Because of school work, I wrote and posted this... quite late. orz

Better late than never, I say.

Slightly inspired by the current manga arc, but is in no way related to it. This fic is set in an AU.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gintama. Sorachi Hideaki does.

Next Match

OkiKagu Week 2014, Day 2 Prompt: Retaliation

As much as he did have some loyalty towards the Shogun (all of the loyalty he had in him was for the Shinsengumi commander, Kondo Isao), there was a fine line between blind loyalty and fealty… and as much as it was his duty to aid the Shogun, there were times he questioned his sanity.

"Oh? Have you never seen a female Yato before?"

Not that he particularly cared for the Amanto, nor did he felt any particular inclination to them, but this girl sounded so condescending. He knew that the Yato were the fight-loving Amanto race, but beyond that, he never bothered learning about them…

… Until earlier, when he met the most mentally unstable Yato there is.

And said mentally unstable Yato had some resemblance with the girl who was standing in front of him, who was now smirking at him.

"That guy earlier… is he your brother?"

The girl, who, in his opinion, was scantily-clad (midriff exposed, high-slit skirt), smirked wider, if it was even possible. "Kamui? Yes. My dear older brother."

He tried not to roll his eyes at the words 'dear older brother'.

We have a brocon here.

Out loud, he said, "So, what brings you here, airhead?"

China (he did not know her name) huffed, ignoring his remark. "Obviously, Kamui sent me here to finish you off. I'm surprised you're still standing, even after he nearly killed you." She said, referring to his earlier fight with the original airhead, an umbrella-wielding jerk who had a crazed look in his eyes while they were having their showdown. As soon as she showed up, he went back to smiling normally before running off in search of his 'prey', but not before muttering, "Samurai are the best."

That guy was seriously a nutcase.

As for his current condition, he didn't look too shabby; the fact that he managed to hold his ground against an Amanto was feat in itself, but his injuries were proof that his enemy wasn't the type to go down easily. A nasty gash somewhere on the top of his head, a stab wound on his left side (that male Yato was crazy enough to try and stab him with a katana left lying around), and bruised ribs…

He didn't know if he could still put up a fight with this girl, especially since his katana had broken in half from the fight earlier.

Well, whatever. I'll do what it takes to win.

Sougo knew what he had to do, and that was to survive.

The girl before him, who was wearing a red-colored mandarin top which exposed her midriff and had a matching double high-slit skirt, glared at him. Her vermillion-colored hair, a lighter shade than her brother's, were styled in two buns on top of her head. Like everyone else in her clan, she had an umbrella in her hands.

"Tell me… are all of you as dumb as you can be?" he asked her as he casually picked up a katana, which he knew belonged to one of the many corpses lying on the ground. " 'Cause if it's true, then you must be as airheaded as your brother."

He jumped back in time to avoid the bullets that she sent his way. "Relax. It shouldn't affect you if it wasn't true." He deadpanned, smirking to himself as soon as he saw her angry expression from afar.

"Don't you dare insult my brother." she hissed.

He resisted yet another urge to roll his eyes. "What are you gonna do about it?" he dared.

"This."

If there was any difference between them, this girl was weaker than her brother, and it showed. While the guy had the instincts of a murderer, this girl was far from a killer; she was strong, yes, but she lacked the willpower to kill.

He suspected that she put up a front of looking like a blood-thirsty person in order to impress the family member who did not want anything to do with her.

Why else would he let her handle this if the older one could do the job?

He thought that the older one was very irresponsible for letting his sister handle this… and it pissed him off.

Weren't the older ones supposed to take care of the younger ones? Or was this some kind of Amanto thing that he will never understand?

Probably the latter.

With that, he raised his sword arm in preparation.

He'll finish this as soon as he could.

.

"Hey, you owe me some sukonbu."

The Yato did leave Edo… but not all of them.

Irritated, he glared at her, wondering why the hell she did not leave along with her clansmen, and why her brother had the gall to tell him before they all ran off with their tail between their legs, "Take care of her, will you?".

All he could speculate was that she had been abandoned by the very person she admired, proof of which would be the bruise she was sporting on her face (which he did not inflict upon her when they were fighting) when she announced boldly that she was staying so she could challenge him once again. That, and she was curious about what Edo had to offer. The Yato home planet, she said, was boring her to tears.

"Get it yourself." He replied harshly, clearly not in the mood to deal with her.

"For a guy, you really don't know how to treat a lady." She pouted at him.

"You're no lady; you're a female gorilla." He dodged an umbrella swing she aimed his way. Despite his handicap, his reflexes were still intact.

"I am so going to beat the crap out of you soon." She said, eyeing his crutches. During their battle, she had kicked him so hard on the shin that he broke his left leg. He, in retaliation, broke her dominant arm; despite the odds against her, as she was not versed with fighting and swinging her umbrella with her left hand, she did try her best to try and fight him, but had accidentally thrown her umbrella away when she tried to aim a swing on his head.

Okita then took this opportunity to pin her down on the ground, using his body weight to render her useless, even applying force on her broken arm to make sure that she didn't fight back.

… Unfortunately though, it had caused… problems.

Specifically on his side, since Kondo Isao and Hijikata Toushirou found the two of them in a rather awkward position (him on top of her, his pelvis against her own, as he did not want to further the damage of his leg injury), and it did not help that China was moaning in pain when he was using her injuries to his advantage to render her useless.

The two older men then decided that Okita was not being a gentlemen (why does one need to be a gentleman on the battlefield anyway, when this girl would have every opportunity to kick his ass?) and promptly hauled him off her. She then used the opportunity to escape, but not before running back hours later, a bruise on her face, telling him that she was staying in Edo until she could win against him in a fair fight.

It had been already two months since the incident, but he had yet to fully recover from his injuries, as his leg would take a month more to heal. He was thankful that it had not snapped in half, for it would take a very complicated surgery to mend his bones, and he did not appreciate the fact that metal would be used on him, and that it would also give him the ability to know when it would start raining.

"Try me, China."

"My name is Kagura." She hissed.

"Yeah, whatever." Using his crutches, he hobbled to the nearby sweets shop, buying himself some spicy crackers, something that he had learned to grow fond of recently.

"Sukonbu!" she told him.

Sighing, he asked the old lady to add sukonbu to his purchases, and when she handed him the paper bag, China immediately made a grab for it and began greedily eating her share.

It did not help that she was also living with him, as everyone thought that both of them had somehow fallen in love in the battlefield.

It was ridiculous.

… But the way China stalked him, provoked him at every opportunity, and simply irritated him with her 'I'm gonna have my revenge on you!' declarations made everyone around him that she had a thing for him, forcing him to move out of the compound (as suggested by Kondo-san) and rent out a place close to the headquarters, as women were not allowed to stay with them, her included.

They said that she was in love with him.

In love?

More like making her killing intent more vocal.

He was fine with that; at least, if she did finally succeed on killing him, her death threats can be used against her.

For the meantime, he would just have to put up with this… person.

"Here." She opened the pack of spicy crackers and held up a piece in front of him. "Eat."

He gave her a doubtful look.

Sighing, she took a bite of the cracker, swallowing, but not before making a face at the spiciness. "See? No poison."

"Right." He took a bite anyway.

As they walked, she would hold a piece while he took a bite from time to time. By the time they got back to the place they were staying at, he had eaten the whole thing.

"Damn it. I was stocking up on those…" he tsked.

"I can buy more if you want." She volunteered.

"No need." He said immediately. "I'll get more next time."

Even if she was living with him.

Even if they were getting friendlier with one another.

He had to be on guard; who knew what she was up to…

China was dangerous, and there was no way he was going to die by her hands.

"Suit yourself." She shrugged.

With that, he slowly walked to his room.

One day, she was going to kill him, and he was prepping himself for that day.

He knew that the Yato clan took fighting seriously, and just because she was a girl, it didn't mean she would take it easy on him.

As soon as he recovers from his injury, he would immediately challenge her to the fight she had been longing for, then ask her to leave him alone once and for all.

… Even if he had to admit that, at times, he was having fun with her.

There was simply no room for her in his life; he wanted it as uncomplicated as possible, and her hanging out with him was something he did not need nor want.

The sooner she was out of his life, the better.

Hopefully, I can continue writing for OkiKagu Week this year; it's been very hectic for me... orz

Thanks for reading!