Good night. I hope you're all right. I know it's been a while since the last time I upgraded, but I'm here. Enjoy the chapter and all the drama that is coming :D Thank U very much for read and following this story! See you (owo)

*Parazor: As always, thank you for your hard work. We're already in Chapter 11! It's already an achievement.

Chapter 11

Bittersweet

The door had been completely smashed and the inside differed too much from what he remembered; wherever he focused his attention, there was nothing but rubble, piles of wood and a terrible mess that couldn't have been made if something big hadn't happened in there.

Putting aside the material costs, he couldn't find any of the two persons who were supposed to be there, and that was a cause of alarm for the two who had just returned; so, instinctively, they started to examine everything, searching for them, searching for any clue that told them who or what had caused such chaos.

"Pattsuan, don't try to talk." Gintoki had managed to find the young boy, lying on the floor, covered by the remains of the fallen roof. "We'll take care of everything", he pointed out, without taking his eyes off of him; not only was he unable to move, but it also seemed something strong had hit his stomach, to the point of breaking a few of his ribs and causing some alarming crimson liquid to escape between his lips. "I have to take him to the hospital right now. Do you think you can take care of her?"

"We'll both go… I have the feeling we shouldn't separate", she mentioned, feeling the small grip of the frightened Yato. The one who was staring at the scene in front of her with glassy eyes.

They arrived at the hospital as fast as possible and waited in the emergency room while they took care of the beaten-up boy. For now, they had no choice but to wait until they could talk to Shinpachi and he could explain what had happened.

"I'd say this attack was directed to the Yorozuya, but they've taken Kamui… So that makes me think all this was premeditated and is related to the person who attacked us and shot them with those darts."

"Does that mean they'll come for her too?" Gintoki glanced at the innocent Kagura, who was petting Sadaharu, ignoring completely what they were talking about.

"If we consider Kamui's history, he has plenty of enemies, and one of them could've planned all this", she commented to the silver-haired man and he simply shot her a sideways glance.

"I'm surprised someone like you goes through all this trouble for a sadist like him." That he was picking his nose wasn't making his attempt of sounding like a responsible adult lecturing her sound believable. "Perhaps the princess' heart sleeping under that cold and hard appearance of yours has finally awoken? And the worst thing is that it was all thanks to an idiot addicted to fights and food, that goes around with that silly smile of his." He smiled with pure satisfaction. He knew he'd hit the spot and she simply preferred to look at the missing Yato's little sister. "Most would say you're completely suicidal, that you're someone who doesn't exactly value her own life or that's been blinded by some pretty, shiny object."

"And what do you think?", she wanted to know.

"…That there's some good in him that's been seen by someone other than his annoying sister or his bald father…" She remained silent once again. It felt ridiculous to be asking about such matters.

"I guess even someone like him is capable of having a side like that." It wasn't the first time she believed that, in fact, that thought had crossed her mind several times, especially when she witnessed his fight against his father and sister; but it was the first time she expressed it out loud.

"Excuse me, you can see the patient now", interrupted a nurse after she approached them.

They headed for the room the convalescent boy was staying in, and they came across an already treated boy, who didn't seem to mind wearing a neck brace and a sling; even those bandages around his chest suited him perfectly.

"I've met people with more luck than you, Pattsuan", said Sakata jokingly. "But there's nothing calcium can't heal. "Yes, why not bring a strawberry milk carton for the poor man?

"Then why the hell are you drinking it?", asked the glasses boy.

"Carrying you here was really tiring, Pattsuan. I had to get all the lost sugar back."

"Why don't you turn back and go get your lost brain back instead?"

"Sorry to break up this magical moment, but we'd like to know what happened."

"Oshin-san, I'm really sorry… I wasn't able to protect Kamui-san…" He was frustrated and angry at himself. He had made a promise to protect that kid and couldn't stop them from taking him.

"If they left you in such a state that means the enemy was strong", she expressed, staring intently at the boy. "You tried to protect him, and to me that's more than enough to earn my respect."

"Oshin-san…" He was crying with happiness for how understanding and mature she was. "Why the hell can't you act like her!?" Obviously, his words were directed to whom was already lying on the next bed while reading the Jump.

"Tell us about the one who caused all this."

"…It was a girl…", he expressed curtly. "She had supposedly come to ask the Yorozuya for a job, so I let her in… And before I listened to her request, she hit me directly in the stomach. Taking advantage of that, she went after Kamui-san… and although he tried to fight back, she surpassed him in strength."

"…A Yato…"

"Before she took him, I tried to stop her, but she ended up giving me the beating of my life", Shinpachi stated drily. "She said she'd leave me alive, so I could tell you guys about her."

"She's trying to provoke us." Oshin looked sideways at the apparently uninterested samurai and he merely put his precious treasure away. "What do you suggest we do?"

"Don't we have two monstrous dogs that could find anything with their sense of smell? Not even Edo is big enough for our pretty pets."

Giving them one of his garments was enough for those professional noses to start sniffing at everything in detail. And that pair, like the responsible owners they were, remained close to the monumental dogs, ignoring the looks people were shooting them; they didn't see a show like that every day, after all.

"At least it seems paternity will be good for you", commented somewhat amused the woman about the fact that little Kagura was holding the samurai's hand.

"Why don't you hold her as well? Could it be that you're afraid people will stare at you and think things like 'she's too young to have a kid, she probably couldn't resist the urge to experiment this and that'?"

"My brother… he'll be okay, right? What about Papi? And Mami?" The two of them stopped, exchanging glances, trying to decide which one of them would answer.

"Your brother will be fine. He's strong and will be able to resist until we find him", spoke Oshin.

"Your bald papi is out there, kicking alien asses to pay for your studies, but he'll come back before all the hair falls from his shiny head."

"…I…m-miss them a lot… I want to see them…" That was the third crying since they left the hospital.

"Do something so that she stops crying… Breastfeed her or sing her one of those senseless songs kids these days love so much", whispered the samurai to the woman.

"If you keep crying like that, your nose and cheeks will turn completely red and you'll worry your brother when we find him", she expressed to the little girl, after she opted to hold her in her arms to transport her in a better way. "You don't have to worry about a thing, we adults will take care of this, you understand?"

"And after this… we'll all eat rice with eggs?"

"When all this is over we'll go to a nice restaurant and you'll be able to order all the meat you want." The little girl's lips widened in a beautiful smile; and those blue eyes recovered their usual enthusiasm. She truly was an adorable girl.

"Yes, yes, meat!"

"I think the one with the maternal instincts is someone else." He scratched the nape of his neck with natural ease while he smiled discreetly.

"But what does this mean…!? Why are they smelling me!?" That voice was unexpectedly familiar to them, so they made sure it was actually 'that person'.

"Papi!", Kagura yelled at the top of her lungs before literally throwing herself into the arms of the bewildered man that wouldn't stop being sniffed at by Sadaharu and the Syx.

"…K-K-K…!?" If the man still had some hair on his head, it would have finished falling as soon as he realized his beloved and precious daughter had gone back in time to be a four years old little girl once again.

Through signs and explanatory posters, the pair managed to explain the hunter what had happened until the moment they found him. And although he still couldn't assimilate what was going on, there was no doubt that the little girl hugging him so happily was his Kagura.

"So, he too has…turned into a kid again…"

"As the responsible father that you are, you should go look for your small harmless child", mentioned Oshin, with a mocking smirk on her lips. "They say it's never too late to make things right."

"I come here to visit my precious daughter only to be drooled on by those monsters pretending to be pets, and now I'm being lectured by some brat", he blurted out in a mix of annoyance and irony. "Do you think you can look after her a little longer while I go find his inconsiderate older brother?"

A dusty floor and furniture that was poorly covered with tarnished, moldy blankets; that's what stood out to whoever dared to live in that third-rate pigpen. Even the windows were boarded up with wooden planks, and the rest of the rooms, excepting the living room, were riddled with piles of newspapers and cheap magazines; it was in simpler terms a shack no one would suspect to find someone living in, and nonetheless, that was the case.

Acting as his guard, the young girl lied on the only couch there was, with her eyes glued to that group of yellowish papers she held spread out as if it were a fan; and just maybe they weren't to her liking, since looking at them caused a frown to appear on her face and her eyes to sharpen.

"I know you must be wondering what you're doing here and why I've kidnapped you", spoke the pink-haired girl, glancing at her young guest. "The answer is simple if you consider who your father is."

"Ungh…" Lying on the floor, he could do nothing more than struggle, seeing that his wrists and ankles were bound by thick shackles that he wouldn't be able to break so easily; and even less with his current strength.

"Don't waste your energy in that, Kamui", she advised, crossing her legs and enjoying what seemed to be some sort of show to her. "I was willing to take the risk and go after you in the company of my people, but after seeing what happened to you and your sister, I couldn't have had a better chance."

"…You won't get away with this…", he replied, shooting her a look that showed how much he disliked her.

"I admit that you haven't disappointed", she praised. "Even in your state, you fought back and that blow you threw to my face hurt pretty badly." She, on the other hand, seemed to be unharmed, but he was completely beaten up; she didn't hold back in hitting him until leaving him in such a state.

"I don't even know you… Besides, I'm sure he'll take care of giving you a nice beating…"

"That's exactly what I'm wishing for, that he'll show up soon. After all, my personal matters are with him, not necessarily with you guys." She got to her feet, glancing at him with notorious arrogance. "Although I wasn't expecting a baldie like him to be so ridiculously sentimental. But if he wasn't then there'd be no point in hurting his precious child, right?"

"You're crazy."

"A kid like you wouldn't be able to understand the agony we've gone through, living all these years… Your father has to pay for having us exiled…", she smiled sadistically, as if she was imagining that long awaited moment, as if her greatest dream was coming true. And that palpable malice agitated the kid's pupils, filling him with a feeling close to fear. "How about we play while your 'papi' arrives?"

What satisfaction could exist in those who abuse the weak? What kind of pleasure did she find in stepping over and over again on someone's body, someone who was unable to fight back? Why was she smiling at him while she continued delivering that punishment? Wouldn't she stop until dying the floor completely red with his blood?

"You thought I wouldn't lie a hand on you only because you're a kid?" She grabbed his hair roughly, with the only goal of lifting him up to see him face to face. "If you'd been born within my clan, you'd be already resting underground for a long time."

He felt powerless, unable even of fighting for his existence, and starting to fear the worst. Could he even afford a mentality like that? Wasn't there a way to settle the problem and managing to survive? He had the blood of the strongest beings in the universe, he couldn't just give up; there was no reason to give her the satisfaction.

Thick, crimson blood trickled down violently to the floor, as if it was impossible to contain, as if the cause of its releasing was still there, making it flow copiously. The victim hadn't even felt the exact moment in which everything behind her had fallen apart, and couldn't stop staring at whom had just arrived, not only to interrupt her, but to take such an important limb from her.

Kamui found himself once again on the floor, his incredulous gaze fixed on the girl who couldn't find a way to escape from the shock and, at the same time, he glanced at whom had managed to locate and save him.

He recognized that enormous dog, the same one that had just ripped the Yato's arm off and thrown it out of her reach. And he had also simultaneously identified the person riding on the Syx's back, who managed to send the insolent woman to the lower floors of the construction with a simple movement of his umbrella.

"Hey, you're okay, right? Your father has come as fast as possible to save you." He wanted to end the woman's life at any cost, but he couldn't leave Kamui in such conditions; he was in a bad enough state to require medical attention. "Papi will take you to get those nasty wounds examined."

"You re-really… came", he smiled at him with honest happiness. The boy actually wanted him to arrive and rescue him.

"Don't be silly", he replied, smiling reassuringly. "I won't leave you alone again, Kamui."

"But what a touching scene! Allow me to clap and throw up." The girl had managed to slip away from death's hands and had climbed to the floor she had fallen from. "Umibouzu, we finally have the pleasure of meeting once again… Though I'm sure you don't recognize me. I was a kid when you took care of exiling us from our own planet."

"I was curious about who could be stupid enough to mess with my family. But I never imagined it was one of you people." He had already set his son free of those oppressive shackles and was holding him under his left arm. He needed to get him out of there and deal with that psychotic woman. "You yourselves were responsible for being despised by the rest of us. Your acts couldn't be overlooked, and represented a true atrocity, even for beasts like us."

"The only thing we should be concerned about is improving our species… Having much stronger, tougher descendants… It's mere natural selection", she affirmed with absolute certainty.

"I'm sorry, but I don't have the time or interest in talking about past issues…" He honestly didn't want to deal with her or anybody else's wishes for revenge. "Find something else to do in your free time instead of trying to lay hands on the great Umibouzu."

"I won't let you leave, you damned baldie."

"My hair is in energy-saving mode, I said!"

Umibouzu was now starting to believe that having brought that strange beast with him hadn't been such a bad idea. Not only did it support both their weights, but it was also fast enough to leave the area and start using the surrounding roofs as if it was a playground for him.

"You'll bleed to death if you keep chasing after us."

Wherever they moved, it was a world of chaos and destruction. The pink-haired girl, in her attempt of shooting down the animal allowing both of them to escape, was shooting vehemently, blowing up numerous establishments and terrorizing the people that were in the way.

"But what the hell is that thing!? None of my bullets are able to pierce its skin", cursed the girl before what seemed inevitable. Without mentioning that, even with that tourniquet she made around her arm, the bleeding hadn't stopped, and she was starting to feel the effects of having lost so much blood.

"It seems we've lost her for the moment", spoke the bald man sitting in front of the boy, holding the animal tightly.

"Did you really… do something bad? That woman… seemed to really hate you."

"The only ones who did something were them… Your father only did the right thing."

A few bandages, band-aids and the care of the nurses were more than enough to tend to the wounds that little Yato had suffered in such a traumatic experience at his young age. He even had to take those disgusting pills to ease the pain; although the positive side of staying in the hospital was that he could enjoy three meals and the visits of those who made up his small family.

While Kamui remained in bed, listening to the story Kagura was trying hard to tell him with some clumsiness and forgetfulness, the only adults who were there kept their distance and looked at the sweet scene from the threshold of the room. Even with all the time that pair had been turned into children, they couldn't quite believe it.

"What sort of mischief have you done to have a crazy chick come from the ends of the universe to take revenge using your kids?", Gintoki questioned the quiet man.

"She must be one of the surviving members of that clan."

"What do you mean by that?" It wasn't the samurai asking, but the girl that had just arrived. One that caught the two kids' eyes for a good reason: she had brought along a big paper bag, and that only meant one thing.

"Shi-chan!" The little Yato climbed down from his brother's bed and ran to the black-haired woman. "H-have you… brought them?" She could be as extroverted as introverted in a matter of seconds.

"You can eat them while us adults talk about some grown-up issues." She took her package to where the convalescent was lying and took out what was inside, placing it carefully on the bed. "I have no idea what is it kids your age like, so I brought a couple of each…"

Small, square jelly with beautiful flowers inside them, small muffins that could be easily mistaken for adorable kitties, a bundle of strawberries covered in chocolate with matcha, cat-like chocolate and strawberry flavored donuts, tartlets, crystal candies and even bunny-like biscuits, made up the woman's 'light' purchase.

"I think I should've also brought those orange cupcakes and the cherry blossom-shaped sweets…", whispered Oshin, completely ignoring that those kids couldn't appreciate fine confectionery and were already scarfing down everything she had brought.

"Stop spoiling my kids!", blurted out the bald man.

"Oi, oi, why are you feeding expensive sweets to those two wild troglodytes that wouldn't even recognize an apple tarte tatin from some croissants, even if they had them in front of their eyes!? How do you even have that much money to bring them that sort of things every day!? Is it perhaps that working in Yoshiwara has infected you with 'certain kinks'? Is this the kind of example you want to give these poor kids?" In other words, he wanted to eat all those carbohydrates. "Papi', is this the kind of woman you want for your son?"

"Who are you calling wild brats!? And why do you keep calling me 'Papi'!? And my precious son is only eight years old!"

"Hey, you two, stop making a scene in the hospital." She completely ignored their comments, pushing them out of the room; she even closed the door. "Are you going to tell us who's behind all this now?"

"You're not giving up, are you?" He sighed with resignation. "This whole problem started several decades ago, before Housen himself was known as the King of the Yato", he started his story, remembering that old acquaintance; his toughest rival. "At that time I was nothing but a kid that only thought about getting in trouble."

"Most of the Yato seek to test their strength and superiority in relation to the rest of the creatures inhabiting the universe… Even among ourselves we fought and tried to brutally kill each other." That was nothing new, for many years he himself chased after true strength and faced countless adversaries. "However, there was a group of Yato who took that wish to an unthinkable level."

"What do you mean by that?", asked Oshin. Gintoki just picked his nose.

"They believed that our species had to follow certain rules to keep their own status as the strongest species in the universe… That it wasn't enough to just leave offspring and leave it all to fate", he continued, focusing his attention on that pair listening attentively. "After their own idea of improving the species, of having even stronger descendants, more skilled for combat, they started to reserve the right to choose their partner… They wouldn't pick it out of affection or things like that, but for their strength…"

"Are you suggesting they reached the level of choosing their partner based on something as absurd as that to make sure their lineage was better than the one before?" Umibouzu's silence said it all.

"…That the son tries to murder his parent to prove he's surpassed him is already considered infamy. The fact that the parent themselves decide which one of their children has more right to live and grow up, could be considered the pinnacle of atrocity." None of them uttered a word because they didn't know what to say about it; in a certain way, it sounded too absurd to be true. "That was their way of selecting the strongest ones, those who would continue their own legacy and, at the same time, would be above the rest of the Yato…." He leaned back against the wall, crossing his arms. Who would say a taboo topic like that would come out his mouth one day? "Even when that situation was causing us big problems, nobody did anything about it. "

"You mean, until you did something about it, 'Papi'."

"Stop calling me that, asshole!"

"And you were the one who took care of all of them, right?"

"I had planned to kill them all to teach the rest a lesson about not doing something as stupid as that again, however, the only thing I was allowed to do was to banish them from our planet", he pointed out seriously. "The person leading that bunch of idiots stayed to fight me…He didn't mind sacrificing himself to allow them all to escape."

"Does that mean they've been wandering around the universe, living in the shadows?"

"They haven't been living silently, girl." He frowned in obvious annoyance. "Since they were exiled, they've worked as mercenaries and have been working for many big shots. But they always manage to not be found and hunted."

"Although if you mentioned they'd been doing that for a long time and you banished them from their own planet… We get to the conclusion that they had to be withering away by that time. I mean, most of their members must be veterans, and the young ones must be a few and already suffering the consequences of only mingling with their own."

"It's even ironic… They were the ones who tried so hard to preserve their species, and they're driving it to extinction by their own hands", emphasized Sakata.

"What makes me really curious is the fact that she knew where to find Kamui in the state where he is in right now", mumbled Oshin. "Is it possible that the one who attacked us was actually part of those Yato and all this is part of their plans to get revenge on you, Umibouzu?"

The darkness and the cold of the alleys was her greatest comfort, the only place in which she wasn't perceived by the passers-by and where she could take care of her grave wound without annoying interruptions. She'd lost enough blood for her life to be at risk, and having no choice but to wait for the sunlight to be less harmful, she remained seated on the ground, hidden between two big garbage cans.

"Ungh… That idiot slipped right through my fingers this time, but next time I'll deal with him…"

"With such a nasty injury I don't think you'll get too far, Rina-chan." Being called by her name wasn't what put the pink-haired girl on alert, but rather the presence that seemed to have been there from the beginning, looking at her quietly from the fire escape in front of her. "N-Nana…", she stuttered.

"It must have hurt a lot, right? I mean, to get your arm ripped off." Her innocent pupils were as vermillion as blood, as eye-catching as it was disturbing. "None of us is blaming you for what you've done, Rina-chan. However, what you did wasn't of Yomi-sama's total approval."

"I-I did it for everyone's sake... So he could pay for all those years we've been pointed at and neglected by our own species!", she yelled, shooting that girl who couldn't be older than eleven years old a hard look.

"Past fights don't have to bother us, Rina-chan", she said with a smirk while walking from side to side, with her arms crossed behind her back. "Why aren't you a good girl and give me the antidote? Since even though I insisted to Aika-chan, she wouldn't give it to me."

"I... the truth is..."

That girl's skin paled completely when compared to the white of her straight, tied up hair. And if that wasn't enough to make her a weird and frail enough specimen, the cute clothes she was wearing would make any person think she was nothing more than an adorable kid who loved frill dresses and knew how to perfectly combine black, red and white colors.

"Rina-chan, if you do it, we'll spare your life", she expressed, carefully combing her bangs; as if it was a habit for covering her left eye completely. "However, if you resist, we'll have no other choice but to let you meet the rest of those who've broken our clan's rules."

It had been an exhausting day, full of her little sister's occurrences and the strange gestures that adorned his father's face on many occasions. How long had it been since he'd spent so much time in the company of his father and sister? When was the last time everyone was so cheerful? And then he remembered, it all had started to change since his mom got sick and his father started to slowly distance himself while he left the house more and more frequently.

It was then when he felt the intense desire to abandon his bed and leave his room. If his mother was hospitalized in the same place that he was, then if he looked hard enough, he'd end up finding her, right?

With that idea in mind, he got up and put on the slippers that were on the floor. And before he started his adventure, he focused his attention on the window; the huge moon could be seen with an impressing clarity, shining all over the city. However, that wasn't what caught him completely.

"A canary sings a lullaby.

Sleep, sleep, sleep, boy.

Above the cradle, the loquats swing.

Sleep, sleep, sleep, boy.

A squirrel rocks the cradle on her own.

Sleep, sleep, sleep, boy.

Dreams in a cradle, with the yellow moon shining from above.

Sleep, sleep, sleep, boy."

That song couldn't be other than the one his mother used to make him sleep so many nights when he was little; the one he liked so much and that unconsciously longed to hear again.

"Where is it coming from?" He ran to open the window and stick his head out to the cold night, looking around in search of the source of that lullaby. "Only my mother knows that song." His hurried pupils examined the narrow streets that could be seen from up there, even his search reached the neighboring rooftops. "Dad probably didn't tell us anything because he wanted to surprise us... I'm sure mom is okay now."

He finally found the one who had hummed that adorable song. Finally, his eyes caught that treasured gaze and that emotive smile he loved to receive so much.

"Mom!"