The Yorozuya trio got an invitation about the annual Kabukichou Masquerade ball. Picking his nose, Gintoki threw the card on the table.
"Che. What a hassle, dressing up and all that. Who would actually go?"
Shinpachi picked up the card. His eyes almost bulged out of his head.
"OTSU-CHAN IS GOING TO BE THERE!"
The silver-perm picked up his weekly JUMP and lied down on the sofa. "So? It's just some stupid idol. Not worth my time."
"It says Ketsuno Ana is going too."
Gin immediately jolted up and dropped his JUMP. As he ran out the door, he yelled, "I AM GOING TO GO BUY A WHITE TUXEDO! BE RIGHT BACK!"
A white flash passed Kagura as she headed up the stairs to the Yorozuya. She was chewing on a sukonbu and it almost flew out of her mouth.
She angrily shouted, "Ah! Gin-chan! You owe me sukonbu! You almost made me drop it!"
But the samurai was already gone.
She entered to find an excited Shinpachi.
"Oi Megane, what's up? How come you and Gin-chan are acting so weird today?"
Shinpachi could barely stop grinning. "The annual masquerade ball is this weekend! And Otsu-chan's going to be in it!"
The Yato cocked her head to the side. "What's a masquerade?"
Shinpachi scratched his head. "Well, it is dance where people mask themselves and dance with strangers. It doesn't matter if you're rich or poor. Everyone mingles around. It's fun!"
"Oh! I like parties. Hehe, I guess I'll use Gin-chan's secret stash of money and buy a dress." She rummaged through the closet and found a jar filled with money.
"Muhaha, Gin-chan can't hide things from me!" She smiled widely as she hummed a tune, skipping out of the house.
Sougo stared at the card that Hijikata presented him. He skimmed the card then replied in his usual deadpan expression, "Eh, Hijikata-san. Why are you inviting me to a masquerade party? Don't tell me, you want me to be your date? I'm sorry, I don't swing that way."
Hijikata was expecting this kind of reaction but it still ticked him off. "We are there for work. It's usually when people mask their faces that crime rates raise. There might be pedophiles or sexual predators prowling around these kinds of events. So, we are going undercover and participating to ensure the safety of the citizens."
Sighing, the golden-haired boy put on his eye mask to nap. "Fine fine, I will go."
The day of the masquerade, Kagura went over to Otae's house to get ready.
"Ne Anego, can you do my hair? I don't want my hair to be in boring buns."
Smiling, Otae replied, "Sure! I love doing a girl's hair. When Shin-chan used to be little, I would do his hair in cute pigtails. People used to think he was my little sister!"
As Otae was doing her hair in an elaborate Victorian design, Kagura's finger traced her face mask. It was in a butterfly shape with studded red jewels and black feathers coming out at the side. It matched her red and black gothic dress that end just above the knee. She loved how the dress poofed up, so she decided against her usual choice of a Chinese outfit. She was in red heels that have black lace decorated around the rim. To finish the outfit, she had silky black gloves on. She looked a lot more girly than she wished, but she couldn't help but feel pretty.
Plus, it's not like anybody would recognize her. Even Gin-chan would be surprised!
After the two got ready, they headed to the town hall where the masquerade was hosted. There were a lot of delicacies and drinks. Kagura immediately headed towards the table. Even though the mask was kind of in the way of her usual eating habits, she managed to devour three cakes and some chicken breasts.
Turning around, she saw a waiter catering some champagne. Taking a swig at the bubbly liquid, she let out a satisfying burp. This caused several people around her to stare at this unladylike behaviour.
Not really caring, she walked around. Since she came with Otae, she hasn't seen Gin-chan or Megane. But Gin has a mass of white hair, so he should be easy to spot. Finishing the glass, she placed it down on a random table and headed towards the crowd.
Okita undid his tie a little. It was so stuffy in this room. Leaning against the wall, he scanned around the room. So far so good. No one was doing anything stupid. He couldn't' believe he allowed Hijikata to talk him into this. He hated dressing up.
To 'blend in', Mayora made him wear a black velvet blazer adorned with gold hems. He also made him gel his hair back like a mafia boss. In his breast pocket was a neatly folded red handkerchief, matching his red tie.
He drank his champagne silently, hoping the night will pass by sooner. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted an orange-haired figure looking around. She looked like she barely could stand in her heels.
In fact, that girl reminded him of China. Well, only because her hair was orange.
"China wouldn't dress up. Plus, she would probably pick some Chinese outfit for these occasions," he said to nobody.
But somehow, he couldn't take his eyes of the red beauty. Curiously, he straightened himself and followed her.
A person accidently brushed against the girl and she was toppling over. By reflex, Okita went and supported her.
"T-thank you," said the girl, blushing as their eyes met.
Her eyes were a clear blue, full of innocence. Smiling a little, the Shinsengumi replied, "Don't mention it."
Kagura smiled and bowed a little before heading toward where she saw a person with curly white hair.
Okita wasn't sure why he was following her around. Plus, he should really be looking out for any misbehaviour happening.
The lights dimmed and soon an announcement was made that the first dance would commence. Looking around, he saw that many people already have a partner. The girl in the red dress was the only one close to him who didn't have a dancing partner.
"Would you like to dance?"
Kagura turned around and saw the gentleman who had helped her before. She looked around at the dancing couples and decided that she could enjoy a waltz before finding Gin-chan.
The thing is, she had no idea how to dance.
"Um, sorry. I don't really know how to waltz," she smiled sheepishly at the blonde.
Okita took her hand and pulled her closer. "That's okay. I just follow my lead."
His arm went around her waist. "Put your hand on my shoulder," he instructed.
Kagura did and they began to sway to the music. Despite being stepped on a few times, Okita didn't flinch. In fact, he was having fun dancing with this girl. It has been a while since he danced with anyone. Well, that's if you count dancing with his sister.
The three-beat waltz rang through the hall as couples moved with the music. Kagura, after getting the hang of it in such a short time, was smiling and enjoying this. She never danced with anyone and it was nice that this person offered to teach her. She hummed along with the music while moving as one with this mysterious young man. She noticed his reddish brown eyes stare into her blue ones. It felt as if everyone around them faded away and it was only the two of them dancing.
Unfortunately, the song ended and they bowed to each other.
Kagura blushed as she said, "I have to go find my friend, so I'm going to go now. Thanks for the dance. I'll see you around!"
A little disappointed, Okita replied, "The pleasure was all mine."
Watching her retreating back, he went back to leaning against the wall. There was still 2 hours before midnight. With the serving of alcohol and well-dressed women, it could possibly give birth to a situation where Okita would have to make arrests.
Not much happened for the next forty-five minutes. He spotted Kondo dancing with Otae, who eventually punched the gorilla away when his hand went a little lower on the waist than expected. He saw Mayora surrounded by his fan club, all wanting a dance with him. Neither of them was really keep an eye except for Yamazaki, who sat there looking depressed as no one recognized him.
Glancing at his watch every now and then, it was nearing midnight. Some people were drunk out of their minds (like the gorilla) and Sougo had to break off a few fights. Since the party was ending soon, Ketsuno Ana went on the stage and said, "This is the last dance! And as many of you know, this is the most important dance! You should find the person you love and dance with them. It is said that you will be granted eternal happiness with that person."
"Heh," Sougo chuckled. "What a silly thing to believe." He decided he needed a breather so he went to the balcony. To his surprise, he saw a figure in a red dress sitting on the bench.
She was humming the tune being played until she saw someone standing in front of her.
"Ah, it's you," Sougo started. "Did you find your friend?"
"No, I think he's begging Ketsuno Ana to dance with him right about now," Kagura snickered. "I'm just waiting for him to come crying to me."
"So why are you here by yourself? Don't you have anyone you want to dance with?"
The smile on the girl's face faded. "Well, I have someone I want to dance with. But he's not here today."
Sougo was curious. "Oh? Why? Who is he?"
"Ah, you don't want to know. He's super mean and enjoys torturing people, too. And he always has this straight-face whenever he says anything. Oh, and he sleeps on the job."
The Shinsengumi raised an eyebrow. Her description sounded awfully familiar. "So what does he do?"
"He's part of the police force."
Oh god, Okita thought, she must be one of his fans. Well, at least she didn't recognize me yet.
"Anyway, enough about me," the girl said. "How come you're out here?"
Okita blinked at the question. "I… have nothing better to do."
"Ah, don't you have a girlfriend or something? You're such a gentleman. You look like the type that attracts a lot of girls."
"Nah, I don't like creepy stalkers," he chuckled. Hopefully this will make her realize that I'm not interested in her.
The girl got up from the bench. "Well, it was nice talking to you. I think I'm going to find my friend now. Good night!"
As if he lost control of his body, his hand grabbed onto her wrist, swing her around as she walked past him. Her blue eyes reflected the moonlight. A faint blush could be seen on her cheeks.
Sougo was the one who broke the awkward silence. "Since we both don't have anyone to dance with, how about we have a friendly dance?"
Kagura was too shocked to say anything and simply nodded. Her arms went up around his neck and his around her waist. The night breeze was much better than the stuffy room. The Yato shivered a little. Okita took it as a sign that she was cold and offered her his blazer. He put it around her pale shoulders and continued the dance.
As the music came to an end, their eyes met and sparks flew. Inching closer and closer, they could smell each others' breaths. Their lips pulled closer like magnets. Just as they were about to touch, a round of applause sounded in the room signaling the end of the masquerade ball.
Pulling back, the two blushed. Biting her lower lip nervously, she took a quick bow and ran into the room.
Okita watched her disappear into the crowd. Perhaps he was a little rash, trying to kiss her when he didn't even know her name. He called Hijikata and Kondo to meet up and head back to headquarters.
Kagura finally met up with a drunken Gintoki who had his mask hanging on his neck loosely. Shinpachi and Kagura had to drag him away from the scared Ketsuno Ana and took the cab home.
After tucking Gin into bed, Kagura changed into her sleeping clothes. She looked at the blazer and realized she had forgotten to give it back to that guy. She looked into his pocket, hoping to find some sort of clue who it belonged to. She reached into one of the pockets and found a red eye mask.
"O-oh. My. God," she stuttered. She was dancing with the SADIST. She mentally smacked herself to revealing that she wanted to dance with him. He must've been laughing so hard inside.
A little flustered and frustrated, she decided she was going to burn all the evidence. That way, even if the sadist were to search the house, his blazer and eye mask wouldn't be here and she could easily deny the person he was dancing with was her.
But as she was holding onto the blazer, she couldn't help but think how much of a gentleman he was. Maybe he didn't know it was her? She tried her best to control her '-aru' endings and talk politely.
As she was thinking of what to do with his belongings, she drifted off to sleep, hugging the blazer.
At the Shinsengumi headquarters, Okita and Hijikata finally put the drunken Kondo to bed.
"So what were you doing in the last bit of the ball, Sougo?" Hijikata asked as they walked down the hallway.
"Nothing," he replied.
The black-haired man smirked. "I saw you were dancing with someone with orange hair. I didn't know you liked that monster girl."
"It wasn't China," he said flatly. "There was no way that monster can turn into such a polite girl."
Hijikata opened the shoji screen to his room. "But I saw that 'polite girl' carry the silver-perm along with glasses boy."
Okita stopped in his tracks. What? No freaking way!
The vice-commander's grin grew wider. "I knew it. You always liked the monster girl!" He was enjoying the shocked expression on Sougo's usual expressionless face.
Quirking an eyebrow, Hijikata said, "Well, you can stand frozen here. I'm going to go sleep."
Sliding the shoji screen close, Hijikata laughed.
"Man, it's good to be young."