Chapter 105: Silver Soul (Earth Arc)

Hosts—male escorts, or "gigolos" as some call them. In Kabukicho, the most prominent host club was Takamagahara. Its proprietor, Kyoshiro, was once voted the number one man Kabukicho women most wanted to embrace. But those days had passed; since the opening of the new club, abc.dotch, Takamagahara had been steadily declining.

"Wait, we still have hope. Don't go ending it on your own," Gintoki stepped forward to say.

"Gin-san, is your new job working part-time as a host?" Okakura Take asked, looking at Gintoki.

Gintoki was dressed in a white suit with a rose pinned to his lapel. Combined with his smooth-talking demeanor, Take couldn't help but think he was truly cut out for this; look at how naturally this deadbeat had slipped into the host life.

"No, please refer to me as Gin. I am the number one host of Takamagahara." Gintoki performed a flamboyant 360-degree spin before extending a hand toward Take. "My lady, would you care to join me for a drink at Takamagahara?"

"I..." Before Take could say she would go later, Toboji had already stepped forward and placed his own hand into Gintoki's.

"Mr. Sakata, if it's not too much trouble, could you show me around Takamagahara? I am quite interested in Kabukicho's premier host club," Toboji said with a light smile.

Gintoki pulled his hand back, gave it a flick, and pulled a bottle of perfume from his sleeve to spritz the air. Looking every bit the professional host, he narrowed his eyes and said, "Sorry, but Takamagahara is a paradise for women and doesn't serve men. However, if you really want to go, I don't mind showing you around. Also, please call me Gin-san from now on."

"Is that so? Then I thank you, Gin-san," Toboji said with a smile that sounded somewhat grating.

*Crackle, pop.* Intense sparks of electricity flew between Gintoki and Toboji.

"..." Take watched them, feeling the atmosphere growing rather tense.

"Alright, alright, let's not stand here arguing. Let's just go inside," Take said, rushing to mediate.

"So, Take/Leader, which shop are you going into?" Gintoki and Toboji asked in unison, staring at her.

"...Um, how about I just go home for today?" Take said cautiously.

"No, no, Leader, now that you're here, why go back? We already agreed to sit and have a drink," Toboji said, grabbing one of Take's arms.

"Since you're already here, shouldn't you come into Gin-san's club for a drink?" Gintoki grabbed her other arm.

"..." Toboji.

"..." Gintoki.

Both men raised their heads and narrowed their eyes at each other.

"Mr. Sakata, the Leader agreed to visit my shop first. Please let go," Toboji said, pulling Take toward him.

"You, the one cosplaying as Jason, should be the one to let go. In terms of our relationship, I'm much closer to Take; she should be coming to my club first," Gintoki retorted, yanking her back.

"Mr. Sakata, please let go."

"Jason, you let go first."

"Mr. Sakata, I will let go when you do. And my name is Toboji."

"Jason, I'll only let go if you do."

"I told you my name is Toboji! You jerk, let go first!"

"Jason, why won't you let go?"

"Enough! Both of you, let go!" Take was furious. Being tugged back and forth had left her dizzy. She shook off their hands and stepped back. "Forget it. I'm not going into either place today. I'm just going home," she said, turning to leave.

"Leader, please wait," Toboji called out to her.

"Is there something else?" Take asked, turning around.

"Leader, I have a small suggestion. Would you stay and hear it?"

"What suggestion?"

"It's like this. Mr. Sakata, you work at Takamagahara across the street, correct?" Toboji asked.

"That's right. I am Gin-san, the number one host at Takamagahara with the highest request rate," Gintoki said proudly.

"..." Take thought, *Who are you trying to fool?*

"Then I have a proposal. We at abc.dotch would like to hold a friendly competition between our hosts and yours. Both sides will field ten people, and the match will be held in Kabukicho three days from now. What do you think, Mr. Sakata?" Toboji asked.

"Why should I, Gin-san, compete in such a boring contest? There's nothing in it for me," Gintoki replied, sounding uninterested.

"A prize of one million," Toboji said the massive figure nonchalantly.

"We're in!" Gintoki exclaimed.

"Wait! The stakes are that high?" Take asked in surprise.

"No, Leader. One million is a small amount compared to the money we earned on that ship in space. We don't mind using this opportunity to integrate into Kabukicho. Mr. Kyoshiro, what do you say?" Toboji turned his head.

Take and Gintoki turned to see Kyoshiro walking over with a smile as gentle as ever. "This game seems heavily skewed in our favor. Does your club have any other requirements?"

"We do have a request, but it's very simple," Toboji said, looking at Take. "Leader, if we win, would you please consider accepting our club, abc.dotch?"

"Eh? That has nothing to do with me," Take said, surprised.

"No, Leader. We aren't forcing you; we just hope you'll consider it and stop rejecting us so bluntly. Will you?" Toboji looked at Take sincerely.

"This..." Take hesitated.

"Mr. Toboji, isn't this a matter between two clubs? Please, don't put Miss Okakura in such an awkward position. A host shouldn't trouble a lady, right?" Kyoshiro said, walking over.

"I agree to it," Take decided.

"Miss Okakura?" Kyoshiro turned, surprised.

"Leader!" Toboji was excited.

"If it's just giving you a chance to be considered, that's fine. Toboji, I agree to that condition. The rest is up to you, Mr. Kyoshiro. Are you willing to compete?" Take looked at Kyoshiro.

"..." Kyoshiro paused, then realized what was happening. He smiled and said, "In that case, I accept the challenge."

"Excellent. In three days, Mr. Kyoshiro, please assemble your ten hosts. At that time, every woman in Kabukicho will be our judge, and they will decide which side has the number one host," Toboji said.

"Very well. I will gather ten hosts for the competition. I, Kyoshiro, will not give up my title as Kabukicho's number one host," Kyoshiro vowed.

"...Mr. Kyoshiro, that's all well and good, but you only have five people," Take said, her mouth twitching.

After Kyoshiro and Toboji finished their conversation, Take followed Gintoki into Takamagahara, having heard that Kagura and Shinpachi were inside.

Once inside, she was stunned by the scene. Takamagahara, once bustling beyond belief, now held only Kyoshiro, Hachiro, Gintoki, Shinpachi, and Kagura. There wasn't a single customer in the booths; the entire club was empty, looking desolate.

As it turned out, when abc.dotch bought up the storefronts in Kabukicho, they had poached all of Takamagahara's hosts by offering five times their previous pay. Now, the only real hosts left at Takamagahara were Kyoshiro and Hachiro. As for the Yorozuya trio, they were purely there to make things worse.

"That's right, we only have five people now. Which means we need to scrape together five more. This is my last chance; if we fail, Takamagahara is truly finished," Kyoshiro said with a bitter smile.

"Mr. Kyoshiro..." Hachiro looked at him with concern.

"Don't worry, Mr. Kyoshiro. We at Yorozuya will do our best to help. Right, Gin-san?" Shinpachi asked, looking at Gintoki.

"Of course. But we agreed that we get three-quarters of that one million prize," Gintoki said, picking his nose.

"That's right, and the remaining quarter is for my vinegar kelp," Kagura added, mimicking Gintoki as she picked her nose and demanded her cut.

"That means the whole million goes to you two! Are you robbers?" Take and Shinpachi shouted in unison.

"Besides, before we talk about the prize, we don't even have enough people. We need ten," Take counted. There were only four men, and even counting Kagura, they only had five.

"It can't be helped. This is where my good connections in Kabukicho come in," Gintoki said, standing up after putting his feet down.

"..." Take thought, *Gin-san's connections... aren't they all just a bunch of weirdos?*

Led by Gintoki, Take, Kagura, Shinpachi, Kyoshiro, and Hachiro left Takamagahara to start searching for the remaining participants for the competition.