Garza was brought to the plaza in front of the Shinsumi barracks just after dawn. The main street of Kabuki-cho still reeked of soot and char. Remnants of last night's battle. Residents cleaning up while pouring water on the stone pavement turned their attention toward the plaza. Hijikata stepped forward before them. Black hair with red mesh streaks, sharp reddish-brown eyes. With the full authority of a Shinsumi vice-commander, he picked up a single document. "[serious]I'm making an official statement about this incident" The plaza fell silent. "[serious]The blackmail photos and emblem memo—all evidence that made it seem Sakata Gintoki was involved with a smuggling organization was forged by Garza. Sakata Gintoki has no connection whatsoever to any smuggling ring. It was a false accusation" A murmur rippled through the crowd. In that moment, a young squad member restraining Garza slipped on his feet. Crash!! The squad member and Garza tumbled onto the stone pavement together. Hijikata's explanation stopped. "[angry]Hey!!" At the angry shout, residents flinched. They started making noise again. "I-I'm sorry, Vice-Commander!!" Shinpachi started waving his arms at the edge of the plaza to calm the residents. His glasses were crooked. "[serious]Everyone, please calm down! There's more explanation to come!!" Hijikata cleared his throat and continued reading. By the third line, Garza tried to stand up and stepped on another squad member's foot. He fell again. Hijikata shouted "[angry]Quiet!!" again. The residents got loud again. This happened three times. The whole time, Gintoki watched from the second-floor window of the Yorozuya. Silver hair, a rumpled white kimono. With a sleepy face, eating a bowl of rice. "[cold]Doesn't matter" He muttered to himself. In the plaza, Kagura raised her voice loudly. "[surprised]Oh! So Gin-chan was innocent from the start, aru!!" Every resident nodded silently. Hijikata's third explanation couldn't compare to this single line. The atmosphere shifted. --- In the burned-out shopping district, Otose stood in front of the Yorozuya sign. A rag in her bandage-wrapped right arm, scrubbing away the red paint that read "Terrorist, get out" with bucket water. Her white hair was disheveled, her brow furrowed. But her eyes were steady. Shinpachi approached. "[gentle]Otose, let me take over" "[serious]I'm doing this myself" One sentence. That was all. Shinpachi couldn't say anything more. Otose continued. With her bandaged arm, silently. The paint faded but the mark remained. It wouldn't disappear completely. Still, she kept scrubbing. An old man from the shopping district stood before Gintoki. A bent, thin old man. He owned a small shop marked "Gorba Pickles Specialty," and until yesterday he'd frowned every time he passed in front of the Yorozuya. The old man bowed his head. "Yesterday... I'm sorry. You protected the town for us" Gintoki turned away. "[cold]I'd be in trouble if there was nowhere to buy pudding" He muttered. When the old man looked up, Gintoki's ears were red. "[laughing]Gin-chan's embarrassed, aru!!" She shouted it across the entire shopping district. "[angry]Please stop that!!" Gintoki tapped Kagura's head with his wooden sword. Kagura yelped "Ow, aru!" and hid behind Sadaharu. Sadaharu wagged his tail and knocked Shinpachi's glasses flying. The old man laughed. Quietly, but genuinely. Other residents in the shopping district caught the mood and softened their faces. The frozen air slowly began to thaw. --- When the three returned to the Yorozuya, the sign greeted them. Paint marks faintly remained. Where Otose had scrubbed. Not completely gone. The letters "Yorozuya Gin-chan" were still alive. Gintoki stared at the sign for a while. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out an oil-based marker. He wrote in the empty space on the sign. "Yorozuya Gin-chan—We Do Anything (Pudding fees separate)" "[angry]What's this pudding fee, aru!!" "[angry]Don't add unnecessary things!!" "[sarcastic]Obviously. Our pudding consumption is abnormal" His face was cool. "[angry]Is that a dig at me, aru!!" "[cold]What else would it be" "[angry]My pudding is stuff I bought myself, aru!!" "[cold]Then who ate the one in the fridge that said 'Gin-chan's'" "[serious]You two, please calm down!!" Shinpachi stepped between them. He tried to stop them, but their bickering looked almost fun, and the words to mediate wouldn't come. He adjusted his glasses and decided to just leave them alone. --- "[serious]We're doing a soft opening. First drink's on the house" Otose's voice came up from downstairs. People gathered in droves at the snack bar with its charred noren curtain. Hijikata Toshirou, Kondou Isao, and Okita Sougo appeared together. Kondou's eyes were glistening as he said "[gentle]I'm glad everyone seems okay" and asked Otose "[serious]Please give us some especially good sake today". Otose brought her fist down. "[serious]Where do you see room for that in a burned-out snack bar" Next, Katsura Kotarou and Elizabeth came in. A white, fluffy mysterious creature—Elizabeth—squeezed through the narrow entrance with a thud. Katsura said "[serious]Today we celebrate" and sat at the counter. In that moment, Okita moved. While Hijikata waited for food, he briefly checked his pocket. His custom-made extra-large mayonnaise bottle was gone. "[surprised]...Where is it" Okita was grinning. Hijikata's eyes narrowed. "[angry]You bastard!!" "[sarcastic]Vice-commander, I thought putting mayonnaise on things at a time like this was a bit much" "[angry]Give it back right now, you ass!!" "[serious]You cause trouble in my snack bar and I'm doubling the rent" One word froze everyone. Silence. Then the murmur of voices returned. Gintoki sat silently at the far end of the counter. Kagura naturally sat down to his left. Shinpachi sat to his right. The three sat in a row. There were no words. But that was fine. They'd come a long way from that night of staring at the ceiling alone. --- On the way out, Katsura left with Elizabeth. He stuck three posters with joui slogans on the Yorozuya's outer wall. "[serious]I'll be back, Gintoki" "[cold]Don't come" Gintoki peeled off the posters while chasing him. Katsura didn't run. He walked leisurely without looking back, as if waiting for Gintoki to peel off all three and return. Shinpachi watched the exchange. "[surprised]Is this... how it always goes...?" "[sarcastic]Probably, aru" Gintoki returned to the Yorozuya with the three peeled posters in hand. His profile was smiling. Just a little. Hijikata called out to him. "[serious]This incident will be reported to the Bakufu. It's certain that part of the Amanto administration is corrupt. But I don't know how the upper levels will move" "[cold]I see" "[serious]If anything happens, I'll let you know" Gintoki didn't answer. But he met his eyes. Just once. Hijikata said nothing more either. That was enough. Two men who'd been enemies until yesterday had decided something without words. --- When they left the snack bar, the twilight sky spread before them. Gintoki suddenly stopped. He looked toward Edo Bay. Something floated above the Amanto Terminal. A spaceship's shadow. Huge. He'd thought there was too much for Garza alone to handle the smuggling route. There was no way that many old-model high-energy cannons could move on Garza's orders alone. There was something more. Something higher up. Gintoki's eyes sharpened for just a moment. Then he looked away from the sky. "[sarcastic]...Let's eat some pudding" He returned to the Yorozuya. He opened the fridge. Empty. The one Kagura had left, the one marked "Gin-chan's," all of it was gone. Gintoki slowly turned around. Kagura was in the closet, turned away. Caramel was smeared around her mouth. "[sarcastic]It wasn't me, aru" She said it before he could even open his mouth. "[angry]Kagura!!" "Kyaa, aru!!" Kagura burst from the closet and ran. Gintoki chased her. Shinpachi tried to get between them to stop them and tripped over Sadaharu's tail. His glasses flew through the air. "[angry]You two, please calm down a little!! My glasses!!" Shouts returned to the Yorozuya. In the night of Kabuki-cho, still reeking of soot, the noise of three people echoed. Nothing seemed resolved, yet everything had changed. Over Edo Bay, that shadow still floated.