Sadists Like China Girls
An Okita x Kagura fanfiction
Peace reigned at the Yorozuya office for once, as Shinpachi gave all his attention on the book in his hand and Kagura lovingly fondled her giant pet, Sadaharu. Gin-chan had gone out to buy something, and hadn't returned yet. The idiot was probably playing pachinko at some arcade or frequenting a cabaret club. No one knew for sure and certainly, no one bothered.
Suddenly, the door was pushed open by the aforementioned idiot, who was carrying a bunch of pictures and clearly bursting with news. Kagura and Shinpachi looked up briefly at their boss, before ignoring him. Which hardly went down well with Gin.
"OI! If you haven't noticed yet, I am back. And I've got some news!"
"Be quiet, Gin-san. I am trying to concentrate."
" Gin-chan, don't shout. Sadaharu will wake up."
Gintoki decided that revealing the news without further ado would probably be a better way to get their attention than patiently waiting for it.
" OKITA SOUGO'S GOT A GIRLFRIEND!"
"WHAT?!"
Shinpachi dropped his book in amazement. " That guy got a girlfriend? Whoever?"
Kagura stared stunned at Gin-chan before voicing, " Who would be crazy enough to date that sadist!"
Gin, enjoying their reactions, dropped down onto the sofa, showing them the several photos he was carrying. " I met that mayo freak and gorilla in the park. They were spying on that sadist and his girl. Her name's Sakura. And I've even got the proof if you don't believe me."
Kagura leaned in to take a good look at the pictures. They all showed Sougo with a beautiful, black haired and brown eyed woman. In one picture the pair were eating together, holding hands in another and hugging in yet another. The couple's faces weren't too clear, but they must have been happy. A weird feeling rose in Kagura, watching Sougo doing things he had never done with her before…. Not that she wanted to go out with him or anything! . After all, they were sworn rivals, so she hardly expected it too… Though, she wondered what his expression would be and whether he actually smiled when he was with his girl. Even after staring at the pictures for a good few minutes, she still couldn't figure out what exactly she felt. But she was definitely surprised…..
Shinpachi finally smiled and said, " Well, good for him. Now that you are back, Gin-chan, lets get dinner."
At dinner, both Gin and Shinpachi noticed that Kagura's appetite was just a little reduced. Sure, she took about twenty helpings and more, but it was definitely less than her daily average of thirty. Eventually, they shrugged it away, the girl probably had eaten too much sukonbu earlier to be too hungry now.
Yawning heavily, Kagura bid both the guys goodnight and climbed into her closet to sleep. Later, as she tossed about, sleep still evading her, she realized that she felt unhappy. And it was all the fault of those damned pictures.
Sougo hummed tunelessly to himself as he did his daily patrol. Feeling totally bored, he began to check off all the stuff he had planned to do that day.
Cause Hijikata-san's premature death. ( He had planted landmines and poisonous daggers all through the Vice commander's route, he hoped at least a few would work.)
Bunk work and laze around. (He was doing that at present.)
Annoy and pick a fight with China girl.
Hmm, he hadn't yet done the last one. So he decided to just that and set out in search of his favored rival. Oh, and he had a date with Sakura too. He wondered why he had forgotten about it. Anyway, he would go for it after thoroughly irritating and infuriating China. So, with a brisk step, he set out towards the park where she usually would be with her monster dog.
As expected, he found her there, munching on sukonbu and playing on the swing. A particularly caustic taunt just occurred to him, being the sadist he was.
" Yo China! Still eating seaweed? Is it because you don't get fed by Danna or can no amount of food ever fill the black hole of a stomach inside you ?"
" WHAT DID YOU SAY, YOU CURSED SADIST! I AM SO GOING TO SMASH THAT FACE OF YOURS!" And she flew at him with her umbrella, aiming it directly at his face. Sougo dodged swiftly, slashing at her with his sword. She jumped to avoid it and threw a punch, which he ducked.
And so it proceeded, as the duo ran, slashed, jumped and dodged, nearly destroying the park in the process, all the while yelling insults at each other. Sadaharu watched calmly, being quite used to his mistress' fights. In fact, though both of them looked and sounded really angry, in truth, they rather enjoyed their daily battles, which were always anything but boring.
DING DONG! The town bells struck three, surprising both of them. As always, they had been too immersed in their brawls to notice the time. The park was reduced to ashes and rubble. Sougo started when he remembered that he had a date soon.
" Well, see ya later then China. I've got to go now. I really don't have time to fool around with you in any case."
"Huh? Who the hell started the fight in the first place?! And what do you have to do now? I've never seen you work, you lazy sadist!"
"So you really stalk me? I am sooo flattered. But, I have got a date with an extremely beautiful and sweet woman, so I really don't want to stay with a monster like you at present." Sougo smirked and walked away, enjoying Kagura's obvious fury, as he heard her yell," LIKE HELL I WANT TO SPEND TIME WITH A SADIST LIKE YOU! I HATE YOU!" However, her words evoked a twinge of regret, maybe he had gone a little too far. Well, he thought he didn't really care.
Kagura kicked the object nearest to her, which happened to be a solid rock. Nursing her throbbing foot, she vowed that she was never going to talk or fight or even look at that sadist again, that guy who could hurt her with his words with such ease, every time they met.
Sakura smiled brightly when she saw Sougo approaching her. It never failed to amaze and amuse her to wonder how the famed sadist Shinsengumi captain, Okita Sougo ever fell for her. Not that she was completely sure that he had fallen for her. Well, she could only rely on her efforts and masculine foolishness to ensure that.
"Sougo sama, it is a pleasure to be in your company again. Shall we visit the riverside tonight, to enjoy the view?"
"Sure, Sakura. But let us have dinner first, shall we?"
Meanwhile, at the Yorozuya office, both Gin and Shinpachi stared at Kagura's closed cabinet in amazement. The girl had come home pretty late but that really wasn't their worry. The fact that she had taken only two helpings of rice at dinner and had left the table saying that she wasn't too hungry was what worried them the most. For Kagura to eat so less and say that she wasn't hungry meant that something serious had definitely happened. But what? Gin hoped that the girl would be back to her old self tomorrow and decided to go to bed.
Next morning, at the Shinsengumi headquarters, Hijikata Toushiro grumbled furiously in severe annoyance as he noticed that the captain had slept throughout the training session and meeting. He would have ordered seppuku for Okita then and there, but Kondo had told him to be forgiving, after all, the guy had returned pretty late from his date the last night.
Okita's new girlfriend, Sakura, was the talk of the entire Shinsengumi. He had stopped counting the number of times he had yelled at the idiots for idle gossip. Who bothered about whom the sadist dated? But he definitely disapproved of it and he didn't mind showing it. Suddenly, Yamazaki ran up to him with news of gangsters near Kabuki cho and Hijikata forgot his musings on Okita's girlfriend and got on duty immediately, like the demon vice commander he was.
After a few hours, their mission was neatly (though rather bloodily) wrapped up and the Shinsengumi were headed home. The captain of the first division yawned hugely, he had been unceremoniously woken up to go on the mission and he hadn't even enjoyed doing it. The opponents weren't at all at their level and he had disposed of them all too quickly. He decided that a fight with China was what he needed now, she lived just around here, anyway. Ah, there she was. As usual, though he would never admit it, he felt glad to see her.
Kagura was just returning after buying her beloved sukonbu. And she happened to see the last person she wanted to see, Okita Sougo, walking her way. The rest of the Shinsengumi had safely retreated, not wanting to get caught up in their monstrous fights. Hijikata tensed up, he knew that he was really going to be in hot water if the two of them decided to wreck the whole city.
However, nothing of the sort happened. Kagura simply turned her back to them and disappeared into the Yorozuya building. Even Sougo's loud, sadistic remark fetched absolutely no reaction. And thus, for the first time ever, the sadist and the China girl passed each other without a glare, altercation or a blow.
To say that Sougo was startled was an understatement. He looked totally amazed and very much annoyed, how dare China ignore him like that, huh? She didn't even react to my taunts. Seriously, what's up with her?
"Oi, Sougo, if you want to speak to her so badly, just go ahead and do it. Don't stand there like an idiot." sighed Hijikata, who sensed that something had occurred between those two.
"Who wants to speak to her? I was just surprised that she hadn't started cursing like a sailor yet. And don't poke your nose into my affairs if you don't want to die, Hijikata san."
Kondo could only sigh.
The next few days passed uneventfully. The Yorozuya received no remarkable requests and Kagura was almost back to her old self. Though she would sulk occasionally, and curse a certain sadist. Kagura had an inkling as to why, but she would rather die than accept that Sougo was somehow important to her, and that she really missed fighting with him. After all, she had sworn that she would take no notice of him and she was damn well going to stick to her resolution. Served him right for hurting her. He would eventually beg for her forgiveness and then maybe she would speak to him. Her eyes sparkled with mischief at the unlikely prospect. Suddenly, she was pulled out of her thoughts by Gin-chan.
" Yo, Kagura, we're going to visit the Shinsengumi today. Hurry up and come along."
"But why, Gin chan?" "Well, first of all, Otae wants us to return all of Gorilla's letters to him, along with some of hers, and second, I want to turn that idiot Zura in. He's been driving me crazy, trying to make me join his group of thickheads. Besides, we don't have much work today and I need a straight man for my jokes, as Shinpachi is going out with Kirara today."
Kagura grinned. This was totally a perfect opportunity to execute her scheme. She bounced out with Gin immediately, thinking, just wait, Sadist, I'll pay you back for everything, in my way. They soon reached the Shinsengumi headquarters, to find Kondo and Hijikata waiting for them.
" Gin-san, its been quite a long time, heh heh. Will you come over here for a moment? I've something to discuss…" grinned Kondo, looking just a bit embarrassed. Kagura was about to follow the pair when Hijikata stopped her.
"Oi Mayora, why are you stopping me? I want to listen to their talk too-aru."
" I think it might be better if you don't, China girl. Commander is only going to discuss about ways to win over that Shimura girl. And no girl ought to ever listen to stuff as cringe worthy as that ."
"Hmmph. Well, I am not that interested either. But I'm bored Mayora, so what do I do?"
"Go fight with Sougo as usual and stop bothering me. It'll at least wake the idiot up."
"I won't. I'll never have anything to do with that sadist again. Ah, can I fight with you?" Hijikata was seriously puzzled now. China didn't want to fight with Sougo? He remembered the way she had avoided him last time. Those two must have had a fight. Or, more likely, Sougo's really hurt her somehow. Well, a spar wouldn't hurt, I guess.
When Sougo entered the dojo, he saw one of the most unlikely sights ever. China and Hijikata were fighting and they actually looked like they were having fun. Hijikata for once, had forgotten his reservations about fighting women and China seemed quite fired up herself. At the sight of them fighting, a weird feeling bubbled up within him. China, his China was sparring with someone else, and totally ignoring him, just like the last time they had met. Wait, was he jealous? For that girl? No way. But whatever, he wasn't just going to let it pass.
"Hey China, are you fighting with Hijikata-san who'll go easy on you as you're a 'girl' because you're too scared to fight me? I never thought you'd be such a coward."
Hijikata cursed mentally. It didn't matter what kind of quarrel those two had in the past, but Sougo sure wasn't going to end it. The way he was going, the girl would just leave him alone forever. And she looks like she'll cry soon too…
"Get lost, sadist. Why are you even talking to me now, huh? Don't you have a beautiful girlfriend now? Go spend time with her and leave me alone." Kagura felt like slapping herself. For goodness' sake, she had sworn she wouldn't speak to him! So why the hell was she doing just that? Moreover, why did his words even affect her so much?
The said sadist looked visibly surprised at Kagura's words. But he hardly got time to respond, as Sakura herself skipped happily towards him, catching his arm and smiling brightly, with oddly sparkling eyes, almost out of nowhere. Kagura immediately stiffened up and glared fiercely at the woman who had just arrived. Looking at her face, some part of Sougo decided it might be interesting to provoke her some more and faking a smile, passed a protective arm around Sakura's shoulder.
"I can't have you staring at my girlfriend like that, China. Makes me wonder, though, are you jealous of us?" Kagura snapped back," In your dreams, fool. I don't even care," and marched straight out of the dojo. Sakura turned to observe the girl as she passed by and Hijikata could have sworn that he saw a positively malicious smile on her face. Sougo, however didn't even notice. At that moment, what preoccupied him most were the tiny tears in Kagura's eyes and the knowledge that he was probably the cause of it.
Kagura felt like blowing up everything around her with her umbrella, but she restrained herself. That damned sadist had hurt her again and on top of it, she had probably made a total fool of herself. After she had left the dojo, she had gone straight to her favorite park. There was no way she was going to spend any more time at the Shinsengumi headquarters, where she might run into that guy any moment. She hadn't even waited for or informed Gin-chan, but she was too upset to feel guilty. It was just the sight of Sougo putting his arm around that woman, protecting her, that she couldn't stand. And she had commonsense enough to know why.
I totally fell for him. I can't believe it, it had to be that freaking sadist… I guess the universe must really dislike me, huh, I have to fall in love with the one guy who doesn't even consider me as a girl, who loves hurting me the most and who is the prince of the planet of sadists… What'll Mami say? I don't even have the courage to confess.. I keep lying that I don't care, but I think I care more than I ever want to admit. Arggh! Whatever do I do?!
She hadn't realized in the least that she was in fact saying her thoughts out loud and even less that someone was actually listening to her go on and on, shell shocked into silence himself.
Sougo, hidden behind the wall of the park, could hardly believe his ears. Fortunately, he really didn't have much of a choice. The girl was now positively talking at the top of her voice.
Seriously? China likes me? Hell, she's always glaring at me every time we meet. But she's obviously not lying… And why the hell is my heart racing now? Ah, stop pretending sadist, you know why. I was really an idiot not to have realized it sooner. Ever since that fight under the cherry blossoms, she's always been on my mind… It was always as a hated rival at first, but we do seem to have built up a weird sort of bond… And somehow it seems to have transformed into love, I really don't get it. So for once, I'll act exactly as my heart says to…
And he resolutely walked up to his crazy, beloved China girl. She seemed extremely startled by his arrival, but he hardly gave her time to reply, as he bent over her and closed all distance between them with a passionate kiss. Kagura, stunned by everything that was going on, simply decided that she could think about all of it later, and kissed him back, pouring all her love and unsaid feelings into it, somehow knowing that he would surely understand. After all, she could definitely understand him.
" Oi, Sakata, are you alright? You're trembling. For heaven's sake, have you never seen a couple kiss?"
" I'd say the same goes to you, Mayo freak. I just don't want to imagine what Baldy and Kamui are gonna do to me now. And anyways, what about that other girl?"
"Kondo-san just told me that she is actually a member of the Harusame. Seems that Sougo was just going out with her to get some info on her activities. Well, anyway, Yamazaki just called with the data, so I suppose the mission is wrapped up now."
"Good… Well, lets allow the lovebirds some time to themselves, shall we? We'll be killed anyway if they find out that we've been spying on them. Geez, no one back home will believe it when I tell them."
"You don't have to worry about that; I've recorded the whole thing."
And Gintoki and Hijikata slipped away, smirking satisfactorily, leaving behind a couple laughing and kissing, as the Sun set behind them.