Tutu?"

WHAT on Earth could he possibly expect to be able to do for her?! I mean, short of turning her human again, but I’m guessing that’s out of the scope of his abilities. Don’t be so bait-y.

Ahiru: "......Mytho! I.........." "No, nevermind..." (Ahiru sounds incredibly sad)

AUGHHHHHHHH

What was she going to say? You know what, probably doesn’t matter anyway. We know what she wants… she can’t have it, though.

Mytho: "It's almost time..." "See you again....Tutu...." (Jeez..I don't remember any of it) Ahiru: "Can we meet again?" Mytho: "Surely we will meet again..." Mytho (or is it Yanagi-san? lol): "We can meet again, when Sakurai-kun is here." (The assembly explodes with laughter)

NOOOOOOOO

No no no

No, do NOT meet again. This is just asking for trouble. Ahiru clearly isn’t over Mytho, and Mytho… clearly does not have his priorities straightened out. If they keep meeting like this…

Well, as the anime shows, it wouldn’t be the first time they put themselves through the wringer for love. Mytho recites something in German. "Waaao!!" <--(Uzura)

What did he say? I’m curious.

Here, Mytho says his never-ending feelings for Tutu (if someone remembers this part please tell me~) And at the end, Mytho: ".......Ahiru."

 ……..Yeahhh, probably not a good idea to meet again.

Like, I get that this epilogue is to ‘tie up loose ends’ including the torched remnants of Mythiru that were dropped so abruptly at the end, but...

Why, oh why, Mytho, did you choose Rue if you’re still hung up on Tutu?

Additionally, we see that Mytho DOES now know that Tutu is Ahiru. That’s bittersweet too, but in more of a good way. He finally knows that the little passionate goofball was the princess all along. I wonder who told him, or how he found out. Did he just figure it out on his own? Like, the duck that was once Princess Tutu must be Ahiru because Ahiru = duck? Maybe Uzura told him? I doubt Fakir would’ve, simply because once she was back to being a duck again permanently, there was really no reason to tell Mytho. Couldn’t much matter anymore, right?

Ahiru: "I get the feeling I heard Mytho's voice at the end." I am a duck....I can't wear toe shoes, I can't dance.. (I'm sorry, I don't remember) But inside my chest there is a sparkling gem that will never be broken. The end.

And that’s it.

Sooo a lot of conflicted feelings coming at me from this, if you couldn’t tell. I guess first is the question of whether or not this could be considered canon.

Honestly? I think so. Both Ikuko Itoh and Junichi Sato, the people behind Princess Tutu, worked on this and presented it. They even had some of the Japanese VAs present to act it out. Additionally, as I’d mentioned previously, it addresses some questions that were left open due to the somewhat rushed ending of the anime’s finale. And nothing presented in this skit goes against the show’s canon or really comes out of left field (aside Charon and Raetsel man tf). It’s short and sweet.

Moving on, the first time I read this I was really happy, simply because it makes it clear that YES, Mytho does return Ahiru’s feelings. Which I guess was clear in the anime too, but this skit makes it undeniable. It’s nice to feel validated.

But as time goes on and I’ve had the chance to chew over and really digest it… It’s kind of a really crappy situation for our heroine and hero. Like, so they are in love, and they want to continue seeing each other… but Mytho is SUPPOSED to be spoken for with Rue, and Ahiru is a duck. Not to mention that Ahiru is Rue’s FRIEND. C’mon girl, chicks before dicks. Of course, they could still interact platonically, but the confession from Mytho in this skit kind of shot that possibility dead. And what about Fakir in this mess? Granted, Fakir isn’t stupid – he’s known that Ahiru loves Mytho from the beginning, and it’s not exactly like he can be in a relationship with a duck. But still.

Maybe I’m just looking too far into things, but with a piece this short and direct, I don’t know how deep you can really dive.

Anyways, my final thoughts are: Mythiru is canon but in the most tragic way possible, Rue deserves better, annnnnnd I’m still left unsatisfied.

[ryqoshay]

Tri-Arame: Valentine’s Day

Primary Pairing Trio: YuuAyuSetsu Words: ~4.2k Rating: G, mostly. I’ll leave the T/M’ish stuff to your imagination... Time Frame: February of their 2nd year in high school Story Arc: Stand Alone

----------

Author’s Note: I couldn’t quite get this one done in time for the official holiday. I kept interrupting the flow with what I believed to be too much introspection, but I didn’t want to cut it completely, so I would write a new part to include it. And I still ended up dumping a bunch at the end. Que zura, zura...  At least it’s still February, so... better late than never?

----------

“Ayumu-sa~n!” a voice called from behind.

The redhead turned to see a raven-haired girl walking briskly to catch up, waving wildly as if it would make it easier to spot her in the mostly empty hall. Running would likely have been quicker, and her excited aura made it seem like she wanted to do so. However, Setsuna was a rule follower, or at least tried to present herself as such, so hastened walking was her best solution.

“What’s up, Setsuna-chan?” Ayumu asked, pausing by the clubroom door.

“I finished my book, so you and Yuu-san can borrow it now.”

“That was quick.”

Setsuna grinned as she reached the other girl. “It was so good I couldn’t put it down.”

Ayumu leaned down a little. “Did you stay up too late again to do so?” She asked, noticing poorly concealed dark spots under cendrée eyes.

Had the other girl really gone around all day looking like that? Ayumu would have probably said something in the morning had they walked to school together like most mornings recently. However, Yuu had made them late and they had missed their usual train.

“Uhm… maybe…?”

“Geez, what am I going to do with you two?” Ayumu sighed.

“Two?”

“Yuu-chan stayed up too late last night as well, working on a new song again.” Ayumu explained. “Then, she overslept. That’s why we couldn’t meet you this morning.”

Setsuna’s eyes sparkled in a way that made it harder to tell she was actually sleep deprived. “I can’t wait to hear it.” Apparently, her excitement for a new song had overridden her disappointment in not being able to walk together.

“That wasn’t the point.” Ayumu shook her head but couldn’t help smiling at her friend’s enthusiasm anyway. “You two need to take better care of yourselves.” Though she’d fussed over her childhood friend for years, over the last few months, Ayumu had found herself worrying over Setsuna as well, since both girls shared a few bad habits.

“Thank you for your concern.” Setsuna acknowledged honestly, something Ayumu appreciated as Yuu wasn’t quite as responsive in that area. “But I’ll be fine once I move around a bit more.” She made a few motions mimicking the upcoming practice session. “And before I forget…” She reached into her bag.

“Oh, what’s that?” Fluttering paper caught Ayumu’s eye as the other girl pulled out her book.

“What’s wha…” Setsuna looked down. “Eh? Nothing!” She dropped down to fetch what looked like a flyer from a local store. “It’s nothing!” She repeated, stuffing the page back in her bag. “Please forget you saw that.”

“Was that an advertisement for a Valentine’s Day sale?” Ayumu felt a little bad about pressing the issue that the other girl seemed desperate to avoid, but she couldn’t ignore the alarm that suddenly chimed in the back of her mind. “I think I got the same one the other day.”

Pink blossomed across Setsuna’s cheeks as she held Ayumu’s gaze. “… Yes…” She admitted after a moment. “But, uhm… please don’t tell the others, alright? I was hoping to keep it a secret that I was going to make chocolates for everyone.”

The tiny bells became a blaring klaxon. “Do you want to make them together?” Ayumu offered. “I was planning on picking up supplies on my way home today since Yuu-chan has to stay late on cleaning duty. We can make everything at my place if you want.”

The last part seemed to catch Setsuna’s attention. “Do you already have molds and mixing bowls and that kind of stuff?”

Ayumu nodded. “I’ve made chocolates for Yuu-chan for many years, but with exception of the molds, the rest of the equipment is fairly standard for baking.”

“That would save me the expense of buying my own…” Setsuna mused.

Ayumu tiled her head with curiosity. “You don’t already have…?”

“Oh, sorry, we don’t do much cooking at my place since my parents are often busy with work.” Setsuna explained. “We have a few of the basics, but nothing like the double boilers and such that I saw recommended online.”

Ayumu nodded. “We have those.”

“So, you’re alright letting me use your equipment?”

“Of course.” Ayumu smiled. “And I think it will also be more fun to bake together as well.” She decided not to explain her ulterior motive of keeping an eye on the exceedingly enthusiastic experimenter. “If you don’t mind keeping my own secret of what I’ll be making for everyone.”

Setsuna laughed. “My lips will be sealed.” She made a motion as though pulling a zipper closed over her mouth.

With that decided, the two girls entered the club room to begin practice.

----------

“Ah, here we go.” Ayumu pulled a few bars off the shelf. “I’ve used this brand before and it works well.” She made sure the other girl saw the items before she put them in her basket.

Setsuna nodded in affirmation but continued to scan the shelves.

“Anything in particular you’re looking for?” Ayumu inquired.

“The ones in the ad…”

“Oh, those will probably on display at the end of the aisle. Shall we check?”

“Alright.”

The two made their way to the endcap display.

“After I saw them in the flyer, I checked online and found some good reviews.” Setsuna explained as she picked up a few packages.

“That is dark chocolate,” Ayumu observed “so it won’t be as sweet as milk. But we have plenty of sugar at home if you decide you want to add some.”

“Alright.” Setsuna acknowledged. “Next up is bacon.”

“Bacon?” A new siren wailed in Ayumu’s mind. “Why would you need…?”

“Another reviewer linked to some recipes that suggested adding creative things like bacon instead of normal sea salt.”

“I think, for Valentine’s Day chocolate given to friends, we should stick to the <K.I.S.S.> principle.” Ayumu said the acronym in English.

“<Kiss?>” Setsuna repeated as a question.

“<Keep It Simple.>”

“What about the other S?”

Oh, right… Ayumu suddenly worried if Setsuna would take it as an insult. “<Keep It Simple, Stupid.>” She explained somewhat reluctantly.

“<Keep It Simple Stupid.>” Setsuna considered for a moment. “That makes sense. Love is complicated enough as it is, as shown so often in anime. And Valentine’s episodes always include some sort of drama or misunderstanding. So, keeping things simple is probably a good idea. And kisses are associated with Valentine’s as well. Yes, it definitely all makes sense.” She nodded, having reached her conclusion. “Alright, I’ll keep it simple.”

Well, that wasn’t exactly the explanation I would have gone with… Ayumu thought to herself, but if it works for her and keeps her out of trouble in the kitchen… She also found herself amused by how Setsuna always seemed to view the world through the lens of anime. Or idols. One or the other, sometimes both. It was rather cute, despite its absurdity, or perhaps… maybe because of it?

“I guess that also means no Tabasco sauce, parmesan or pickles?” Setsuna suddenly added.

“No. Definitely not.” Ayumu shook her head. What the heck kind of article suggested putting those kinds of things in Valentine’s chocolate?

“Hrm, I read the Tabasco or any sort of chili could represent burning passion.”

“Are you looking to convey burning passion to the others in the club?”

Setsuna blinked as though having just realized the implication. “Well… burning passionate friendship maybe?”

“Maybe Setsuna-chan is capable of that kind of thing.” Ayumu laughed. “But for now, why don’t we stick with the <K.I.S.S> principle?”

“Alright.” Thankfully, Setsuna didn’t seem too disappointed by having her ideas dismissed.

“So, shall we look at things to use for decoration?” Ayumu offered.

“Yes.” Setsuna agreed with a smile.

----------

“You know, I’m surprised you don’t do this with Yuu-san.” Setsuna commented as the two girls were setting up in Ayumu’s kitchen.

“Yuu-chan doesn’t have much interest in baking, or cooking, really.” Ayumu explained. “For Valentine’s, she just buys chocolate from the store.” She chuckled at memories. “However, she has actually made a bit of a tradition of buying the same kind for a few years now.”

“I can understand that. Traditions are fun.” Setsuna nodded. “And I had originally intended to buy chocolates for everyone this year, but then I got that flyer and it inspired me. I started researching things and got even more ideas and the more ideas I got the more I wanted to try making them myself.” She smiled. “Thank you again for letting me use your kitchen and equipment.”

“You’re most welcome, Setsuna-chan.”

With double boilers arranged on the stove and molds on the counter, the girls got to work. All the while, Ayumu kept a careful eye on what was being put in each pot, ensuring no extraneous ingredients were added. Thankfully, Setsuna seemed to be content with the items they had purchased. Perhaps the K.I.S.S. principle really had struck a chord with her?

Setsuna hummed happily to herself as she stirred her pot of chocolate before dipping in the thermometer as Ayumu had shown her a few minutes ago. “Oh, 31.5 degrees.” She announced.

“Perfect.” Ayumu responded, moving over to the stove. “Let’s give it a quick taste.” She dipped in a spoon. “That’s wonderful, Setsuna-chan. I hadn’t considered using dark chocolate before, but this is really good.” She smiled as the other girl bounced with excitement at the praise. “There’s a boldness that really suits you.”

“Boldness?”

“Here.” Ayumu held out what was left on the spoon. “Taste for yourself.”

“That is really good.” Setsuna agreed. “So, how is it different from yours?”

“Let’s find out.” Ayumu found a different spoon, dipped it into her pot and tasted it before holding it as well.

“Hrm… If mine is bold, then Ayumu-san’s is sweet.” Setsuna giggled as a thought occurred to her. “Not all that different from us on stage as school idols, don’t you think?”

Ayumu felt heat rise in her cheeks. “Maybe…”

“Anyway, yours is really good too, Ayumu-san.”

“Probably not as good as one made by someone like Kanata-chan.” Ayumu thought out loud.

“Ayumu-san.” Setsuna’s voice suddenly became stern.

“Eh?”

“That’s no good.” Furrowing her brow and putting a hand on her hip, Setsuna took on a commanding aura that made her seem bigger than her otherwise diminutive stature. It was something at which she excelled when performing on stage, but this was different. “You should have more confidence in yourself, Ayumu-san. Your chocolate is wonderful, and everyone will be grateful to receive it.”

“Oh…”

Setsuna didn’t seem satisfied with that response. “And I don’t just mean confidence here in the kitchen, by the way. You’re one of the hardest workers in the club, both academically and in school idol activities.” She paused for a moment. “Though I suppose I have read a lot of comments from your fans about how they think your bashfulness is cute and part of your charm. But they also appreciate your determination, so even they would have to agree that you should have more confidence in your abilities. Anyway, my point is that Yuu-san is going to love your chocolates. So will Kanata-san. And Kasumi-san. And all of the others.”

“And Setsuna-chan?” Ayumu couldn’t help a bit of hopefulness in her voice.

That seemed to throw Setsuna off. “I… Well…” Her hand fell from her hip and her brow unknitted. “Of course, myself as well. I just tasted it and told you it was good, right?” She paused again. “It’s not going to change in flavor when it hardens, right?”

“Not really, if we did things right, which it looks like we did. It won’t have as strong a smell when it’s solid, but it will still be good.” Ayumu assured with a chuckle. “Some of the toppings and decorations we’ll add in a bit will compliment things, but the chocolate itself will remain essentially the same as it now.”

“Oh, alright, that’s good.”

“Shall we get this stuff in the molds before it hardens in the pot?”

Setsuna nodded in agreement and the two began the next phase of their project.

“So, how long will these take to cool so we can reuse the molds?” Setsuna asked as she set a tray in the fridge.

“Reuse?”

“For the next batch.”

Ayumu realized that Setsuna still had several bars of unused chocolate. “How many were you planning on making?”

“I wanted to make some for the student counsel as well. And one more.”

“One more?”

“Is that the biggest mold you have?” Setsuna indicated one far larger than the others.

“I think so.” Ayumu picked up the tray in question. She had not personally ever used it for chocolate due to its size, rather for baking small cakes or cookies. “Who would this be for?” As soon as the question left her mouth, she began dreading the answer.

“Oh, uhm…” Pink dusted Setsuna’s cheeks. “I wanted to make a special one for Yuu-san” Ayumu’s breath hitched. Of course it would be for… “and Ayumu-san.” Oh… “If you two don’t mind sharing, of course.”

“No… that’s fine…” A different type of regret crept through Ayumu’s mind.

“I consider you two my best friends.” Setsuna admitted, glancing away somewhat sheepishly. “Of course I cherish the friendships I’ve made with the others in the club, but you two are different, and I wanted to do something different to show that. I actually had you two in mind when I first considered making all these.” She looked up. “Sorry for spoiling the surprise, but I guess that was inevitable when I agreed to come here for this project.”

“Well, it will still be a surprise for Yuu-chan.” Ayumu offered, as she attempted to suppress her unease.

“That’s true.” Setsuna agreed. “I hope you two like it.”

“I’ve already tasted it, so you already know what I think.” Ayumu pointed out.

Setsuna grinned as her usual cheerfulness came back on the rise. And as was often the case, her smile was contagious, so Ayumu couldn’t help returning one of her own, which made her feel better as well.

“Alright, let’s prepare some of the decorations while the first batch cools.” Ayumu said, moving over to the counter.

“Right.” Setsuna agreed as she followed.

----------

“Good morning, Yuu-chan.” Ayumu greeted her childhood friend on the other balcony.

“Mornin’ Ayumu…” Yuu yawned in return, rubbing at her eyes.

“Another late night?”

“Mmm…”

“What am I going to do with you two?” Ayumu sighed.

“Mm? Two?”

Huh, déjà vu. “Setsuna-chan stayed up too late the other night finishing her book.”

Yuu’s eyes lit up. “Oh, she said she was going to let us borrow it when she was done.”

“She gave it to me already.” Ayumu explained. “I’ll let you have it this weekend when it doesn’t matter as much if you stay up too late.”

Yuu pouted and Ayumu couldn’t help laughing lightly at the adorable reaction.

“Anyway, it’s good you’re up in time today. Setsuna-chan and I worked hard yesterday and want to give you your gifts as soon as possible.”

“Oh yeah, that’s right. One sec…” Yuu turned as if to head back into her room.

“Just go ahead and get ready, Yuu-chan.” Ayumu called after her friend. “I’ll see you at the stairs in a few.”

“Alright!” came the response from the other side of the divider.

Not more than fifteen minutes later, Yuu came barreling down the stairs, buttered toast in her mouth like she was cosplaying an anime character.

“Yuu-chan, your ribbon is wrong…” Ayumu stopped her friend so she could adjust the bow. “There we go.”

“Thanks Ayumu.” Yuu replied with a chewing grin.

“Geez, and you’re getting crumbs…” Ayumu picked two pieces off Yuu’s cheek and ate them.

As if not even noticing, Yuu finished her breakfast and reached into her bag. “Happy Valentine’s, Ayumu!” She said, proudly presenting a package.

“Thank you, Yuu-chan.” Ayumu accepted the chocolate.

Sure enough, they were the same as years prior. She loved the tradition and as such, the brand had become one of her favorites, though she only indulged in it once a year. And, as per tradition, she quickly opened the package, removed one piece and ate it. She then took out a second piece and offered it to the person who had just given them to her.

“Mm, those are always so good.” Yuu commented. “I’d say they’re my favorite, but there is one kind that is better.”

Ayumu smiled as she knew the implications of the compliment, as if Yuu’s expectantly excited expression wasn’t enough of a giveaway. Thus, she reached into her own bag and produced one of the chocolates she had made the previous evening.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Yuu-chan.”

“That looks as amazing as ever.” Yuu observed as she accepted the chocolate. After quickly opening the package, she broke off a sizable piece, split it in two and offered one back to Ayumu. Same as the year before, and the year before that. “Yes, Ayumu’s chocolates really are the best.” Yuu said after swallowing.

“Shall we go meet up with Setsuna-chan?” Ayumu asked.

“Of course!” Yuu agreed as the two headed toward the station.

----------

“Setsuna-chan!” Yuu called, spotting their friend leaning against the same pillar as every morning since the three of them started walking to school together.

“Good morning, Yuu-san, Ayumu-san.” Setsuna bowed politely as the two approached.

“Good morning.” Ayumu replied with a smile.

“Happy Valentine’s!” Yuu cried, pulling out a package that looked to be the same size as the one she had given Ayumu a little while ago.

“Thank you.” Setsua accepted with a smile that rivaled the size of the gift. “May I open it now?”

Yuu laughed. “Of course!”

Ayumu couldn’t help paying close attention as the paper was removed to reveal… sure enough, it was the same brand. Yuu had given them both identical gifts. And that bothered… no wait, did it actually bother her? Strange. Several months ago, it absolutely would have. But now…

“These are really good.” Setsuna’s voice caught Ayumu’s attention again. “Want one?” She held out a pair.

“Don’t mind if I do.” Yuu replied.

Ayumu dismissed her initial thought to point out that she already had some of her own, due to Yuu having given her a box back home. Instead, she smiled and accepted the offer. Setsuna had melded all but seamlessly into their habits of sharing snacks so of course she would continue now.

“Thank you.” She said before taking a bite.

“Ayumu already knows, because she helped me make it, but I have something for you two as well.” Setsuna reached into her bag.

“Woah, that’s not just for…” Yuu started.

“It’s for both of you.” Setsuna finished.

“Oh, yeah, that makes more sense.” Yuu started unwrapping. “Still, this is amazing, Setsuna-chan. You put a lot of work into this.” She admired the decorations for a few moments.

Ayumu couldn’t disagree. She’d watched Setsuna pour her heart into practically professional level details. What she lacked in traditional taste, Setsuna more than made up for with an exceptional, though esoteric aesthetic.

“It’s almost a shame to eat something like this.” Yuu continued.

Setsuna laughed. “It’s fine. Eating it is the point. I hope you like it.”

“I’m sure it will be fine. Let’s see…” In a similar manner to what she had done with Ayumu’s chocolate, Yuu broke off a piece, but this time divided it into three. “There we go.”

Setsuna and Ayumu accepted their shares and the three popped their pieces into their mouths at the same time.

Yuu started to chuckle after she swallowed. “Looks like the brand I’ve been giving is going to be bumped down another notch.”

Setsuna tilted her head and blinked with a silent question.

“Ayumu’s is already ahead on my favorites list, but now Setsuna-chan’s is as well.” Yuu explained.

Ayumu found herself wondering about her own list of favorites. Setsuna’s chocolate really was delicious and Ayumu took a bit of pride in knowing she had helped rein in the adventurous chef so as to produce something that good. Also, Yuu was correct that it was better than the store-bought kind she gave. But was that all enough to edge out the sense of nostalgia Ayumu felt every year from Yuu’s gift? Or did it simply bring them both to the same level? Would she feel the same if she had left Setsuna to her own devices where she would have likely used bacon, Tabasco – seriously, what was her obsession with Tabasco? – paremesan, pickels and deities only knew what else?

“Oh, is that the time?” Yuu asked, her attention focused on one of the various displays around the platform. “We should get going so we’re not late to class.”

“Wait,” Ayumu spoke up before the other two started moving “I still have to give mine.”

Even though she likely knew it was coming, even though she had already helped taste test the batch and witnessed the decoration process, Setsuna bounced a little with an excitedly expectant energy. Ayumu noted how similar the behavior was to Yuu’s earlier reaction.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Setsuna-chan.”

Setsuna tore into the package with equal enthusiasm as with the first from Yuu. And like before, a piece was broken off and shared among the three before they started walking toward their school.

While her two friends seemed filled with festive fervor, something else held Ayumu’s thoughts. Certainly, she was happy that her friends were happy, and she was sure to smile when either directed their attention toward her, but something felt off. And not only was it different than what she had felt in months before, she couldn’t decide if it was better or worse.

----------

So, the packages of chocolates Yuu had given the other girls in the club had indeed been the same brand, but in smaller packages. And she had given Ayumu and Setsuna the same size. Did that mean that Yuu viewed them the same?

Ayumu pondered the day’s events as she made her way to her room to prepare for her bath.

Yuu had said, months ago, that Setsuna was not more important to her than Ayumu. And while Ayumu had trouble believing the statement at first, as more was revealed, she came to realize the truth in Yuu’s statement. However, that still did not rule out the possibility that Yuu considered the two of them equally important.

Thus, Ayumu found herself conflicted. On the one hand, there was the old familiar feeling of fear that she might lose Yuu to someone else… not that Yuu was actually hers, but… It was the feeling that had spiked in the days before the festival due to that misunderstanding with Setsuna and the same one she had tried hard to quash after things were made clear.

She didn’t want to be upset with Setsuna though, because as far as she could tell, the other girl had no intentions of stealing Yuu away from her. In fact, Setsuna had been nothing but honest and sincere in her desire to be close friends with both of them.

And that lead to the other hand, where Ayumu had come to truly enjoy the time the three spent together, often missing Setsuna’s presence when it was just her and Yuu. Heck, inviting Setsuna over to make chocolates wasn’t even the first time they had spent time together without Yuu, and there was no denying how much fun Ayumu had that evening.

So, did Yuu see her and Setsuna the same? Did Setsuna see her and Yuu the same? For that matter, did Ayumu see the other two the same? And if they did all see each other the same, what did that mean for them as friends… or lov…?

Despite there being no witnesses around to see her face, Ayumu felt like she needed to hide the fact that she was blushing at the thought of a relationship beyond what she already had with her two friends. And some of the activities that might be involved with such a relationship.

Certainly, this wasn’t the first time she had imagined such things between herself and Yuu, but it was the first time Setsuna had made an appearance in such fantasies. And Ayumu couldn’t deny that the ideas held an amount of appeal. Quite a bit of appeal, actually. Far more than she anticipated.

Ayumu leaned back in the tub and allowed her thoughts to continue meandering through various scenarios, several of which became more than slightly sensual. By the time she was finished with her bath, she was quite ready to crawl under the covers and fall asleep.

But first, she needed to send her nightly message to Yuu. After hitting Send, she was about to set down her phone and don her pajamas when a thought occurred to her. She switched conversation threads and sent a similar good night message to Setsuna. Then, with a smile, she placed the device by her pillow and finished getting ready for bed.

The two other girls had responded by the time Ayumu crawled into bed so she read their messages before pulling up the covers. Finally, as sleep started to take over, Ayumu found herself looking forward to the next day so she could see Yuu, and Setsuna, again.

----------

Author’s Note Continued in Followup Post

[yujee]

Gintoki In Wonderland

Chapter 3/5

After vomiting, the dwarves found him and thought he was dead, so they prepared a glass coffin for him. But what really happened was, he just fell asleep after vomiting. That’s why he was so shocked when he woke up the next day. He found himself about to be kissed by a beautiful light purple, long haired princess. He sprung up and noticed a silver ball on the princess’ hat. He immediately took the ball and was happy to find that it was a correct one. He was still hiding the ball when the princess suddenly started saying some odd things, like bondage or whip and whatnot. But Gintoki was unfazed and just ignored the princess, it seems like he was familiar with that setting. Just then, they were attacked by arrows. Gintoki grabbed the princess and told her. “The other woman I know, although she’s a pervert stalker, was much better since she has something to defend herself to.”

Jealous, the princess took out the daggers hidden at the back of her dress. “These should be enough right?” she handed him one dagger and started avoiding the arrows. Gintoki followed her and smirked. Both here and there, this woman still moves like a ninja. Gintoki thought. He started running away when he slipped on the ground.

“What the hell is this slimy thing?! There shouldn’t be anything like this he—” he stopped ranting when he saw where the slimy trail was coming from. It was from a mayonnaise. And there was only one guy in mind who could be holding it and leaving a trail of mayonnaise. Yes, you guessed it right. The demon chief of Shinsengumi in Gintama world, where Gintoki was originally from, Hijikata Toushirou. But the man before Gintoki was dressed differently. He was wearing a light blue vest with long white sleeves, dark blue pants, and a small brown cape.

Looking at person before him, Gintoki just sighed and wiped off the mayonnaise on his butt. This guy is here too, huh. So, if this guy’s here, the other one should be here too. Gintoki told himself. And he was not mistaken. As he was standing up, he heard another familiar voice behind him.

“Die Hanselllllll!!!!!” shouted the man who was attacking the ‘Hijikata’ with a big candy cane. He was also wearing almost the same clothes as the other one, except that this guy was wearing white shorts, with knee high dark grey socks, and long blue and red vest instead.

The mayonnaise guy avoided the attack. “How did you escape Gretel?!”

“Tsk.” The younger guy clicked his tongue. “Easy-peasy. Now prepare to die!” the younger one was about to attack the mayo guy again, but Gintoki, irritated that he was the one who had taken the hit earlier, pushed away their faces away from him as he was still in the middle of them

“Even in this world, you two are still at each other’s throat.” Gintoki sighed. “I thought I heard, ‘Die Hijikata!’ earlier.”

Gintoki has forgotten about the princess who was still running away, thinking he was chasing her. The arrows too, seemed to have stopped coming at him when he slipped on that mayonnaise. After he got away from the two idiots fight, he found the assailant hiding behind a tall tree. He threw his dagger and luckily it hit the assailant, on his butt. Gintoki went and dragged the guy out from his hiding place.

“I knew it.” Gintoki tied up the guy to a tree and sighed, again. “Hattori, huh?”

“Take out the dagger off my butt! You don’t know who you’re dea—” Gintoki then stuffed the big candy cane, he took from Gretel onto the hunter’s mouth. Yes, he was a hunter sent by the Queen to kill Gintoki because he was Snow White, but since the latter was tired of hearing explanations, hence this sentence is added.

“Blah, Blah, Blah, just tell me if you saw any silver ball around here. Just shake or nod your head.” Ordered Gintoki.

The guy just shook his head and tries to undo the bound, but it was too tight.

“Danna, can I have my cane back?” Gretel asked Gintoki was tightening the rope around the hunter.

“Never heard that word in a long time. Anyways, are you two done fighting?” Gintoki took out cane from the hunter’s mouth and gave it to Gretel.

“Sorry, I don’t know what to call you. And it seems that, the word suits you.” Gretel responded while nonchalantly drying off the cane onto Hansel’s clothes.

“Oi. What do you think you’re doing?” Hansel replied irritably.

The two were about to start fighting again, when someone flew over their heads. It was a witch. But there was something different from the witch, aside from her traditional witch clothing, a purple colored velvet dress with flared sleeves and a black pointed hat, there was something missing. And it was her broom. She was flying and was like sitting on a broom, but there was no broom in sight. It was like she was flying an invisible broom.

“Hansel and Gretel! Why did you run away? I thought you wanted to join my rebel group?!” the witch got off her ‘broom’ and walked towards the two idiots who were fighting again. The witch was sandwiched in the fights of the idiots. When she finally got away, she noticed the shocked Gintoki who too speechless to blurt out the word: ‘ZURA’. The fact that the witch was not a female, but a ‘she-male’ and this leader of the rebel group was trying to recruit those two officers who were his enemies, though from Gintoki’s world.

The witch pointed at Gintoki. “You, the one with curly hair, do you want to—”

Gintoki finally regain his composure and stuffed an empty mayonnaise bottle into the witch’s mouth. “Even here you are recruiting for rebels. Are you an idiot?!”

The witch spit the bottle and retorted. “I’m not an idiot! I’m a witch!”

“I’m sick of this joke. I’m leaving. I will look for the last silver ball around here.” Defeated, Gintoki walked away and suddenly the witch threw something at him.

“Oi! Are you picking a fight huh?!” Turning around, he roared at the witch who made Hansel and Gretel fell asleep.

“I’m taking these two again, in exchange for that, I’m giving you that silver ball.” The witch then went on his way, carrying the two sleeping idiots.

[rike-with-love]

Melody of our Hearts (chapter 2)

Author’s notes: Here’s the second chapter as my apology for being MIA for so long!!

Pairings: Okikagu, Gintsu (minor), Takaban (minor)

Rating: M for mature content, bad language, fluff, light angst, enemies to friends to lovers

Disclaimer: I don't own Gintama or it's characters, Sorachi Hideaki does. I only own this story.

Chapter 2

<- Previous Chapter ~~  Next Chapter ->

”So the stage is reserved for us from 4pm to 6pm.”

”Okay,” Gintoki said to his loyal assistant, Shimura Shinpachi as he presented a piece of document in front of the silver haired CEO.

”And Kawakami-nim will take care of the soundtracks as we spoke earlier,” Shinpachi said and placed another paper on the desk.

Before Gintoki could answer him, third, fourth and even fifth paper was gently swiped to rest on the wooden surface.

”Here are the receipts we need to copy for our accountants – here's the official approval from the city to hold the concert – here's a bill of the advertisement for the concert.”

Shinpachi's words spiralled through Gintoki's ears, so much to remember and so much more to do. ”Oi oi,”, he wailed. Then, from the corner of Gintoki's eye, he saw yet another paper coming. ”Ne! Shinpachi!”

”What is it Sakata-nim?” Shinpachi asked and straightened his almost oval-shaped glasses.

”Please, you can call me Gintoki”, the man said, discreetly guiding the conversation to somewhere else. ”I'm not that into the honorifics.”

”But Sakata-nim, you're my boss now. I don't want anyone to think that I'm disrespecting you.”

Gintoki turned with his chair towards the young black-haired man. ”Shinpachi, we've been friends for years, you don't have to worry about that”, he said. ”Just leave the honorifics for the public stuff, ne?”

Shinpachi smiled and his brown eyes sparkled. ”I guess I can do that...Gintoki”, he said.

There was no-one who could call the young man rude in any way. He was a polite and hard-working person, someone Gintoki could really count on.

Shinpachi was also quite good with computers. Actually he was a lot better than Gintoki could ever imagine. In addition to his diligentness and computer skills, he had a decent sense of style. Actually he was the one who made Gintoki dress like a boss should.

Gintoki's taste in clothes was pretty casual, so he went with a white dress shirt and a light grey suit. A tie was an enigma he wasn't ready for, but maybe someday in the distant future.

Shinpachi on the other hand liked to dress up. He wore a light blue dress shirt with a beige cotton vest. He also claimed that his pants were dark blue rather than black, but no-one really cared.

Gintoki felt like he had successfully turned the tides of the conversation. But he was wrong, oh so wrong.

”Now, can we get back on the preparations of the concert?” Shinpachi asked, he knew very well his bosses lazy agendas.

”Haha, certainly”, Gintoki said with a forced smile.

Shinpachi flashed his shiniest smile and began to bombard Gintoki with documents. As the papers kept piling up, the easy-going CEO got lost in his thoughts.

Gintoki had always known it wasn't a cakewalk to run a business, especially not a record label, but that was the exact reason he had hired people to work for him. For Gintoki's salvation and headache, his employees worked faster than his mellow brain could adapt.

Maybe I could hire someone to be the boss so I could just jump on a plane and enjoy some parfaits under the sun in Bahamas, Gintoki thought to himself.

Not that he could afford a trip to the Bahamas. Or a plane. Or a parfait for that matter. More importantly, if Gintoki would distant himself from the company, he wouldn't be able to help Kagura in achieving her dreams as an idol. He was his manager after all.

When the Yorozuya Entertainment was founded, it was difficult to just get by. It took time to find idols, it took time to make music. There wasn't a possibility to hire more people and that was the exact reason Gintoki decided to become the manager for the label's idols. Just for the time being anyway, he had said. To get things started you know, he had also added.

The voice of Shinpachi finally snapped Gintoki out of his trip down memory lane and the pressing worry of the massive loan he had taken for the company.

”A bill from the security firm – a bill from the equipments we bought for the concert – a bill from the fabrics...”

Shinpachi's words sounded all the same to Gintoki. Why am I so lousy with these things, Gintoki thought to himself.

”GINTOKI!” A loud shout came from the door, startling both Gintoki and Shinpachi momentarily.

At the door was non-other than Shimura Tae, the head of public relations of YE, the older sister of Shinpachi and the one keeping Gintoki's laziness in check. ”I need you to sign these papers right now,” she said with a ominiously calm smile.

Tae, who more commonly went by Otae was a sharp young woman. After moving to Seoul she had graduated from business school with impressive papers.

Otae was one of the first persons Gintoki wanted to hire, she was a ball of endless ideas with an unwavering drive to make them happen. There wasn't anyone who could have been a better fit for the head of PR than her.

She looked very similar to her little brother, aside from her brown hair and her not needing any glasses. She liked to wear a tight pencil skirts and a matching blouse. Today's colors were purple and white.

Otae had shoulder length hair, often worn in a neat ponytail. She had bangs to frame her petite face nicely. Also, she wasn't shy with accessories, usually sporting a tiny scarf around her neck with a matching color as the rest of her outfit.

”Hello ane-ue*!” Shinpachi said. The siblings were originally from Japan, so they liked to refer to each other in Japanese. Sometimes it was funny to observe when the two got into an argument and the language switched immediately back to home shore.

”Hello Shin-chan*, did you give Gintoki all the papers?” Otae asked and pushed a dark brown strand of hair behind her ear.

”Almost there”, Shinpachi chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck a little.

As the Shimuras chatted, Gintoki was halfway sliding down from his chair.

”Uh, Gintoki?” Otae asked.

A single call of his name froze Gintoki right up. Otae had a flair in her voice, soothing but chilling at the same time. A perfect voice for tortu-...uh...negotating with people.

”Yes, Otae?” Gintoki asked and magically sat up while casually fixing the sleeves from his shirt.

”Would you mind signing this?” Otae asked and tapped a piece of paper with her pen. ”It's a permission to-”

Gintoki raised his hand at Otae, who stopped talking out of surprise. It was rare for Gintoki to act all bossy and condescending towards employees, friends – towards anyone really.

”Me and Shinpachi here,” Gintoki said and began to fondle the documents on his desk. ”We're a little busy at the moment.”

Gintoki didn't have anything against the adamant woman, he just wasn't in the mood to handle another important matter. It was probably something urgent as it came from her.

Shinpachi glanced at his boss with wide eyes. All of a sudden Gintoki was very into the paperwork.

”Yes, thank you for taking things seriously for once,” Shinpachi said.

Gintoki looked at the young man standing next to him. ”But I always do.”

”No you don't.”

”Nope, not even little bit.”

Gintoki huffed. He knew they were right, but he also wanted to be the boss. ”I'll forgive you this time, okay?” he said. Both Shimuras nodded as they were trying to take him seriously and Gintoki took what he got.

”Alright Shinpachi, give me all the details,” Gintoki said and actually took one paper into his hands.

”Ah, wait,” Shinpachi said and searched the stack of papers he was holding. ”Just one more.”

Gintoki elevated one hand, ready to receive the last document. ”Take your time Shinpachi.”

”Hah! Here!” Shinpachi cheered and offered the paper to Gintoki. ”Here's the rent-”

Gintoki moved like a shadow the second he heard the word 'rent'. Before anyone could say another word, Gintoki had grabbed his gray jacket from his chair and suddenly stood next to Otae, carefully examining the permission note she tried to offer him a moment later.

”I'm in a meeting right now Shinpachi, take care of those for me”, Gintoki said and walked out of the office with Otae.

”Heeeyyy!” Shinpachi yelled after them, a vain effort that he pretty much new from the start. ”You can't run from the rent forever!”

*

*

It had been a busy week at the YE building. After the release of Kagura's first single, Eli & Zura and Sugar Addicts released their first singles as well. Otae's PR plan for the company was to come out to the k-pop scene with a bang. Three new artists debuting at once was a real bang to say the least.

On top of everything, the free outdoor concert was well on its way. Almost everything had been taken care of, but Gintoki was a ball of stress on every single little detail. Yes, he appeared that he didn't care or had any interest on the matter, but that was just his defence mechanism. Honestly, he felt a little overwhelmed by the paperwork and stuff like that, but he cared.

Luckily he had Otae and Shinpachi. They were a power house together - and separately. They took care of running errands, permissions, equipments, all of that. This way Gintoki could focus better on the idols or as he so endearingly called the 'moneymakers'.

Gintoki helped everyone to prepare with the best of his ability. He wasn't a singer or a dancer, but he was a long time fan on k-pop. Yes, he was a grown man in his late twenties, but that didn't stop him from enjoying the music.

Gintoki understood showmanship, he was good at looking at the big picture, but he needed help with all the separate parts to build the idols into a functioning package.

Sugar Addicts had a member called Tsuu, going by the stage name Otsu. She had been dancing for several years. She sort of became the unofficial choreographer of the group and pretty much a choreographer for the whole company.

Apart from Sugar Addicts, none of the other idols had any prior professional dancing experience. However with Gintoki and Otsu's help, the rest of the idols; Kagura and Zura & Eli were able to add enough movement for their performances to pop.

Kagura had the rhythm and she had the spark, but learning steps wasn't really her strong suit. Still, she was better in dancing than Eli & Zura, a duo consisting of Katsura ”Zura” Kotarou and Elizabeth ”Eli” Dragonia.

Zura was a peculiar rapper/singer and an old childhood friend of Gintoki's. He was...how to put this nicely...he was a total corky lovable weirdo. Zura did all the vocals for the duo and Eli, well Eli played a synthesizer*. He couldn't really participate with the vocals as the man was mute.

When Gintoki was trying to get Zura to join his label, he explained that all the music could be produced by computers, but Zura didn't really care. He had only one condition before signing any papers, Eli and him would form a duo together, no matter how weird it sounded to anyone.

Gintoki knew it was a risk, there wasn't anything like that in the k-pop scene, but Zura managed to convince Gintoki that they would become the next big thing, the k-pop version of Modern Talking*. It sounded too interesting for Gintoki to pass by, so he agreed to debut the duo.

It was still a mystery where Zura had found a mute man named Elizabeth, but they seemed to be inseperabtle friends despite it all.

After Kagura's demand on finding someone to help with the costumes for the idols, Gintoki found Tsukki. She was a talented stylist who never told anyone her full name, she just went by with Tsukki. She was a beautiful woman with blonde hair and sharp purpleish eyes. She also had a scar on her left eye , but no-one dared to ask anything about it.

Tsukki was a woman shrouded in mystery.

And what it came to making music, Gintoki was totally at loss. Luckily the company found a musical genius to work for them.

Kawakami Bansai, a graduate from Korean National University of Arts. He was a prodigy. The young man was courted by many big companies when he was close to graduating. His future promised great things for him, he could have worked for anyone in the entire music industry, that's how talented he was. But...after graduating, he simply vanished.

No-one ever knew why did he go or where did he go. Well, there was one person who knew why he disappeared, but that's a whole another story.

So how he ended up working in a new, rather unsure record label? Gintoki and Shinpachi didn't know Bansai or his background in music when they met him for the first time. The man was playing a shamisen* in a park, eyes hidden behind sunglasses, expression telling of his fondness for the instrument he was playing.

Gintoki liked his music and he asked if the man wanted a job. Bansai paused his song and looked into the silver-haired man's maroon eyes. There was nothing suspicious in the way the man looked at him. For some reason Bansai felt like trusting this man, thou he wasn't even sure what trust even meant anymore.

Only after Bansai signed his contract in Gintoki's office, he casually mentioned his degree in music. Gintoki practically and literally fell off his chair, how could he have known the man was a mastermind in music.

Otae suggested on upgrading his contract and salary, but Bansai refused. The only thing he desired was to make music without crazy expectations and no questions from his past. Gintoki and Otae both agreed to his terms, they would have been fools to decline.

And there it was, the group of people who together formed the Yorozuya Entertainment and Gintoki couldn't be any prouder.

*

*

In a nice cozy office/work space of Tsukki, a final fitting was well on its way. Kagura twirled in front of a mirror and admired her outfit for the concert.

”Well, what do you think Gura?” Tsukki asked.

Kagura had her long vermillion hair done with her signature look. Two small buns on top of her hair. It was like she had small round ears made from hair. The rest of the her puffy hair was flowing free, reaching all the way to her lower back.

The outfit Tsukki had sown for her was a perfect fit. Kagura had a red, off-shoulder shirt with long sleeves. Tsukki styled a high-wasted black cotton skirt to accentuate her small frame.

The skirt reached just over Kagura's knee, the length matching nicely with her black ankle boots. No heels was Kagura's only wish for Tsukki when the design for her outfit was being created.

”It's really pretty Tsukki, I love it,” Kagura said as she played with a black  velvet collar around her neck. It even had a cute golden heart in the middle.

Tsukuyo crossed her arms and smiled. ”I'm glad to hear that,” she said and walked to her desk.

It was hard to tell it was a desk from all the sewing equipments and drafts of clothing covering the whole thing. She really needed a bigger room to work in, Kagura thought, but she very well knew this was all they could afford at the moment.

”You were the last one to do a fitting, every costume is now done for the show.”

”You're very efficient, yes,” Kagura pointed out to the blonde woman wearing a black form-fitting suit, hair cut into a short bob to fit the look.

Tsukki hummed happily. ”It wasn't that big of a project, there's only eight idols to dress after all.”

”That's true,” Kagura said and returned to posing for the mirror.

Tsukki began to dig out some papers to deliver for Gintoki. Probably more bills to pay for the poor CEO.

”Tsukki?” Kagura asked and looked at the ever elegant woman through the mirror.

”Yes Gura?”

”Don't tell A-Gin...but I'm a little nervous about the concert.”

Tsukki lifted her gaze up. ”Why would you be nervous?”

”It's just that...the interview for the radio went well, but...”Kagura paused.

”But what?” Tsukki asked. She seemed to be seriously nervous. Sure, Tsukki hadn't known Kagura for a very long time, but the girl was like an open book when it came down to reading her emotions. She was one of the most confident and robust personalities Tsukki had ever seen, so seeing her falter worried her.

”You can talk to me,” Tsukki said and connected eyes with Kagura through the mirror.

”Well...this is the first time I'm performing live and...what if I screw it all up...”

Tsukki abandoned her papers and walked straight to Kagura. She placed her hands on her bare shoulders. ”Listen to me Gura”, Tsukki said in a really empowering voice. ”Look at the mirror.”

Kagura did as Tsukki said, and looked at her reflection. She sure looked like an idol...it felt almost surreal. ”What do you see?” Tsukki asked her.

”I see...me and you.”

”Yes, that's true. What else?”

”I see...your pretty clothes, yes.”

Tsukki shook her head a little. ”Those are not my clothes anymore, they're yours to wear, yours to feel confident in.”

”O-okay...” Kagura answered unsurely.

”You don't have anything to worry about Gura, you know you were born to command a stage.”

A smile sneaked on Kagura's pink lips. ”Uh-huh...”

”Just be yourself and sing the crowd into a bliss, okay,” Tsukki said and squeezed Kagura's shoulders slightly before letting go.

Kagura turned to look at Tsukki as she returned to her desk to get back to work. ”Hey...” Kagura said.

”What is it now?” Tsukki asked. She didn't even spare a look at Kagura, but that didn't bother the young starlet. Tsukki was all about keeping up a tough exterior, rarely allowing many feelings out.

”Thanks for the pep talk,” Kagura said.

Tsukki glanced at the redhead. She had a pleased look on her face, but it lasted only for a second. She's a complete softie inside, Kagura giggled to herself.

A knock on the door drawed the attention of both women in the room. ”Come in,” Tsukki said.

It was Gintoki coming in. ”Ne, how are we doing in here?” he asked and rolled his shoulders a little.

Kagura cocked an eyebrow. Was the ever lazy Gintoki being nervous. A thought of something being seriously wrong immediately crossed her mind. It was the day of the oblivion when Sakata Gintoki would stress openly about something.

Suddenly Tsukki turned her face away from the door. "We're doing perfectly fine here Sakata-nim," she almost mumbled.

”Uh, great...” Gintoki said and gulped a little.

Kagura stared at Tsukki for a moment. Where did the ever calm Tsukki went, she wondered. ”A-Gin...can we talk a little?” Kagura asked and walked closer to Gintoki.

”Oh, Kagura...I didn't see you there,” Gintoki said.

”What?” Kagura almost laughed.

”I-I mean of course I saw you there, that's not what I meant jeez...”

”Let's go already, yes”, Kagura said pulled her foster-father towards the door.

Tsukki cleared her throat behind her desk and tried to get up quickly. ”Before you go-” Tsukki said before she bumped her knee on the wooden table. "Tsk!"

"Tsukki!" Kagura called.

Gintoki moved by instict as he rushed to check on Tsukki. He went to her side to see if he could help in any way. "Are you okay?"

"It's nothing," she hissed and turned to Gintoki, who was closer to her than she had expected for him to be.

Kagura watched in complete silence as the usually super serious stylist slithered away from her desk, with a flushed face. Her completely black suit just made her blush more apparent.

"I-I'm fine," Tsukki said and tried to compose herself. "Uh, there's some documents for you on my desk Sakata-nim."

Kagura noticed a sudden shift in Gintoki's behaviour.

”Ne, Tsukki...when will you drop those unnecessary last names and stuff like that,” Gintoki said and leaned his right arm's elbow against the wall. ”You can call me Gintoki.”

Tsukki rolled her eyes at the surprisingly suave boss. Kagura felt equally amused by him as Tsukki was agitated.

Without any warning Tsukki grabbed Gintoki by his open jacket, never breaking eye-contact with Gintoki. ”Listen Sakata-nim,” she said, face still adorably pink. This felt like the right time to take a step back for Kagura.

”I-it's Gintoki.”

”For gods sake, do you understand you are my boss? I don't want to raise any rumours by calling you anything else than Sakata-nim."

Gintoki opened and closed his mouth like a confused goldfish in its glass bowl.

"Do you understand?" she snapped and shook him a little.

Gintoki laughed nervously at the woman. ”Ahaha...I know, I'm...I'm just joking...haha...” he said and slowly quieted his laughter down.

Tsukki let the man go and pointed her finger at the documents she was talking about.

Kagura was waiting outside Tsukki's office. She had seen and heard just about everything and all of it tickled her funny bone. ”Let's go A-Gin!” Kagura shouted to draw his full attention.

”Ah, yes! We have to go now. Have a nice day Tsukki!” Gintoki said and shut the door behind him as fast as he could.

Gintoki exhaled deeply through his mouth. Kagura crossed her arms and waited for him to say something and to try to explain himself out of everything that just happened.

”Well...?”

”Well what Kagura? We should be going already?” Gintoki hissed a little. ”We need to go and check out the stage at the park and-”

”No no no...wait”, Kagura grinned at the man. ”Do you have anything to tell me...anything at all?”

Kagura was a young woman with a quick mind. She was excellent at picking up on things, not that anything about Gintoki's behaviour was hard to read. She had known him for most of her life after all.

Gintoki squinted his eyes at Kagura. ”What are you talking about brat?”

Kagura rolled her eyes. ”Well you obviously have the hots for Tsuk-” Kagura's statement was muffled out by Gintoki's hand blocking her mouth.

”Shhhhhhhhhh! Shhhhhhhh! Someone could hear you”, Gintoki whispered. He wasn't actually blushing...but there was a some kind of glow on his cheeks.

”Mmmffhghmmmmm!” Kagura tried to point out.

”What?”

Kagura pushed his hand off her mouth and frowned at him. ”You heard me.”

”I don't know what you're talking about”, Gintoki brushed her words right off. ”You kids nowadays think you know everything.”

Kagura was familiar with Gintoki's ways of handling difficult situation. He wasn't old, but he was an old(er) soul to say the least. He began to blame the youth when it was about remote controllers, computers or crushes.

”So are we going to the park now?” Kagura asked, graciously pretending she hadn't pointed out anything.

Gintoki smiled at her. ”Yes, we definitely are”, he said.

”Great, let me just change clothes,” Kagura said and pointed out her new outfit. ”I don't want anyone to see this yet.”

”Of course,” Gintoki said and walked Kagura to her dressing room.

Before closing the dressing room's door Kagura couldn't help but to tease Gintoki just a little bit more. "Oh, A-Gin!"

"Hmm?"

"I'm pretty sure she's into you too," Kagura said and vanished before Gintoki could do anything.

"H-hey!!!"

* *

Kagura stopped teasing Gintoki about the Tsukki thing, he seemed to prefer not to talk about it. Maybe some other time he could confess his crsytal clear feelings, but now he had so much more on his mind.

When Gintoki and Kagura got to the company's car, Gintoki had a simple question for Kagura before they entered the vehicle.

”Can I ask you something Kagura?”

”Uh-huh, ask away.”

”The concert is only one week away”, Gintoki said to her, voice remaining as calm as he was talking about puppies. ”How do you feel about it?”

Kagura smiled. ”Well...I'm very excited.”

”Good...good.”

”Yeah.”

”You're almost a fully debuted idol.”

”I guess I am,” Kagura felt like Gintoki was tiptoeing about something and it annoyed her. ”Where are you getting with these questions A-Gin?”

”Kagura, you're like my daughter...do you really think I'm not worried about your well-being? This industry is very stressful.”

”Worried?”

”Yes, I feel like you're not telling me everything.”

Kagura knew what he meant. So he had seen her nervousness through her smile, she thought.

”I...I'm just afraid.”

Gintoki's eyes sharpened at her words. ”Afraid?”

”...I know how much effort you've put into me, this company and everything...”

”That's true...but what are you afraid of Kagura?” Gintoki asked.

Kagura could feel her eyes getting watery. This was one of her biggest fear and talking about it made it feel more real. ”Well what if I screw the show up or something else? I don't want to let you down and-”

Kagura's rambling quieted down as Gintoki pulled her into his arms.

”Silly girl...” Kagura listened to Gintoki's voice. It was deep and endearing. Also fatherly. It was just what she needed to hear.

”You could never let me down, no matter if things won't work out the way we planned.”

Kagura answered his hug by latching her fingers into his gray jacket. Even the stupid soft fabric felt comforting.

”I'm still going to work my ass of, yes”, Kagura said and sniffed quietly.

”I know that already Kagura..I know,” Gintoki said and patted the back of her head.

”Can we go to the park already A-Gin?” Kagura asked and tried to calm down her voice. She didn't want to cry over stupid things, she was too busy to do that.

”Yes, let's go then.”

A/N:

*ane-ue: a honorific for a sister in the Japanese language *chan: a honorific for someone younger in the Japanese language *Modern Talking: a German duo consisting of singer Thomas Anders and arranger, songwriter and producer Dieter Bohlen *synthesizer: an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals that may be converted to sound *shamisen: a three-stringed traditional Japanese musical instrument derived from the Chinese instrument sanxian

[jellyfishcity-imagines]

Welcome and good luck with your blog!🍀May I request dating/nsfw hcs for Takasugi, Katsura, Bansai and Abuto? Thank you!❤

Thank you!!! 🤗 The nsfw part will be soft As I don't really like writing in detail about that stuff so hopefully that's okay with you? Anyway, here you go!

Takasugi Shinsuke

Since he's a generally reserved man, he's not going to be the most affectionate partner. It doesn't matter if it's public or private affection. That doesn't mean he's gonna be completely hands off though! He'll hold his partners hand (in private only)from time time or he'll carefully brush hair out of their face with the gentlest touch. If his s/o has long-ish hair, he'll run his hands through it and play with it. He also doesn't mind if they sit in his lap while he does this. During these moments he likes to confide in his s/o about everything that goes on in the kiheitai.

Takasugi won't want the relationship to be public, he's got a reputation to uphold after all. If his s/o is fine with that, it makes him love and appreciate them even more. The only people who are aware of the relationship will be Bansai, Matako and Takechi.

Doesn't think of himself as romantic but seriously, what else do you call a moonlight dinner on a ship out at sea? The only light source will be the moon itself and candles scattered throughout the room and he will also play the shamisen for them throughout the night. That's like, every hopeless romantics dream date.

He's usually the dominant one during sex, as he really likes being in control. Also really gets off on teasing his partner and making them flustered. He thinks it's cute.

As many before me have said, Takasugi is a thigh guy. He loves kissing and leaving hickeys on his s/o's thighs.

Katsura Kotaro

So basically, he's really shy (and weird) about everything. Zura never really anticipated being in a relationship, so his s/o will need to take the lead and guide him through everything.

He loves cuddling with his s/o, but only when he's ready and comfortable in the relationship. It might take him months to initiate any type of affection. He always has to be the big spoon during cuddling as he gets really fussy when his silky hair gets messed up.

Zura is not only a gentle and kind (and again, weird) partner, he's also very generous. He may not be affectionate at first but his s/o should expect random (sometimes very odd) gifts from the very beginning of the relationship. This is because these gifts are more of an apology gift. He is a wanted man, so he's always on the run from the shinsengumi. (His s/o lost count on how many times they barged in on dates.)

When it comes to dates, Zura usually leaves it up to his s/o to decide the time and place. It's not because he doesn't put effort into the relationship but rather he wants to go somewhere they enjoy. His partner should expect him to appear at the date location right on time in a ridiculous costume.

He can either be very loud or very quiet in bed and is very rarely the dominant one. He's also very talkative during foreplay but his s/o never knows what he's talking about most of the time. He just blabbers on and on until the actual intercourse where he gets quiet.

Kawakami Bansai

Dates with Bansai are gonna be really, really fun if his partner is into music. They should expect concerts, festivals and dates where, if his s/o is interested in learning how to play an instrument, he'll either teach them or they'll take a class together.

When it comes to being affectionate with his partner, he's normal. As in he's not completely reserved nor is he too smothering. Likes holding their hand or wraps an arm around their shoulders. He's okay with that type of PDA but nothing more. Kissing is more likely to happen in private.

He will talk about his other job as a producer for Tsu more than he'll talk about his work within the kiheitai. He does want his s/o to join the kiheitai if they weren't already in it before they got together, though. He won't force them to join but since he's dedicated to Takasugi's cause, he won't have much time outside of that to be with his s/o.

They'll have long talks about music and other stuff long into the night and just like Takasugi, he'll play them their favorite songs.

In the beddroom, Bansai prefers his s/o being the dominant one and really loves it when they ride him. His favorite places to kiss during the deed is their neck and jawline if the position allows it. Always open to new things too! ;)

Abuto

Abuto is a bit of a wild card when it comes to relationships. He can be the romantic type but he also complains (jokingly) if his s/o expects it. His s/o should expect a lot of joking around from him. (He's literally so funny to me idk why. He's just constantly a mood throughout the series) He's a really laid-back person, so the relationship will also be laid-back.

Proper dates with Abuto are rare as he has to always clean up Kamuis messes. He jokes that they always have dates though he's referring to when they fight side by side. He does, after all enjoys those moments with them so why can't it be considered a date?

If they actually have time for a date, he takes them to the best diner in the galaxy and orders a ton of food. His s/o better eat quickly though as a certain red-haired Yato is not far behind, hungry as always. He constantly inserts himself into their outings so they're used to it.

Abuto is actually a very affectionate man in private. He absolutely loves it when his s/o sits in his lap (more like straddling him) and thus a heavy make out session ensues. Very handsy too! A lot of times it leads to them to getting more than frisky with each other.

Speaking of that, sex can get wild and rough with him, it's fun. Sure he trys to be gentle but he prefers it when he can basically manhandle his s/o. He finds it more enjoyable that way. Other than fighting, it's his way to relieve all the stress that Kamui causes him.

[ran-orimoto]

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤ Either that was the last or wasn't, this was a year of the best Junzumi by you. Nice cherry on top. It only gets better. I need prequels of the part where Junpei gets to Italy asap, tellin'you. Where there is a drama is where I go. I want to see if Izumi realizes THINGS when he leaves or she lets him run away. I need to read the departure and why Junpei decides to go. It's great you opened all the ? For new stories about what came before. We have been reading about wgat comes after and never wondered anything, so I'm very excited for what will come. Thank you for this story, Zura

You’re welcome, Anon , she said after a month with the brightest smile characterizing a so-called faccia da culo.

I had read a bit of the asks to give myself ideas about how to reply you all, but the reviews are always so adorable and lovely and kind and amazing and awesome and stunning and wonderful, and it’s always so hard to match the feelings you convey me through these messages’ beauty. I procrastinated. Like always. But just know that I’m obviously so happy you liked the direction of this story!

ANYWAY, so many questions: each of them will ironically find light with stories dedicated to these events, because I will certainly push myself backwards this year too. And I guess I’ll eventually put my hands to this fic and start orgaizing it in a chronological order….I’m always making a mess with my stuff✨.

[vannahfanfics]

Ghosts

Category: Angst

Fandom: Gintama

Characters: Gintoki Sakata, Katsura Kotarou

Requested By: Hawk (FanFiction)

Gintoki screwed up his face in mild annoyance as he teased his fingers through his silver hair, which was brightened to the point of ephemeral sheen as he strolled the streets of Kabukicho in the deep of the night. It was uncharacteristic of him to be awake in the wee hours of the morning; normally, by this time, not even a parade of stampeding animals— hell, even a nuclear holocaust— could awaken him. Uncharacteristic, but not completely exceptional, either. Every once in a blue moon, Gintoki found that his mind simply raced to the point that sleep evaded him- and so, he took to patrolling the streets like a specter. It wasn’t an unfitting description, either, because Gintoki only ever got like this when he was particularly haunted by the horrors of his past.

Gintoki was easy-going and carefree, but not completely infallible. Every so often, his darkness snuck up on him. He could lay there and stare at the ceiling while the bloody images burned into his eyeballs, but that really wasn’t an appealing option. Out here, at least, bathed under the tranquil light of the moon and the shining glitter of the stars that outlined the stark silhouettes of the various establishments and homes, there was almost enough visually to distract Gintoki from those awful thoughts. Almost.

They snuck up on him unexpectedly. He’d look down at his hands and find them splattered with rich red blood that glowed ruby in the light, or he’d look down an alleyway to find a piled mound of corpses, piled high and rotting. No one would ever know it with the way he charged fearlessly into battle, but even Gintoki was not immune to it. If he had no remorse about the crimes against nature that he had committed, he would truly be a monster. Every warrior had their nightmares. Every soldier had remorse. It was simply the reparations for the choices he had made. Though if one asked him, Gintoki would deny that he had any regrets, and it would be true. He was a man that was very fastidious in his beliefs, and he would soak his hands in blood a thousand times over without thinking twice- but that didn’t stop him from awaking in cold sweats sometimes.

He tipped his head back with a long, drawn-out sigh, tired eyes beholding the heavens. He wasn’t a sentimental guy, really; he didn’t stop to smell the roses or think hard on the simple pleasures of life. However, during his irregular midnight meandering, his eyes were always drawn up to the black canvas punctured with pinpricks of light. Something about the cold, indignant white rays was oddly comforting— like he was convincing himself that the heavens passed no judgment. They shone on him, a blood-drenched sinner, and a divine saint just as equally. Gintoki really didn’t think much into the matters of life after death and potential punishments for his transgressions, but he wouldn’t say that he never thought about it, either. It was a characteristic of being human, wondering about what happened next. It would flicker in his mind for just a brief moment, like a will-o-the-wisp bobbing through the dark wood of his mind. Then he’d force it away, because what was the point? He would know when he died.

His feet carried him to the local graveyard, almost like he really was a wandering spirit attracted to the realm of the dead. He strolled silently through the rows and rows of gray stones inscribed with those he never knew but called out to him anyway. Samurai, housewives, criminals, construction workers, shopkeepers, shoguns— at the end of the day, they were all just destined to be put in a hole in the ground six-foot deep. At the drop of a hat, one’s life is snuffed out and nothing matters anymore. Gintoki never knew whether to find that humbling or disturbing.

The only sound was the gentle strikes of his sandaled feet against the cobblestone path. It pounded in his ears like the somber beating of a death knell drum- or was it a headache from lack of sleep? After a point, Gintoki’s mind began to grow muddled and foggy. It was usually a sign that he was near the point of exhaustion. Sometimes he would be able to stagger back to the Yorozuya and collapse into his futon, and sometimes he would pass out somewhere in the sprawl of Kabukicho, like some common drunk tottering back from a binger. It really was a coin toss.

Gintoki was about to do just that and head back when suddenly his footsteps weren’t the only sound in the graveyard. In the near distance, he could hear a soft voice—like someone was speaking to a grave. Not unusual in itself, but unusual for the time of night. On a whim, he decided to investigate and follow the sound, eventually coming upon someone sitting across from a gravestone talking quietly about daily life.

“Zura?”

“It’s Katsura. What are you doing out so late, Gintoki?” The former Joui patriot asked with a wry smile and a glance out of the corner of his eyes. With an indignant snort, Gintoki tucked his hand into the fold of his kimono and eyed him grudgingly.

“I could ask you the same question.” Katsura languidly lolled his head over his shoulder to smirk at him sardonically. Honestly, there was no point in interrogating each other, because they were both out for the same reasons and they both knew it. Spying a sake bottle sitting beside the long-haired man, Gintoki strolled over to lean down and snatch it up, draining the bottle of a third of its contents in one swig. The clear rice wine burned his throat as it washed down his throat, but ironically rather than muddying his mind further, he found the sleepy fog lifting.

“Rude, stealing a man’s offering like that,” Katsura huffed. With an equally incensed puff, Gintoki sat the bottle down beside him again, its ceramic surface striking loudly against the smooth cobblestone.

“There’s plenty left. Don’t be greedy.” Gintoki’s eyes flashed to the characters inscribed on the grave marker. Nobunobu, of course. Gintoki had never been privy to the exact details of what had gone down in the Amanto spaceship in the sky, but he was very familiar with the fact that Katsura now felt some kind of deep kinship with the deceased shogun. Apparently, the former coward had reformed himself tremendously under the duress of the world ending. It was interesting; normally, such a situation brought out the worst in people, not the best. Gintoki crouched down beside Katsura to stare levelly at the gray stone with not a thought in his mind at all. Katsura sat beside him, eyes closed and arms crossed as he meditated under the cold light of the moon.

“Do you ever wonder if there’s no need for men like us anymore?” Katsura asked suddenly, softly. Gintoki’s gaze flickered to him to see him once more eyeing him thoughtfully out of the corners of his eyes. Gintoki pondered on the question for a moment before returning his stare to the gravestone.

“Looking to throw in the towel already? How unlike you, Zura,” he said, but there was not a playful or mocking tone in his voice. It was level and unfeeling, matching his expressionless face. “Of course I wonder,” he answered after another brief period of silence. “But then, what would be left of me? I am who I am, so I’m just gonna keep on bein’ me until the world decides to do me in,” he shrugged nonchalantly. He could be unnecessary in the grand scheme of things, but to a certain corner of the world, he was necessary. There were people who depended on him to be Gintoki, and that was enough for him. They accepted him, blood-stained hands and all. There wasn’t really much need for him to change or question his place in the world. He had one.

Katsura’s mouth curled into a slight smirk as he exhaled sharply from his nose.

“How like you.” Gintoki shrugged again and threaded his fingers through his silvery hair. He plucked up the sake bottle to partake in its contents just like Gintoki had earlier, then poured the lingering third of the alcohol over the top of the gravestone. With lidded eyes, Gintoki watched the shiny silver surface of the porous stone darken to an ashy gray as the pearls of liquid slowly traveled down its surface in many rivers. He wasn’t sure if Katsura wanted him to say more. He didn’t have much to say. He was a samurai, not a philosopher. “Good talk, Gintoki,” Katsura mused and clapped him on the shoulder before standing up. Gintoki swallowed the wry quip that it wasn’t really much of a chat at all, just two forgotten relics brooding in the dark together. With a small sigh, he pushed himself up into a standing position as well, lamenting the burning creak in his knees. He should know better than to squat like that for so long. Katsura twirled the empty sake bottle in his hand as he regarded him with a small smile. “You ever think the nightmares will stop?” Way to get to the heart of the matter, Zura.

“Nah,” Gintoki answered immediately with another glance at the forlorn moon. The wind blew suddenly, rustling the thick fabric of their kimonos and shaking the leaves of the trees planted in the graveyard as if the world had given its affirmation to his answer. “But they’re only nightmares, after all,” he added indifferently as if they weren’t the very thing that had him roaming the night like a lost soul. He wandered and wallowed, but he always found his way back home. “It’s always fine once morning comes.” He would never admit it, but he’d always forget the lurid visions of war once he was greeted by Kagura and Shinpachi’s bright, childish faces. Dawn was never out of his reach.

“You really have it all figured out, don’t you?”

“Me?” Gintoki scoffed with a roguish grin. “Nah. You know me, Zura. I just make it up as I go along.” The air rang with the patriot’s airy laugh.

“I suppose you do.” Katsura looked up at the sky again, then back at the silver-haired samurai. “Time to head home. Morning isn’t far off,” he said with a simple wave before whirling on his heel to begin striding back towards the entrance of the graveyard. He vanished like smoke, melting into the darkness. Gintoki smirked slightly and looked at the horizon, which was beginning to grow fuzzy with the faint trickle of yellow. He thought of Kagura and Shinpachi, asleep in their beds and eager to greet the day once morning came.

Morning isn’t far off, indeed.  

Enjoy this oneshot? Feel free to peruse my Table of Contents!

[ranissupercool]

Fic Where Mari is Problematic - Ch. 2

Fandom: Love Live! Sunshine!! Characters: Matsuura Kanan, Takami Chika, Sakurauchi Riko, Ohara Mari Relationships: ChikaRiko, KanaMari Rating: Teen and up Word Count: 1,183 Summary: Mari kisses Riko and stuff. No one is happy with this.

Read on Ao3!

“That’s weird… Do you think they already left?”

“Aw, what? Kanan wouldn’t leave me behind like thaat~”

Riko frowned, stepping past Mari and into the library. Kanan and Chika had said they’d be studying here together… She wasn’t sure about Mari, but Riko had stayed late doing some painting on school grounds, so she figured she could head home with them. But…

“Well… If they’ve finished up already, we’ll probably just meet them at the bus stop. So I guess it’s not a big deal…” She spotted Hanamaru still at the front desk, leaning over with her head resting in her arms. Seemed she was asleep. Riko went over and gently shook her shoulder to wake her. “Hanamaru, if you sleep here, you’ll miss the bus home.“

“MmmmmMMmm…” With a drawn-out yet soft groan, Hanamaru lifted her head and yawned, slowly blinking her eyes open. “Riko…? Uwah, what time is it? I fell asleep... zura…”

“It’s pretty late. We came to pick up Chika and Kanan, but…”

“Huh? Oh, those two zura... They left early, I think. Like, a while ago.”

“Oh, really? I guess something must’ve come up…”

“Ooor Chika-chi was so bad at studying that Kanan called it quits early~” Mari suggested, the hint of a snicker visible on her face.

“I… don’t think Chika’s that bad. Well, unless she’s really distracted with something. Then maybe, but… well, I guess all we can do is head home for now.”

“Nuh uh~ You were looking forward to seeing Chika-chi, and I was totes looking forward to seeing Kanan.”

Riko wasn’t sure she cared for where this was going, but she thought perhaps that was judging too quickly just because it was Mari having an idea. So she let her continue, albeit a bit reluctantly. “I guess, but where is this going, exactly?”

“We’ll surprise-visit them! Although I guess for Chika-chi, it’s not that surprising since you live right next to each other. And I visit Kanan so much that’s not much of a surprise either~”

“Then why call it that…?”

“Anyways! We’ll do that!”

“I think they were gonna go to Kanan’s family’s shop together zura…”

“Ohh, I wonder if they’re still together. We’ll swing by there first, and if Chika’s already gone then I’ll leave you to go chase after her, Riko-chi!”

“I’m not chasing after anyone, but yeah, okay. I don’t really see why this is being made into such a big deal in the first place. If you want to go see Kanan, can’t you just do it yourself…?”

“I have my reasons~”

The bus ride was uneventful… a bit too much so, as Riko felt she had to speak to break the quiet once Hanamaru had left. While they were in a subunit of Aqours together and all, talking alone with Mari felt… weird.

“Chika’s probably gone home by now…”

“Riko-chi, I think you need to make a move sooner or later.”

“...What?” Well that seemed to be completely unrelated to what Riko had said, but okay. “A move?”

“On Chika-chi! You’re into her, right?”

“H-Huh? That’s… I-I mean. You don’t have to say it so bluntly… but… y-yes.”

“And you haven’t made a single move on her! If you don’t do that eventually, what do you think’s gonna happen? Maybe she will first, but what if she doesn’t?”

Geez, this was all out of nowhere. How was Riko expected to… make a move on Chika on such short notice? “I see your point, but… why now?”

“Mm? Oh, no reason in particular. Or, well… I’ve been getting pretty impatient for Kanan to make a move on me, so I was thinking if you and Chika-chi went ahead and got together, that’d inspire her to do the same~?”

“Mari…” At… least she was honest…? Although really, it didn’t make Riko feel any better about what Mari had said. “Wouldn’t that be considered using me? Both Chika and I, for that matter. And that’s assuming she even likes me back.”

“You’re worrying about the details too much! Come on, you said yourself that you like her. I’m just trying to give you a little push, that’s all. It’s not like you have to confess your undying love for her today. But what if someone else grabs Chika up while you’re pretending you’re not madly in love? Like You or… Hanamaru or… I don’t know, Sarah?”

“Are any of those really competition…? Although I do get where you’re coming from; I just don’t really know where to start. I did tell her I love her once, but… well, I think she figured I meant as a friend. Which I kind of did, but...”

“Not completely?”

Riko nodded. It was then that their stop came up, so Mari pulled Riko up out of her seat.

“Like I saaaid, don’t worry so much. I really doubt Chika’s gonna be all picky about how you confess to her if she really likes you.”

“If she likes me…”

“Details~” She practically dragged Riko off of the bus, smile unfading. “I do get it, though.”

“Do you…?” Riko wasn’t sure how serious Mari was being. She tugged slightly on the other’s hold of her hand, but she rather quickly gave up on pulling away from her.

“Mhm! I’ve tried making moves on Kanan and telling her how I felt a few times, and eeevery time she just took it as a joke. I guess I kid too much for my own good? Hehe, oopsie.”

That… sounded completely accurate to Mari and Kanan, if Riko was being honest. If anything, that seemed worse than Riko’s situation…

She stayed quiet as Mari led her up the road, then over towards Kanan’s shop. Riko had of course been here before, but not very often. She supposed that even if Chika had already left, it couldn’t hurt to say hi to Kanan… then probably walk all the way back home…

…

Why was Mari like this.

Still, by a stroke of luck, they both spotted orange and blue together upon arrival. Riko was a bit surprised, considering it was about to start getting dark by this point, but she wasn’t about to complain.

Well. Until she noticed the suggestive position the two were in, with Chika backed up against a wall and Kanan leaning in much too closely to her. It looked like they were about to…

Before Riko could fully register the sight, the sound of Mari dropping her bag startled her a bit. Shit, was Mari okay? Before she could say or do anything, however, she felt Mari’s hand let go of hers… and slide around her waist?

Mari pulled Riko close and kissed her-- a bit roughly for Riko’s liking, at that… Er, no, that definitely wasn’t the part she should be concerned about. Even still, if she was going to do that, she could stand to be more considerate.

It was only when Mari pulled away when Riko, the confused mess that she was, realized Mari’s tongue was just in her mouth. And also Chika and Kanan were looking right at them.

“R… Riko?”

Shit.

[lunasolar2070]

Fakiru Week Day 1 - Bright

Fakir didn't know what he was doing there, he didn't even remember how he ended up there.

He closed his eyes, as if that gesture would lessen the chatter around him, and concentrated. Why was he there?

Oh yes, it all started because of his best friend, Mytho.

— Oh, come on, Fakir! You can’t spent all your day inside a dusty library only drinking black coffee! Let’s go outside and have some fun! — Mytho said, stealing the pen from Fakir’s hand.

The black haired man sighed and pressed his tempers. He wasn’t like his friend, actually, he was the opposite. While Mytho loved the bright sunlight and fresh air, Fakir would always prefer a good silent café were he could write peacefully, especially under the moonlight. They were like the opposite faces of the same coin.

His friend would always respect his tastes and enjoyed some of them, but in that specific day, he was annoyingly insistent.

— Mytho, I’m telling you, I have to finish this until the end of the next week, and I’m having a block here. Please, don’t make it harder. — he said, waiting with his hand in the air for the stolen pen

Mytho pouted and gave it it back.

— Hey, that’s why I’m trying to take out of your cave! Fakir, of course you’re having a block, you don’t see nature and people! How do you expect to write something. You need some light, man!

Fakir thought about it. Well it made sense, and apparently, Mytho wouldn’t give up.

He sighted, defeated and raised his emerald eyes to meet the golden ones.

— So, where are we going?

Mytho’s lips curved in a huge smile

— I knew it! I mean, hum, we’re going to a party tonight. The fire festival! So you better put on some traditional clothes get ready to have fun!

At that right moment, Fakir was already sorry that he agreed.

Now, there he was. Wearing, on his point of view of course, a ridiculous knight costume with a plastic sword atched on his waist.

Mytho was looking great. He already looked like a prince, but now... He wore a medieval prince costume in tones of white and blue, with a long white cape and a golden crown shining in the top of his white hair.

Fakir still didn’t understand why his friend dragged him there. Well, they had good music and food, but the atmosphere... there were a lot of people chatting loudly and dancing all over the place. A huge campfire was set in the middle of the festival and it was really bright. It was too much for him.

— Hey, Fakir! — he heard the white haired man calling for him.

He got closer and saw Mytho and his fiancé, Rue. She also was a friend of his, even if she was a little bossy, she was like a dear little sister for him.

— Hey, and hello, Rue.

She gave him a little smile and took a little look at him.

— You really look better in this than in the old overcoat you like to wear.

He grinned at her.

— And it looks like the bossy princess found the perfect outfit.

Rue really looked like a princess. Her red dress had white details and, just like Mytho, she had a shiny golden crown resting up on her dark and curly hair.

— Well, I guess it fits me, huh? — she said in reply, playfully.

He nodded and faced Mytho.

— So? What are we actually doing? I bet we’re not here to listen some gossip or have some medieval tea, right?

Mytho laughed lightly.

— Well, if you want to, go ahead! Their camomile tea is amazing!!

— Oh yeah, it’s delicious! — Rue confirmed in approbation

Fakir gave them a glare and they laughed.

— No, my friend, we are here to dance!

The dark haired woman giggled and touched his shoulder.

— Mytho and I thought it would be great for you to see people, interact and who knows.... — she whispered — maybe you end up finding a muse?

He rolled his eyes.

— I assure you’re mistaken. I don’t need a muse to work, but I appreciate the worry for me.

Mytho exchanged a glare with Rue and winked.

— Every artist has a muse. When you find yours, you’ll realize. — then, he looked around, looking confused — But wait a minute.... Now that we’re talking about art... Rue, where’s Ahiru?

It was Rue’s turn to look around.

— Oh my God don’t tell me she got lost again? She was here a minute ago!

Now Fakir was confused. What was happening?

— Who are you guys looking for?

Rue shook her head, sighting.

— Ahiru, my best friend. She said she would be coming to the party so I invited her to be with us, by where is she??

Mytho put his hand in her shoulder, smiling.

— Don’t worry, dear, she will show up eventually. But for now, may I have this dance, my princess?

She blushed and took his hand, letting him guide her close to the campfire, leaving Fakir with a mind full of confusion.

Muse? Why would he need one? It was just one more of those clichés that artists believed.

Mytho and Rue danced around, they’re eyes were filed with love and no word were needed to say.

Fakir watched them from afar, actually, he watched all the couples as he by himself, didn’t pick anyone to dance.

He though everything was oddly funny. He was a writer, used to give every and each character he created a happy ending with the partner of their dreams. But there he was, a man who only could write about love but never felt it himself.

His throat got dry, so he went to a booth were he could get something to drink.

As he finally laid his hands in the warm cup of dark coffee, he saw her.

A redhead woman was dancing with a little girl, spinning her and laughing.

Usually, Fakir would get annoyed by a woman’s laughter, high pitched and most of the times fake, but her laugher was different. It was light, clear and above all, sincere.

When he finally got to see her face, he felt a sudden bump of warmth in his chest.

She had adorable freckles in her cheeks, a petit nose, rosy and fluffy lips, a beautiful smile and her eyes... were magnetic. They were crystal blue, but they seemed to pull him to the depths of the ocean.

The light of the campfire was made her elegant white dress glow, making her look like a graceful swan princess, having a little crown in the side of her head. Her hair was down and it was so long and curly! Fakir wondered how it felt to touch those curls...

— That’s it, Uzura, you’re doing great! — she clapped for the little girl she was dancing with.

— Did you see, Ahiru? I danced-zura!

Ahiru, so that was Rue’s friend. Although her name meant duck in japanese, her beauty surely was one of a swan.

— Uzura, come here, my darling! — A woman called for the little girl, apparently the mother.

She leaned a little and kissed the redheaded’s forehead, with gratitude.

— Thank you for taking care of her for me, Ahiru! We’re going to head home now. Say goodby to Ahiru, my love.

Uzura hugged Ahiru’s leg, who kissed her cheek, waving a goodbye right after.

When the two where gone, she sighed, watching all the couples dancing around.

She really looked disappointed, and Fakir thought a face like hers never should hold such a melancholic expression.

She should be dancing around the campfire, showing everyone her brightness, but the sudden thought of somebody dancing with her gave his heart a little ache of jealousy. What was this, what on earth was happening to him?

“Maybe I should ask her for a dance?”

He almost laughed at the thought. What? How could he even think about it? She was literally glowing, a angel in earth and he thought he could ask her to dance?

Oh God, no way, simply no way.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t even saw when she stood by his side in the booth.

— Excuse me, may I have a cup of camomile tea? — she gently ordered to a waiter.

— Right up, madam!

Now that she was close he could see her freckles better and so, her pretty face. She was smaller than him, even if she was in high heels.

When she decided to sit in a chair at the counter, her feet slipped in the bar of the dress. She was falling and then, Fakir held her by the wrist.

Startled, she widened her eyes. Fakir helped Ahiru to stand and sit in the chair

— Hey, are you ok? — he asked, clearly worried about her ankle.

— Ah, y-yes, I’m all right! Sorry about it, I’ve always been a klutz!

He gave her a little smile.

— Never mind about it.

Ahiru looked at him and his cup of coffe. Her face became confused.

— You seen to be a bit lonely in here. You didn’t came with anyone?

He sighed and crossed his arms

— Well, I came to this party partially forced and I even ended up being a third wheel! — he laughed lightly — For real, Mytho and Rue gonna pay me for this.

Ahiru’s eyes widened.

— Wait, you know them? Ah, so you are the friend who they would like me to meet! — she smiled and reached out her hand in front of her body — Nice too meet you, I’m Ahiru Arima!

He smiled back and squeezed her hand.

— Fakir Lohengrin, it’s a pleasure.

Again, she looked surprised.

— Wait, what? So you are THE Fakir Lohengrin? Oh My God, It’s a honor to meet you! I’ve been a fan of yours since “The Knight’s Sword”! It’s a history so full of emotion, romance and drama! I simply love all of your works and can’t wait for your next one!

He couldn’t help the blush to paint his cheeks. Could she be more adorable?

— Wow, thanks! Usually, people think my works are to happy, but I don’t like giving my characters a tragic finale. All of them deserve a happy ending.

She smiled so brightly that made his face feel hot.

— I think the same!

They spent a very long time chatting. She was a professional ballerina, but for now, she was dedicating her time to teach ballet to little kids. She really was a amazing person, a true inspiration.

While they were talking, the orchestra started playing a new song. Fakir knew the song. Of course he did, everybody there knew the pas de deux of The Swan Lake.

He heard Ahiru dreamy sigh when the music started to play.

— Oh my God, I haven’t thought the would play ballet songs in here! I love this Pas de Deux so much!!!

— Personally, I think this is one of the most beautiful pas de deux of all.

— So do I! It’s so touching!

He saw the way she was looking at the couples dancing. Well, why not? He was wanting that since he first saw her anyway.

— So — he started as he stood up — shall we dance?

She smiled and giggled, reaching for his hand.

— Let’s go!

They danced together and he couldn’t even describe the feeling. Not even one story he wrote before had a scene like the one was happening.

One of his hands on her waist and the other one holding her soft and petit hand. The touch of her hand in his neck while they danced all around the place was making his heart run wild in his chest. She smiled at him, never breaking the visual contact.

Fakir guided her through the place, spining around.

When the music (sadly) was over, they awkwardly departed and averted eyes, blushing.

— S-so, would you like to search for Rue and Mytho? — she suggested, tangling her fingers.

— Y-yeah, good idea.

They just agreed about it when they saw a black haired woman waving for them

— Hey, Fakir! — Rue called, waving at his direction — we were...

And then, she locked her eyes on Ahiru. She opened a smile and jumped to hug her.

— Ahiru!!! Oh my, you just disappeared, I couldn’t find you anywhere!

Ahiru hugged Rue tightly, smiling.

— Rue! I’m so glad to find you! I’ve been lost for a while in here, and then, I found miss Edel with Uzura.

The black haired woman stared at Fakir and grimaced.

— Hm... I see you’ve already meet Fakir, huh?

She nodded and smiled happily.

— Yes, I did! Why haven’t you told me he was my favorite writer?

Ok, this “Favorite writer” plus the sweet smile in her face was more than Fakir could handle. His face became red and he looked away.

Rue saw it and couldn’t hold her laugher back.

— Well, you are always talking about how amazing his books are, how you love his writing that I’ve decided to suprisse you!

Now Ahiru was blushing. She jumped in Rue, grabbing her shoulders nervously.

— Rue! Keep quiet, will you?

Rue laughed again and blinked to Fakir.

— And what about you? Did you find any muse while you’re here?

He just wanted to hide his face. Was it to obvious?

— I wouldn’t say I didn’t... — he replied, indifferent.

Rue nodded happily and turned her back, waving.

— So, I’ll tell Mytho I’ve found you guys. Let’s meet again at 22:00, ok?

They didn’t even have the time to agree and then, she was gone.

Ahiru coughed, attracting his attention.

— So, how’s your new book going?

Fakir sighed, defeated.

— Well, I thought it was going ok, but recently, I’m having a horrible block. That’s why they brought me to this party. Mytho said it would be good for me to find some inspiration.

Ahiru smiled again. God, why was she always smiling like this?! So pretty!

— Oh, so I guess now you’ll be able to write again! This festival gives all of us inspiration.

He smiled at her. If only she knew....

— So, would you like to take a look in how’s it going?

She blinked, surprised.

— Wait, you mean your book?!

He giggled, nodding. She just smiled and gave him a hug.

— Oh My God! Yes, I’d love to read your work!

He was completely startled and absolutely happy in this moment. Sadly, she pulled back to quick.

— S-so, do you like coffe??

Ahiru wondered a little and nodded.

— Hmm, yes, but I prefer a nice and sweet cappuccino.

— Oh, is that so? — so adorable, it suits her — I know a good café that has a delicious cappuccino, so, If you’d like, we can go there and discuss somethings. I think you would be a great help for me.

She smiled at his red face and giggled.

— Yeah, of course! I would love to help you! Let’s meet there tomorrow!

Looking at her face, Fakir realized.

The bright light of hers dispelled the fog inside his life. She was warmth that he needed.

@fyeahfakiruweek

[gintokisimp]

Daydreaming about Silver isn’t good for your Health. Chapter 1: Do you really need a reason to celebrate?

My first fanfiction I wrote. Post Canon GinTsu story. Does ignore some original story parts. All characters involved are adults. Later chapters are full of smut. 

Genre: Smut, Fluff, Light Angst, PWP

Rating: Explicit

Word Count: 3,010

"Oi old hag, give me more sake" Gintoki shouted, slamming his fist on the counter.

The ochoko in front of him rattled under the force. 

"Why should I? It's not like you're willing to pay for it. Stop drinking and get out!" Otose yelled back at him.

"What are you saying? I have my money right here!" He babbled back at her and waved his hands, but instead of pointing at his wallet, Gintoki pointed at his crotch region. 

Otose clicked her tongue in disgust.

"I even won something at the Pachinko today, that's why I need to celebrate - that's why everyone needs to celebrate with me. Excluding you cause you need to serve me more sake on this special occasion!" He continued.

"Forget it already! You're only here because you think you can invite everyone on the house. I'll kick you out of my apartment tomorrow!" Otose was getting impatient with him.

"Otose-san, please calm down." Shinpachi pleaded, but he couldn't hear Otoses answer. The bar was packed to the brim and the noises made his ears tingle.

"PATSUAN stop talking to that hag. She will rob you. No more talking, more drinking!" Gintoki leaned over to Shinpachi, the scent of the alcohol brushing over his nostrils and he basically screamed in his ear.

What money though? Shinpachi sighed and got up from his chair next to Gintoki. Let them fight, it’s never a serious matter anyways. He left him alone fighting with Otose-san. On the surface, nothing really changed in the last few years. But in reality, a lot has changed. Someone would notice it in the small details: Katsura celebrating alongside the Shinsengumi. Kaguras growth spurt. The slightly different flair of the bar, after it was destroyed a few years ago and the weird forming of couples. Even the gorilla had given up his stalking habbit.

Shinpachi still had no luck though. But he always appeased himself, that Gintoki did neither in his early thirties. So in conclusion, it wasn’t that bad to concentrate on more important things in life before finding the love of your life. There was the Dojo. And of course Otsu-chan. 

Shinpachi nodded with a smile, lost in his thoughts. 

Gintoki really invited everyone. Hasegawa was sitting next to him and enjoyed the "free" drinks while listening to Gintokis and Otoses fighting. It didn't even bother him that Gintoki started bragging about his Pachinko winning streak. He was just happy to be here. It wasn't that much but still more than he ever owned since he got homeless and after all these years, Gintoki started to feel bad for him. Everyone kind of got their lifes sorted, but he was still living on the streets. Usually Gintoki would not care to ask him to get a drink with him, but they are pachinko buddies, so he felt the obligation to invite him. 

Otae and Kyuubei sat at one of the tables and enjoyed their drinks together with Zura and Elisabeth. Toujou sat between them and nodded heavily at everything they said. It was a weird sight, but today was different. It's a celebration after all. What a stupid reason for a celebration. I could have come up with something better. Gintoki thought after the pointless debate with his landlady. He hoped no one would get behind the actual reason. His eyes wandered lazily through the room. 

Hijikata, Sougo and Kondo arrived at the bar a few minutes ago and were already in a heated discussion if they should kick out Hijikata for putting disgusting amounts of mayo in his beer. Gintoki didn’t remember inviting them, it was probably Kagura's doing. Even Gengai had found his way here for a small drink. But instead of enjoying himself, he eagerly worked on an update for Tama who was standing right next to him. 

She was also here.

He had noticed her arrival before she even stepped through the sliding door. He always feels her presence lingering through the back of his head. After all those years of knowing her, he had never felt nervous or anxious around her. In fact, her presence comforted him in a strange way. She was such a good friend. But the last few weeks have been different. It all started with an accidental meeting they had on the streets of Kabuki-chō.

a few weeks prior

It was a sunny day, not too warm, not too cold. Cicadas chirped, the streets were busy, lively conversations echoed through the streets. All in all, the perfect summer day.

After a job well done, Gintoki and Kagura were casually strolling through the alleys of Kabuki-cho, when they came across a Pop Up Shop that sold kinky stuff. Gintoki didn’t bat an eye on it, but Kagura stopped in front of the store windows, since she never saw this special kind of shop out in the open. They were advertising a lot of different things and displayed strap-ons in the store windows. A vast sign in the window read:

Can a man really size up to these?

Try them out now!

Kagura read the sign and glanced over to Gintoki.

"Gin-chan, why are they displaying them in public? Are they trying to make men insecure? Are they making you insecure?" she asked innocently.

Gintoki stopped in his tracks, a vein popped on his forehead. "HUH?" Why are you asking?” He snarled at her, impatient to get home. Why is she asking those kind of things? Stop annoying me.  

“Why are you so snappy, are ya scared that they are bigger than you, huh?” Kagura started to laugh and his face began to burn. 

“Tch, of course not” He mumbled back at her. “Why would I of all men be scared?” Nervously, he clenched his fists. 

“Maybe because you’re a liar.” She retorted. 

“Lying about what?”

She pointed at the sign. Gintoki had already read what was on it and he sighed. 

"Well, it's definitely not right to brag in front of you,but you leave me no choice." His eyes brushed over the selection and finally, he pointed at a model that was roughly 25 centimeters. "I definitely can."

"Nah you're lying. The screwdriver you once had was bigger than your actual thing!" she snickered.

"I'm not lying, shut up!" He was getting very uncomfortable while talking about those things with Kagura. But she was an adult now and it should be normal to talk about this as adults, right? Right?

"Liar!" She screamed.

"Oi, let's go, we need to be at home soon." Gintoki ignored her bickering. He wanted to get home quickly since Bleach had a rerun and he didn’t want to miss it. 

He turned around fast while he started to walk, so he didn’t notice the woman standing behind him. He slammed straight into Tsukuyo. She was just standing there, now close to him. A little too close. Gintoki guessed she just wanted to say hello and overheard their conversation. Oh..

"Tsukuyo.. why.. what are you doing here?" He asked in confusion to meet her here and she stumbled backwards. 

Tsukuyo didn't answer. She was visibly getting nervous and her ears started to glow a bright pink. Kagura turned around with a smile. 

"Tsukki! We were just talking about this weird shop there. I guess they just want to make men insecure!" She explained, happy to meet Tsukuyo again.

"..uh. yeah I guess so." She said with a lowered voice. "We have a lot of those shops in Yoshiwara though."

"But why are you making a face like that then?" Kagura asked.

"Uhm.. what?" The color from her ears slowly spread to her face. 

"Is it because of what Gin-chan said?" 

"Ka.. Kagura!" Gintoki was shocked how blatant she could be sometimes.

“Don’t worry, he’s lying!” 

“Kagura, stop!” Gintoki felt his face burning again. Kagura ignored him and her eyes flicked between his and Tsukuyos face, visibly enjoying their ashamed reactions. A grin plastered her face. 

"Excuse me, I.. I need ta go." Tsukuyo turned around and hurried away from them in a different direction.

"Tsukuyo, wait!" He weakly held out his hand, but she was already gone.

Since then, he always felt nervous thinking about her. And he did think a lot about her in the last days. He doesn't even understand why. It’s not like it was an unusual situation for him, things like that happened a lot in this district and she for sure was used to it as well. But something was... odd.

The truth was, he was just making up an excuse to invite everyone and have her invited as well. They hadn't met since that incident and he felt the strong urge to see her again. While planning this whole thing earlier, he casually asked Kagura if Tsukuyo would also come to the party. Kagura just grinned at him.

"Of course I already invited Tsukki. She's coming just for you!"

Her reaction kind of scared him. He still didn’t figure out why. But right now it didn't really matter, he could not concentrate on that anyways. His mind was a little blurry from the alcohol and drinking was the only solution he knew against his growing nervousness. Without turning around, he felt her walking past him. 

His ears prickled. 

"maa Gin-san, what's wrong? Did you drink too much?" Hasegawa noticed his weird behaviour.

"Urgh, shut up. It’s nothing" Gintoki snarled back.

Tsukuyo elegantly sat down at the end of the bar, as far away as possible. Gintoki noticed Kagura immediately spurting to the bar stool next to her and they started talking. Gintoki lowered his eyes and focused his empty ochoko in front of him. 

"Where is my drink? Didn't I tell you to give me more?" Gintoki shouted more aggressively than he intended to.

"Pay your rent and I'll give you more, that was the answer." 

While picking up their pointless fight again, Gintoki overheard Kagura snickering. Tsukuyo was quiet, but Kagura didn't stop her laughter. He just hoped Kagura wasn't making her uncomfortable.

Ultimately, it was his job to do that.

Shinpachi heard it as well and got worried about what Kagura was on about again. For a few weeks now, she tried to act mysterious. She was planning something, but Shinpachi couldn't figure it out yet. Still standing next to his seat, he decided to interfere and walked over to them. 

"Kagura, what are you doing?" He asked as soon as he reached the two women. 

"Oh Shinpachiiii I'm not doing anything!" She replied, still snickering.

"Sure.” Shinpachi adjusted his glasses thoughtfully. “But it doesn't look like Tsukuyo-san is enjoying your ‘nothing’!" Kagura stopped laughing, but continued to smile. 

"She was teasing me about liking that ass face Sougo over there, so I told her she should just admit that she wants to fuck Gin-chan - "

"Kagura!" Shinpachi yelled, his eyes widened in shock.  

"- and she didn't even deny it yet." Kagura finished her sentence.

"Kagura, you can't say that, that's rude!"

"But Shinpachi, it's the truth! I know it!" Kagura slammed her fist on the bar, emphasizing her words.

"Stop making assumptions about other people's lives, Kagura!" Again, Shinpachi adjusted his glasses, but this time it was rather shaky. 

Tsukuyos mind was blank. What did she say? Why would she bring that up? How could she know what was haunting her dreams for the last months? Or did she just try to make a joke.. yeah, yeah that's probably it.  

Tsukuyo came here with the expectation to have a nice and chill evening with Kagura and Otae. At least that's what Kagura told her on the phone earlier. She arrived at the bar and saw a lot more familiar faces than she anticipated.

And then she saw him.

His broad back facing her, he was fighting his usual arguments with Otose. She involuntarily tensed up, averted her eyes and hurried to get the opposite side of the establishment. She didn't want to meet him. Not after all those embarrassing dreams.

"I just know it, it is obvious! I'm sure everyone knows it!" Kagura's voice broke through her thoughts. 

"I don't understand what you're talking about Kagura, please just leave Tsukuyo alone!" Shinpachi replied desperately. Apparently, they had exchanged a few more words while Tsukuyo was caught in her thoughts. 

"Shinpachi, you can't be serious. You're such a virgin." Kagura snickered.

"Kagura!" Shinpachi's face turned red. Kagura continued to tease the poor boy and Tsukuyo was glad she wasn't the center of attention anymore. 

"He doesn't even know I'm here. Why should he care.." Tsukuyo mumbled to herself, nervously tapping her fingers against her thighs.  

"Tsukki, tell him!" Kagura exclaimed all of a sudden. Tsukuyo froze. 

"Tell him what?" Tsukuyo asked casually. 

She hadn’t listened to Shinpachis and Kagura's conversation anymore.

"Yea, tell him what?"

Asked the voice that makes her skin prickle in excitement. She turned her head around, knowing what, or rather who was behind her and looked directly into mischievous shining crimson eyes. Her heart stumbled.

"Uh.. I .. nothing. I don't even know what they're talkin’ about. Really, ya should mentor ya kids better." She tried to act cool, while choking on her kiseru with closed eyes, coughing in his face. 

"What do you want to tell me? " He continued, unbothered by the smoke.

His words were enough to make her knees weak and Tsukuyo was glad that she wasn't standing. She would be lying on the floor by now, struck by his intense stare. It sent a cold shiver down her spine, and as he slightly tilted his head in a silent question, she could feel her face heating up. 

"Who said we.. we are talking about ya?" She stammered. 

"We were!" Kagura yelled from behind her. 

Please Kagura, shut up, only this one time! She pleaded silently.

"You were? " Gintoki was teasing her, a light smile played around his lips.

Tsukuyo was sure he was drunk, but right now, he didn't even seem tipsy anymore. His eyes were clear as day. It almost seemed like he was prepared for this and he captured her quick glances at his face with his eyes. Was she imagining things or did she catch a glimpse of pure, primal lust in his eyes. She blinked and it was gone. Dead, bored fish eyes stared back at her, almost uninterested. 

He didn't hear what Kagura said, did he? No, that's impossible.  

Tsukuyo could not focus, not with him in front of him, not with him looking at her, waiting for an answer. She tried to look somewhere else and began to stare at his arms. His right arm, biceps flexed, was supporting his weight on the bar counter. Is he doing that on purpose? She didn't realize until recently how muscular he really was, or rather, she didn’t really care about it prior to their.. encounter.

Why would he need to flex his arms while he was just standing. Veins stretched over his muscles, hypnotizing her more and more the longer she stared. She could almost grasp his blood pumping through them, if he would just let her touch him. Tsukuyo imagined her nails scratching along them, his hands sliding up her spine, pulling her hair and bowing her back and -

"And?"

He was still staring at her, waiting for an answer.

shit.

Gladly, Otose interfered before Tsukuyo had the time to make up an answer. 

"You know, Gintoki, I could forget about the rent if you just gave me some damn grandkids." She said thoughtfully, while puffing out the smoke from her cigarettes.

For a second, Tsukuyo really believed that Otose would distract Gintoki from the question. But actually, she made it even worse.

"HUH, what are you saying woman?" Gintoki snorted at Otose.

"I said you should give me grandkids!" Otose replied a little louder. 

"How does this affect me baba?!” Gintokis attention was now directed at the bar owner. However, his body was still facing Tsukuyo and now, while he was getting worked up again, he flexed his supporting arm even more and unwittingly leant closer to her. The closer he got, the more she felt like her head would explode. Tsukuyos ears were as hot as the midsummer weather outside and her heartbeat quickened, racing the blood through her own veins. 

"Tch, don't play stupid, you idiot." 

"Don't call me stupid, there's no one in this bar who could give you your damn grandkids!"

Tsukuyo flinched. Gintoki noticed that and he turned his head back to her. What's wrong with her, is she in pain? He was confused. His arm started to hurt and he shifted it around. He had placed it in an uncomfortable position in an attempt to cover up his nervousness. Of course, it didn’t work. 

Kagura noticed Tsukuyos reaction as well. "Gin-chan you idiot, shut up!" 

"What the hell did I do wrong? " Gintoki now yelled at Kagura.

"Ah whatever, I don’t have the nerves for this." Otose left them fighting and walked over to her paying customers.

"Everything, you're doing everything wrong!" Kagura exclaimed.

“I would be very happy if you could just explain me what the fuck I did do wrong!”

“You’re making her feel bad!”

“Who?” 

“Men are stupid, men are really stupid!” Kagura threw her hands up. 

"Oh you think so? Go tell your loverboy Okita-kun, maybe he cares about your bullshit." Gintoki mocked her. 

"ew he's not my lover, I could never love a punchable face like that." Kagura's face was genuinely disgusted. Gintoki and Kagura turned their heads as they heard Sougo's sadistic laughter from the table. He was smirking with his eyes closed. Glancing over to Kagura.

"Oh I will make you love me." He whispered loud enough for them to hear it.

“You! Shut up or I’ll make you!” Kagura was visibly getting angry, cracked her knuckles and stomped over to their table in an attempt to beat him up.

"No Kagura, stop!" Shinpachi yelled franticaly and followed her.

And with that, facing each other, Gintoki and Tsukuyo were alone.

[razberryyum]

Gintama live action 2 movie review Part 3 of 3...SPOILERS!

Again, you should probably read Parts 1 & 2 first cuz now it’s like you’re starting a movie when it’s already 2/3rds over...which you literally are....

That image looks good whether it’s in black and white, animated color or live action.

I ship GinHiji no matter what form they are in, so this moment, where they’re like THISCLOSETOGETHER, of course made me happy.

Ok, I don’t think I’m crazy but this ass pounding scene went on longer than it did in the anime. It was unbelievable, especially how into it Tosshi was. They didn’t include a few of the other abusive moments between Gintoki and Hijikata, but this prolonged scene made up for it.

This happened. I don’t know why cuz I didn’t understand what they were saying, but bless Director Fukuda for finding creative ways to include Zura into the Shinsengumi Crisis Arc. I hope he continues to do that in future movies. 

This happened too. Actually in addition to the Evangelion parody, there was another reference to another famous anime when they were in Gengai’s warehouse, but I just didn’t include it. I’ll leave at least one surprise for those of you still planning to watch the movie (you should. Seriously watch it. Totally worth your time and honestly, why are you even spoiling yourself by reading all this? Of course I appreciate that you’re doing that, but please don’t think this is enough so that you don’t have to watch the movie anymore. WATCH IT DAMMIT)

Kagura the Queen saving everyone’s ass. She is really so awesome in the movie, Hashimoto Kanna did her proud. 

 Baby Itou was adorbs in the manga, anime AND in the movie.

The movie proving Shinsengumi drinking parties are the bacchanalian feasts that we all assumed them to be. 

I wanted to take a moment to just say how freaking amazing Nakamura Kankurou was as Kondou. He really was a perfect Kondou. Man went all out in the dramatic moments, totally brought tears to my eyes. I pretty much cried every time Kondou cried. My only lament is that he didn’t have any scenes with Otae. There was a point during the Snack Smile Host portion where he was on a tank screaming about Otae, which I’m sure was him confessing his love all over again, but I would’ve really liked it if they actually interacted cuz the short scenes they had in the first movie were so adorable.

Obviously I loved the movie, but if I really had to point out a flaw, I would say the Bansai fight scenes could have been better scored and his fight with Gintoki could have been better. First, the music in his fight scenes...it was pretty bad. Like, weird, generic 80′s electrical guitar shit. I think they were trying to go for rock and roll, but it ended up putting a damper on what were otherwise really well-choreographed fight sequences. I wish they would’ve just used Otsuu’s music. They didn’t need to explain why, we fans would’ve known immediately. And then his showdown with Gintoki was kind of weird because they inserted a lot of bad CG because of his strings...which were ridiculously thick, as you can see. There were some Matrix slo mo too which...I’m just not a fan of after the first Matrix. I also thought they should have kept the fight near the train instead of bringing it back to Edo since it lacked the heightened sense of urgency in the original scenes where Gintoki was trying to save everyone on the train. But on the bright side, Edo looked freaking amazing....reminded me Xandar in Guardians of the Galaxy.

I cried. I cry every time we get to this moment, but this time, I felt especially sad because I kinda wanted this Itou to stick around for the next movie.

I am so damn glad live action Yamazaki got his opportunity to shine on the big screen because Tozuka Junki was so delightful in Mitsuba-hen. Btw, one big bummer of the bluray set is even though it had a second special features disc, it DIDN’T include the special episodes that were shown on dTV. I was hoping they would be nice enough to include them since the had a whole extra disc, but nope. It was like cast appearance and character profile stuff. Nice of course, but still wasn’t what I was really wishing for. I wish someone would sub those and put them online like they did with the Mitsuba-hen eps.

They were sitting back to back in the manga/anime...I can’t decide if this is better, the same, or worse. It’d be nice if they were at least sitting closer cuz they were closer when they were sitting back to back. I know, I’m insane. Whatever, I loved this movie. I want a third one. And a fourth and a fifth. With this cast and Director/Screenwriter Fukuda. 

So, please, Gintama gods, give it to us. And let it cover either the Yagyuu Arc, Vacation Arc or the Baragaki Arc. Or basically any arc that can build upon these last two movies and yet be self-contained AND most importantly, include the Shinsengumi boys and Zura. I would love the Popularity Poll arc to be brought to life, since then Tsukuyo can be involved, lest anyone think I’m purposely excluding her, I’m not, it’s just the Yoshiwara arcs don’t include the Shinsengumi or Zura at all, and I don’t know how they can reasonably add all of them in, even though I would LOVE to see live action Kamui and Abuto too. And the Courtesan of a Nation arc is too involved. Maybe we can do that for the fourth movie. Gods I wish the live action can be an entire series. I could watch this cast act out every chapter of the manga. It’ll be costly, no doubt, but it’d be nice. Omg, except for one dude, wow I almost completely forgot about him because I kind of want to. Live action Takasugi is NO GOOD. I know Domoto Tsuyoshi was (is?) popular, I know he has lots of fans, Sorachi-sama is probably one of them, but holy crap is he miscast as Takasugi. It was actually physically HURTING me to see his scenes with live action Bansai (Kubota Masataka) because Bansai was so perfect in comparison. I mean, everything was just wrong with LA Takasugi...down to the fact that when he first appears in this movie, we see his ugly bare feet and legs first. It was such an off-putting entrance and yet, somehow fitting. I wish they would just recast him since, from what I heard, he didn’t even want to be Takasugi to begin with. But otherwise, everyone’s wonderful. I really hope we’ll get an American release, if not theatrically (though I wish it would be) then at least VOD or BD/DVD so that I can finally understand what everyone is saying through subs.

Anyway, that’s my long-ass review of the second live action movie, Gintama 2: Rules are made to be broken. Thank you for reading, please see it legally when you are able to so that Fukuda-san and his team can make enough money to make another one.