Be sure to read the previous parts, or this won't make much sense.
"Kanpai!"
Glasses were raised at the toast, the sound of celebration filling the main hall. Sougo raised his own cup and took his customary single sip of sake before setting it down. He wasn't much for alcohol, mostly because he didn't handle liquor well, or not at all as was the case, since even a single drink could knock him out. Sadists like him liked to be in control and alcohol was undoubtedly bad for maintaining any sort of control. Besides, being the only sober one around while everyone else got drunk off their heads meant he had excellent blackmail material on them the next day, and he didn't have to deal with a hangover. That is what those in the business referred to as a 'win-win'.
Tonight, though, blackmail was sort of the last thing on his mind. It was still there, of course, but it wasn't as much of a priority as usual. He glanced to the place of honour and saw Kagura seated with Kondo and Hijikata on either side of her. While Kondo's face was already slightly flushed from the sake, Hijikata was as sober as Sougo. Food was aplenty, but China seemed to not be eating at her usual pace and was actually just taking small bites from her plate while Kondo talked her ear off.
It was her going away party, but she seemed to be the person having the least fun. Sougo glanced down at his own untouched plate of food and frowned, thinking back to the conversation he had eavesdropped on last week between Kagura, Hijikata and Kondo.
"Am I in trouble?" she asked. Sougo got to the door just as he heard her ask that, and he leaned forward to hear the answer, sliding the door open just slightly enough to grant him a sliver of gap to see inside the room.
China was seated with her back to the door, Hijikata and Kondo in front of her, though neither of them had noticed Sougo.
Kondo laughed heartily, setting Sougo's nerves at ease. "No, not at all," he said. "The matter is settled. It's nothing for you to worry about anymore."
"Oh, that's good," said Kagura, her shoulders sagging in what Sougo assumed was relief.
Rengokukan had been his mess that he'd dragged a lot of people into, but to hear it was settled filled him with the same kind of relief.
His attention went back to the conversation, just as Kondo said "...Totsan wanted me to tell you that he received word from your father. Umibozu-dono is coming to Edo."
Sougo couldn't see Kagura's face since her back was to him, but he noticed the way her posture tensed up when she heard.
"O-oh?" he heard her ask, the slightest of tremor in her voice. "When?"
"Next week," said Kondo. "His ship will get in around midday."
"Alright," she said, and Sougo thought her voice sounded odd. "I'll be sure to be ready to leave."
Sougo felt an uncomfortable feeling settle in his stomach at her words, though he ignored it for the time being.
"I wanted to say how grateful we were for all your help, Kagura-san," said Kondo, with a wide smile. "Not just with Takasugi, but training the troops too. You have done a lot for the Shinsengumi and for Edo, and I want you to know we will never forget it." He bowed to her in thanks, keeping his head lowered with utmost respect.
It was moments like these that Sougo knew why he had chosen this man above all to follow. He was a little bit surprised when China lowered her head too, bowing respectfully to Kondo and returning the gesture. Sougo hadn't even known she knew how to be this polite, and had to wonder if this was something she had learned during her time in Edo.
"I am grateful to the Shinsengumi as well," she said, raising her head once more as Kondo did too. "I have learned a great deal here in Edo, and I am thankful to all of you for making me feel welcome here." Her words were sincere and serious, and seemed to be chosen carefully and with enough nervousness to tell Sougo that she was not used to speaking that way.
"Not at all," said Kondo. "If you're ever in Edo again, our doors will be open to you."
"That's not just him being polite," said Hijikata, blowing smoke from his lips. "It's an official invitation. Like I said earlier, you have been an asset to the Shinsengumi, and if you wanted, Kondo-san and I would both support making you an offer for a permanent position here."
"R-really?" she asked, sounding genuinely shocked.
"Of course," said Kondo, at once. "We already consider you to be one of us, and we don't want you to leave. But we understand you have your own obligations too. We just hope you know that you will always have a place with us."
She sighed and Sougo thought it was the saddest sound he had heard her make. "Thank you," she said, her voice wavering noticeably. "If it were possible, I would love nothing more than to accept that offer."
The words were still bugging Sougo. What did she mean 'if it were possible'? An official position with the Shinsengumi was nothing to scoff at, and if she really wanted to stay, then she should just do it, especially if the thought of leaving had her with that damn look in her eyes for the past week.
She still had the look now, and Sougo knew he wasn't imagining it because he'd had a conversation with Hijikata the day before about the exact issue.
"So, you fought China?" he asked, bringing it up casually.
Hijikata raised his eyes to him from the report he was writing. "Yeah," he said. "We fought after the Rengokukan thing was settled." He returned to the report, clearly thinking that was the end of the conversation.
Sougo, however, was far from done. "And?" he asked, leaning against the doorway of Hijikata's office.
"And what?" asked Hijikata.
"What was it like?" he asked, trying to keep his tone nonchalant. He wasn't quite sure what the sickly feeling that had filled him as soon as news of China and Hijikata sparring alone had reached his ears was, but he was determined to get to the bottom of it. All he knew was that the mere thought had seemed to double his usual hatred of Hijikata.
"Challenging, that's for sure," said Hijikata, thoughtfully. "It's one thing seeing her strength when she fights others and a whole nother thing to actually experience it firsthand. It's definitely something."
Hearing him speak about it with obvious admiration was making it worse. Sougo clenched and unclenched his fist so he wouldn't reach for his sword and slice off Hijikata's head. "Interesting," he said instead, gritting his teeth.
Hijikata finally seemed to notice his mood and raised his eyebrows. "What is it that you really wanted to ask, you damn brat?" he asked, crossing his arms.
Thing was, Sougo couldn't verbalise what he actually wanted to know. Thinking about Hijikata getting to see China when she was fighting with him felt...well, he wasn't sure what it felt like but he didn't like it. The thought of how fierce her eyes got when she fought, how she spat curses when things didn't go her way, how red her blood was...Sougo wanted Hijikata to die a thousand painful deaths for catching even a glimpse of one of those things.
Unfortunately, Hijikata was also a perceptive bastard. "Sougo," he said, using that tone of his that set his teeth on edge because he was about to point out something that he didn't want to think about. "It's alright to feel sad that she's leaving."
"Who's sad?" asked Sougo. "Are you sad because you realised no one likes you? Or is it because of that poisoned bottle of mayonnaise I gave you yesterday?"
He didn't rise to the bait, which was rare. "Your skills have improved vastly since you started training with her. And you two get along," he said, and then frowned. "In your own messed up ways sure, but you do get along. You are closer in age as well, so it's not too odd that you became friends." Sougo scoffed at that, loudly and obviously, making Hijikata sigh. "Fine, not friends, then. Rivals, enemies, whatever you want to call it. Someone like that becomes important to you, whether you like it or not. Maybe in time you do become friends in some ways, but with her leaving, you may not get the chance."
"What is your point here, exactly?" asked Sougo, and then chuckled mockingly. "Do you want me to ask her not to leave?"
He expected scoffing or something, but Hijikata shrugged. "That may not be a bad idea," he said. "She doesn't seem to want to leave, so if you ask, maybe she'll stay."
"Huh?" asked Sougo, thrown off by that enough to forget his ridiculous suggestion. "What do you mean she doesn't want to leave?"
"You know that Kondo-san and I made her an offer for a permanent position here," said Hijikata, and then narrowed his eyes at him. "Don't try to deny it, I know you were eavesdropping." Sougo shrugged unrepentantly, making Hijikata roll his eyes. "Look, it may not be our business, but when she got news of her old man returning, she wasn't completely thrilled."
"Maybe she just has daddy issues," shrugged Sougo, though he was thinking over Hijikata's words carefully.
"If it's that, then it's none of our business," said Hijikata, firmly. "But if it's about her wanting to stay in Edo, then there is something we can do about that."
"Do you want her to stay?" asked Sougo curiously.
Hijikata paused before answering. "I do," he said. "The troops have vastly improved in their skill because of her training, not to mention she can keep you in line too."
Sougo wanted to ask why Hijikata wasn't the one asking her to stay then, but knew it was for the same reason why Sougo wouldn't do it either. They just weren't the kind of people to do something like that, regardless of circumstances.
"I'm not going to ask her something stupid like that," Sougo declared firmly. "And I will be glad that she's gone. One less headache for me to handle. Bye now, Hijikata-san, and please enjoy the mayonnaise I gave you yesterday."
"Wasn't that the one you said you poisoned, you brat?" demanded Hijikata, raising his voice but Sougo just waved and left.
As he'd told Hijikata, there was no way he was asking China to stay if she was leaving. He didn't care one way or another where she went, but the more time went on, the more it kept irritating him. Now that it was her going away party and she would be leaving tomorrow, Sougo could finally admit that he was maybe, just the tiniest bit, not okay with her leaving.
It wasn't because of some stupid reason like Hijikata had assumed, but because he would lose a challenging rival. He had surpassed everyone here at Shinsengumi, and the usual Jouishishi and criminals provided no challenge. China was the only person he could fight on an equal footing these days, and yes, his skills had improved as a result of sparring with the Yato, so he didn't want to lose the rival who was making him stronger. Not to mention, it was genuinely fun to fight her.
Sougo had his little hobbies of trying to kill Hijikata, watching fights, torturing the troops with additional training, and the occasional sadistic ventures with the opposite sex. But he also got bored easily. China was fun. Whether it was sparring verbally or going at it with fists and weapons, Sougo always had fun and was yet to grow bored of her. Her leaving was like someone taking away his favourite toy, and Sougo was never one to give up on things that he wanted. His selfish, sadistic side demanded to be pleased. He wanted China to stay so he could torment her and fight her and annoy her. He didn't want her to be off in space somewhere fighting other people instead of him.
And yet, he knew he couldn't ask her to stay. It would make him look weak and pathetic and there was no way he could let China think she had any impact on him whatsoever. That would defeat the whole purpose of toying with her. Besides, whether she wanted to or not, it was obvious that she was going to leave with her father.
"You're not eating Okita taichou?" asked Yamazaki, clearly having grown bold after a couple of drinks into him. "The yakitori is delicious."
"I'm fine," he said, the stifling, alcohol-filled atmosphere not agreeing with him. As soon as Yamazaki's attention was diverted, Sougo slipped out quietly, welcoming the slightly cool evening air as he left the stuffy main hall.
He had been out for about ten or so minutes when he heard the doors open and close behind him, and he glanced back to see no one other than Kagura joining him outside.
"I don't think you're supposed to leave your own party so early," he said, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah, I'm not much for crowds when alcohol gets involved," she shrugged. "They all seem like they're having fun, though," she added with a glance back at the closed doors.
"Everyone loves a party," he said.
"You apparently don't," she said.
"Neither do you," he said. "Did Kondo-san take his clothes off yet?
"I think he was starting to," she said, with a small smile. "I left before I saw something that would ruin me for marriage. He was yelling about the karaoke machine as I was leaving."
They both heard the painful screeching sound of a microphone being plugged in and cringed. "I think they found it," he said.
"Let's go someplace else where we won't have to hear it," said Kagura, grabbing his arm.
Sougo was slightly surprised, but let her lead him away to the back of the compound towards her room. It was a nice night out, so she sat down on the engawa, clearly expecting him to join her. He did, after a brief moment of hesitation, enjoying the peacefulness of the night where they could still hear the muted tones of bad singing coming from the main hall.
The silence seemed to stretch on, and since Kagura didn't seem like she would say anything, Sougo decided to do it instead. "So," he said, cringing slightly as his voice broke through the silence. "Where are you headed next?"
She shrugged slightly, her eyes trained on the moon, which was full and bright against the inky night sky. "Who knows?" she said. "Papi will have a new job lined up, no doubt."
He nodded, wondering what he was supposed to do now. There was a loud crashing sound and they both turned towards it quickly, but it was followed by ringing laughter, so they relaxed. Something funny must have happened at the party.
"I think I will miss this," said Kagura, her voice soft.
Sougo looked at her and saw a small smile playing on her lips. "You will?" he asked.
"Of course I will," she said, slightly indignant that he would think otherwise. "I'll miss everyone here in Edo. Gin-chan and anego and Shinpachi and Sadaharu and Soyo-chan, and the Chief and Vice Chief, and even those dumbasses back in the main hall who are no doubt destroying something important in a drunken stupor."
"If you will miss everyone so damn much, then why are you leaving?" he asked bluntly. "Oh, and screw you for not mentioning me."
She looked slightly startled and then smiled. "What's the matter, Sadist? You want me to not go?" she asked. This was exactly what he didn't want, but she shrugged instead of teasing him further. "I do like Edo," she said. "And I am still sore that I let Takasugi get away. Besides, while I won't miss your sadistic self, you make for a not completely terrible sparring partner."
It was his turn to have a slightly teasing smile on his face. Unlike her, he was planning on milking it for all it was worth, but she continued speaking before he had a chance.
"My father won't let me stay," she said. "My training isn't complete yet."
"When will it be done?" he asked.
"I don't know," she said. "If I had not been distracted and caught Takasugi, this would have been the end of my training, leaving me to free to choose my next course of action. Since I failed, who knows when Papi will think I can handle another solo mission."
"Was this your first time acting on your own?" asked Sougo.
"Yeah, Papi and I have always travelled together since I started my training, but this was my first time working alone, and I failed," she said. "And before you tell me that I didn't fail, I know my father will see it that way. Takasugi isn't dead or caught, so I failed to do what was asked of me."
Sougo contemplated that. "Do you want to return once your training is done?" he asked.
"Truth be told, I have been learning a lot here in Edo, too," she said, her voice low.
"I know," he said. "Your fighting style has changed from when we first fought almost three months ago. It's been influenced by my own fighting style and even by the troops you have been training, to some extent."
She looked at him in surprise, as if she had not expected him to know. He raised an eyebrow at that. He hadn't been watching her train the troops because he was a creepy stalker like Kondo. He was genuinely interested to see her fight and learn how to defeat her. It hadn't seemed like she was too familiar with fighting people who used swords, so fighting with the men of the Shinsengumi had honed her skills in a different way than whatever other battles she had encountered in space. It helped that while many of their members practiced the Tennen Rishin Ryu, they had plenty of members with varying styles and from different schools of sword fighting.
"Yeah," she said, finally. "Fighting's one thing, but Edo has also taught me about other things that my father's training did not. I would like to learn more."
"Not that this is any of my business, but couldn't you tell your father that?" asked Sougo.
"Ask him leave to his own daughter on an alien planet to live in a compound full of men for an undetermined amount of time?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "Besides, I'm sure the Chief was just being nice when he made me the offer to stay on with the Shinsengumi."
"Huh?" asked Sougo, confused. "Kondo-san, sure, but Hijikata-san saying that it was a genuine offer was not him being polite."
Fortunately, she did not pick up on the fact that he seemed to know a whole lot more than should be possible about that particular conversation.
"Do you think Matsudaira will agree?" asked Kagura, looking sceptical.
"If Kondo-san and Hijikata-san say so, then yeah," shrugged Sougo.
"Interesting," she said, smiling like she knew something he didn't. "Do you know much about alien hunters?"
He thought that was coming out of nowhere, but since he really didn't know a whole lot about it, he said nothing.
She chuckled. "Alien hunters are mostly called when there is nothing else on the planet that can help," she said. "Usually it's when the monster has already destroyed their world order, so the survivors call for outside help. It's why the job doesn't pay a whole lot. People who have had their worlds destroyed aren't really the rich kind. The rich usually have enough to abandon the planet and go somewhere else if a monster shows up."
"What's your point?" he asked.
"My point is, alien hunters don't really do bounty missions," said Kagura. "Especially not on a planet like Earth that already has a functioning law enforcement and government."
Sougo stared at her. "So...Totsan calling you in…?" he asked.
She smiled slightly and looked at the moon. "Earth has been open to Amanto for twenty years which seems like a long time to us, but when you think about it, it's really not a long time at all," she said. "Even if the Tendoshu control the Bakufu here in Edo, I'm sure people like Matsudaira are doing all they can to take stock of all the different alien races that could come here."
Now that she'd said it, Sougo thought that was rather obvious. Of course, Totsan would do anything to make sure Edo was safe, Tendoshu or no Tendoshu.
"So, he called you in...to see how Yato worked?" he asked.
"Probably, this is all still hypothetical, you know," she said. "I mean, Yato are rare. Even among Amanto, Yato are rare. When Papi told me to take this mission, he told me not to be surprised if I was just coming here to be observed so humans could determine if Yato posed a threat."
"Then why come here at all?" he asked.
She shook her head. "I had my own reasons for coming to Earth," she said. "Besides, everyone knows Yato are dangerous. Whether I was observed or not, that's the conclusion everyone usually comes to." She chuckled, and it was a bitter sound. "It's sad, really. They say if you see a Yato, you are already dead. Kind of messes with a girl's self esteem."
He didn't have his sword with him, but since they were sitting close enough, he turned and threw a punch in her direction.
Kagura blocked it, barely making it before his fist would have made contact with her nose. "What is your damage, Sadist?" she demanded, holding his fist away from her face.
He shrugged unapologetically. "You were making a weird face," he said. "It made me want to punch it."
"You are so messed up," said Kagura, releasing him.
"Nah, I just don't put stock in some messed up rumours about Amanto unless I have firsthand experience," he said. "Besides, I haven't dropped dead yet."
"You might if you keep punching me out of nowhere," she said, but there was a smile on her face instead of that resigned, bitter look from before. It made him relax to see it gone.
"Whatever Totsan's reasons may or may not be, if you want to stay in Edo, none of it should matter. You should do what you want," he said, bluntly. "If not, then you are just running away because you're scared."
"That simple, huh?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.
"That's for you to decide," he said, getting to his feet. "Leave or stay, the decision is yours to make and yours to live with. Though let me tell you something about people who run away, China." He stopped and regarded her coolly. "I think they are cowards. Despite your ugly face, disgusting food habits and annoying personality, I have never once thought of you as a coward. Though I suppose we shall find out soon if I was right or wrong, eh?"
He saw the look of shock on her face, and nodded as he left to return to his room. He wasn't sure if he had crossed a line in some way, but he found that he didn't care. He'd said what he wanted to, and whatever happened next, the ball was in Kagura's court.