I don't own Gintama. All of the characters belong to Hideaki Sorachi. Based on pre-sleep musings that I had due to random video clips. Constructive criticism and/or flames are welcome. OOC-ness. I suck at romance stuff. If you don't understand it, it's fine. It tends to happen to things I write.

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Too Much Sake May Lead to Over-emotion and Hangovers

Drip. Drip. Raindrops fell from the tips of everyone's umbrellas as they stood in silence as each groups representative laid chrysanthemum on Mitsuba's coffin. A few people cried in silence for the sorrow of losing such a kind and wonderful person. Hijikata had failed to show up, despite Kondo's begging, saying that he had a hangover. Okita had also disappeared after he had laid down his chrysanthemum for his sister.

"Oi, Sadist! Sadistic bastard! Where are you?" Kagura yelled as she wandered into a nearby park. She had been told by Gin-chan to look for the sadist since he was the type to do something horrible. She found the man sitting on a bench, soaking wet, with his umbrella nowhere to be seen. Even in such a sad event, he had chosen to wear his Shinsengumi uniform, sword and all.

"You wanna catch a cold or something?" Kagura asked as she sat next to him, trying to use her own umbrella to cover him. Man, I've rubbed off of Gin-chan. I've gotten soft, even on the sadist.

"Ne, China."

"What, you sadistic bastard?"

"What would you do if you've lost all reason to live?"

"That's impossible. I can always live for myself," Kagura said.

Okita pulled out his sword slowly and looked at it with an empty look. "My sister's gone now, and no matter how I wish, she won't come back. I've lost everything I, at least, had: my revenge against Hijikata and my sister, the only person I treasured in my life. What can I do now? I have only my obsession of being vice-commander of the Shinsengumi, but that doesn't seem very important anymore. Maybe I can just shove this in my stomach and end all of this. Everyone would be happy, and nobody would care whether I'm alive or dead." He smiled sadly at the ground. "Why am I asking you though, China? You don't know how us humans feel, don't you? Maybe I should really just shove this in my stomach, shouldn't I?"

Kagura's fists suddenly clenched. "You pathetic person!" she yelled as she punched Sougo in the face, got up, and kicked the sword away from his hands. "Where did my rival disappear to, huh? Where's the guy who defeated Sadaharu 29 with an evil grin in his face, huh? If you don't have a reason to live, live to fight me! I may not know your sister that well, but do you think she'll be happy if you kill yourself? Toshi would probably laugh at your grave for being so pathetic! Do you want someone to pity you? Well, I pity you for being so useless! Live for yourself, for playing pranks on Hijikata, and for fighting me!"

Okita got up and spat out a tooth. Woah, her punches are starting to feel like freight trains, he thought grimly. "First of all, China, you squished your pathetic dung beetle to death. Second of all, I don't want pity, I want an opinion. Third of all-" He raised his fist.

Kagura closed her eyes, expecting a punch from him, but instead felt something soft and warm against her mouth. She tasted something like blood. That bastard, he kissed me! Kagura screamed in her head, but didn't move an inch nor attempted to get away from him.

Sougo withdrew his head and said, "That was payback for the punch. And thanks, Kagura." He grabbed his sword, sheathed it and started walking away. The rain had stopped, and Gintoki and Shinpachi had already started looking for Kagura.

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"The rain's stopped," Hijikata said to himself as he sat on the porch of the Shinsengumi headquarters, drinking sake. He smiled slightly towards the sky. "How's it up there, Mitsuba?" He said, again to no one. And there, as he was looking up at the sky, for the first time in a decade, he cried silent tears. Sensing the Shinsengumi members coming back, he wiped away all evidence that he was crying and greeted the returning members as Hijikata Toshiro, the demon vice-commander of the Shinsengumi with a horrible hangover.