EDIT June 10, 2010: Fixed and edited stuff. Because FF's editing system and I have a great deal of mutual hate for each other.
More than a decade ago…
A calm breeze ruffles the leaves of a tree.
Birds sing as they frolic in the air.
A page in a book is flipped.
The sound of children jeering is heard.
Wait, that makes no sense. It doesn't fit with the introduction at all! But that doesn't matter now does it? On to the title of the story!
Being under a tree during a storm is asking for trouble
Several clouds float over a tree. A little boy is seen reading a book underneath that tree. A group of rough-looking children are seen walking up to that little boy. "Oi! You're in our meetin' spot! Shove it!" The toughest one covered the boy with his shadow.
"HEY, I'M TALKIN' TO YOU!"
The boy flips another page. Silence.
"Hey boss, I think he's ignoring us… What do we do?"
A boy in the back giggled, "He must be scared of us, boss."
The chubby leader laughed, "Ha, you're scared of us, aren'tcha? You mus' be; my dad says all boys with long hair are scaredycats!" His little group laughed loudly along with him.
"You're a girly boy!"
"Hey, is it true you wear a wig?"
"It's true, isn't it?"
"My papa says that you're a girl, and that's why you have long hair!"
"My daddy says you're wimpy and your hair looks like a wig!"
The misbehaving children laughed loudly.
"Oi oi, can't you people shut up and go away? You snotty idiots woke me up from my nap… Ah… I want to go back to sleep… But there's a test tomorrow… Hah…. What should I do…? Maybe I should just skip it… But sensei will kill me… Not that I really care… But it would be bad to fail it, wouldn't it…? Hmm…"
The little group stared at the newcomer.
"Hey look, it's the wig-girl's friend! The natural perm is visiting the wig!"
"Ah… I need some sugar... Feel so tired… Maybe I should get some dango with azuki beans… But I don't have money and I'll probably get yelled at… Ugh… What should I do…? Maybe I'll go borrow some off someone…"
The little leader stamped his foot in anger, "HEY, don't ignore me! D'you know who I am? Don't jus' go ignorin' people! Hey, I'm talkin' to you, natural perm!"
The newcomer strolled forward, picking his nose, "Huh… Such a nice day… Oh, yeah… Hey, Zura, mind giving me the answers to tomorrow's tes-"
"IT'S NOT ZURA, IT'S KATSURA!"
The book snapped shut and bounced off the naturally permed head with a resounding whack.
"HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU, IT'S KATSURA! GET IT RIGHT, STUPID!"
"IS THIS HOW YOU TREAT A FRIEND, YOU MORON? THAT HURT, YOU KNOW! SEE WHAT YOU DID, MY NOSE IS BLEEDING! AND WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU? YOU DON'T CARE IF PEOPLE TEASE YOU BUT YOU HIT A FRIEND BECAUSE THEY GIVE YOU A NICKNAME?"
Katsura, sighed and calmly picked up his book, "Gintoki, how many times do I have to tell you, get my name right."
"Come on, Zura, Katsura and Kotarou are both longer than Zura… Zura's way easier to say…"
"Three or four syllables aren't hard to pronounce, Gintoki. I always call you Gintoki and I'm not complaining, am I? Don't be lazy."
"Whatever. I bet you would've let me call you that if I had straight hair."
"Blaming your faults and your problems on your natural perm. How sad."
"It's not my fault I was born with a natural perm, Zura."
"It's not Zura, it's Katsura."
"As I was saying, Zura, help me on the test."
"It's not Zura, it's Katsura. No, I won't help you on the test. And no, the reason I'm not helping you is not because you have a natural perm. Do it yourself. It's not too difficult."
"Aw, come on, help a friend in trouble, na, Zura?"
"It's not Zura, it's Katsura. You always ask for my help. Instead of asking for my help all the time, why don't you pay attention in class instead of sleeping through everything?"
"But the lessons are so boring… Come on, tell me what sensei taught for today."
"No. You have the book, do it yourself."
Gintoki sighed and scratched his head, "So, Zura, who're they? Your new friends or something? Kinda rude, aren't they? I didn't know you hung out with the rough-and-tumble type." Katsura tucked the book into his kimono and stood up, "Do they look like my friends, Gintoki? But I agree with you, they're quite rude. What do you suggest?"
The leader's face turned red and he picked up a rock, "Hey, stop ignorin' me!"
Gintoki scratched his shoulder leisurely, "Did I tell you, Zura, that I've always wanted to be a barber?"
"Good morning, children."
"Good morning, sensei."
"Tanaka-kun, what happened to your hair?"
"Sensei, Sakata-san and Katsura-san shaved it off."
The teacher stared incomprehensibly while the class laughed.
"Pardon?"
"Sensei, Sakata-san and Katsura-san shaved it off."
The teacher blinked and looked at Gintoki and Katsura. Gintoki sleeping as usual, Katsura as serious as ever.
"Someone please wake Sakata-kun… Thank you. You two, Tanaka-kun claims you shaved his hair off."
Gintoki yawned and scratched his head, "Sensei, swords aren't made for cutting hair."
Katsura stood straight, ever serious, "Sensei, a samurai's job is to protect those important to him, not to cut hair."
"Well then… children, please put away your books, it's time for the test."