It was finally her day off. After several long weeks of training, she was finally finished and had some time to herself. She wanted to make sure that it was a relaxing day. She woke up early, took a nice, long, steaming hot shower and was able to wear her normal, every day clothes. It felt nice to wear her usual pants, boots, and shirt for once. The uniform was nice and comfy, but nothing beats someone's own clothing.
Once ready for the day, she headed out for a nice breakfast in the city by herself. She found a nice little café and had grilled fish, miso soup, nappa cabbage and mustard greens and two cups of jasmine tea. After she settled the bill, she had a nice, quiet stroll through the park, walking towards Odd Jobs.
She didn't even have to knock. It's like they knew she was coming… or had been peering out the window every now and then waiting for her. Kagura was the first to greet as the young girl threw her arms around Olivia's neck and squeezed.
"I've missed you so much! There's way too much testosterone here for my liking!" She screamed in Olivia's ear.
"Good morning Olivia-san!" Shinpachi greeted next, yanking Kagura off her neck. "We've all missed you. Come on in!"
She followed them in, closing the door behind her and taking her boots off before walking into the living room. "I've missed you all as well. How has Sadaharu been since the last time I saw him? Not getting into trouble?"
Kagura shook her head. "Nope! Not once!"
"Unless you count all the times that he's bitten our heads," Gintoki snorted.
"That's good to hear!" Olivia said. "I rather not wake up at the crack of dawn again over a call about a giant dog harassing the streets of Edo again."
"I feel sorry for you, Olivia-san," Kagura said. "You have to work under that sadistic bastard."
Olivia pursed her lips in thought. "Sadistic bastard… Oh! Do you mean Captain Okita?" She chuckled a bit. "We actually get along just fine. As long as you stay out of his way when he's got some serious work to do, you're good."
"How do you like working for the Shinsengumi anyway?" Gin asked. "Not as much fun as here, right?"
Olivia chuckled again. "It's quite interesting. There's all sorts of people there and most of them are so sweet. It also keeps me busy, thankfully."
"Eh," Kagura waved her hand at Olivia and started to pick her nose. "Men are slobs and you'll eventually get sick of their stupidity and come back here to live with us."
"Well, thankfully I don't really have to deal with cleaning up after them," Olivia said. "I have my own room and bathroom and we all chip in with washing dishes after meals."
"Sounds like you got it made," Gintoki said. "I'm the only one that cleans around here."
Shinpachi's eye twitched. "Gin-san… I'm the only one that cleans around here. You barely lift a finger when it comes to cleaning… or cooking even."
"Ah! Shinpachi, I almost forgot. You know the little woods area behind your house?"
"Yeah, what about it, Olivia-san?"
"Well," She began. "If you go in, there's a big rock in the middle of the area that's covering a tunnel that leads to under your house."
"W-what!?" Shinpachi nearly had a heart attack. "Why does it lead to under my house? Who would put something like that there? Why could they possibly-."
Olivia made a judgmental expression then arched a brow. "I did not know about this tunnel until I was a member of the Shinsengumi. Who do you think would do such a thing?"
"Why did you go with Gorilla-san on one of his stalking outings?" Gin-san asked, joining Kagura at picking his nose.
"I did not realize that he was stalking Otae," She replied, crossing his arms and pouting. "I was told that we were going on a special assignment that including spying and assessing the target to see if they were traitors. I didn't know until after we got back that he was deeply in love with Otae and has been stalking her for a while."
There was a few knocks on the door just then and Shinpachi, still fuming, got up and trudged to get the door. A few moments later, a little old lady came hobbling into the living room and up to Gin-san's desk.
"You're Mr. Odd Jobs, correct?" She asked.
"Yes, ma-am. What can we do for you?" Gin asked back, putting his feet on the desk.
"It's my cat… she's stuck in a tree."
Gintoki rolled his eyes hard and sighed. "Really? Don't you call the police for that?"
"Well, I did," She explained. "But the man on the other end said to crawl up the tree and get stuck too then they might show up to help out, and then hung up."
"Captain Okita," Olivia sighed.
"Look lady, just because we're called Odd Jobs doesn't mean we'll do pathetic ones," Gin told her, picking at his other nostril.
Olivia sighed, stood up and showed the lady her badge. "Olivia Achi, 1st division of the Shinsengumi. Would you be so kind as to show me the tree that your cat is stuck up?"
"O-oh! Yes! Thank you! I'll show you the way!" The lady said, who was ecstatic that at least someone was willing to help her.
Gin-san got up and stretched, following the lady and Olivia to the shoe area. "Well, we better go too. Just in case."
"But you just said we weren't going to help," Kagura sighed, but got up too to follow.
"I'm going to actually go home and doing something about that tunnel," Shinpachi mumbled, taking off before everyone else.
The lady led them to this enormous tree that was taller than most. Actually, it was an awkwardly tall tree that was almost as tall as the space terminal. Probably a tree from some other planet that the amanto had planted there. The lady pointed up the tree and about half way up, there was a fluffy, white cat that looked relaxed.
"Meemee is stuck all the way up there."
"Okay, Olivia-san, just take out those wings of yours and fly up there," Gin said, smacking Olivia playfully on the back.
Olivia shook her head and rolled up her sleeves. "Nah, I don't need to fly up there. Besides, flying zaps my energy quicker than climbing."
"Uh, are you sure? It's pretty high up," He frowned, looking at the cat.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm sure." Olivia rubbed her hands together and jumped to the first low branch.
Branch by branch she climbed with Kagura, Gin-san, and the lady looking on. There were a couple of thorny branches that she had reached, making her wish that she had just flown up, but only a tiny bit. She could still make it, she just had to watch where she was putting her hands. Leaves started to get stuck in her hair and one of the thorny branches tore at the bottom of her shirt.
"There you are kitty," Olivia sighed in relief. The cat stared at her as she went out on the limb to grab her. Olivia's gaze dropped and she gulped. "Wow, this is… really high… come on Meemee, I've got you."
Olivia grabbed the scruff of Meemee's neck, but instead of going limp, she hissed and started to freak out. Squirming out of Olivia's hand, she jumped on Olivia's head then back, making Olivia unbalanced. The cat proceeded to run down the tree and into the lady's arms. Completely unbalanced, Olivia fell off the branch, but thankfully a vine from the tree had wrapped around her ankle.
"Uh, this is… great," She sighed, hanging upside down, holding her shirt up and to her stomach so that she wouldn't be exposed.
"Oi! Olivia-san!" Gin-san screamed from the ground. "Are you okay?!"
"Yes! Just help me!"
"Why don't you just open your wings?!"
She rolled her eyes. "I have to be standing on the ground to open up my wings! I can't do it while I'm hanging upside down!"
"Yeah, I couldn't hear most of that!" Gin yelled back.
"Sadaharu can just shake the tree!" Kagura pointed to the tree and Sadaharu jumped on the trunk and started to shake it.
"S-stop!" Olivia screamed. The shaking was only making the vine around her ankle tighter.
"I'm just gonna call the police!" Gin called up to her.
"What! No! Just come up here!" But Gin's little spot on the ground had already started for a phone. "Great. They're probably going to send Captain Okita and I won't ever live this down.
A few minutes later, the siren of a police car was heard. It was parked in the middle of the road like usual and two officers got out. One was definitely Captain Okita. She could tell by the blonde hair. The other… dark green hair… Hijikata-san. Just great. Making a fool out of herself on her very first day off.
There was the noise of the megaphone and then Captain Okita's voice came out louder and clear. "So, how's your first day off going? Hanging in there?"
Gin-san and Kagura chuckled at that.
"Just get me down!" Olivia screamed, not liking Sogo's mocking.
"Get yourself down. You have wings."
Olivia's eyes were going to fall out of her head. "I have to be standing on the ground to open my wings!"
There was some yelling that she couldn't hear, something about Okita being stupid then Hijikata having a brain made of mayo, then Captain Okita came back on the megaphone. "If you can break whatever is keeping you from falling, one of us will catch you."
"Who will catch me!?"
Sogo hummed. "One of us."
Olivia started to swing back and forth a bit as she screamed. "I want to know who will catch me because honestly I don't trust that anyone of youwill catch me if I fa-."
She abruptly dropped a bit and she heard a slight breaking noise. She looked up at the vine and saw that it was breaking under all the stress of her swinging from the tree shaking to her being so frustrated that she had started to sway. All she could do was stare as the vine finally broke.
When Olivia started her quick descent, Hijikata booked it, moving every so often to be directly under Olivia so that he could catch her safely. Her screams turned into loud crying and sobbing the more she descended. Her body finally hit something, yet she still screamed and cried, thinking that she had died.
"Olivia-san."
"I-I-I'm d-dead! I'm d-d-dead!" She cried.
"You're alright. I've got you."
Olivia stopped crying, hyperventilated for a bit, but stopped the crying. She sniffed, coughed and hacked, but eventually opened her eyes and looked up with her irritated red eyes to find her savior.
"H-Hijikata-san…." Olivia gulped and wiped away at her tears. "…Th-thank… you…."
"Just doing my job, unlike some people," He glared at Okita who was whistling while looking the other way. "You know, she's under your command. What would you tell Kondo-san if she had died and you didn't even try to catch her?"
Sogo shrugged. "I don't need to think about what I would say since she didn't die, correct?"
"Hijikata-san… you can put me down now…," Olivia mumbled.
"Oh, sure." Hijikata put her feet on the ground and took his arm out from around her but she immediately stumbled on to him again.
"I don't… I don't feel so good," She moaned, slowly falling to the ground. "I just need to… lie down for a bit."
"Uh, okay," Hijikata mumbled, setting her on her back.
Gin-san, Kagura and Sadaharu peered over Olivia. Kagura poked her with a foot. Sadaharu barked and licked her face. Gin-san grinned, bending down and leaned forward.
"You just didn't want to fly to get that stupid cat, huh?"
Olivia's face twisted and snarled at Gin. "Shut up."
"Oi," Hijikata interrupted. "Are you okay to get back to headquarters."
Olivia thought for a second then slowly shook her head. "N-no…."
"Alright. Get ready,"
"For whaaaaaa?!"
Hijikata scooped her up off the ground and put her in the back of the police car. "We'll get you back. I don't trust Odd Jobs."
"Hey! You guys didn't even try to help her until she fell!" Kagura exclaimed with a huff at the end.
"And you guys did what exactly?" Sogo asked, getting back into the driver's seat.
"Stop… stop…," Olivia sighed and rubbed her temples. She looked towards Gin and gave a small grin. "It's always a nice time at Odd Jobs, Gin-san. Even if it was short."
Gintoki grinned back and saluted her as the car drove away. "Yep. Always a nice time."
They got back to the headquarters a little before dinner. Both Hijikata and Okita helped Olivia to the dining area where Kondo obsessed over Olivia's safe return. He made her sit right next to Sogo during the meal so that the Captain could help if she needed anything. Sogo sighed, obviously not wanting to do that but obliged since Kondo was his commander. However, Olivia didn't need anything throughout the meal, but Kondo did make Sogo do her share of the clean-up and have her go straight to her room.
Olivia refused any help to her room. She just wanted to relax after the events of today. It went from nice to horrible in seconds and she wished that she had just flown up to the stupid cat. However, thinking about the way Hijikata's arms were securely wrapped around her made her heart skip a beat.
Eventually, she got hungry again and hurried quietly to the kitchen but stopped just outside Kondo's door when she heard that he was talking to someone; Hijikata.
"At least consider it, Toshi," Kondo said. "She's cute. She obviously likes you and I can tell by the way you look at her that you obviously like her as well."
"She's a subordinate, Kondo-san," Toushirou replied.
"Who cares about that!?" Kondo exclaimed, obviously throwing something at Toushirou because she could hear Hijikata-san make an 'oof' sound. "She told me the same thing and I know that you both don't really believe that shit!"
Hijikata stayed silent, then pipped up again. "I'm in violent and dangerous situations all the time. I cannot provide happiness for her."
"Toshi! She lives the same life as you!" Kondo said, then sighed. "Toshi… just because you two are Shinsengumi doesn't mean you shouldn't enjoy life. You can make each other happy… You already make her happy and I'm sure she makes you happy as well."
Olivia huffed and quietly walked back to her room without getting anything from the kitchen. She could not believe that Kondo had told Hijikata-san about what he had gotten out of her in confidence! She could scream! She closed her door tightly and pulled her covers over her head once in bed.
For a split second, she wished she would have died today.
