Summary: Hijikata is alone in the Shinsengumi for a whole week when he found a passed out and injured Kagura in front of the gate during a storm. He decides to treat her until she is well, but what will happen within the week? Will friendship form or will the Shinsengumi Headquarters be destroyed?! Or will it go completely unexpected?
Chapter 1: Skin to skin
Hijikata sighed as he watched the weather forecast on the static television. There was a hundred percent chance of heavy rain and thunderstorms, and lord knows that the Shinsengumi Headquarters wasn't in the greatest shapes, which means raindrops will be dropping from the ceiling. What's worse was that he was alone in the headquarters because the rest of the Shinsengumi was out on a job. This means he'd have to go out of his way to put buckets down wherever there was water dropping in. It didn't help that the Shinsengumi was such a big place.
He sighed again as he lay down the tatami mat and crossing his one leg over the other. "And I thought I'd have all day to do paperwork in peace…" Hijikata muttered. He did mentally note to make sure that the guys patch the roof up once they get back. Just then, he heard strong winds blowing against the trees. "Crap! I have to close the doors." He quickly got up and ran to the wooden sliding doors that protected the paper ones during bad weathers like these. It took him about ten minutes running around the headquarters sliding every door together, and since then, the heavy rain had started to pour. It was intensified due to the wind, and was blowing against the headquarters…
*BAM*
Startled, he looked up and immediately saw a huge scrap of metal that busted the Shinsengumi gate open. He groaned as he noted that he would have his men lift that metal scrap away again once they get back. He looked away, until he realized he saw a person underneath the metal scrap. Squinting, he looked back at it again and noticed a familiar orange hair that only belonged to the Yorozuya girl.
"It's her!" He immediately jumped down and ran against the wind to get to the gate; It was a struggle to say the least, as he got soaking wet and got pushed back a couple times. When he finally got there, he tried to pull her out of the rubble by pulling her arms, only to realize that her leg was pinned down. Needless to say, she was blacked out and unconcious during all this. He cursed as he tried his best to lift the sturdy metal. He only managed to lift it a little, but it was enough to get her out of there. He carried her on his back as he ran back inside into his office area.
He was panting as he collapsed onto the mat, the girl on his back rolling off of him with a thud. Before he could catch his breath, he glanced at her. She was completely out. Her pale skin looked even paler than before, and her orange hair fell out of their bun messily. He sighed, glad that he could save her in time before anything else bad happened to her. Then, he sat up to inspect her legs. Her left leg was bleeding, the red blood staining her red clothes even redder.
"Excuse me," He muttered before rolling up her pant leg to her knee to inspect it closer; It was bad. Her skin was slit open, making him cringe. He quickly got up and carried her to the bath, which was a huge bath like in the bathhouses, since the shinsengumi had to accomodate for so many men.
"She's light…Too light," he thought as he carried her with a disgruntled face. He gently placed her down on the tiled floor and washed the blood and wiped it with a wash cloth. He then quickly got up to grab a first aid kit to treat her wound. He disinfected it with ease, but he knew he had to sew her skin back together. He cringed as he did so. He looked at her to make sure she didn't feel any pain or didn't wake up. "She must've hit her head as well." he thought. Now, he was kinda glad that she was blacked out during this, or else she might've been throwing a fit by now. Once he was done with it, he wiped the blood once more, then proceeded to wrap her wound with bandage. Once it was over, he collapsed onto the floor, tired from the last hour he spent just treating her.
He was ready to take a nap then and there until he realized that he was soaking wet, and so was she. He groaned once more once he realized that was another thing to take care of. He got up to get a towel, when all of a sudden, a thunder struck in the distance and all of the power went off. Now he was completely left in the dark since the bath didn't have any windows. Sighing, he carried her with him as well back to his office where there was still light of day. He propped her up against the wall before he left to his room to get changed. After, he grabbed a towel and one of his pajama robe (yukata) so he can dry her off as well.
When he got back to his office, she was still asleep, her cheek resting against her shoulder. He walked closer…and then it struck him. "I should blindfold myself, right?" He asked himself. He sighed. Thinking it would just be a hassle, he opted to change her with his eyes closed. For some reason, he was nervous. He had never had to dry off a lady before, much less a naked, child lady. "Oh God," He thought. He could already see himself in the newspaper as a hentai lolicon. He quickly shook his head as he kneeled in front of her. Before he undressed her, he dried off any places he could with his eyes open.
Then, he closed his eyes, and for some reason, his breathing hitched and he was even more nervous. He tried his best to stay calm as he slowly undressed her, hoping she wouldn't wake up in the middle of this. He carefully pulled her shirt up, only for him to end up doing it clumsily. Once it was off, both her arms fell with a thud onto the mat, and she lost her balance and was sliding to one of her sides. Hijikata quickly grabbed her shoulder, and all of a sudden it dawned on him he was touching a shirtless girl. He shivered with disgust at himself as he propped her back up. He could feel his hard callous hands against her soft, gentle skin. Now that his sense of sight wasn't being used, his other senses were heightened; especially touch and hearing…
He could hear her gentle breathing escaping her lips as he continued to dry her off. He held onto one shoulder to make sure she didn't fall to the side again. Then, he gently held her small hands so he could dry off her arm and shoulder. After drying off her upper half, he continued with her lower half. He made sure to leave her underwear untouched as he pulled her pants off her. He held onto her ankles as he dried off her thighs. When he was finally done, he dressed her in his yukata, which was way too big for her, and tied the string around her slender waist. When it was over, he sighed. He was completely exhausted.
He got up to smoke a cigarette. He sat across the room from her, and stared at her. "You better not freak out when you wake up, you ungrateful brat," Hijikata said. Although he wasn't sure she'd be grateful or not, he could already see it coming how she would throw a fit… He sighed out. Once he was done with his cigarette, he put it out on his ash tray as he started his paperwork.
It was already five in the afternoon when it got really dark. It was still pouring down rain, so it didn't help at all. The girl was still out, and Hijikata managed to do a good amount of paperwork to satisfy him. He leaned back, propping himself up with his arms and looked at her. It seemed like now she was now sleeping peacefully. "I should probably take her to the guest room." He thought. He walked towards her and noticed her hair was completely in her face. He grabbed one of his hair ties from his pocket (which he usually uses to keep the 'V' of his hair up and away from his face) and grabbed her hair and tied it in a bun. It looked decent enough despite the fact that he's never done it before on someone else. This time, he got a good look on her face. She was pretty.
Her long lashes fanned over her cheeks, and her pink lips stood out from her pale face. They were slightly open for her to breath out of as well. Her pale neck was exposed as well, since his yukata drooped off her shoulders. Her collarbone was very prominent. The yukata easily exposed her upper chest in a 'V' shape. He carried her in his arms, her head resting against his shoulders. It didnt help that he could feel her hot breath against his skin. Ignoring it, he walked through the dim hallway before slipping on a puddle that was caused by the roof leakage.
They fell with a loud thud.
Hijikata winced at the pain, and so did the girl. "Crap, I forgot to put buckets." He murmured to himself. Once he collected himself, he realized that he was on top of the girl, who was now waking up. She groaned in pain as she forced her heavy lids open. Her eyes open to reveal blue orbs staring at him in irritation. He was entranced by it for a second, before he looked at her in annoyance.
"What the crap! Why are you on top of me?!" Kagura shrieked as she kicked him in the gut, sending him back a couple feet, a grunt of pain escaping his lips. "Why am I with alone with you in the dark?!" Kagura asked. That was when she realized she wasn't wearing her own clothes. Kagura looked down in fear and disbelief. "…Did you…undress me?" Kagura asked with a hushed voice.
"Would you calm down?!" Hijikata said with an obvious tone of annoyance. "I found you passed out outside the gate," He started to explain, rubbing his lower abdomen from the pain. "You were wounded so I fixed you up," He said, fighting to get the words out despite the pain. "Also, I changed you with my eyes clothes…Besides, there's nothing to see, you're flat as a board," He said, trying to assure her in his own way, only to earn a glare from her.
"Then why were you on top of me?" She asked in suspicion as she eyed the older man. "We tripped over a puddle," He said, staring her in the eyes with a look of irritation. That was when she looked around and saw puddle everywhere which she realized was caused by the rain outside. She sighed, glad nothing weird was going on.
"My, my, this place is in a worse condition than the Yorozuya," She shook her head in mockery, earning a glare from Hijikata. He sighed as he got up. "Well, now that you're up, you can take yourself to the guest room." he said. "It's the last door to the left," He said walking away. Behind him, he could hear her trying to get up, but instead, she winced out in pain.
"What's wrong?" He asked. "My leg…it hurts," she said with a pained expression. "I can't use it." He walked towards her and kneeled down to her eye level, and in a hushed, gentle voice, he said, "Don't push yourself too hard." Although he sounded gentle, he looked at her with the same serious expression. But still, she couldn't help but blush, since it was unexpected for him to sound like that. She quickly regained herself and nodded. He carried her on his back, and she rested her hands on his frim shoulders. Only now did she ever touched and realized how hard his muscles were.
They walked in silence for a while. "It's probably a good idea if you don't use your legs for a while," He said. "When I found you, you were under a huge piece of metal, and I'm pretty sure it lodged in your leg. Your skin had a huge cut…I did my best to patch you up, but once this storm is over, you should probably go to the doctor. Anyway, you should refrain from using your leg to make sure you don't strain it and it heals well."
"…Okay," was the only reply that Kagura could think of. They continued to walk in silence. Once they got to the guest room, he carefully put her down on the side as he prepared her futon for her. Kagura silently watched as he did all this. Then, he lit candles around the room so it wasn't completely dark. Once he was done, he carried her over to the futon. "Well, make yourself at home," He said. "I'll prepare dinner now, so wait here. I'll bring it to you," He said, and he nodded. Just as he was about to leave, she spoke up.
"Hey, wait," She said, her voice timid. "Hmmm?" he asked, turning around.
"…Thanks, for all this," She said quietly, and stubbornly looking at the ground with a blush. "Hmph. I guess she does have a cute side," he thought.
"It's no big deal," He said as he walked out. He walked to the kitchen and checked the fridge to see what he could make. There was the famous dish, the Shinsengumi sausage, that he could make for them, but that probably wasn't healthy for a healing person to eat. He grabbed a frozen fish and defrosted it in the microwave. He then seasoned it with salt, pepper, and lemon before he cut it up and put it aside for soup. He also meticulously cut the bell pepper, ginger, garlic, green onion, and cabbage to put in the soup. Also, on the side, he cooked some rice and got out some pickled radish fro the fridge.
When it was all done, he put it on a tray that had legs to bring to the young girl while the food was still piping hot. And of course, since he was feeling generous (which he rarely feels for other people), he put a bottle of mayonnaise on the tray as well, in case she wanted some. Carefully, he brought the food to her. "I'm coming in," He said before he opened he slid the door open with his legs. She was still sat where she was. Her eyes sparkled at the sight of food.
"Wahh~ It looks good!" Kagura said, until she saw the bottle of mayonnaise on the tray, in which she deadpanned. "…Really?" she asked, earning an irritated look from him. "Don't use it if you don't want to…And to think I was feeling generous," He said, muttering the last part to himself. Kagura couldn't hold her laugh in any longer. "It's fine, I was just teasing," Kagura said with a bright smile. He grumbled as he carefully placed the tray above her lap. "I'll be back to bring your tea," He said.
"Toushi," She said. "Who are you calling Toushi?!" He tsukkomied with an annoyed look, to which Kagura inwardly laughed. "Please eat with me," Kagura said. "Hah?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. "I have nothing to do here, and I'm really bored. Also…I don't like eating alone," Kagura said. Hijikata paused for a second before sighing. "Alright, fine," He said, before walking away without saying anything else. He brought a tray of food for himself as well.
When he got back, he was surprised to see that she hasn't touched her food yet. "I was waiting for you," she said with a smile, as if she had read his mind. He put his tray on the foot of the futon, where he woud sit. He poured tea in a cup for her and put it on her tray.
"Thanks for the food~" She said before grabbing her chopstick and spoon, and digging in. Her eyes almost popped out at how good the food was. "What the-…this is super good!" She said, with an expression as if she had found treasure. Hijikata looked at her silently, before grabbing his mayonnaise and putting it on rice. "Well, miss, I'm glad you approve," He said half sarcastically and half genuinely. Kagura didn't seem to hear him since she was too busy eating. He then silently went back to eating his food as well.
When she was halfway done and had slowed down, she looked at him. "Now that I think about it, this is my first 'candlelit' dinner," she said with a small laugh. He listened, but he didn't bother to reply or even look at her. They were back to eating in silence.
"So…" Hijikata said, trying to think of a topic to talk about. To be honest, he didn't care for small talk, nor was he interested in the girl in front of him in any way, shape, or form, but he couldn't help but at least try to talk to her. "Does your leg still hurt?" Hijikata asked.
"Yeah, it stings a little," she said. "That's probably because I had to sew it shut." He informed her. He expected her to be more shocked, but she wasn't. "It was that bad, huh?" She asked, earning a nod from the man. They continued to eat the dinner in silence. Kagura probably had a hundred questions and topics she could ask and talk to him about, but she didn't bother. Once they were done, Hijikata got up. "I'll take these back to the kichen," He said, stacking the bowls and cups on one tray and putting that tray over the other.
"Hey, Toushi," she said, at this point, Hijikata decided to ignore it. "Once you're done, can you give me a tour of the Shinsengumi?" Kagura asked. "Why should I?" He quipped back quickly. "Give. Me. A. Toooouuuurrr." She feigned a tantrum, making Hijikata grumble. "Alright, I will. Just, stop whatever you're doing," Hijikata said in annoyance, earning a successful grin from the young lady. He rolled his eyes. "So uncute," He said as he turned his back to her and walked away. She stuck her tongue out at him.
Once he put the dishes away, he lit candles on the side of hallways. Then, he wiped the hallway and put buckets where it was dripping. When he was done, he went back to her room, where she was angry and had her arms crossed. "What took you so long?" She asked. "I made sure the hallway was lit and safe. I can't give a tour in the dark, can I?" he asked sarcastically. "…That is true," She said. Hijikata went beside her and kneeled down, his back facing her. "C'mon, get on," he said, Kagura did her best to do so without hurting. Once she was on, they officially started the tour.
When they walked out of the hallway, it was lit with candles. It was kind of romantic, if she had to admit. Hijikata started talking about random things to do with Shinsengumi. "This wing is where all the men sleep. There are about 20 bed rooms. Each one holds 5 or 6 men. Each division has 2 or 3 rooms depending on how big the division is. Me and Kondou-san has a room each." Hijikata continued to walk. "This is the dojo where we train. We can either train here or outside, it doesn't matter." He continued to tour. "Here are the baths. There are 2 huge baths." An hour has passed since the tour started, and Hijikata was working hard to tour and give information, but he hadn't notice that the girl on his back was sound asleep, her cheek resting on his shoulder.
"Oi…Don't tell me I've been giving the tour for no reason…" Hijikata grumbled with annoyance. Now he was at a lost at what to do. He started walking back to the guest room where she was staying. He gently laid her down the futon and tucked her in. Meanwhile, a few strands of her hair had come out of the bun. He didn't know what came onto him, but he brushed the baby hairs aside. He took one glance at her before he got up. "Goodnight…" He said softly before standing up and blowing out the candles. Walking down the hallway, he blew the candles he passed by until he got to the bath. He took a relaxing bath. When he was done, he went to his room and changed into his yukata.
Once he was in his futon, he stared at the dark ceiling…"I should call that perm head to pick her up once the lines are back on."
A/N: So did you guys enjoy the 1st chapter? I hope you did :D I tried my best to keep them in character, which was a lot harder than I thought, because at first, Hijikata just kept sighing, groaning and grumbling, which he already does a lot in the story (lol) Anyway, Please Review and give feedback :D
