A/N: To make up for not updating right away, I made this chapter a bit longer =P. Enjoy!
Okita suddenly wanted to take back the sentence since he didn't really mean it. It was only the heat of the moment when they were arguing that he said something that harsh.
He put down his bag and walked towards Kagura. Hearing his footsteps, the Yato girl glanced at him with cold eyes.
"China—"
She glared at her captor. "Should I start calling you 'Okita-san'?"
"No, China. Listen to me—"
"Oh, so 'Okita-san' is not enough. How about 'Okita-sama' then?" she spat.
Okita jumped onto the bed and knocked her flat on her back. He used his weight to pin her down and lifted her wrists above her head. His red eyes flashed dangerously.
"You damn girl, listen to what I have to say before you start jumping to conclusions. I have a handful on my side too y'know. I am not doing this because I enjoy it," he sighed. "There are only certain ways that I can make enough money to put my sister to the hospital."
"Oh, and you think I had a choice in being in the Yato corps? Because my brother and I are naturally good fighters, we were scouted by the boss at a young age. At first we were promised freedom as long as we carry out what we were told to do. But we are simply locked in a cage. We never have our own time. Killing this person, shooting that person, it was always about taking lives," her voice began to tremble. "I'm sick of being used. I'm sick of being superficially thanked only to be used again the next moment. When I perform below what is expected, I would get beaten up by my own brother who thinks a rock is more useful than me. Where is the freedom I was promised? What is freedom? I never asked for this fate. I never wanted to take lives with my own hands."
Kagura then began to cry.
Okita wasn't sure whether she was faking it or not. But he didn't think those tears rolling down her cheeks were only for show. He pulled her up and embraced her tightly.
Little did they know, Kamui was watching his sister in the shadows.
"Oh-ho," Kamui mused. "Now I've found Shinsengumi's weak point." He began to grin menacingly.
After that ordeal, Kagura cried herself to sleep. The flaxen-haired boy stared at her pale face. Since her ties to the rival organization have been cut, she is just a normal high school girl really; a girl who complains about the messiness of his room, a girl who eats a lot, a girl with feelings.
Even so, Okita cannot take the risk of letting his guard down. He still waits until she is sound asleep before sleeping himself. Any tiny movement she makes when she sleep jolts him awake.
The next morning was a school day, so Okita had already left by the time the Yato woke up. She yawned and rummaged through the pantry to find some instant food rations only to see that there is nothing left.
Noticing the note and some money left on the table, she picked it up and read it.
There's nothing left to eat. Go buy me some.
"What a jerk! What kind of guy makes a girl buy food?" she scrunched up the paper and threw it on the floor.
Knowing the dangers of being recognized, she took Sougo's aviators and a hoodie and set out onto the street. The sun was burning her skin. She couldn't take her umbrella with her since that is an obvious sign that she was from the Yato corps. She flinched at the pain and hurried to the convenience store.
Kagura was done shopping and began to walk back to the apartment. She was hurrying back even faster now that the clock struck noon. The intense rays soon dissipated as someone shielded her with an umbrella.
"Sougo—" she started. To her dismay, it was Kamui. "B-brother…"
Kamui had his usual grin on. "Hello sister. I see that you're doing well. It's time you come back home."
Kagura jumped back and dropped the bag of groceries. She glared at him. "What do you want from me? Are you here to kill me?"
"Oh no, what made you think that?" he jeered. "I did receive an order to kill you if you resisted coming with me." That cruel smile tells Kagura he was enjoying this.
"I'm not coming. If you want to fight, I'll fight you now."
"I'm not here to fight. I am just here to warn you," Kamui appeared beside her in an instant and whispered, "Be careful of who you stick to. You might lose them."
The Yato girl's blood ran cold and she immediately swung her fist at the figure in anger. He dodged easily. Her heart was beating fast. She knew she was no match for her bloodthirsty brother. He lived for the adrenaline of fighting. He's a monster.
"Just give it a thought, little sister. I'll be waiting for you midnight tonight at the harbour."
With one more looming smile, he disappeared into the alleyway. Kagura breathed a sigh of relief. She was safe, at least for now. But now Kamui had hinted that he knew she was getting close to the Shinsengumi.
She picked up the groceries and began to walk back to the apartment. All the while, she was deep in thought. Even though Okita says she is his slave, he barely treated her as one. In fact, they even share the same bed together. It was more like he was protecting her than treating her as a hostage.
"This is bad," she said as she reached the apartment. "I can't afford to put him in danger."
She put down the groceries on the table and sat down. It was 5 o'clock already. Okita should be home soon. Putting on a fake smile, she pretended nothing was wrong.
The boy came back and soon after their usual instant noodle dinner in front of the TV, they went to bed. And of course, Kagura was pretending to sleep. Soon she felt Okita lie down next to her.
The clock ticked by slowly. Kagura couldn't sleep. She knew what Kamui was capable of. She wasn't given a choice of what to do. He was threatening her to come or else he'll kill everyone close to her. She shut her eyes tightly at that thought. Soon midnight came and the orange-haired girl turned to face a sleeping Okita.
"Sorry," she whispered and slowly slipped out of the covers, grabbed her umbrella, and snuck out of the apartment.
Okita sat up and removed his eye mask, knowing fully well that China wasn't sleeping at all. After staying up all those nights, her breathing pattern was different tonight.
He got ready and followed Kagura.
