"Hey bastard," she said.
"Hmm?"
"What would you wish for?"
He pissed her off. He pissed her off so MUCH! And she was sick of it. Sick of hearing things as "alien", "monster" or "you eat too much." And his laid-back attitude. She had loved that when she met him. But now Kamui was after him, so he should get off his ass and train or something, 'cause Kamui could rip off his head without a blink. He would even enjoy doing so. So why was that silver-haired lazy bastard still laying on the couch reading his JUMP? That just ticked her off. And one tick more and she'd snap. He poked his finger in his nose. Tick. Snap.
At the Shinsengumi HQ everything was just as usual. Hijikata had survived another assassination attempt from Sougou, who was now "tired" and laid down napping, some officers were training or on patrol and Kondou was nowhere to be found. Probably stalking Otae.
But Sougou was (according to him) rudely awakened by his cell-phone. Aww… come on! It was dark, what was the problem now? Why did people always have to wake him? He picked up the phone: "Okita here… Be sure to have some good reason to wake me or I'll let you commit Seppuku."
"Okita-taichou!" he heard on the other side of the line. He sighed. Bye bye naptime…
"What?" he snapped.
"Please come to our aid! The orange-haired alien has broken loose and is destroying everything!" Sougo heard shooting, a crash and someone screaming: "I AM NO ALIEN, YOU BASTARD!" The normal so deadpanned police officer stifled a laugh. China was the only one who could wake him. This could turn out interesting.
"All right, stand your ground, I'll be there in six minutes," he said.
"Much obliged sir!"
He got up and got in the car. Just when he drove away he saw Kondou entering. Blood dripped out of his nose and his face was bruised. Heh. Must've been caught.
When the sand-haired captain reached the "crime-scene" he wasn't that surprised to see five of his best men laying on the ground. Something that did make him feel uncomfortable was that they were all grabbing their crotches. And she called him a sadist? He also found a silver-haired samurai arguing with an older lady, who was pointing furiously to her house's second floor. Or at least, what remained of it. Most of the walls were down and the balcony was blown to smithereens. It wasn't that hard to imagine what happened when he saw Kagura crying on the stairs. He first walked to Gintoki. "Oi, Danna, what happened here?" he asked him. The samurai sighed.
"She's having these nightmares lately, and I ticked her off a little. She thinks I have to train to beat her brother, but I'll be fine. She just doesn't believe me," he said. "Today she snapped and ruined the whole house." He seemed not too happy about the situation.
"I'll talk to her," Sougo said. He walked towards the sobbing girl. "Oi, China," he said.
"Hit the deck, sadist," she said angrily.
"I heard what you did."
"Didn't I tell you to go away, you bastard?" Her hand wandered to her umbrella.
"Yeah, I ain't deaf. But I do think I have to take you to HQ for causing major destruction." Her head snapped up. "What did you say?" she growled. "Hey, what the hell're you doin'?" she screamed when Sougo cuffed her and led her to the car. Gintoki and Otose also watched, eyes wide in disbelief. "Calm down," the captain whispered in her ear. "It'll be all right." That didn't calm her down. In fact, it only made her angrier. "What sick plans do you have in mind, you bastard!" she screamed while kicking around. He had to be careful to evade her legs: she could break his bones without breaking a sweat.
When man finally had her safely in the car, he also got in and drove away, leaving a stunned Gintoki and Otose.
When they were driving for around five minutes, Kagura noticed something strange.
"Hey, sadist. You're driving the wrong way," she said.
"Oh," he said and continued the way.
Another five minutes later, they stopped. They were at a beach. It was deserted. Made sense, who would go swimming around eleven o'clock P.M.?
"What're we doin' here?" Kagura asked. She sounded still pissed but her eyes told differently. She seemed relieved he hadn't really taken her to the HQ.
When Sougo had taken off her cuffs, he said: "I just wanted to talk to you."
"About what?"
"About you almost killing your friends."
She stiffened a little. "I don't want to talk about that," she said. Her voice trembled a little. He sighed. "China, stop lying to yourself. Just tell me, what's wrong?" And that was when she broke. She started crying again and sat down on the sand. Sougo also sat down next to her and wrapped an arm around her waist. She didn't seem to care. She opened her mouth, as if to say something, but remained silent. They sat so for a couple of minutes, till she had found her voice. "Have you ever had that feeling," she said, "that you hate someone so much that you could kill him, but you also love him?"
Sougo immediately knew who she was talking about. She didn't wait for an answer and continued: "I hate him, I hate him so much, but he's still my brother! And now Kamui is after Gin-chan, and he isn't doing anything! He'll be killed! But on the other side, I don't want Gin-chan killing Kamui. So I just don't know what to do anymore. The only thing I know is that I don't want them to die. And then last night, I dreamed they killed each other while I was watching. And I couldn't, no, I didn't do anything! I just feel so freaking helpless!" She punched with her fist on the sand and left a little crater. Sougo also felt a little helpless with the situation, but he patted her head lightly and let her cry.
When her crying was reduced to some hiccups, he said: "And what would you say if I'd go find Kamui?" All right, big man, he thought. Was he really offering his life for China? He was surprised about how much this girl could change him. But Kagura said: "no".
"Why not?"
"Because-" she started hesitantly, "because I don't want you to die either." She looked at him with tears in her eyes. "I don't want you to die," she repeated. And Sougo kissed her. It was a soft and sweet kiss, full of affection and love. When the kiss broke, she looked at him. The tears were gone. And she kissed him back. It was a more greedy kiss this time. He bit her lower lip, asking for entrance which was granted. Their tongues danced in each other's mouth, exploring, tasting, battling for dominance. And then they pulled away at the same time, gasping for oxygen. He kissed her again and pressed her down on the sand. They broke apart and looked at the sky, which was full of stars. "You know," Kagura said, "somewhere up there is my home. That just feels weird."
"I thought you grew up there?" Sougo asked.
"Yeah, but I'm so used to Earth now, it feels- Ah! A shooting star!" she pointed. "Now I can make a wish!"and she closed her eyes.
"What, you still believe in those things?" he said with a grin, "Guess you're still a kid, China." But when she opened her eyes, she was completely serious.
"Hey bastard," she said.
"Hmm?"
"What'd you wish for?"
"Can't tell you that, I'm afraid," he said with a grin, "brings bad luck y'know"
"Aw, come on!" she said with an evil smile, "you still believe in those things? Guess you're still a child then, sadist."
"Pheh," he scoffed, "all right then. I'd wish for… Hijikata's seat, and ehm… a new car and- ow!"
She had hit him. "Seriously, Sougo," she said.
"Sorry. But I'd wish my sis came back," he said and sighed. "But she's already up there, so I guess she can't."
Kagura remained silent. She could feel his pain. She wished she never had asked him, now she felt terrible. "I'm sorry," she said eventually.
"Oh, don't be," he said. He laid her head on his shoulder. "My fault for getting all emo."
"I asked you to tell," she said.
"And I answered. Aw, come on, China," he said when he heard Kagura sniffle. "We both know we can't do anything about it. So don't cry, please." He cupped her chin and forced her to look at him. "Please don't be so sad all the time. It makes me feel terrible." And he kissed her tears away. And then he kissed her forehead. And her nose. And her lips.
"Come on, I'll take you back," he said.
"No," she said.
"China."
"I don't want to go," she said determined. He smiled evilly and got on his feet.
"Then I'll have to arrest you," he said.
"Completely fine with me. Go ahead and take me to HQ."
He picked her up and placed her in the car. He was still smiling when he drove away.
When they arrived at the Shinsengumi HQ, Kagura was asleep. Sougo picked her up in bridal style and walked towards his quarters. They came past Hijikata, who asked: "What you've got there?"
"Oh, just some juvenile delinquent who was staying up late," he said and smiled. He opened the door to his room and got in, leaving Hijikata stunned. And then he also got in his room, lighted up a cigarette and inhaled deep.
"Ah, youth," he said and smiled.