The next few days were simply Okita taking care of Kagura. He stayed by her side the whole time. She hadn't regained consciousness though. Her tears continuously flowed down her cheeks. It made Okita feel useless. He wanted to take away her pain. He wanted to make her feel better. He wanted to stop her from crying. But the only thing he could do was wipe away the streams of tears.
Days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months. Three months had passed now and Kagura was still in a coma. Her physical injuries have all healed. It was all up to her willpower to wake up from her long slumber.
During these few months, the flaxen-haired boy talked to her sleeping figure every morning and evening. Perhaps it was because he wanted her to know he was there. But mostly, it was for him to feel less lonely. He would tell her jokes that he knew, and report his daily attempts of killing Hijikata. He would reminisce about how they were studying together and the fights they had.
"You know, China," he would say, "School is pretty boring without you around. Ginpachi-sensei just sits there reading JUMP all day, Shinpachi stares at his Otsu-chan picture collection, Hijikata eats mayo like rice, Gorilla chasing after Nee-chan… Everyone is doing their own thing. Gori-san made me stay at the base when they go out for missions, saying I should be taking care of you."
Okita heaved a sigh as he looked out the window at the rising sun. "Now that the Yato corporation has been disbanded, you are now just a high school student. You can finally live a life where you don't have to take lives. You are finally free to do what you want. And no matter what," he said as he held her hand, "I'll be there with you."
He glanced at the clock on the wall. It was almost time for school. He got up and wore his school jacket.
"I'll be back tonight, okay? Talk to you later, Kagura."
Kagura… Kagura… The sound of her name rolling off his tongue made her twitch a little. However, Sougo was already walking out of the room.
That night, something miraculous happened. As Sougo brought in his dinner bento and ate it while telling the unconscious girl his day at school, her eyes slowly opened.
Okita almost dropped his bento. "C-CHINA! Wait, let me go get the doctor." He was running with joy. Finally, after almost four months in a coma, Kagura woke up.
However, the happiness was short-lived. The Yato couldn't speak. No matter how hard she tried to make a sound, none would come out. Her eyes began to water as her eyebrows knotted together.
The doctor grimly said, "Her Temporal Lobe has been damaged and is still recovering. There's no said time of when it will heal up, if at all. But for now, she won't be able to speak. We can only hope for the best."
Okita stood there dumbfound. He was hoping he could hear her childish insults and laughter again. He was hoping to hear her call him 'Sadist' and 'Bastard'. But by the looks of things, this seemed to be a permanent disability.
But now that Kagura was conscious again, Okita didn't mind. Either way, he would still stay by her side. Even though Kagura couldn't speak, she would have a notebook by her bedside, writing down whatever she had in mind. Her writing skills weren't exactly 'good', so Okita had to guess most of the time what she wanted to say.
It was frustrating for the Yato. She never knew losing her ability to speak would be so inconvenient. Although she would put up a happy front in front of others and smile, she would cry herself to sleep every night. She wanted to curse at her fate. She felt as if she traded her ability to speak for freedom. She wanted to be able to laugh loudly, shout nothings at a wall, and bawl noisily when she feels sad.
She was able to move around now. She would sit in front of the TV at the Shinsengumi lounge, eating all the rice in the rice cooker. She would even put a dent into the so-called endless Shinsengumi sausage supply.
Kagura kept eating to keep herself busy. It was lonely when Gori-san, Mayora, and Sadist went to school. They couldn't leave her at Okita's house because she could possibly be chased down by the still-at-large Kamui. The headquarters at least had other Shinsengumi members who could guard her. But staying indoors all day has made her feel cramped. It was nice not having to do anything, but it was lonely. Every day, she looked forward to the trio to come back and talk about their day over dinner. These peaceful times were what she wanted.
"The government told us to track down Kamui and kill him," Kondo said in one of their many meetings. Hijikata and Okita nodded. It was time to eliminate this dangerous element.
Kondo looked around the room. "Men, if there are no questions, we are going to head out at midnight tonight. Meeting adjourned." The members of Shinsengumi filed out of the room.
Okita went to his room at headquarters to gather his belongings. To his surprise, Kagura was sitting on his bed.
"China, what are you doing in my room?" he asked lightly.
She took out her notebook and wrote, 'Where are you going?'
Okita looked at her and continued packing. "I have a mission and won't be back for a few days."
Her eyebrows furrowed. She scribbled, 'A mission?'
Sougo patted her on the head and gave her a smile. "Yeah, but don't worry. I'll be back."
She continued to scribble. 'Be careful. Remember, only I can kill you. So you better stay alive, you bastard.'
The young Shinsengumi laughed. "Yes yes, I will remember that. Be good when I'm gone, okay? Try not to deplete our supply of food with your monstrous appetite."
He finished packing and was about to leave his room when a pair of pale arms encircled his torso.
He put his hand on her arms. "China? What's wrong?"
She would only tighten her embrace. He could feel her silently sobbing behind, soaking his shirt.
He sighed, "C'mon, let go. I need to leave now."
Kagura finally let go. She wiped her tears with the back of her hand roughly. He placed his calloused hands on her shoulders. "How about this? There's a fireworks festival next week. I promise to go watch it with you, okay? So don't cry anymore, you silly girl." Kagura gave a small smile and nodded. She put out her pinky, signaling him to take his out, too. Sougo chuckled, "Haha, okay, pinky promise."
He made his way down the hall to meet up with Kondo and the others. With one last glance at China, he disappeared with the rest of the group into the night.
Even though she didn't know what the mission was, the Yato girl felt uneasy. Her gut was telling her that it was going to be dangerous. But the only thing she could do is believe in him. Going back to his room, she lied down on his pillow. It smelled like his hair. She curled up and fell asleep.
A/N: Umm, I guess there's a lot of OOCness... sorry about that =[. Next chapter would be an epic battle with Kamui XD Please look forward to it!
