In the end Kagura went to bed, despite being terrified of falling asleep. Sougo sat outside the door of her closet with his famous trademark sleep mask covering his claret red eyes. He could hear Kagura's steady breathing on the other side of the door, and its rhythmic pace sent him to sleep after only a short while of sitting there.

It was about three in the morning when he woke up. Something felt wrong, and as a swordsman, he had learned to trust his instincts. He ran his fingers through his fawn hair, and opened his eyes. He carefully pulled back the door to the closet. Kagura was lying there in her light pink pajamas, sleeping soundly under her duvet. He watched her sleeping there for a moment, before he realized this was the perfect opportunity to play a prank on her. She was asleep and helpless right now, and he was awake, and at full strength after half a night's sleep. His mischievous, sadistic side won against his small sense of duty.

Sougo went to the kitchen and came back with a pair of scissors. He climbed into the small space in the Japanese style closet beside Kagura, and knelt down next to her. He was about to start cutting off her hair, when he noticed something: close up, with her hair down, she wasn't bad looking. Maybe it was because she wasn't pulling her usual sour expression that she held whenever she saw him. He leaned closer with the scissors, grinning menacingly. She looked so peaceful as she lay there, but Sougo noticed a change in her expression, as it slowly grew from peaceful, to one of apprehension, then fear. Then her sapphire eyes flew open. She sat up, eyes wide and scared, darting about the tiny, enclosed space. Sougo dropped the scissors in surprise, and just looked at her, while she sat there panting for a moment, staring at the closet wall in front of her.

Kagura was on the verge of tears, the nightmare had been too vivid, and the fear all too heavy. She could see a figure to her right, with her blurred sense of vision. She couldn't tell who it was, but they seemed familiar. In her desperation for comfort, she turned around and clung to the person. She felt the tears run down her cheeks and she sobbed quietly. The figure was taken aback by her sudden embrace, and didn't move. Sougo sat rooted to the spot, frozen. He had been caught in the act of pranking, and the prankee was now distraught. He patted her head, feeling slightly awkward, and unsure what to do. If she had just had another of those nightmares, he needed to find out what had happened while her memory was still fresh. As a master of manipulation, he thought the most effective way was to sound comforting,

"It's okay." He said, putting his arms around her and sighing, "it was only a bad dream."

"N-no." Kagura whispered, "It was… It was more than that." She sobbed again,

"More than that?" Sougo probed. She nodded,

"It was too real, and too…" She trailed off, "All my senses were alert, it wasn't at all like a dream" She whimpered, "And what happened… was too awful."

"I'm sure it was." Sougo assured her whist stroking her hair as a sympathetic mother would, "What exactly happened?"

"It… they were gone. All of them, gone…" She pulled back from Sougo, "Hang on…" She mused. She looked at the blurred outline of his face, and then recognition slowly dawned on her. The Shinsengumi brat? What was he doing in her closet? And why was he comforting her? This seemed highly suspicious to Kagura, but she was far too tired and scared to do anything about it. She lay back on her mattress, and hoped that she would be able to fall asleep again without having a creepy vision.

Sougo watched his victim lie back down again, facing away from him, and realized he would lose his chance if he did not get the answers he needed now: He would have to keep her awake somehow. He lay down beside her, and propped his head up in one hand. He tucked her hair behind her ear, and then slowly blew warm breath there. Her eyes flew open again, this time with an expression of mortification on her face. She turned to face him, and frowned at his subtle grin. He was toying with her! The infuriating punk! She ignored the way he looked, lying there in the dimly lit closet, smiling impishly at her, and glared at him. He dare he make her chest flutter. She could tell he was waiting for her to reveal more information about her nightmares. That was the only reason he was still here right?

Kagura had very little strength in her, and Sougo clearly wasn't going anywhere until he got his answers. She sighed, and then rolled over to face away from him. Sougo seized the opportunity to continue with his charade. He moved closer, then put an arm around her waist, and whispered into her ear,

"You know what I want." And he nibbled her lobe lightly with his lips. Kagura felt as if she had jumped five feet in the air, straight through the fourth wall. Her body quivered under the warm and blissful feeling by her ear, and almost bit her tongue trying not to cry out. The eighteen-year-old male officer was trying her patience. He was either very keen to find out this information, or was no longer referring to wanting answers,

"Well your not getting it." Kagura replied, as this applied equally to both of her theories about his intentions. Sougo smiled at her usual juvenile stubbornness and began twirling a lock of her hair around his finger,

"I'm not a patient man, but I'll wait." He retreated for the moment, and allowed her to fall asleep in his arms. She was too tired to stay awake any longer, and Sougo was in need of more sleep too. He could feel the heat from her body against his chest, and noticed that she was no longer quivering in fear.

Kagura was not in an eerie place. She was in a peaceful and serene valley, and she was standing in front of an old but well kept house. There was a forest surrounding the little village where she stood, and there was a small stream running along beside her. The house was built in the traditional Japanese style with a slanted slate roof, and a raised wooden veranda all the way around the exterior. She walked happily to the stream, and saw a small figure sitting next to a taller one by the water's edge. She went over to them, and sat down beside them. Neither of them noticed her. They were clearly related. Both had the same claret-red eyes and light brown hair. The taller figure was a young woman in her late teens, and the other a small boy of about ten years of age. He was smiling, laughing and talking with the woman. This was the first time Kagura had ever seen Sougo smile so innocently. Slowly, the valley disappeared, along with the stream and the young woman, but Sougo remained. He grew older and was now in his Shinsengumi uniform. His eyes had become deeper somehow, and his expression blank. He turned to look at her, and then smiled playfully.

Kagura woke up feeling refreshed but slightly dazed. She rubbed her eyes before opening them, and found to her relief that she could see properly. She yawned a little, and then noticed a strange weight around her. Then she remembered the night before, and that the weight was Sougo's arm. She was glad that she hadn't had another nightmare, but wondered why she had dreamt about Sougo and his past. She also wondered how he had become so sadistic after having such a caring family. The young woman, most likely his sister, had been so genuine and warm. Sougo had seemed truly happy when he was with her. Ususally, when Kagura saw him, he had shown no sign of caring about anyone other than himself, and was often seen trying to murder his Captain. She could not understand how he had turned out like this.

Kagura sat up, trying to brush aside these strange arguments going on inside her head about Sougo, when she felt an electric sensation down her back. Sougo was lying there, resting his head on one of his arms, and tracing down her back with his free hand. Kagura felt heat rising in her cheeks, and moved toward the closet door so that Sougo could not see her blushing. He took her left hand, and kissed it lightly,

"Where are you going?" he asked silkily, the huskiness of sleep still present in his voice,

"…To get dressed." She replied, wondering why he was still acting this way,

"Can I join you?" He teased. This pervert had pushed too far. Kagura glared at him once more, then climbed out of the closet, and went to get dressed in the bathroom, where there was a lock on the door.

Sougo got out of the closet, annoyed that his plan was not working, but knew he was making some progress. She would open up to him soon enough. He had already heard her say 'they were all gone' which suggested that the nightmares had been dangerous for more than just her. If he could just find out the cause, then he would have accomplished his mission. He was having fun toying with her at the same time.

Kagura fumed, as she got dressed. She was utterly frustrated with Sougo, and she wasn't entirely certain why. Were his perverse advances getting to her? The image of his smug face floated into her mind, and she mentally swatted it away. After pulling on her usual red Chinese dress and black boots, and putting her hair up, she took a moment to think before leaving the bathroom. Lately things had been strange. First these nightmare visions, and now dreams about Sougo's past. Were they linked somehow? She thought it unlikely, as the horror in the nightmare was unrelated to Sougo in any way. Surely he would not dare harm her precious Sukonbu? He must know that it was a sacred substance made by the gods themselves.

Sougo was just contemplating how far he would have to take this, when Kagura emerged from the bathroom. She glanced at him once, then pouted, and walked away. She woke up Gintoki and ordered him to make breakfast. Kagura liked to have rice for every meal. She wolfed down the entire contents of the rice cooker, before leaving the house for a stroll. She was only a few feet away from the house when she realized she was being followed,

"You're not escaping that easily." Sougo mocked, as a smirk appeared on his face,

"I don't need to escape. I could take you down anytime punk!" Kagura retorted,

"That's not what I meant." Sougo teased, putting an arm around her waist as they walked. Kagura fumed, but she could not bring herself to move his hand away. What was wrong with her?

Author's note: I hope you enjoyed this chapter, please comment + review! Your feedback is always helpful and appreciated x