Kids Will Be Kids by kingfishers_game

Chapter 2: Never Underestimate the Power of Coincidence

I forgot to mention in the first chapter that in this fic's universe, the Shogun Assassination arc occurred but the Farewell Shinsengumi arc did not. The Shinsengumi weren't blamed for the Shogun's assassination, and they weren't disbanded before the Rakuyou arc. Many thanks to the user maygic for leaving a review asking about it!

(See the end of the chapter for .)

"D—"

"D—"

"DONDAKE!? How can that be Kagura? That kid is too small! Way too small!"

"Now, now, Shin-chan, look at that pink hair! Those blue eyes! Those cute little cheeks~!" Otae pulled the mini-sized Kagura into a tight hug and pinched her cheeks.

Kagura pouted, but her moue dropped a second later as she climbed into the woman's lap to snuggle. Just like the older Kagura, she'd taken an instant liking to Otae. What kid could resist those soothing older-sister vibes?

Otae was just as delighted by the appearance of the child. "Aw, this is so nostalgic! A little sister is really the best, hm?" She hugged the girl. "Ne, Shin-chan, do you remember when we were little how you used to play dress-up in girl clothes so I could pretend you were my cute little sister?"

"'Play' dress-up? You beat me up and forced me to wear dresses..." Shinpachi's voice trailed off as he noticed a dark shadow growing on his sister's face.

"Did you say anything, Shin-chan?"

"N-no."

"Are you sure? I thought I heard you say something."

"No, you're mistaken."

"If you want to say something, you can always be honest with your older sister."

"I didn't hear anything," Gintoki chimed in. He and Sougo had both been tricked into consuming some sort of unholy dark matter that Otae had 'cooked', and the two of them were still recovering. At least Kagura had been spared.

When the little girl had introduced herself back by the pond, the only thought running through Gintoki's mind had been to bring her to someone who knew how to deal with the situation, because he sure didn't. What's the standard protocol when your 15-year-old employee-slash-foster-child turns back the clock 10 years? All Gintoki knew was that between the Kodokan dojo (where he could count on Otae's sisterly presence and Shinpachi's motherly presence) and the Yorozuya (where the only adult present would be an unreliable deadbeat, aka himself), the dojo was the clear winner.

Sougo had tagged along for some yet unexplained reason. Gintoki hoped it wasn't because he still wanted to arrest the two of them. After all, if it had been Sougo's job to keep people away from the pond, wasn't this whole situation his fault? If he'd done his job correctly, Kagura wouldn't have eaten those magical fish—no, those alien fish—and Gintoki wouldn't have a 5-year-old Yato on his hands.

"So this is really Kagura-chan? This tiny kid?" Shinpachi asked. Kagura looked back at him with bright blue eyes.

"I'm Kagura. Who're you, uh-huh?" Her voice was more high-pitched than usual, but he could detect a familiar strain of stubbornness in it. She was little, but not even a little kid likes to be talked about like they're not in the room.

"S-sorry, Kagura-chan. It's me, Shinpachi. You don't recognize me?"

Kagura shook her head and detached herself from Otae's arms. She drew away and pulled her knees closer to her chest, looking down at the ground. For a second, it struck them how small she was, how scared she looked. How unlike the usual Kagura. "I wanna go home. I wanna see Mami and Nii-chan."