Routine is a link with the past
It was already morning, but of course the sun never came out. Not on this planet, one that was inhabited by the bloodthirsty Yato tribe.
The day was just like any other day. Outside is was cloudy and the endless rain never stopped.
The pitter-patter of the rain might have made a pleasant sound, but after being surrounded by it was one's whole lifetime, it became a constant reminder of the fact that one lived in a world where the sun would never shine, literally.
In spite of that, a young girl had one mission.
"Mami, wake up."
During the past months, it had been become increasingly difficult to wake her mother up. The reason was simple; her mother was more and more affected by a certain kind of illness which slowly caused her to die.
What that kind of illness was, the girl never knew. There were no doctors around there anyway, which could have even cured her mother. But her mom being cured was out of the question. A sick Yato was a blasphemy. Yatos were supposed to be strong, not terminally ill.
And on top of that, she was all alone with her mother now, after that incident.
Still, maybe because of her age and also even due to her childish disposition, the young girl wasn't completely aware of the fate of her dear mother.
Waking her mother up by only calling her name didn't work at all anymore.
But Kagura knew instinctively what to do in that kind of situation. In fact, she only repeated the way how her mother used to wake her up. She wasn't sure why, but she could still recall it.
With the very little of food they had there due to lack of money, Kagura tried as best as she could to make something. It turned out that Kagura only found one ingredient: rice. There was nothing else left anymore. She could have sworn they something else left yesterday, but nothing else was to be found in the whole house.
With a bit of waiting, Kagura could turn on the rice cooker which was constantly on the brink of breaking completely. It was a wonder it will worked at times, especially considering how exactly Kagura turned it on, namely by repeatedly hitting on it until it finally started to work.
With lots of luck the electricity didn't fail this time.
"Mami, look what I made. Please wake up."
First, her mother showed no reaction, but that was already to be expected. So Kagura knew only one thing she could do now.
She gently put a spoon full of rice near her mother's mouth, not trying to hurt her in any way.
"Come on, Mami, it's time to wake up."
For a minute which seemed way longer, her mother did not move an inch.
But then, she slowly opened her eyes.
"Oh, it's you Kagu-"
And noticed the spoon full of rice near the corner of her mouth.
"Mami, you need to eat."
Her mother just smiled and raised her body as fast her strength let her and slowly took a bite.
"Thank you, Kagura-chan."
The rain did not seem to stop and poured relentlessly against the window.
Still, Sakata Gintoki was fast asleep.
Although it was already noon.
Unbeknownst to him quiet footsteps approached him.
"WAKE UP YOU LAZY PERM HEAD!"
And with that a spoon was thrusted into his mouth with the full strength of a Yato.
Leaving the now wildly complaining Gintoki behind, Kagura was assured of one thing.
This method of waking others up was still very much effective.
She couldn't use it on her mother anymore, but Gintoki came quite close.
A/N: This one was written for the YS Secret Santa as a gift to user WiteHypno. I hope to write more in the future. Reviews and the like are always appreciated.