Moonstruck Chapter 14

Troubles

At seventeen going on eighteen, Kagura was a carefree teenager with relatively few problems. Until very recently, life was simple and uncomplicated. Or rather, it had been, until a certain sadistic male waltzed into the picture. That, and the sudden (though temporary) loss of her massive, superhuman strength.

It was enough to drive anyone crazy.

Faced suddenly with these two catastrophes, the Yato girl reacted how an ordinary girl would in times of major crises - she found herself unable to sleep. Despite tossing and turning through most of the night, sleep continued to elude her.

As it turned out, the first of these catastrophes was the primary reason for Kagura's insufficient sleep that night. Even as the morning sun beat its rays upon the rest of Edo, her feverish mind continued to furiously micro-examine the events of the previous evening, where she had summoned her courage and kissed a certain ash-blonde policeman.

In an ideal world, Okita Sougo would have flashed her a charming smile before responding to her kiss. Real life, in comparison to her inner fantasies, turned out to be rather disappointing. Instead of sparkles and flowers, coupled with the perfect kiss, all she received from him was an unflattering, stupefied expression.

Needless to say, he did not return her kiss. Nor did he wave back after she had waved him goodbye. He simply stood there, staring into thin air like an imbecile.

That stupid TV had lied to her! Tearfully, Kagura swore to herself that she would never watch another romantic drama as long as she lived. What was the point, when they only made real life more depressing?

"That insensitive jerk!" , she fumed.

...But then again, he held my hand and walked me home, didn't he? That counted for something, right?

The confused girl couldn't help wondering what the sarcastic policeman was really thinking. Looking back, it was terrifying to remember how she had spontaneously exposed her inner feelings. Especially since she herself knew almost nothing as to how he felt about her.

Perhaps... there was something she had unwittingly messed up on and he was secretly laughing at her childishness. The man was a few years older than her after all. It was a thought that mortified her immensely. For Okita to torture her thus, even without lifting a finger, that man was truly a sadist at heart.

"GAHHH! THAT SADISTIC TAX-ROBBER! CONFUSING ME LIKE THIS!"

All at once, a loud bang resounded on the outside of her cupboard, causing its flimsy wooden structure to quake violently. It sounded like the blow of a heavy, blunt object, not unlike a small sledgehammer. Jumping up from the suddenness of the impact, Kagura's head thumped against the wooden interior of the cupboard. She let out a small yelp of pain.

"... Itai!"

"OI! STOP YOUR SHOUTING IN THERE! GIN-CHAN NEEDS HIS BEAUTY SLEEP!"

Apparently, the blunt object in question happened to be Gintoki's foot. Kicking the door of her cupboard another time, as though to emphasize his point, the lazy Samurai fell back onto his futon, snoring loudly.

"... Did someone say beauty?", snorting unsympathetically, Kagura emerged from inside the cupboard, wearing a peach colored dress. She pointed a menacing finger at Gintoki's naturally permed head and yelled.

"Why, it's already too late for you, you white-haired geezer!"

Sitting up abruptly, Gintoki flung aside his candy-patterned covers and scowled, "Say that again you ungrateful girl!"

He blinked.

"Wait a minute... those clothes... Kagura-chan, where might you be going?"

"Out."

"When will you be back?"

"I dunno."

"Who exactly will you be with, HMMMM?"

The white-haired Samurai could feel his fatherly senses tingling in apprehension. Oh, he smelt a rat all right, a big brown one with shifty red eyes. He narrowed his dead-fish eyes at her increasingly alarmed expression.

... Oh yes, Gin-chan is definitely spot-on this time.

"As if I'm telling you," said Kagura peevishly.

And with that, she closed the door on Gintoki's disgruntled expression.

"AS IF I'M LETTING YOU GET AWAYYYYY!"

The door reopened with a loud bang, revealing a very pissed-off Gintoki. For a crazy second, Kagura actually envisioned red laser beams shooting out from his eyes. Before she could make a beeline for the front door however, he reached a claw-like hand and grabbed hold of her shoulder.

"DADDY'S NOT LETTING YOU ANYWHERE!"

A dark miasma seemed to surround Gintoki. His eyes gave off a maniacal gleam.

"AHHH! BAKEMONO! GODZILLA!", she screamed.

A loud crashing sound echoed around the interior of the apartment.

At that very moment, they heard a clicking sound. As one person, both Gintoki and Kagura whipped their heads towards the source of the noise.

Shimura Shinpachi had chosen that very moment to arrive. The bespectacled samurai opened the front door, revealing two very pissed-off people. He sighed.

"What exactly is going on here?"

Gintoki wasted no time in explaining.

"Thank goodness you're here, Mother! Our daughter, she refuses to tell me where she is going," he cried tearfully.

A vein stood out on Shinpachi's temple. "FOR THE LAST TIME, STOP CALLING ME THAT!"

There was a short, uncomfortable silence.

Then Gintoki abruptly straightened his posture. Turning to Kagura, he gestured towards the couches.

"Sit down, Kagura," he said quietly.

The young girl stiffened at his unfamiliar tone. Gintoki seldom spoke to her in such an authoritative manner, and she didn't like it. Not one bit.

"I don't want to!", she cried defiantly.

It was then she caught the look on Gintoki's usually placid expression. Kagura knew that look. Walking over to the couches, she sat down silently.

"Kagura, I realize that you're almost eighteen years old, but now is not the time to be hot-headed."

Placing a hand on each armrest on both sides of her, Gintoki bent his head until it was level with hers. Trapped, the young girl had no choice but to stare into his eyes as her guardian pinned her with his intimidating gaze. There was nothing lazy or remotely sleepy about Gintoki now. Those crimson eyes were keen and penetrating.

Trying to out-stare Gintoki was like attempting to stare down a wolf. Kagura flinched.

To her surprise, the ex-joui member spoke simply, without any trace of accusation. "You're going out to meet Soichiro, aren't you?"

"He's called SOUGO, you baka! Get it right!"

"Aha, so you do admit that you are going to meet him." The red-eyed samurai leaned back, looking mildly triumphant.

"... So what if I am?"

"Kagura, me and megane are worried about you. You understand that, don't you?"

"Call me by my real name, dammit!", shrieked Shinpachi. "First 'Mother' and now this?"

"Listen... I'm not gonna stop you from seeing that man," Gintoki continued as though there had been no interruption. "Just answer me this. Has he apologized for what he said yesterday?"

Kagura looked directly into Gintoki's eyes. "Yes, he has."

Gintoki looked into her eyes and saw that they were clear and guileless. He smiled crookedly at her and the air itself seemed to relax.

"Ah, I see. That's all good then."

...Heh. And I thought that Shinsengumi brat would never apologize to anyone.

Seemingly satisfied with her answer, Gintoki reached out and ruffled her hair, breaking the tension between them. Next to her, Shinpachi heaved a sigh. It seemed to her that he too, had been holding in his breath all this time.

"Oh Gin-chan..."

Feeling tears spring into her eyes at the tender gesture, Kagura instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck and nuzzled her face into his shaggy white hair.

"ORAHHH!"

Lifting Kagura in his powerful grasp, Gintoki swung her playfully through the air as though she were as weightless as a small child. It was an old ritual between the two of them, and she shrieked in delight. In that moment, the years seemed to fall away and it seemed to Kagura that she was a small girl once again.

"Please be careful, Gin-san! You don't want to drop her," scolded Shinpachi in a worried tone.

Replacing her gently onto the ground, the white-haired samurai pulled Shinpachi towards him in a one-armed hug.

"If you're going to see Okita-san, at least allow me and Pachi to escort you there eh?"

"Yes, Gin-chan."

Kagura smiled up at him, her eyes shining. "Hey, Gin-chan, the Yorozuya will be together forever, won't we?"

"Sure we will."

As soon as Gintoki turned away, Kagura turned a questioning gaze in his direction. The samurai walked jauntily enough, but there was a definite slump to the curve of his shoulders. The sight filled the young girl with a mild sense of foreboding.

...Why does Gin-chan look so sad?

It was Shinpachi who snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Are you sure that seeing Okita-san is such a good idea?"

"Why-why are you suddenly saying this, Pachi?"

"Gin-san is a capable man. I'm sure that he would be more than happy to be your retainer," Shinpachi's voice sounded flat and unenthusiastic. His hands were resting on his lap, and Kagura noticed that he was nervously crossing and uncrossing his fingers. It was a unique quirk of Shinpachi's whenever he was under stress.

"I'm worried about this. Can we trust Okita-san to take care of you? I'm not sure if he's even emotionally capable of looking after another person."

Shinpachi shook his head slowly as he spoke, and Kagura felt her stomach tighten from the truth in his words.

"Kagura, you're like the little sister I never had. Yesterday... When you were lying there on the ground... I was really angry. Nothing else mattered. All I could think of, was breaking the legs of the guy who dared to hurt you."

"... Shinpachi." Kagura felt her mouth going dry.

"We fight every Thursday, you know that. Okita-kun... how was he to know?"

Softening his expression for her sake, the young samurai turned to her with a sincere look. "I'm not trying to blame Okita-San for something he's unaware of, Kagura. What I'm trying to say, is that both me and Gin-san are willing to risk everything for you. "

He covered her hand with his, and she responded by clenching it tightly. Shinpachi sighed once more. The sound put Kagura on edge and she found herself fidgeting uncomfortably.

"Now that things have come to this, we can only hope that Okita-san feels the same way as we do."

Kagura nodded silently.

Unexpectedly, Shinpachi reached next to him and handed her a long thin package, wrapped in brown paper.

"What's this, Shinpachi?"

Catching her questioning gaze, Shinpachi smiled kindly. "Oh this? I bumped into Hasegawa-san early this morning, and he wanted me to pass it to you."

Kagura tore the package open, revealing her familiar purple umbrella. Jumping to her feet, she sprung it open, inspecting it for damages. Luckily, everything seemed to be in good condition, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

It was then she noticed a small piece of paper fluttering out from inside the umbrella. Before a passing breeze could carry it away, the young girl reached out, catching it in mid-air. Unfolding the message, she settled back onto the couch to read.

The simple message read:

I'm sorry. I was a pig. Pls forgive me Ojou-chan ~ Sincerely, Madao-san

There was a poorly scribbled drawing of a pig next to "Madao". It was even sporting sunglasses. Kagura giggled. It was a terrible drawing, but she slipped it into her pocket anyway.

...Thanks, Madao-san.

"Thank you, Shinpachi," Kagura smiled gratefully, clutching the umbrella to her chest. In the excitement of yesterday's events, she had forgotten all about her precious umbrella.

"No problem at all."

Gintoki's head popped out from the overhanging noren curtains.

"Okay guys, let's go."

His eyes glinted mischievously.

"Let's deliver our delicate flower over to her boyfriend, eh?"

Kagura's mouth fell open, a blush blooming quickly over her pale features. Shinpachi howled with laughter, earning himself a smack on the head.

"Itai! That hurts, Kagura-chan!"

"I - AM - NOT A DELICATE FLOWER!"

A/N: So, this chapter is slightly shorter than the others, and Okita didn't make an appearance, still I hope that you guys enjoyed reading it anyway :) My beta mentioned that she really enjoyed the Yorozuya dynamic, so the focus of this chapter is on Gintoki and Shinpachi's feelings towards Kagura's growing relationship with Sougo.

In this chapter, Gintoki interrogates Kagura and Shinpachi expresses his misgivings towards Okita. Wouldn't you be worried if your little sister was seeing a Sadist? Yep, thought so (||^.^)

Anyway, more Okikagu in the next chapter! Ganbatte Kagura-chan!

Once again, a big thank you to Renjiluvah for editing this chapter!

Byeee (^-^)/