Day 22 OkiKagu Month prompt (which happened to be 'red string of fate'). It's late, but better late than October 1.

This fanfiction will contain a some hints for SabuNobu (Sasaki Isaburo x Imai Nobume), my 3rd favorite pairing in the series.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Gintama. It belongs to Sorachi Hideaki.

Red Strings

A day before his eighth birthday, Okita Sougo had gotten lost during the Tanabata Festival.

Him, his older sister, that bastard Hijikata, and Kondo Isao had been enjoying the festivities in downtown Musashi's grand Shinto shrine, and just when he got distracted by the goldfish scooping game, they suddenly disappeared.

Sougo tried his best not to panic, but when minutes turned to half an hour, that was when he started running around, bumping into people in the process, and trying not to cry. At seven, though Sougo did his best to be mature about everything, his age still showed, and did what kids did best: break down and cry when everything didn't go his way.

"Hey kid."

Hiccuping, he looked up from the sleeve of his uwagi.

Somehow, he had been too preoccupied with his crying that he didn't notice that he bumped into a stranger. Mumbling a soft 'sorry', he was well on his way to try and look for his sister again when the stranger spoke up.

"I just noticed…"

Sougo looked up and was startled to see the man's gaze so intent on his hand. "Y-yeah…?"

"Your red string… it leads to the heavens. You think you'll end up with an Amanto?"

At this, young Sougo blinked and gave the man an odd look. He knew about the Amanto, about those weird creatures that came from the heavens and began residing in Edo. He hadn't been to Edo, but he will be soon, after he was done with his training… and if that bastard Hijikata would actually have any progress at all with his training.

… That meant leaving aneue but…

"… Huh?"

"Oh, don't mind me." The man said, scratching the back of his head. "I just have this weird ability to see everyone's red string." At this, he raised his right pinkie finger. "This one."

"… Okay. And… what does that mean anyway? That red string." This time around, Sougo was no longer crying, but was giving the older man a confused look. "I don't get it."

Before the stranger could reply, a flurry of red suddenly appeared, embracing the younger boy. "Sou-chan! There you are!" the familiar voice of his sister, to his disbelief, has sent him into a crying fit. Somehow, he didn't care anymore, and he just cried and cried, wailing loudly at the fact that he had finally found the person he was looking for. "O-oh, don't cry! Big sis is here, see!" Mitsuba said, trying to calm him down, but the younger boy cried harder than ever, gaining the attention of the passers-by who gave them a curious look. Embarrassed at the scene her little brother was causing, she was just about to carry him off somewhere when Kondo Isao began laughing and lifted Sougo under the arms.

"There, there, Sougo." Another round of later as he carried the boy in his arms. The younger Okita then buried his face on the shoulder of his mentor, still crying his heart out. "Calm down, calm down. Your sister is here!"

Another sniff, and the teary-eyed boy looked up to see Kondo's smiling face. "Y-yeah but… but that was… scary."

Mitsuba bowed to the stranger. "I-I apologize for the trouble…"

The stranger shook his head. "It was no trouble at all. I—" all of a sudden, his expression turned serious. "… I apologize for being forward but… are you and him…" he gestured at Hijikata Toushiro.

"Huh? Oh, no. We're just friends." Mitsuba said.

"… Strange. Then why are you two—" before he could complete his sentence, he shook his head and headed off towards the food stalls.

That was the last time they had seen that man.

… Until he moved to Edo, that is.

At age fourteen, Okita Sougo now resided in Edo, still under the tutelage of Kondo Isao, still that Hijikata bastard's upperclassman in kendo, but so far away from his sister. They wrote to each other often, but for him, it was not enough. Loneliness was eating him up, they only had one another, and the distance was not doing anything. His sister was too weak to travel frequently to Edo to see him, so all he could do was save up on his allowance and send her some money. The Shogun had his eyes on Kondo Isao's dojo, and had wanted to set up a police force that would protect Edo, with Kondo as the commander of the said task force. From the dojo's pool of talents, he was to pick out his second-in-command and would start the recruitment as soon as possible.

Sougo's dream was to support Kondo Isao all the way and be the vice-commander.

"Kid." Called a voice while Sougo was on his way to the local bakery.

"… Oh, it's you. That guy from the Tanabata years ago." Said the teenager. It was hard not to forget the guy who suddenly blurs out loud that the supposed 'love of his life' will be an Amanto.

"Speaking of that, guess what?"

He decided to humor the guy. "What?"

"Your red string… it's not high up in the sky anymore. You think she's here already?"

At this, his pupils dilated from shock at the news.

'W-what?!' Sougo suddenly felt weak all of a sudden. Fear was running through his body, and his shoulders had gone tense. How was one gonna react over this sudden news of the destined partner being here, in Edo, of all the damn places in this world…?! Their meeting was inevitable, as it was written in his future, but did it have to be this soon…?!

"She's here… in Edo. The crimson thread tied around your smallest fingers glows a brighter red when you two are nearing one another. "I know where she is. You want to meet—" before he could continue, the sandy-haired boy shook his head.

"I don't wanna to end up with a filthy Amanto. She can die for all I care." He said as harsh as he could, hoping that the stranger would leave him alone and stop planting weird ideas in his head. The very idea of him ending up with a scary-faced outer space being was enough to make him hurl.

"That's not a very nice thing to say." The man said, taking out his mobile phone and pressing on the buttons madly. "What if she's here somewhere and listening?"

"Who cares, old man?" He said. "Get out of my way."

As the younger male made his way inside the bakery, all the stranger could do was try and not destroy the flip phone that was on his hand as he glared at the younger man.

"What irony… the country bumpkins themselves are the ones who don't believe all of this." The stranger, a city man himself, did not believe it at first, this whole 'red string of fate' business. However, after seeing the destined moment happen before his very eyes, he had been forced to believe.

… Or rather, he knew it was real.

"Isaburo." A dark-haired young woman in her late teens said as she approached him, her usual deadpan look hinting a look of concern. Seeing him look at the figure of Okita Sougo, she asked out loud, "Shall I kill him?"

Sasaki Isaburo, heir of the Sasaki Family, shook his head. "He is not worth your time, Nobume-san." He snapped his mobile phone shut. "Come, let us go home."

"Donuts." She reminded him, her voice back to its timid tone that he knew so well.

"Of course. Let's stop by Misu Do [1] before we go home."

As soon as they had begun their walk, Nobume had reached out for his hand beneath the layer of robes he wore and intertwined her fingers with his left, holding it tight. The silver-haired man said nothing as she leaned for a bit and walked side-by-side with him, their shoulders touching, their stance looking intimate. Though they were not lovers (yet), the mere fact that they call one another by their given names are a dead giveaway on just how close their relationship is to one another.

After all, Imai Nobume, formerly named Mukuro, owes him her life.

Isaburo, on the other hand, found her on the night he also found the person destined for him.

The red crimson thread tied around their smallest finger glowed a brighter red as they made their way to the popular donut shop in Edo. For someone who was usually stoic, it made him smile.

"Isaburo…? Is there something the matter?"

He shook his head. "Nothing. Go on, pick the ones you like."

They ended up going home with a box of three dozen donuts, all for her.

The next time they meet, it was on the battle field.

Okita Sougo, now older, is now the captain of the peasant police force, the Shinsengumi. At that instance, Isaburo smirked to himself, knowing that there was still this possibility of the young boy getting incensed over that red string business. With that, he tested the waters to see the results.

"... I met the girl destined for you the other day. She's in Edo—" at this, the crimson-colored eyes flashed angrily at him momentarily before it went back to its usual nonchalant look.

"You're still sprouting nonsense, old man. If she was the one, I should've met her by now." He shot back, a hint of tension evident in his tone.

"—and she's not as filthy as you think she is." Isaburo continued as if he had not been interrupted by a peasant. Elite was still elite, and the commander of the Mimawarigumi was the embodiment of the word in every sense, as well as all of his men... and the lone woman in their elite police force.

"She must be a pig then."

At this, Isaburo smirked wider. "Is that an endearment for her, I wonder?"

"Die."

Little did the elite know that Okita Sougo would use it in the years to come.

Years after, just when Isaburo had finally decided to settle down and officially take over as the head of the Sasaki Family (he still got into Mimawarigumi affairs, but only while his vice-commander wasn't looking), he had encountered the young man once again in the streets of Edo, looking quite pensive. Immediately, he knew the reason for the depression just by looking at the sunny sky.

After all, Imai Nobume was currently off duty because she wanted to see off one of the very few women whom she could call 'friend'.

"Seems like your red string is pointing back to the heavens. Did she leave?"

"Beats me. She probably ran away." at this, Isaburo allowed himself a small smile.

"... She'll be back." the head of the Sasaki family replied with conviction.

"... Who cares..." at this, Sougo walked past him, his eyes downcast.

It was obvious that he was taking it hard, the Amanto girl's departure to wherever she was going. While everyone was at the Terminal to see her off, he skipped out on it, probably realizing that it would worsen the emotional stress that he was currently experiencing.

Sasaki sighed, wanting to hit the young man for being an idiot and for being unable to convey his feelings to the girl in question... though he knew that whatever happened, those two fated people would finally be together in the end.

As for when, Isaburo did not know.

It was all up to them to figure everything out.

To be continued in the prompt 'Waiting For You'.

Note:

[1] Misu Do- how the Japanese call Mister Donut in Japan. It is a very well known store that sells pon de rings.

I hope I at least winged it. orz thank you so much for reading!

Reviews are very much appreciated. :)