How Many Hands Can One Golden Basin Wash?

[The main story and all bonus chapters are complete. The full story is a Gintama-style fanfic centered on Gintama, with Gintoki as the love interest and a somewhat ensemble cast.] After finally turning things around and sorting out the gang problems Dad left behind, I could at last leave that life behind and open the coffee shop I’d always dreamed of. But I couldn’t run it alone, so I started hiring. After several rounds of interviews, I chose my staff. The red-haired young man surnamed Oda seemed to have an artistic air about him, and he was steady, too. He suited the atmosphere of a coffee shop. The wheelchair-using young man surnamed Orihara had plenty of experience managing money, so he could handle the books. Besides, having a disabled employee on staff meant we could apply for a tax break. And then there was the silver-haired, naturally curly-haired guy surnamed Sakata... Uh, I hadn’t planned to hire him, but he clung to my leg and wailed that he had a pair of children at home who needed feeding, and that being a single father wasn’t easy. Fine, I’d hire him. * At first, everyone got along just fine. Then, one by one, everyone’s secret identities came to light, revealing who they really were. I was stunned. So we were all trying to leave our old lives behind?! I might as well call this place a retirement home for former big shots instead of the Polo Coffee Shop! There was no helping it. I had to pull a few of them aside for a private meeting and remind them, “Amuro is coming in to work soon. We all have to act like nothing’s happened, so we don’t scare him off. It took us long enough to hire a staff member who can make coffee. If he quits, we’ll have to switch to selling curry rice or Uji Gin-chan Rice Bowls, which even pigs wouldn’t eat. We absolutely can’t lose him!” * * 1. This story is also known as A House Full of Big Shots and We Said We Were Leaving the Past Behind. It’s about the retired daily lives of a bunch of big shots. The heroine is the shop manager, Gintoki is her love interest, and the romance is one-on-one. The story has a somewhat ensemble cast. 2. Blurb archived on June 10, 2022. 3. As usual, please don’t mention other people’s stories under my work, and don’t mention mine under theirs. Thank you. Theme: People shouldn’t be held back by their past. No matter what, we should live well and embrace the future.