Maybe a Fake Gintama

"Ah! That's what I just said! You copied me!" Katsura complained immediately.

But no one paid him any attention.

"This is a small hill, perfect for observing the surroundings and easy to spot," Hijikata continued. "Keep the fire burning to maintain the smoke. This will be our base of operations. First, let's set up a place to keep warm, and the rest will search for the Shogun. We must find him today."

"But about searching," Shinpachi interjected, "the snow is getting heavier. It's dangerous to venture out recklessly."

"Precisely because of that, we must go," Hijikata sighed. "Just use the smoke as a marker to return."

"But…" Shinpachi looked serious and objected, "It's still too dangerous. What if there are more casualties?"

"For fairness' sake, let's decide with rock-paper-scissors. Ready?"

"Rock—paper—scissors…!!" ×9 And so…

Watching the shivering back of Kondo, wearing nothing but a pair of shorts, Hijikata and Okita waved goodbye, "Take care—"@@novelbin@@

Kondo stopped, shivering, and replied, "No, I can't be careful. I'm not wearing anything…"

"Huh? What?" Gintoki looked confused, hands in his pockets, "Did you say something?"

"No… um," Kondo tried again, pleading, "Didn't you forget something?"

"Forget what? What do you mean?" Shinpachi asked, puzzled, looking at Okita.

"Who knows…" Okita also looked clueless.

Tears already frozen on his face, Kondo trembled as he said, "No, it's very cold… um…"

Suddenly, Kondo thought of something and raised his voice: "Ah! The Shogun must be cold, too! He probably needs something warm, like clothes!"

"Hey, get a grip," Kawaki reminded him.

"Huh?" Kondo was taken aback.

"You have clothes, don't you?" Gintoki pointed at Kondo.

"Huh?" Kondo blinked, confused.

"Right there, on your waist." ×2 Looking at his shorts, Kondo doubted his life choices.

"Kondo-san, you're such a klutz~" Otae smiled sweetly, her eyes closed.

"Hahaha…" Kondo scratched the back of his neck, laughing awkwardly, "I totally forgot~"

"Make sure to warm them up before giving them to the Shogun~" Otae kindly reminded him.

"Well… I'm off then." Kondo turned around again, his face turning into an even more pitiful expression once he was facing away.

Watching Kondo's back, Hijikata suddenly noticed something and called, "Wait! On closer inspection, Kondo-san isn't wearing anything!"

Kondo turned around, his face lighting up with hope.

"Oh, really," Okita nodded, "I didn't notice at all."

Kawaki crossed his arms, thinking, "Maybe we're so used to seeing this gorilla naked that we think it's normal."

"Yeah, that's probably it." Everyone nodded in agreement.

"This isn't the time for jokes," Hijikata said irritably. "Everyone should give Kondo-san a part of their clothing. If we pool our clothes, it should keep him warm." ṞåℕȪＢÈŞ

Feeling touched by Hijikata's words, Kondo's gratitude only lasted a short while.

Two minutes later…

Watching Kondo, wearing eight pairs of gloves and looking down blankly as he walked away, Hijikata and Okita waved goodbye.

"Kondo-san, take care." ×2 "Yeah… yeah!" Kondo stopped, turned around with a determined face, gave a thumbs up, then turned back, mumbling, "Even if they're all gloves…"

But as Kondo passed by Katsura, he was stopped.

"Wait." Katsura spoke, his eyes closed. "If you underestimate the mountain's cold, you'll die. Take this."

"Katsura…" Kondo turned around, looking incredulous.

"I said, today we help each other to survive."

Katsura broke the snowball, encasing his body, and handed the snowball on his head to Kondo, giving him a thumbs up and a refreshed expression.

Seeing Katsura holding the snowball with a refreshing smile, Kondo chuckled and threw Katsura down the mountain.

Ignoring Katsura's screams, Kondo and Kawaki's groups went their separate ways.

[We're standing on the edge, in a place where help and trust can easily crumble. Can we survive?] Hijikata thought.

...

As the blizzard grew stronger and night fell, Kawaki's group still hadn't found shelter.

"We're in trouble… This is bad…" Kawaki shivered, hugging himself and dripping snot as he spoke.

"Well…" Tsukuyo, walking with Kawaki, asked quietly, "Do you need me to warm you up?"

"No, no need." Kawaki immediately declined, blowing his frozen snot away, "I'd rather hug a tree than your body."

"Who said it was that way?!" Tsukuyo, blushing, kicked Kawaki into a tree.

Bam! Rubbing his head, Kawaki pulled it out of the tree and asked, "There's another way?"

"Yes, there is," Tsukuyo nodded. "Do you want to try?"

After thinking for a moment, Kawaki smiled and raised a finger, "No, thanks."

But… it was too late…

After the sound of kunai cutting through the air, Kawaki, now a pincushion, still smiled as he fell.

"Feeling warmer?" Tsukuyo asked, pulling out more kunai. "Want more?"

Kawaki only responded with the sound of him falling unconscious into the snow.

...

Meanwhile, Gintoki's group continued through the forest.

"The snow is getting heavier, aru," Kagura stopped and looked up.

"Looks like there'll be a blizzard tonight," Gintoki replied casually, hands in his pockets.

"Aren't Kondo-san and the Shogun in danger?" Shinpachi worried.

"Worry about yourself first," Gintoki snapped. "Isn't there a hut around here?"

He resumed walking, and Shinpachi and Kagura quickly followed.

"If there was, we wouldn't be in trouble," Shinpachi replied. "This place is deserted, that's why."

As they walked, Kagura spotted something and stopped. "What are they doing?" she asked, watching Okita and Hijikata digging in the snow.

She ran over, calling out to Tsukuyo and Kawaki, who were helping the injured Kawaki.

"Uncle, Tsukuyo! What happened to him?"

"Nothing," Tsukuyo turned away. "He just got tangled in kunai while warming up."

"What does 'tangled in kunai' mean? Do you want to fight?" Kawaki grumbled.

"But it worked, didn't it? You said you felt warmer," Tsukuyo replied nonchalantly.

"I don't remember saying that…" Kawaki muttered through gritted teeth.

"Never mind that…" Kagura approached Okita and asked, "Hey, what are you doing? Looking for food, dog?"

"Don't compare me to you. I don't eat off the ground," Okita retorted.

"You never would, right?" Kagura teased, dropping a box of pickled seaweed.

Gintoki and Shinpachi dived for it.

Watching them fight over the seaweed, Kagura scolded, "Why did you take the bait? Stop it!"

"It's already on the ground! It's mine now!" Gintoki argued.

"No, it's mine!"

Kagura… joined the fight too.

"It's not my fault," Kawaki sighed, seeing Tsukuyo's look. "Their upbringing has nothing to do with me…"