Chapter Text
“Order for table 8!!!”
Without a pause, he strode between tables; bringing out some smoothies oh a wooden tray.
As usual, this place that looked too dull to be called young people's café but too modern to be called old people's restaurant, crowded with visitors. From foreign tourists who were busy chatting over the menu, young couples dating, students waiting for their friends, hungry-to-death workers, to a grandmother who was waiting for the police to find her dog that she herself forgot what it looked like.
But actually, none of that mattered. What’s important for him is how to maintain his part-time job after repeatedly almost fired as a cashier. And it was just because he was confused by the use of various credit cards and e-money as it is today. The restaurant’s owner was kind enough to provide him with alternatives as a waiter and part-time food-delivery after he pressed the wrong button on the payment machine a few months ago.
And yeah, he thought everyone will push the wrong button too if they were threatened with a knife by men who were coward enough not to reveal their face at 2:00 in the morning, with demands to hand over all the milk the restaurant has (Just who on this earth ate at such restaurant in the middle of the night??? And what kind of robber held a cashier just to ask for milk stock???).
Maybe he just wasn't clear enough in explaining his reasons to his boss.
Shinpachi sighed while he hurriedly brought the dishes back to the kitchen
Orders were shouted here and there, and it wasn’t clear who was shouting and for whom it was being directed. As long as there were foods and drinks served at the table, no one care. No one knew who ordered, and both foods and drinks piled up without any table number written to indicate which-for-which.
"SHINPACHI, ORDER FOR TABLE 10!!!"
Shinpachi immediately took a large chocolate parfait with number 10 written on a paper beside it and rushed out of the kitchen. He would take any chances given to save his eardrums from these indistinct cries.
Even the voice of his sister, Shimura Tae, when she was on her angry mode; or the annoying laughter and loud voice of their brother figure, Obi Hajime, were better than these horrible sounds that could drive the sanest person mad.
"Table 10 ..."
Shinpachi walked between rows of wooden tables and through small aisles separating parts of the room, looking for the specific table. His steps stopped when his eyes landed on a man sitting alone in the corner of the room.
Actually, he had reasons why he stopped for a moment there. First, that man has white curly hair (wait. It’s silver, not white). And second, he had red eyes. He might as well summed it to a case of albinism, which is rare in Japan. The rest of his overall appearance was just like normal people in general. Donned in a black red-striped shirt with a white blue-clouds patterned jacket. A black backpack laid beside him, along with what he guessed was a wooden sword (bokuto?) neatly wrapped in white cloth. In a glance, ignoring the colour of both his hair and his eyes, he was just like a normal college student.
His dark-red eyes (contact lenses. It’s impossible for normal eyes to be that red, or to hang around outside with eyes like that without a dark glasses) were busy staring at a window that facing directly to the main street. The book he was reading lay open in front of him.
But at the moment, that didn't seem to be what caught Shinpachi's attention.
That man's posture, his gaze, how his right hand lazily raised to pick his nose... He felt a strange emptiness and a sense of longing just by seeing him.
Like he forgot about something (to bring something) important, and just realized what it was when he already arrived at his destination during a trip (another older brother beside Hajime-nii, which he was sure he didn't have).
"SHINPACHI! TABLE 10!!!"
He flinched, and with a loud 'yes!' he quickly went to said table. He didn’t feel surprised to find out that the table itself was the one occupied by that man.
"Umm ... Big Silver Chocolate Parfait for table 10?"
That man jerked from his reverie and turned his head. His red, burgundy eyes moved away from the window and stared at him (Oh Kami, his eyes were truly natural red). They stared at each other and Shinpachi saw his expression change. His eyes widened and his mouth slowly gaped, as if he saw yuki-onna standing before him, in broad daylight like this in a bustling restaurant, while carrying a 7 flavoured parfait.
"Y, you ..." He stammered.
Something moved in his memory. Just a glance, but the sense of longing increased to (tenfolds) the point that he felt his heart ache. And he didn’t even know that man.
... Or maybe he knew him?
"S, sorry, Sir? This is your order"
That man immediately closed his mouth and –as if he had realized something– quickly turned to his order.
"Oh, yes. That’s my order. Big Silver Chocolate Parfait"
Shinpachi placed his parfait on the table. The glass glinted under the afternoon light shined through the window. That man didn't eat the parfait and instead continued to stare at him and his every move.
“May I get you anything else, Sir?” Shinpachi awkwardly asked him. That man waved his hand.
“Ah, no, thanks. I’ll just order the other later after I’m finished with this”
"If you want to order something, just call the closest waiter. Enjoy your parfait" said Shinpachi, bowed and quickly returned to the kitchen. He still continued to feel that man’s gaze behind his back. Shaking his head to get rid of those feelings, he continued his work.
xxx
Hours had passed when he returned to deliver another order for the umpteenth time. He saw that man was still there, busy with his phone. Several notes have been scattered on his table. His hand scribbling down here and there and sometimes, while typing on his phone, he scooped up his third parfait. Shinpachi himself was waiting for the fourth glass of that man's order at the delivery table.
Whatever, maybe he was trying to be diagnosed with diabetes (although it was very obvious that he was waiting for someone).
Shinpachi knew that man still occasionally glanced at him, and to be honest it was really disturbing. Maybe after his shift ended later, and that man was still there, he would approach him to simply ask if there was something he wanted to talk about (or rather to ease the curiosity that hanging at his back).
He turned to take the order. Another Big Silver Chocolate Parfait. He knew people like this was one of the reason there were bonuses on his salary, but he thought he really need to worry about that man’s health remembering how much sugar that man had consumed in the past few hours. With that in mind, he brought that parfait and took his step toward that occupied table number 10.
Everything went smoothly until two grown-up men got up and started a fight. A few rows in front of said table, rendering him unable to deliver the order without actually stopping or interfering the fight. It wasn’t clear what they were shouting, but seeing a young woman who timidly tried to stop the bickering between them, he could guess that it was a romantic problem.
Low whispers began to spread from each corner of the room. The closest employees tried to stop both of them but to no avail. Not long after that, the first man punched the second man. Hard. Shinpachi could even hear the cracking sound when that fist landed on the head of the second man. The second man fell to the floor, unmoving.
Things went south after that. Both customer and employees were scared. Some customers even hurriedly paid their order and went to the entrance. The third man (He guessed that he was the second man’s friend) –who had been silent just a few tables behind them– stood up and hit the first man. The fight continued to be a fistfight while the woman they’re fighting for fearfully stood in the corner, calling someone from her phone.
Without thinking, Shinpachi approached and tried to separate them.
"Sorry, Sir. Please don’t fight here!!!"
The third person paused for a moment, but the first person pulled Shinpachi's hair and loudly snapped.
"It’s not your damn business!!!"
And yes, if anyone had the time to ask him, he will add this day to one of his worst day at work.
He could only hope that Ane-ue will not kill him when he arrived at home later with bruises on his cheeks.
His glasses fell and got wet with the spilt parfait (and lucky him, the glasses were not broken unlike the glass of the parfait itself). Wincing, he stared at the first man who clenched his fist and was about to punch him. He closed his eyes, waiting in fear for the punch to land on his head.
But the feeling of pain never came. A few seconds later the hand that pulled his hair gone and there was a frightened yell among the visitors. Warily, he opened his eyes.
"Gya, gya, gya, gya. Jeez, shut up. Is it mating season already?”
Shinpachi stared in disbelief. That strange white-haired man stood in front of him, and he was easily incapacitating the first man with a yonkyo.
"Look at this" That man picked a big piece of the broken glass with his unoccupied hand. The cracked glass dripped melted chocolate and its last vanilla ice cream to the floor.
"Because of you guys, who are so kindly having a fight here, my precious Big Silver Chocolate Parfait …"
His red eyes flashed sharply and his expression turned angry.
"IT FREAKIN' FELL!!!"
He quickly slammed the first man flat on the floor with a skilled seoi-nage. The whole café fell silent in an instant. It was harshly done, but Shinpachi noticed that he was avoiding the broken pieces on the floor. Or maybe trying to. After returning to his feet, that man stared intently at the third man.
"My supervisor told me this afternoon that my new thesis will be tested strictly tomorrow. He really likes to make his student’s high blood pressure shooting through the roof, and he didn't even come to class on a good day just to piss off everyone. Because of that, my sugary time is a bit sporadic lately”
He quickly caught the third man before he could even glance at the exit.
"I CAN ONLY EAT THESE PARFAITS ONCE THIS MONTH, AND IT'S EXACTLY TODAY Y'KNOW???!!!"
He quickly slammed the third man with the same technique. Those men were now lying on the floor, defeated.
No one dared to move as seconds passed by. He took a glance at Shinpachi and the flash of anger in his eyes disappeared in an instant. With lazy steps, while picking his nose, he walked back to his table. After gathering his scattered notes and tossed it to his backpack, he took a leave in a swift motion.
Without so much a glance at his surroundings, he walked toward the cashier. After paying for his order, he stared at Shinpachi while handing him his glasses. It was already cleaned and neatly folded.
"Tell the cook, it tasted good",
And he promptly walked to the entrance.
"W, WAIT !!!" Shinpachi shouted. Just before that white-haired man took a step outside, several policemen greeted him at the door.
"Uh, oh," he said, grimacing.
xxx
"So how is your part-time job today, Shin-chan? "
"I, it was good, Ane-ue"
"It must be a really good one, indeed. Then how did you get into the police station, hmm? I believe one of the reasons that police station exists is to uphold the law for people like us"
"I, I was involved in a fight between customers”
Otae touched her cheek with one hand and sighed.
"Is that true? You know, Chichi-ue was very worried when he got a call from the police. He even intended to send the students home from the dojo early. Glad that I succeed to convince him that I will take care of it and I will take you home as soon as possible”
Otae turned towards that white-haired man.
"And forgive me if it sounds disrespectful, but did you make my little brother involved in this mess?" She asked that white-haired man with her sweetest smile.
"H, hey! He himself pretended to be the straight-man and intervene. I only defended my parfait!”
"Is that true, Shin-chan? "
"I, I’m not pretended to be anything! It was just the right thing to do! And yes, he was the one who helped me Ane-ue…"
Without a pause, Otae punched him. Hard.
"Next time, think before you act. Especially when you are secretly doing a part-time job around a place like this. It is our duty to mediate those who fight, or stop it before it got worse, but that doesn’t mean you can make others involved in it. Now, look"
Otae cracked her fist again. A sweet smile plastered with a sense of dark aura swirling around her.
"I've been hiding the fact that you have a part-time job. Now I have to take care of you at the police station and wait for Chichi-ue’s scolding at home. Obi One-niisama is currently having a sleepover at his friend’s house, so it will be just the two of us that would get a scolding. Is there anything else you want to say?"
In the corner of his eye, Shinpachi saw that white-haired man slowly trying to escape. But before he could take one step away, Otae already held his shoulder, stopping him on his place.
"And oh yes, we haven't shown our gratitude to this strange man, haven’t we?"
xxx
The three of them ended up sitting on a park bench in front of the police station with bumps on their head (except Otae, of course). The sky was already dark by the time they finished the legal procedure. Shinpachi and his sister were still waiting for the next bus arrival in half an hour.
The sky was pretty clear today and the air was colder as the temperature slowly decreased by the minutes.
Shinpachi glanced at his sister. Otae was busy with her phone, probably informing Chichi-ue that they will be home soon. With a sigh, he eyed the white-haired man, who continued to glance to and fro. His eyes occasionally fell on his wristwatch, glaring at it impatiently and cursing with a low voice.
"When will that mop come to pick me up?" He snarled.
Otae looked up from her phone and stared at that man with a sweet smile and clenched her fists.
"You could thank us for paying your fine so you can get out earlier. If it wasn't for my little brother insisting on getting you out sooner, I doubt you will be out until Kami-knows-when”
That man looked at Otae with a cold sweat. He breathed slowly before sighing.
"Look, I don't have any cash on me right now. I already used it to pay all of my parfaits back in that cafe”
He then reached into his bag and pulled out a card and a pen.
"But I will change it as soon as possible. Just write your telephone number there and I will send the money back after my test tomorrow"
Otae took it from his hand and quickly wrote their telephone number there. That man glanced at Shinpachi.
"Hey, brat. Mind if I ask you something?"
Shinpachi pushed up his glasses.
“No, not at all”
"Is your name Shinpachi? Shimura Shinpachi?"
Shinpachi was stunned. Not because a stranger knew his full name, but because he noticed a hint of desperation in his voice. It was a simple question, but he could sense a hopeful edge in it. And came to think of it, he might have heard that voice somewhere, but Kami knows when and where. He stared hard at that man, trying not to scan him from head to toe. His eyes seemed doubtful at a glance; as if he was expecting a ‘no’.
"Y, yes. How do you know that, Sir?"
That white-haired man swallowed hard, but he hastily asked him again.
"Do you remember... Me?"
Shinpachi couldn’t stop it, and literally took his time scanning him from head to toe. Indeed it felt like Shinpachi was familiar with this man, but he was sure he has never ever met him before. Shinpachi shook his head slowly.
"S, sorry. I don't think I've met you. B, but it could be because of my short memory" Shinpachi smiled awkwardly, tried to clear the atmosphere.
Something lurched in his heart when he saw a little bit of disappointment on his face. But in a blink of an eye, that sign has gone without a trace and that man’s expression turned back to how it was before, lazy and uncaring.
"O, okay. I think I got the wrong person. Maybe it's Shimura Hachi. Or maybe Shimura Shinichi? Or Nakamura Shinpachi? I don't know."
Shinpachi pressed his lip together, not sure what to do. Otae stared at them and handed both the paper and pen back to that man. He nodded and handed her his name card.
"Contact me if until the day after tomorrow you didn’t get a call from me. I can be contacted at any time but I'm not sure whether I could pick it up. At least if I forgot, a call from either of you will remind me of it”
With that, he stood.
"OK. That’s all"
The man fixated his eyes on Shinpachi and smiled. Shinpachi felt like he was hit by a truck when he saw his sincere smile. That man casually raised his hand and ruffled Shinpachi's hair.
"Thank you, Pattsuan" he grinned. He turned to Otae and smiled sincerely.
“You, too. Take care, both of you”
And he took his leave, walking to the opposite road.
"My name is not Pattsuan!!!"
That person just waved his hand lazily without turning his back. Shinpachi sighed and they took their leave too. As they walked, Otae examined the name card, flip it back and forth.
Yorozuya Clinic
Sakata Gintoki
Both Otae and Shinpachi stared at the name.
"Sakata Gintoki ... Sounds familiar"
Shinpachi lowered his head and stared at sakura petals that were fluttering in the wind.
"But, Ane-ue. Why does it feel like... I supposed to know that man, huh?"
Otae smiled sadly, staring at him.
“Me too”
Xxx
Gintoki dragged his leg lazily towards the nearest parking lot. His hands were busy searching for the name Koudoukan Dojo in his phone’s browser. His mind wandered here and there, but he still occasionally glanced left and right looking for someone.
"Yo, Kintoki!"
He turned to the car parked near the main street. There was someone with curly hair and dark sunglasses waved at him from the car window.
"It's Gintoki, Gintoki! Damn’it, Tatsuma! I've been waiting for you for hours” Gintoki yelled as he opened the passenger door.
"Sorry, sorry. I'm just finished having a nice chat with Yanai-san. He is kind of hard to convince, you know?"
"Shut up! I don’t care with whom you’d talk to! I almost got arrested while you’re having fun at rich people’s playground!” Gin slammed the car door closed and settled in his seat.
"Ahahaha, It’s not a playground Kintoki! It’s a nice mansion you know?”
“Not helping your case at all!”
“Hahaha, how about you? Found something interesting at the police station? Your face is like when you were done with your supervisor during your thesis trial" Sakamoto smiled and glanced at him from the rearview mirror. Mutsu, his business partner (business partner my ass, she was clearly interested in Sakamoto), rolled her eyes and started driving.
"It's not your business" Gintoki grumbled.
"Hey, I mean it. You rarely put on a look like that" said Sakamoto, knowing that nothing could make Gintoki talk if he didn’t want to.
Gintoki paused for a moment His dead fish eyes stared at the cherry blossoms that were not swept away this afternoon. The petals scattered and sometimes carried high enough by the wind to reach the window. The edge of his lips slightly upturned and he closed his eyes.
"Just met a four-eyed brat from hundreds of years ago," he said quietly.
Sakamoto raised his eyebrows.
"Eh?"