Hello again, readers. I'm also going to write this fic in another way that Sorachi would write the subtle romance: everybody already has an idea except the pair (like in the manga, with Katsura and Ikumatsu). This might be a subtle romance in the perspective of everybody else.

RECAP: Remember the nephew of Shigeshige? I believe he's the one who owns the Jugem monkey. Tokugawa Mori Mori.

DISCLAIMER: Gintama aint mine.

(Imagine that Shige Shige is still alive and in power and imagine the characters are older.)

CHAPTER 1

Mori Mori had woken up earlier today. He was guessing it was about five-thirty in the morning and the sun was just barely shining. He got out of his futon, without putting it away, and peeped outside of his sliding door.

There was no one outside. It was the perfect timing, he thought. The Shinsengumi police officers were supposed to arrive today to guard this part of the Tokugawa family. He didn't know why but his guardian had told him the other day so he could prepare. He didn't see any need for protection unless there was any threat but he thought that maybe they were overreacting.

On the day of the news, his aunt, Princess Soyo, who was around his age, paid him a visit. Mori Mori and Soyo didn't have much friends because they were high-born. They were not allowed to mingle with common people in fear of their safety. It was because of this that they were close, the only friendship that their guardians had approved of.

Soyo had mentioned, one time, about meeting people outside their house when she was younger. She had described her "new friends" as kind and spontaneous people who had made her laugh more times than the years she had laughed or smiled inside their home. Of course the boy found it odd that she had met outsiders but the princess explained that she had snuck out of the house to experience the city.

And that's what he was planning to do today. Before his freedom is fully taken from him, he would seize this moment, just like his aunt. He had dressed himself in plain clothes, as not to attract any attention outside, and headed out of his room. He tiptoed, outside until he had reached the greener part of their compound, where the main gate was located.

He directly headed for the bushes on the farther, right side of the gate. He stayed there, hiding, for a couple of hours. He was waiting for the Shinsengumi. He needed them inside the compound before heading out, making sure he wouldn't bump into any of them while going into the city. When they had arrived, all of them inside, he immediately climbed up the wall.

He was already far, but his house was still in sight, when he heard the many voices of men from the compound, probably already trying to find him.

/

Mori Mori, hid himself in an alley next to a convenience store. He was hiding near some of the garbage cans, a situation he was obviously not used to. He started to doubt his course of actions when people who saw him started to think he was a perverted maniac. He straightened his clothes and decided to go into the store to buy his breakfast.

The things that were sold there weren't, he thought, half as good as the food he had at home. Well, a price to pay for what he was doing. He just took a bottle of water and a random bento his hand first touched. When he got to the counter, he suddenly remembered that he didn't bring any money with him.

He cursed himself, inwardly. He thought that if he brought money, his loose change would make noise while he was sneaking out. Now he learned his lesson when to bring and not bring money. He was sweating buckets when he noticed the annoyed expression of the cashier, who was expecting him to hand the money already. He started to explain how he didn't have money and that he would just put it back when someone from behind him placed packs of sukonbu on the counter and money that was more than what should be the price of what she was buying.

"You're holding up the line. If you're not going to pay for that, I will." She said.

Mori Mori was certain his heart skipped a beat or two. The girl had the fairest skin he had ever seen. She was wearing an unusual type of clothing which gave him the impression that she was foreign. Her long, vermillion hair made him gulp. She was really pretty, he thought. This was a very unfamiliar feeling and when he clasped his hand against his chest, the girl noticed.

"Don't get me wrong. I didn't pay this for you. This is for me. Sukonbu isn't enough to feed a woman."

With that, she took the plastic bag. A tsunderie. When she went out of the store, Mori Mori followed her. He didn't know why, but he had to start somewhere. Maybe following the girl may help him "experience the city", as Soyo had put it. They reached a park bench under a tree where a ridiculously giant dog was waiting.

"Oh, you're still here?" she said, not coldly, but with curiosity.

He fumbled for words. "Oh, um, well, I'm new in the city." He started. "I heard from my aunt that Edo is very interesting. I thought you were, so I followed you."

A normal girl would blush when a guy would call her "interesting", but she didn't. Instead she gave him a playful grin and pointed to herself.

"I'm Kagura, this is Sadaharu. What's your name?"

"Oh. Mori Mori."

Kagura petted Sadaharu and just smiled, but not at him. "Mori Mori? It's like 'Shige Shige'! Your parents must idolize the Shogun so much to name you like him, huh." Mori Mori just casually agreed. He remembered that if people found out his family name, it could mean trouble.

"If you're new here, I'll show you around. I know the Kabuki district like the back of my hand." She pointed to the back of her left hand and he just had to laugh. This must be what having real friends are. It was nice. Now he knew what Soyo had felt when she snuck out of their house. It made his heart race.

Kagura kept on talking about the places she had been in Edo and how fun it would be for him. He had mentioned that he wasn't allowed to go outside of his house and that this was all very new for him. She continued talking. At first he was listening, but he found himself drowning out her noise and just staring at her. Unconsciously, he smiled. But their moment was cutoff when a man clad in black suddenly came out of nowhere and kicked her head, removing Kagura from the bench.

"You bastard! What was that for?" she shouted.

The sandy-haired guy gave her an emotionless expression and looked at Mori Mori. "China, don't you know it's illegal to kidnap people? You've done it twice now. What do you have against the Shogun's relatives, huh? We might really have to arrest you now."

She argued that she didn't know what he was talking about and she wasn't kidnapping anyone. Mori Mori started to sweat when he realized that this man was a Shinsengumi officer. Then he started to panic when Kagura had dealt the first blow by swinging her foot to kick him. It was true that if they find out he was a Tokugawa, trouble would soon follow.

"Give it up, China. Just hand the boy back before the family presses any charges." Sougo said.

The boy felt afraid that Kagura would let him go. But to his surprise, she held his wrist and started to run. The white dog immediately followed after trampling the officer.

"I can't. This boy needs to see the city first." She said.

Mori Mori's line of vision was filled with her vermillion hair and her red cheongsam. Her grip was tight, not that he wanted her to loosen it. He didn't. For the first time in many years, he had felt the excitement that the other children must have felt years ago. And for the first time, Mori Mori was fairly certain he was in love.

END

I know it should be an OkiKagu thing but like I said, it's everybody else's perspective and I really had to use someone who's going to have a crush on Kagura. I'll develop it in the succeeding chapters so please sit tight. Reviews and suggestions are much appreciated. THANK YOU