When Kamui Becomes Kawaii
by Rei-chu Asakura
#Kamuintroduction!#
Kamui: *smiling so much for some reason* First of all, I'd like to thank everyone who has read this fic, especially you who are reading it right now. If I could only show you my gratitude, I would, but I don't know who you are XD mind sending me a review so I can know your name? *hears something from the crew who were shooting/recording this* Oh, did I sound so review-craving? Sorry. *chuckles* As I was saying, those who reviewed last chapter were rewarded. *winks* But it hurts me that only a few reviews were sent for chapter 2, so those who didn't send me some feedback, *sinister smile* I hope you're prepared to-
Me: Domestic Violence! *throws Kamui forward with a flying kick* Don't threaten them, bakaaaa!
Kamui: *gets up and dusts himself* As I was saying, I hope you're-
Me: *hits him on the head* I told you, don't scare them!
Kamui: *teary puppy eyes* I just- I just wanted to say 'I hope you're gonna give me a review after this chappy.' I'm not threatening them; I love them.
Me: Oh. Sorry, just uh- *rubs his back to calm him down* Don't cry, we'll- *looks around for a solution* I don't know what to do... *confused and nervous* IdontownGintamaandImadethisguycryyyy! *runs away* andIhopeyouenjoythischapterrrrr!
Kamui: *smiles again like nothing happened* As I was saying, if you don't submit a review, I'll come out of the screen and kill you. But if you give me a review, I'll come out of the screen and uh, -my hugs didn't sell much last time so- I'll give you some food. So whatever you do, I'll come out of the screen; ain't that creepy? *grins*
Me: *comes back and drags him away by his braid* Start the chapter already!
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Chapter 3: If You're Going to be Cheerful, Be Cheerful Until the End
After the mighty rice cooker was toppled and four sets of digestive system were satisfied, the Yorozuya trio proceeded to cleaning up the table. Well, it wasn't actually 'trio' because the ever-lazy samurai, who thinks he had his fair share of household task by cooking the meal, already plopped down on his boss' chair and even had his feet resting on top of his desk. It didn't take long before the latest issue of Shounen Jump made it's way onto his hands and that signified the start of his lazy afternoon jobless routine.
The younger members didn't complain as they knew they had to input some effort as well to keep the Yorozuya house in proper shape. Moreover, cleaning seemed so little a task because there was someone else who was offering them assistance - their amnesiac guest.
"Ah, Kamui-san, you don't have to help," Shinpachi said, taking the drinking glasses that the orange-haired lad was holding. Being the polite one, he couldn't help but smile sheepishly in this kind of situation. "You're our guest; leave the chores to us."
"Iya, I'm gonna be living here now so I should help out," Kamui calmly insisted, picking up the chopsticks on the table. He then smiled at the bespectacled teen and stated, "You can consider me as the temporary fourth member of-" He paused as if he forgot something and brought out a calling card from his pocket. He continued by reading what was written on the card Gintoki gave him when they were eating earlier, "Of Yorozuya Gin-chan." And one of his sincerest grins was flashed the next instant.
"Well..."
"Pattsuan, let him be," Gintoki entered, cutting Shinpachi's reply. "Kids grow up into respectable adults by doing household chores. You should give him a chance to be one," he unenthusiastically explained while picking his right ear with a finger, his eyes not leaving page 54 for even a second.
"Gintoki Danna approves~" Kamui's voice was honestly showing delight.
"That's too long. 'Gin-san' is fine," muttered the silver-haired man, still looking uninterested.
"Mm." The lad nodded in response. His attention quickly shifted to the girl across him. Without wasting any moment, he offered to take the bowls she has piled up, holding them before he could even ask for her permission to take them. "Imouto, I'll carry these for you," he said, showing her his best smile.
Partially taken aback, she had to stare at his face absent-mindedly before she turned away from him and from everything on the table. "Shinpachi! Wash the dishes properly." That said, she went out of the room, leaving Kamui and Shinpachi confused.
"Is there something wrong?" the Yato lad wondered.
"I suppose there is," the bespectacled samurai muttered in disbelief, "She ordered me without any trash talk."
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Some time later, when the dishes were washed, Kagura found Shinpachi in the kitchen, preparing tea.
"Ah, Kagura-chan, where have you been?" he greeted as he poured hot water into the teapot.
"Do I have report to you whenever I brush my teeth and I go outside to breathe some fresh air? Stupid Megane, tch," was the answer she gave. It was harsh but at least she was back to normal, or so he thought.
"Why don't you join us for a cup of tea? We have some senbei from Otose-san as well." He raised the pack of rice crackers for her to see.
"Granny sure is nice today, eh?" she commented semi-nonchalantly as she approached him.
He chuckled. "Otose-san just doesn't show it much but-" His words were put to a stop at the same time a hand stopped him from putting tea leaves in the tea pot. "Huh? What's the matter?" he asked the owner of that hand.
"That guy," she started in a low voice, "He likes very light tea." She turned her face away from Shinpachi as she continued, sounding embarrassed, "Don't put a lot of tea leaves in there."
Surprised for a second, he then let a smile decorate his face. "You sure know how to take care of him, eh?" he teased only to be punched right away on the stomach. He complained while coughing, but she didn't say anything. She only sat on the kitchen counter stool and played with the condiments that now seemed interesting for her.
Sighing, Shinpachi told her, "Just come join us when you get bored with that," before he left the kitchen with the tray of tea and snack. He was worried about her but he knew she wouldn't like it if he would insist that she spill the beans to him. He decided to just follow Gin's advice to let her be, for now.
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A few minutes later, the three guys found Kagura quietly making her way into the living room. Apparently, she wasn't able to resist the senbei's temptation, so she sat beside Shinpachi and grabbed a piece of the snack for herself.
On the other hand, upon sight of her, Kamui's eyes lit up, and she noticed that. As soon as she made it to her seat across him, he leaned onto the table and even cocked his head to get a better view of her face that she was hiding down. "Ano, Imouto-chan, thanks for this idea." He pointed to his bandages. "I feel a lot better now. We do heal up fast." He chuckled, but the smile on his face disappeared eventually because Kagura purposely looked to her right -away from him.
Unfortunately for her, she looked to Gin's direction. He was still on his desk, munching on a rice cracker and holding his manga, but at that instant, he was looking at her. The unmotivated expression he wore was not something unusual but it made her feel uncomfortable so she quickly looked away from him as well.
She stared at the cup of tea that Shinpachi poured for her, instead. She envied how the liquid settled down and emitted a peaceful air to its immediate surroundings - the complete opposite of how her mind was rambling useless ideas to her. Up to now, she didn't know how she should react to Kamui. Should she just act amnesiac too and forget the past and start a nicer relationship with her brother? Or would it be better not to ride on with his goody-good temporary personality? Afterall, Yato clansmen heal ten times as fast as normal so his memories and his screwed attitude might come back any moment.
"Imouto..." she heard him mumble dejectedly. She tried but it was hard for her to simply ignore him. From the glances that she stole, she figured he was hurt, and his weak voice even supported that. Good thing, though, that he didn't push further and just silently ate his snack and drank his tea. Kagura thanked the gods for this. At least the pressure for her to respond to him was lightening up.
However, it was the other two in the area who were feeling the pressure of the silence. Shinpachi and Gintoki were both mentally ordering each other to break the ice and ease up the atmosphere, but nothing was happening. They didn't know if the other was just really out of ideas or they just didn't have telepathic abilities that they thought they had at some point in the past.
To their relief, Kamui stood up and bowed once after placing his empty cup on the tray. "Thanks for the snack. I really liked the tea; it was light and soothing." The startled Shinpachi only managed a nod and an uncertain smile. He wanted to tell him that the credits for the tea belong to Kagura, that's why his head instinctively moved to her direction without looking away from the young man who was thanking him. Miraculously, the braided lad seemed to have gotten the message because a special kind of smile quickly made its way onto his lips and his azure eyes sparkled with glee again upon looking at his sister.
The alien boy then made his way towards the door. "I hope you have a spare toothbrush." His thumb hiked towards outside as he grined. "I'm going to make myself at home; pardon my intrusion~" With that, he left the room and granted Kagura some form of temporary relief.
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Now too relaxed for her own good, Kagura ended up falling asleep on the sofa within a few minutes after her brother left. Shinpachi felt glad for the girl who was carelessly lying on her stomach. She must've been so exhausted due to whatever it was that has been bothering her. Speaking of which, now he had the chance to ask Gin about it, and so he did.
"Gin-san," he called the older samurai's attention.
"Hm?"
"I'm worried about Kagura-chan," he stated his point right away. "Why does she act that way towards her brother? She makes it seem like she doesn't want him to be here, yet she takes care of him in different ways she knows of. She even brought him here to begin with."
Hearing these, Gintoki realized that Glasses-boy, despite his responsible character, was still young and innocent about certain things in life. Feeling cool and proud of his understanding abilities, Gin tried to enlighten the young one. "Shinpachi," he started with an almighty adult voice. He dropped his Jump onto the desk and propped up his chin with his clasped-together fingers, his elbows resting on the desk surface. "As you may have noticed, there are different kinds of siblings in this world- or universe. For instance, there's you and Otae. You two have a good relationship, growing together and surviving through life's challenges together. Both of you kinda have a complex for each other, though."
"Hey!" Shinpachi couldn't help but react to that.
"There's also Ane and Mone, remember them? The uh, Sadaharu sisters." He continued when Shinpachi nodded, "They seem to be really different from each other - one's stupid and one's kinda ill-tempered or something. I can't actually remember them well now. Anyway, despite the differences, they can work together to accomplish their goal."
Finding the cool professor pose impractical, Gin shifted into a more comfortable position before he continued, "Then, there's the Okita siblings. Oh, you didn't meet Mitsuba-san, I forgot. But the point is, they cared for each other a lot and they always tried to do and choose what's best for the other. There came a time when they had to be separated before, but their good relationship didn't change a bit."
He then scratched his head. "Likewise, these Yato kids are a different sibling case." He leaned back on his semi-reclining chair as he continued, "We don't know much about their relationship, just the few main events that happened in their lives. But somehow, she has lived for quite a while hating that guy who, in turn, doesn't seem to care much about her. That said, we can't expect her to be alright and friendly with him in an instant, right? Though, we can't be so sure about that; there are kids who are good in hiding their true feelings and there are kids who forget their true feelings after hiding them for so long. Like what that baldy old man said, despite bad-mouthing her brother, deep down, she cares for him, and we saw that today. She's probably just confused on what to do, on how to feel. Bottom line, just let them be."
"What the- You explained that long but in the end that's your solution?!" Shinpachi complained. "Don't tell me this is just because you're too lazy to meddle with them!"
"Calm down, Pattsuan." Gin's tone and voice were practicing what he was preaching. "It's better for them to figure out things on their own. That's how kids turn into great adults. This amnesia thing, it could possibly do them good... or not. I don't know, really." He turned his seat to the other direction and caught sight of the sleeping Kagura. That moment, she looked so innocent, so fragile. 'I just hope she doesn't get hurt in the end...'
"Ah, you're confused too, you know!" Shinpachi exclaimed. "I thought for once, you were speaking like an adult, but turns out you're unsure yourself!"
Gintoki revived his playful side to lighten up the mood. "I'm a boy at heart; what can I do?" Chuckling, he grabbed the Shounen Jump and went back to his afternoon routine.
Shinpachi was about to scold him more when Kamui entered the room and caught their attention. The same smile greeted them, but this time he had his long vermillion hair loose and wet. As he dried it with the towel draped across his shoulders, he told them, "My head felt like a ketchup stew so I washed it. I borrowed this, okay?" He gestured towards the towel.
"It's fine, right, Gin-san?" Shinpachi looked at the older man only to receive a single no-glance nod. "You could've even taken a shower if you wanted, Kamui-san" Megane added.
"Nah, I haven't borrowed a change of clothes. I didn't want to greet you all half-naked, especially my younger sister." He laughed.
"Just don't end up ruining the house, kiddo." They were surprised that Gintoki bothered to say that while he was busy reading, though it was a repeat of something he has said before. Seems like he was serious about not wanting the house to be wrecked, knowing that these were Yato people he was dealing with.
Kamui grinned in response, "Of course. This'll be my house too." He then looked around, searching for a certain redhead like him while tying his hair into a braid in an incredible speed. "Ari?" He was surprised to see her sprawled on the sofa, and he couldn't believe how he didn't notice her right away.
"Don't mind her, that's her hobby," Gin was kind enough to explain despite being busy.
"Sleeping after eating?" the lad asked, amused as he approached the girl.
"Uh-huh."
"Really? How cute!" The next second, he was sitting on his toes on the floor beside his sister. He was lucky enough that her face was turned to him, so he had the privilege to gaze at her. Finding her sleeping form one of the cutest things he could possibly see, he kept smiling like he had a world of his own.
Gintoki chuckled shortly at the guy's apparent childishness and warned, "Be careful, she sleep-punches." Kamui just laughed at it. Shinpachi on the other hand, smiled, imagining how Kagura would react when she sees her brother like this.
"Ano, Shinpachi-senpai," Kamui called all of a sudden. He stood up as he continued, grinning to make his request more approvable. "Could you lend me a blanket?"
It didn't take long for Shinpachi to understand, and in no time, he was back with a blanket being offered to the Yato lad. "Please just call me Shinpachi, Kamui-san," he requested in return as the redhead covered his sister's back with the blanket. "I'm no senpai for you, and besides, you're older and no-doubt stronger than I am." He smiled sheepishly, a hand behind his head.
"Ah, alright then, Shinpachi-kun." Kamui smiled at him. "Thanks for this." He gestured towards the blanket. Afterwards, he went back to his position beside her and resumed the sister-gazing he was doing earlier. He even had his hands cupping his chin in a cute manner. Seeing this, Gintoki and Shinpachi concluded that even a guy who once attacked his sister could be so fond of her like this all because of the thing called amnesia. The world has a lot of mysteries, indeed.
"You know," the orange-haired lad broke the silence again. This time though, the childish grin was not there, only a regretful sort of smile. "For some reason, I feel drawn to her... but she doesn't seem to be okay with me. I wish I knew why so I can do something about it."
"A tree can grow tall without the need for it to analyze the soil beneath it," said Gintoki, which earned him a rather astonished look from the two.
"Hm... You're right." And Kamui's grin was back in place. From the way his expression changed, anyone can tell that his hopes were refreshed.
However, Gin wasn't one to go with drama. "I was just reading aloud something from here," he said, pointing to his Jump.
"Oh." Kamui laughed. "Thanks still. I'll remember that."
"Try to remember yourself first," Gintoki nonchalantly followed, which only made Kamui laugh again.
Shinpachi, meanwhile, just smiled at the conversation as he went back to the cabinet he was cleaning earlier this morning. He didn't know if Gin's words were really from the manga -sometimes he can say cool lines and impart a good lesson to others, sometimes he's just a useless bum who's just lucky- but those words were enough to cheer up the amnesiac lad so he was happy for him.
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Later on, Kagura woke up. Raising her head, she wiped the traces of saliva from her cheek and then rubbed her eyes. As if she has just remembered something important, she perked up into a seating position and looked around, immediately finding the other redhead she was looking for.
"You two are siblings indeed," she heard Gintoki's voice muffled by the manga he was still reading. He was referring to the fact that her big brother was also asleep on the other sofa. The only difference was that Kamui was lying on his back, his legs were not sprawled and his arms were on his stomach and on his eyes. In short, he slept more decently than her.
A small smile made its way onto her lips as she watched his gentle breathing. She didn't expect that he would unconsciously retain that sleeping habit despite his amnesia. She could still clearly remember how that covering-his-face became his personal requirement when sleeping because she was the one who actually caused it.
Back then when they were young, he would always sleep later than her and wake up earlier than her as part of his big brother role. At night, she would ask him to watch her and tell her bedtime stories till she falls asleep when their father wasn't there to do the job, and in the morning, he had to wake up earlier than her because he had chores, lessons and trainings to attend to. However, in the few times that she would catch him sleeping, she would playfully draw on his face with a permanent marker - one that would last even after three washes. Whiskers, moustache, beard, unibrow and her favorite, fake-eyes-on-eyelids would greet him when he sees himself on the mirror, but he would never get angry. Instead, he would get even by tickling her till she drops on the floor laughing. Their sick mother and traveling father had always made her sad so he wanted her to be happy even in the smallest ways possible. That, she has realized before. She knew how much he cared for her, that's why she was really devastated when he caused trouble and sparked the total break-up of their family.
Kagura had to blink a few times when she felt her eyes moisten because of those memories. She cleared her throat to make sure she wouldn't sound weird before she stood up and said, "Gin-chan, I'm going to buy sukonbu with Sadaharu."
"I heard that this morning," the young man replied. "Make sure you don't bring home a dead body this time, huh?" He smiled when she chuckled. "Shinpachi went out to buy dish washing soap. You're lucky if he also bought you sukonbu."
"I'm sure you only gave him enough money for a small pack of soap, you poor old man," she heartlessly replied as she gestured for Sadaharu to come. "I still have my sukonbu money here. If I feel like it, I'll buy you strawberry milk with the ketchup money so keep praying," she said before leaving with her big dog.
"Heh, that kid... Where did she inherit that heartless attitude, huh?" Gintoki muttered. "Hey, Orange boy! Don't you want to have a private talk with her?"
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Upon getting out of the house, Kagura took a stop by the balcony railings. She leaned on the wooden structure and gazed ahead at nothing in particular and Sadaharu nudged her lovingly as if he could understand how she was feeling.
"Do you think I'm being mean to him, Sadaharu?" she asked while stroking the white dog's head.
"Arf!" he barked and smiled, and she took it as a 'no'.
"He looked so happy when he found out I'm his sister," she said as she looked ahead again. "Does it really mean a lot to him to have a relative?" Sadaharu barked twice in response. "Well, it's probably normal for an amnesiac to be happy to find out he has a family but..." The dog nudged her again and she threw an arm around his head in return. "You know what, everytime he calls me 'imouto', my heart skips a beat for some reason. You think I'm going sick, Sadaharu?" As if replying to her stupid question, the dog bit her hand, making her smile sarcastically at him. "Let's just get some sukonbu, ne?"
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"... Don't you want to have a private talk with her?"
"May I?" Kamui asked as he sat up.
"Of course you may, idiot," Gintoki flatly answered.
"Well, she seems to hate me, and you just found me and you said I used to be a bad character, so..." Kamui kept his head angled down. "Are you sure you're just gonna let me go with her? You're not worried or anything?"
"Tss, you worry about details too much. If you're always like that, you can't be a main character even for a fan fic, Orange-kun!" Gin mocked before shifting on his seat to get a more comfortable reading position.
Hearing this, Kamui grinned and stood up right away. "I'll take that as a go signal, Toki-san." He looked like an excited child as he ran outside.
"Hey, I'd rather be called Mr. Silver than Mr. Time, you know!" the samurai complained to the just-closed door. "Geez, kids these days."
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"Kagura-chan!"
Kagura was walking down the wooden stairs with her umbrella flung on her shoulder when she heard her name being called. Her feet froze when the all too familiar lad caught up and stopped a few steps behind her. She didn't bother to look at him but she knew he was smiling -smiling and not knowing anything.
"Oh, sorry I called you so casually... if you didn't like it." He smiled sheepishly, rubbing his cheek out of shyness.
But she didn't say anything; neither did she glance his way. Mustering enough courage, she continued going down the stairs, only to stop when she noticed he was following her.
"Can I come with you?" he asked when they both stopped, and that line instantly reminded her of something from the past. They were even in a similar place and position so the particular scene flashed in her mind.
"You're really going away? You won't ever come back?" That time, her fear of getting permanently separated with the person who always makes her happy has led her to an impulsive, childish decision. "Can I come with you?" she asked him in the brink of tears when he was already walking down the stairs. She wanted to believe in him despite what just happened in the family. She wanted things to remain the same as before, even if it didn't seem possible.
He stopped so she hoped, but he turned slightly only to show her a smirk. "I have no use for weaklings," he told her straight, his tone certain and his confident smile not faltering. Then, he continued on his way down, no more words, no more glances, no more smiles. She only felt the rain fall heavier on her that her feet got stuck in place and her heart dropped at the same time her tears did.
Now, she had the chance to slap him with the same harsh words. She had the chance to get even, though she knew it was useless since he couldn't remember anything. But reviving a scene from the past could possibly trigger his memories and cure his amnesia. Possibly.
Still, she only managed a weak whisper, "I-I have..." It was impossible. "No use for..." She couldn't bring up her side that hates him. She couldn't hurt him when he's not the stuck-up and screwed Kamui she believed he has become - the one that news and rumors described to be going around seeking the strongest and killing people while smiling.
"What's that?" Still cheerful and unaware, he leaned his ear closer to her.
Sighing out all annoying thoughts, she decided to ignore him and went on ahead. He just shrugged and followed her, arms behind his head in a carefree manner.
"Why are you following me?" She managed to make her voice sound irritated.
"Hmm, do I need a reason to be with my sister?" But his new-found cheerfulness was beyond her expectation.
"Of course you do," she tried to counter.
"Then, I just want to be with you." But he was still clueless and grinning.
"I don't want you to be with me!" She realized it was kind of harsh, but at least it would make him stop and try to sense her atmosphere.
"I'm the persistent type. You can't do anything about it." He laughed and it made a vein pop on her head.
"Baka aniki. Always doing what you want," she muttered audibly, which made him laugh some more.
"Was I really that bad?" Because of the word 'aniki', the smile painted on his face now had a stroke of victory, unlike his earlier one which was just trying to be strong.
"Tsk, you have no idea."
He looked down as he chuckled, somehow ashamed of whatever he used to be. He was then taken by surprise when Kagura appeared on his side and shared her umbrella with him. "At least don't be reckless while you're being persistent. People of our race can't stand too much sunlight, you know."
A wide smile quickly formed on his lips. "Hai hai! I'll remember that." Then, he leaned closer to her and adjusted to her umbrella height.
She pushed him away but he kept his face only inches from her. He was almost leaning his head on her shoulder if she wasn't pushing it away. "Don't stick too close to me!"
He just laughed as he etched this new memory onto his empty slate. Whatever kind of person he had been before, he was determined to make his new self live a happy life with this person that was oddly special for him. From this day forward, wonderful memories will occupy that slate, he promised to himself.
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To be continued.
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#Kamuinologue#
Kamui: Ah, it's already morning~ *pulls his eyebags to show you* I'm hungry~ I'm tired~ Did you enjoy this chapter? Yes? *smiles weakly* No? *mutters something not allowed in * I hope it's a yes. *sighs* Aren't you pitying me? Come on, how about a review, huh? Tell me how you felt while reading, your favorite scenes or lines, your expectations, some suggestions or requests... What, do I have to promise a kiss in return? No, let's just save that for future chapters~ What, you want me to dance? Okay, I'm out of here. Zzzzzzz.
...
Kamui: *comes back* By the way, the author of this fic is originally a lazy person. She managed to make three chapters of this fic in a month just because my cute picture is the wallpaper of her laptop.
Me: *yells from the background* That's not the reason!
Kamui: So if you're bored waiting for an update, why not check out her other Gintama fics. *pouts and crosses his arms* Those other fics where I'm not the main character, tch. But if you're still bored, just bombard me with reviews, that's a fun thing to do, yep! A review per chapter sounds super fun! *grins then mutters to himself* If things go according to my plan, this fic will defeat that OkiKagu fic and that GinKagu fic, heh. Oi you two, don't be so full of it, Kagura's mine!
Kagura: *throws the sleeping Sadaharu to Kamui* You're so noisy! *yawns and goes back to the closet*