Chapter Text
Toushirou dreams of long black hair, soft blue eyes, and gentle lullabies.
Blue eyes slowly blinked open, dreams of his mother fading away. Toushirou rubbed his eyes and let out a tiny yawn.
“Toshi? Are you awake?”
Ah, Tamegoro-nii was here to wake him up again. He knew instantly whenever his brother called out to him. After all, Tamegoro was the only one who ever called him by name. With everyone else, it was always ‘brat’, ‘pest’ and worst of all, ‘bastard child’.
“It’s Toushirou now,” he responded. Toushirou was no longer a 5 year old child. He was turning 7 years old today. He was practically an adult now, and adults didn’t get called cutesy names.
“Ah, my mistake Toushirou-san. I forgot that you are an old man now. 7 years old, a whole 2 years older, wow,” his brother replied, hint of amusement in his tone.
Toushirou wrinkled his nose and huffed, recognising his brother’s teasing tone.
“Onii-san!”
Tamegoro snickered, walking into the room and sat next to him. He poked Toushirou’s chubby cheek. “I’m not lying. One day I’m going to be an old man and you will find someone. I’m not ready for my cute baby brother to leave my side.”
Toushirou stood up, puffed his chest out, placed his hand over his chest and declared, “Onii-san, I promise I will never leave you. I am a big, strong man now and I will protect you forever and ever!”
Tamegoro burst out in laughter, and Toushirou deflated, all his bravado leaving him. Tamegoro stopped laughing when he noticed his baby brother’s looking down.
He lifted Toushirou’s chin with his finger, and the child hesitantly looked back at him with innocent blue eyes. “Toushirou, onii-san is sorry for laughing, okay? I know you can protect me. You will one day, when I’m old and useless. But let me take care of you now?”
Toushirou stepped closer to Tamegoro and hugged him, feeling his older brother. Growing up meant his mother dying from her illness, and now growing up meant Tamegoro-nii getting old and leaving him. if that’s what it meant to grow up, he didn’t want it.
“...I don’t want to grow up anymore, I don’t want to leave nii-san,” he mumbled. Tamegoro pulled away and looked at him, raising his eyebrow. He smiled softly and ruffled Toushirou’s hair, “Back to just nii-san now?”
The child simply nodded his head.
Tamegoro sighed. “Toushirou, time will always pass. You will grow older, you will meet new people and experience new things, and who knows? Maybe one day you will find someone to love, like I love your nee-san...”
Toushirou remembered walking in on his brother kissing his sister-in-law and scrunched his face up at the thought of ever doing that with someone else.
Adults were gross.
Tamagoro paused and smirked at the look on Toushirou’s face, “Wait till you find someone, it’ll be my turn to make fun of you.”
Toushirou childishly stuck his tongue out. He was never going to kiss anyone.
Tamegoro playfully pinched the tip of his nose and continued, “What was I saying? Ah. You will meet people, you will experience things, you might find something you love, something you stand for, and you might fall in love. I will grow old, and so will you. And one day, I will be gone. We can only move forward, not back.”
Toushirou remained silent.
“But no matter what,” he placed a finger on his chest, right above Toushirou’s heart, “this right here? I promise I will always be with you in here, okay? Toushirou, don’t be afraid to leave this place, don’t be afraid to explore this world.”
Toushirou stares at Tamegoro, thinking.
Then he said, “...Toshi.”
“Huh?”
“...Not Toushirou. Toshi.”
“ Whether I’m here or not, you will always be my precious baby brother, and I will always be with you, Toshi. I promise.”
Toushirou brightened. He clutched his chest, where his brother had pointed to moments ago—his nii-san would always be with him.
“Now, shall we visit your favourite spot in that forest? I managed to get you out of doing the chores today,” he winked.
“Mm!” Toushirou nodded enthusiastically.
“Yosh! Let’s go,” Tamegoro said and bent down.
Toushirou looked at him, confused.
“Well? Today is the prince’s birthday, and His Highness is entitled to a piggy back ride the whole day. Climb up!”
Toushirou quickly scrambled up his brother’s back and the man lifted him up, settling him comfortably on his shoulders. Toushirou loved it when his brother carried him around, it made him feel tall.
Also, the rest of the family couldn’t look down on him when he was up so high.
“Alright, ready Toshi?”
Toushirou grabbed onto Tamegoro’s hair gently to steady himself, “Yes! Let’s go!”
Tamegoro laughed and stepped out of the room. He paused as he remembered something.
“Toshi?”
Toushirou cocked his head, patiently waiting for his brother to continue.
“Happy birthday.”
And Toushirou’s face lit up in a smile.
The brothers arrived at Toushirou’s favourite spot in the forest near their home. It was just a simple clearing in the middle of the forest with a lot of unique plants that attracted the young boy. It was his favourite spot to escape to when he felt like running away from all the judgemental stares and cruel words.
Tamegoro was the only other person who knew about this place.
Though Tamegoro never understood why he liked such an empty area so much. But Toushirou always felt an odd sense of calm wash over him when he was there. Sometimes, a few animals would venture towards him bravely, and Toushirou would giggle when they came close enough to sniff his fingers.
This place felt spiritual. He was at peace here.
Just as he sat down on the soft grass, his brother exclaimed, “Ah! I forgot!”
Toushirou looked at him in question and Tamegoro looked at him in apology.
“Sorry Toshi, I carried you and forgot to bring the food I prepared.”
“It’s okay.”
“No no. I’ll go back and get the food. Do you want to come back with me? I can carry you again.”
He didn’t want to bother Tamegoro again, so he said, “I’ll be okay nii-san, I come here all the time.”
Tamegoro nodded and left. Toushirou laid back on the grass and stared up at the sky, thinking.
Seven years old huh?
Two years had passed since his mother’s death and since he had moved to the Hijikata household. He thought about the looks of anger and hatred directed towards him when he had first entered the house, holding on tightly to Tamegoro’s hand. Nobody liked the bastard child and his father never acknowledged his existence.
As the heir to the household, Tamegoro had always protected him. Without Tamegoro, he was sure that would have been thrown out to the streets. But, Toushirou knew. He heard the whispers.
He knew that his presence was a stain to the Hijikata name. That him living in the house was acknowledging the head of the household’s adultery, and in turn, it affected the Hijikata name which his brother would inherit in the future.
Toushirou loved his brother, and wished that he wasn’t such a burden to Tamegoro.
But Toushirou was selfish. He didn’t want to leave his brother. He didn’t want to leave the only person in the world who loved him since his mother.
That was why he wanted to become stronger. He would grow up quickly, he would become strong, and he would earn his place in the household. He would rise above all the demeaning stares and stand proudly by his brother’s side as his sword and shield.
Until then, he would bear with the pain. He would bear with the beatings from Tamegoro’s mother and the way she overworked him until he passed out whenever his brother went on long trips.
Tamegoro, his precious older brother, would never know that whenever he left, Toushirou spent most of his days in the forest to escape the pain.
Toushirou had decided to take a nap while waiting and flipped over to his side to make himself comfortable when he saw something shiny from the corner of his eye.
He felt strangely attracted to it.
With his curiosity peaked, he slowly sat up and crawled over.
Huh.
Fur?
It was white? No, darker than white. Silver?
Toushirou picked up the tuft of fur on the ground, wondering what animal it could have come from. He had been here so many times, but had never seen an animal with silver-white fur. Maybe a new animal moved into the forest and he had yet to see it?
Well, that wasn’t a problem. He would just have to visit the spot more often to try and gain the animal’s trust then! Toushirou was sure he could lure the animal out. Maybe he could try mayonnaise again? None of the animals had been lured by it, and some had even run away when he opened a packet, but maybe this new animal would finally share his love for mayo?
That would be nice.
Tamagoro never let him have more than one small packet of mayo everyday, saying that it’s unhealthy, so he would have to try and sneak some mayo out one day.
While the seven year old was plotting his grand mayonnaise heist, Tamegoro came running back towards him, “Toshi!”
Toushirou ran towards his brother, all thoughts of the mysterious silver fur pushed aside.
“Time to celebrate my favourite baby’s 7th birthday!”
“Nii-san, I’m not a baby.”
"You will always be my baby."
The two continued to celebrate, filling the forest with love and laughter.
From behind the bushes, a pair of curious red eyes watched the young boy celebrate his birthday.
Toushirou was proud of himself. He had successfully managed to sneak some mayonnaise out of the kitchen without Tamegoro finding out and was excited to bring his precious stash to the forest (he may also have eaten half of the packets of mayonnaise, but no one needed to know that).
He dashed out to his secret spot and emptied his pockets full of mayo sachets. He pulled out his container of rice, one that Tamegoro had prepared for him, and emptied all the mayo on top of it. Tamegoro had also prepared some azuki for him as a treat, but the boy decided to keep that for himself later.
Once satisfied, he placed the bowl closer to the bushes where he had seen the fur and sat back down at his spot. He was brimming with excitement. Toushirou really hoped that the animal liked mayonnaise. Maybe they could be friends too?
He waited…
and waited…
Oh! The bushes were rustling!
A squirrel ran out.
Oh.
He recognised the one with a dark spot on its leg.
The squirrel sniffed the rice topped with mayo and turned its head away, as through recognising the condiment that Toushirou had offered it a long time ago. The rodent cocked its head and ran to Toushirou, sniffing at his fingers.
Toushirou absently wondered if the squirrel recognised him, the boy that often spent his time crying and treating his wounds in the forest.
Toushirou let the curious animal scent him and mumbled, “Do you have a new friend here? One with silver fur?”
The squirrel just looked at him with beady eyes.
“Do you think it likes mayo? I hope it likes mayo,” he continued as he stroked the animal’s fur.
Toushirou was starting to feel sleepy. He had woken up before everyone else just to sneak out the packets of mayonnaise, and now the lack of sleep was now taking a toll on him. He could just lay down for a little while? It didn’t look like the mysterious animal was showing up anytime soon…
He moved to lay on the grass and stared at his offering.
He stared…
And stared…
Until he fell asleep.
When Toushirou woke up again, the first thing he saw was a flash of silver. He rubbed his eyes and sat up slowly, not wanting to scare the creature away.
As his vision cleared, he saw…
A fox?
A cute, fluffy, silvery white fox was sniffing at his mayonnaise bowl. Toushirou watched and crossed his fingers, hoping the fox would like it.
The fox turned away.
Toushirou’s heart fell.
As though it could sense his disappointment, the fox whipped its head towards the boy, focusing dark red eyes on him, staring.
A silver fox with red eyes?
Toushirou was enchanted by the fox. A fox with that colouring was unheard of. His mother had taught him that most animals were dark or patterned, it allowed them to blend in with the forest.
But this fox had silvery white fur that reflected the light, drawing attention to it like a beacon.
It was beautiful.
Toushirou slowly crawled towards the fox, it looked smaller than the ones his mother had told him about when she was alive. A young fox maybe?
The fox continued to watch him, no sign of hesitation in its eyes, as though it already knew that Toushirou wasn’t a threat. Toushirou sat in front of it and reached his hand out to let the fox scent him like he did with every other animal, but to his surprise, the fox just huffed and pushed its head into Toushirou’s hand.
It trusted him already? Maybe it did like the mayo!
He excitedly pointed to the bowl with a bright smile and huffed when the fox let out a soft growl.
He could have sworn the fox rolled his eyes at him, but maybe he was imagining things?
The young fox sniffed the air and perked up when it caught a certain scent. It started to sniff Toushirou, trying to find the source of the sweet scent. The young boy giggled as he felt a soft, wet nose sniffing him all over.
The fox was adorable!
He heard a whine and felt a paw nudge at his hands, where he was holding the azuki dessert. Toushirou raised his eyebrows, “...You want this?”
The fox nodded and whined again.
Huh. Could it understand him?
He opened the box and placed the sweet beans on the ground, and the silver fox pounced, gobbling up the entire box.
Toushirou sighed and turned towards his poor abandoned mayonnaise bowl, so much for all that effort.
The boy dejectedly picked up the rice bowl and started to eat it, not wanting to waste any mayo. The fox seemed to notice his disappointment and nudged the boy with its nose.
“...What?”
The fox pawed at the boys hand and whined, as though it was trying to apologise.
“Are you trying to say sorry?”
The fox nodded.
How could he ever stay upset with such a cute fox looking at him so pleadingly?
“It’s ok. But next time, could you at least try some?”
The fox whined even louder and turned towards the azuki beans. Toushirou sighed, “Ugh, fine. I’ll bring more azuki for you next time.”
Toushirou tentatively reached out, watching the fox’s reaction carefully. When the fox didn’t react, he started to stroke the soft, silver fur, feeling the fox relax under his touch. The creature curled up next to him, ears twitching as Toushirou played with its ears.
Cute.
As he sat there, stroking the sleepy fox with silver fur and red eyes, Toushirou couldn’t help but wonder why the fox had three tails.
Toushirou started spending most of his afternoons with the fox in the forest. They would play amongst the foliage and Toushirou would ramble on about his brother, his mother, mayonnaise, and so on. The boy talked about anything and everything that came to his mind, and the fox would listen, chirping whenever Toushirou smiled brightly as he talked about his brother, and growling when Toushirou talked about the pain he felt at cruel words thrown at him.
He would bring more azuki for the fox. In return, the fox would bring him deeper into the forest, to areas that he had never dared to explore on his own.
Once, it had started to rain when the boy and the fox were near a stream, and the fox had immediately led the boy to shelter to wait out the heavy downpour.
Toushirou remembered wondering why there was an old, rundown shrine in the middle of the forest. There were broken statues, that looked a little bit like foxes, at the entrance. The shrine looked like it had been grand and beautiful once, but now it was nothing but another worn out, abandoned part of history.
The fox had made itself comfortable, as though it was familiar with the place.
Maybe that was where the fox lived when it wasn’t with him?
The fox had also grown attached to him. Sometimes, when his brother was away for work, Toushirou would walk a little slower, and the silver fox would wait patiently for him. On those days, Toushirou would come empty handed and apologise for being too tired to play.
The fox would simply lick his cheek and lay down, and Toushirou would curl up next to the fox, burying his face and hands into silver fur.
And when Toushirou cried, the young fox would curl up protectively around him, silently promising to shield the dark haired boy from the world.
This went on for months, the boy and the fox offering each other the companionship they both craved.
Until one day, the head of the Hijikata house passed away.
Toushirou watched as Tamegoro-nii packed his things.
“Are you leaving again?”
Ever since Tamegoro took over as the head, he had been able to spend any time with his brother.
There was unrest since Hijikata-sama died, and there were other families who coveted the Hijikata family’s position and influence. Tamegoro had to assert himself as the next head to ensure that the Hijikata name did not lose its status. To do that, the man had to constantly travel to meetings or negotiate trade and important business deals.
Toushirou couldn’t remember the last time he had taken a walk with his older brother.
Tamegoro looked at the disappointed boy and smiled, “Sorry Toshi, nii-san will try his best to wrap this up quickly, okay? After this, I promise to spend time with you. I’ll cook and we can eat in the forest,” he winked.
Toushirou moved forward to hug Tamegoro, knowing that his brother would likely be too busy to fulfil that promise. He mumbled, “I miss you, come home soon.”
Tamegoro picked his baby brother up and settled him on his hip, placing a soft kiss on his forehead, “I promise, I’ll see you soon.”
Then he set the boy down, ruffling his soft hair before rushing out the door.
Toushirou’s heart dropped once his brother left. Ever since Tamegoro started leaving on even longer trips, his stepmother had gotten worse. She made him do all the chores, even when they had servants, and would punish him for even the slightest mistake. Some of the maids that had taken pity on him and tried to help were dismissed instantly.
So Toushirou was alone. He felt anger rise up in him every time he was scolded or hit, but he controlled himself. He couldn’t lash out.
He couldn’t.
If he did, he would cause trouble for Tamegoro. He remembered his goal to be his brother’s sword and shield, and grit his teeth the cruel words were flung at him.
The boy climbed up the chair to dust the shelf where the most precious Hijikata family heirlooms were displayed. Toushirou never understood why a boring vase would be so important, but maybe it was just an adult thing.
He couldn’t wait to finish up and run off to the forest again. Maybe this time, they could explore beyond the shrine? He would have to ask his fox friend about that.
“Are you done yet? What’s taking so long?!”
Toushirou was so distracted by his thoughts, that when his stepmother shouted at him, he was so shocked that his hand slipped, knocking over the vase on the top of the shelf.
He looked on in horror as the vase, considered one of the most prized heirlooms in the Hijikata household, shattered.
No...
He felt dread build up inside of him as he looked up into his stepmother’s cruel eyes, and braced himself for the pain.
The child limped his way to the forest in the middle of the night.
His legs, his arms, his face...everything hurt.
He wanted his fox, his friend. He wanted to bury his face into soft fur and cry his heart out.
Unable to see well in the dark, he tripped over a rock and fell. He couldn’t get up. He was so, so tired.
Maybe it would be fine for him to just rest here for the night? He gripped the grass beneath him, wishing that when he woke up again, he would be safe and sound in his big brother’s arms.
As he drifted off, he felt himself float, like he was being carried...and thought he caught a glimpse of silver fur glowing bright under the moonlight.
Toushirou felt warm and comfy. Was his pillow always that soft? He turned and nuzzled into it.
Then his nose twitched as something tickled him. He brushed it aside, thinking it was a bug.
Then his pillow moved. Toushirou jerked up.
“Finally! My tail fell asleep with your heavy head lying on it the whole night.”
What?
Toushirou rubbed his eyes.
A boy with silvery white hair and red eyes stood in front of him. He looked around his age, maybe slightly older. Why was his hair so fluffy?
“Hey,” the boy said, raising his eyebrows.
Toushirou stared, blue eyes wide.
The confident looking boy suddenly looked uncertain, “Umm, this wasn’t how I imagined-are you…”
The boy trailed off, rubbing his neck nervously.
Then Toushirou noticed the tail-no-the tails swaying lightly behind the boy and the two white ears sitting on his head, almost hidden by the fluffy, curly hair.
Toushirou pointed at the tails, “You.”
“The fox. Yeah, ah, I’m a kitsune. I might have forgotten to tell you that,” the boy interrupted.
Who casually forgets to tell someone that they’re yokai ?!
“Hey...can you say something?”
Toushirou noticed the three fluffy tails drooping further the longer he remained silent. He remembered his fox friend’s tails being the biggest indicator of his mood. Everytime Toushirou returned to their spot, he would see all three tails perk up and wag in excitement.
It was a little weird to see a boy his age with tails that expressive.
“...Sorry. Maybe this was a bad idea. I’ll just-”
The boy’s initial amused expression had faded into disappointment as he turned to leave.
“Wait!” Toushirou grabbed the red eyed boy’s hand. This was still the same friend he had spent so much time with. The friend who had been there for him, who had played with him, who had explored the forest with him—he recalled glowing white fur from last night looked down at himself—and the friend who had carried him back to the ruined shrine.
The silver haired boy’s tails and ears perked up a little in hope.
Toushirou continued, “It doesn’t matter if you’re a fox or boy or yokai. I-I still want to be your friend. If-If you still want to be mine!”
All three tails shot back up and wagged happily as the silver-haired boy smiled.
“I’m Gintoki.”
Toushirou felt his heart warm.
“I’m Toushirou.”
Gintoki’s smile widened and he sat down, patting the floor beside him.
“Sit! I need to treat your injuries! They’ll heal faster.”
Toushirou sat down and Gintoki gently grabbed his arms, applying some herbal paste he pulled out from his yukata.
“Don’t you have some magical powers to heal me?”
The kitsune looked up, “Hey, be happy I’m even helping you,” then he mumbled, “sensei said my powers can’t be controlled yet.”
Toushirou was genuinely curious, “Why?”
“Ehh, who knows? Something about how I’m too young but I already have three tails. I haven’t even learnt to hide my ears and tails yet.”
Toushirou looked at the tails swishing behind the boy, “You can grow more?”
He hoped Gintoki would grow more tails. They were really comfortable and Toushirou liked cuddling them.
Gintoki eyed him suspiciously, “Oi, you just want to use my tails as your pillow.”
Toushirou blushed at being called out and mumbled, “Not my fault they’re so soft.”
Gintoki grinned proudly, “They are soft aren’t they? I brush them everyday like sensei told me to,” then he flopped back to lay on the floor, “Ahh but he’s not even here to teach me anymore.”
Toushirou cocked his head in question.
Gintoki gestured to the ruins, “This shrine didn’t always look like such a mess you know? People around here used to come here a lot to worship the kami, Inari, here. Sensei used to live here too.”
Toushirou noticed Gintoki’s ears flatten when he continued, “I was too young to understand why, but people stopped coming here, and one day, sensei disappeared.”
Toushirou remained silent as he moved closer to his friend, silently playing with his hair. He gently traced his ears and watched it twitch, knowing how much he had liked it in his fox form.
Gintoki pushed his fluffy head into the small hand offering him comfort. Toushirou was too tired from his injuries to play, and Gintoki was just happy to have someone there.
They remained in that position, leaning on each other as Toushirou continued to run his fingers through Gintoki’s hair, chatting about inane things. Toushirou was happy that his conversations were no longer one sided.
The sound of thunder hit the sky.
Toushirou looked outside, “Ah! I should leave before the storm. Nii-san is coming back tonight.”
He nudged a disgruntled Gintoki that had made himself comfortable and scrambled up.
Just before he ran out, Toushirou turned to look back at his friend and smiled, “I’ll be back soon, okay?”
Gintoki watched Toushirou leave until he couldn’t see the boy anymore.
A drop of rain hit the ground outside the shrine.
He turned back to walk into his empty home.
The rain started getting heavier.
It was nice to have his friend here. He also hated when Toshi turned up with bruises and he had almost fallen into rage when he saw his dear friend lying on the ground, bruised and battered. He was only able to stop himself from going on a rampage when he heard the boy groan softly in pain, and decided that treating him was more important.
He wished Toshi could stay here with him instead. Gintoki would keep him safe! He was supposed to be a guardian after all. Maybe if he asked…?
No, his friend had said he wanted to stay with his brother. Gintoki didn’t want to separate them.
Gintoki sat next to the kami’s altar, the spot where sensei used to sit.
He curled up on the cold ground of the empty shrine.
The rain started to pour.
The kitsune thought about how the shrine was once filled with life. Sensei would listen to all the prayers and requests from the villagers who ventured into the forest looking for blessings. He would sit beside sensei and eye the offerings greedily as people prayed, but one stern look and a smack on the hand stopped him.
Once the temple was empty, sensei would watch him and the other kitsune wolf down the food to their heart’s content. There were many other kitsune that lived here too, and sensei would take care of all of them. Though he would argue that he was sensei’s favourite as he always paid special attention to him.
Something about the number of his tails, but he couldn’t recall.
Once sensei disappeared, the other kitsune left the shrine and dispersed, but Gintoki refused to leave.
Not until he was older and stronger. Not until he could control his increasingly unstable powers.
Then he could look for his sensei.
Then he could save Toushirou.
The two continued to meet in the forest every few days when Toushirou could get away from the house. Toushirou would tell him about Tamegoro and Gintoki would tell him about sensei and the other kitsune.
One day, as Toushirou was leaving Gintoki stopped him by tugging on his sleeve, “Can we meet again tomorrow? Um. It’s 10 October...”
Toushirou looked at him, they had never set a date to meet before.
“What’s so special about it?”
“Ah...tomorrow, is when my sensei found me,” Gintoki scratched his head, “something like my-um-my birthday I guess. It’s fine if you-”
“I will be here.”
Gintoki looked up, and saw a determined gaze looking back at him.
The kitsune felt his heart warm at his friend’s willingness to spend time with him on his birthday. He smiled softly, “Thank you.”
“Happy birthday Gintoki!”
Gintoki froze when he heard the shout and found himself with an arm full of an excited blue-eyed boy.
Toushirou pulled away from the hug, smiling brightly.
“I have to leave at night because Tamegoro-nii is coming back, but we can spend the whole afternoon together!”
Toushirou’s eyes sparkled with mischief as he pulled out a bento box and held it out to Gintoki, blushing.
“I brought this! For your birthday.”
Gintoki opened the box and saw a huge helping of azuki on rice, and inarizushi at the side. He had even squeezed only a little bit of mayo in the shape of a smiley face on top of the azuki.
Usually, Toushirou would squeeze a huge helping of mayo on top of his food, citing that mayo is kami level food, but had restrained himself from force feeding the kitsune with mayo on his birthday. How sweet of him.
Gintoki swiped a bit of mayo off the azuki and watched Toushirou’s eyes brighten.
Then he wiped his finger on the other boy’s face, laughing as his face scrunched up in irritation.
“Tsk, one day you will see the light.”
“No thanks, if mayo is the light, I’d rather live in darkness.”
Toushirou stuck his tongue out and pouted.
Gintoki looked at his pouting friend with amusement and said, “Thank you, Toshi.”
Toushirou softened as he repeated, “Happy birthday.”
The two spent the day at the stream nearby, sharing the food that Toushirou had gifted to Gintoki, and giggling at the endless jokes they shared.
As Toushirou turned to leave, Gintoki called out, “Wait! I have something for you.”
Gintoki pulled out a beaded necklace and held it up. It had a few canine teeth in the middle.
“This is mine. I made it with sensei. If you wear it, or just keep this with you, I will be able to find you, wherever you are.”
“It’s your birthday. You shouldn’t be giving me a present.”
“I want to.”
Toushirou sighed as he reached out and took the necklace, “You always do things backwards. But thank you.”
“If you really feel like you want to give me something, you can.”
“Hmm? What do you want?”
“Another hug.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah,” Gintoki rubbed his neck, blushing at the thought of directly asking for comfort.
“Okay,” Toushirou stepped forward and wrapped his friend up in his arms, feeling the soft tails curl around his own back to hold him close.
They had each other, and that was enough.
That night, Toushirou walked back with his belly and heart full. What should he bring next time? Maybe he should ask his brother what foxes liked to eat?
As he neared his house, he heard voices.
Screaming.
Something was wrong. He hastened his speed, breaking out into a run. He prayed and begged that Tamegoro-nii would be safe.
He froze as he stepped out of the forest and straight into hell.
Fire. Fire and blood.
His house was on fire and there was smoke and there was screaming and there was blood.
...and in the middle, he saw Tamegoro, kneeling on the ground, a man holding a sword above his head.
No.
He ran towards his brother, screaming, “Nii-san!!”
“Oh? Look at the runt. Is that your son? Maybe we should just kill him too.”
Tamegoro looked up, eyes wide in horror as he watched his baby brother running towards him.
“Please...leave him-he’s just-please,” he begged the man.
“Then sign the agreement.”
“I can’t.”
The man sighed, rolling his eyes.
“So stubborn.”
The man swung the sword down and in the second before the sword made contact, Tamegoro looked straight into his baby brother’s horrified eyes.
“I love you, Toshi. Run.”
“NII-SAN!!”
There was silence.
Toushirou dropped to his knees, staring at his brother’s unmoving body, crying his heart out.
“Tsk. Asshole should have just signed the agreement instead of causing so much trouble.”
“Oi, grab the runt. It’ll be troublesome if anyone here is left alive. He can come back to claim the land again.”
Toushirou didn’t care what happened to him.
His brother...his Tamegoro-nii…
...had wanted him to run.
One of the men grabbed him and Toushirou struggled. His brother wanted him to survive and he was going to put up a fight. He punched and kicked whatever he could reach.
“This f- brat!”
The man threw him on the ground and twisted his arm behind his back.
“You punch me, I break your arm. How does that sound?”
It hurt. It hurt so much. His arm was going to break. He wasn’t going to make it...they were too strong and he was just a child.
“Just kill him already! Stop wasting time.”
“Tsk fine! I wanted to teach him a lesson.”
Tears leaked from Toushirou’s eyes, he would apologise to Tamegoro for not surviving when he met him again.
He closed his eyes, prepared never to open them again.
.
.
.
Then he felt a rush of pure, unadulterated power.
Screams, and then silence.
Toushirou slowly opened his eyes. He wasn’t dead yet?
He looked up and had to shield his eyes from blindingly bright, white light. But he could make out the figure in front of him, he had seen that figure many times.
Except the figure now looked terrifying. His pupils were slits, making his red eyes look menacing. His nails looked like claws, and his canine teeth had elongated. His face was pulled back in a snarl.
“Gintoki?”
The yokai’s face softened when he heard his friend call out. He stepped forward and held Toushirou close to him, and the boy could feel raw power emanating from the young kitsune.
Gintoki was crying.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I should have gotten here faster. I’m sorry, Toshi.”
Toushirou wrapped his arms around Gintoki, feeling safe.
“How did you know?”
“The necklace. I can feel it when you’re in danger.”
“Mm.”
“Come back with me?”
They separated and Gintoki stood up, carefully guiding Toushirou up.
Toushirou finally calmed down enough to take in his surroundings, and his eyes widened.
“...this…”
“I have difficulty controlling my power.”
The area around them was decimated.
The bodies of the men surrounded them and half of the house looked like it exploded. Part of the forest closest to them was cleared, as though burnt down.
Gintoki watched him carefully, and dropped his hand, “It’s okay if you don’t want to be my friend anymore.”
Toushirou held his hand and squeezed, “No, I trust you.”
After all, even with all that destruction, Gintoki had not left a single scratch on him.
They worked together to bury Toushirou’s brother and the rest of the Hijikata family.
They stood at the burial site, paying respect to the dead.
So Toushirou really was the only survivor.
Then he remembered that the men had said something about an agreement and the Hijikata family.
“Gintoki,” Toushirou held the other boy’s hand.
“Hmm?”
“Whoever sent those men, I need to know who they are. I have to become stronger. I have to find out why my brother was killed.”
Gintoki’s grip on his hand tightened.
“You’re not coming back with me are you?”
Toushirou turned to his friend, looking into sad red eyes, and held his face softly with his free hand, “Not yet. And you can’t come with me, not until you know your own powers.”
Gintoki was too powerful and his strength at such a young age was already this destructive and uncontrollable. Toushirou knew that Gintoki wasn’t ready to step out into the human world, and he was not going to force him to.
And Gintoki himself had someone he was looking for.
“I understand,” Gintoki breathed.
Toushirou ruffled the soft, curly hair and watched the kitsune’s ear’s twitch. He smiled, it was the last time he could get the chance to do it after all.
Then he noticed something.
“Hey, did you grow another tail?”
Gintoki looked surprised and curled his tails forward.
Four tails now.
Toushirou ran his hands along the new tail, “I’ll miss my pillow.”
Gintoki let out a hint of a chuckle. He would miss his friend dearly, but they needed to find their own path.
Gintoki held his hand, brushing over the necklace Toushirou held.
"I promise I will find you again. I always will."
Toushirou dreams of gentle red eyes and soft silver fur.
He woke up and the first thing he saw was an annoying grin and curly silver hair.
“Ugh.”
“Oi, that’s rude. Gin-san’s face is a beautiful thing to wake up to!”
Toushirou scoffed, “Please, my ass is more beautiful than your entire body combined.”
“Hmm, I need to verify that theory.”
“Tsk, pervert.”
“And proud of it.”
Toushirou rolled his eyes and started to wash up, wondering how he even ended up with this guy?
Oh yes, he needed someone who had access to his old estate and had screamed about it while drunk at the bar, and someone had pointed him to the man.
It felt odd, coming back 20 years later to the place where he used to live. The place had been developed, but the estate where his brother and family were killed still remained untouched.
His breath shuddered. It was hard to be back again.
“Are you done yet? We need to move and I’m hungry.”
Now he was stuck with this pain in the ass who was leading him to the estate, because he no longer had access to it.
Toushirou sighed. At least this man now owned the entire estate, and the entrance to the forest that surrounded it. He was the one who protected it from being reclaimed and occasionally let people explore the area in exchange for money. He was thankful that the man had protected the area, but he was still curious.
“Hey, why did you buy that estate?”
Gin-san shrugged, “I liked it.”
“Seriously? Pretty sure that’s not the only reason.”
The man turned to look at him and Toushirou felt a flash of recognition, “I did it for...the family. I heard about what happened, and developing that plot of land when the case hasn’t been resolved just doesn’t feel right.
“Besides, I really like the forest. I used to play there a lot when I was younger.”
Toushirou didn’t understand the strange look that passed through the man’s eyes.
He shook that off as they arrived at the entrance to the estate.
“Right, we’re here. So feel free to explore, do whatever. Don’t steal anything, the usual.”
Then he reached his palm out, asking for payment.
Oh. Right. Toushirou had forgotten.
Gin-san raised an eyebrow when he saw the other man stare at his palm, “Oi oi, you don’t think I’m letting you in out of goodwill, do you? I charge for all my services.”
“Look I-”
“But Gin-san is very kind and generous, and today is a special day. So I will take payment in the form of kisses too,” he winked.
Toushirou looked at him in disgust, but he had nothing else with him except his sword.
He sighed, “How many?”
“One.”
Well, that wasn’t so bad.
“Fine.”
Toushirou leaned towards the man, fully intending to get away with a quick cheek kiss, but Gin-san turned at the last minute and captured Toushirou’s lips.
Blue eyes widened as arms wrapped around his waist and the silver haired man deepened the kiss. Toushirou couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed by how good the kiss felt. He closed his eyes, lifting his hands up to grip at strong shoulders.
No one had kissed him that well before.
When Toushirou felt hands sliding down his waist, he snapped back to reality and pushed the man away. He was sure that his face was flushed.
Gin-san smirked and licked his lips, looking like an animal that had just devoured its meal.
“That was delicious. Thanks for the birthday present,” he winked and turned to leave.
Toushirou watched him leave. Huh.
Wait, was that a tail? No-tails. There were multiple tails. He stared.
Toushirou rubbed his eyes.
The tails disappeared.
Huh. He was probably still affected by the kiss. He had been dreaming of his imaginary kitsune friend a lot lately, and now he was starting to see things.
But the man had red eyes and silvery white hair. Just like-
Nope. There's no way. Toushirou convinced himself that he was just imagining things.
Just because the man had silver white hair and red eyes didn’t mean anything. Plenty of people and animals had that colouring.
Besides, yokai weren’t real. That was what everyone who had laughed in his face had told him. Just stories and imaginations of a lonely child.
That’s all.
Besides, his kitsune only had four tails, not nine like he just thought he saw, right?
Anyway, the man said it was his birthday today. What day was it anyway? He had lost track of time after all that travelling.
He vaguely recalled looking at the calendar at the bar the night before, 19 October? No, that was too late. More likely to be 9th. Yes. 9 October. He was certain now.
If yesterday was the 9th, then that would mean the date today...
The cigarette fell out of his mouth.
...October 10th.
“Happy birthday Gintoki!”
“Thank you, Toshi.”