AN: I have several things I'd like to mention about this fic, even though I know you'd just want to read but I need you to read them first to prevent confusion with the story later on.

Firstly, this is pure AU (I'm a huge sucker for AUs) and in this AU, Kagura's mother is alive and healthy. Since she doesn't have a name canonically, I decided to name her Ogetsu. Ogetsu doesn't sound very pretty, but since Umibozu and Kagura are based on Japanese mythology, I decided to go with it as well. For those of you who do not know, Kagura is based on Kaguya-hime and Umibozu on… well, Umibozu. Ogetsu is based on Ogetsuhime-no-kami, or Uke Mochi. Since nobody names their child Uke Mochi, I figured Ogetsu is the best I can do. Sorry if it sounds weird, but you'll have to accept it. And as to why I named her after that deity, it's because that deity is the goddess of food. Yay for research.

Next, my fic will be loosely based around Kaguya-hime's story (the tale of the bamboo cutter for those who are interested) and Edo. Because Kagura belongs to royalty, I modeled her family after the Imperial Family in Japan who, historically, are the ones that Mimawarigumi are in charge of. But this time, I'm going to put the Shinsengumi in charge of Kagura and I assume we are all OkiKagu fans here, so you know where I'm going, right? By the way, Shinsengumi is as per normal here.

Lastly, I made up tribes here and there to help with the story. Like I said, this is pure AU, and because I'm not informed enough on the other planets Gintama has to offer, I'm just going to make up my own. Goku Goku is the 'glub glub' sound, and the Hashi planet I will bring up later means Chopsticks. They are the Chopsticks tribe and they are great. I do not own Gintama though.

I put a lot of research into this, so much that my brain hurts. This is going to be the first OkiKagu fic that I am actually so serious about. I can only hope for the best on where it goes. Anywho, I'm sorry if I bored you with so many points. I'll place my ANs on top only when I have things I need you to take note of. If you are confused by the story, it'll make sense from the next chapter onwards. Bear with me.

I hope you like it!


"The Princess is arriving!" The two rows of soldiers shout out in unison.

Soon, white four-eyed stallions trot by the line of servants, carrying along a red carriage. As a form of respect, the Yato men go down on one knee with their heads slightly bowed. The horses come to a stop in front of the Imperial Palace not long after, and one of the soldiers stumbles out of the line hurriedly to open the carriage door.

"P-Princess…!" He greets nervously. His voice wavers like a man on his first day at work.

Seconds later, a young lady jumps down the carriage and lands on the carpeted floor. Looking up, she throws a cheerful wave at the young guard.

"Yo!" She says with a grin on her face. The young man takes a step back, blushing. He looks around at the rows of men that are still knelt down, and they seem unfazed by the Princess' behavior. Unlike him, the veterans are used to the Princess' chirpiness.

He didn't expect the Princess to be acting like this – she would be a more refined figure in his imagination. But then again, her beauty surpasses his expectations. The long, vermillion pigtails resting on her shoulders give off a shine under the light of the moon like rumors say, and the white qipao she wears today befits the royal image with its intricate designs. Although she does not give off the impression of a Princess in terms of behavior, her appearance shows that she is a blooming one.

Princess Kagura walks down the path to the Imperial Palace, an eager gleam in her azure eyes. The skies are looking good, with stars visible in the dark skies. It always rains on their planet, so the Yato are excited when it doesn't – they take it as a good sign.

She is in a good mood today. Her birthday is going well so far, with no raining skies and cute soldiers opening the door for her. And now, she gets to wear a her mummy's old qipao to celebrate her eighteenth birthday.

"Rise, my men." She tells them gently. They comply quickly, and she has to admit that she is still overwhelmed by their show of respect at times. She doesn't feel like a Princess at all, but they always make her feel like one.


In the centre of the grand hall, a middle-aged and bald man stands and starts on the birthday speech. Umibozu, the Emperor and father of Kagura, continues his speech like he does on the every other birthdays of his daughter, congratulating her and wishing her well.

Kagura sits by the table surrounded with important people, frowning. Even though she's taught that it's bad manners, she plants an elbow on the table and cups her cheek with a hand. Clearly, she is bored. Papi does that speech thing every birthday, and she would be lying if she said she wasn't sick of it already. He likes to stick to tradition and unlike her, does not like to do things he has never done before. He is a person by routine, which to her makes a boring person. How does he stand living like that, she wonders, no wonder Mummy is sick of all his naggings too.

The grand hall, that is flamboyantly decorated, currently houses hundreds of guests who have arrived to celebrate Kagura's birthday. It bustles with laughter from the merrymaking amongst guests and all is well. They all seem awfully chatty today, including the important guests sitting all around her. From what she's heard, they're supposed to be knights who have served the planet for a long time or royalties from neighboring planets. They are all trying to engage her into conversation, to her disdain.

Out of all of them, she finds the prince sitting on her left the most irritating one. Apparently, he is the Prince of Goku Goku Planet, which figures why he has fins attached to the sides of his blue head. Prince GG keeps trying to keep a conversation with her - he asks her things she really couldn't give a shit about, ranging from the weather (it is always the same here on their bloody planet) to how does she feel about her birthday (as of now, she is really bored, thanks for asking). She knows that as a princess, she's supposed to show respect, but frankly she doesn't feel like doing that at the moment. Kagura is concerned with other things, like the things she's supposed to have at a birthday party. (And the things don't include boring guests.)

Where are her presents? Her royal birthday treatment? For a second she thinks maybe Papi's forgotten that eighteen is the important age in the Yato's life. It is the age she is supposed to be given the freedom to go wherever she wants to! Papi said so himself, from the stories he told her about his alien hunting during his days as a free-roaming prince. It is the Imperial Family's tradition to be able to let their children wander freely at the age of eighteen for two years. The two years would help them in their soul searching, or to improve their capabilities as a ruler. That is the reason why her stupid brother isn't present today – he is away on a trip to improve his fighting capabilities.

"Can everyone just shut the hell up already. It's making my head hurt." Kagura mutters under her breath. Prince GG gets the hint and finally is silent for once. Beside her, her mother nudges her while hiding her smile.

"Kagura-chan, listen to your father when he speaks." She says demurely. Ogetsu is the only person whom Kagura ever listens to in the family. Papi's an idiot like her brother, and the Empress neutralizes all the idiocy by holding the reins. Kagura's glad she got most of the genes from her mother.

"On the wonderful occasion of my daughter's birthday, I'd also like to point out a few things." The Yato's ears perk up and she turns to face her father, who has a rueful expression on as he says his words. His expression looks like a face a father would have towards his child who is about to move out of the house, which makes the princess smirk. About damn time.

"At the age of eighteen, my dear daughter, Kagura, will be granted the freedom to leave her home behind to improve on herself as well. She will be given the opportunity to explore the outside world like the Imperial tradition says and as her father, I wish nothing more than to have her back safe and sound." Umibozu looks at Kagura this time, with an almost teary smile. "Let us dedicate a toast to her and to all the things she will face on her journey. Papi loves you, Kagura. You've grown up now and it's time to spread your wings."

The clinking of glasses resounds throughout the hall and Kagura feels her eyes almost tearing up too. She stands up as well, and holds up her cup to toast to Prince GG beside her (who is understandably, surprised) and laughs.

"Stupid Papi, there's nothing to worry about!"


After the toast, cake-cutting and dinner, Kagura finds herself back in her room again. Her room is undoubtedly girly and pink, with stuffed rabbits scattered all over the room. This is because Papi told her she couldn't keep pets anymore in the Imperial Palace (he lied to her to save space in the garden with all the pets she buried there) and because she sulked for the next few days after he told her that, he bought her all the stuffed rabbits as an act of apology. The rabbit plushies aren't alive, but they are soft to hug and great sleeping companions for her. She'll miss them, along with the huge and fluffy pink bed that's big enough to accommodate a king. There are a lot of things she'll miss after she leaves.

A huge suitcase sits on the side of her bed, opened and empty. After a soothing bath, her damp hair is let down and sticks on to the back of her pajamas. She rummages through the closet beside her vanity table, quickly skimming through the different outfits she wants to bring with her. Holding out a nice, red qipao with patterns of mighty dragons embroidered in yellow, she holds it to her and looks at herself in the mirror.

"It's one of my favourites… maybe I'll wear this tomorrow." She gives a nod and tosses the dress on the bed. Of course, she has to remember to wear her leather gloves Papi gave her for her sixteenth birthday. He says they prevent her knuckles from getting bruised which would help considering how much Yatos fight. Ah, there are her knee-high boots, though which one? She turns her head to look at a rack full of them and tilts her head. Kagura feels like a proper lady now as she fusses over them - ever since she had to buy her first bra she realized that she started to care more about the way that she dressed. She owes it to the counselor too, who emphasizes on a princess' image. Dressing up is part of duty too, she learns.

Kagura playfully sticks her tongue out at her reflection. Being a princess isn't fun at all.

There is a knock on the door. The Yato looks over her shoulder and at the wooden door that is painted pink as well to fit in with the interior of the room.

"Come in," she says.

Ogetsu's head pokes through the open door, her azure eyes looking at her daughter with curiosity. Kagura drops the boot she is holding and runs over to greet her mother with a bright smile, which she returns just as warmly.

Noticing the suitcase lying on her bed, the empress chuckles. "Excited?"

"Yeah! I'm going to miss Mummy."

"Oh?" She has an amused expression on her face. "What about your Papi?"

"I'll miss him too." She says dismissively.

Ogetsu laughs in response – they both know how Umibozu will flip out on his daughter's reaction towards him. As she looks at Kagura, she feels her heart slightly twinge.

Kagura is an exact identical to her mother. Though Ogetsu is ladylike, they share the same features: vermillion hair and cerulean eyes. The empress can see her younger self in her daughters' eyes. She remembers being young, wild and a huge tomboy around her age.

"You look just like your brother when he's excited." She gingerly tucks a strand of hair behind Kagura's ear.

At the mention of Kamui, Kagura scowls. It's not as if she is anticipating for Kamui to come home anytime soon, but that stupid brother could at least write her a happy birthday post-card! Hell, he could even write back home to tell them what he's doing. It's been a few years and he still hasn't returned.

"Big brother, excited?" Kagura snorted. "The only thing I can imagine him being excited about is fighting."

Which is true. Her brother is a huge fighting maniac and the only one who cares about fighting in the family. Her Papi used to too - a lot - until he decided to settle down. He's hunted a lot of aliens and fought off a lot of villains in all the bedtime stories he reads to Kagura and Kamui when they were younger. Kamui might have been inspired by his story somewhere along the lines and decided to focus on fighting. Not that the Yatos ever stopped being a bloodthirsty race, it was just that when Umibozu took over, he helped to unite the race. Kagura still sees them sparring all over the place but they're not after each others' necks like they did in the past – just breaking a few limbs for some good fun.

"He gets excited when it comes to family outings too, even if he doesn't show it."

"Well, if he really cares about us, he could've at least sent me a present or something! And he hasn't come back since he left. He might be dead, mummy."

"He could be busy. That's silly. Your brother is really strong; he'll be able to hold out his own. Now, enough talk about him, I came in to talk to you," Kagura shifts a little. "I really do hope you'll find yourself and come home quick."

"Mummy, I haven't even left!" The princess giggles. "But I promise, I will come back as soon as I can."

"I'm happy to hear that." Giving her a peck on the head, Ogetsu walks to the door and gives her daughter one last look. "Are you sure you don't need a guardian?" She asks, worried.

"I can take good care of myself! Good night, mummy." Kagura gives her an angelic smile, and bounces off to find her goggles when the door closes.


It is 2 o'clock in the morning, an hour before her flight departs.

Dressed in the red qipao that she picked out the night before, Kagura stands in the huge hallway of the only airport that's present on their planet. She didn't bring her luggage with her - her sense of adventure tells her at the last minute that she wants to leave home empty handed, so she'll go on her journey without any help. Also, she realizes that it is a pain in the ass to drag the clothes and stuff all the way down to Hashi planet, so she'll just go down in her outfit. The sense of adventure she has might just be an excuse for plain laziness.

Hashi planet is a few hours away from the Yato's one, but she doesn't mind sitting through the flight since it is worth the wait. She has already read up about all the cuisine they have on their planet. The Hashi tribe is known for their amazing cooking skills, which are featured all over in magazines and cook books. Kagura herself has seen the Hashi on shows that she cannot mention due to censorship, but the three chopsticks that are on the Adult Hashi's head are distinct and easily recognizable. According to the history lessons she took when she was homeschooled, the length of the chopsticks vary with their cooking skills. That's why a lot of them are so good in cooking – they polish their skills for longer chopsticks. That is also why the door ways are always so tall in Hashi architecture.

She's definitely stoked to leave home, even though she almost cried when she kissed her parents goodbye earlier in the morning. There are so many kinds of food she wants to sink her teeth into on the Hashi planet. The thought of it makes her drool already.

Finding a spot to sit down, her eyes dart to the huge clock that hangs on the glass walls of the airport. Another forty-five more minutes until she can go on board.

"Damn. Should've taken the family spaceship." She grumbles.

Just like her 'sense of adventure' advised her not to bring along her luggage, it told the maids that none of them needed to accompany her either. Now she sits in the airport with no bags and alone. It would have been better if there was a companion to talk with. Looking around, the airport is full of foreigners walking around in groups. None of them notices her though, except a few pairs of eyes that ogle at her beauty. That, Kagura obviously ignores while killing them in her head. It bothers her how little these foreigners know about the Yato's imperial family.

Holding up her nails to feign interest in them, a familiar tune plays from her pocket. Surprised, the Yato takes out her phone and stares intently at the name on screen. It's Papi.

"Hello?" There is heavy panting at the end of the other line, which makes Kagura wonder what could be so urgent.

"K-Kagura!" Umibozu's voice regains breath. "You haven't boarded the flight yet, right?!"

"Well, no…" The panic in his voice starts to worry his daughter as well. Kagura slowly stands up and speaks into her phone again. "Papi, what's wrong?"

"Good! Don't board it! I need you to come home right now!"

"Got it." Without hesitation, Kagura hangs up and looks at the clock again. Half an hour more to her flight. But there are more urgent things she has to attend to. The princess pushes the trip far behind her mind and starts running through the airport, her boots making 'cluck-cluck' sounds against the polished floor. In place of the trip, she now thinks about all the possible scenarios that could be happening at home, and it makes her run faster.

The door to a taxi opens violently and slams shut, causing the driver to look in the rear-view mirror with irritation. Only, his expression changes slowly when he realizes who is in his car.

"P-PRINCESS!"

"IMPERIAL PALACE, NOW!" Kagura shouts frantically, which makes the older Yato step on the accelerating pedal. He wants to ask questions, but the princess looks way too strung up and uptight for him to do so. Having driven so many passengers for so long, the driver has long grown to read the atmosphere. So the only thing he can do is send her where she wants without saying a word, but then another more important question comes to his mind.

Does she even have money on her?


"PAPI! What's…?" Kagura bursts through the doors to the Imperial Palace, but her voice falters at the sight of Umibozu seated with another person in the living hall. The man has an odd hairstyle, if she can add. Both of them hold a tea cup in their hands and she swears her father looked so peaceful the phone call seems like a hallucination.

Umibozu, upon seeing Kagura, sets the tea down and beckons to her.

"Great General, this is my daughter, Kagura." The distraught princess regards the Shogun with a blank expression.

"What's going on?" She wants to say, but he interrupts her.

"Kagura, this is the Shogun of Edo, Tokugawa Shige Shige. He's from Earth." The Shogun looks up from his tea and gives her a polite nod. "The Shogun and I are having a wonderful time talking and having tea. Do you want some, Kagura?"

What?

Kagura, who is annoyed at this point, grabs her old man by the collar. "Papi, nothing's wrong!"

"Of course nothing's wrong. Why did you think something was wrong?"

"WELL," She loses all patience by this point. "YOU CALLED ME TO COME BACK HOME IN AN ANXIOUS TONE! HOW THE HELL CAN YOU JUST INVITE ME BACK HOME FOR A STUPID TEA PARTY? Go to hell!"

Umibozu holds his hands up in front of him and panics. "K-Kagura? Please calm down!" Maids step forward to attempt to help, but they're stopped by the princess' glare.

"Please calm down, princess." The Shogun decides to speak up, which makes both father and daughter turn to him. "Your father is a pleasant man to work with, and I've managed to form an alliance with him. It is a great help to have relations between the Yato and my men back on Earth, and in order to improve our relations I asked for his permission to have the aid of his beautiful daughter."

At the word 'beautiful', Kagura lets go of Umibozu's collar and slowly sits down on the couch. Her face is crossed between a faint blush and a scowl, and she feels her anger simmering. She's an easy person to please. Her father throws the Shogun a thankful glance and gives Kagura a candid smile.

"That's right. I didn't want to give away my precious Kagura at first, but your mother and I have decided to send you to Earth instead. I'm sorry about the trip to Hashi, but we'll have to postpone that." Leaning in closer to her, he whispers. "There are more important things you have to do for the family right now."

Kagura's eyebrow twitches, but she doesn't shout this time. Instead, she says in an exasperated tone.

"I don't understand what the hell you're trying to say! What aid and what about giving me away? Tell me what's going on!"

Umibozu hesitates, before looking at Kagura in the eyes. His expression is dead serious – it reminds her of the face he has at all the meetings, the kind of face he'd put up to show how serious he is. This makes the Yato cringe. She doesn't know why he has that face on, but it gives her a bad feeling—

"I'm saying that you're going to be sent to Earth, and you have to marry one of the royalties there, Kagura."