[Closed]

[pawned]

Characters: Itou, Gintoki
Location: Supermarket
Rating: Gintoki, silver balls
Time: January 16
Description: The Yorozuya finds himself doing pro-bono work. Or something.


There was something inane about having to do his own grocery like this. He'd done so even in their world, of course, but he was still an enforcer of the law then and he walked about like the place was his territory. Now, he was just a random, crippled member of society with a definite difficulty in getting even the most basic of things done.

Having just one arm was a trial in the grocery. Itou had given up on carts and had just taken to baskets after one bump too many, but his limitation in appendage also meant doing small purchases far more frequently than he would like.

He was making one such purchase now, having run out of toxic, instant things to eat (cooking was far too difficult to master like this) and other items for the kitchen. Milk was one of these, and he rounded the corner to the milk section with the hope that no one would be there so he could peruse the aisle to his heart's content. After all, he'd only gotten to read the back of the cartons of half the brands the last time he had been here.

Comments

[pawned]

Itou paused at the end of the aisle, blinking at the man. Ah, that was right. One of his eccentric character quirks was the intense love for sweet things and strawberry milk. He supposed it was a sales pitch of some sort -- Hijikata-kun liked mayonnaise, Yamazaki-kun liked badminton, and Okita-kun liked pain.

He contemplated withdrawing his approach, but thought better of it because there were more important things than avoiding people he knew, such as purchasing milk. With a sigh, he walked down the aisle and started looking through the brands of milk. Like what the guy was doing. Right.

[pawned]

"Your acting is terrible and makes you look like an even more suspicious person," Itou said flatly, having been made to suffer the half-assed ruse. Itou walked forward to glance at his own part of the aisle, contemplated a moment--

And then he smiled, widely and terrifyingly friendly. "Good afternoon, Sakata-san. I see that you're shopping for milk. So am I, but isn't it that American supermarkets have too many brands on their shelves? Are there any that you'd recommend?"

[pawned]

The funniest thing was that Itou hadn't even wanted anything. He had just simply been showing off how much better he was at faking a pleasant smile, because while it creeped Gintoki out, it actually worked fairly well with most other people.

He wasn't about to argue it, though. If anything, Itou was still an opportunistic bastard. Itou smiled brightly and eyed the shelves to see what Gintoki was talking about. "Hmm, perhaps I'll try it out. Will you hold on to my basket while I look at it?"

[pawned]

It was a good thing looks couldn't kill, then. Itou blithely looked the box over, deliberately taking all the time in the world.

"Oh, I beg your pardon," he said sweetly. "It's a bit difficult to read at the moment. I think my glasses needs an upgrade." Not entirely true, but no one would really be able to confirm that.

He was kind of understanding why the other people in their humble little series liked teasing this guy so much. Gintoki really was just asking for it. Itou didn't even have to be an S to enjoy himself.

[pawned]

If the result was the same, what difference would it make if Gintoki's hair started out as black or white?

"You're too kind to offer, but I'll have to decline," he answered demurely, smiling crookedly in an attempt to keep his amusement in. Finally, he selected a box of milk and put it in the basket. Just one for now, because who knew if he'd have the same assistance on the sad walk home?

[pawned]

Bah, women. Itou was never going to understand their appeal.

Itou considered it, getting more things now that he had an assistant to help me with his things. He could pack up on some things, even if he didn't quite need them... His gaze went up, then turned to the placards over the next aisle. 'Canned goods', it said.

Sense won out in the end, however, and Itou only shook his head. "I have everything I need for the next few days." Everything being the box of milk and a very scant amount of instant food things.