"Papa,
How are you? How is your hair? Are you cherishing that little that is left on your head? I hope you're not completely bald by now.
I can't believe it's already been five months since you left. Time flies so fast. Here on Earth it's the same as always. We're still behind on our rent; we may even be thrown out. Well, Shinpachi says it's unlikely, but he offered me a place to stay, just in case. Still, I think that Gin-chan and the old lady will work it out in the end.
The sky is getting grayer as time passes. It's been raining almost every day. It reminds me of the sky back at home. You know, when we all used to live together: you, me, mama—"
Kagura crumpled the paper in frustration. It bothered her. She didn't like this weather at all. It reminded her of those days, which she thought she left behind long ago.
She sighed and rolled onto her back. It just couldn't be helped. This cold weather was the same as back then…
"No can do! I am with Gin-chan and the glasses now! This is completely different!" She said, while slapping herself on the cheeks.
"Oi, Kagura, are you sleeping or what? Stop being so loud."
She had completely forgotten she wasn't alone; she must've yelled a bit louder than she intended, enough that Gin-chan, who was probably reading Jump this late in the night, could hear her. She wasn't in the mood to fight, but she also couldn't let the remark pass. She opened the door of the closet she was sleeping in.
"As you would understand the troubles of a young girl. Now let me sleep, I need to preserve my beauty. Staying up late is not good for my skin!" and saying that, she closed the sliding door with a loud thud.
"What the hell is her problem," Gintoki murmured while turning another page of his Jump.
By the time he reached half of the page, he completely forgot about Kagura's bad mood. He couldn't possibly know that she was awake for hours after their short conversation, thinking about things that happened in the past, while holding a piece of paper in her hand.
"Gin-chan! Gin-chan! Wake up! Come on, quickly!"
"Huh… What? Kagura, it's nine in the morning. We have no job today… Just let me sleep."
"No! This is terrible! The city is in danger! We're gonna die!"
"What?" Still being half asleep, Gintoki tried to pull his blanket above his head, but Kagura snatched it. When he finally opened one eye, he woke up immediately: Kagura was genuinely worried, and was that fear on her face?
"Gin-chan, some alien came to Earth! I've been fighting him whole morning, but it's no use! Please help! How will Shinpachi come here today?"
"All right, all right, just let me get up. Come on, get off of me, you brat."
When he got out of his room, Kagura was already peeking through the front door, still terrified. He frowned; if something was frightening her, then it must be dangerous, or possibly a cockroach. Gintoki grabbed his wooden sword, and while Kagura was hiding behind him, slowly opened the door.
He stared for couple of minutes outside, then at Kagura, and then back outside, before bursting into such a laughter he had to lean on the wall.
"This is no time for laughing! Gin-chan, whole town is like this!"
"Kagura," Gintoki barely managed not to start laughing again. "You've… never seen snow in your life?
"Huh?" Kagura looked at Gintoki, confusion all over her face.
He couldn't help it anymore and plunged into another fit of laughter. When he finally calmed, he reached outside and took a bit of snow. He brought it inside and put it in a bowl.
"Look at this for me while I get dressed, okay," he told her, while going to get ready for the day.
When he returned later on, fully awake and refreshed, he just couldn't contain a smile on his face – Kagura was looking at the bowl, barely hiding her fascination with snow.
"Water! Look, Gin-chan, it turned into water! It's water!" She yelled, grinning from ear to ear at this amazing discovery.
"Yes. You see, outside is so cold, that the rain froze and became snow. It's quite normal." He rubbed his head, pretending to be annoyed. "Honestly, how could you not know about the snow?"
"I… I've never seen this…" She said, not taking eyes from the water in the bowl, occasionally poking it with her finger.
At that moment they heard the door open.
"I'm here," said Shinpachi, while cleaning the snow from his shoulders.
"Shinpachi, look! It's snowing!" Kagura was smiling enthusiastically at the boy, while pointing at the snow that fell on the floor.
"Phew, indeed, Kagura-chan. It's gonna keep snowing whole day."
Gintoki approached Shinpachi and quietly, careful that Kagura doesn't hear him, addressed him.
"She's never seen snow before, indulge her for today."
Shinpachi looked at the man, bewildered, but after a moment smiled and nodded in understanding.
"Why don't you both go outside and enjoy the snow?" Gintoki asked, grabbing his Jump and settling himself on his beloved chair.
"Oh, speaking of outside, Otose-san said that, since you don't have anything to do today, you might as well shovel the snow in front of the building."
Gintoki put down the Jump he was already reading.
"You're kidding me."
"No."
"Why me?"
"Because you haven't paid the rent."
"That damn robot has a flamethrower!"
Shinpachi just shrugged. He never questioned Otose's reasoning. It was probably her way of dragging Gintoki out to enjoy the first snow of the year.
"Gin-chan, come on! It'll be fun!" Kagura said, while putting on her boots. Gintoki sighed and got up.
"Fine, fine, I'm coming." He said with less enthusiasm than the kids.
Fifteen minutes later, the Yorozuya trio was outside, Gintoki slowly shoveling, while Shinpachi and Kagura were building a snowman. While he was quietly complaining about the sudden work, Gintoki was suddenly hit at the back of the head.
"Shinpachi, look! I can throw snow at Gin-chan."
"Yes, that is called a snowball. And you probably started a snowball fight," Shinpachi said as another snowball hit Kagura straight in the face. Wiping the snow out of her face, she caught a sight of Gintoki's smug grin.
"That does it! Prepare for war!"
In an instant, the whole area became a large battlefield, with Shinpachi in the middle. Trying to calm the situation, he got hit by most of the snowballs that were flying all over the place. It didn't take long before the battle between the three sides, was in full blast, snowballs flying chaotically all over the place.
"They are making too much noise outside. What on earth are they doing?" Otose wondered, while taking a drag out of her cigarette.
"Shall I go and see, Otose-san?" The maid android, Tama, asked.
"No, I'll go. You can go and rest."
"As you wish," Tama said, as she continued to mop the floor.
Otose stepped outside. It took her couple of moments to recover from the shock of the situation outside. Snowballs were flying in every direction. As she was just about to ask what they were doing, a snowball hit her in the face.
Silence ensued. They all realized what happened. It was Gintoki who came to his senses first.
"Shit, we hit the old hag. Run!" he yelled, already running towards the city, Kagura and Shinpachi, just behind him.
"Oh, I'm going to kill him! Oi, you lazy permhead, give me my rent! Tama, after him!"
"I understand. I'll be right back." said the android, running towards the direction the trio has disappeared in.
Later that night, Kagura was lying in her bed remembering the events of that day. Stifling a yawn, she rolled onto her side, a smile on her face.
"I guess even the rain can be fun sometimes."
She slowly fell asleep, an envelope by her side.
AN: Happy Birthday, lolli! I planned to publish this one today and it is your birthday present and I hope you'll have fun reading it. ^^
Also, this was fun writing. I took a break from writing that multichapter so I could write this. Spring break is here, which means I am working on my stories slowly (yes, imagine that, I have multiple stories. What a lazy bum I am). I am also accepting prompts for the time being (till 24th).
Also, I'll be getting my new computer next Friday, so that is gonna be really fun. That also means I'll be on vacation starting Friday, 18th, and all the way till long into the week after that. *stares into the distance* Easter is coming.
SHOUT OUT TO THAT FARGO MAN WHO DECIDED TO CLEAN SNOW WITH FLAMETHROWER THIS WINTER!
I am so tempted to post this without edit…
Before I start writing ANs that are longer than the fic, I think I should stop.
Yell out.