Disclaimer: I do not own Gintama.

Author's Notes: I'd like to thank the wonderful CucumberKun (www fanfiction net/u/807207/CucumberKun) for being so kind as to beta this fic for me.

And so, I'm back. It's been many years since I've written a fic so I'm not going to lie, I'm a little rusty. For those of you wondering about my other fics, I am trying to re-inpsire myself to finish at least Sunlight. It's so close.

Also, this is my absolute first Gintama fic. I'm still catching up with the anime and I don't read the manga yet so please forgive any mistakes. I also took a few liberties in regards to the setting and some aspects of the characters. I tried to keep as IC as I possibly could.

I had a lot of fun writing this and I do hope you like it. This fic is quite short but it's complete. I will probably update weekly to give me time to write a second part. That's my goal anyways.

So here we go…

Warnings: None

Chapter 01 – Never Interrupt A Man Asleep Or You Might Lose Your Head

The forest was completely silent. It was late spring and the trees were covered with thick, green foliage. Wherever the sunlight broke through the canopy, patches of flowers could be found blooming, the blossoms reaching up towards the warm light. The air contained a calming aroma of conifers, the sharp scent of maple and cottonwood, and a hint of the flora.

The continuous trickling sound of the small creek nearby was the only sound Hijikata Toushirou could hear right now. There were no birds or other animals in the area. There seemed to be nothing but the forest and the calming whisper of the creek. He wasn't exactly sure why animals did not venture into this area but he could never find the energy to care. Perhaps they were just not around while he was here. Not that it mattered anyways because he had decided to claim this sanctuary as his own. Anything that can bring a man peace is something worth staking for one's own.

Now, eighteen years old, Hijikata returned to this place any chance he could get even after he had left his brother's home all those years ago. He preferred solitude as opposed to the noisy, bustling Hijikata household. Despite his brother taking him in after their father died, Hijikata always felt as though he was not entirely welcome there. His other siblings were not as cordial as Tamegoro was. Hijikata knew very well why exactly they treated him as such. He was his father's bastard after all.

The black-haired man closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The air was so clear here. It calmed his inner turmoil. He had found this place by chance half a year prior to his leaving Tamegoro's. After a heated argument with an older sister that Tamegoro could not placate, Hijikata took off. He walked and walked for hours until he found himself within this untouched grove up within the mountains. He eventually figured out it was approximately a three hour walk from his home after several failed attempts to find it again. When Hijikata settled in Bushuu, he found that this place was now quite a bit closer and took much less time to get to than it had been when he was living at the Hijikata home.

Hijikata was certain it was possible that no other person would be able to find this hidden grove within the mountains. In the years since he'd been coming here, he had never come across another person.

That is…until now.

Hijikata froze, his good mood suddenly gone with the soft breeze that gently caressed his long black hair. There, sitting on his spot under his favourite tree was a man that looked about his own age if not then slightly older. The man appeared to be sleeping giving Hijikata an opportunity to study the fool before he decided to dispose of him. And by dispose, he meant beat the shit out of and kick his ass out of the grove.

The most notable feature was the stranger's silvery white, seemingly unkempt and naturally wavy hair. A natural perm, Hijikata thought with distaste. A loose white tie appeared to be a meagre attempt to keep the unruly hair in check and more than likely out of the man's eyes.

The stranger was leaning against the tree with his head resting against his shoulder. One leg was stretched out while the other was bent up so that it supported his arm. He was wearing slim fitting grey hakama over a similarly grey nagajuban. His haori was white which contrasted the black tabi over the bottom of his hakama.

Hijikata could see that this man was obviously a fighter. A samurai to be more specific. He could see the black sheath holding a katana within arm's reach of the man. An idle thought crossed Hijikata's mind as he studied the sleeping stranger. Could this man be formidable enough to challenge? He wasn't so sure considering how open he had left himself just sitting there sleeping like an idiot.

Rather than risk it, Hijikata decided to wait until the white stranger woke up before kicking his ass out of his sanctuary.

Almost an hour must have gone by before the stranger even began to stir. There was a moment Hijikata thought maybe the man was dead. However, upon closer inspection, he could see the gentle rise and fall of the stranger's chest.

The last of Hijikata Toushirou's patience ran out when the stranger started to snore louder. So much for beginning to wake up. Annoyed, Hijikata got up and stormed over to the man, grabbing his haori into his tightly balled fist and proceeded to shake the man.

"Oi! Get your ass up!" Now, Hijikata was not one to lose his self-control like this but for some reason, this silver haired man's entire existence within his secret grove and on his spot pissed him off.

It happened in an instant. Hijikata did not even see it coming. A strong hand grabbed his wrist as his feet were kicked out from underneath him. He landed hard onto his back and the air was pushed from his lungs as he felt a heavy weight press onto his abdomen, his free arm held in place by what he figured was the other man's knee. The hand still holding onto his wrist forced his arm down to the ground above his head. Hijikata could feel the cold steel of a blade pressing into his neck as he sucked in some much needed air.

"Yo," a deep voice murmured above him.

Hijikata looked up into deep, almost menacingly, red eyes. He watched as they studied him, the white stranger determining if the black haired man was a threat to him. And Hijikata could do nothing but glare up at him in defiance. It bothered him to no end that some half asleep ronin samurai knocked him on his ass and had him completely subdued.

Hijikata could see the red eyes begin to soften and he presumed the stranger deemed him harmless. But that isn't what got Hijikata's blood boiling. It was that final look of disinterest as the silver-haired man left him lying there on the ground.

What the fuck just happened?

Hijikata's gaze followed the man back to where he had been sleeping. The white stranger sat down again and glanced at Hijikata's prone form before stretching his neck to one side.

Then he spoke.

"I think I slept funny. Got a kink in my neck," the stranger grumbled, "Oi! Are you going to get up? Can you rub my neck for me? You'd be doing me a big favour." Hijikata could swear he heard the man grumble, "You're no woman but close enough."

Now, if Hijikata were a man of emotion, he'd be gaping like a fool at the idiot before him. Fortunately, he had somewhat mastered keeping his cool. His pride would not allow this white-haired samurai to rile him up any more than he already had. But, despite his pride, Hijikata could feel a slight tick in his eyebrows at the questions sent his way. How dare he ask such a thing?

Hijikata sat up as gracefully as he could before speaking, "You're trespassing." Finally. Finally words came to him. He needed to get this guy out of his sanctuary as soon as possible.

"Hah? What do you mean?" the stranger looked at him flatly.

The silver haired man had no facial expressions whatsoever maybe except for that dead fish look. It made it difficult for Hijikata to read him. This fact was somewhat unnerving because he was very adept at reading others. That skill alone is what kept him alive this long even within his own home.

Hijikata sighed. Despite the man being able to catch him so off guard, the white-haired man was still an idiot. More specifically, Hijikata couldn't stand him.

He was certain it was that stupid look on the stranger's face.

"You're in my spot," Hijikata said through gritted teeth. He knew he had lost his composure and failed to hide his displeasure at the fact but the guy was just not getting it.

He waited as the white-haired fool continued to look at him dumbly until realization suddenly dawned on him.

"Oh," he grunted as he pushed himself up and over to free up Hijikata's self-proclaimed spot he'd been sitting on.

"It's still warm," the stranger gestured toward the free space with a lazy grin.

Seriously? Hijikata all but rolled his eyes. He was fuming now. How dense could this guy be?

"You need to leave." There. That was direct and Hijikata was beyond politely sending the man off.

His only response was the samurai shrugging before he spoke again, "You seem a little uptight."

That was it.

"You're in my fucking spot, asshole!" Hijikata seethed.

"And it's a nice spot. I appreciate you letting me borrow it for a nap."

"I want you to leave."

"Now where's the fun in that? We just met. Oh! Right. Sakata Gintoki."

"Excuse me?" Hijikata was slightly revolted when the samurai began to pick his nose. More so when the man flicked it off to the side somewhere.

"My name. It's Sakata Gintoki," a look Hijikata could not decipher flashed across the man's face as he continued, "But you can call me Gin-san if you want. Or Gin-chan has a nice ring to it."

What little patience Hijikata had managed to hold on to was now entirely gone. This fucking fool had the audacity to, of all the places in this grove, sit in his spot and then proceed to insult him further with his forwardness.

Hijikata grabbed his sword and was just about to unsheathe it when he found he couldn't even pull it out. Puzzled, he glanced at his katana and saw that it was being held in place by the tip of the Gintoki's sheathed sword. He hadn't even seen him move. The silver haired man wasn't looking at him and for some reason that made Hijikata angrier.

"I'm not here to fight," Gintoki relinquished his hold on Hijikata's sword, "Just passing through and needed to rest a bit. There's no need for that." He gestured towards Hijikata's katana.

Hijikata could feel some of his anger ebb as he withdrew his hand from his sword. He inwardly berated himself for getting so worked up over nothing. It was so unlike him to allow another person, a stranger no less, rile him up.

"Hijikata Toushirou," he introduced himself as he nodded at Gintoki.

Gintoki nodded in return and patted the spot beside him, "Best seat in the house. Had me a pretty decent nap there, Toushi-kun."

Hijikata stiffened. He absolutely did not like how the silver-haired man said his name. The fact he said it so casually irked him to no end.

Hijikata, as calmly as he could, replied, "You may not call me Toushi-kun." His voice hardened as he reiterated the overly familiar designation.

"Eh? But it's got a nice ring to it, no?" Gintoki raised his eyebrows in question, "It suits you."

"You are being far too familiar, bastard," Hijikata glared at the silver-haired man, his hand moving towards the hilt of his katana once again.

"I didn't take you for such a priss but if you say so," Gintoki shrugged, "I'd prefer it if you call me Gin-san. I was thinking maybe Gin-chan but if you're going to be so formal, Gin-san it is."

Hijikata visibly flinched. What the hell was wrong with this guy? His annoyance prevented him from catching the glint of mirth within Gintoki's expression. If he had, he'd notice that the other samurai was teasing him.

The moment Hijikata did notice, however, his decision was made. The fool was going to die.

With great ease, Hijikata drew his sword and pointed it at the silver samurai beneath him, "Your words have sealed your fate, bastard," Hijikata seethed.

Gintoki shook his head as he pushed himself up from the ground, "I didn't want to fight today but if you insist."

When he glanced up at Hijikata, the black-haired man was taken slightly aback by the intent within those red depths. Gintoki was going to get serious. And very quickly Hijikata noted as he barely had time to lift his sword to defend himself before the silver samurai was upon him. He had heard the clash of metal before he had even seen it.

Gintoki was pushing forward causing Hijikata to step back with the amount of force being exerted on him. He could not see his opponent's eyes but he did see the white-haired man grin as he relinquished the pressure on their swords just enough to knock Hijikata's blade back slightly giving him time to twist and bump his right arm to the left. The movement also permitted Gintoki to swing his left knee up into Hijikata's side.

The black-haired man grunted from the impact but he was no amateur. The direction Gintoki had pushed his arm had allowed him to reel his sword back towards his opponent twisting his body nearly 180 degrees to face him again. There was another loud clang of metal on metal when their swords met. Gintoki was holding the back edge of his katana with his free hand over his shoulder as leverage against the force of Hijikata's impact.

Gintoki grinned mischievously and forced Hijikata's sword up. The move was risky as the black-haired man's blade just nicked Gintoki's unruly hair but it gave him the opportunity he needed to hit the back of Hijikata's hand with the hilt of his sword causing the man to release his grip on his weapon.

Hijikata's eyes widened as watched his katana fall to the ground. He didn't even move to catch it as it fell because he felt one of Gintoki's hands on his sword arm and the point of Gintoki's blade pressing into the base of his spine.

"So you're not just a pretty face," Gintoki commented idly.

Hijikata flashed a glare at the man, "Just end it." It bothered him to no end he had lost his own challenge. This swordsman standing beside him was far more skilled than he was and it gnawed at his pride. He hadn't met someone of this calibre until now and he felt he didn't deserve any mercy.

He was surprised when the hold on his hand was yielded and Gintoki's sword was withdrawn. Hijikata looked over at the other man to see him studying him. The white-haired man must have understood the questioning look.

"Like I said, I didn't come here to fight," Gintoki spoke as he sheathed his sword within its scabbard, "You're not that bad, you know?"

"Why?" Was all Hijikata could say.

Gintoki shrugged his shoulders, "There's no need to kill, don't you think?" He said as he sat down beside Hijikata's spot.

"It would have been an honourable death," the black-haired man said not even bothering to hide the anger in his voice.

"Perhaps," Gintoki said as he calmly observed Hijikata, "but it'd also be a waste."

Hijikata looked inquisitively at the man. He didn't have to voice what he was asking.

"We don't need to prove ourselves with the death of another. This world has enough of that. Our bushido has devolved into mere meaningless killing these days. Many of us have forgotten it's what we protect—what we choose to protect—that matters the most. There is always someone better than you out there. That's a reality. Rather than kneel at my feet and ask for your senseless death, you should think about what it is you choose to protect in this world. Find it and live to protect it," Gintoki spoke seriously as he pointed towards Hijikata's heart.

To say Hijikata was astonished was an understatement. Not ever did he think this man sitting before him could speak so eloquently. He didn't want to admit it but the white-haired man was right.

"Or something like that," Gintoki finished lamely.

Or not.

"Hah?" Hijikata growled out.

Gintoki patted Hijikata's spot beside him again, "Just sit down and take it easy, Hijikata-kun. Gin-san doesn't bite."

Against his better judgment, Hijikata sat in his spot beside Gintoki. He could feel the man beside him shift a bit and he heard a sudden inhalation of breath.

"Ne," Gintoki murmured, "You smell good, Hijikata-kun."

"Shut up," Hijikata grumbled, "Or I'll give you that senseless death you were talking about."

And that was the first day Hijikata Toushirou heard Sakata Gintoki laugh.