A/N: JustShaunti, m00nbunnie, sasha1004thank you for adding the story to follow/faves!
Tomoe blinked once, then once again. She frowned, cocking her head slightly as she observed the man. He looked extremely familiar, and she knew for a fact that she had seen him somewhere. However, the name never came to mind. Perhaps they weren't introduced?
"Oi, Tomoe. Hurry up," Gintoki drawled.
"You go ahead. I will return later," Tomoe replied.
Gintoki raised a curious eyebrow at her. It was rare that she would reply so distractedly. He glanced around, looking for what could have drawn her attention, but found nothing out of the ordinary. Kids playing around, adults walking, flowers, grass, trees, madao in sunglasses, man in sunglasses with headphones and an instrument… Nope. Nothing out of the ordinary.
So Gintoki shrugged and kept walking, leaving the girl behind.
She walked over, ready to fight or flee at any time. She already knew he wasn't a normal person, because otherwise she would not remember him. Yet, she knew he wasn't as dangerous as she was, otherwise she would remember him more clearly. She stopped in front of the bench, her shadow falling over the man.
"Good afternoon," Tomoe said politely.
The man's head tilted up, and Tomoe deduced that he was looking at her from behind his sunglasses. His expression was blank for a moment, with a hard edge to his mouth, before his brows rose slightly in recognition, and he relaxed.
"Tsukihime-dono. Good afternoon," he replied.
Immediately she realized how she had met him. There were only certain people who only knew her as Tsukihime. The customers at Kazabana, and the Kiheitai, minus Kamui.
"I do not think Shin-chan ever introduced us," Tomoe said. "May I ask your name?"
"Takasugi is a little rude that way. I am Kawakami Bansai, de gozaru," the musician slash assassin said. He paused for a moment, and added, "An assassin of the Kiheitai."
"Nice to meet you. Sakata Tomoe, former leader of the Amatsukaze and currently an assassin," Tomoe replied.
Strange conversation to have on a sunny day, in the middle of a park. Dangerous, in fact. If anybody heard, the two would either be sent to the police station in handcuffs, or to a mental asylum. Of course, that was only if somebody recognized Bansai. For somebody with a large instrument on his back and a style that stood out, it was surprisingly easy for eyes to slide off him. The assassin side of Tomoe was a little jealous—she was too noticeable when she wasn't fighting or doing a job, and that meant she had to be good at acting. Thankfully, she was a good actress, and didn't inherit the idiocy that Gintoki did.
"Sakata… Are you, by any chance, related to…"
"Sakata Gintoki, the idiot with a silver perm? Yes. I am his half sister," Tomoe replied.
"I see…" Bansai seemed to hesitate. The two stared at each other in complete silence for a long moment as Bansai recalled the girl's fight against Kamui, and the inhuman way she moved, fought. "This may seem like a rude question, but are you human?"
"No."
He blinked, taken aback by the ease with which she answered the question. But that explained everything—how she knew Takasugi so well, how she obtained an Entei, and how she could fight equally against Kamui. The surviving samurai who studied under Shouyou, including Sakata Gintoki, Katsura Koutarou, and Takasugi Shinsuke were monsters. Bansai didn't know what Shouyou did to train them into sword wielding demons, but he succeeded. And if they added Amanto blood on top of that, and if she was, by chance, a member of the warrior tribes… He shuddered to think she could become their enemy.
"I am surprised you walk around Edo in broad daylight. You, too, are a wanted man, after all," Tomoe said.
Bansai shrugged. "I have a job, gozaru."
"I see…" She mimicked his words from earlier. "Do you have time? I wish to discuss something with you."
Bansai's brows shot up. He could hear her rhythm change, tilting off balance. So she was worried about something? Or was she trying to make a decision? He really didn't think he was the person to talk to about things. She had her older brother, didn't she? She had Kazabana too, and they seemed as loyal to her as the Kiheitai was loyal to Takasugi. So to discuss problems with a stranger… It could only mean the topic was related to Takasugi.
"Of course," Bansai inclined his head graciously.
He followed Tomoe through the streets of Edo, wondering where she was bringing him. For a moment, he suspected she might turn him in to the Shinsengumi, which would help her gain their full trust. Her rhythm and music didn't give anything away, but he didn't trust that. After all, she had led him and Matako through Kabukicho and through half a park without the wound changing at all. The only times he had ever heard it change were just now, when it sounded uncertain, and in the first few seconds of her fight with Kamui.
Granted, he didn't know her well enough to hear all the instances when her song would change, but he considered those circumstances enough. Not only did she look calm on her outside, but she controlled her emotions well enough that anybody who could read emotions wouldn't know anything. That alone made her one of the most dangerous people he knew.
"May I ask where we are going?" Bansai asked cautiously.
She smiled at him. "Do not worry. I am not turning you in, but treating you to lunch."
"Kick the can? Sounds fun," Tomoe said, a wide grin splitting her face.
"Fun?! We're in the middle of a war! Gintoki, Takasugi, you say something too," Katsura said… "OI!"
Tomoe's eyes widened in surprise, before she burst out laughing, holding the stomach that began to ache from the force of her laughter. Even though they had lost so much and fought in the war, experiencing more death and pain than those their age should, they were still children. And even though Gintoki and Takasugi claimed to be men, they still fought over stupid things, and liked playing games like kick the can. Some things never changed.
"Ah, it must be nice to be so short. You can fit inside the can, right? It's one of the pull top ones too," Gintoki said.
"You're the covert ops, aren't you? Something of this level shouldn't be hard. Oh wait, I forgot. Tomoe does all the hard work, and all you guys do is scout ahead and sound the alarm. The Kiheitai could do that with an arm tied behind our backs," Takasugi shot back.
"Hah?! My group could do anything the Kiheitai could do, and we can do it better!"
"Fine! First to kick the can wins!" Takasugi snapped.
"OOOIIII!" Zura screeched.
"Zura, come on! Unless you want to be 'it'?" Tomoe laughed, running away to hide.
"H-huh? Wait! I don't want to be 'it'!" Zura said. Then realizing that he was standing alone with the can at his feet, he blinked once, twice in confusion. "Eh? EEEHHH?"
"Idiot," Tomoe said affectionately.
"All of them are idiots," Takasugi scoffed.
"Shin-chan… This is my hiding place. Get your own," Tomoe pouted.
"Shh. We can share."
"Hmm."
The two watched in complete silence, peering through the bushes at Zura, waiting for him to walk far enough from the can before they would emerge and kick. But they weren't that lucky. Katsura walked closer and closer to them, suspicious, and fully intent on looking behind the bushes. It was one of the best hiding places, too small for an adult, but the perfect size for Takasugi or Tomoe. And Katsura had no doubt that one of them was hiding there.
Takasugi's eyes widened when he saw that Zura wouldn't be moving away. Swearing under his breath, he rolled further under the bushes. He felt the sticks dig into him in the least comfortable places, but on the bright side, he had armor protecting vital spots. He heard a shaky breath and a body press against his. The moment the scent of shion flowers hit his nose, he unconsciously reached out and pulled her tighter against him, his hand reaching to push her head against the crook of his neck, hiding the lavender as best he could.
The bushes rustled. He held her against him. He could feel his heartbeat against his armor, could feel her heat against him. But they both held completely still, waiting. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Katsura walked away with a disappointed huff, moving quickly back to the can, eyes now trained on a flash of white he had seen disappear behind the tree.
"Shin-chan… You can let go now," Tomoe whispered.
Takasugi shivered at the feeling of her breath fanning across his neck. He glanced down. Big mistake. Her face was too close to his. As he gazed into lavender eyes, he suddenly wondered when in the world she had gone from 'annoying' to 'cute'. She had no curves, but the baby fat that the war couldn't get rid of made her feel soft, with hard muscle underneath. His eyes travelled down to her lips. Were they as soft as they looked? Subconsciously, he felt his head tilt further down, heard her breath catch as his lips almost touched hers.
"HORAAA!" Gintoki yelled.
The two shoved apart, eyes wide, faces heated. Immediately Takasugi turned see the source of the sound, only to find Gintoki racing towards the can. Takasugi scowled and leapt out of the bushes, and charged. He knew he had sticks and leaves in his hair and armor, but he didn't care. He just needed to beat Gintoki. The two approached at breakneck speed, and an alarmed Zura began charging towards them from where he was searching a little too far away, intent on tagging them before they kicked the can he was supposed to protect.
Plink!
The three men slid to a stop, shocked. Tomoe laughed.
The can flew through the air.
"I win," Tomoe said cheekily, and winked.