Hey ma honeys!
This fic occurs after my first one 'Love Becomes A Woman'. Even if they're not about the same couple, I want to warn you that in this one Kondo and Otae are engaged, so it's not blatant OCC-ness, it's just a spin-off…kinda.
I love Otae x Kondo, but like most I'm a bit more partial to Okita x Kagura XD
Enjoy!
xxx
The whole damn issue began on the Tuesday morning that Gintoki and Shinpachi were set to leave for the mountains for a few days to do some training.
Kagura had declined to go with them.
Normally she'd get lonely, but recently the two boys had been grating on her nerves.
I'm a refined woman, Kagura thought, walking up the stairs to the Yorozuya, picking her nose. I need a break from being around such disgusting, untidy men.
It was a mere second later that Kagura flung herself out of the way to avoid a knife.
Her Yato reflexes kicked in and she dodged landing on top of the edge of the roof. The knife landed right on the spot she'd been standing in.
"Kagura!" Shinpachi, who had seen the event from below the stairs, raced up towards her. "Are you okay?"
"What's all the racket about?" Gin appeared at the door.
"Oh, it's okay," Kagura told them. "Someone just tried to kill me is all."
"Oh right," Gin muttered, yawning. "So it's all good."
"No it isn't!" Shinpachi snapped, pointing to the knife. "Look! It's got a note on it!"
Kagura dropped down beside the knife and un-taped the note.
WATCHED YOU WHILE YOU WERE SHOPPING. YOU ARE SO BEAUTIFUL. CAN'T WAIT UNTIL YOU'RE MINE.
Kagura got chills just reading it.
It was another one.
In the past week she'd found similar notes left lying around her room, pinned to her wall.
When she reiterated these facts to Gin and Shinpachi, they were pretty beside themselves.
"You know," Gin groaned. "You should be more aware of these things."
"But I don't get it!" Kagura protested. "Why is this happening?"
"You have a stalker." Gin told her.
"Exactly." Shinpachi nodded.
"It's someone that follows you around like a crazy person until you agree to go on a date with them." Said Gin.
"Exactly." Shinpachi said.
"Like Kondo and Otae."
"Exactly."
"And Shinpachi and Otsu."
"Exact- HEY! Gin-san! That's different!"
Gin sat back and thought. "Well, we can't really postpone our super-intense and awesomesauce training seeing as we need it for the next arc. We're going to have to find you some sort of protection."
"I don't need protection!" Kagura snapped.
"This is serious," Gin told her firmly. "Stalkers can get really dangerous for girls- even if they're Yato. What if he turns out to be a psycho like Shinpachi?"
"HEY!"
Kagura paused. "…Maybe I should get protection."
"HEY! YOU GUYS! I'M NOT A STALKER! ARE YOU LISTEN-?!"
xxx
At Shinsengumi HQ, Gin and Shinpachi brought their request forth.
"I know we haven't always seen eye-to-eye," Gin said.
"Make that 'never'." Hijikata muttered.
"But our kid's in trouble right now." He pointed at Kagura. "She needs one of your people to protect her from this stalker she has."
"A stalker, huh?" Kondo shook his head. "What a terrible business."
It took a lot of willpower for even Hijikata not to give the Commander an ironic sideways glance.
"Unfortunately," Kondo sighed. "We can't really spare one of our best men just to protect her…"
"Darling," Otae, who liked to be present at Shinsengumi meetings, wrapped an arm around his. "Aren't you at all concerned for Kagura-chan's safety?"
Kondo looked startled, going red- which was a natural reaction after being touched by his fiancée. "O-of course, Otae-san, b-but-!"
"And you won't even spare one of your best men to protect one of my friends?"
Hijikata sighed inwardly.
He knew what was coming next.
"Get Sougo!" Kondo bellowed, still beet-red. "He can protect her! No one draws a sword better than Sougo!"
"Good choice!" Otae smiled placidly, patting his arm. She winked at Kagura.
Kagura, meanwhile, was horrified. For once, she wished Anego hadn't spoken.
Anyone but the idiot sadist.
"There!" Kondo said, still trying desperately to make Otae smile at him again. "What do you think of that, Gintoki? I'll hire out Sougo for you! The best samurai in the Shinsengumi!"
"Er?" Hijikata said. "Hello?"
"No one will dare touch her!"
"Who said my name?" Sougo opened the sliding doors, music buzzing out of one loose ear piece, the other attached, red sleeping mask on his forehead. "You lot are making so much noise. I was working."
"You were sleeping, idiot!" Hijikata hissed, still irritated at being called second-rate next to him. "You were obviously sleeping!"
Sougo scanned the room. "Ah, danna," He nodded at Gin, then his eyes fell on Kagura. "China." He said. "Long time no see. Still ugly I see. Still as ugly as ever. No surprise, really. No surprise that you're ugly-"
Everyone had to leap for cover as Kagura unsheathed her umbrella and let loose a barrage of attacks that even Sougo barely managed to avoid.
"My, my." Otae smiled, dusting herself down.
"This was a really bad idea." Shinpachi muttered.
"I guess." Gin sighed. "But what could we do?"
"You're getting slow, China." Sougo smirked, straightening through the swirling dust and debris. "I could've dodged that in my sleep."
"Well why don't you get over here and I'll show you what it's like to sleep forever, baka S!"
"I'm less worried about the stalker," Shinpachi said. "More worried about the damage to the various places they'll fight in."
"I hope you're satisfied that this was all your idea." Hijikata turned to Otae.
"Sougo," Kondo picked himself up. "Your orders are to protect Kagura-san starting from today- for the three days my brother-in-law and Gintoki go off to train."
Sougo narrowed his eyes for a second and Kagura's hopes soared.
He's going to flat-out refuse. She thought. And I'll be free!
"Okay." Sougo said and Kagura almost killed him. "Understood." He fixed Kagura with one of his trademark emotionless looks. "So I control your life for the next three days? Fine. I need a new servant."
"You control me?" Kagura sputtered. "Idiot! Do you know what protecting is? This means you're my servant for three days! My little dog! Get used to it, sadist face!"
"In your dreams, China, I'll break you."
"I'd like to see you try, Okita-chan, I'll stick an umbrella down your throat."
"Is someone gonna stop them?" Shinpachi whispered.
"Aren't they the technically two of the strongest characters in the show?" Gin countered.
"I ship them so much." Otae said.
"What?" Kondo looked at her.
"Nothing!" She sang.
xxx
"We're going now!" Gin waved at Kagura. "Be good!"
"Don't leave me!" Kagura whined.
"You'll be in good hands…" Shinpachi trailed off and fell silent. "Well, actually, never mind."
As they left, Kagura started sulking by herself on the front steps of Shinsengumi HQ.
"Stupid Gin-chan…hate them so much…gonna beat them up so bad one day….stupid…stupid…"
"Kagura-chan?" Otae smiled. "What are you doing there?"
"Hating life." Kagura replied.
"What's there to hate?"
"Sougo Okita the Idiot King of the Sadists." Kagura reminded her. "Why does he have to get me so mad all the time?!"
Otae gave Kagura her knowing smile. "Kagura-chan, do you know? When some guys- especially spoilt, belligerent, difficult sorts of guys- fall in love, they can never show it properly?"
"Um." Kagura said.
"Like Vegeta with Bulma," Otae said. "Inuyasha with Kagome, Ikuto with Amu, Ed and Winry, Natsu and Lucy to an extent, Kyo to Tohru, Sasuke to-"
"Can we stop with the anime references?" Kagura asked. "This isn't a crossover."
"What I mean is: have you heard of that little boy in the playground that keeps pulling the pigtails of the girl he likes?"
"Uh," Kagura said. "No? Who is he?"
Otae sighed. "Maybe I need to let you learn on your own. But you can be sure of one thing: Sougo-kun will keep you safe. I have no doubt of that."
As she walked off, Kagura lapsed back into sulking.
She hadn't understood that talk at all and she was pretty sure that the main thing she had to fear in this world was, in fact, Sougo Okita.
To Be Continued…
