Note: The girl is Kagura, but the reason why she doesn't use that name will come later.
A lone figure hopped silently through the trees, completely clothed in black. Occasionally, the small shadow dropped to the ground, weaving through the trees and dashing across streams and rivers alike. The moon sung and the stars whispered, but the figure was unmoved. Until finally the tree line broke, and the figure stopped, just a meter away from the edge of the cliff. The masked figure observed the brightly lit city sprawled a distance before its position on the cliff.
"Edo..."
Gin woke to an incessant ringing.
"If I don't answer, they'll eventually go away," he mumbled to himself. It didn't.
"Gin-san! Hello? Is anybody home?"
"Tch," Gin said as he dragged himself out of the comforts of his blanket and to the front door. He slammed the sliding door open, glaring at the startled boy who's finger hovered over the bell. "What do you want," he ground out irritably.
The boy straightened, a bright, naive smile on his face.
"I came just as I promised. I look forward to working with you, Gin-san!" the boy chirped.
Gin blinked, rubbing his eyes. "Huh? Who are you?"
"Um, it's Shimura Shinpachi. You helped me and my Aneue just yesterday, remember? I told you I wanted to work under you."
"...Hah? You were serious about that? Look... Shintaro-"
"It's Shinpachi."
"I'm not exactly hiring. I'm barely paying rent, what makes you think I can pay you so that you can help your family?"
"Even then... I really want to work alongside you. I get this feeling that if I stand by you, I'll be able to see sights I've never seen before.
Gin scratched his head. "You don't look like you're going to give up anytime soon. Ugh. Fine. Whatever. Since you woke me up early, make me some breakfast."
"But it's already noon."
"Then lunch. Just make me food."
...
"Hungry... I'm hungry," the girl mumbled as she walked through the crowded streets. Her use of an umbrella and cloak despite it being a clear day drew attention, though she ignored them. Her eyes traveled curiously at her surroundings, drinking up everything she could see. So this is what it was like to walk the streets during the day, filled with color and life. She paused, tipping the umbrella so she could see the taller buildings. Among all the skyscrapers, the Terminal stood proudly above the rest, surrounded by the hum of energy and engines of ships coming in and out.
She could pinpoint the moment she felt someone's eyes on her. Invasive and greedy. She pretended to take notice, continuing on her way to nowhere. And the gaze continued to follow. Irritating.
'No killing,' she reminded herself. She didn't want to attract unwanted attention. She traveled a couple more streets before stepping into an alley. She scaled the walls and waited. Not a minute later, a man with strange hair stumbled into the alley, eyes searching. He wasn't a threat, she immediately concluded. It wouldn't take more than a flick to kill him. She dropped down behind him, pressing the tip of her umbrella to the back of his neck. The man froze, slowly raising his arms in a gesture of surrender.
"I don't enjoy being tailed. Speak your purpose," she said, voice quiet and hoarse from disuse. The man turned slowly with a nervous laugh.
"Well, it's just you're new to the city, aren't you?" he asked, throwing a glance towards the small traveling pack slung over her shoulder. "In fact, you're probably new to this planet. It's hard to make in a city like this, you know? Especially for a girl so young like you. How about coming with me? I run a small organization of sorts, though we're still an up and coming group. You can join us. We'll change our situations together."
This man thought she was stupid. This man was stupid. A bead of sweat dropped down the man's neck as she gave no response.
"Look..." he slowly reached into his pocket, offering her a packet of Ochadzuke. "Think about it. It'll give you food and shelter. All you need to give us in return is a hand once in a while."
Did this pathetic man think that would win her over? Just how cheap was he? She had no doubts that he had approached her because of her cursed race. The strength that came with it.
"I'll give you time-"
"Alright. Lead the way," she cut in. Lowering the umbrella offering him a smile.
"Huh? Really- I mean- Great! Just follow me!" the man said with a smirk, satisfied with his accomplishment.
She opened her umbrella and followed him back onto the streets, smile never dropping.
She would stick around until she got got accustomed to how society and culture here worked. And then...
"Oh crap! Shounen Jump comes out today!" Gin groaned, smacking himself. "I forgot that it was set to release on Saturday this week. We have to go back!" he announced to the boy sitting behind him on the scooter. After a month after the boy's arrival, and Gin had become accustomed to the boy's... well, rather average presence. He was normal enough that his abrupt presence in his life had little to no impact. He cooked pretty well too. The glasses boy oddly enough made it a point to coming early and staying late. He worked diligently and even made meals without complaint. When asked why he didn't go home and eat, he only mumbled something darkly under his breath.
"Who cares? We already have all the ingredients we need for sukiyaki," he replied.
"Ughhh... Well this might be a good opportunity to stop reading Jump habit. What am I even doing, reading Jump at my age? But a man remains a child until his death..." Gin contemplated, looking towards the sky.
"Uh, can you keep your embarrassing comments to yourself?" Shinpachi relied blandly.
"Ah, well- Watch out!" Gin screeched as a girl appeared just in front of the scooter. It was way too late even as he slammed on the brakes. They collided with the girl, causing her to collapse while they swerved onto the sidewalk. Her body laid still on the road, a red umbrella and sack scattered next to her.
Gin turned to gape as the scooter came to a stop.
"You... you ran her over!" Shinpachi screeched, panic evident in his tone. "This is all your fault! What were you doing not paying attention to the road?!"
"C..C-calm down!" Gin said, shoving his head into the slot of a nearby vending machine. "A-all we got to is find a time machine!"
"You're the one that needs to calm down!" Shinpachi said indignantly.
"It should be okay," Gin said nervously as they approached the prone body. "According to the fortune teller on TV, my fortune this weekend is great." He bent down next to the unmoving body. "I'm sure she's miraculously unhurt. Hey lady..."
Gin nudged her over, freezing at the sight of a growing pool of blood.
"That damn fortune teller! I'm never watching that garbage again! Though the weather girl's pretty cute!" Gin screamed as they raced down the street. "How's she doing?"
In their panic, they had ended up tying the girl to Shinpachi's back and driving away from the crime scene on the scooter.
"She's not moving at all," Shinpachi said, worried.
"Gah! We need to get her to a hospital!" Gin groaned.
A black car with tinted windows suddenly pulled up alongside them. The window rolled down, revealing a man with permed hair... and a gun. Gin sped up immediately, attempting to put distance between them. Just what was going on?
Gin gritted his teeth as he heard the man fire thrice.
"Shit!" he cursed, bracing himself. He glanced over his shoulder when he heard no cries of pain. Was that, an umbrella?
The girl was awake, holding out the umbrella she had been carrying when they crashed into her. Gin's mind raced. The umbrella was perfectly fine. But there was no way a freaking umbrella had stopped the bullets... right?
And then, something even crazier happened. The girl closed the umbrella and started shooting back as if she was holding a machine gun and not a goddamn umbrella.
The car's front window cracked and the car swerved into a tree. Gin gawked at her with Shinpachi.
"You're going to crash again if you don't face forward," the girl spoke for the first time.
...
"I won't die just because you ran over me with a scooter," the girl said in the alley they had stopped in. She brushed the dirt off the black cheongsam she was wearing and retied her vermilion hair back into a low ponytail. Ocean blue eyes surveyed them with what seemed to be disinterest.
"The hell... you eat glue with your rice or something?" The silver haired man mumbled. "Well. Whatever. As long as you're fine. We'll be going now. Come on Shinpachi."
They both raced to leave. The girl cocked her head. They didn't look like they knew what she was. And more importantly, that silvery-white hair...
She grabbed the back of their scooter just as the man pressed the gas pedal.
"Ara, Shinpachi. Did you gain weight all of a sudden?" the man asked.
"From what I know, most adults would help a girl being chased by dangerous men," she stated. "This is the first I've seen someone flat out ignore it."
"Well, I'm still a kid at heart, you know? And in this country, a person who stops a motor scooter isn't considered a 'girl'. They're called mountain gorillas."
Just then, a group of men with the same perm as the earlier man passed the alley.
"There they are! Get them!" one of the men screamed.
The three immediately turned and ran, abandoning the scooter.
"What a persistent bunch," the girl said with narrowed eyes.
"Why are they even following you, Miss?!" the boy named Shinpachi shouted as they dashed into a side alley.
"I'm not sure. I joined their little club for a while since I was hungry, but I have no use of them anymore."
"That 'club' is actually a gang," the silver haired man corrected as he tipped a trash can to hinder their pursuers.
They finally distanced themselves enough to hide behind a pile of trash bags. There was a sigh of relief as the group ran past without a second thought.
"They should know that there is a chance to being used when using," the girl said tonelessly as they climbed out of their positions.
"Well, you sound like you know the gist of how the world works," the man said as he climbed out of the trash can. "Well, it's your problem so you take care of it yourself." With that, the man walked away.
"Hey wait! Gin-san!" Shinpachi complained.
The girl's eyes studied the man even as he left. He smelled of someone who knew war. The man froze, turning to give her an appraising eye. She offered him a smile, and the man's eyes narrowed. He turned, leaving just her and Shinpachi.
"So... you're not from around here, huh? Do you want to go home?" Shinpachi said kindly, turning to her.
She stayed silent. What was she supposed to say? She had no home to speak of. Besides, she had a feeling she had found her subject of interest.
"Are you from the countryside, or..?"
"I do not originate from here," she said shortly.
"Er... then I suppose you need to get to the terminal, huh? I'll help you! We're the Yorozuya after all," he gestured proudly.
"Odd jobs?" she asked. From the stories she had heard, that was definitely not what the silver haired man, Gin was supposed to be like.
"Yup! Ask us anything and we'll do it for you!"
How curious.
"When you say you don't originate from here, I suppose your home planet is elsewhere. You'll need to get to the Terminal to leave this planet so let's go."
She might as well go with it for now. She had a feeling that the silver haired man would be back.
"Are you guys all idiots?! You're telling me you couldn't catch one little girl!" Inoue raged. "And you have the gall to call yourselves part of a gang?! How can you even call yourselves punch perms?!"
"But Aniki, we're up against a Yato clansman. We can't do anything against-"
Inoue punched the man with a sneer.
"Are you an idiot? That's exactly why we need it!" he yelled as several men came forth to hold him back. "Our Punch Perm gang could rise to the top if we capture that monster! Their clan is already falling apart. It's a dying clan. Do you understand how much she'd be worth if we get her? Whether we keep using her or we sell her..." Inoue sat back down, taking several breaths. He slid the last two balls of dango into his mouth. "Well, if she refuses to come back and work for us, that's fine. I don't care anymore. Kill her and take back that money she stole! I'm sure there are plenty still waiting to pay for the corpse of a Yato. It would be a problem if she finds her way into another gang. That would be a major threat for us. Tools that have no use should be gotten rid of."
...
"Is this how the Yorozuya operate?" the girl asked blandly.
"Shut up! This is all your fault! How'd you manage to piss them off so much?!" Shinpachi whispered, tipping the lid of the trashcan to peer outside. "Well, it seems the coast is clear." He pointed to the train arriving.
"You just take that train and you'll arrive at the Terminal in no time. But, man. Gin-san was so cruel, leaving us."
"That's just what everybody is like. People are selfish. And people who care about other people are just idiots. But, I don't think idiots are completely unlikable. Though, I hate you."
"Hey, I thought I just heard a rather unpleasant comment..." Shinpachi said, turning to the girl next to him.
"People with glasses are despicable," she said with a straight face.
"What the hell?! Isn't your character changing?! After all I've done for you-!"
"...Stuck."
Shinpachi paused. He shifted, trying to stand up.
"Shoot. Crap, this is the worst possible situation!" He groaned as he struggled to free himself. He cursed as the bell for the train began ringing. "Crap! It's going to leave. Just roll, come on!" He tipped them over, causing the girl to grunt. They began rolling towards the open door of the train.
Just a couple more meters-!
There little journey was put to a halt, and Shinpachi looked up with dread.
"Hey... rolling into trains is dangerous. Too bad, Katsumi. You almost got away."
"Oh. It's Piggy*."
"It's Inoue, you damn brat! It was mean of you to leave without a word after we took care of you. With our money no less. Give it back!"
"You stole from them?!" Shinpachi gasped. "No wonder they're angry at you."
"I just took my share of what was earned. It just happens I did most of the work, so I took most of the money. And the food was lame," the girl, Katusmi said. The train pulled away and Shinpachi watched it go with a sinking feeling in his chest.
"Is this really the path you're going to choose?" Inoue sneered as he crouched down next to them. "What are you going to do then, huh? You're from a clan that only knows how to fight. Isn't that right, Yatozaku?*"
"Yatozaku..?" Shinpachi asked. The term seemed awfully familiar.
"You were helping her without even knowing? You must have at least heard of them," Inoue said, amused. "The best and worst clan, the 'Yato'. The strongest and most terrible mercenary race in the universe. They look just like humans, but their physical abilities far surpass that of any other race. Their fighting abilities are unmatched. They've destroyed many stars and planets alike. They're a clan with war as their priority. It looks like this monster was hiding it, but your transparent skin and umbrella are proof of your race. They hate the light of day, and hide under their ever present umbrella. You always seemed to enjoy fighting, right, Katsumi? Your instinct drives you to spill blood."
Shinpachi looked towards the girl next to him in shock. The girl's face remained blank.
"You have a mouth you love to let running, huh Piggy?" Katsumi said coldly. "Don't make assumptions with that idiot brain of yours. And don't associate me with that cursed clan. You're acting might high for someone who kept sniveling and begging someone younger to go beat the bullies that were picking on you."
"Brave words for someone that can't move," Inoue said as he kicked the trashcan they were in onto the tracks. "You're useless if you won't fight. Sayonara."
"Hey wait!" Shinpachi shouted, struggling to free himself. This had to be a bad joke. "Don't just leave us here!"
The sound of another train coming had Shinpachi's soul leaving his body.
"What the hell is this?! That timing is something that came straight out of fiction!"
"Oh. Looks like you're going to die," Katsumi said.
"Just me?! You're trapped with me too!" Shinpachi said, completely losing all sense of rationality.
"Damn... Getting me involved. You brats."
"Gin-san!" Shinpachi cried, spotting the familiar scooter racing alongside the train. His bokken was ready in his hand.
"Grit your teeth and hang in there!" Gin said, pulling his arm back.
"H-hey, wait!" Shinpachi said, getting the general idea of what the man was planning. "Wait a second!"
He closed his eyes as he felt the impact of the sword and the weightlessness of being airborne. What kind of crazy situation was this?
...
Gin came to a stop once the two were clear. He sighed, letting the train pass by. The trashcan spun in the air before dropping back onto the station platform. He watched as the two were freed. He focused on the girl from earlier. She was the real problem here.
The girl her way calmly to the group staring at her with unadulterated fear.
"A Yato's instinct is to fight. But... that instinct has long abandoned me. I fight when I need to and I'll do it for myself," the girl said simply. She lifted her umbrella, and he was mildly impressed at the men's instincts to flee. All but the guy who seemed to be the leader.
"Tch. You..! You're outnumbered! Get her boys!" he screamed, turning around to empty space.
"We can't stand it anymore! You're on your own!" one of them cried.
"H-hey!" The man stuttered.
"Piggy."
"W-w-what is it?" the man stuttered. It was a pathetic display, Gin observed. The fully grown man was all but trembling before the young girl. The girl smiled. "Since you were ready to kill, I'm sure you were prepared to be killed as well."
Gin straightened, ready to interfere if he needed to. The man was sweating like no tomorrow, too fearful to even move.
"But... killing you is worth little. And sometimes, living and surviving is the most painful punishment. But I can't let you go scot-free, yes? How about I do the world a favor?"
Gin let the tension drain out of him when she simple knocked him unconscious and proceeded to shave the man bald. He climbed onto the platform, eyes shining when he spotted what he had originally come for. The new issue of Jump!
"Thanks for the save, Gin-san," Shinpachi said relieved, taking a seat next to him as he read the Jump.
"I was looking for Jump and just happened to come to the station. Saving you was a complete coincidence. Aren't you happy you didn't die though?"
"So our lives aren't even worth 230 yen?" Shinpachi asked with irritation.
"Oh look there's the train," Gin said without even looking up. "Get on and don't ever come back, you bad luck girl."
"I don't recall saying I ever wanted to leave," the girl said, turning to them. Gin raised a brow as she revealed that she had left some hair at the back of the man's to outline a smiling face. "I'm going to stay here for a while longer. So I'm going to work under you."
Gin ripped his jump in shock. No. No. No. This was not happening.
"No way! Why should I take in a violent girl like you-"
There was a smash as the wall between him and Shinpachi crumbled under her fist.
"Did you say something?" she asked.
"...No," they both mumbled in fear.
"Good. Ah, also, I don't have a place to stay so I'm staying with you, Gin-san is it?"
"W-what? Wait a second-" he protested, but she was already walking ahead.
"Tch, this is troublesome," Gin sighed, scratching his head.
He had noticed it earlier in the alley. Her eyes seemed lifeless, the eyes of someone who had seen too much despite her young age. The same eyes of his once comrades after the war. And that smile. That strange smile that looked more like a monster pretending to be human.
He had just let a monster under his roof.
The rain poured over the port town. It was always raining in this godforsaken town. The teen shifted his gaze from the town to the gravestone on the cliff.
"Happy Death day, Kaa-san. It looks like your son was the only one who remembered, but I suppose this is how it is. I wasn't there for your death after failing to save you, so I at least must visit you even in death. I... I have gotten stronger. Just like Umibouzu said to. I promise... I will one day kill the man who killed you and rip that so called 'strongest' title from him."
He rested a lone flower on top of the stone. Her favorite. He smiled, but he couldn't help but wondering where the rest of his former family was. How could they not have come to pay their respects? The day was almost over.
Umibouzu, he could see just forgetting or ignoring it.
But where was his crybaby of a sister?