Hello!

Here's my contribution for Okita Sougo's birthday this year. I failed to write one last year because of circumstances beyond my control, but I managed to come up with one, and it's just in time for his birthday.

Dedicated to shay-sama of Tumblr, the person responsible for the fic prompt. I hope you like this crap... somehow.

Thank you to all my readers as well for reading my stuff. :) it's really amazing that you're all tolerating this ^^;;;

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

Of Proposals and Festivals

Okita Sougo's Birthday Fic 2014

It had to be perfect.

Or, as perfect as it could possibly be, given that there were factors in the mix that even he could not predict… in this case, China.

… Not that he and China were going out. They just happened to be in a kind of relationship where they weren't really together together (no commitment whatsoever), yet somehow, they just… stuck together. It baffled a lot of people around them, mainly the Yorozuya boss, whom Sougo thought was a tad old fashioned, especially after finding out from China that they weren't really dating, but were in some kind of weird setup that they never really bothered to talk about. The bottom line of it all was that they were content with it, and that they were sticking with one another, despite the… rather violent disagreements at times.

Add to that, there were factors in the relationship that were… hard to deal with, mainly insane fangirls (from his side), angry fathers (from her side), and the occasional pressure from everyone else to make it "official", which was something both of them never cared to do, as they were fine with the current status of their relationship.

… Besides, the others didn't have to know the things they do during the times where they were not at each other's throats.

This setup went on for years, until one day, Okita Sougo got reminded again that he needed to continue the family name through procreation in the most unlikely way: China herself.

It had been one of those days where they decided to spar, which ended up getting a bit too violent for his own liking (even he had standards), and him getting kneed by her accidentally in the groin. It did hurt, but it was nothing that he couldn't tolerate.

"You'd better get started on the kids before I completely deprive you of those." Was the thing she said before running off to god-knows-where, and that got him thinking.

What better way to start the procreation process than to get China as his wife to make it official?

Besides, everyone else had been pressuring him years ago; why not finally go for it?

He knew it was going to be difficult; the setup itself, whatever you call it, was also not conventional. How was it even possible for him to pull it off without overdoing it?

… And if there something he could not handle, it was rejection.

Preparations were needed, and he needed to at least make it right.

Also, ice cream. If the worst-case scenario happened, at least he had ice cream.

On the night before he turned thirty, during Tanabata, he asked her out. He knew she could not resist festivals, and it was also one of those times he had an excuse to be "romantic" (as romantic as sadists could go). With that, they went strolling (her stuffing her face with candy and snacks while he paid for all of it), challenging one another (those games were way too easy, and provoking her was fun), and finally, they settled on sitting by the riverbank, waiting for the fireworks to start.

She, clad in a pink yukata with a yellow obi to match, was munching on more candy apples on one hand, as well as yakitori on the other, while Okita mentally reviewed on what he was going to do. Aside from the small talk, he was going to be direct and simply ask her to marry him; no more 'make me miso soup for the rest of my life' bullshit that he had initially planned to do from the very beginning that was very Japanese. Not only will it not work, but the damn thing was probably gonna fly off her head… and he did not want any misunderstanding that would make her think that he was going to enslave her so that she would make him miso soup for the rest of her life.

The proper thing to do was to say it directly and without any hesitation whatsoever.

Hopefully.

"… It sure is warm tonight." He began, fixing the sleeves of his light-green yukata. He did bring a folding fan with him, but the damn thing was not working at all, and he ended up sweating more after trying in vain to fan himself.

Add to that, he was very nervous.

"Mhmm." She replied, her mouth full of candy.

"Got anything else to do after this, China?" he asked her after she swallowed the sweets.

"… Not really. Gin-chan's probably gambling away the salary he owes me and Shinpachi." She yawned.

Guess this is it. Coughing for a bit, he said, "China, I've got to ask you some—"

"Where's the popcorn guy? I'm getting pretty hungry again." She remarked, turning her head to the left of Okita, scanning the crowd for the guy who was selling food. "The serving sizes for this year is way too small."

"You're just a glutton." He evaded a punch that she threw at him by rolling to his left, far away from her reach. "Calm down, geez."

"If you're going to insult me, I might as well leave." Just when she was about to get up, he tugged down on her yukata. "Hey!"

"You're not leaving until I say so."

He sure was acting weird today.

Okita had been hot and cold for several weeks now, and she couldn't figure him out, no matter how hard she tried. At times, he was okay to talk to, but more often than not, he was always spacing out whenever they were together, responding only after she had called his attention several times. Even then, he wasn't himself… and privately, she wondered if there was a cause to it. She had her suspicions, but nothing solid.

Her mind, however, was too convinced that there was a third party involved.

… Not that it should affect her in any way, as they were both free to see other people, but irritatingly, it did, and it annoyed her to no end.

There was no way in hell sadist was seeing another girl, but the possibility was high… but as always, she would forever deny it.

There was also no way in hell would she ever admit to him that she was jealous.

With him now saying that he wouldn't let her leave until he was done with whatever it was that he was going to say, well… Kagura knew she might as well get all comfortable. The yukata obi was a bit too tight for her liking, but she could fix it later.

"What do you want?" she kept her tone neutral, trying to keep both her temper and her sanity in check, just in case the worst case scenario happened.

She had to prepare for the worst, after all.

At least there was ice cream on the fridge for her to binge on if everything goes wrong.

"Well, I…" just before he could continue with what he was planning to say (carefully rehearsed in his mind), the fireworks had started…

… and immediately, China looked up at it, thoroughly mesmerized, as usual.

It had already been ten firework festivals, and still, she always looked up at it as if it were the most beautiful thing she had ever seen… and like always, he took this chance to study her.

At twenty-five, China was still unmarried (considered a 'Christmas cake' [1] by many), and despite the pressure from her dads (the bald guy, the boss, and the four-eyes) to break it off with him (they wouldn't dare anyway), she was going nowhere at all. There were suitors ("were" being the operative term), but no one would dare pursue her, especially after finding out she was the Shinsengumi's first division captain's… someone. Hell, even they had no term to definite their… setup.

As for him, he was also unmarried, but hitting thirty without producing and ensuring that his family line would continue slightly scared him, as well as the fact that he was the last of his line. Add to that, China getting taken away from him… well, it pissed him off that some guy was simply going to take her away from him.

… And no, he did not have any attachment issues.

He just—

Coughing silently, he tried to open his mouth to say the things that he had been planning for weeks, only to find out that his strength had somehow left him… and his voice was nowhere to be found. Add to that, China was completely ignoring him, for she had ran off to get more popcorn from the vendor who happened to walk nearby. As soon as she had gotten her share, she paid the guy and walked back to where he was.

"Finally found food!" she chirped happily, munching the kernels, unable to detect the dark aura that hung in the air. "Good thing the popcorn guy was walking around—"

"China." He said rather abruptly, nearly making her jump.

"W-what?" inwardly, she said, oh god, this is it.

"… Close your eyes."

All feelings of nervousness disappeared within her. "… You're not gonna tie me up again like last year, are you?"

As much as I want to, not yet, he told himself inwardly. Clearing his throat once more, he said out loud, "Just do it."

She narrowed her azure-colored eyes at him, but did what he told. "Fine. Let me just finish this." Placing the popcorn bag over her mouth and eating the remaining contents, she aimed the empty bag towards the trash bin, which was fifty meters away, and threw it. Satisfied that it went in, she then closed her eyes. "… No funny business, sadist."

We're in public. Why the hell would I do that?

... Besides, public indecency was frowned upon by the majority, and he did not want people looking at China naked. That was for his enjoyment alone.

This is it.

Slowly, he moved towards her, grabbed her left hand...

… and slowly placed the ring he had bought weeks ago, after finally deciding that it was time to make it "official", and slipped it into her ring finger. He nearly grinned to himself when he saw that it had fit her ring finger perfectly. Sougo was proud of himself when, during the last few weeks, he had managed to discreetly get her ring size by taping a string around her left finger in the guise of wanting to break it. It was a good thing that she did no damage to him this time around, though he nearly had his fingers broken himself when she retaliated and threatened to break each and every one of his fingers if he did that stunt again.

No matter. He got what he needed, and the result was a blue topaz, her birth stone, on a platinum ring, with an assortment of gemstones that covered nearly half of the ring on each side of the gemstone, which was now snug on China's left ring finger.

"W-what are you—" he nearly panicked when he saw her open her eyes, so he did the next best thing: he covered her eyes with his left hand, used his right to tilt her chin up. Before he realized what the hell he was doing, he was kissing her.

This was not what he had planned, but still… it was annoying, the way this whole scenario went, especially since it was not going according to plan.

What he had done earlier kind of bordered to those shut up kisses [2] he knew that was so stereotypical of shoujo manga, but with his mind getting all panicky, it was difficult not… go for this course of action. China might slap him afterwards, but he was prepared for it.

He had always been ever since he decided that she was the woman in the entire galaxy who could put up with him and his whims, his quirks, his preferences and… well, just about everything.

He doubted that there was someone else out there who could tolerate and challenge him, and the threat of her getting taken away from him was something he did not want to happen. People around them have been very persistent about making it official, and here he was, finally get this act together… yet he dreaded the outcome.

'I still have ice cream.' He reminded himself just in case he failed. That, and a week of vacation leave.

"Ten minutes, at the shrine, and if I still see the ring on your finger by then, I'll take it as a yes. If not… well, you don't need to go to the shrine anymore. Count to thirty before opening your eyes."

To say that Kagura was stunned at seeing a gleaming ring on her left ring finger was an understatement.

This was the last thing she had expected… yet somehow… it was something she had been waiting for.

Who wouldn't, when the guy pursuing you happened to be someone who was the catch of Edo?

It was ironic, really; after declaring at age fourteen that she was never going to marry and was going to leech off the Yorozuya forever [3], here she was, eleven years later… appalled, and, dare she say it, giddy at the sudden plot twist in her life so far?

She knew that everyone wanted to make it official; hell, everyone was pressuring them ever since they noticed that they were sticking to one another more often than usual. Gin-chan was not happy with her hanging out with him, even getting angry when she told him that they were not together that way, but were rivals who were kind of okay with not being hostile with one another at times, but promptly gave up when she told him that she could handle him.

… She could, but at times, she had to give in.

He had to as well, which was only fair, since this kind of setup went both ways.

Kagura wouldn't stick to him for this long if he didn't make compromises, after all.

Now…

Where are we heading to? Did he just do this because he had to?

It was easy to find out; she just had to find him.

But first…

Using the long sleeves of her yukata, she hid her left arm from plain view and walked towards the shrine.

She needed answers.

He didn't expect her to get to the shrine so soon, and the first thing she asked was a question that slightly threw him off-guard, though it was very China-like for her to do such.

Typical China, really, to throw him a question with a very obvious answer.

"Why?"

"What do you mean by 'why'?"

"Did you get pressured by everyone else?" she asked hotly. "Were you forced to do… to do that?"

He rolled his blood red eyes at her, annoyed at the fact that she couldn't even say the word 'propose'. It was as if the word was disgusting to say out loud. "No one forces me to do anything… unless someone specifically requests it by grabbing my hair and shoving it—"

"SHUT UP!" he nearly chuckled when he saw her face turn a bright shade of red, for she knew exactly what he was talking about.

Hell, it was her favorite.

"Getting back to your question… I just want to. Now, China, answer me." She was taken aback by the serious look on his face. "Is it a 'yes' or a 'no'?"

She shook her head, her left hand still hidden inside the sleeve of her yukata. "Tell me. Do you…" she stuttered all of a sudden. "D-do you have… feelings for me?"

In response, he sighed quite loudly. "… Do I have to elaborate…? This is seriously a waste of time—" at the dark look on her face, he shook his head. "Fine. I'll say it only once, so you'd better listen.

"You always manage to make me think of you, and it annoys me whenever I'm just doing work, you somehow shove your way into my thoughts. It's distracting, it's stupid, and yet… I'm actually fine with it." He sighed. "I'm not usually talkative unless I'm trashtalking Hijikata or you, or anyone else for that matter, but for once, I can't even say the words I've been planning for weeks—"

"Weeks?" she blurted out.

"—and it pisses me off that I've resorted to putting that ring in your finger without saying what I have been rehearsing since we started walking around the festival grounds. Now, you're asking me 'why'?" he huffed.

"I'll be blunt: you've been constantly annoying me every waking moment, even in my dreams. I might as well make it into a reality, though I can't promise more than the three meals, a quiet, but peaceful life, and a nice home, minus those lattice, from way back [4]. And no, you don't have to make me miso soup for the rest of my life—" she nearly laughed when he began his rambling, so she decided to end his suffering.

In four steps, she was standing in front of him.

"China, you—" Okita said nothing when she enveloped him in a hug, burying her face against his yukata.

"Yes."

"W-what?" he didn't want to get his hopes up until he heard it right.

"I said, 'yes'." She repeated. "Weren't you listening properly?"

"… I had to make sure I heard you right." He responded so softly that it was hard for her to hear it fully. "But I'm glad."

Kagura did not want to admit it, but she too was glad with this outcome.

So very glad.

"Happy birthday, Sougo." She said, kissing his cheek. "I must say, proposing during Tanabata isn't exactly unique… but props to you for pulling it off."

"I would've coerced you anyway… like what happened last year." He smirked as soon as her face turned red for the second time that evening.

"You wouldn't dare." She growled.

"I would dare, China. I always get what I want…. Just like last year." The glint in his eyes sounded the warning bells inside her, and with that, she ran off, away from her fiancé. Immediately, he ran after her, lust evident in his eyes.

Do your worst, Sougo.

Notes:

[1] Christmas cake - back in the 1980s, a lot of people referred to twenty-five year old unmarried Japanese women as 'Christmas cake' in reference to them being unwanted as soon as they turn twenty-six (apparently, they're only good until their 25th birthday). Doesn't work that way anymore today, but most women back then who were unmarried by twenty-five were considered 'failures' or 'rebellious'.

[2] shut-up kisses - usual trope in shoujo manga whenever the heroine got too chatty and the guy wants to shut her up. Depends on the situation if it can be considered romantic or not.

[3] "she was never going to marry and was going to leech off the Yorozuya forever" - Episode 193 of the anime.

[4] I can't promise more than the three meals, a quiet, but peaceful life, and a nice home, minus those lattice, from way back - Gintama Chapter 465, page 8.

If you've noticed, I keep on referencing Chapter 465 of the manga in my fics, mainly because I was one of the first few people who had translated that page when it first came out (really proud of it, to be honest), plus the fact that Japan considers it as Okita's "proposal" to Kagura, which makes a lot of people, myself included, very happy. Very happy indeed.

And with that, we're done for the meantime. I hope you all enjoyed this fic.

Till next time!