Vouching for a stranger. [Gintama]
GINTAMA and all characters/ideas/concepts/places therein are not mine, although the writing certainly is.
Title: Vouching for a stranger.
Characters/Pairing(s): Otose & Gintoki
Rating: G
Summary: How the Yoruzuya became the Yoruzuya.
Warnings? Spoilers for Gintoki’s back story with Otose.
Notes: Set before the beginning of the series - the title is taken from the 31 Days theme for July 22, 2008. Happy birthday, Pris! '^'
Vouching for a stranger.
“You’re going to have to get yourself a job, you know.”
Sakata Gintoki paused, caught in the act of shoveling more azuki-drowned rice into his mouth. He stared at Otose, mouth still hanging open, rice and red beans hovering uncertainly on his chopsticks. Otose lifted an eyebrow in his direction, not intimidated by his look in the slightest.
“You’re boarding here. You’ll have to earn your keep.”
“Can’t I just work for you?”
“You’re useless in the kitchen, and you suck at repairs. I don’t need an errand boy for the bar either.”
“Then…”
“I don’t need a bodyguard.”
Gintoki’s gaze dropped. He popped what he still had on his chopsticks into his mouth. Otose took a drag from her cigarette, watching him.
“What, don’t you young people have any imagination at all? Use your brain! Think of something to do.”
“I’m best with my sword.”
“And your sword isn’t what this town needs anymore.”
They stay for a while, looking at each other. Otose eventually gave up first. She took Gintoki’s bowl - its contents were only half-eaten - and whisked it away.
“Make sure you’re up early. I’ll send you to my friends and see if they can put you to good use.”
She went for the kitchen sink out back and did not wait for Gintoki’s response.
***
They spent the entirety of the following day wandering through Kabuki-cho, calling upon Otose’s many friends in town. By dinner time, the entirety of Gintoki’s week was booked, full of jobs that involved anything from fixing a rooftop to babysitting a kid’s cat. Of course, what no one told Gintoki was that some of those jobs had been cooked up on the spot: those closest to Otose were aware of her reasons for taking in this strange, white-haired kid whose eyes still saw the battlefield rather than the city around him. The Amanto War had only recently ended, and there many ones like him haunting the streets of Edo: survivors, the “lucky ones”, the soldiers who had lost so much of themselves that they were pretty much dead inside. Who else could possibly take care of them, beyond fellow dirt from an off-beat, no-good town like theirs?
They did not see each other until the week was over. Once the jobs ran out, they hit the streets and went back to looking all over again. The practice continued, up until folks from outside of their little circle began turning up at the doorstep of the snack bar, asking for That Young Man of Otose’s Who So And So Had Mentioned. Two months later, Otose was kicking the inquirers right back out of her joint soon after they had opened their mouths, pointing them towards the stairs leading up to Gintoki’s floor. It was around that time that she decided to stop feeding Gintoki for free. A few months after that, she started harassing him about paying rent.
There were protests, of course; it was a marked improvement from the quiet way he used to take everything. Otose, of course, took that as an invitation to begin bullying her tenant for life.
Title: Vouching for a stranger.
Characters/Pairing(s): Otose & Gintoki
Rating: G
Summary: How the Yoruzuya became the Yoruzuya.
Warnings? Spoilers for Gintoki’s back story with Otose.
Notes: Set before the beginning of the series - the title is taken from the 31 Days theme for July 22, 2008. Happy birthday, Pris! '^'
Vouching for a stranger.
“You’re going to have to get yourself a job, you know.”
Sakata Gintoki paused, caught in the act of shoveling more azuki-drowned rice into his mouth. He stared at Otose, mouth still hanging open, rice and red beans hovering uncertainly on his chopsticks. Otose lifted an eyebrow in his direction, not intimidated by his look in the slightest.
“You’re boarding here. You’ll have to earn your keep.”
“Can’t I just work for you?”
“You’re useless in the kitchen, and you suck at repairs. I don’t need an errand boy for the bar either.”
“Then…”
“I don’t need a bodyguard.”
Gintoki’s gaze dropped. He popped what he still had on his chopsticks into his mouth. Otose took a drag from her cigarette, watching him.
“What, don’t you young people have any imagination at all? Use your brain! Think of something to do.”
“I’m best with my sword.”
“And your sword isn’t what this town needs anymore.”
They stay for a while, looking at each other. Otose eventually gave up first. She took Gintoki’s bowl - its contents were only half-eaten - and whisked it away.
“Make sure you’re up early. I’ll send you to my friends and see if they can put you to good use.”
She went for the kitchen sink out back and did not wait for Gintoki’s response.
***
They spent the entirety of the following day wandering through Kabuki-cho, calling upon Otose’s many friends in town. By dinner time, the entirety of Gintoki’s week was booked, full of jobs that involved anything from fixing a rooftop to babysitting a kid’s cat. Of course, what no one told Gintoki was that some of those jobs had been cooked up on the spot: those closest to Otose were aware of her reasons for taking in this strange, white-haired kid whose eyes still saw the battlefield rather than the city around him. The Amanto War had only recently ended, and there many ones like him haunting the streets of Edo: survivors, the “lucky ones”, the soldiers who had lost so much of themselves that they were pretty much dead inside. Who else could possibly take care of them, beyond fellow dirt from an off-beat, no-good town like theirs?
They did not see each other until the week was over. Once the jobs ran out, they hit the streets and went back to looking all over again. The practice continued, up until folks from outside of their little circle began turning up at the doorstep of the snack bar, asking for That Young Man of Otose’s Who So And So Had Mentioned. Two months later, Otose was kicking the inquirers right back out of her joint soon after they had opened their mouths, pointing them towards the stairs leading up to Gintoki’s floor. It was around that time that she decided to stop feeding Gintoki for free. A few months after that, she started harassing him about paying rent.
There were protests, of course; it was a marked improvement from the quiet way he used to take everything. Otose, of course, took that as an invitation to begin bullying her tenant for life.