*Cough* Peaking behind a wall

Erm. Sorry. It's been a while. It's just I've been busy preparing my thesis for bachelor degree and no really in the mood to write fanfiction. Well, enjoy the story. Not as long as the previous chapter since the material for this part in canon was, well, not much. Screw that. There were only so few material I don't know what to do with it.

Whatever, just enjoy it. Thanks. Don't forget to leave a review~

Everyone went on their separate ways after the war. Gintoki can see the strained string between him and Takasugi. And the aura of anger Takasugi had had now completely covered him. After their burial of sensei they just can't seems to stay in the same place. Takasugi was angry at everything. At the government, at the Crows, at the world, but mostly, at Gintoki. Not that Gintoki blame him. Even now, thinking about sensei still hurt him a lot. But he knew he can't keep on mourning. So one day, while everyone was asleep, he left. He felt guilty, but he couldn't stay anymore. He couldn't stand seeing his comrades died futilely. He couldn't stand seeing the Spirits of death kept on swarming the battlefield. He wrote a letter to Zura and Takasugi. Not that Takasugi would read it, but the thought count. Probably.

As he left, he brought nothing but some change of clothes and Shouyo's old katana. Gintoki sighed and started to whistle. The spirits seem happy now that he left the battlefield behind. Gintoki took a deep breath and exhaled quietly. He looked at the sky and wonder, if Shouyo didn't find him all those years ago, what would happen to him. Gintoki let out a soft smile and shook his head. 'None of that matter now,' he thought as he let the Wind Spirits to take him wherever they wanted to.

It's been a few months now. He wandered from city to city, from villages to villages, doing odd jobs to secure some meals and lodging. Some days it was difficult to find work. One day, it was rather difficult so he sold Shouyo's katana for a so so price. He replaced it with a wooden sword. He didn't think Shouyo would mind. Shouyo would probably said as long as he enjoyed his life it's okay. And he did, he really enjoyed his current life as difficult as it is.

In a way, karma probably waiting for him. No way a murderer like him could enjoy peaceful life. As he went back to his inn after another day doing odd jobs, the wind carried the voice someone familiar.

"Wait! This isn't what we agreed to!" the voice said. Gintoki can sort of recognise it. He might have heard it once in a while ago. Might be from Zura's squad or Sakamoto's squad that got absorbed to his own.

"I…. I know, as proof of my devotion, I'll give you my daughter. I don't care, I'll give you my family or whatever you want! Just spare my life!" and Gintoki saw red. He could never agreed sacrificing a comrade, but he could understand if it was for family. But this guy, he is a scum. Selling his daughter, his family just so he could life, Gintoki can't fogive that. So he walked closer to where the spirits pointed him and the man didn't stop yelling.

"She's just a good-for-nothing girl that some *i*** decided she was going to have back before the war! Anyhow, wait here! I'll go fetch her for you…." And Gintoki had had enough. He slammed his bokutou to the man's head and make him hit a wall head first. He saw the government officials were startled and shocked. he grinned inwardly, he still had his touch apparently.

"Hey, what's up? You need someone to pin a crime on? I know. Yeah, I'm this dimwit's daughter," He drawled as he pointed at himself.

"I don't remember picking a fight with Hitotsubashi, but if that's what you want, you can have this Shiroyasha's head plus that piece of *h**'s head. So do not, lay your hands on anyone else," he said. And quietly, he let the officials captured him and the scum. As he was carried away, he noticed someone else hiding behind the building. Someone with a very strong stench of death. But different from those that had seen it or caused it. At the time he didn't know it, but later he knew it was the stench of living shinigami.

The stay in prison was brutal. Gintoki was beaten for months, and occasionaly starved. But sometimes, when the head executioner arrived, the beating was stopped early. Truly, what an idiot that executioner was. Gintoki knew the head executioner was the one he smelled back then. He saw the spirits of Death swarming around the man. Not to take his life, but for the prisoners that were executed by him. And the spirits were ones that brought sould to hell, or Yomi-no-kuni he supposed. When the torture was stopped, he was left alone in his cell.

One day, a brat visited him. She looked like a waif that was just taken in by a family and was cleaned up nicely. And the brat just kept staring at him. Gintoki kept track of the spirits around the girl. Bunch of life spirits and death, almost similar to the old executioner but different. There was still this light of innocence from this girl that no one from the old man's family had. Gintoki decided to just ignore her and pretended to sleep. Until the kid talked.

"Hey, hey, Mister! Why are you in a place like that? Did you do something bad?" she asked.

Reluctantly, Gintoki answered, "Yeah, I did a lot of bad things that'd make you pee your pants. So I've gotta have my neck chopped off,"

"Really? Would you hit me like my dad does?" the girl asked. At this point, Gintoki got an inkling on who the girl might be.

"….I sure as hell would if this cage weren't here. You're annoying me kid. Scram," he said.

But the little didn't leave. Instead she just kept talking, "But the beheader uncle said that you're not a bad guy mister. He said that you're just trying to help a little girl you felt bad for. That seems so sad,"

"Oh I know! Someday I'll became a great executioner and cut your head for you!" the girl said with determined face.

Looking at that face, Gintoki can't help but gave a little smile of his own, "Will you really?"

"Yup! I'll cut you really well so it doesn't hurt at all. So you can have a ni~~~~ce and comfy ride up to heaven. It's a promise okay mister? I'm gonna be a great executioner, so make sure you don't die 'till then!" she gave a big smile.

Gintoki smirked. He sighed loudly and looked up at her, "Izzat right? Ni~~~~ce and comfy, eh? That sounds good! It's a promise," he said. The girl smiled widely at him. She looked as if Gintoki had promised her something worth her life. But then again, he probably did.

Later that night, the old man came to Gintoki's cell. The old man sat with his back facing Gintoki's. as he did, the old man started to speak, "The only ones that can return a human that has comitted a crime and became an oni back to being human is another human. Therefore, I am not qualified to cut you. An oni, does not have the right to slay an oni."

The old man, Ikeda Yaemon did something ridiculous. He let Gintoki out.

"What are you doing?!" Gintoki asked incredulously.

"Letting you free. If you sacrificed yourself for a little girl you didn't even know, you probably isn't that bad," Yaemon replied.

"No! That's just stupid! I'm Shiroyasha! The enemy of Bakufu! You could be charged with treason if you do this!"

"Then that will be it. You are not a bad person. And as I said before, an oni can't slay another oni. I only did this so Asaemon can have her chance later."

Gintoki was speechless. Never in his life he met a person like Ikeda Yaemon with his twisted logic. He smiled bitterly, "I've killed people you know. Even before I became Shiroyasha I've killed people."

"I know. Even then, I still can't execute you. Think of this as a redemption. To live your life for those you've killed."

"You are a fool Ikeda Yaemon."

"So I am."

As Gintoki left from some hidden way, he saw chaos started to descend on Ikeda household. He can only hope that the girl and the old man would be fine.

It took a few weeks before Gintoki finally collapsed from exhaustion. Without him knowing, the spirits were agitated. Something that shouldn't have alive tried to make connection with the spirits of Life and managed it. Worried, the wind spirits carried the unconscious Gintoki to a graveyard, where the presence of Death would protect him for a little bit.

A few hours afterwards, or perhaps a few days, Gintoki finally regained his consciousness. He noted that the spirits, most likely spirits of the Wind, brought him to the graveyard. 'How fitting, whereever I went there were always death, might as well go to where dead people rest,' he thought snidely.

Nevertheless, he tried to find a comfortable position. He was starving and had no more energy to find some food.'Might as well died comfortably,' he thought as he found a suitable gravestone to lean back. As he did so, he thought back to his old friends and his teacher. Zura would probably nag him at dying in other people's grave. Takasugi would say something sarcastic like how fitting that someone like him arrive in graveyard and died in there, while sensei. Sensei would probably just smile and said if he wanted to, he could died in someone's grave and sensei would be proud anyway. Sakamoto wasn't worth to mention. That idiot would probably laugh at him anyway.

Gintoki was drifting off when he heard some footsteps. Within moment, he immediately became alert. Instinct from war was not easily dismissed even after months leaving it. He tensed and prepared to bolt when the footsteps stopped. He heard a plate of something was put down on the grave's altar. When he sniffed, he smelled the scent of manju. At that moment he was confused. Should he let himself died of starvation and be done with everything, or should he struggle a bit more. In the end, he remembered the little girl that promised to execute him, he remembered what old man Yaemon told him, more importantly, he remembered what he promised Shouyo that many years ago before they managed to build Shouka Sonjuku.

"Gintoki," Shouyo called him as they walked near the paddy field that evening.

"Hm?" Gintoki answered distractedly.

"I have a question for you. If you were given a choice, to live forever with suffering and to die in suffering, which will you choose?"

"That's a weird question Shouyo. What the heck, none of that is a good choice. What gives?" Gintoki was startled by the severity of the question.

"No reason. Just wondering on how you answered it,"

"Hmm…. Yeah, I think I'll find another way. There is no way Imma let myself die young or live in suffering. Imma find a place to call my own. And make a life of my own. Screw anyone else that tryin' to ruin that," he answered passionately.

Shouyo was silent for a while. He looked like as if he was in a trance, thinking about Gintoki's answer. Suddenly he nodded to himself and kneeled before Gintoki with his back facing the sun. Shouyo then grabbed Gintoki's shoulder and looked at him with strong intensity that Gintoki couldn't help but listen to him.

"Gintoki, I wish you could find your happiness. Either now or in the future. And also, promise me Gintoki. Promise me, that no matter what happened, you'll always do your best to stay alive," Shouyo asked him passionatedly. The setting sun gave him this ethereal look, as if Shouyo was a deity of some sort. Gintoki noticed the usual swarm of Earth and Death spirits around Shouyo, they were weaving a pattern of worry.

And so, with tipical Gintoki style, he answered, "I don't need wish Shouyo. I'll find it. Also, I'm to stubborn to die. Like I said before, I won't let myself died without accomplishing something,"

"I see, is that so? I'm glad," Shouyo answered.

And so, Gintoki make a little bit noise before asking the person carrying the offering.

"…. Hey, Granny. Are those manju? Mind if I eat them? I'm so hungry I think I'm gonna die." he asked, voice hoarse from thirst.

The old lady was silent for a while, "…. These belongs to my husband. Ask him," the granny said.

Slowly, Gintoki raised his head and looked up for a bit. There, crouching on top of he gravestone was a black-haired man wearing a blue kimono and carrying a pipe on his hand and a jutte on his belt. The man was smiling at him and nodded, before disappearing completely. Taking that as consent, Gintoki started to eat the offered manju.

"What'd my husband say?" the granny asked.

"Dunno. Pretty sure dead people can't talk." He answered between bite.

"Not the most grateful person are you? Don't blame me if you get cursed," the old lady deadpanned.

"Dead people don't talk or eat dumpling. So I decided on my own to make this promise to him. I won't forget what you did for me here. Your wife's pretty old, so she might not live a whole while longer. But from here on, I'm going to protect her in your place," Gintoki vowed.

The old lady just smiled softly before standing up, "Is that so? I suppose I'd feel safer with a scrawny homeless like protecting me."

"Shut up and just accept it granny. You really won't live long anyway," Gintoki rebuked.

"Hmph, I'll show you boy. These old bones still got lots of life in them,"

"As they say, seeing is believing," he answered back.

"Well then, I suppose in order for you to see it you better come with me and get yourself cleaned up. I suppose you could help out around my bar for a bit before setting you loose on unsuspecting populace," the lady said drily.

"Whatever you say granny," Gintoki sighed.

The old lady shook her head, "You will be a troublesome one. I knew that. Anyway, my name is Terada Ayano. You can call me Otose," the lady, Otose introduced herself.

"Sakata Gintoki," Gintoki said curtly as he was preoccupied by seeing a string of fate formed between him and Otose.

"I suppose, this will be a difficult few days. Come along now boy. Don't wanna be left behind do we," she said as she turned around. Startled, Gintoki slowly rised from his position at the ground and started to chase after her. Perhaps, perhaps this time everything started to get better.

So, should I write the main part too, or should I not? If I did, should it be in the same story or in different story? Tell me what you think.

Bye~