At the Kudokan dojo, the Shimura siblings were preparing for lunch.

"Aneue, the nabe is almost done," Shinpanchi called out to his sister, who was in the kitchen.

"Oh my, Shin-chan, you've outdone yourself again," said Otae as she brought in rice bowls and chopsticks. "It looks and smells so good. Let's eat."

"Hai," said Shinpanchi, beaming with pride. "After you, Aneue."

Just then, there was a loud knock on the dojo gate. "Ara, I wonder who could that be at this time of the day?" wondered Otae.

"I'll get it, Aneue," said Shinpachi hurriedly. He had a feeling he knew who their visitors are when he opened the gate. "Gee nice timing you two. I bet you smelled my nabe miles away," he whispered annoyingly as he stood by the dojo gate.

"Yo, pattsan," said Gintoki smiling widely. "Er, Kagura and I were taking Sadaharu for a walk and we looked at the time and what do you know, it's lunch time. And you know, we were in the neighborhood so we thought we'd drop by and say hi ... "

"Shinpachi, we smelled your nabe miles away and so we went here to get some free food," said Kagura walking past him.

"Thank you, Kagura-chan," said Shinpachi. "At least one of you is honest enough to admit that you're only here for the free food." He raised an eyebrow at Gintoki. "Maybe we should just leave Gin-san out here since he just wanted to say hi and all that," said Shinpachi.

"Fine by me. That would only mean more nabe for me," said Kagura without emotion.

"Teme, don't gang up on a starving man," said Gintoki. "Yes, I want free food, too. Are you two happy now?"

"Took you long enough to admit it," said Shinpachi as he led them to the dining area. "Aneue, we have two freeloaders here who's going to eat our nabe with us."

Gintoki felt his heart beating nervously. This is the first time he was going to see Otae after what happened last night and he didn't know what her reaction would be if she saw him. He didn't even know how to face her. 'Come on, Gintoki. Man up. This is no time to get weak on the knees. You know you did something wrong, you know your words have hurt her so just face her and apologize. Simple and straightforward. Nothing to it,' he told himself.

When they stepped inside the dining area, they saw Otae arranging extra rice bowls and chopsticks on the table. She looked at them with a smile on her face. "Welcome Kagura-chan. What perfect timing. Shin-chan outdid himself in making this nabe today so it would be a delicious free lunch."

"Wow! It looks and smells delicious, Anego," said Kagura, giving her a quick hug before sitting down by the table. "Shinpachi, you're the best cook ever."

"Nah. I'm not THAT good. It's just nabe," said Shinpachi getting a bit red on the face. "Oh don't be so humble, Shin-chan. You cook the best nabe. Right Kagura-chan?" said Otae. "Uh-huh," agreed Kagura, who was already stuffing her face with nabe and rice.

Gintoki felt ill-at-ease. Eventhough, Otae greeted them warmly, he can't shake the feeling that she wasn't too keen at having him around. He was still looking at her talking animatedly with Kagura when Shinpachi called out to him. "Hora, Gin-san, why are you still standing there? If you don't sit down and grab a rice bowl, Kagura-chan will eat up all your share," said Shinpachi.

He took his sit and tried hard to act normal. "Oi, oi, Kagura-chan. Why don't you slow down? Real ladies have manners, you know. They should chew their food slowly and meditatively," he joked as Shinpachi handed him a rice bowl.

At this, Otae gave him a sharp glance. It was taking all her self-control to act normal and not unleash hell on Gintoki. She reminded herself that he's a stranger to her, ergo he no longer exist. "Kagura-chan, don't let anyone and I mean, anyone, especially people who are insensitive and inconsiderate of other people's feelings, to tell you what you should be in life. If you don't want to be a lady. So what? You can chew your food and eat them however you want. Isn't that right, Shin-chan?"

"Huh?" Shinpachi was caught off guard as he busily chewed his vegetables. "I guess, the nabe can be eaten any way you want it."

"Yes, you can eat any way you want just as long as you've got the confidence in yourself. If you have that confidence, you can be whatever you want Kagura. You don't need any popularity poll to measure your worth, isn't that right, Shinpachi?" said Gintoki in answer to Otae's subtle challenge. He caught a glimpse of her giving him a morbid look while he was sipping nabe soup out of his bowl. And he couldn't help feel a bit amused at winning Round 1.

"Huh?" Shinpachi was puzzled. 'Aren't they talking about nabe?' Somehow he could feel the heat rising and the boiling nabe in front of him made it hard to pinpoint where it was coming from. "I'm sure my nabe would win a popularity poll?" he said jokingly. "Right, Kagura-chan?"

Kagura, who was also busy eating her share of nabe, nodded. "I'll definitely vote for your nabe, Shinpachi."

Meanwhile, Otae was silently seething inside. Gintoki had brought up a very sensitive subject and she desperately wanted to dump the boiling pot on his head. But she willed herself to remain calm and collected. She must win the second round and make him suffer.

"Ara, Shin-chan. That's not good. Don't join your nabe in a popularity contest. It will just corrupt your nabe's purity. And you, too, Kagura-chan, be very careful about such things because I know some people who are on top of the poll and it got to their heads and made them such arrogant, stinking bastards with no soul whatsoever," she said, eyes slitting with hate as she gave Gintoki a quick glance. "You are both dear to me and I don't want you two to end up that way."

Gintoki felt that one. If looks could kill, he would have been dead. He shivered a little as he thoughtfully ate his nabe.

"Yeah, some of these people are such heartless and cruel bastards," agreed Kagura. "They say mean things and look down on people who are not at the top as if they poop gold. They should be taken out and shot. Or at least, castrated and shot!"

'Damn you, Kagura. Why do you have to add fuel to the fire? I will slap you upside the head if you don't stop it,' thought Gintoki. He had a feeling this whole conversation would eventually make matters worse for him and his apology to Otae.

"Maa...maa, Kagura-chan. You don't need to be violent. We're just talking about nabe right?" said Shinpachi, trying to steer the conversation away from dangerous thoughts. Earlier, he caught sight of his older sister giving Gintoki the death look that led him to believe that both may have some sort of misunderstanding going on. He had to dissipate the tension between them quickly or there will be hell to pay.

All four grew silent as if an angel just passed. Each one was preoccupied with his or her own thoughts. Kagura was thinking of how many bowls she could still eat. Otae was eating stiffly and automatically while her gaze was fixed on the steam coming out of the boiling pot. Gintoki was chewing his food lazily but would occasionally give Otae a sideway glance. Meanwhile, Shinpachi was trying to act normal but he was getting uncomfortable at the rising tension between the two. He had to do something.

"Hey there's still a lot of nabe for everyone to share," he said cheerfully. "Let's enjoy them while they last. You'll never know we might not have nabe for weeks or months. So it would be a good idea to eat your fill and savor every moment of it with friends."

Everyone looked at him as if he was a science experiment. But it was Kagura who broke the silence first. "Uwa...that's too freaking corny, Shinpachi. It's just nabe." And she laughed.

Otae laughed, too. "Oh my, Shin-chan, I didn't know you are that sentimental about your nabe."

"Aneue, you don't have to be so blunt," Shinpachi said, now feeling really embarrassed about what he said earlier.

"We should call you, Shinpachi, the nabe lover," Gintoki teased.

"Gin-chan, now that one is corny," he said, shaking his head. The tension eased up a little and he knew he had to keep it down low. "Oh I forgot the tea. Let me get it for you guys."

"Shin-chan, let me do it. You've done enough cooking for today," Otae offered, getting up.

"Aneue, just stay there. Kagura-chan can help me fix it. You don't have to worry about it, just sit there and relax," he reassured her. He gave Kagura the look but she didn't get it. "Shin-chan, I don't want to fix tea. I'm still thinking of eating more nabe," said Kagura.

"Come on, Kagura-chan. You can help me boil water. The nabe will still be there when we get back," Shinpachi quickly took her arm and half-dragged her to the doorway. When they reached the threshold, he quickly closed the door behind him and let go of Kagura's arm. They were both silent for a minute until Kagura spoke first.

"Ne, Shinpachi, are you sure those two are going to be alright in there?" she asked worriedly.

Shinpachi decided not to answer her right away. He busied himself with making the tea. He measured the green tea leaves mindfully as if trying to choose his words carefully. "I'm sure whatever misunderstanding that has happened between them, they can work it out themselves. We just have to give them a little time to lighten up and talk, you know."

He got boiling water and poured it in the teapot and waited for it to steep. He looked at the doorway and wondered how are things going with both Gintoki and his sister. "I musn't feel anxious. They're both adults. I know they can work this thing out."

To be continued...