Gintama: Rite of Passage Part 1 (Hijikata/Yamazaki)
Rating: PG-13 (for now)
Genre: Drama
Summary: 16-year-old Yamazaki Sagaru takes on his first mission: to infiltrate an illegal prostitution ring.
Totally got carried away with my idea and didn't put enough effort into keeping things IC. I need to do some major revise/rewrite if I want to share this somewhere other than my LJ.
Back to Prologue.
Every Culture Has Its Own Rite of Passage
Part 1
"Hijikata-san. I have Yamazaki's status report right here."
"Oh? Good job." Hijikata took the envelope and casually tossed it to the corner of the table before refocusing on his paperwork. "I'll get to it later."
Okita frowned at the indifferent tone. He had expected more of a reaction from the demonic vice commander, who had been even more irritable and short-tempered than usual since Yamazaki had left on his mission.
"Ah~h~ what is Yamazaki doing?" Okita wondered aloud. "It's already been a month with no results? He's a helpless kind of guy, isn't he? If it was me, I would have wrapped up the case on my first day."
"You mean you would have turned it into an indiscriminate bloodbath."
"I believe in being direct."
"Che. Just go."
Hijikata waited until Okita had slid the door shut and his footsteps receded before he dove for the envelope and tore it open.
-----
Fukuchou,
I've successfully infiltrated the Bishounen Love Palace. They believe I am a thirteen-year-old boy with a sick mother and a missing father, who desperately needs the money to pay for medical expenses. They started me out with cleaning and laundry, since they don't trust me with the food yet.
It was strange at first without my own bed and badminton racket, but I'm getting used to it here. The other kids here are nice and have shown me around, especially Tamaki-kun. He's half-French and his hobby is kankiri. He was 'it' the other day and caught everyone in less than ten minutes.
How are you and the others? I miss you all and hope to see you soon.
-Yamazaki Sagaru
P.S. They don't give us any snacks. Can you please send me those sausages I like?
-----
Hijikata slapped the report back onto the table. "Is this a letter from summer camp?!" he ranted in disbelief. "An idiot. He's a complete idiot!"
"Ah~h~ Hijikata-san... you're really not honest."
"Sougo, teme! When did you come back?"
"When did I ever leave?" Okita countered. "I just made it sound like I left, like so."
STEP. STEP. Step. step. step. silence. Okita demonstrated.
Hijikata buried his face in his hands, humiliated.
"Now that you caught me, I might as well ask," he mumbled. "How did he look?"
"Well, how should I put this...?" Okita paused. "Haggard...? Or haunted...? Or brutally beaten for some minor mistake...?"
Hijikata's eyes blazed with anger and self-reproach.
"...are words I would not use. He looked pretty good, actually," Okita finished.
"Bastard, you're playing with me!"
"If you're that concerned, why don't you go see him yourself?"
Hijikata lit a cigarette and took a deep drag. "Don't be stupid," he finally said. "It'll blow his cover if he's seen with me. It's suspicious for a brat like him to have any sort of business with a strange adult."
"Don't worry, Hijikata-san. You look like a pedophile so no one will think twice if you go as a client and request him."
"Who looks like a pedophile, you sadistic bastard!"
"Ahh, someone help me," Okita deadpanned as Hijikata hauled him up by the collar. "This perverted ojisan is trying to rape this innocent boy."
"Who'd try to rape you?! Who's an innocent boy, you son of Lucifer? Stop saying nonsense before I gag you."
"Ahh, and the perverted ojisan's into S&M."
Hijikata made a frustrated noise as he released Okita and collapsed back into his seat, completely drained. It was all Yamazaki's fault, that stupid brat. Going away for a month against his superior's will, not making contact until now, driving him crazy with worry and imagined scenes of doom, and in the end, he was fine. No, more than fine. The stupid brat was actually having fun with other stupid brats. Probably dragging out the mission so he can run around having fun instead of working properly like an adult.
He was so busy being annoyed at Yamazaki that it took a few more moments until Okita's words processed.
"Wait, what did you mean by 'request him'?"
"Oh, wasn't that in the report, Hijikata-san? Yamazaki might be a jimi, but he's quite the popular choice among the Amantos. They can't really tell one human from the other, and it seems they enjoy how submissive Sagaru-kun is. Well, speaking as a sadist, I can see their viewpoint. He has the kind of annoying look that makes you want to bully him until he cries."
Blatantly ignoring the dangerous aura starting to heat up from Hijikata, Okita continued, "Maybe Yamazaki should consider this a good opportunity for a career change. He isn't fit to wear the Shinsengumi uniform anyway."
"Sougo... where is this Bishounen Love Palace?"
-----
"Sagaru-kun is currently occupied. Wouldn't you like to try one of our other young boys? There's a lovely selection."
"Just call him out now, bastard."
"I'm sorry, but that's impossible."
The ingratiating smile was really getting on his nerves.
Hijikata instinctively reached for his katana before remembering that he wasn't carrying it in his guise as a client. He balled his hands into fists and dropped them to his side.
"I'll wait. When can I see him?" he asked through gritted teeth.
"It might be a while... we don't like to rush our clients, especially the regular VIPs."
"If it's Sagaru-kun, he's finished."
Hijikata turned to see a blond boy in a pink kimono.
"He's cleaning up," the blond continued. "He should be ready to receive guests in a few more minutes."
"...Tamaki?"
The blond smiled prettily as he glided over and put a hand on Hijikata's arm. "Oh, you've heard of me? Would you like me to accompany you instead, Ue-sama?" he asked charmingly. "I can send you to heaven."
"You're just a kid..."
"I'm thirteen, the same as Sagaru-kun," Tamaki pouted. "And it's rare that we get such a handsome, young client."
"No thanks," Hijikata grimaced, shaking off the hand. "I'll wait for Ya- Sagaru."
The boy gave him the creeps. Barely in his teens and face still round with baby fat but already a pro in seduction. What kind of training had made him that way? How did Yamazaki stand being here?
Hijikata tried not to hear the moans from other rooms as an even younger boy led him to Yamazaki's room, tried to ignore the cloying smell of perfume that didn't quite mask the smell of sex and decay.
"Sagaru-sama, a guest for you," his escort announced softly. "He specifically requested you. It's his first visit." He waited for acknowledgement before he slid the door open, waited for Hijikata to enter, then slid it shut.
"Thank you for requesting me, Ue-sama," Yamazaki's eyes were lowered as he bowed. His hair, which had always been long and unkempt, had grown even longer, and he looked like an androgynous doll in his lavender kimono. Hijikata had trouble recognizing the boy before him as the clumsy idiot who ran around headquarters with a badminton racket.
"What do you think you're doing, Yamazaki?"
Yamazaki straightened in a flash. "Fukuchou!" he squeaked.
"This isn't part of your mission. You were to quietly observe, nothing else."
"But that was getting me nowhere. I needed to get closer to the clients in order to get attention from the top," Yamazaki explained earnestly. "I've gotten the names of the middlemen and I know I can get the rest if--"
"That's enough. We don't need the info this way. We'll raid this shop and every other shop that springs up, even if it takes the rest of our lives. Your mission is over. Let's go."
"No."
"Yamazaki, are you disobeying a direct command?" Hijikata flared. "That's grounds for sepukku."
Yamazaki swallowed hard but didn't budge.
"Fukuchou, I came into this mission thinking like kyokuchou, that we were white and the bad guys were black. Now I realize that the Shinsengumi is really a murky gray. We need to get dirty in order to protect the truly innocent. I'm here by my own choice. Everything that I've gone through this past month was because I allowed it, not because I was forced. The others here - and the others out there that we don't even know about - can't say the same."
"What are you saying?"
"I'm not leaving until my job is done. Please... don't come back again. You're in my way."
-----
End Part 1
-----
♥♥♥♥♥ Fanart by ringo ame! ♥♥♥♥♥
Genre: Drama
Summary: 16-year-old Yamazaki Sagaru takes on his first mission: to infiltrate an illegal prostitution ring.
Totally got carried away with my idea and didn't put enough effort into keeping things IC. I need to do some major revise/rewrite if I want to share this somewhere other than my LJ.
Back to Prologue.
Every Culture Has Its Own Rite of Passage
Part 1
"Hijikata-san. I have Yamazaki's status report right here."
"Oh? Good job." Hijikata took the envelope and casually tossed it to the corner of the table before refocusing on his paperwork. "I'll get to it later."
Okita frowned at the indifferent tone. He had expected more of a reaction from the demonic vice commander, who had been even more irritable and short-tempered than usual since Yamazaki had left on his mission.
"Ah~h~ what is Yamazaki doing?" Okita wondered aloud. "It's already been a month with no results? He's a helpless kind of guy, isn't he? If it was me, I would have wrapped up the case on my first day."
"You mean you would have turned it into an indiscriminate bloodbath."
"I believe in being direct."
"Che. Just go."
Hijikata waited until Okita had slid the door shut and his footsteps receded before he dove for the envelope and tore it open.
-----
Fukuchou,
I've successfully infiltrated the Bishounen Love Palace. They believe I am a thirteen-year-old boy with a sick mother and a missing father, who desperately needs the money to pay for medical expenses. They started me out with cleaning and laundry, since they don't trust me with the food yet.
It was strange at first without my own bed and badminton racket, but I'm getting used to it here. The other kids here are nice and have shown me around, especially Tamaki-kun. He's half-French and his hobby is kankiri. He was 'it' the other day and caught everyone in less than ten minutes.
How are you and the others? I miss you all and hope to see you soon.
-Yamazaki Sagaru
P.S. They don't give us any snacks. Can you please send me those sausages I like?
-----
Hijikata slapped the report back onto the table. "Is this a letter from summer camp?!" he ranted in disbelief. "An idiot. He's a complete idiot!"
"Ah~h~ Hijikata-san... you're really not honest."
"Sougo, teme! When did you come back?"
"When did I ever leave?" Okita countered. "I just made it sound like I left, like so."
STEP. STEP. Step. step. step. silence. Okita demonstrated.
Hijikata buried his face in his hands, humiliated.
"Now that you caught me, I might as well ask," he mumbled. "How did he look?"
"Well, how should I put this...?" Okita paused. "Haggard...? Or haunted...? Or brutally beaten for some minor mistake...?"
Hijikata's eyes blazed with anger and self-reproach.
"...are words I would not use. He looked pretty good, actually," Okita finished.
"Bastard, you're playing with me!"
"If you're that concerned, why don't you go see him yourself?"
Hijikata lit a cigarette and took a deep drag. "Don't be stupid," he finally said. "It'll blow his cover if he's seen with me. It's suspicious for a brat like him to have any sort of business with a strange adult."
"Don't worry, Hijikata-san. You look like a pedophile so no one will think twice if you go as a client and request him."
"Who looks like a pedophile, you sadistic bastard!"
"Ahh, someone help me," Okita deadpanned as Hijikata hauled him up by the collar. "This perverted ojisan is trying to rape this innocent boy."
"Who'd try to rape you?! Who's an innocent boy, you son of Lucifer? Stop saying nonsense before I gag you."
"Ahh, and the perverted ojisan's into S&M."
Hijikata made a frustrated noise as he released Okita and collapsed back into his seat, completely drained. It was all Yamazaki's fault, that stupid brat. Going away for a month against his superior's will, not making contact until now, driving him crazy with worry and imagined scenes of doom, and in the end, he was fine. No, more than fine. The stupid brat was actually having fun with other stupid brats. Probably dragging out the mission so he can run around having fun instead of working properly like an adult.
He was so busy being annoyed at Yamazaki that it took a few more moments until Okita's words processed.
"Wait, what did you mean by 'request him'?"
"Oh, wasn't that in the report, Hijikata-san? Yamazaki might be a jimi, but he's quite the popular choice among the Amantos. They can't really tell one human from the other, and it seems they enjoy how submissive Sagaru-kun is. Well, speaking as a sadist, I can see their viewpoint. He has the kind of annoying look that makes you want to bully him until he cries."
Blatantly ignoring the dangerous aura starting to heat up from Hijikata, Okita continued, "Maybe Yamazaki should consider this a good opportunity for a career change. He isn't fit to wear the Shinsengumi uniform anyway."
"Sougo... where is this Bishounen Love Palace?"
-----
"Sagaru-kun is currently occupied. Wouldn't you like to try one of our other young boys? There's a lovely selection."
"Just call him out now, bastard."
"I'm sorry, but that's impossible."
The ingratiating smile was really getting on his nerves.
Hijikata instinctively reached for his katana before remembering that he wasn't carrying it in his guise as a client. He balled his hands into fists and dropped them to his side.
"I'll wait. When can I see him?" he asked through gritted teeth.
"It might be a while... we don't like to rush our clients, especially the regular VIPs."
"If it's Sagaru-kun, he's finished."
Hijikata turned to see a blond boy in a pink kimono.
"He's cleaning up," the blond continued. "He should be ready to receive guests in a few more minutes."
"...Tamaki?"
The blond smiled prettily as he glided over and put a hand on Hijikata's arm. "Oh, you've heard of me? Would you like me to accompany you instead, Ue-sama?" he asked charmingly. "I can send you to heaven."
"You're just a kid..."
"I'm thirteen, the same as Sagaru-kun," Tamaki pouted. "And it's rare that we get such a handsome, young client."
"No thanks," Hijikata grimaced, shaking off the hand. "I'll wait for Ya- Sagaru."
The boy gave him the creeps. Barely in his teens and face still round with baby fat but already a pro in seduction. What kind of training had made him that way? How did Yamazaki stand being here?
Hijikata tried not to hear the moans from other rooms as an even younger boy led him to Yamazaki's room, tried to ignore the cloying smell of perfume that didn't quite mask the smell of sex and decay.
"Sagaru-sama, a guest for you," his escort announced softly. "He specifically requested you. It's his first visit." He waited for acknowledgement before he slid the door open, waited for Hijikata to enter, then slid it shut.
"Thank you for requesting me, Ue-sama," Yamazaki's eyes were lowered as he bowed. His hair, which had always been long and unkempt, had grown even longer, and he looked like an androgynous doll in his lavender kimono. Hijikata had trouble recognizing the boy before him as the clumsy idiot who ran around headquarters with a badminton racket.
"What do you think you're doing, Yamazaki?"
Yamazaki straightened in a flash. "Fukuchou!" he squeaked.
"This isn't part of your mission. You were to quietly observe, nothing else."
"But that was getting me nowhere. I needed to get closer to the clients in order to get attention from the top," Yamazaki explained earnestly. "I've gotten the names of the middlemen and I know I can get the rest if--"
"That's enough. We don't need the info this way. We'll raid this shop and every other shop that springs up, even if it takes the rest of our lives. Your mission is over. Let's go."
"No."
"Yamazaki, are you disobeying a direct command?" Hijikata flared. "That's grounds for sepukku."
Yamazaki swallowed hard but didn't budge.
"Fukuchou, I came into this mission thinking like kyokuchou, that we were white and the bad guys were black. Now I realize that the Shinsengumi is really a murky gray. We need to get dirty in order to protect the truly innocent. I'm here by my own choice. Everything that I've gone through this past month was because I allowed it, not because I was forced. The others here - and the others out there that we don't even know about - can't say the same."
"What are you saying?"
"I'm not leaving until my job is done. Please... don't come back again. You're in my way."
-----
End Part 1
-----
♥♥♥♥♥ Fanart by ringo ame! ♥♥♥♥♥