Chapter One: 9 + 1 = Yaguu Jyuubei*
Disclaimer: Gintama and other related entities are owned, (TM) and © by Sorachi Hideaki.
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A/N So I thought I'd try my hand at this crazy wacked out series, but this isn't something that's going to be original (I AM NOT CLAIMING OWNERSHIP OF THE PLOT). I read chapter 437 and some of the translation was pretty bad, so I wanted to redo it here on FFN, but there will be changes here and there. So if you decide to read this then know it will be a Kyubei/Otae pairing, and that the plot will diverge later on in the story.
NOW ON WITH THE STORY!
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It was a nice bright day at Kabuki-chou with the streets bustling and hustling with activity. It was down these busy streets that Yagyuu Kyubei found herself strolling down minding her own business. Her thoughts were once again on her confusing predicament, and her feelings for a certain someone. She had just passed a fortune tellers table when a voice spoke up,
"Samurai-san" the voice called out from behind her, "Would you like to have your fortune read?"
Kyubei paused for a moment, and turned her head to the strange woman who wore a black mask covering the top half of her face. A symbol with a circle in the center depicting the male arrow and female cross came out from right to left at a tilted angle.
"I'm sorry, but I have somewhere I need to be." Kyubei gave a false excuse and set out to be on her way once again.
"Are you sure I can't convince you to stay ma'am?" The fortune teller called out again, and Kyubei stopped in her tracks and looked towards the stranger shocked, though her face did not betray her emotion, just her normal detachment.
"While I make no claims about the accuracy of us fortune tellers in foreseeing the future, I am well versed in reading people." The strange woman said. "I can see right through you, and even though you hide behind that male disguise I know," The woman paused to look down at her crystal ball that in front of her, "I know that you are lost. You are confused as to who you should be… a man…or a woman."
Those word, they were what finally convinced Kyubei that there may be something more to this strange woman who sat before her. She stepped up to the fortune teller's table and took a seat.
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"I see…so you were raised as a man in order to protect your family." The Teller spoke as Kyubei finished telling the woman her tale. "And you have been unable to escape your fate."
Kyubei looked down for a moment as the woman's words rang through her mind. The words brought memories with them, some painful, but most were of happier times. Times spent with a certain girl with kind eyes. One memory in particular came to mind. The day of her defeat at the hands of the Odd jobs group, and her words of comfort to Kyubei.
"Even though that is true I've met a lot of good people who accept me for who I am." Kyubei looked up at the sky and sighed, "Those same people have also helped me find the 'woman' within myself, but its difficult trying to accept myself. I've been raised as a man, and those habits are so ingrained within me that I have not been able to take the steps to bring out the woman that I can be. The embarrassment I feel when I try keeps me from moving forward." A flash of a pink kimono brown hair kept up in a cute pony tail, and brown eyes came to Kyubei's mind and she let out a defeated chuckle.
"I've also never been able to get over the feelings I carry for a certain person. I know I never will either." Kyubei looked back down at the fortune teller.
"The way things have been going I feel it would be easier to just be a man." Kyubei brought a hand to her face to hide the slight blush. "My quest to find myself has come to the point where I've done some rather absurd things from time to time." Memories came to mind of some of the strange things she put herself through to find herself. She shook her head to clear the images of past adventures, and stood up and turned to walk away, but not before putting down a few coins as thanks to the woman who had listened to her woes… She started to go on her way, the streets a bit more empty since she had spent quite a bit of time with the teller.
"You should face the gender you were giving," The teller spoke up suddenly shocking Kyubei since she thought they were done, "and accept the role you were given by god." Kyubei ignored the statement by what she realized was a nut and started to walk away. "But clearly you don't appreciate what you are. So how about I grant you your wish…"
Kyubei sighed in irritation, "It's my own fault for asking a fortune teller for advice, but please the next time you want to invite someone to a religion. Try some other gullible sap."
The fortune teller just laughed, "I'm not trying to invite you to anything. I just want to offer you your heart's desire, to walk these roads as a man."
"Enough! I haven't fallen so low as to try to escape reality." Kyubei growled her shoulders tensing as the woman started to grate on her nerves.
"But wouldn't it be a blessing to escape the reality of being a woman-"Kyubei had had enough of the woman and spun around to face her fully.
"I said enough already!" The young samurai shouted her eyes hard with irritation. The woman had finally gotten to her.
"If you think you can do something then do it already! But stop playing with people's hearts with false hopes!" Kyubei spun back around and started to march off, but even though she tried to ignore it the woman's words halted her in her tracks once again.
"I guess I'll take that as a yes…now take a look young samurai. The light of Judgment is upon us. The power of our God, Dekobokko!"
The people of Kabuki-chou looked up at the light in fear.
"This city will be reborn…as a new world."
Kyubei watched the sky as the light got closer and closer.
"What will you do with the new role you are given? I'm excited to find out."
The blinding light touched ground. A resounding boom echoed throughout the city bathing it in white.
In what felt like an eternity the light finally subsided and the dust finally started to settle.
"Are you ok?!"
"What the hell was that light?!"
"Did the Amanto attack us?!"
"No I don't think so?! The city seems unharmed!"
The questions kept coming from the confused populace. As they tried to piece together what had happened to them.
Kyubei sat up from where she had been thrown to the ground by the shockwave of the strange light.
"Hey…Wh-cough-what the hell was!?" Kyubei stopped speaking when she saw that the table the fortune teller was sat at was empty.
"What-cough- what the hell was that fortune teller? Was that light her doing?" Kyubei lifted herself up into a crouching position. "No it couldn't have been."
Kyubei rose then after appeasing her thoughts with her own reassuring words, and started to walk down the street.
"Uh... Why does my body feel heavy? Is it my own imagination? It feels as if my body has gotten heavie…" She stopped talking and stared…and stared, and stared some more. There was a handsome young man standing before her, his short dark hair pulled up in a high pony tail, and his right eye was covered with an eye patch. Suddenly Kyubei realized what she was doing and immediately bowed as an apology for her rudeness.
"Forgive me for staring. I just thought your outfit looked a bit like mine." The other person said nothing.
'Why…why can't I bring myself to lift up my head?'
'People wear similar clothing all the time…but how many people can say they wear the same eye patch as me? Is he wearing some kind of costume? That must be it. He's a cosplayer. That wasn't me…a cosplayer, yeah that's it.'
'But what if I lift my head up and can still see him there? Then the refection I saw was not some gender-bent version of me…but me as in that person was…' The strange fortune teller flashed through her mind 'why not change your image to fit your desires just once. Kyubei shook, her body not moving from its position.
'It can't be! It, it couldn't be! There was no way that fortune teller could have that kind of power.' A panicked sweat started to form on her brow.
There is no way such a ridiculous thing could happen, it's just not true, so calm down Kyubei. It's just your silly imagination.'
'But if you still have doubts there is a way to tell without having to lift up your head.' Her sword arm started to inch towards her crotch.
I am not a man, nor am I a woman.'
'I am…I am…Yagyuu Kyubei…' Her hand made contact. There was an awkward pause.
'Shiiit!'
'I've become Yagyuu Jyuubei*! The now male Kyubei's face distorted into a look between shocked horror…and constipation.
XX
A pole of unknown origin to Kyubei has grown!
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Alright this is my first tumble into the Gintama section of fanfiction. It's a fun and crazy manga/anime, but not something I could keep up with in terms of writing. I love the characters though. They are fun to watch.
Anyway the asterisk I put next to the Jyuubei, is because in Japanese Jyuu literally means ten. Kyuu means nine. So there is a joke in there somewhere. It's pretty easy to spot and funny as hell when you do.
I hope you enjoy. Again none of this is mine, I was just tired of the translations, so I wanted to see if I could do a better job of it here.