Woo. Been a really long time since I submitted anything. Anyways, here's something that was written awhile back but just never got published because of my horrible habit of laziness. :D
They might be a little OOC because, well, I have yet to figure out how to keep these characters 'in character', haha.
Hope you guys enjoy. Don't forget to review. Let me know if what you liked and what you didn't. Constructive criticism is alright with me!

Don't own Gintama.

Why had it been so hard for her to accept the truth? The truth that spoke so loudly, bugged her to no end. She watched him walk away; ignoring her cries, her tears. He knew how much it pained her if he merely walked away and yet, he did just that. Walk away. As he ignored her cries her legs pumped to their strongest to catch up to his disappearing figure; but there was nothing she could do. She was weak. His feet have traveled farther than her measly ones have, and she noted his broad shoulders. She acknowledged his strength, and accepted that—no matter what—this can no longer be his home. She can no longer be her big brother. This was a stranger now, this person walking out of her life. He is a stranger.

Blink.

Middle of the night, cold sweat, deep breathing; yep, this was definitely one of those nightmares again. The tousled blanket, the pillow far from her head—the orange haired girl could feel all of it out of place in the dark closet in which she called her 'bedroom'. Slowly she brought herself up to a sitting position as she cradled her head in her hands. Her fingers came in contact with her wet cheeks. Crying; she remembered she cried in her nightmares.

"Feh, annoying dreams." Kagura muttered to herself in the darkness as she wiped her tears away. "They all just need to disappear."

She sat in silence, resting her tired head onto her knees and listening to the deafening silence. Even the world outside seemed to disappear. The darkness was definitely not her place. It drove her mad. The thought of being enclosed in it—trapped—it suffocated her. Quickly, she shook her head and slid the closet door open. She hung her legs over the edge of her 'bed' as she poked her head out to examine the living room. The street light from outside provided very little light inside, but she could make out the shape of the furniture and the room. Still no sound. Her memory kicked in and she remembered Gin still hasn't come home. This was normal. He's an adult, he could have his own plans and he can stay out as long as he wanted to; although he rarely stayed out all night. Her only companion was the dog, currently asleep by the couch.

She debated on going back to sleep but the thought scared her. She hated dreaming about that guy; that orange haired, violent, insensitive, monster that was supposedly her brother. Memories that replayed over and over in her sleep; she hated getting these dreams. Most of the time they were nice, happy and innocent dreams of sukonbu and food but these dreams she dreaded. That painful memory, she did not want to relive.

A tired sigh escaped her lips as she quietly jumped out of the closet. Sadaharu stayed still, not bothered by her sudden movements. Kagura pulled out her usual clothes from the bottom portion of the closet and silently changed in the dark. She left her hair down deciding she was too lazy to put them up. Staying here in silence would just drive her mad; might as well enjoy some fresh air now that she's awake.

The girl's eyes went to the clock in the living room; she could barely make out the hands that pointed at the time. It was 20 minutes after midnight; she was only asleep for 2 hours. She let out another sigh as she slipped into her shoes and gently slid the front door open. Sadaharu remained asleep, she was relieved by this.

"I'll be right back." She muttered towards the sleeping fluff as she slipped into the night.

Given that it was night, she was surprised to see so many people out and about. It was slightly chilly but bearable. The wind blew now and then, playing with her loose hair. Some shops still remained open, most almost certainly sold booze. How late do these people stay up; she wondered to herself. Her footsteps were masked in the sound of laughing men, giggling women and other loud folks. She let herself become drowned in it, distracting her from any other thought. Thus she didn't notice the light haired young man standing in front of her and thus why she managed to slam her face against the individual's chest.

"China, the hell are you doing out this late? Lil' kiddies like you should be in bed already."

Her eyes blinked t the monotone voice; she didn't even need to look up, she just stepped back. "Idiot sadist; why aren't you in bed then?"

"I'm not a child, just a child at heart. There's a difference." He explained as he examined the streets.

She raised her eyebrows and eyed him. "Child at heart? You're nothing but a sadist at heart."

His eyes slowly trailed down towards hers. "Go home, kid."

"Shut up. I'm a teenager, there's a difference. Leave me alone creep; go do your job!" she huffed as she began to walk passed him.

"Y'know I could arrest you for being outside this late since you're underage." He replied calmly with a hint of taunt in his voice.

"Wasting your time on a mere teenager when real criminals are out and about; you're a sad excuse for a police officer." She retorted showing no signs of stopping.

Without even making a sound he was already right behind her, the handle of his sword poking at her back. "Odd, I expected you to kick me or something." He noted, looking down at the girl who stopped in her tracks, noting the fact that her hair was free from the usual buns that she kept them in.

Kagura exhaled and slowly turned towards the Shinsengumi captain. "You really don't have a life do you?"

"What's with all this sudden talking?" he answered her question with a question.

"Not in the mood, sadist."

"What are you? On your period or something?"

"…"

"So instead of PMS-ing, Yato girls lose their interest to fight? Is that how it works?"

"I'm not on my period! Shut up!" she retorted. "Do I always have to fight you every time I see you? Go away!"

This time; his eyebrow raised in curiosity. "Did you catch some alien virus?"

She eyed him in confusion.

"You're definitely spouting some nonsense." He continued.

Her eyes drooped; her lips frowned instead of snarling in anger. "Yeah. Yeah, maybe."

Okita continued to stare at her, she was definitely acting odd; this only added to his curiosity. Quickly he glanced around, seeing the people in the streets minding their own business. He grabbed her wrist and began to pull her away.

Kagura stumbled. "W-what the hell are you doing?"

No answer.

"Answer me you idiot!" she yelled louder as he continued to drag her along.

Silence.

He kept dragging her for what felt like hours but were truly only minutes. Her eyes glued to the back of his head, but she could see from her peripherals the changing scenery. Wherever he was taking her it was definitely getting more secluded and unfamiliar, then sudden fear enveloped her as a thought popped into her head.

Quickly she breathed all the air she could muster before yelling, 'rape!' but she only managed a mere "RA-!" before a hand came to cover her mouth.

The reddish eyes that belonged to young man in front of her, stared into hers. "Shut up, China! How sick do you think I am? OW!"

Kagura spat after biting his hand. "Very sick! Where the hell are you taking me?"

"Nowhere." He answered matter-of-factly.

She noticed his other hand still holding onto her wrist. "Let me go. I'm going home."

"You don't know your way back from here."

"I don't care, I'll find my way."

"Where's danna?"

"Hell if I know."

"Who's at home?"

"No one. The hell do you wanna know?"

"What's wrong?"

Kagura was about to find an insult fit to counter the insult she was expecting from him but she stopped. His hand released her wrist and he stepped back, examining the girl in front of him. She remained silent.

"You get allergic off something? Your eyes are red and puffy." He pointed out.

She grew awfully confused by the second. Was he trying to trick her? Humiliate her?

"You definitely caught some weird Yato virus didn't you?" he continued, ignoring her confused expression.

Her lips formed a frown; her eyes grew bubbly with tears that threatened to fall. "Go away." She whispered; her voice almost turned into a whimper.

He sighed, with one hand in his pocket; he used the other to tousle her hair.

The simple gesture was enough to make the tears fall. One by one she let them drop. From her eyes, they trailed down to her cheeks, falling off her jaw and onto the ground. She didn't dare make a sound. She felt pathetic crying in front of him; she felt weak. The sinking feeling only made it worse and she had to bite her lip and clenched her fists to stop her sobs.

Okita examined the girl, his hand still on her head. This was the first time he's ever seen her so vulnerable; so helpless. He didn't like it, not one bit. Slight sympathy seeped into him as he heard a slight whimper escape her lips. He took a step closer, sliding his hand onto her back and pushing her against his chest.

It didn't take long before Kagura felt sudden warmth enclosed her as Okita pressed her body against his in a semi-tight hug, one hand still stuck in his pocket; he only needed one arm to encase the petite girl in front of him.

Quickly grabbing onto his Shinsengumi uniform, Kagura buried her head against his chest as she let out a loud wail; her tears now flooding his jacket.

The light haired captain only tightened his hold against the shaking girl.

The two stayed in the same position for quite some time. Kagura managed to calm herself down from her sudden cry but she didn't make any effort to separate from him. He didn't either. Okita kept his hold as tight as he could around her; his chin resting on the top of her head. They remained silent for awhile; completely content with their current position. Kagura forgot the fact that she had just cried in front of her rival, the one person she swore never to show her weakness to; and now that she has, she decided she could care less, at least, for now, maybe.

"Thanks, you insufferable jerk." He heard her mumbled in the quietest whisper. The corner of his mouth twitched but he gave no response to her condescending thanks.

Everything went back to silence again until Okita noticed her weight getting heavier. He looked down at the girl in his arms and noticed her eyes closed in peace; her breathing became even. A slight noise came from her half opened lips.

Snore.

His eyes narrowed. "The nerve..."

Slowly and carefully he picked the girl up into his arms, noticing her feathery weight. His feet carried him a few steps before he reached his destination. The sign that read: Shinsengumi was illuminated by a lamp. He kicked the gate open and silently sauntered into the premise.

No one knew why the captain had come home with a girl in his arms. No one knew the reason why of all people, that girl was the one and only orange haired girl from the Yorozuya. No one knew why he took her to his room. No one dared to ask. And no one dared to stop him and tell him to do his work when he went out to walk her home. Hijikata and Kondo and the others merely watched the two leave.

"Oi. Toshi. . . Do you think they, y'know?" Kondo asked warily.

Hijikata lit his cigarette trying to hide his own concern. "Don't you have something more important to do?"

Gin and Shinpachi clearly didn't make it easy for Okita to just leave. They interrogated him nonstop before Kagura knocked them upside the head. Kagura took Sadaharu for a walk and Okita went off to 'work'.

"Oi. Sh-Sh-Shinpachi. . . Do you think they, y'know?"

"Why didn't you come home last night? If you came home this wouldn't have happened!" the boy with the glasses lectured.

Kagura went off with her day with a smile on her face, the captain walking beside her, making the excuse that his patrol area was the same route as her walk.

Yeah? No? Let me know yeah? Hope you guys enjoyed! Review! :D

-Torogi